Thurs. July 1st
Today was the day, my very last morning in Mallorca and the beginning of my long journey back home. I woke up around 6:15 AM, got dressed, and had my last breakfast of Frosties (Frosted Flakes), water, and café. Loli was going to drive me to the airport so I had to say goodbye to Jaime, my padre, and Paca, the abuela, before I left. I hugged and kissed Paca goodbye and told her I was returning home that day. She teared up a little bit and wished me a safe journey home. Then it was time to say goodbye to Jaime. We gave each other a biiig hug and he told me that he hopes that I marry my boyfriend, have lots of babies, and have a happy life. He also told me that I should come back and visit again soon because he is almost 62 and won’t live forever. I assured him that I will definitely try to visit soon and kissed him goodbye.
The airport is only a 10-15 minute ride from their house which was pretty convenient. Loli parked in the parking garage and walked in with me. We figured out where we needed to go to check my luggage and get my 2 boarding passes. I was praying that my luggage would be under 50 lbs. or 22 kg and I wouldn’t have to pay an extra 60 Euros. When the lady placed my luggage on the counter, the scale read 25 kg = 55 lbs. I held my breath the entire time, got my 2 boarding passes, made sure the bag would go directly to Philly, and then she tagged my luggage and sent it on its merry way. After we were far enough away from the check in area, I explained to Loli that my parents would be very, very happy that I didn’t have to pay extra money for the extra weight.
Loli waited with me in the line for security as long as she could before we eventually needed to separate. We hugged and kissed goodbye and then we both started crying. I thanked her again for everything she did for me and for being the best host madre ever, and she thanked me for coming into their lives. I passed through security (and Mallorca doesn’t make you take your shoes off) and kept waving to Loli until she was out of sight. I had a flashback of the same scene happening when I said goodbye to my real mom at the beginning of this journey. I got through security around 8 AM and my flight wasn’t until 9:30 AM and would begin boarding at 9 AM. I learned that they don’t post the gate number until an hour before the scheduled time your flight leaves so I had to sit around and wait till 8:30 AM to know the gate number.
After walking to the gate and sitting around for a little while, I got in line with the rest of the people at 9 AM. Then we saw that the little sign now said that boarding would begin at 9:30 or 9:35 AM. I started getting a little worried because although I had budgeted 1.5 hours between flights, it was going to be cutting it pretty close. We finally boarded at 9:30 and took off around 9:45 AM. The whole not-sleeping-the-night-before thing started catching up with me and I pretty much slept the entire 1 hour and 20 minute flight. Before I knew it, we were landing in Madrid and it was 11 AM. My next flight started boarding at 11:40 AM. I was hoping to find some of my friends from the program that had layovers in Madrid but now had less time than expected and just focused on finding my gate.
I asked a woman on my flight in Spanish if she knew where the connecting flights were (because they were no signs), and she very sweetly walked over with me and pointed me in the right direction. I then had to stop and ask several more people because it turns out I had to get to a whole different terminal. And I was supposed to find some bus to take me but ended up walking instead. And just for the record: it is very, very difficult to run while carrying a lap top bag, a huge backpack, and running and sweating in jean pants. I went through Customs and the guy said, “Filadelfia? Queso con bistec?” which roughly translates to “Cheese steak” and I answered “¡Sí!” I then had to go through another Customs checkpoint because my passport didn’t have the right documentation. I was asked a series of questions like Who packed your bag? Are you carrying any liquids in your bag? Who has had use of your cell phone? What electrical devices are you carrying on you? and such. I patiently answered all of the questions and made it to my gate at exactly 11:40. I texted Loli to let her know that I was at my gate in Madrid, and texted my mom to let her know that I had made it too.
I slept the first 90 minutes of the flight and woke up just as they were activating our personal TV screens in front of us. I was able to watch 3 full-length movies: The Last Song, Date Night, and Alice in Wonderland. I hadn’t seen these 3 movies and thought they were all great! I also watched an episode of “How I Met Your Mother” and listened to some music CDs on the screen. I also watched the first 15 minutes of New Moon as we got ready to land. We were also fed 3 times throughout the flight. Our first meal was lunch and I had chicken and a roll of butter and water. The second snack was a bag of hard pretzels. And our third meal was a turkey and cheese sandwich. The flight was very long but the cool thing was that I was literally going back in time and it was sunny for the entire 9 hours we were in the air. Finally, it was 3 PM and we started making our descent into Philadelphia’s International Airport.
I sent out a mass text to my friends and family telling them I had just landed and was back home! I got off the plane and followed the herd of people to get to Customs. We were given a form to fill out on the plane with our information, a series of questions about bringing livestock and other food products back into the US, and an estimate of the dollar amount of souvenirs and presents we were bringing into the country. I handed my paper to the Customs guy, was asked what country I was in, for how long, what was I doing there, and what university do I go to in the US, and was then free to go onto baggage claim. My bag seemed to take forever and was one of the last ones out of the baggage chute. The most frustrating part was that my boyfriend Josh was right outside but wasn’t able to come into the baggage claim area so I had to “patiently” wait to collect my suitcase. Luckily there was a guy next to me who helped me lift my suitcase off the track and then I wheeled my bag as quickly as I could to the exit.
Josh spotted me first and he was waiting behind a low wall area. I ran up to him and threw my arms around his neck. He told me he would meet me on the other side and then I was able to give him a proper hug and kiss. He was carrying this adorable sign made out of glittery stickers that read “Welcome Home, Lauren!” and was carrying a bouquet of flowers for our 3 year anniversary. He helped me lug my stuff out to the street and we waited for my mom to bring the car around. I hugged my mom and was presented with another bouquet of flowers. (I should try this homecoming thing more often!). There was a lot of traffic on the ride home but it also gave me time to catch up and tell them all about my lovely day of traveling home.
And thus concludes my story about the time I studied abroad in Palma de Mallorca for four weeks and had the time of my life!!!
(In conclusion / Thank you / Final blog entry still to come).
Friday, July 9, 2010
June 29-30 – Last Group Dinner, Beach Day, and Saying Goodbye
Hey blog readers! I apologize for writing/posting this a week after I returned home. I've been pretty busy and didn't have time to complete my final journal entries. But luckily I decided to take some quick notes to remember all that happened those last 2 days and I think I covered everything, with many details. Enjoy reading my last few blog entries!
Tues. June 29th
The night before, my friend Ashley and I had made plans to go to a town called Deià. It’s located about 45 minutes north of Palma. We took a 9:30 AM bus there and explored the town. We went into this really old church and a cemetery. We got to see Robert Grave’s grave…which sounds pretty ironic. We walked by Robert Grave’s house too but you had to pay to walk inside and see the little museum. We got to see the beautiful water in the sea and it actually looked pretty cool because the water and sky were almost the exact same shade of blue. While we were exploring, I found a little herbalist store. I bought a package of jasmine scented incense sticks for my madre Loli because I know she loves burning them and that scent. When I gave them to her after I got home, she said she loved them and said she was honored that I pay attention to the small details. She started burning one in the house and it smelled really good.
For the rest of the afternoon, I worked on the two presents I was going to give to my host parents’ kids: Eva and Toni, and Virginia and Mame. I decided to handwrite each family a letter thanking them for welcoming me into their family and for all of the cool things I got to do with them. I also borrowed some blank CDs from Virginia (without telling her why I was going to need them) and burned the pictures and videos I had taken of their family over my visit there.
Later in the afternoon, Eva and Sira came over. I handed the CD of pictures and the letter to Sira and she looked at me and asked, “¿Por qué?” I told her it was a going-away present and then Eva began to tear up. Sira again asked why her mother was crying and then got all excited when a tear drop landed on the floor. Sira was just too funny that we all began laughing. I gave Eva a big hug and thanked her for everything and she told me she would read the letter later.
I went with Loli, Eva, and Sira to the town of Esporles. Their friend’s daughter is named Úrsula Pueyo and she competed in the Winter Paralympics Games in Vancouver in skiing. Her story is very impressive because she suffered an accident and now has 1 leg. She won a gold medal when competing with all of Spain. Esporles is her hometown and they were awarding her with several medals at the ceremony we went to. The whole thing was in Catallan so I wasn’t able to understand it but I got to meet her afterward, which was pretty cool.
After that, I returned home and got ready because our group was going out to a fancy restaurant together. We decided to get all dressed up since it would be our last dinner together (since we would be eating our very last dinner with our families the following night). We went to a restaurant called Sa Cranca on Paseo Maritimo that serves paella. There were 14 of us there and we decided to split 2 giant paellas. I had a Mixed Blind Paella which meant there were no shells on the seafood and also no bones in the meat. It was very good and we all had a fun time. We walked back home together and made plans to meet up for one last day of fun at the beach the next day.
Wed. June 30th
It felt really weird waking up that morning and realizing that this was going to be my very last full day in Mallorca. And because I had slept in till 11 AM, I realized that by that time tomorrow, I would already be in Madrid waiting for my next flight. I had to complete an evaluation survey that our program director Alice had emailed to us. We were asked to rate our experiences of our 2 program directors, the different excursions, our home stay families, and whether we would recommend the program to future Arcadia students. It was kind of like a trip down memory lane as I reflected on the past 4 ½ weeks.
After completing the survey, I met up with Ashley to take the Bus 3 to Playa de Illetes. Three of our friends were already there and almost the entire group came a little bit later because they had been doing some souvenir shopping. We worked on our tans for one last day and went swimming in the sea. Most of my friends and I knew that the beaches and Atlantic Ocean back home would definitely pale in comparison to the Mediterranean Sea. We had a lot of fun and tried not to think that this was going to be the last day we were going to spend together as a group.
I headed back home around 5 PM, showered, and got ready to go to Mame and Virginia’s house to say goodbye to everyone. I also brought my lap top because my parents wanted to meet Mame, Virginia, Jaime, and Miguel. I was able to Skype with them and we then learned that Mame is able to speak really good English! He talked about what he does for a living and thanked my mom for the gifts she had sent to his sons. I helped translate a little bit for both Mame and my parents. My little brother also got to meet everyone because he too happened to be on Skype. Toni and Sira came over later too and I got to play with all 3 of the grandchildren in their backyard. Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. We asked the little kids if they understood what was happening (a.k.a. I was leaving), and then asked if they wanted to go on the big airplane with me back to the USA. At first they thought that it sounded like fun, but then realized it would be 9+ hours of flying. Toni and Eva still say they’re going to send Sira to live with me for a year when she turns 15, which means I’ll be 32 and might have my own little children at that point. I gave everyone big hugs goodbye and we all promised to keep in touch through Facebook, email, and hopefully Skype.
After we returned home, I had my very last dinner with Loli and Jaime. Jaime hugged me at one point and said, “No te vayas, No te vayas” which means “Don’t go.” I assured him I didn’t want to leave and would love to stay with them for an extra week, or month, or so. My last dinner was chicken, pasta, and toasted bread: my favorites! After dinner, my real parents wanted to Skype with my España padres one last time to say goodbye. My four parents Skyped together and we learned that Jaime never knew his son Mame could speak English. I translated amongst the four of them and Jaime told my parents that they have an amazing daughter and that they should be proud of raising me well. Loli and Jaime also invited my parents and me to come back and visit anytime and assured us that we would stay with them in their house instead of getting a hotel, which is very sweet and generous. The four parents said and waved goodbye.
I then got ready to go out with my friends one last time to Hogans, which is a bar. Our journey came full circle because Hogans was the very first bar I went to with my friends one of our first nights there. Almost our entire group was there (minus 2 people) and even Jaume, our program director came out to say goodbye. We hung out, talked, and danced to the live band playing. I was having a lot of fun and didn’t want to leave but it was getting late and I still wasn’t finished packing. So we began the very sad process of saying goodbye to everyone. It’s weird to think that just a month ago, we all arrived in this foreign place as strangers, and now we’ve all become friends and have shared so many memories together. I hugged everyone and we all promised to stay in touch and joked about a reunion in Palma next year. Then I walked home with my friend Erica and said goodbye to her too.
I returned back home and finished packing, which took a little bit longer than I thought it would. I was thankfully able to get everything into my massive suitcase and zip it up. I had to wake up at 6:15 AM the next morning and only got 2.5 hours of sleep, but I knew I would sleep on the plane.
Tues. June 29th
The night before, my friend Ashley and I had made plans to go to a town called Deià. It’s located about 45 minutes north of Palma. We took a 9:30 AM bus there and explored the town. We went into this really old church and a cemetery. We got to see Robert Grave’s grave…which sounds pretty ironic. We walked by Robert Grave’s house too but you had to pay to walk inside and see the little museum. We got to see the beautiful water in the sea and it actually looked pretty cool because the water and sky were almost the exact same shade of blue. While we were exploring, I found a little herbalist store. I bought a package of jasmine scented incense sticks for my madre Loli because I know she loves burning them and that scent. When I gave them to her after I got home, she said she loved them and said she was honored that I pay attention to the small details. She started burning one in the house and it smelled really good.
For the rest of the afternoon, I worked on the two presents I was going to give to my host parents’ kids: Eva and Toni, and Virginia and Mame. I decided to handwrite each family a letter thanking them for welcoming me into their family and for all of the cool things I got to do with them. I also borrowed some blank CDs from Virginia (without telling her why I was going to need them) and burned the pictures and videos I had taken of their family over my visit there.
Later in the afternoon, Eva and Sira came over. I handed the CD of pictures and the letter to Sira and she looked at me and asked, “¿Por qué?” I told her it was a going-away present and then Eva began to tear up. Sira again asked why her mother was crying and then got all excited when a tear drop landed on the floor. Sira was just too funny that we all began laughing. I gave Eva a big hug and thanked her for everything and she told me she would read the letter later.
I went with Loli, Eva, and Sira to the town of Esporles. Their friend’s daughter is named Úrsula Pueyo and she competed in the Winter Paralympics Games in Vancouver in skiing. Her story is very impressive because she suffered an accident and now has 1 leg. She won a gold medal when competing with all of Spain. Esporles is her hometown and they were awarding her with several medals at the ceremony we went to. The whole thing was in Catallan so I wasn’t able to understand it but I got to meet her afterward, which was pretty cool.
After that, I returned home and got ready because our group was going out to a fancy restaurant together. We decided to get all dressed up since it would be our last dinner together (since we would be eating our very last dinner with our families the following night). We went to a restaurant called Sa Cranca on Paseo Maritimo that serves paella. There were 14 of us there and we decided to split 2 giant paellas. I had a Mixed Blind Paella which meant there were no shells on the seafood and also no bones in the meat. It was very good and we all had a fun time. We walked back home together and made plans to meet up for one last day of fun at the beach the next day.
Wed. June 30th
It felt really weird waking up that morning and realizing that this was going to be my very last full day in Mallorca. And because I had slept in till 11 AM, I realized that by that time tomorrow, I would already be in Madrid waiting for my next flight. I had to complete an evaluation survey that our program director Alice had emailed to us. We were asked to rate our experiences of our 2 program directors, the different excursions, our home stay families, and whether we would recommend the program to future Arcadia students. It was kind of like a trip down memory lane as I reflected on the past 4 ½ weeks.
After completing the survey, I met up with Ashley to take the Bus 3 to Playa de Illetes. Three of our friends were already there and almost the entire group came a little bit later because they had been doing some souvenir shopping. We worked on our tans for one last day and went swimming in the sea. Most of my friends and I knew that the beaches and Atlantic Ocean back home would definitely pale in comparison to the Mediterranean Sea. We had a lot of fun and tried not to think that this was going to be the last day we were going to spend together as a group.
I headed back home around 5 PM, showered, and got ready to go to Mame and Virginia’s house to say goodbye to everyone. I also brought my lap top because my parents wanted to meet Mame, Virginia, Jaime, and Miguel. I was able to Skype with them and we then learned that Mame is able to speak really good English! He talked about what he does for a living and thanked my mom for the gifts she had sent to his sons. I helped translate a little bit for both Mame and my parents. My little brother also got to meet everyone because he too happened to be on Skype. Toni and Sira came over later too and I got to play with all 3 of the grandchildren in their backyard. Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. We asked the little kids if they understood what was happening (a.k.a. I was leaving), and then asked if they wanted to go on the big airplane with me back to the USA. At first they thought that it sounded like fun, but then realized it would be 9+ hours of flying. Toni and Eva still say they’re going to send Sira to live with me for a year when she turns 15, which means I’ll be 32 and might have my own little children at that point. I gave everyone big hugs goodbye and we all promised to keep in touch through Facebook, email, and hopefully Skype.
After we returned home, I had my very last dinner with Loli and Jaime. Jaime hugged me at one point and said, “No te vayas, No te vayas” which means “Don’t go.” I assured him I didn’t want to leave and would love to stay with them for an extra week, or month, or so. My last dinner was chicken, pasta, and toasted bread: my favorites! After dinner, my real parents wanted to Skype with my España padres one last time to say goodbye. My four parents Skyped together and we learned that Jaime never knew his son Mame could speak English. I translated amongst the four of them and Jaime told my parents that they have an amazing daughter and that they should be proud of raising me well. Loli and Jaime also invited my parents and me to come back and visit anytime and assured us that we would stay with them in their house instead of getting a hotel, which is very sweet and generous. The four parents said and waved goodbye.
I then got ready to go out with my friends one last time to Hogans, which is a bar. Our journey came full circle because Hogans was the very first bar I went to with my friends one of our first nights there. Almost our entire group was there (minus 2 people) and even Jaume, our program director came out to say goodbye. We hung out, talked, and danced to the live band playing. I was having a lot of fun and didn’t want to leave but it was getting late and I still wasn’t finished packing. So we began the very sad process of saying goodbye to everyone. It’s weird to think that just a month ago, we all arrived in this foreign place as strangers, and now we’ve all become friends and have shared so many memories together. I hugged everyone and we all promised to stay in touch and joked about a reunion in Palma next year. Then I walked home with my friend Erica and said goodbye to her too.
I returned back home and finished packing, which took a little bit longer than I thought it would. I was thankfully able to get everything into my massive suitcase and zip it up. I had to wake up at 6:15 AM the next morning and only got 2.5 hours of sleep, but I knew I would sleep on the plane.
Monday, June 28, 2010
June 27-28: Illetes, Last Final Exam, and Closing Reception
Sun. June 27th
I got to sleep in again today (Yay for 2 days in a row!). I had made plans with my friends to go the beach at Illetes, but then 2 of my friends decided to spend the day with their padres, which was fine. So it was just my friend Lentner and me at the beach. We took a bus and got there around 1:15 PM. It was pretty crowded since it was an insanely hot day. We found a place to sit and set up camp. Since there were only 2 of us, we decided that it would be safest if only one of us went swimming at a time while the other hung back and guarded all of our stuff and valuables. (We recently had 2 cases of pick pocketing wallets and 1 stolen phone in our Arcadia group, so everyone was being extra cautious and alert).
Our buddy system worked out very well and I was able to go swimming and dunk my head about 4 times throughout the day. I read my book, took a siesta, talked, and hung out. We decided to leave around 5:30 PM since we both had to get back and study for our final exam that was tomorrow.
After I got back and showered, I went on my computer for a bit and was able to Skype with my parents who just returned from a one-week cruise to Bermuda and ports in the U.S. It was nice seeing their faces/hearing their voices again and we compared tans and got caught up on stories from the past week. :) After that, I reviewed my notes and studied for my final exam in my Spanish language class. There wasn’t too much I could do to study and I feel that I’ve been immersed in the language for the past four weeks, so I’m sure I’ve retained most of it. My other project for the evening was writing a letter to my host parents, Loli and Jaime. I wrote them a letter first in English (to have for my own records) and then wrote it in Spanish. I thanked them for all that they’ve done for me, for being the best host parents that I could ever imagine, and gave them my contact information so we can keep in touch. I really hope to be able to visit Mallorca and visit them again sometime soon!
Mon. June 28th
Wow, my final Monday here. At 11 AM, I met at a bookstore called “La Biblioteca de Babel” which named after a story we had to read today by Jorge Luis Borges. The funny/confusing part is that “biblioteca” means library in Spanish, not a bookstore. We had our literature class there today and got to talk about the story in a relaxed atmosphere while surrounded by books. While we were there, my Lit professor told us that she had calculated our final grades. I was very excited to learn that I received a 9.05 on a scale of 10 which translates on the American scale to a solid A! Woo hoo! :D
We had class for 2 hours and then we were allowed to leave to continue studying for our last final in our language class. But first I had a little adventure of my own to complete. A couple of days ago, I asked Loli a series of random questions to attempt to figure out what types of flowers she likes because I wanted to buy her a bouquet as a thank you present. She told me she likes white flowers, especially Jasmine, and likes ones that smell good. I went to a flower shop behind my store and asked the woman if she had a bouquet of Jasmine flowers. She told me that Jasmine is actually a plant, but she showed me another beautiful white flower that she called “Star” in English, because it has 5 pointed petals. She also said they smell amazing when they fully blossom. I decided to buy a bouquet of those and she decorated it and tied it up to make it look very pretty. She also took a small clothespin and attached the letter I had written on the inside of the bouquet.
I returned home about 5 minutes later carrying the bouquet behind my back and then presented it to Loli. She was very surprised and told me how pretty they looked! I then showed her the note and she began to read it. I know that she’s very emotional and thought that she might tear up at the end of the letter. Well she started tearing up after reading the first paragraph, and it was a 2 page letter written in Spanish. I kept asking her if she was okay and she assured me she was. She told me that it was beautifully written and my grammar was very good too and she gave me a biiiig hug. She kept saying “gracias, gracias” and I thanked her again too, for everything. She told me she’d go find a tall vase so she could proudly display them.
After lunch, I continued to study for my final a little bit more. At 4:15 PM, I left my house and walked to my university, for the last time. The exam wasn’t too bad but there were certain vocab words that I had never seen before in my life. When I asked my professor if she could explain them to me, she said that I should know them because they were in our textbook (which I’m certain they weren’t). They were also some weird verbs that had very irregular conjugations that I didn’t quite remember. Other than that, the test wasn’t too bad. We also had to pay for our 2 textbooks today and they cost 40 E. (We were kind of hoping our professors had forgotten that we had never paid at the beginning of the month, but no such luck).
After our final exam, we headed downstairs to enjoy a reception/party with all the other students and our families too. Some parents couldn’t come because they were working, but there was still a big turnout. It was really fun to meet the padres of my friends and I kind of wished that we had had a similar party at the beginning of the program so we could have gotten to know them for a longer time. Alice planned the entire party and brought lots of yummy sandwiches, pastries, delicious chocolate cake, and champagne. We all enjoyed the food and mingled with the other students and their parents. Loli came with me and we had a lot of fun. She got to meet my two professors who said very nice things about me, and she also got to meet another madre who lives right on her street.
Around 8:30 PM we walked back home together. I Skyped and talked with people for a little bit and then we ate dinner around 9:45 PM (a little bit later than usual). Loli and I were pretty full from the appetizers we ate at the party, so she just made me 2 hamburger patties with a side of bread, which was quite yummy. After dinner I got all caught up on my blog writings (since I haven’t had a chance to write these past four days) and I started working on a couple of other projects I need to complete before I leave.
I’m kind of in shock/denial that I only have 2 full days left in Palma before I board a plane to start my long journey home. I know that saying goodbye to my extended family is going to be hard and saying goodbye to Loli and Jaime is going to be even more difficult. It’s funny how I’ve only known them for 4 weeks but it feels like they’ve been a part of my life for much longer than that. Yet on the other hand, I know my American family and friends are very much looking forward to my arrival.
Hopefully I’ll be able to update my blog 1 last time before I leave and if not, I’ll finish it when I return back home. Hasta luego to my Spanish friends, and see you soon to my American friends!
I got to sleep in again today (Yay for 2 days in a row!). I had made plans with my friends to go the beach at Illetes, but then 2 of my friends decided to spend the day with their padres, which was fine. So it was just my friend Lentner and me at the beach. We took a bus and got there around 1:15 PM. It was pretty crowded since it was an insanely hot day. We found a place to sit and set up camp. Since there were only 2 of us, we decided that it would be safest if only one of us went swimming at a time while the other hung back and guarded all of our stuff and valuables. (We recently had 2 cases of pick pocketing wallets and 1 stolen phone in our Arcadia group, so everyone was being extra cautious and alert).
Our buddy system worked out very well and I was able to go swimming and dunk my head about 4 times throughout the day. I read my book, took a siesta, talked, and hung out. We decided to leave around 5:30 PM since we both had to get back and study for our final exam that was tomorrow.
After I got back and showered, I went on my computer for a bit and was able to Skype with my parents who just returned from a one-week cruise to Bermuda and ports in the U.S. It was nice seeing their faces/hearing their voices again and we compared tans and got caught up on stories from the past week. :) After that, I reviewed my notes and studied for my final exam in my Spanish language class. There wasn’t too much I could do to study and I feel that I’ve been immersed in the language for the past four weeks, so I’m sure I’ve retained most of it. My other project for the evening was writing a letter to my host parents, Loli and Jaime. I wrote them a letter first in English (to have for my own records) and then wrote it in Spanish. I thanked them for all that they’ve done for me, for being the best host parents that I could ever imagine, and gave them my contact information so we can keep in touch. I really hope to be able to visit Mallorca and visit them again sometime soon!
Mon. June 28th
Wow, my final Monday here. At 11 AM, I met at a bookstore called “La Biblioteca de Babel” which named after a story we had to read today by Jorge Luis Borges. The funny/confusing part is that “biblioteca” means library in Spanish, not a bookstore. We had our literature class there today and got to talk about the story in a relaxed atmosphere while surrounded by books. While we were there, my Lit professor told us that she had calculated our final grades. I was very excited to learn that I received a 9.05 on a scale of 10 which translates on the American scale to a solid A! Woo hoo! :D
We had class for 2 hours and then we were allowed to leave to continue studying for our last final in our language class. But first I had a little adventure of my own to complete. A couple of days ago, I asked Loli a series of random questions to attempt to figure out what types of flowers she likes because I wanted to buy her a bouquet as a thank you present. She told me she likes white flowers, especially Jasmine, and likes ones that smell good. I went to a flower shop behind my store and asked the woman if she had a bouquet of Jasmine flowers. She told me that Jasmine is actually a plant, but she showed me another beautiful white flower that she called “Star” in English, because it has 5 pointed petals. She also said they smell amazing when they fully blossom. I decided to buy a bouquet of those and she decorated it and tied it up to make it look very pretty. She also took a small clothespin and attached the letter I had written on the inside of the bouquet.
I returned home about 5 minutes later carrying the bouquet behind my back and then presented it to Loli. She was very surprised and told me how pretty they looked! I then showed her the note and she began to read it. I know that she’s very emotional and thought that she might tear up at the end of the letter. Well she started tearing up after reading the first paragraph, and it was a 2 page letter written in Spanish. I kept asking her if she was okay and she assured me she was. She told me that it was beautifully written and my grammar was very good too and she gave me a biiiig hug. She kept saying “gracias, gracias” and I thanked her again too, for everything. She told me she’d go find a tall vase so she could proudly display them.
After lunch, I continued to study for my final a little bit more. At 4:15 PM, I left my house and walked to my university, for the last time. The exam wasn’t too bad but there were certain vocab words that I had never seen before in my life. When I asked my professor if she could explain them to me, she said that I should know them because they were in our textbook (which I’m certain they weren’t). They were also some weird verbs that had very irregular conjugations that I didn’t quite remember. Other than that, the test wasn’t too bad. We also had to pay for our 2 textbooks today and they cost 40 E. (We were kind of hoping our professors had forgotten that we had never paid at the beginning of the month, but no such luck).
After our final exam, we headed downstairs to enjoy a reception/party with all the other students and our families too. Some parents couldn’t come because they were working, but there was still a big turnout. It was really fun to meet the padres of my friends and I kind of wished that we had had a similar party at the beginning of the program so we could have gotten to know them for a longer time. Alice planned the entire party and brought lots of yummy sandwiches, pastries, delicious chocolate cake, and champagne. We all enjoyed the food and mingled with the other students and their parents. Loli came with me and we had a lot of fun. She got to meet my two professors who said very nice things about me, and she also got to meet another madre who lives right on her street.
Around 8:30 PM we walked back home together. I Skyped and talked with people for a little bit and then we ate dinner around 9:45 PM (a little bit later than usual). Loli and I were pretty full from the appetizers we ate at the party, so she just made me 2 hamburger patties with a side of bread, which was quite yummy. After dinner I got all caught up on my blog writings (since I haven’t had a chance to write these past four days) and I started working on a couple of other projects I need to complete before I leave.
I’m kind of in shock/denial that I only have 2 full days left in Palma before I board a plane to start my long journey home. I know that saying goodbye to my extended family is going to be hard and saying goodbye to Loli and Jaime is going to be even more difficult. It’s funny how I’ve only known them for 4 weeks but it feels like they’ve been a part of my life for much longer than that. Yet on the other hand, I know my American family and friends are very much looking forward to my arrival.
Hopefully I’ll be able to update my blog 1 last time before I leave and if not, I’ll finish it when I return back home. Hasta luego to my Spanish friends, and see you soon to my American friends!
June 25-26 – Alcúdia and a Swimming Pool
Apologies in advance for not posting this sooner. I'm going to post back-to-back entries from the past 4 days so make sure to read them all! :)
Fri. June 25th
On our last Friday together, our group decided to go to Alcúdia for the day. Alcúdia is located in northern Mallorca and is one of the peninsulas of the island. We got the 11 AM bus and the bus ride was about an hour long. We didn’t know too much about the city, so we talked to a woman in Spanglish at the information desk. She told us that if we wanted to go to the beach or catch a bus to Formentor (the other peninsula), we would have to walk to the Porto de Alúdia (the Port). So we walked about 15 minutes to get to the port.
After we got there, we realized that the next bus to Formentor wasn’t until 2:45 PM, so we decided to go the beach for about an hour. The beach was gorgeous. The water was very clear. The water closest to the shore was a turquoise blue color and further away it was a dark blue color. We saw people parasailing, wind surfing, and using paddle boats that had slides on the back of them. I went in the water for a bit and then read my book and relaxed on the beach. Around 2:20, we headed back to where the bus stop was to go to Formentor. Some of our friends from the program have previously been with their padres and they said that there’s an amazing look-out point off of one of the cliffs, so we were excited to see that. We then realized that the bus ride was going to be 40 minutes long and the next bus wouldn’t return back to Alcúdia until 5:30 PM. We were starting to hesitate about whether we wanted to do this or not, but then our decision was made for us when the bus never showed.
Most of our group decided to head back to the beach, but my friend Ashley really wanted to see the Roman ruins that were in Alcúdia so I headed back to the town with her. Unfortunately for us, we found out that the ruins and the museum closed at 2 PM for the day. (Wish the information desk lady had thought to pass that info along when we asked about the ruins…). However, we found a small fence and wall and were able to walk around the perimeter and catch glimpses of the ruins. It wasn’t the same as seeing them close up, but it was better than nothing. Afterwards, we walked around for a bit and explored the city. We came around some ancient castles/fortresses and one had a staircase that led to a path the circled the fortress above the ground. So pretty much we were able to walk around this pathway and look down on the houses and roofs and get a pretty awesome view of the city. It was really cool and I took some pictures.
We returned back around 5:30 PM to catch the bus home and met up with the rest of the group. Most of us slept or listened to music on the ride home since the sun really tires you out. After I got back, I hung out with my padres for a little bit and then ate dinner and watched the fútbol game. My friends and I were pretty tired so we decided to rest up and save our energy to go to the discoteca the following evening since it would be our last Saturday night in Palma.
Sat. June 26th
I got to sleep in until 11:30 AM today and it was pretty awesome. I definitely needed to catch up on sleep after my mini finals week. I had made plans with my family to go to Toni’s mother’s house because she has a swimming pool. Sira, the granddaughter, slept over our house the night before so I played with her for a while before it was time to go.
Toni’s mother wasn’t there so it was just the regular crew: Loli, Jaime, and Paca; Eva, Toni, and Sira; Mame, Virginia, Jaime, and Miguel; and me. This would be the first time I was in a pool all summer and I was excited to experience chlorine water after all of the salt water in the Mediterranean Sea. The pool water was pretty cold, but all of the grandkids were fearless. We all swam around together, they would jump and their moms would catch them, and we tossed around a ball too. After about an hour of swimming, everyone got out and dried off and got ready for lunch. I had chicken, tortilla de patata (a round cake-like object that tastes like eggs and potatoes that I actually really like), and eggplant meat (which I first had shortly after I came here). It was all very yummy.
I sunbathed by the pool for a bit and then the grandkids wanted to go in again. This time I got to be one of the “catchers” and Jaime would jump into the water with a big splash and then latch onto my arms. The kids had a lot of fun and I did too. After we toweled off again, Jaime presented me with a piece of paper that had a drawing on it. On the top was his complete name (he has 4 last names). The drawing was of a sun and a swimming pool and in the pool he had drawn little people and had labeled them Lauren, Sira, Eva, Toni, Mama, Papa, Jaime, Miguel, y Abuela. It was the cutest thing ever! I asked if I could take a picture of it and then he told me that I could keep it. I gave him a big hug and thanked him for this awesome present.
We returned back home and I showered and then went on my computer for a little while. After dinner, I had made plans with my friends to meet up that night. We first went to the place where there are beer taps on every table and you can serve yourself beer. We also had the biggest group ever going out that night: there were 13 of us from the Arcadia program and then there were also 2 friends that were visiting so all together there were 15! Afterwards, we watched down along the port to get to our favorite disco: Abraxas. We definitely made the most of our last Saturday night together and danced the night away! We returned very late/early in the morning and I shortly went to bed after I got home.
Fri. June 25th
On our last Friday together, our group decided to go to Alcúdia for the day. Alcúdia is located in northern Mallorca and is one of the peninsulas of the island. We got the 11 AM bus and the bus ride was about an hour long. We didn’t know too much about the city, so we talked to a woman in Spanglish at the information desk. She told us that if we wanted to go to the beach or catch a bus to Formentor (the other peninsula), we would have to walk to the Porto de Alúdia (the Port). So we walked about 15 minutes to get to the port.
After we got there, we realized that the next bus to Formentor wasn’t until 2:45 PM, so we decided to go the beach for about an hour. The beach was gorgeous. The water was very clear. The water closest to the shore was a turquoise blue color and further away it was a dark blue color. We saw people parasailing, wind surfing, and using paddle boats that had slides on the back of them. I went in the water for a bit and then read my book and relaxed on the beach. Around 2:20, we headed back to where the bus stop was to go to Formentor. Some of our friends from the program have previously been with their padres and they said that there’s an amazing look-out point off of one of the cliffs, so we were excited to see that. We then realized that the bus ride was going to be 40 minutes long and the next bus wouldn’t return back to Alcúdia until 5:30 PM. We were starting to hesitate about whether we wanted to do this or not, but then our decision was made for us when the bus never showed.
Most of our group decided to head back to the beach, but my friend Ashley really wanted to see the Roman ruins that were in Alcúdia so I headed back to the town with her. Unfortunately for us, we found out that the ruins and the museum closed at 2 PM for the day. (Wish the information desk lady had thought to pass that info along when we asked about the ruins…). However, we found a small fence and wall and were able to walk around the perimeter and catch glimpses of the ruins. It wasn’t the same as seeing them close up, but it was better than nothing. Afterwards, we walked around for a bit and explored the city. We came around some ancient castles/fortresses and one had a staircase that led to a path the circled the fortress above the ground. So pretty much we were able to walk around this pathway and look down on the houses and roofs and get a pretty awesome view of the city. It was really cool and I took some pictures.
We returned back around 5:30 PM to catch the bus home and met up with the rest of the group. Most of us slept or listened to music on the ride home since the sun really tires you out. After I got back, I hung out with my padres for a little bit and then ate dinner and watched the fútbol game. My friends and I were pretty tired so we decided to rest up and save our energy to go to the discoteca the following evening since it would be our last Saturday night in Palma.
Sat. June 26th
I got to sleep in until 11:30 AM today and it was pretty awesome. I definitely needed to catch up on sleep after my mini finals week. I had made plans with my family to go to Toni’s mother’s house because she has a swimming pool. Sira, the granddaughter, slept over our house the night before so I played with her for a while before it was time to go.
Toni’s mother wasn’t there so it was just the regular crew: Loli, Jaime, and Paca; Eva, Toni, and Sira; Mame, Virginia, Jaime, and Miguel; and me. This would be the first time I was in a pool all summer and I was excited to experience chlorine water after all of the salt water in the Mediterranean Sea. The pool water was pretty cold, but all of the grandkids were fearless. We all swam around together, they would jump and their moms would catch them, and we tossed around a ball too. After about an hour of swimming, everyone got out and dried off and got ready for lunch. I had chicken, tortilla de patata (a round cake-like object that tastes like eggs and potatoes that I actually really like), and eggplant meat (which I first had shortly after I came here). It was all very yummy.
I sunbathed by the pool for a bit and then the grandkids wanted to go in again. This time I got to be one of the “catchers” and Jaime would jump into the water with a big splash and then latch onto my arms. The kids had a lot of fun and I did too. After we toweled off again, Jaime presented me with a piece of paper that had a drawing on it. On the top was his complete name (he has 4 last names). The drawing was of a sun and a swimming pool and in the pool he had drawn little people and had labeled them Lauren, Sira, Eva, Toni, Mama, Papa, Jaime, Miguel, y Abuela. It was the cutest thing ever! I asked if I could take a picture of it and then he told me that I could keep it. I gave him a big hug and thanked him for this awesome present.
We returned back home and I showered and then went on my computer for a little while. After dinner, I had made plans with my friends to meet up that night. We first went to the place where there are beer taps on every table and you can serve yourself beer. We also had the biggest group ever going out that night: there were 13 of us from the Arcadia program and then there were also 2 friends that were visiting so all together there were 15! Afterwards, we watched down along the port to get to our favorite disco: Abraxas. We definitely made the most of our last Saturday night together and danced the night away! We returned very late/early in the morning and I shortly went to bed after I got home.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
June 23-24 – 3 Final Exams, Organic Farm, and San Juan Festival
Wed. June 23rd
Today we had our oral exam presentation in Literature class. Ashley and I presented our 2 poems first and our presentation lasted about 45 minutes. Our professor said we did a good job so hopefully that will equate to a good grade. We had made plans the day before to be picked up in front of my house by Alice, who was going to take us to her organic farm. She’s not the owner of the farm but she owns a section of the land. We also went with her 2 daughters, Carmen and María.
We got to see all of the organic products in the Farm Shop, look at Alice’s crops, and watch her 2 daughters cut some lettuce and tomatoes to take back home. I also experienced a milestone event: I ate my first real fruit/vegetable. Alice offered us some of the baby tomatoes and when I told her I had never had one before, she and Ashley peer pressured me into eating it. It wasn’t that bad, but I definitely prefer ketchup and tomato sauce. :) We had a picnic lunch that Alice had made. She made a sandwich that had an omelet with tomatoes inside. It was definitely a new food to me. Afterward we played the game Mancala. María showed me her way of playing the game and I showed her mine. Afterwards, I got the opportunity to relive my childhood. There were 2 playgrounds on the farm. One was a tree house and the other one had a seesaw, tire swings, and regular swings. It was a lot of fun!
Our Spanish language class was at 5 PM that day instead of 4:30 and Alice dropped us off directly at the University since it was about 4:55 PM by the time we got back. She also gave us vegetables from her farm to give to our host parents. It was definitely a long day because I never had the opportunity to return to my house during my normal break. After I ate dinner, I had to decide whether I should stay in and study for my Lit final exam the next day, or go out because it was the Festival of San Juan, which is a huge giant party on the beach and in front of the Cathedral. I decided to go check it out since my class is only a pass/fail class and I didn’t want to miss out on this cultural experience!
Ashley and I headed down to the Cathedral around 11 PM and the party was already in full swing! There was fire everywhere: bonfires, people twirling fire on sticks, fire crackers, fireworks, and flame throwers. You’ll have to see my pictures on Facebook in order to see the visual proof of what I’m talking about. I took 2 videos and I’m going to attempt to upload them on Facebook too. I also had the interesting experience of being chased by demon men holding fire. They would literally run into the crowd with fire in their hands and chase the people. All I can say is the Spaniards sure know how to throw a good party! We also saw the opening songs of the Mallorquin rock band that played around midnight.
As I was walking home, I saw a woman that had the same color bag and capris pants as my madre Loli was wearing. She decided to go check out the parties on the beach and was then going to come home. I called out “Loli?” and the woman turned around and it was her! We started screaming, hugging, and laughing about what a funny “Casualidad” it was to meet up randomly on the street. I was extremely happy because now I didn’t have to walk all the way home alone because there were a lot of creeps and weirdos out that night, and everyone had been drinking at the party. I got back home around 1 AM, continued studying for my Lit final exam for a few hours, and then finally went to bed.
Thurs. June 24th
Today was the day of the written final exam in my Literature class. I had studied all of the different periods, knew the characteristics and authors, and thought I was pretty well prepared. And then I looked at the test. There were only 4 questions and it was out of 10 points (because that’s how the Spanish grading scale works). So the first question was worth 2.5, the second one was 3.5, the third question was 2.5, and the final question was 1.5. I knew a majority of the answers but got tripped up on the last one because the wording was very unclear. I had no clue so I made up my own answers…and they were wrong. After the test my professor said, “Don’t worry! It’s over and done with!” but I was still concerned about it.
In order to revive our spirits, Ashley and I went to the café near the school and got some yummy chocolate pastries, because chocolate makes everything better. :) I then went back home and had a glorious 2 hour nap. I very much needed that siesta! Then I had lunch, watched a TV show on my laptop, and began uploading pictures from my camera to my computer from the previous week. And soon it was time for Spanish language class.
Today in our language class, we had our oral final exam. We were shown a piece of paper with pictures on it and needed to answer the questions that appeared on the page. My randomly selected sheet happened to be about food and trying new foods. So I pretty much used my entire Mallorcan experience and, with the help of my blog, was able to say all of the Spanish names of the foods I have tried so far here. I explained to my professor that most of the foods that were new to met were “normal” foods to the rest of the world. I also had to answer the question of “What do you think of people who eat whale, dolphins, kangaroos, and dogs?” Gut reaction/personal opinion? “Eww, gross! People eat dolphins?” How I answered the question in Spanish? “I think it depends on a person’s cultural background which determines what they eat. What is strange in one culture might be quite normal in another.” And my final question was “Do you believe it’s better to be a vegetarian?” I answered that personally, I wouldn’t survive as a vegetarian because I don’t eat vegetables and I looove meat. But yes, it’s probably more healthy and you aren’t consuming as many dangerous chemicals and aren’t at risk of getting Mad Cow Disease, haha.
After we were done our oral exam, we were allowed to leave so I got home an hour earlier than I normally do. The rest of the evening I got caught up on my blog entries, uploaded 213 pictures to Facebook (check them out!), and hung out with my padres. It was a very relaxing evening at the end of an insanely, hectic week.
Today also marks the beginning of my final week in Mallorca / 1 week until I’m back home in the U.S.A. I still have mixed feelings about leaving. Some of my friends on the program wish they were already home while others are staying on for a little longer or wish they could permanently relocate here. I’m definitely going to miss this place and the excitement of my daily life here but when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll be insanely happy when reunited with my friends and family.
Hasta luego, loyal readers!
Today we had our oral exam presentation in Literature class. Ashley and I presented our 2 poems first and our presentation lasted about 45 minutes. Our professor said we did a good job so hopefully that will equate to a good grade. We had made plans the day before to be picked up in front of my house by Alice, who was going to take us to her organic farm. She’s not the owner of the farm but she owns a section of the land. We also went with her 2 daughters, Carmen and María.
We got to see all of the organic products in the Farm Shop, look at Alice’s crops, and watch her 2 daughters cut some lettuce and tomatoes to take back home. I also experienced a milestone event: I ate my first real fruit/vegetable. Alice offered us some of the baby tomatoes and when I told her I had never had one before, she and Ashley peer pressured me into eating it. It wasn’t that bad, but I definitely prefer ketchup and tomato sauce. :) We had a picnic lunch that Alice had made. She made a sandwich that had an omelet with tomatoes inside. It was definitely a new food to me. Afterward we played the game Mancala. María showed me her way of playing the game and I showed her mine. Afterwards, I got the opportunity to relive my childhood. There were 2 playgrounds on the farm. One was a tree house and the other one had a seesaw, tire swings, and regular swings. It was a lot of fun!
Our Spanish language class was at 5 PM that day instead of 4:30 and Alice dropped us off directly at the University since it was about 4:55 PM by the time we got back. She also gave us vegetables from her farm to give to our host parents. It was definitely a long day because I never had the opportunity to return to my house during my normal break. After I ate dinner, I had to decide whether I should stay in and study for my Lit final exam the next day, or go out because it was the Festival of San Juan, which is a huge giant party on the beach and in front of the Cathedral. I decided to go check it out since my class is only a pass/fail class and I didn’t want to miss out on this cultural experience!
Ashley and I headed down to the Cathedral around 11 PM and the party was already in full swing! There was fire everywhere: bonfires, people twirling fire on sticks, fire crackers, fireworks, and flame throwers. You’ll have to see my pictures on Facebook in order to see the visual proof of what I’m talking about. I took 2 videos and I’m going to attempt to upload them on Facebook too. I also had the interesting experience of being chased by demon men holding fire. They would literally run into the crowd with fire in their hands and chase the people. All I can say is the Spaniards sure know how to throw a good party! We also saw the opening songs of the Mallorquin rock band that played around midnight.
As I was walking home, I saw a woman that had the same color bag and capris pants as my madre Loli was wearing. She decided to go check out the parties on the beach and was then going to come home. I called out “Loli?” and the woman turned around and it was her! We started screaming, hugging, and laughing about what a funny “Casualidad” it was to meet up randomly on the street. I was extremely happy because now I didn’t have to walk all the way home alone because there were a lot of creeps and weirdos out that night, and everyone had been drinking at the party. I got back home around 1 AM, continued studying for my Lit final exam for a few hours, and then finally went to bed.
Thurs. June 24th
Today was the day of the written final exam in my Literature class. I had studied all of the different periods, knew the characteristics and authors, and thought I was pretty well prepared. And then I looked at the test. There were only 4 questions and it was out of 10 points (because that’s how the Spanish grading scale works). So the first question was worth 2.5, the second one was 3.5, the third question was 2.5, and the final question was 1.5. I knew a majority of the answers but got tripped up on the last one because the wording was very unclear. I had no clue so I made up my own answers…and they were wrong. After the test my professor said, “Don’t worry! It’s over and done with!” but I was still concerned about it.
In order to revive our spirits, Ashley and I went to the café near the school and got some yummy chocolate pastries, because chocolate makes everything better. :) I then went back home and had a glorious 2 hour nap. I very much needed that siesta! Then I had lunch, watched a TV show on my laptop, and began uploading pictures from my camera to my computer from the previous week. And soon it was time for Spanish language class.
Today in our language class, we had our oral final exam. We were shown a piece of paper with pictures on it and needed to answer the questions that appeared on the page. My randomly selected sheet happened to be about food and trying new foods. So I pretty much used my entire Mallorcan experience and, with the help of my blog, was able to say all of the Spanish names of the foods I have tried so far here. I explained to my professor that most of the foods that were new to met were “normal” foods to the rest of the world. I also had to answer the question of “What do you think of people who eat whale, dolphins, kangaroos, and dogs?” Gut reaction/personal opinion? “Eww, gross! People eat dolphins?” How I answered the question in Spanish? “I think it depends on a person’s cultural background which determines what they eat. What is strange in one culture might be quite normal in another.” And my final question was “Do you believe it’s better to be a vegetarian?” I answered that personally, I wouldn’t survive as a vegetarian because I don’t eat vegetables and I looove meat. But yes, it’s probably more healthy and you aren’t consuming as many dangerous chemicals and aren’t at risk of getting Mad Cow Disease, haha.
After we were done our oral exam, we were allowed to leave so I got home an hour earlier than I normally do. The rest of the evening I got caught up on my blog entries, uploaded 213 pictures to Facebook (check them out!), and hung out with my padres. It was a very relaxing evening at the end of an insanely, hectic week.
Today also marks the beginning of my final week in Mallorca / 1 week until I’m back home in the U.S.A. I still have mixed feelings about leaving. Some of my friends on the program wish they were already home while others are staying on for a little longer or wish they could permanently relocate here. I’m definitely going to miss this place and the excitement of my daily life here but when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll be insanely happy when reunited with my friends and family.
Hasta luego, loyal readers!
June 21-22 – Women Museum & Package from PA
I’d first like to apologize for the delay of this blog entry. I’ve had 2 oral exams and a final exam over the past 2 days, and haven’t had any spare time to type up my entries for the past few days. But now you can read all about them!
Mon. June 21st
Today in my Literature class, my professor told us that since the other U.S. program from Loyola University concluded last week, she doesn’t have to teach a class right after ours. So she asked us if we would like to change our class time from 8:45 – 10:45 AM to 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. The answer was a resounding YES! Even though this is the last week of class and we only had 3 more classes at this point, I knew that I would definitely appreciate getting an extra hour of sleep each night.
After class, my friend Ashley and I wandered around the city. We went back to this cool underground mall place that we’ve been to once before and I went souvenir shopping for myself and my family. I bought some pretty cool things and I’m excited to give my family their gifts after I return. :) After we were done shopping, we went to this really cool museum that had an exhibit called “Women: Mirror of Cultures.” It was a museum dedicated solely to women that had artifacts and art work from 7 different cultures around the world. There was information about each of the universal themes share by women all around the world (ex. family, society, divinity) and I was able to comprehend all of the signs that were in Spanish. It was a really cool exhibit, but we weren’t allowed to take any pictures of it. So I only took mental pictures. ;)
For lunch that day, Loli made me my very first hot dog in Spain. It was really yummy! When I returned from my Spanish language class, I noticed a piece of paper on top of the mailboxes in the lobby and it said that Loli had received a package. I knew that it was the package my mom had sent Loli’s grandchildren, but I kept it a secret and didn’t say anything. Loli said she’d have to go to the post office the following day to pick it up and she had no idea who it was from.
After our Spanish language class, all 15 people in our program went over our friend Kaitlyn’s house for Taco Night! Kaitlyn went to the store and bought all the necessary things in order to have a taco buffet. It was really fun! Afterwards, all 15 of us went to the plaza behind my house to watch the fútbol game because España was playing. Spain won 2-0 and everyone was going crazy after the win. It was definitely worth it to experience the excitement of watching Spaniards watch fútbol.
That night was Fany’s last night with us. Her flight back home was at 7 AM the next morning and she had to wake up at 5:30 AM. We hung out and talked for a while and had fun. I’m really glad that I got to meet her and that it worked out that she was here in Palma for one of the four weeks that I’m here. And I also have her to thank for introducing me to the song “Pam Pam Americano”!
Tues. June 22nd
Today was our last normal Literature class before finals begin. Our professor went into more detail today about what our oral exam presentation had to include. We were paired up into 2 pairs (since there’s only 4 kids in my class), and were assigned 2 poems to read. We had to research the biography of the author, a bibliography of the author’s works, the literary characteristics, our interpretation of the poem, and the elements that both poems have in common. And oh yeah: this oral presentation was to last between 30 minutes to 1 hour! I actually really liked the poem I was assigned and was also a fan that it was rather short.
During our break between classes, I brought my lap top over to Ashley’s house so we could work on our oral exam project together. She introduced me to Google Documents which is really the coolest thing ever! It allows you to open a new Word Document, PowerPoint, Excel spreadsheet, etc. and then you can share that link with another person. Then both you and the other person can edit, make changes, and work on the document directly online and see the other person’s changes as you work. We decided to make a PowerPoint presentation. We worked on the elements in common and decided to do the rest of the project by ourselves later that night since it was due tomorrow. We went out to a café and shared a pasta dish for lunch, and then I returned back home.
When I got home, I casually asked Loli if she had gone to retrieve the package. She said that it wasn’t there when she sent and she’d have to wait another two days. Then, I went to my Spanish language class. I asked my professor (for the 2nd time), if she had corrected and emailed me back an essay that I had written over a week and a half ago and she answered “No…I wasn’t able to open it because I have a Mac computer. Can you send it to me again?” I told her I’d save it as a different file format but realized that if I hadn’t bugged her again about returning it to me, I probably never would have known that she wasn’t able to open it and would have received a 0 on it. You just got to love when teachers are like that.
I returned home from school and when I walked in the door; Loli turned to me and said, “You know something, don’t you?” I assured her that I didn’t know what she was talking about, and she led me into the kitchen and showed me a huge package sitting on the table. She said, “I checked the address and it’s your address so it must be from your parents!” I told her that it was and that I had kept this secret/surprise from her. Fortunately for us, Sira happened to be over the house that day and was there when we opened the package.
Loli cut the package open and she and Sira started to remove all of the presents. I ran to get my camera to take pictures because Sira’s face lit up like it was Christmas! My mom had sent her 6 Disney princesses books in English so that she can learn the language better and it came with a CD that reads the stories to you. There was also 2 Disney Classic Storybooks (1 for Sira and 1 for Jaime and Miguel). There was another Disney princess book that came with a little music player that plays songs without lyrics and you can listen to it without headphones. There were 2 racecars for the grandsons and a book from the Pixar movie Cars that came with crayons and paint to paint-by-number. There were some really cool necklaces from my brother’s Bar Mitzvah that have flashing lights and a cool reflective surface. But the gift Sira was most obsessed with was a rainbow Slinky. I showed her how to hold it and how you can make it go from side to side. I also taught her how to put it over her arm like a bracelet and then we went into the hallway to make it go down the stairs. The stairs were too far apart so Loli got out a step ladder and we made the Slinky go down the 4 steps on the back patio outside. Sira’s face was awesome and she totally loved it! Then Jaime came home and Loli showed him all of the goodies that had arrived all the way from “Pennsilvania”!
My mom had also written a note to Jaime and Loli in Spanish (with a little bit of help from me) that thanked them for their hospitality and for being awesome host parents. Loli told me to tell my parents Thank You x a million for all of the presents for their grandkids!
After dinner, it was time to get working on my oral exam PowerPoint. I had a really hard time getting the Wi-Fi to work and was getting nervous that I wouldn’t be able to connect to the Internet. Thankfully I finally got on and was able to finish up everything. I stayed up pretty late and would have to wake up early the next morning to handwrite my notes that I would say during the presentation.
Ok now you’re all caught up! Next blog entry will be posted later today. :)
Mon. June 21st
Today in my Literature class, my professor told us that since the other U.S. program from Loyola University concluded last week, she doesn’t have to teach a class right after ours. So she asked us if we would like to change our class time from 8:45 – 10:45 AM to 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. The answer was a resounding YES! Even though this is the last week of class and we only had 3 more classes at this point, I knew that I would definitely appreciate getting an extra hour of sleep each night.
After class, my friend Ashley and I wandered around the city. We went back to this cool underground mall place that we’ve been to once before and I went souvenir shopping for myself and my family. I bought some pretty cool things and I’m excited to give my family their gifts after I return. :) After we were done shopping, we went to this really cool museum that had an exhibit called “Women: Mirror of Cultures.” It was a museum dedicated solely to women that had artifacts and art work from 7 different cultures around the world. There was information about each of the universal themes share by women all around the world (ex. family, society, divinity) and I was able to comprehend all of the signs that were in Spanish. It was a really cool exhibit, but we weren’t allowed to take any pictures of it. So I only took mental pictures. ;)
For lunch that day, Loli made me my very first hot dog in Spain. It was really yummy! When I returned from my Spanish language class, I noticed a piece of paper on top of the mailboxes in the lobby and it said that Loli had received a package. I knew that it was the package my mom had sent Loli’s grandchildren, but I kept it a secret and didn’t say anything. Loli said she’d have to go to the post office the following day to pick it up and she had no idea who it was from.
After our Spanish language class, all 15 people in our program went over our friend Kaitlyn’s house for Taco Night! Kaitlyn went to the store and bought all the necessary things in order to have a taco buffet. It was really fun! Afterwards, all 15 of us went to the plaza behind my house to watch the fútbol game because España was playing. Spain won 2-0 and everyone was going crazy after the win. It was definitely worth it to experience the excitement of watching Spaniards watch fútbol.
That night was Fany’s last night with us. Her flight back home was at 7 AM the next morning and she had to wake up at 5:30 AM. We hung out and talked for a while and had fun. I’m really glad that I got to meet her and that it worked out that she was here in Palma for one of the four weeks that I’m here. And I also have her to thank for introducing me to the song “Pam Pam Americano”!
Tues. June 22nd
Today was our last normal Literature class before finals begin. Our professor went into more detail today about what our oral exam presentation had to include. We were paired up into 2 pairs (since there’s only 4 kids in my class), and were assigned 2 poems to read. We had to research the biography of the author, a bibliography of the author’s works, the literary characteristics, our interpretation of the poem, and the elements that both poems have in common. And oh yeah: this oral presentation was to last between 30 minutes to 1 hour! I actually really liked the poem I was assigned and was also a fan that it was rather short.
During our break between classes, I brought my lap top over to Ashley’s house so we could work on our oral exam project together. She introduced me to Google Documents which is really the coolest thing ever! It allows you to open a new Word Document, PowerPoint, Excel spreadsheet, etc. and then you can share that link with another person. Then both you and the other person can edit, make changes, and work on the document directly online and see the other person’s changes as you work. We decided to make a PowerPoint presentation. We worked on the elements in common and decided to do the rest of the project by ourselves later that night since it was due tomorrow. We went out to a café and shared a pasta dish for lunch, and then I returned back home.
When I got home, I casually asked Loli if she had gone to retrieve the package. She said that it wasn’t there when she sent and she’d have to wait another two days. Then, I went to my Spanish language class. I asked my professor (for the 2nd time), if she had corrected and emailed me back an essay that I had written over a week and a half ago and she answered “No…I wasn’t able to open it because I have a Mac computer. Can you send it to me again?” I told her I’d save it as a different file format but realized that if I hadn’t bugged her again about returning it to me, I probably never would have known that she wasn’t able to open it and would have received a 0 on it. You just got to love when teachers are like that.
I returned home from school and when I walked in the door; Loli turned to me and said, “You know something, don’t you?” I assured her that I didn’t know what she was talking about, and she led me into the kitchen and showed me a huge package sitting on the table. She said, “I checked the address and it’s your address so it must be from your parents!” I told her that it was and that I had kept this secret/surprise from her. Fortunately for us, Sira happened to be over the house that day and was there when we opened the package.
Loli cut the package open and she and Sira started to remove all of the presents. I ran to get my camera to take pictures because Sira’s face lit up like it was Christmas! My mom had sent her 6 Disney princesses books in English so that she can learn the language better and it came with a CD that reads the stories to you. There was also 2 Disney Classic Storybooks (1 for Sira and 1 for Jaime and Miguel). There was another Disney princess book that came with a little music player that plays songs without lyrics and you can listen to it without headphones. There were 2 racecars for the grandsons and a book from the Pixar movie Cars that came with crayons and paint to paint-by-number. There were some really cool necklaces from my brother’s Bar Mitzvah that have flashing lights and a cool reflective surface. But the gift Sira was most obsessed with was a rainbow Slinky. I showed her how to hold it and how you can make it go from side to side. I also taught her how to put it over her arm like a bracelet and then we went into the hallway to make it go down the stairs. The stairs were too far apart so Loli got out a step ladder and we made the Slinky go down the 4 steps on the back patio outside. Sira’s face was awesome and she totally loved it! Then Jaime came home and Loli showed him all of the goodies that had arrived all the way from “Pennsilvania”!
My mom had also written a note to Jaime and Loli in Spanish (with a little bit of help from me) that thanked them for their hospitality and for being awesome host parents. Loli told me to tell my parents Thank You x a million for all of the presents for their grandkids!
After dinner, it was time to get working on my oral exam PowerPoint. I had a really hard time getting the Wi-Fi to work and was getting nervous that I wouldn’t be able to connect to the Internet. Thankfully I finally got on and was able to finish up everything. I stayed up pretty late and would have to wake up early the next morning to handwrite my notes that I would say during the presentation.
Ok now you’re all caught up! Next blog entry will be posted later today. :)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
June 19-20 – Cuevas del Drach & Paella with the Family
Sat. June 19th
Today, our group organized our own excursion to the Cuevas del Drach in Portocristo. We took a coach bus at 11:10 AM from Palma to Portocristo and it was about an hour and a half bus ride. We got there a little bit before 1 PM, but had to wait to go on the next tour at 2 PM. We explored around a little bit and walked along a trail that lead us to the sea. The sky was really cloudy and it looked like it was going to storm any minute. Luckily it didn’t rain but we heard a ton of thunder.
At 2 PM, we lined up to enter the caves (“cuevas” = caves by the way). There was a long ramp going through the caves and we got to see all the stalagmites and everything. When we bought our tickets, we noticed that there was a little picture of a camera with an X through it, but we weren’t sure how severely they were going to enforce not taking pictures. Turns out there were guards stationed every few feet and when they saw us with our cameras out they quickly said “No cameras por favor….No cameras please!” I only got about 3 decent pictures and then stopped but other group members were able to be pretty sneaky and snapped a few more. They promised to put them on Facebook and share with the rest of us.
After walking a little further, we found an area that had bleachers to sit on. We were told to take a seat and this is where the concert was going to be. We also learned some background/history of the caves. Las Cuevas del Drach extend for almost 2,400 m (7,900 ft) and includes internal heights of 25 m (82 ft) above the cave floor. The caves were discovered in 1896. There are also a series of lights placed inside the cave and this was carefully designed by an engineer to further enhance the beauty of the caves.
The concert was really cool: they turned off all the lights where we were sitting and then a boat with little fairy lights on the sides began to slowly glide over the lake in the middle of the caves. There were 3 boats and each boat had a rower. There was a small orchestra sitting on the boat playing classical music. It was quite an experience! After the concert, we were told that we could board a boat in order to get back to the exit of the cave. We managed to fit all 12 of our Arcadian group members on a single boat. We thought the boat ride was going to be much longer than it was, so that was a small disappointment. After exiting the caves, we quickly realized that the reason why you aren’t allowed to take pictures has nothing to do with the fragility of the cave; they simply want you to buy giant souvenir pictures and DVD videos. Ah well, I guess mental pictures will have to suffice.
After we left the caves, we walked down to the center of Portocristo where there was a beach. Two other girls and I opted to go to the beach while the rest of the group decided to explore some of the city. (My feet were still sore from the previous day of hiking 4 hours in flip flops so I was very content to sit on the beach and relax). We got some Burger King for lunch and ate it on the beach. An hour later, we met up with the rest of our group and took a bus home. Most of us were pretty exhausted and fell asleep on the way back.
Later that night, my friends and I went out to see our program director, Jaume, and his band play at a Jazz Club. It was pretty cool seeing him up on stage and he gave the “Arcadia Kids” a shout out. Afterwards, I went to a discotecca with my friends and we danced the night away! This place placed a lot of American music (Black Eyed Peas, Kei$ha, etc.) which was pretty cool since we all knew the lyrics. We had a lot of fun.
Sun. June 20th
I got the opportunity to sleep in today and slept till 11:30 AM, which was good because the last 2 days of excursions really tired me out. The family was originally planning on going to the beach for a few hours, but it was rainy and cold in the morning. I hung out around the house with my padres and Fany.
At 1:30 PM, the entire family came over for lunch. There were 12 of us in total: Loli, Jaime, Paca, me, Fany, Eva, Toni, Sira, Mame, Virginia, Jaime, and Miguel. It was definitely a full house! Loli prepared “paella” for lunch, which is a very popular Spanish dish. The paella included yellow rice, chicken, and gamba (shrimp). I opted not to have shrimp in mine which was okay because the grandkids devoured the extra shrimp. :) I actually really liked it. For dessert, we had ice cream and cake. After lunch, I got to play with the grandkids for a little while. We did puzzles, played with marbles, and played with other toys. It was really nice having the whole family together over at Loli and Jaime (and my) house.
The rest of the day I did some homework, surfed the web, and was able to start watching a new TV show online. Loli came into my room around 7:30 PM and asked me if I wanted to go to her church with her to check it out. I said, “Sure, that sounds like fun!” I wasn’t positive if I was just getting a tour of the church or actually going to services, but it turns out that we purposefully went at 8 PM right after a service had let out. Loli showed me around and explained some of the religious symbols. I asked her if they eat bread and drink wine symbolizing Jesus’ body and blood and she told me that they do. We walked up to the altar and I got to see a Virgin Mary statue and the other religious artwork and paintings. It was a pretty cool experience to see the inside of a typical Catholic church.
After dinner, Loli pulled out 3 photo albums from each of her 3 kids’ first communion. She explained that the first communion happens when you’re about 8 or 9 years old. (And I taught her about the bar/bat mitzvah service that happens in the Jewish religion at age 12 or 13). It was really fun looking at old pictures and seeing how similar her children look then and now. The other cool thing was being able to see some of the same features of the grandkids in their parents’ faces. Fany came in while we were looking at her first communion photo album and we shared the pictures with her.
_____________________________________________________
I can’t believe that I’ve already been here for 3 weeks! This month literally just flew by, which everyone promised us in the beginning it would. This upcoming week is my last full week in Mallorca and my last full week of classes. I know I’m going to be really sad when I leave because I’m leaving behind this gorgeous place and the amazing host family that has welcomed me with open arms into their home and lives. I’m so, so lucky to have been paired with Loli and Jaime’s family. Nevertheless, I’m really excited to see my boyfriend, friends, and family back home, who I’ve really missed over the past 3 weeks. I’m definitely going to make the most of my remaining 10 days here in my island paradise! ¡Adios!
Today, our group organized our own excursion to the Cuevas del Drach in Portocristo. We took a coach bus at 11:10 AM from Palma to Portocristo and it was about an hour and a half bus ride. We got there a little bit before 1 PM, but had to wait to go on the next tour at 2 PM. We explored around a little bit and walked along a trail that lead us to the sea. The sky was really cloudy and it looked like it was going to storm any minute. Luckily it didn’t rain but we heard a ton of thunder.
At 2 PM, we lined up to enter the caves (“cuevas” = caves by the way). There was a long ramp going through the caves and we got to see all the stalagmites and everything. When we bought our tickets, we noticed that there was a little picture of a camera with an X through it, but we weren’t sure how severely they were going to enforce not taking pictures. Turns out there were guards stationed every few feet and when they saw us with our cameras out they quickly said “No cameras por favor….No cameras please!” I only got about 3 decent pictures and then stopped but other group members were able to be pretty sneaky and snapped a few more. They promised to put them on Facebook and share with the rest of us.
After walking a little further, we found an area that had bleachers to sit on. We were told to take a seat and this is where the concert was going to be. We also learned some background/history of the caves. Las Cuevas del Drach extend for almost 2,400 m (7,900 ft) and includes internal heights of 25 m (82 ft) above the cave floor. The caves were discovered in 1896. There are also a series of lights placed inside the cave and this was carefully designed by an engineer to further enhance the beauty of the caves.
The concert was really cool: they turned off all the lights where we were sitting and then a boat with little fairy lights on the sides began to slowly glide over the lake in the middle of the caves. There were 3 boats and each boat had a rower. There was a small orchestra sitting on the boat playing classical music. It was quite an experience! After the concert, we were told that we could board a boat in order to get back to the exit of the cave. We managed to fit all 12 of our Arcadian group members on a single boat. We thought the boat ride was going to be much longer than it was, so that was a small disappointment. After exiting the caves, we quickly realized that the reason why you aren’t allowed to take pictures has nothing to do with the fragility of the cave; they simply want you to buy giant souvenir pictures and DVD videos. Ah well, I guess mental pictures will have to suffice.
After we left the caves, we walked down to the center of Portocristo where there was a beach. Two other girls and I opted to go to the beach while the rest of the group decided to explore some of the city. (My feet were still sore from the previous day of hiking 4 hours in flip flops so I was very content to sit on the beach and relax). We got some Burger King for lunch and ate it on the beach. An hour later, we met up with the rest of our group and took a bus home. Most of us were pretty exhausted and fell asleep on the way back.
Later that night, my friends and I went out to see our program director, Jaume, and his band play at a Jazz Club. It was pretty cool seeing him up on stage and he gave the “Arcadia Kids” a shout out. Afterwards, I went to a discotecca with my friends and we danced the night away! This place placed a lot of American music (Black Eyed Peas, Kei$ha, etc.) which was pretty cool since we all knew the lyrics. We had a lot of fun.
Sun. June 20th
I got the opportunity to sleep in today and slept till 11:30 AM, which was good because the last 2 days of excursions really tired me out. The family was originally planning on going to the beach for a few hours, but it was rainy and cold in the morning. I hung out around the house with my padres and Fany.
At 1:30 PM, the entire family came over for lunch. There were 12 of us in total: Loli, Jaime, Paca, me, Fany, Eva, Toni, Sira, Mame, Virginia, Jaime, and Miguel. It was definitely a full house! Loli prepared “paella” for lunch, which is a very popular Spanish dish. The paella included yellow rice, chicken, and gamba (shrimp). I opted not to have shrimp in mine which was okay because the grandkids devoured the extra shrimp. :) I actually really liked it. For dessert, we had ice cream and cake. After lunch, I got to play with the grandkids for a little while. We did puzzles, played with marbles, and played with other toys. It was really nice having the whole family together over at Loli and Jaime (and my) house.
The rest of the day I did some homework, surfed the web, and was able to start watching a new TV show online. Loli came into my room around 7:30 PM and asked me if I wanted to go to her church with her to check it out. I said, “Sure, that sounds like fun!” I wasn’t positive if I was just getting a tour of the church or actually going to services, but it turns out that we purposefully went at 8 PM right after a service had let out. Loli showed me around and explained some of the religious symbols. I asked her if they eat bread and drink wine symbolizing Jesus’ body and blood and she told me that they do. We walked up to the altar and I got to see a Virgin Mary statue and the other religious artwork and paintings. It was a pretty cool experience to see the inside of a typical Catholic church.
After dinner, Loli pulled out 3 photo albums from each of her 3 kids’ first communion. She explained that the first communion happens when you’re about 8 or 9 years old. (And I taught her about the bar/bat mitzvah service that happens in the Jewish religion at age 12 or 13). It was really fun looking at old pictures and seeing how similar her children look then and now. The other cool thing was being able to see some of the same features of the grandkids in their parents’ faces. Fany came in while we were looking at her first communion photo album and we shared the pictures with her.
_____________________________________________________
I can’t believe that I’ve already been here for 3 weeks! This month literally just flew by, which everyone promised us in the beginning it would. This upcoming week is my last full week in Mallorca and my last full week of classes. I know I’m going to be really sad when I leave because I’m leaving behind this gorgeous place and the amazing host family that has welcomed me with open arms into their home and lives. I’m so, so lucky to have been paired with Loli and Jaime’s family. Nevertheless, I’m really excited to see my boyfriend, friends, and family back home, who I’ve really missed over the past 3 weeks. I’m definitely going to make the most of my remaining 10 days here in my island paradise! ¡Adios!
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