Field Trip To Madrid And Segovia

Despite my terrible struggle-fest in the Coruña airport, my “field trip” to Madrid and Segovia was great!  Spending time with family (Granmami, Paloma, Cris and Tia Cece) was not only a lot of fun, but much needed since I’ve been in a minor homesick slump.  

On Tuesday evening, I was welcomed with open arms and quickly settled into Paloma and Cris’ piso which is located a little outside of Madrid’s center, or downtown area.  After I got situated, we headed to a typical Madrid restaurant and feasted on ham, cheese, shrimp, bread, potatoes, fried eggs and a jar of sangria; I think it’s safe to say we ate enough on Tuesday night to cover the rest of the week, but that really didn’t stop us from enjoying food on this trip!  

Wednesday afternoon, Granmami, Tia Cece and myself took a three hour city tour bus that circled all around Madrid.  The double-decker red bus was certainly a great way to get to know the city because not only did we zoom past beautiful sites, but we also had automated audio-guides to explain important historical facts.  However, I had the best seat in the house since Granmami was siting next to me.  My grandmother spent her later youth in Madrid, so its home to her university, the church where she got married, her first apartments with my grandfather, and the hospital where my mom was born.  Wednesday afternoon was probably my favorite part of my visit to Madrid since Granmami had the opportunity to point out some important locations in our family’s history; the really cool piece is that she explained everything to me in Spanish, which truly maintained the authenticity of the conversation.

After revisiting these sites on Thursday afternoon, we decided to spend Friday in El Prado, Madrid’s fine art museum.  We spent five hours in the museum and I absolutely loved every single second of it.  After taking an Art History class at Holy Cross, I’ve become weirdly obsessed with museums and I love analyzing works of art.  From the beginning of our visit, we established a challenge to see how much my Spanish improved, a challenge that turned out to be quite difficult and really amusing at the same time.  I was the only one to order an audio-guide, in English, so my responsibility was to translate everything back into Spanish to explain it to the others.  Suffice to say, it was sort of a failure since I’m not an expert on art vocabulary, but it was still fun to try.    

On Saturday afternoon, Paloma and Cris were kind enough to take us to Segovia to visit the city’s Ancient Aqueduct.  The aqueduct was truly awe-inspiring (pictures below), not to mention sitting down for lunch right under it; life’s not too shabby here in Spain.

All in all, the trip was very enjoyable and we shared many laughs.  Just like any ordinary family reunion, there were countless fights to pay the food bill (don’t worry Dad and Mom, I offered too, but from your part!).  Although it was tough to say goodbye to everyone at the airport, I was really excited to get back to beloved Coruña!

Granmami and I on the city bus tour!

The Palace Hotel.

Distant relative of Más o Menos?

My second Spanish friend...

Real Madrid's Home Stadium!

Segovia's Ancient Aqueduct.

Cris, Paloma, Tia CeCe and Granmami.

Struggles In The Coruña Airport

This story is waay to good not to post, and good thing for you (bad thing for me) it’s technically not over, so I'll be sure to let you know how it ends.  So as I mentioned in my previous entry, I scheduled a flight to Madrid to meet up with my grandmother and cousin.  I was supposed to leave this morning, however in a slight change of plans, I’m leaving later on today.  Here’s a basic breakdown of how well my morning went.

9:10- arrive at Plaza Ourense to hop on the “aeropuerto” bus

9:22- board the bus, 7 minutes after it was supposed to arrive... meanwhile, I contemplated taking a taxi to the airport since I saw another “aeropuerto” bus zoom right past me, but that one didn’t have any passengers so it probably wasn’t stopping anyways

9:35- excited to be en route to the airport, thinking that I’d have plenty of time to check-in, go through security, and board the plane... uhh yeah, about that

9:45- arrive at the airport, only to discover that my flight was “cancelado” via the departures sign

10:00- after waiting in line for 15 minutes to hop on another flight, I realized that I was in the business class priority line, whoops

10:15- still waiting in a new line, but of course I picked the one that was moving the slowest... sort of like when you’re stuck in traffic and there’s three lanes to choose from and they all look the same, but one is slower than the others

10:40- booked a new reservation, a flight that leaves from the same airport at 17:40... I was offered the option to take a bus to Santiago (a city that’s 35 minutes from Coruña) to board a plane there that would have an earlier arrival in Madrid, but I figured that lady luck wasn’t with me today, so that probably would have led to more struggles

10:45- I hopped on a bus thinking that it would take me back to the center of town where I live, only to realize after asking the driver that this bus was the one with service to Santiago that the airline had sponsored for all the other passengers

11:00- this time I hopped on the correct bus... finally on the way back to my apartment

11:05- realized that I left the keys to the apartment in my room, so I had to wait for someone in my host family to come back, but this allowed for a nice tortilla break with Kendra which was lovely

Although this morning was quite the head ache, I guess I’ll take this as a learning experience; on top of that, I was able to handle all my conversation in Spanish!  Next post in Madrid, I hope!!

Just A Little Bit Of An Update

To be honest, I don’t have too too much to update, but since I’ve got some free time I figured it might be a good idea to write a little bit.  Life in Coruña has been absolutely awesome.  Each day that passes, I feel more comfortable with my host family, with the language, and with the Spanish culture in general.  I’m also starting to feel that this city is mine, which is really cool yet strange in itself.  This experience is still surreal, but hey I’m not complaining, nor should I.

I’m really looking forward to this upcoming week since I’ll be meeting my Grandmother and cousin, Paloma, in Madrid!  Ever since I arrived in Spain last month (weird that it has already been over a month), I’ve been dying to spend some time in the country’s capital.  Not only is it a beautiful, world-renowned city known for its distinct culture, food, and art, it’s also the home to rich family history.  Of course this history has been passed down through the generations, however seeing and hearing about it in its most authentic, mother-tongue nature, will certainly be special and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Some definite highlights of the week include the following.  One morning, my host dad and I took a walking tour of the city, thus giving me the chance to snap some really cool photos of Coruña, as seen below.  In an attempt to combat the insane amount of carbs, cheese, and oil that we have been consuming on a daily basis, Ali and I joined a local gym called La Solana that is beyond awesome, complete with fully equipped work out rooms, outdoor swimming pools, and a tennis court.  Last, but certainly not least, the nine Coruñeses hacer(-ed) botellón, the infamous social drinking activity amongst the Spanish youth.  Essentially, botellón is the Spanish version of American pre-gaming for a night out, with the exception that botellón takes place outside, usually in a public park.  Over the past month we’ve heard countless stories from locals about this recently controversial Spanish tradition, and let me assure you that it did not disappoint; there was literally a sea of people binge drinking without a care in the world, not to mention the fact that this bi-weekly festivity did not begin until just after midnight!

Aerial shot of the city!

My first and only Spanish friend so far... ¡El Pulpo de Coruña!

Coruña is very well know for its Port, mostly due to the fact that it's the central force in the city's economy: fishing and tourism.

Typical photograph of Coruña.

Playa Orzán, one of the two beaches in the city.

At the top of Monte San Pedro.

La Llegada: La Coruña, My Spanish Home

Pardon the very long, unanticipated break in blogging.  To be perfectly honest, I’ve been so busy adjusting to my new surroundings, so much so that I’ve barely had time to take a breath to stop and think.  Last Wednesday, I left Pamplona, a beautiful, healthy city filled with rich history, great people and enough modernity to make life super agradable (pleasing).  As difficult as it was to part ways with the city, it was arguably more difficult to say goodbye to the other Holy Cross kids (los hollies) as well as our spectacular coordinators in Pamplona since we all got so close in so little time; pero bueno, we’ll reunite somewhere in Spain very soon!

To say the least, our trip from Pamplona to A Coruña was an exhausting ten hour train ride, not to mention a connecting-switch seven hours in.  On top of that, we had to look out for all of our luggage in a sold-out train (11 people x 2 big suitcases x personal items... I get agita at the thought).  Simply put, we weren’t received too well on the train, but we made it, so I guess it all worked out!

All of our host families, as well as our two directors (Félix-academic and Pablo-housing) were awaiting our arrival at the train station.  Immediately upon exiting the train, I was warmly greeted by my host family, which consists of my host dad Pablo, host mom Isabel and host brother Iago (my host sister Marta is studying in the United States this academic school year, so it’s unfortunate that I won’t have the opportunity to meet her).  I’m so grateful that they’ve opened their home to me; they are some of the nicest people that I’ve ever met, continually complimenting/encouraging my Spanish and to quote Chrissy McCue (former Coruña alum), followers of the TI school of life, always saying “cualquiera lo que quieras” (whatever you like).

Although these past few days have been jam-packed with University orientations, completing documentation (such as my residency card, the end to the visa process... thank God), and taking walking-tours of the city), I’m so excited to be here and cannot wait for all that is to come this year.  Coruña is beyond beautiful and the most perfect combination of a downtown city and a beach/port.  Now that I have an adapter to charge my camera, I’ll be able to take some pictures, so look out for those in the near future!

Last but certainly not least, I had my first day of classes yesterday, which went pretty well.  For the most part (más o menos), I was able to understand my professor.  Even better, he informed us that due to a holiday at my University, class is cancelled for the rest of this week and next week.  Together with my other three classes (that don’t begin until the first week of October), I’m still on summer vacation!  

Typical Day: Pamplona Edition

I honestly cannot believe that I’ve been in Spain for nearly two weeks; it’s incredible how fast time flies!  Now that I’m acclimated and have somewhat developed a daily routine, I figured I’d give you a brief description of a day in my Spanish life: Pamplona edition.

Weekday Schedule

8:45-> wake-up and get ready for the day

9:15-> breakfast (chocolate croissant and cafe con leche, best combination ever)

9:30-> grammar/conversation/culture class at the University of Navarra

1:30-> lunch, also known as “la comida” at the university’s cafeteria

2:30-> afternoon siesta (did I mention how much I love Spain)

4:00-> daily excursion: activities thus far have included attending a rumba class, touring the old part of the city (Casco Viejo), running with the bulls etc... 

6:00-> random Pamplona explorations, almost always involving some tapas

9:00-> dinner at the cafeteria next to our apartments

11:00-> going out in the city or just simply hanging around in the hotel

Weekend Schedule

Saturdays-> Each of the three Saturdays during our orientation, the coordinators (Julian, Rafa, Nakene, Iranzu, and Miguel) have planned excursions to nearby touristy destinations.  Last Saturday, we took a day-trip to San Sebastian, one of the most beautiful beach cities that I’ve ever been to.  This upcoming Saturday, we’re taking a bus to a small city in France and the following Saturday we’re heading north to Bilboa.  Can’t wait!

Sundays-> siesta, siesta, siesta

Although I’m beyond excited to relocate to La Coruña and meet my host family, I’ve truly loved every moment of my time in Pamplona.  Not only is it an awesome city, but I have some great company.  As I mentioned earlier, Pamplona (and the University of Navarra) is the host site for all the Holy Cross students who are studying abroad in Spain.  It’s been such a blast spending time with everyone, because even though Holy Cross can seem as small as a high school, it can be difficult to branch out and meet some new kids.

To end the post, I’d like to share some rather stressful news that I learned during my culture class at the University.  As we were going through some cultural differences, my teacher casually mentioned that it’s rude to ask to go to the bathroom during class.  For those of you who do not know, I arguably have the smallest bladder, so I foresee some future struggles.  Guess I won’t be drinking anytime before 2pm!

Quick shout-out to everyone moving in at HC (or if you’re abroad/away, safe travels/hope you settle in smoothly).  Last but certainly not least, prayers to my family and friends in Rhode Island as Irene approaches.

Running with the bulls, nbd.

The Ayuntamiento, or city hall, of Pamplona.

Our rumba/salsa dance instructors. 

Pamplona's infamous Plaza de Toros.

Spain study abroad group in San Sebastian.

Playa de la Concha, San Sebastian.

San Juan de Pie de Puerto, France!

¡¡Estamos Aquí!!

After a full 24 hour day of traveling, I finally arrived in Pamplona, Spain on Sunday afternoon.  I honestly cannot believe that I’m here and that my year abroad has actually started.  I’m so happy and thankful to be here, and I’m so excited to start exploring Pamplona and all that it has to offer.  As a quick reminder, Holy Cross has a special program at La Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona) for all the students studying abroad in Spain.  The program is basically designed to acclimate us to the Spanish language and culture.  After the three week program, we will be living and studying in our respective host universities for the rest of the academic year.   

I know that I haven’t updated the blog in a while, so I’ll give you a brief run down of my last week in the States.  On August 6th, my family threw me a farewell party which included my favorite American food (and people) as well as a midnight impromptu dance-off to house, latin, and disco music.  Typical Tasca family fun.  It was great spending some time with my entire family, as well as some close friends from home and Holy Cross for one last hoorah.  The rest of the week included jam-packed days of running last minute errands and saying my final goodbyes.  At the end the week, my family ate out on DePasquale Square, an Italian-reminiscent street corner of Federal Hill, Providence.  It was a picture perfect night with delicious food and the best company: there’s nothing more I could ask for!  The next afternoon, we finally finished packing, just one hour before I left for the airport.  To be honest, I didn’t realize that saying goodbye to my family was going to be one of the toughest things of my life.  As my mother blessed me with her Holy Water, we all started crying as it finally hit home that I’d be gone for a year.  My mom later described the scene as “you would have thought we all took a vacation to Niagara Falls.”  After one final group hug, I left for Logan to start my year in Spain.

Although traveling to Pamplona took a full 24 hours and included: 3 planes, 3 Continents, 1 bus ride and a taxi to our hotel, for the most part it went pretty smoothly, aside from the fact that they lost my luggage (but it was found and actually delivered to my room!). Traveling with Claire, Ali, Maggie and Eva was a lot of fun and it was great to get to know them even better since after Pamplona they (as well as Steve, Briana, Katherine and Kendra) will be studying with me in La Coruña.

Even though I’ve been in Spain for merely three days, I already love it and I’m so glad that I decided to study abroad.  I’m certainly no expert on the Spanish language nor can I rattle off a bunch of facts about the culture, however in my short time here I’ve recognized that the Spanish live well and truly enjoy every moment.  Waking up to a chocolate croissant complemented with cafe con leche and ending the night with tapas and a San Miguel beer in La Plaza Mayor de Lo Viejo (“old Pamplona”) is not too shabby; I’m really looking forward to making that a regular! 

Not even half of what I brought...

Ernest Hemingway's hang out spot in Pamplona.

“You’re Studying WHERE!?”

Seeing that I’m leaving in 10 days (where did the summer go?), my trip to Spain has been the forefront in just about every conversation that I’ve had in the past couple days.  Naturally, I’ll get the normal pre-departure questions: “Are you excited!?” “Have you started packing??” and last, but certainly not least, “Where are you going, Madrid or Barcelona!?”  Typical responses are the following: “Yes, I’m really excited!” “No, I haven’t started packing” and finally, “Uhhh, I’m studying in a city called La Coruña, you probably don’t know anything about it so yeahh... it’s near Portugal and it’s on the water though!”  Since the city is not that well known, the last question is extremely awkward to answer, but that’s kind of a good thing and partly why I’m really looking forward to this experience.  The philosophy of Holy Cross’ Study Abroad Office is to send students (in particular, those that are learning a language) to small, non-touristy cities; the office believes that students learn best in small environments, and after talking to numerous study abroad alumni, it’s 100 percent true.

Back to La Coruña.  Although I’ve actually never been there, I’ve seen tons of pictures and it looks awesome, so I can’t wait to call it home.  In brief, La Coruña is one of the major urban/port cities in Galicia, a north-western region in Spain that is very well known for its green landscapes (sort of like Ireland from what I hear) and its local pride.  The city is completely surrounded by water, hence why it’s the home of two popular beaches and the busiest receiving port in the area.  I couldn’t be happier with my host site and I can’t wait to keep you posted on what it’s like when I’m actually living there and can see it for myself.

As far as personal updates, I’ve been doing really well!  Summer is certainly starting to wind down since I’ve finished my internship (OCG, I’ll miss you guys!), the cousin soccer team has sadly been eliminated from the indoor league, and I’ve started to make plans for my final 10 days in the United States.  Most exciting news is that I’ve checked something off my bucket-list: running in the blessing of the fleet, a 10 mile scenic road race in Narragansett, RI.  Below are some pictures from last Friday night’s event!

My mom and I after I crossed the finish line!

My dad, me, and my sister Eliana shortly after the race was over.  Special shout-outs to my cousins Veronica and Gabriela, and my Auntie Jakie for coming to cheer me on, as well as my sister Jacklyne, her fiance Mike, and my brother Chris for supporting me through everything!

Andy (my running buddy and Study Abroad Spain alum) and myself.