5:03 PM
Hello everybody! Sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote. Part of the problem is that I’ve been traveling and busy. The other part of the problem is that I’ve recently had too much access to internet. At the end of last week I moved to a new house where there is very, very bad internet access. Instead of writing lengthy blog entries at night when I have nothing to do, I sit on the balcony (the only place you can get even a slight signal) and check facebook whenever the signal allows me to. Much less productive, although I do like not having to walk 15 minutes every time I want to check my email.
One thing that I realized I forgot to mention in my last blog post – Sanfermines in Pamplona. I wrote about it before I went, but not after. Let’s just say it lived up to all my expectations, and I have no desire to return! Thousands of extremely drunk people spraying wine everywhere and staying up all night is not my idea of fun. Also, it was COLD! I think it was the first time in Spain where I wished I had my jacket. At one point, around three or four AM, a group of us were huddled together on the (probably extremely dirty, but it was dark so we couldn’t tell) grass contemplating selling ourselves for a warm house and a bed to sleep in. But I made it through, and watching the running of the bulls was definitely an experience. We actually had a really good view as we got there two hours early, and it was a sight worth seeing.
San Sebastian, where we went next, was much more fun and relaxing. We got to lounge on the beach with a bunch of tourists and actually had places to sleep! My roommate and I took advantage of our bed by sleeping 15 straight hours. Definitely a personal record for me. Also completely unintentional, and I was sooo hungry the next morning after having slept through dinner.
But on to newer things. The week after finishing the Camino flew by with final exams, celebration dinners, and graduation ceremonies. I actually did really well in my classes, which was somewhat surprising as I decided I wasn’t going to worry about them at all. I don’t know if I’ll get credit for either of them or not, but knowing I did well is always nice! The week was pretty sad though overall, because our group had gotten extremely close over five weeks. It’s not unbearably sad though, because pretty much all of us go to either Harvard or Yale, and we already have a big reunion planned for the Harvard-Yale game! It’ll be fun.
This past Saturday everyone went to Madrid to leave for home or other destinations. Those of us who are staying (four people from Harvard) had the option to go with the others or stay in León. I am horrible with decisions and it took me forever to figure out which I wanted to do. In the end, I decided that a half-way free trip to Madrid (there but not back) was enough reason to go, so I went along with one of the other girls who is staying here. Both of us somewhat regretted our decisions to go in the beginning, because the whole ride over was filled with people talking about what they were going to do when they got home and the things they missed the most about the US. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with cold milk was one favorite… Maddy and I got SOOO homesick, especially when we were seeing everyone off at the airport, knowing that they would be home by that night. But we both ended up having a lot of fun in Madrid, and I’m definitely glad I went. I spent most of the day walking around and lying in a park, and the weather wasn’t even deathly hot like it normally is in Madrid at this time of year. That night, everyone still in Madrid met for dinner in the Plaza Mayor and we had a great time. The next afternoon, Maddy and I caught a bus back to León, which was surprisingly easy and comfortable. I love the Madrid metro system, I think it’s even easier to navigate than Boston’s… I was on the metro for over an hour going to the airport and back across the city to the bus station and I never got lost once! Haha. Plus, it only costs a euro, so it’s a pretty good deal.
Once back in León, I got a little bit of sleep (I was running on such a deficit), and then got up at 6 AM to start the next part of my program here, the “práctica,” or internship. So far, I’m really pleased with my decision to do archeology instead of teaching English, although getting up so early is not one of the perks. We leave León at seven each morning and start work in Lancia around eight. We work until eleven, when we have a break and food. Then we work for another two hours until lunch in a nearby pueblo. There are about 10 other students working there, all but one of them girls from the University of Salamanca (the remaining is a guy from the University of León). It’s been really cool talking to more people our age, and everyone is super friendly. The work is tiring though, and a little tedious. Today, for instance, my job (along with one other girl) was to dig down 50 centimeters along a piece of cord about a yard and a half long (way to go me, mixing systems of measurement). It took us the entire day, and tomorrow we get to do the exact same thing, only a little farther along.
We’re working in an old Roman trash site, from the 3rd century BC, if I understood the dates in Spanish correctly. We mostly only find broken bits of pottery and animal bones, but occasionally something cooler comes along. Very, very occasionally. As in, the only other thing I’ve seen so far is a tiny bit of metal. It’s definitely cool to think that you’re the first person to see the stuff for thousands of years though, and it’s also cool to find ashes and charred bits of wood that look like they could have just been burned. But mostly it’s just fun to talk to other students our age. That in itself makes the work exciting for Marissa and me, but as the other girls don’t have a new language to learn, I think most of them are pretty bored. Also, they have no more idea of what we’re doing than we do, so we all just kind of stand around confused for a lot of the time. It’s great. There are also some actual workers at the site, all guys, so we do a fair amount of gossiping about them. Other common topics of conversation are American TV shows, movies, and music. My Spanish is definitely getting better – if I listen to a conversation I can usually understand almost all of it, but listening to multiple conversations at once is still above me. My new señora’s mother, who lives with her, told me that my Spanish was better than the other students who have stayed or are staying with them, but instead of making me feel good it mostly just makes me nervous to talk and make mistakes now! (okay, it made me feel good too ☺)
This weekend we were hoping to go to the beach at Gijon, but unfortunately it looks like the buses are all full, so I’m not sure exactly what we’ll be doing. We are planning on going to Toy Story 3 tomorrow night though! I’m so psyched, you have no idea… hopefully I’ll be able to understand it all in Spanish!
Well, now I’m off to meet with my old professor who is now supervising our internships. More later...
Brianna
Marissa and me
us and some of the other girls
the site in Lancia
No comments:
Post a Comment