Headline Today: Alexa Confronts Host Sister

Just got done with a rather heated 'discussion' with my host sister, Raquel. Goodness. . . that was crazy! I am red in the face and still shaking from it.

I had had a rather nice day in Gijon with Sara. We ate pizza and croquetas (look like fried cheese balls, just with potato, ham, and cheese inside) in Gijon then found some sweet snacks before returning to Oviedo to work on our Madrid trip and watch Happy Feet. However, when I got back home the food I had eaten yesterday ('lomo,' a pork loin type think. . .) was gone, which was what I was considering eating. Instead there was only some weird looking chicken stuff that looked like a dog had spit it out or something (it looked fine on Friday. . .) and some rice stuff with tuna and chicken chunks or something (similar to a food we've eaten before). I was not really in the mood for that and would've liked something not so heavy to munch on. And on top of that the small plate of rice I ate even made me feel sick afterward. So after walking Sara part way home and mentioning that I would complain to my host mom about this weekend's food supply, I decided I'd just ask Raquel when I got in if her mom had left money to buy food or something. Bad idea.

Raquel pretty much exploded at me, saying it was a lie and there was everything to eat in the house (she kept saying 'hay de todo!'-- that's great, I don't think there is 'de todo'). She just kept going through all the things that we had had and that 'you like those, we had those,' not really understanding that I didn't have options, just rice and chicken today. 'What more do you need?' she kept asking. I don't get it. I tried to say that for me a meal is not just one thing, it's a little bit of vegetables or fruit and some meat or pasta. And she didn't understand she just kept saying 'Don't get mad!' though it was really her getting mad which made me more upset. I just came in to ask one little question, trying to assure myself that there might be something to eat tomorrow, and instead I got a huge fight.

Oh, I tried, I tried to explain and make her understand how I felt. That I am not used to eating like this and can't take such heavy food all the time/anymore, I told her I just needed another option ('There's always 2 or 3 things!' she says-- 'What do you want me to do, make some chicken then pasta, then fish --because I mentioned fish-- and then some American food --because I said the food here is not the same-- blah blah blah?!') Wow. The only thing she seemed to accept that I said was having fruit and at least some lettuce around if I don't want to eat the leftovers. (And that's it for new foods now too. . .)

I could really go on and on about all she said, but I think a lot of the problem was her explosion. She was expecting me to do this, and I told her that it seemed like it. Then she said she was mad so quick because she's noticed me come to the kitchen and open the fridge then leave without eating anything, and she didn't understand why. Well why the **** didn't she ask me!! That's what I kept saying. If you wondered, if you were mad, why didn't you ask me? Because she kept telling me I could say I wanted this or this, but she couldn't do anything if she didn't know. . . Wow. Like I said I could just keep going, but I need to settle down somehow now, before I really lose it, so goodnight.

Flashback Time

Okay, here's a bit of a 'recap' of some of my favorite experiences in Europe:

SPRING BREAK: LONDON, NORWAY, BARCELONA

On March 27th, which was my godfather/favorite uncle's birthday, I celebrated by taking a flight to London! After my arrival, I navigated through the Tube with a heavy wheeling-suitcase and lots of bags of food and a camera bag (not recommended on hindsight), to finally reach my hostel after leaving Oviedo 7hrs earlier. Though I was tired (particularly after the 25 flights of stairs to my room-- okay it was 5 or something, the view from my window is shown here) I was so excited about being in London I went exploring by myself and had a scary/exhilarating time jumping on and off buses/subways until 1am. The next morning I somehow managed to wake up at 7am to go running in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which was also amazing. The air was chilly, yet the view was well worth it. Lakes full of an assortment of birds, riders in the horse corrals, and feeling like I was seeing the real London, not the tourist side (which is what I experienced later).

After being the first one to breakfast when I returned, I then met the rest of my hostel roommates-- Owen, Morgan, and Craig-- two were brothers from Michigan and one was from somewhere in England. They were heading to Cambridge that morning after checkout, so I got to chat with them for a while during our wait. Upon saying goodbye I took the Tube back to Victoria Station, in order to meet my dad for our adventures in London. However, neither of us felt like doing much tourist stuff (or at least I didn't) so we really didn't get much sight-seeing done. It was more enjoying the city itself and riding double-decker buses! I did see the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street and had a nice picnic lunch in gorgeous Regents Park, after a quick glance through the National Portrait Gallery.

Then back to the hotel to collect our luggage and off to Norway! For anyone travelling to London though, please realize the high costs of getting between the airport and the city. It is absolutely ridiculous. And Europe now has a 'one carry-on bag' policy, unlike the U.S. who allow a laptop bag, purse, etc in addition to the actual carry-on. Would have been good to realize that one, too.

Anyway, we headed to Norway without knowing more than a few words of Norwegian, though some of us--Dad-- liked to pretend he knew how to say lots of things. His Norwegian included a lot more vocab words, but I'd like to think my pronunciation was significantly better. . . We arrived at the airport at almost midnight, without a clue of what to do. I was tired, Dad had jetlag, but had slept (aka snored) on the way there (and anywhere else we were too. . .), so let's just say it wasn't the most enjoyable evening. However, we did manage to reach our boat/B&B and got into our cabin/room and off to bed around 2am.

The buffet table, Dad, and my waffle maker!

From that point, Norway was just a crazy ride that I had a hard time keeping up with at times. Had a great breakfast at the MS Innvik in Oslo (our B&B), packed, got to the train station in time to figure out a railpass of sorts, get a ticket to Bergen, grab some groceries, and leave! It makes me tired even thinking about that morning. . . I slept on the way there a bit, tried taking pictures on the 'most scenic train ride in Norway,' and made some lefsa. I love lefsa. Mmm, lefsa.

Arrived in Bergen, hoping to meet some relatives that wanted to take us in for a few nights, and finally had to walk to their house after waiting an hour because of a miscommunication problem. But after meeting Alvhilda, my dad's second cousin, things seemed to get more under control. We had some crazy experiences and lots of fun with her and her husband and their three kids, and even did some fjord sightseeing and some more touristy-stuff in Bergen, an equally gorgeous city. I started sort of picking up/being able to understand Norwegian too! Awesome. Then it was off to Stavanger on the bus/ferry, but that is another story to be saved until I get some pictures on here!

Ir de compras en la lluvia

The day started out, as usual, looking to be a good one weather-wise. But after doing a bit of shopping (I found the exact brown cardigan I was looking for!) and then downing an entire tub of chocolate ice cream and Chips Ahoys with Sara, the rain began. And now my jeans are soaked. Blah. That's Asturias for you. This evening is the Mariza concert too, starting at 8:30pm, so we're taking the bus at 7pm to give us enough time to get lost. But the issue may be getting back. . . the last bus leaves Gijon at 10:30pm and the next one at 7am. However I do have to be at church tomorrow morning at 11am in Gijon so we'll see how that goes. Maybe I should take a nap now.

Still working on the Europe trip and my few problem spots: Venice, outside of Paris in France, and snorkeling north of Barcelona. But that will probably wait till Monday. I think Sara and I might work on Madrid/Toldeo plans (and me Portugal/Andalusia) tomorrow-- instead of hw as usual. Okay, that's it for now!

Best Cook Ever

Today I have achieved greatness with my omelet. Usually by Friday I can't hardly stand to even look at the leftovers I've been eating all week (or there aren't any), so I must come up with something to cook on my own. And it's usually something with an egg, since we always have them. But today I found pepper to add and I used the tomato pieces that were sitting in vinegar/olive oil from last night, along with a chorizo-type something in the fridge, and some manchego cheese, and it was surprisingly delicious! I should get an award on how to make a meal out of practically nothing. I've been doing pretty well so far. However, the start of class time nears, so I'm off!

Motivation. . . finally!

After a long spout of laziness I've finally been inspired, not to do my hw that was/is due, but to continue work on my two independent study projects. Yesterday I gave a presentation on 'fado,' a traditional type of Portuguese music, for my Portuguese class. We also had an exhibition of Portugal's music, literature, and food that evening, in celebration of the April 25th, 1974 revolution for democracy. Part of the exhibition was a local group of fado singers. During their mini-concert I just wanted to do more research on the origin of fado and current fado singers, etc. Speaking of which. . . I have tickets to Mariza this weekend! She is part of a younger generation of fado singers that are helping fado to gain more recognition and fame, after it was catapulted into the world with fadistas like Amalia Rodrigues. I am really excited, as is my Portuguese buddy Heather (who likes to put yucky pictures of me up on facebook. . .)

Besides fado for excitement, I just attended another immigration discussion on campus. This time it was just one of the speakers from the previous 'Mesa Redonda' (roundtable), Eduardo Romero, specifically talking about immigration to Spain from Africa. Perfect for my honors independent study comparing the historical relationship of the Moors, or Africans, and Spain/Spaniards to the current attitudes and relationships! I even bought his book and intend on finding the first one he wrote. It is titled: Who's invading who?: The 'Plan Africa' and immigration. I am really excited for this now too and have his email address to ask any more questions.

But now I must get stuff done, since we only have about three weeks left of classes. YES! I mean. . oh darn, I have to leave Spain, the country of smokers, drinkers, and the unambitious. . . sadness. On a side note, I did reorganize my room today so I don't permanently ruin my back nor my computer by hovering near the window for the WiFi. . . so that is better too. And last night at the gym I found 2 euros! Cool. Tonight is combat as well, even more exciting. And lastly, I have been getting up before 8am for two days now. Let's see how long I can make that last. . .

The End is Near. . .

Things we'll miss about Spain
-Flexible schedule (aka wake up at 1pm, being tardy, gym whenever, etc)
-No deadlines (sort of. . . end of the semester?)
-Meals, laundry, cleaning the house. . . done!
-Having tv in Spanish (certainly not the Spanish tv channels)
-Walking ability to any destination
-Spanglish!!
-Mountains and beaches easily accessible/viewable
-Food (some of it, tortilla espanola, cafe con leche, mariscos--seafood)
-And of course, all of our new friends


Estamos hartas de . . .(We're fed up with!)
-The Spaniard 'stare down'
-Rudeness
-Lazy, self-absorbed host siblings/Spaniards in general
-SMOKING!
-Higher costs/No big department stores
-Food-- pork, beans, potatoes
-Living with a family
-Computer labs/printing
-Phones (cards and mobiles. . . )
-Difficult home communication in general
-Importance of drinking

Things we're looking forward to:
-Without a doubt, the unanimously voted, most important thing:
SEEING THE PEOPLE WE LOVE
-Our own bed/house
-CAR! (no more public transportation!)
-Clothes dryer
-Having people over to watch a movie, cook, whatever
-FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! You name it, we want it: cookies, restaurants in general, cook outs (hamburgers--real ones!, hotdogs, smores), Cold Stone, gallon size ice cream containers, milkshakes, Mexican food, Chinese food, all pizza places (Great Plains! Papa John's!) corn on the cob, boneless-skinless-chicken breast, mom's lasagna and spaghetti with garlic bread, Panera soup, baking and cooking our own stuff!

Tut, tut-- looks like rain!

After some gorgeous days, la Costa Verde promises rain again. Sitting at my open window, a crackle of thunder has alerted me to the rain drops, and the need for my umbrella when I head to class soon. Since I'm grabbing whatever WiFi I can get, my laptop and I need to be near (or precariously balancing over the edge of) the window. But it looks like I could have some issues with that now. Oh, and there's the neighbor, taking a quick peek out of her window.

Something smells good in the kitchen, like hamburgers. . . but I doubt it. Here in Spain only one type of meat goes: PORK. And since my host family has some aversion to anything but pork, potatoes, and beans, I've eaten way too much of it. As well as way too many icky parts too. Someone said to me that the Civil War in Spain caused people to value a pig because they could eat for a year from it (including the feet, which I have, to my dislike, tried). They still have pig killing festivals too. One morning during breakfast I happened to see a news story about it, which was unpleasant, though not near as bad as my host sister Raquel telling me how long it would take my host dad's father's body to be cremated. . . Great conversation starter.

Oviedo Ramblings

So I've once again been inspired by Rick Steves, the Europe travel 'guru,' to try blogging as a means of relating my European trials and travels. Currently there have been more trials than actual travels, but I have high hopes for my 2 month long summer plans, which are nearing completion. Wishing now I could be more spontaneous and just travel without reservations, but the stress that would ensue just isn't worth it. So I've spent every free moment (okay, it is an excuse to not do my homework, papers, projects, etc.) looking up info and accomodations.