A Wolverine Abroad

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

2012-06-23T16:51:00.001+02:00

My chocolate caramel cookies are really easy to make and are always enjoyed by chocolate and caramel lovers. I decided to finally share the recipe to hopefully save me from making them so often. I don't have a picture of them, but they should end up looking like little mounds filled with delicious caramel. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 room temperature eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa (Hershey's brand)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 (13 ounce) package Rolo candies
1/4 teaspoon espresso power or dried ginger*

*Optional ingredient, either help to make the chocolate flavor more pronounced

Directions

Place the Rolos in the freezer the night before making the cookies.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and optional espresso or ginger; gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until combined.
Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, to allow the dough to chill. Without this step, the dough is quite difficult to mold.
Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each candy, forming a ball. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined or greased baking pan. While batches are cooking, return the dough and Rolos to the refrigerator.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Winter Vacation

2012-06-21T18:12:00.000+02:00

For one reason or another my first trip outside of Spain didn't take place until winter break, but my first trip sure was a dozy. Working in Spain has its privileges and one such was a nice 2 week break for the winter holidays. So for 1.5 weeks my friend Amber and I decided to trek throughout central Europe. We booked one way flights from Madrid to Budapest, Hungary and Berlin, Germany back to Madrid, and sort of found cities and transport along the way. I think our trip turned out pretty good.

Budapest

We spent the first three days of our trip in Budapest. Included in this time was New Year's Eve, which ended up being the wildest New Year's Eve that I have ever experienced. Besides enjoying the generous currency conversion and lower cost of living, we really enjoyed the food and drinks that Hungary provided. Among our favorite things we did was a trip to a small town, famous for housing artists under the Soviet regime. In this city, we visited the marzipan (frosting) museum, which I recommend visiting if you ever find yourself in Szentendre, Hungary.

Prague

After Budapest, we took a bus to Prague in the Czech Republic. My favorite part of Prague was all of the art that has spread throughout the city after the revolution. To this day, my favorite picture of my adventure is the faceless babies that are climbing on the Soviet radio tower.

Terezin

While in Prague, I decided to make a solo trek to visit the former concentration camp that is Terezin. I studied a bit about Terezin in university, but I didn't know what to expect. What I found most striking about the city is the stillness and emptiness. Terezin is not a tourist destination, and I never felt comfortable there, but that is exactly what I wanted to feel there.

Berlin

Berlin was the final destination of our winter adventure, thus completing our inadvertent tour of Soviet strongholds. I think the pictures do a better job of talking about Berlin, than I can.

I strongly recommend a visit to all of these cities if you have a chance. Though I might recommend a visit during the warmer months as opposed to when we went.

Longer Spain Trips

2012-06-20T17:52:00.003+02:00

In addition to one day trip a month, I also tried to take one longer trip within Spain a month. I've already talked about Malaga and Barcelona in a past entry, but here are more places I went to in Spain.

Barcelona

Malaga

Nerja (Malaga)

Bilbao

Bilbao was the city in Spain that I'd most like to live in. What used to be a dirty port city, has now become one of the most modern and trendy cities in Spain. Home to the Guggenheim museum, Bilbao is located in the Basque country which is famous for its separatist movements and cuisine. Bilbao and San Sebastian held some of my favorite food in Europe.

San Sebastian

Not far from Bilbao lies San Sebastian. San Sebastian is known as one of the most expensive cities in Spain, and given the amazing beach and mountain landscapes, who wouldn't want to live there.

Valencia

When my family was visiting in me in Spain, we decided to spend a long weekend in Valencia. Two hours away on the AVE (high speed train), Valencia is a nice break from the chilly, cloudy Madrid winter.

Granada

Home to the famous Alhambra, Granada was my last trip inside of Spain. I spent nearly a week in the city visiting my friend Lyla (you'll find a picture of us with a bear we found). Famous for their giant, free tapas (snacks you receive when purchasing a drink) is another great place to visit when in Spain.

Antequera

Since I had so much time in Granada, I decided to take a day trip to Antequera. Located in the province of Malaga, Antequera was another Moorish stronghold. It was a great trip to escape the city that is Grenada and see some of the countryside.

Day Trips

2012-06-20T17:34:00.002+02:00

One of the great things about living in Madrid is its connectivity to other cities in Spain. Nearly every train passes through Madrid Atocha train station, and I tried to take advantage of this whenever I had a free moment. While long train trips tended to run on the pricey side of things, day trips from Madrid were quite reasonably. I tried to do at least one day trip a month, and for the most part I managed to accomplish this. Here are photos from the day trips I went on.

Alcala

Alcala de Henares was the first day trip I went on. It's a town to the northeast of Madrid city center and it's a combination of a university of town and a historical landmark (birthplace of Miguel Cervantes). Many of my friends lived or worked in Alcala so I made quite a few trips there during my stay in Spain.

Segovia

Segovia was my second day trip and easily one of my top 5 favorite cities in Spain. It's a medieval town with a lot of old world charm, mixed with a modern feel. It also contains my favorite cathedral in Spain, and given Spain's history with the Catholic church, this is quite the accomplishment.

Toledo

Toledo (Not pronounced like the city in Ohio, think Tol-a-doe) is South of Madrid and is actually located in the province of Castilla-La Mancha. Even though it's outside the Community of Madrid, its proximity makes it an easy trip from Madrid. While just 1 hour by train or 1.5 hours by bus away from Madrid, the atmosphere is completely different. Toledo was an important city during Moorish times and much of this history is preserved in this city.

Aranjuez

I didn't have a chance to visit Aranjuez until a few months into my trip, but it held a special importance to me. Aranjuez was actually where I was originally supposed to work, until I switched with someone. While I have no regrets on the switch, part of me always wonders what my adventure would have been like living in this town an hour away from the center.

El Escorial

El Escorial was my last day trip before returning home. Famous for its monastery, it also has quite a quaint residential sector.

Valley of the Fallen

Just a short bus ride from the center of El Escorial is the Valley of the Fallen. This park containing a large cathedral, was designed by Spain's former dictator Francisco Franco. Inside the cathedral, which is built into the mountain, Franco's tomb lies just steps from the altar.

Madrid

2012-06-20T17:12:00.002+02:00

Since I lived in Madrid, I should have the most pictures of Madrid, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. Given that I lived in and experienced the city for nearly 9 months, it seems that I was never remembering to take pictures. Perhaps a little too much of the Spanish motto to life, why do it today when you have tomorrow? Luckily, in my last few weeks I decided to take more photos. But if my photos don't do Madrid justice, I suppose you'll just have to visit the city yourself. Included in here are my photos with my digital camera and my cell phone.

Phone Pictures

My Madrid

Pictures

2012-06-20T17:00:00.001+02:00

Hello all,

Now that I'm home and finally unpacked, I'm going to be posting all the photos that I took during my trip. I'll post links to the online albums and a corresponding story for each trip. Let me know if the links don't work and I'll fix them.

Home

2012-06-04T06:11:00.002+02:00

Hello all,

As some of you might know, I had to cut my adventure short. As of now I am back in the States and doing well. Still trying to get my health issues sorted out, but I feel better being back home. Below is a post I made to Facebook a few days before leaving that kind of sums up what was going on. Now that I have better internet access, I'll post a link to some more pictures.

-Jeremy (aka Yeremi)

Dear friends,

For those who have not yet heard, I am leaving Spain this Sunday (27 May) to return home to the States. I know this is quite sudden (I only finalized my decision this morning) and could come as a surprise, but I feel this decision is in my best interest.

The past month or so, I have been going to different doctors, clinics, and hospitals with stomach problems. Each medical professional made suggestions on what it might be but I have never received a definitive answer. Along with these stomach problems, my anxiety, something that plagued me in the past, has been increasing. For the last few weeks I have been suffering from bouts of anxiety, stomach pains, and the associated physical symptoms. After much consideration of my health, I think that it is best that I return home to hopefully improve my anxiety problems and therefore allowing my doctor to better treat my stomach problems.

That said, I can safely say that I will not have any regrets returning home now. With all certainty, I have accomplished everything that I set out to do, and then some. I remember my biggest fear coming to Spain was my Spanish abilities. Not to say that 4 years in high school and two in college didn't prepare me, but I vividly remember my first day in Madrid trying to tell my hostel's address to the taxi driver. In comparison, one of my proudest language moments in Spain occurred less than a month ago when I was able to successful talk to someone in Spanish on the telephone. While this might sound silly, I assure you this is not a feat to be laughed at. At this point, I definitely do not consider myself fluent, but I am extremely pleased with the progress I've made over the past 8 months.

Besides increasing my knowledge of Spanish, I was also nervous about how my work would proceed. Thankfully this went well. I have loved nearly every minute of working with my students and teachers in my schools. Thinking back to the first days and hearing my students speak now, I know that my work helped to improve their English skills. If nothing else, my students can now respond to my habitual question of "how are you guys?" without a puzzled look and some Spanish side discussion as to what I said. I've also enjoyed working with my other auxiliars. Kyle, Tremaine, Afeefa, Aaron, and Nat are some of the most patient and passionate people I have ever encountered.

Of course, I was also nervous about meeting new people in such a foreign environment (pun intended). Thus, I also want to acknowledge all the friends I have made in this experience. With all honesty, I would not have made it past the first week of Spain without all of you. I would name you all, but there are so many of you and I would hate to leave someone out. I consider you all very good friends of my mine and I hope that no border will keep us from keeping in touch.

Thank you also to all my friends, family, and loved ones back home for your support. I'm sure I've talked to many, or all, of you sometime in the past 8 months with some sort of gripe and I want to thank you for listening, or at least pretending to listen.

In addition, my time in Spain wouldn't have been as pleasant without my flatmates Tiffany and Felipe. Everyday you guys helped me to see the world a little different and I was constantly learning from you both. Plus, you're both awesome.

As for my last few days in Spain. Tomorrow I bid farewell to my school, students, and teachers. Followed by a lot of packing and meeting up with some friends throughout the day. On Saturday I am going on my final day trip, to a city called El Escorial. Then finally on Sunday, I catch a 9am flight that arrives 9.5 hours later around 1pm in Charlotte, N.C.. Finally, I have just a two hour flight from Charlotte, after a three hour layover, which should get me to Detroit around 6pm.

I just wanted to share with you all this short, disjointed, farewell to Spain and collection of my thoughts. I'll post some more thoughts at a later date in my blog, most likely when I'm in the States.

These past 8 months have been a time of my life that I will never forget. Absolutely no regrets.

Final Two Months

2012-05-07T20:39:00.001+02:00

Everyone said it, “before you know it, you’ll be done”, and I didn’t believe them. But, here I am, with but two months left wondering where the time has gone. Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to heading back to the States and continuing with “real” life, but I just can’t believe my days are numbered. It seems like just yesterday I was planning my trip to Spain, celebrating Thanksgiving at my apartment, cooking pizzas on Christmas morning, ringing in the New Year in Budapest, admiring the Lisbon coast, and eating pasta in Italy. While I feel like my time is short, I do have TWO months left, and I intend to make the most of them.

The other day I made a Madrid “Bucket List” which I’ll share with you all. In no particular order, here are some things that I will do before my time is up.

Go to Cuenca

Cuenca is a city in the south of Madrid famous for its hanging houses

Go to El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen

El Escorial is a palace and a city in the northwest of the Madrid community. The palace is supposedly beautiful, but I also want to go to see the Valley of the Fallen. The Valley is a monument made during the Spanish civil war that is still controversial.

Go to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

One of the famous art museums in Madrid

Return to the Prado

The most famous museum in Madrid

Museum of America

A lesser known museum but I want to see how the Spaniards look at the discovery of the New World

See a bullfight

While I don’t think I will enjoy it, given the history and the cultural impact bullfighting has had on Spain, I feel like it’s something I must do

See the San Antonio de la Florida

The San Antonio is a lesser known church that contains many works of Goya and it was recommended by NYTimes as something you must do

Eat churros and chocolate at San Gines

San Gines is a Madrid institution, especially popular at 5/6am when people start to return from a night out

Visit the Royal Palace

Something extremely tourist that I have not gotten around to.

I don’t have a bucket list for my time in Spain/Europe but one is forthcoming. Looking ahead I have a trip to Marrakech, Morocco May 18-20th which I am very much excited for. After that, I don’t have any trips planned but I can promise at least one more trip before I return home.

Speaking of returning home, my flight home is July 3rd; just in time for Independence Day.

Hasta Luego

Spring/Easter Break and Law School

2012-03-28T21:02:00.000+02:00

Friday, I leave for my "Easter" break. Here in Spain, Easter break is really a combination of spring break and the Easter holiday. Normally, we'd have off for the week before Easter and the Monday after Easter. However, this year we also have Friday off and tomorrow (Thursday March 29) is a country-wide strike, so my vacation started early. I'll be travelling from Madrid to Milan by air, then going throughout northern Italy by train. After Milan, my next city is Venice, followed by Bologna, then Florence, then Pisa, then Genoa, and back to Milan for my return flight on Easter Sunday. Here's what my trip will look like:

In addition, today I decided to accept an offer to attend the University of Illinois College of Law as a member of the class of 2015. Now, I have the difficult part of trying to find housing from thousands of miles away.

Where have I been???

2012-03-02T09:18:00.001+01:00

As one of my friends rightfully pointed out, I haven’t been so good at updating. But, here is a new one for today.

The second week in February marked the halfway point of my time in Spain and as of today, I have a little under four months left. Given this, I think it might be helpful to reflect over the last 5 months I’ve spent in Spain.

What I’ve done:

I’ve been in a foreign country for 162 days, and counting…
I’ve increased my list of visited countries from 2 (Canada and Mexico) to 7 (Canada, Mexico, Spain, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany).
I’ve applied to 30 different law schools, all from abroad. So far my record is 12 acceptances, 6 denials, 4 waitlists, and I’m still waiting on 8. Included in these are 8 scholarships, including 5 scholarships of over $10,000 per year.
I have visited the three coasts of Spain and have taken countless buses and trains to these cities.
I’ve managed to avoid private transport throughout my entire trip. This seems amazing since there was hardly a day in Michigan that I did not drive somewhere.
I have, hopefully, improved the English of my, roughly, 300 students. In addition, I’ve spread the knowledge of Valentines Day, Christmas (in the States), and Thanksgiving to Spanish children.
I have picked up some of the British English, which I so despised in the beginning. I now find myself looking for the rubbish bin, spelling some words differently (mainly the double “ll” as in travelling), and also using have a lot more (as evident in this update).
My Spanish is much better than when I first arrived. I now feel confident enough to pay exactly with change, as opposed to the beginning when I used to only pay with big bills, to avoid paying the incorrect amount. I can also give directions in Spanish to the occasional lost Spanish tourist. But, most importantly, I can recognize when my students swear in class and yell at them.
I’ve been a tour guide of Madrid, both for one of my friends who visited after New Years and my family who was just here a few weeks ago.

What I will do:

I will make a decision about which law school to attend in the next month. This decision has been driving me crazy, but I know it’ll all work out fine.
I will be visiting some more countries before I come home. Later this month, I’ll be spending a week in northern Italy for our Easter break. I also have a trip to Morocco in the works. I hope to visit Greece, the U.K., Paris, and more of Spain, in the next four months.
Continue to improve my Spanish.
Learn more about Spanish cooking. I’ve been pretty good with learning some traditional Spanish foods, but I can definitely do more.
Explore and take more pictures of Madrid. I’ve clearly spent most of my time in Madrid, but it’s the city that I have the fewest pictures of.
Send some postcards out. I have about 12 that I’ve been meaning to send but keep on forgetting to do so.
I’ll work on updating more often.

Family

2012-02-17T23:05:00.002+01:00

The family is safely here in Madrid, and I come down with a nasty cold. Figures... Expect pictures and an update soon.

Winter Trip

2011-12-28T08:21:00.000+01:00

Hey all,

I'm leaving today for a 12 day winter vacation. First stop is Budapest, Hungary. Followed by Prague, Czech Republic. Finally ending up in Berlin, Germany, with a possible stop in Dresden, to which I will return to Madrid on Jan. 8th. Expect a post about this, my trip to northern Spain, law schools, and my job here in Spain, when I return. In the meantime, here's a approximate map of my winter journey and a picture of my favorite pintxo from San Sebastian. Hope everyone had a great holiday and has a happy new year!

Sun-dried tomato with a balsamic pearl onion.

Thanksgiving Abroad

2011-11-23T19:23:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow marks not only my first Thanksgiving abroad, but also my first Thanksgiving away from my family. Now Thanksgiving of course is an American holiday, so while my friends and family back home will be enjoying their turkey dinners, I’ll be busy working (in full disclosure, by the time you’re enjoying dinner, I’ll probably be asleep given the 6 hour time difference). But do not fear, since us expats stick together for the holidays. Tomorrow, besides working, I’ll be getting my haircut (should be interesting), preparing some croquetas de jamón for the apartment, and enjoying some Turkish kebab with my Madrid family. Since we are all working tomorrow, we are going to have our real Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. I’ll be preparing the Tyrrell family stuffing recipe, and I’m also in charge of trying to find a turkey, which is a little more difficult than going to Kroger and grabbing a Butterball. Most likely, tomorrow I’ll be going to my local butcher and placing an order for a turkey for Saturday (which reminds me to look up the Spanish words for “take out all the guts, please”). Expect some pictures of my Madrid family tomorrow enjoying our kebabs and of course the Spain family (some of my friends live outside of Madrid) and the real dinner on Saturday.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I do want to share what I am thankful for. I am thankful for all my friends in Spain, without whom I would surely not have made it thus far. The government of Spain for offering me this once in a lifetime opportunity. My fellow teachers and students, who have made my job so much easier with their compassion and understanding. And of course my friends and family back home, for all their love and support while I’m abroad.

Longer Trips: Malaga and Barcelona, Spain

2011-11-23T19:17:00.000+01:00

So in my haste to post pictures, it turns out I forgot to post about some of my trips. Well near the end of October, the Madrid schools had a break (puente). Given this opportune moment, a group of 10 of us decided to embark on a 6 hour bus ride to Malaga, in the southern part of Spain. After the harrowing 6 hour, did I mention SIX HOURS, bus ride through tight roads, mountains, and one of the nicest rest stops I’ve been to, we arrive in the oasis that is Malaga. While Madrid wasn’t too cold at this point, 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, Malaga was a pleasant 70-80 degrees; it even had palm trees!

I enjoyed spending most of time on the beach, as well as getting to explore the city. While not as culturally significant as Madrid, Malaga had it’s fair share of history, including being the birth place for Pablo Picasso and the world-renowned Antonio Banderas. Along with laying on the beach, days before Halloween, we visited centuries old castles, a museum with the strictest security I have ever encountered, an outdoor party in the plaza on Halloween night, and a quick trip to Nerja to see the caves.

Two weekends ago, a few of us went to Barcelona for three days. Rather than taking an even longer than Malaga bus there, we decided to fly since it ended up being significantly cheaper than the train (which is unbelievably quicker than flying). I think I can sum up my thoughts on Barcelona in one sentence, “Barcelona, being the second most populous city in Spain, is huge!” In those three days, we didn’t even cover a fraction of the city, but from what I saw it was quite an amazing place. Being on the coast, the weather was more humid and temperate than Madrid. Since we had such a short amount of time in Barcelona, we focused our attention on the coastline and seeing the different Gaudi buildings. Just these two things easily filled our three days and we could have spent another week just on Gaudi. His work just reminded me of how us humans are capable of such incredible, and destructive, things.

Well my next trip will be to Bilbao, in the north of Spain, thus concluding my visitation of the center, south, east, and northern parts of the country. We are leaving for Bilbao in just over a week and a half, so you can expect new pictures then. Following Bilbao, I’ll be embarking on my Christmas/New Year adventures, which will surely take me to places outside of the land of jamón.

Barcelona, Spain (Click picture for more)

2011-11-23T19:14:00.000+01:00

Malaga, Spain (Click photo for more)

2011-11-23T17:53:00.000+01:00

Segovia, Spain (Click photo to see more)

2011-11-09T13:05:00.000+01:00

Alcala de Henares, Spain (Click photo for more)

2011-11-09T11:46:00.000+01:00

Madrid, Spain (Click photo for pictures)

2011-11-09T11:43:00.000+01:00

A Normal Day in my Spanish Life

2011-11-09T11:08:00.001+01:00

Let me start out by saying, that I am indeed still alive.

I wanted to give you all a break down on what a normal (or as close to normal as it gets) day in my life looks like.

So for those of you who don’t know, I’m in Spain to teach (American) English and about American culture (whatever that is). I’m contracted to work a whooping 16 hours a week, which breaks down to 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, leaving me with a 3 day weekend. Don’t worry, we have plenty of breaks and holidays, so I’m never working too hard.

Monday through Thursday I normally wake up about 6:30am, read the papers (online of course), maybe watch a TV show from the other day, have a little breakfast, get ready, and am out the door by 7:40am. Everyday I take the Metro, which always lends itself to providing me some unique experience that forever changes my view on society, and my trip is about 30 minutes to either of my schools. By the time I walk to the building, it’s about 8:15am and I’m generally one of the first teachers to arrive for our 8:30am start time. The 8:30 classes always start late, normally the teacher shows up about 8:40, so this gives me plenty of time to prepare for the day.

At Juana de Castilla, my Monday and Tuesday school, I teach four gym classes, two technology/woodshop classes, one social studies classes, and one biology class, with ages ranging from my first ESO (12 years old) to second ESO (13 years old). All of these classes are taught in English, since Juana de Castilla has a bilingual program. In addition to these classes, all the classes are taught in English with the exception of Spanish (of course), literature, and math. Normally I work here until 2pm, which includes many hours of breaks.

I work at my other school, Las Musas on Wednesday and Thursdays. Las Musas is a non-bilingual school, so I only teach English classes. In Spanish non-bilingual schools, English is compulsory and all students have to have 5 hours a week. With the majority of my classes, I’ll take two groups of 2-3 students down to the library, over the course of a class period, and we’ll just talk. I introduce them to new words or concepts, and also teach them a little bit about American culture. For example, to illustrate typical American food and portion sizes, I showed them this clip:

I actually explained how this clip illustrates a false American stereotype, and told them why Paula Deen is one of the worst things to happen to American culture.

At Las Musas, I tend to teach older kids, from 13-18, and with varying levels of English; some classes we just talk about conversation skills, other classes we talk about American politics, literature, and news articles. I end at this school about 1pm everyday.

After work, I head home and do lunch with a siesta. Normally I don’t nap for my siesta, but I use the next hour or two to just kind of relax, read my kindle, watch a TV program, update my blog, etc. After siesta, I start preparing for tomorrow classes, go grocery shopping, apply to law schools, and any other not so fun stuff I have to do. About 9-10pm, I’ll have dinner (9 is considered a little early for Madrid dinner but I haven’t quite gotten used to eating so late) and I try to cook about 4 times a week and go out for dinner once a week, to save my money.

During the weekends I like to travel (I’m leaving for Barcelona tomorrow after work!), cook larger meals, hang out with friends, and try to enjoy the Madrid nightlife (read morning life since the last few times we wound up being out until about 4am).

I hope you enjoyed my little snapshot of my life in Madrid, be on the lookout for more regular posts. In addition, I’ll be adding some pictures that I’ve taken over my time in Spain.

Day Trip: Segovia, Castile and León, Spain

2011-10-15T21:10:00.001+02:00

One of my first substantial day trips was to Segovia, a city located in the province of Castile and León. It took about 30 minutes from Madrid to Segovia by high speed train (it travels approx. 200 mph at certain points) and from the train station, it’s about a 15 minute bus ride to the center of Segovia. Segovia is possibly the oldest city I have visited, possibly dating back to 75 BCE, and the oldest part (founded by the Romans) is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Since Romans founded the city hundreds of years ago, it’s no surprise that some of the oldest structures still intact in Segovia were built by the Romans. The Roman aqueduct that separates the new city from the old city. Built between the 1st and 2nd century AD, the aqueduct still streches over 700 yards, which is incredible considering it’s age. My travel companion L and I walked from one to the other, which while not difficult because of length, was somewhat difficult because of the changes in elevation. Needless to say, it was worth it though.

(From upper left, clockwise: A view from center of town, the Alcazar (one end of the aqueduct), the other end of the aqueduct, another view from the center)

One of the next most striking features of Segovia, is the massive Alcazar, a castle built by Spanish royalty in the early 12th century. The Alcazar is now open to the public so we explored the royal chambers and the highest tower, which was previous used as a prison.

Also on the older end of Segovia is the Cathedral. This is a massive complex featuring over a dozen altars, each dedicated to a different, a museum, and a courtyard.

Segovia is an amazing little city to escape the international feel of Madrid and experience something closer to the “real” Spain. Lastly, I leave you with a pine cone wall and a view of the country just beyond the walls of Segovia.

My First Week in Food

2011-10-02T14:32:00.003+02:00

Those that know me well know that food, both preparing and consuming it, is a passion of mine. Many gastronomes consider Spanish cuisine to be of some of the highest quality, both in ingredients and flavor, in the world. So part of my desire in coming to Spain, was to expand my adventure in the food world; to experience a cuisine different than mine and throw my hat into the ring of preparing a new type of food. That being said, here’s my first week in Madrid, with a look at the food I’ve been eating.

*Note: the pictures of lower quality, are mine, whereas the better looking ones are stock photos. I haven’t gotten used to taking my camera everywhere nor taking pictures of food that I have not made.

First meal over the Atlantic: a chicken with seasoned rice dish, served with a Caesar salad, a semi-frozen roll, and a small package of Milano cookies.

The airplane dinner, served by the wonderful flight attendants of United Airlines.

First meal in Spain (technically): a croissant with a small side of fruit, also served by the flight attendants of United.

We were flying over Spain when breakfast was served so I suppose, by a technicality, this was my first meal in Spain.

First meal in Madrid: Potatoes with Fried Eggs and Chorizo, Paella, and Coquettes; with a caña of Mahou

I touched down during the early afternoon, and promptly made dinner plans with some fellow folks in the program for 8pm; a tad early for a Madrid dinner, but some of us were jetlagged and wanted to get to bed early. We asked the receptionist at our hostel for a dinner recommendation and she mentioned a good tapas place. Tapas means small dishes in Spanish, and that is a good definition of what they are. Tapas are just small plates of food, meant to be shared with your friends while you drink. We each ordered one thing off the menu, I chose the potato dish, and shared it. The potato dish that I ordered came up first and it was rather disappointing. It was literally fried potatoes, next to two fried eggs, and a strip of Chorizo, talk about uneventful. Coquettes came up next which are a potato dish, filled with different items, in our case ham and cheese, and then deep fried.
Very unhealthy, but quite tasty. Lastly we got a small dish of paella mixta. Paella is a rice dish, similar to risotto, that was invented in Valencia, Spain and incorporates rice with stock, meat, and the important spice, Saffron. Our paella came with seafood and chicken, and was not bad, but was overly salted.

Of course, with our tapas, we all had cañas (about a half pint of beer) of Mahou, the beer of Madrid.

Mahou is best described as if Budweiser and Busch light were to have a love child. Needless to say, I am not impressed by this Spanish beer. I will however, continue to try other beers here until I find a drinkable substitute for our wonderful selection back in the States.

First meal that I prepared: Chicken Caesar Salad

After the first few days of fried, carbohydrate heavy, food, I really craved a salad. So I picked up some chicken that I sautéed, added some lettuce, and dressing, and had myself a chicken Caesar salad. Of course I needed some bread though, so I had some baguette with goat cheese.

Favorite dish, so far: Tortilla Española

At the moment, I am really loving tortilla here. It’s simply potatoes, onions, cheese, and eggs, but it is so good. I could eat it for every meal, if it was acceptable.

Favorite meal: Doner Kebab

My favorite meal included a dish called Doner Kebab. Think a gyro (chicken or lamb), with a salad, all coated in a hot sauce and a garlic sauce. Absolutely delicious, and horrible for your health. Served with French fries, that you can coat in even more garlic sauce, and a Coke made with real sugar. I’m drooling just writing about it.

Trashiest meal: the following Monstrosity

Cook noodles that you got from the Spanish equivalent of a dollar store, add some ground beef, cheese from northern Spain, and of course, a delicate sauce of ketchup, and you have yourself one, extremely, trashy meal.

First Week in Madrid

2011-10-01T12:59:00.000+02:00

It has been a whirlwind of a week here in Madrid; from getting off the plane 8 days ago, to finding a piso (room in an apartment), to making new friends, cooking abroad for the first time, exploring the city that is my new home for the next 9 months, and successfully finding a way to watch the Wolverines beat their opponents.
I can only imagine it’ll get crazier once I start working.

Bank of Spain

I should begin work on Monday, but a few issues are complicating that. First, my lack of a schedule. I called both my schools on Thursday and Friday, IES Juana de Castilla said that I’ll be getting my schedule over the weekend, and the secretary at IES Las Musas said the principal would call me back in an hour, well that never happened. Regardless, I’m showing up to one of the schools on Monday, whether they like it or not.

IES Juana de Castilla

IES Las Musas

The second factor complicating the start of work is the an ongoing strike in secondary education. Spain is suffering a horrible economic recession, and in an effort to cut spending, the provincial government of Madrid has asked teachers to work 2 hours more per week, without an increase in pay. While this doesn’t seem like much, it means more students per week, less teachers (they are firing teachers too), and less qualified teachers (the government is firing the more expensive, qualified teachers).

Striking at Juana de Castilla

The first sign says “it isn’t two hours more, it’s 3000 less jobs/workers” and the second sign says “it isn’t two hours more, it’s an attack on public education and a benefit to private education”. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out.

Today I’m going to a Spanish barbeque hosted by Felipe’s friend, so it should be an interesting day. Expect more posts during the week in the future, once I have a more definitive schedule the posts should improve in both quality and quantity. I’m also adding some pictures to previous posts, so take a look for some updates.

Apartment

2011-09-24T16:35:00.001+02:00

So on my second day in Madrid, I found an apartment! According to the other people in the program here, I've set the record for the quickest arrival and finding a place. I actually sort of found the place by luck. I signed up for a site that lets you post announcements for what kind of room you are looking for, and then you can contact people and they can contact you. I did this my first afternoon here, and by that evening I had an appointment setup for the place. The next afternoon, I took the Metro for the first time, didn't get lost either, and checked it out. The room is small but has everything I need. Kitchen is completely stocked with gadgets but small on counter-top. But the main things were that the apartment is in a great location, 5 minute walk from the Metro I need to take, and the people are really nice. I'll be living with Felipe, who owns the apartment, and Tiffany who is another renter. Felipe taught Spanish in London last year through the same program as this one, and Tiffany is teaching French in Madrid through the program too. Felipe speaks English and Spanish, while Tiffany speaks French, English, and Spanish, so I'll get to practice my Spanish a lot but also can communicate in English when necessary.

My little corner of Madrid.

This is where we dry our clothes.

The European kitchen

The cozy living room

View of our street.

Other side of the view of our street.

My attempt at being artsy outside my window.

Gotta get ready to find a way to watch Michigan beat San Diego State. ¡Viva azul!

First Post from Madrid

2011-09-22T15:32:00.001+02:00

At the moment, I'm sitting in the basement of my hostel in Madrid, searching for apartments all the while avoiding falling asleep. I've spent 12 of the last 15 hours flying, and this jet lag is sure taking a toll on me. Well here's a little bit about my trip, and my first impression of this country known as Spain.

Detroit -> Newark
I avoided the full body scanner again at Detroit! Thankfully someone needed to take a coffee break so just a quick scan through the magnetometer, and I was on my way. I ended up being 2 hours early for my flight, but I love Detroit Metro airport, so I was fine with this. The flight was relatively uneventful other than I, for the first time, didn't have someone sitting next to me. So that was amazing to stretch out; which, came in handy when we hit some of the worst turbulence I ever experienced.

Newark -> Madrid
Alright, I don't like Newark airport. The bathrooms are far flung and quite dirty, not to mention how crowded and loud the whole place is. My flight ended up being delayed an hour, while we were on the plane, due to electrical issues (ahh!!!) and a near fight about three rows in front of me. The fight was over two family members who purchased middle row seats directly in front of each other, but being in the middle, they blocked a family from sitting with their children. Why anyone would want a middle seat, I don't know, but it ended with a police officer coming on the plane to calm them down, and the family with children sitting together (after the others realized the kids wouldn't stop crying). Other than that the flight was uneventful, and I even managed to fall asleep for a few minutes. I sat next to two Spanish citizens, that have lived all over the world. They gave me their email addresses before we parted ways, so perhaps I'll contact them if/when I visit Barcelona (where they live). It also turns out the girl directly in front of me on the flight is also part of the program, but we didn't realize this until the last two minutes of an 8+hour trip.

First Impressions
So far, all the madrileños (people of Madrid) I have encountered have been super friendly and helpful. The taxi driver gave me some sage advice on what to do/what not to do at night. The hostel check-in person made a point to learn my name and has remembered it since. Even the maids in the hostel have been super helpful. On the negative side, what is it with Madrid's lack of proper elevators. Why do you put an elevator on the 1st floor, and not start it on the ground floor?! I encountered this both at the airport and the hostel. Also, air conditioning...if you have it, use it. It is hot.

Alright time for a quick siesta before my first Skype date con mi madre. Adios.