Mi Vida en España...

Snipits of my adventures and time abroad in Madrid, Spain (Jan 20-June 9).

~ Sunday, May 27 ~
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Tonight, Kaitlyn and I had a VERY unwelcomed visitor…

Around 4am, Kaitlyn and I were both awake and on our respective computers. She was watching a tv show and I was Facebook chatting and watching YouTube videos about Taylor Swift’s romantic life (don’t ask why - I don’t even know). Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw something crawling around on our floor. You might be asking, how could I see such a thing, MAYBE it’s because it was the biggest cockroach I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Immediately, I start saying “Kaitlyn, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” while pointing at the enemy. She quickly realized and without hesitation we both started shrieking and jumping on our beds uncontrollably. Of course doing this gave our guest the opportunity to crawl into hiding under Kaitlyn’s armoire.

We realized that is was not the best course of action so I got my sneaker to await when it came out. It soon did and I quickly whacked it. However, apparently I was absent the day we learned how to kill cockroaches in grade school because apparently that’s not how you do it. It quickly fled under Kaitlyn’s bed.

Now we were both even more unsettled so we both put on our sneakers (in the event that it came out, we could both try to stomp on it) and took our positions awaiting its return back to the light. While we were waiting, I asked my friend Ahmed for any suggestions that he might have. All his suggestions were hogwash and unhelpful. I was not amused in this time of crisis. Well, okay, slightly amused since Kaitlyn and I were alternating from shrieks and giggles about the entire scenario and the ridiculousness of it.

Finally we saw the little bastard crawling around on her suitcase, so we quickly got a cup to clamp down on it. We also broke down an old cereal box to use so we could carry it outside. Once outside, we finished the battle for good by stomping on it.

I swear, we should get purple hearts for our bravery.

The irony of the story is that, throughout this entire debacle, I was chatting my unhelpful friend. Therefore when I proclaimed our victory, I told him he was not to be thanked. He told me he was going to shower and I vengefully told him that I hope he sees a cockroach in the shower. Moments lately I get a Facebook message, he just spotted and killed a cockroach in his apartment. It was the very first time he’s had a cockroach in his apartment. I am not sure if it was my ill will or karma or maybe cockroaches around the world are infiltrating houses worldwide but the irony was just too perfect.

It took about an hour for my heart rate to drop and it’s now almost 6am and we are just getting to bed. I told Kaitlyn we should just stay up until the sun comes up, she wasn’t having that. I guess I should just go to bed, but at least I know that I’m going to bed a hero.

5.26.12

Tags: cockroach incident 2012 kaitlyn ahmed
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~ Monday, May 21 ~
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Today after our Ethics exam, Kaitlyn, Anne and I went to get some Churros con Chocolate which was something that I hadn’t experienced yet.

They were quite delicious, in the moment, then the deliciousness faded when I realized I was full of greasy, fried dough. Nothing against them, I just am getting REALLY tired of spanish food. So much so that the other day, Kaitlyn and I got pancake mix from our local grocery store. We decided that tonight would be the night that we give them a try. They were not good, they were a weird texture and really thick. They were not like traditional pancakes despite what the box says (the box even says - “Just like in American movies!”) This was the second major sadness from the day, the first occurring when we ventured out to where I thought the American (grocery) store was only to find it not there. By the time I asked Katie for the correct name of the store, it was getting ready to close.

So yes, I am going to be sad to leave Madrid but man oh man, my cravings for American foods are reaching new levels. What I’d give for some Chili’s right now…

Tags: anne katie kaitlyn ethics churros con chocolate american food pancakes food
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~ Saturday, May 19 ~
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Sunday morning, we woke up and had some toast with butter and honey then I got all packed up to go back home to Madrid. Grace and Dan dropped me off at the metro stop. Once I was on the metro I realized I didn’t know the name of the stop I needed to get off at but luckily for me, the old man sitting across from me was more than helpful. 

While I was on the metro, I realized that I think I left my iPhone charger at her place. This wouldn’t be too bad except it has the adapter that I need to use on my computer charger so that is something I’ll have to conquer soon enough. I got to the airport and was able to get some playing cards and the chocolate milk drink that Grace and Dan recommended. I also got a chicken Cesar salad which was surprisingly good for airport food. I really was just trying to spend my final kroner before going home. 

The entire trip was really nice. Copenhagen seems like such a perfect town. Everything about it is so different but it just seems to work for them and it’s really cool. For example, there are bikes everywhere because the government is trying to make it more green. So if you want to buy a car, you have to pay a 200% tax on the car. This is something that would never work back home but it works there. It was just so clean and beautiful. I really loved the city. 

What I loved even more than the city was being able to hang out with Grace. She has been one of my best friends since we were in middle school and we don’t get to talk much during the semester, but when we do get to talk or hang out, it is always just like how it always is. She is someone that I know I can always turn to and I really value her as a friend so it was great to be able to spend so much time with her. Tak Grace. 

5.13.12

Tags: photo copenhagen denmark grace dan
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Saturday morning I woke up and really had to pee so I went to the bathroom and when I was leaving the bathroom, Grace heard me and she was up and ready to start her day. I was still sleepy but it was like 930am so I figured I’d start mine too. 

We went to the bakery to get some breakfast, most specifically some rye bread which Grace knows that I love. We had some delicious toast with butter and honey creme along with our pastries that we bought. The Danes really like their carbohydrates. 

Saturday’s weather was not nearly as nice as Friday’s. So luckily for me, we did the majority of the sightseeing the day before. We relaxed inside for a bit after breakfast, then we went to the glass market to meet up with a few friends from her class. When we got to the market, we could only find one of her friends so we waited around for the other one but she was no where to be found. By this time, it was starting to drizzle, so it was cold, rainy and incredibly windy. Not a great combination, especially when you’re coming from 90F Madrid weather. Additionally, I woke up with my foot hurting me for some unknown reason. Because of these two things, I ha no issue just going back to Grace’s apartment. We spent the majority of the day sitting around her apartment talking. For lunch/dinner, we made homemade pizzas which were quite yummy. We were talking for so long that we barely realized that we had had two bottles of wine and were sitting in the dark. Around midnight, we went out to meet Dan and his roommate Stefan for a drink at a bar. 

After being at the bar for a little bit, Grace did not feel very well so we decided to take her home. We had a little issue finding a bus that was running at that time, but after receiving help from Stefan, we got on a train to go back to Valby. 

Once we got back, we had some more toast with butter and honey then we all went to bed. 

5.12.12

Tags: grace photo copenhagen denmark dan
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Friday morning I woke up at 6am to make sure that I got to the airport in time to catch my 8am flight to Copenhagen. I had made plans with Grace (at 2am the night before) to meet her outside the metro station at the city center. I got to the airport and to Copenhagen with no troubles. This was the first time that I did not check any bags so that simplified things. I probably could have not check bags all the way through but oh well. 

While I was on the plane, I passed out for the majority of the flight because I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. 

When I arrived to Copenhagen, I realized that I never looked up the exchange rate for the dollar to the kroner. I had read the night before that the metro costs about 30kroner. So I went to the ATM to take out some money and just went with 200kroner (which I later found out is close to $40). I went up the information booth to ask how I should get to the city center via metro and she told me that the bus would be the best way. Since that was not what Grace and I planned, I ignored her opinion. I kept walking through the airport a little more and saw a place where I could buy metro passes, so I got on line to get one from the attendant working. It was a good idea that I went to a real person and not a machine because I probably would have bought the wrong thing. Luckily, I had taken screen shots of all the instructions that Grace had given me the night before. I literally just slid my iPhone through the little whole in the glass and let her read what instructions she had given me. I got a pass for 145kroner, which would last me my entire trip. 

I went up to where the metro line was and it was just two lines and one did not seem to be running. I punched my ticket (incorrectly—which would later benefit me…oh the benefits of being a tourist) then tried to find someone who could verify which line was going to the city center. After striking out with a few people, a metro worker came up and I asked him. 

I got on the metro and took a window seat. Sometime along the way, a man sat down next to me and I was impressed by his intuition and got up to move for me when I started touching my bags. I later found out that this is common for the Danes. They don’t like having to ask people to move so they just move around a little bit and the person on the aisle is expected to interpret this and move for them. No words exchanged. Very interested. 

When I got off the metro, I realized that I was like 20 minutes early because my plane got in. I figured I’d find a coffee shop nearby where I could wait for Grace. That was unnecessary because Grace checked my flight and she got to the metro stop early so she was waiting for me when I arrived. 

We took the train to her apartment so I could drop off my bags. She realized that I punched it on the wrong side but she said that it wouldn’t be a big deal and that I might have gotten two free trips from it. 

Her apartment was so cute, it looked like it should have been out of an Urban Outfitters catalog. I also got to meet her roommate who was incredibly nice and hipster fresh. After I put my stuff down, we went to walk around a bit. 

We walked around quite a bit, I told Grace that I didn’t look anything up about Copenhagen so I wanted her to take me to her favorite places. We first visited some beautiful parks because the weather was so nice (minus the insanely strong wind that would occasionally attempt to knock us over). After walking around in the parks, we went into the city. While in the city, we went to the glass market and a bakery and got some dessert, then went to another park to eat them in. I got a dessert that had cake covered with chocolate, with creme on top of that and strawberries on top of that. Conclusion: it was delicious. 

After eating, we went to the round tower and walked by the big shopping street. By this time, it was close to the time that Grace had to go to a celebration for her program. I told her that I would wander around on the shopping street and meet her at the round tower when she thought she’d be done. After I went into a few stores, I realized that this might be a problem because I was getting too tempted to buy something. So I did what I normally do to seek refuge in a foreign land, I went to McDonald’s. I always feel comfortable going to an American chain because I know I can get something to eat for cheap and sit there for a good while. So I sat in McDonald’s and read my book on my iPhone while I waited for Grace to be done. 

I met her back at the round tower around 715pm and she called Dan to see if he wanted to join us as we walked around the city. Thanks to daylight savings, it stayed light out until like 10pm, so we got a lot of walking in. 

We walked by the harbor, where “the best restaurant in the world” is located. Then we went to Christiania,  which is an area that was an old military base that was retired then used as hippies to make a commune. It was the most bizarre place I think I’ve ever been. It still looks very much like a commune but it’s a place for people to go/live if they want to live a more outdoorsy lifestyle and smoke weed. They have a few rules for the place, one being that you cannot take any photos. Marijuana is not legal in Copenhagen but I think that if they do not cause any issues, the government doesn’t interfere with their lifestyle.

After we left there, we walked by the water, where the picturesque image of the little, colored houses along the water are always taken. We also went to where they have little trampolines by the water. This city has so many little random things like trampolines that it’s not wonder why it’s one of the happiest in the world. We also saw the opera house and the queen’s residence. The final place that we wanted to go to was to see the little mermaid. 

Unfortunately for us, when we finally did reach the little mermaid, there was a good of drunk people who were climbing over the poor mermaid. We decided to keep walking and try to go to the big hill. The lookout spot on the hill was closed but we decided that we had done a lot for the day. We walked back to the city center and went by the amusement park, Tivoli, which apparently was an influence for Walt Disney. After that, we headed back to graces apartment to have some dinner. 

We ate a delicious pasta with tomato sauce and zucchini. After we ate dinner, we were all fairly exhausted so we headed to bed. 

5.11.12

Tags: Copenhagen photo denmark grace dan tivoli
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Copenhagen
5.11.12

Copenhagen

5.11.12

(Source: laureno7164)

Tags: copenhagen photo denmark
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reblogged via laureno7164
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This is a photo of me and Grace in Copenhagen. We have been friends since 7th grade and it was insane that I was able to visit her for the weekend in Denmark. She is someone that I care a lot about and will always have a great time with no matter what. She’s such a great person, inside and out.
5.11.12

This is a photo of me and Grace in Copenhagen. We have been friends since 7th grade and it was insane that I was able to visit her for the weekend in Denmark. She is someone that I care a lot about and will always have a great time with no matter what. She’s such a great person, inside and out.

5.11.12

(Source: laureno7164)

Tags: copenhagen photo denmark grace
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reblogged via laureno7164
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Late on Tuesday night, Natalia arrived in Madrid. She was planning on staying for a few days to explore the city with her German friend that was visiting. 

On Wednesday morning, she went to the airport to pick up her friend and I had class. When I got out of class, I met them both at my apartment then we decided to go to Parque de retiro to enjoy the warm sun. We took a long walk to get to the park so I could show them Parque de Oeste, Plaza de España, Gran Vía, el metrópolis, Palacio de Comunicación and Museo del Prado. 

Once we were at the park, we pretty much collapsed on the ground to relax. After sitting for some time, I showed them the water area but they decided they wanted food and I needed to head back to my apartment. That night, we went out for Cien Montaditos and while at dinner I mentioned wanting to see the Hunger Games. After we wait, we went to the theater right next to the restaurant and there happened to be a showing in 20 minutes so we decided to see the movie. The movie was fine but it didn’t live up to our standards, but it was cool to show Niels that the film was made in North Carolina. 

Thursday morning, Kaitlyn and I had class early, but I met up with Natalia for breakfast afterwards. We chatted outside in the nice sun and drank our café con leche and ate tostada con tomate. After breakfast, we went to a Colombian fast food place that Linda had been giving great reviews. Kaitlyn and I shared a huge hotdog and I also splurged for a smoothie. After lunch we headed to the Reina Sofia. 

At the museum, Natalia really wanted to see Guernica. Kaitlyn and I had already seen it with our literature class but we went with to take some (contraband) photos of the painting. After showing them some more Picasso and Dali and the rooftop of the museum, we headed back to Retiro. 

We sat outside and relaxed for a bit again, clearly we are already loving this Madrid heat. After a bit, I headed back home to my apartment to do a few errands and prepare for my trip to Copenhagen. When they got back, we went to the grocery store to get the ingredients to make fajitas. Since Kaitlyn was skyping with her friends, I was in charge of the food which was a scary occurrence. Luckily I had Natalia to make sure I wasn’t poisoning everyone. Fortunately for me, the food was perfectly fine. 

After dinner, Natalia and Niels rested for a little bit and I packed for Copenhagen. Then, we went out to a bar that Alyssa had recommended called “Bar Imperfecto” which was really neat. It had a lot of old music and movie posters hanging up. We shared a jar of “Memphis mojitos” or something like that. It tasted like a very strong juice essentially. But at 1am I decided to head home because I had an 8am flight in the morning. 

5.9.12 - 5.10.12

Tags: madrid natalia niels germany copenhagen kaitlyn
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~ Thursday, May 17 ~
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“Somewhere Only We Know” - Keane - Live at 40 Café in Madrid

Tags: keane video live concert somewhere only we know 40 café
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Tonight, I saw Keane perform at 40 Café in Madrid. I got to the venue only a few minutes before the band was supposed to start performing so I didn’t have the best “seats”. I basically spent the majority of the time trying to scope out a better location. But I found one and I was able to get some decent photos from the event. It was really good and quite funny. These four brits don’t speak any spanish so it was funny to see the fan interaction. It was great to see them perform because they have been one of my favorite bands for quite some time. Their CD, “Hopes & Fears” is always one that I turn to when I need to think or be studious. 
Click here to see more photos from the concert!
The songs that they performed were:

This Is the Last Time 
(Only Tom and Tim)


Disconnected 



Everybody’s Changing 
(With audience singing the … more)


Sovereign Light Café 



Is It Any Wonder? 



The Starting Line 



Bend and Break 



Silenced by the Night 



Somewhere Only We Know 
(With audience singing the … more)


Sea Fog 



Bedshaped 

Tonight, I saw Keane perform at 40 Café in Madrid. I got to the venue only a few minutes before the band was supposed to start performing so I didn’t have the best “seats”. I basically spent the majority of the time trying to scope out a better location. But I found one and I was able to get some decent photos from the event. It was really good and quite funny. These four brits don’t speak any spanish so it was funny to see the fan interaction. It was great to see them perform because they have been one of my favorite bands for quite some time. Their CD, “Hopes & Fears” is always one that I turn to when I need to think or be studious. 

Click here to see more photos from the concert!

The songs that they performed were:

  1. (Only Tom and Tim)
  2. (With audience singing the … more)
  3. (With audience singing the … more)

(Source: laureno7164)

Tags: keane photo live concert 40 cafe madrid strangeland
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reblogged via laureno7164