Madrid: Parque del Retiro

One of my favorite things to do now is explore the city. I want to make sure I see all of Madrid before I leave so I try to do or see something new in Madrid every week. So this past week I finally went to see Retiro, which is basically Madrid's version of Central Park. It is such a beautiful park and I didn't even get to half of it cause it's so big. It's an amazing place to just relax, wander, people watch, and lose track of time.

xo

Valencia: Las Fallas

Valencia is a beautiful city on the eastern shore of Spain, along the Mediterranean Sea. It has such a laid back culture and beautiful beaches. I recently went in order to see one of the city's biggest traditions...Las Fallas, a huge month long celebration. 

Las Fallas started hundreds of years ago as a pagan tradition. Farmers would use lots of wood during the winter months and there were lots of leftovers/scrap pieces. When spring finally arrived, they would burn all of the extra scraps as a way to welcome spring and as a way to forget the year that had passed and have a fresh start. As time went on the tradition continued to evolve and the wood began to be made to look like political figures and people from the town, as a kind of satire or poltical statement. Today Las Fallas has a set theme every year (I believe this year was corruption and greed) and almost all of them make fun of political leaders or society.

So all the gorgeous statues you see below (not only take an entire year to make) but are also filled with gun powder and blown up on the very last day of Las Fallas. It's very strange to me that you would work sooo hard to make something all year....just to blow it up. But to each his own. It's definitely an interesting tradition to say the least. Fire and fireworks are two of the main symbols associated with Las Fallas. At night all I heard was firecrackers going off, literally everywhere. Little kids would throw them in front of people, cars, dogs, anything really, then run off as they exploded. Crazy I know. And since I was not there on the last day of the festival I did not get to see all of Las Fallas blown up (Las Fallas is what they call the statues they make as well as the name of the entire celebration). It was a loud trip but definitely an interesting experience I will never forget. Learning about and getting to witness cultures, especially the different traditions, is fascinating. 

xo

Paella de Valencia

One of the most famous dishes in Spain, Paella originated in Valencia

Learning Spanish

Ultimately my goal for this trip is to come back speaking Spanish fluently, or at least be highly proficient. So since that is my goal it is something that I try to work toward every single day. Being in a country where they speak Spanish is perfect because I see and hear Spanish all the time, but if I don't put in the extra work to really learn the language...it's not gonna happen. So here are a few things that I do in order to practice (outside of my Spanish class). It's hard and half the time I feel like a complete idiot but I'm learning...slowly but surely...and that's what matters right? :)

1. Reading Magazines in Spanish
It's no secret that I love fashion and I always read Vogue when I'm at home so I figured why not read it here? No lie it takes me FOREVER to get through a single article but I feel so accomplished when I do lol.

2. Keeping a Spanish Notebook
I bought a tiny little notebook that I take with me everywhere. It has all of the tenses with the regular and irregular conjugations and when to use each one. I also write down words or phrases that I need to learn.

3. Dinner Every Night with My Senora
I look forward to dinner every single night because I know that I will get to practice my Spanish. And dinner is such a laid back thing I never feel pressure or nervous. I just speak naturally. It also helps that my Senora never talks too fast and is very patient with me. Dinner is hands down one of my favorite parts of the day.

4. Texting My Friends in Spanish...sometimes lol

So since were in Spain I try to text my friends in Spanish. Sometimes it works and other times it's just so much easier/faster to talk in English. I will keep working on this though.

5. Listening to Spanish Music
This one has been very fun for me. Listening to music in Spanish helps me soooo much because it sets everything to a tune, which makes it easier to learn.

6. Quizlet (this one is new)

So I recently started using quizlet during midterms in order to study. It's basically just a website where you can create flash cards and quizzes in order to study. It worked really well for my midterms so now I am going to try it with learning words, the tenses, and all the irregular conjugations. I'm excited to see how it works. 

I still have a long way to go but I am definitely MUCH better than when I first arrived. At this point I would say I'm conversational...trying to move toward proficient, ultimately trying to be fluent. I have a lot of work to do but I refuse to give up on my dream. I will continue to update you on how my Spanish is progressing.

xo

Florence, Italy (and a little bit of Pisa)

I'm backkkkkkkk! lol I apologize for neglecting my blog for the past 2 weeks. I was busy taking my midterms (and of course going on a few trips), so I haven't actually had much time to write any posts. But midterms are now over so I can get back to my normal routine.

So I went to Florence (to see Sarindee and my friends Ruth and Zoya during their spring break) and it was amazing! Florence is such an artistic and beautiful city with so much history. I'm so thankful we were able to do a walking tour of the entire city; I learned SO much. I already fell in love with Italy after my trip to Rome and going to Florence made me love it even more. Also, Tuscany is gorgeous. I flew into Pisa and only spent a few hours there before catching the train to Florence. It was only an hour long train ride but it went right through Tuscany....and it was absolutely beautiful. Italy will always be one of my favorite places.

xo

Pisa

Florence