Things Change

This time last week I was packing for my grand London adventure. While the London part didn't happen the adventure part sure did. I was quite shaken and left questioning my future plans after that experience. I've spoken with my friends, parents, and Flynn and have come to an overwhelming consensus. I simply cannot leave. I am about 64 days into a 196 day trip. I've learned a lot since I've been here, but I'm not done yet. Also, I made a promise to the family and I can't back out. London did change some things for me though.

I am no longer feeling as invulnerable as I was when I first got here. I was confident that I could go anywhere I wanted and have fun. I could meet people, make ends meet, and be fine. While those things are still true, I can do all those things, now I realize that it isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I need to take more precautions. I need to NOT write in my journal as much while going through immigration. I need to have a plan B for accommodations.

In January, shortly after arriving here, my new friend Jenny warned be about traveling in Ireland and the UK. She is a veteran traveler and has many many traveler friends. She said that the UK was very strict about visas and that I should be careful there. I took her advice and chose to go before my tourist visa expired. Obviously, that wasn't enough. Having learned my lesson, I have decided that it would be unwise to try to go to Ireland.

Flynn and I have been planning to backpack around Europe for the month of August. Our plan was to meet up in Ireland, visit his family there, then make our way through France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain before flying home to Seattle. Due to my recent run in with immigration we thought it would be best to avoid Ireland all together. What a disappointment. Ireland will have to wait till another day. Then we decided that if we couldn't do Ireland then perhaps we ought to save our money and take a different trip all together. This is what we have come up with.

In August I will meet Flynn in Boston. We will travel south to Florida, fly from Florida to California, and then continue the road trip north to Seattle. This trip will cost half as much as our Europe trip while still fulfilling one of my (many) traveling fantasies.

I am still going to do some European traveling this summer, though I'm not sure where I will go. I've made a list of places I want to visit in Spain. I think those are the priority. I am going to look at my calender and see how much time I have. Then I will see when I could take long weekends or maybe even the first week in August to see France or Italy. Things can change pretty quickly, but if you don't bend you break.

I've got this looming feeling that I'm running out of time, all of a sudden. I still have more than half my trip left! This isn't the first time during my stay that I have felt this. I am pretty sure that it will pass soon and I will go back to being calm and relaxed. But for now I feel like I need to plan, I need to schedule, I need to make sure I see it all. It isn't a bad feeling, it's just a feeling. Perhaps if I didn't like planning so much it would be a bad feeling. But I generally enjoy looking at calenders and maps and reading travel articles. I like coming up with plans. Maybe that's why I already have a route, time line, and a loose budget in mind for the US road trip. Or maybe that's because I'm crazy and need to feel in control. Your guess is as good as mine.

Things change. It's a good thing.

I'm Staying Put

When I got home on Tuesday it was about 2p. I had been out of the house (to London and back) in exactly 24 hours. They family hadn't left for their ski trip yet and were obviously surprised to see me. They were all very confused about why on earth I would tell them I had been working here, but dropped it when I started to get upset. After going to my room to set down my things and have a good (exhausted) sob I went back upstairs. Seeing that I was puffy faced and pink eyed they were much more sympathetic. Consuelo reassured me that she had NEVER EVER heard of anything like this before, especially to an American. I don't know how reassuring it was (hooray for being an exception!) but it was nice that she was being so nice.

Food and a shower really helped me sort things out on Tuesday. I was so bloody exhausted I could think of anything but getting home to Seattle. After I had recuperated I got my mind back on track. I had made a commitment to the family her in Spain. I couldn't bail on them now. Also, apart from this debacle things have been going really well.

This experience has really helped me to see that I am ready for the next phase of my life though. I wanted to come to Spain because I wasn't ready to settle down in one place. I didn't want to start teaching at a school unless I could commit to staying there at least a few years. Now I feel like I can commit to stay in one place for a while. I am looking forward to moving back to Seattle and finding a teaching position, renting a house, buying furniture, and clothes. I'm excited about joining a church, a running group (possibly a Hash), and a climbing gym. I'm ready for a home. For now, I'm staying put here in Spain, but I'm ready for the next step. I'm ready to find out what my next four months here will teach me about myself, my life, and my world. I'm ready.

London

I have officially been on my trip to London for about 45 minutes. Carlos and I left the house at about 2:15p. We got to the airport very quickly. I didn't think to write down the terminal numbers (since most American airports list the airlines with the terminals) so we went to the wrong terminal first. He walked me inside, pointed me towards the ticket counter and wished me luck. I think he is fond of me because he always says if I need anything I should call and seems genuinely interested int the things that I do.

I got to the ticket counter and checked in with no problem. Then I went through security. I don't know when the last time was that I got to walk through an airport metal detector with my shoes on. I probably could have left my belt on too, but I didn't want to risk it. I stopped by an exchange center and got some pounds. My goal is to spend only what I have, but I brought extra euros just in case. I plan on walking as much as possible and eating discounted foods from the grocery store. Tonight I'm going with my new friend Nate to the pub near his (our) flat. I wont be drinking much so as to save pounds.

Next I made my way to the police check where you have to show your passport. The guy behind the glass barely had my passport in his hands two seconds before he was handing it back to me. Wow. That was easy. Now I am hanging out near a set of TVs that will tell me which gate my flight is departing from. My flight starts boarding in an hour and a half. I'm going to check the monitors again. 30 minutes ago my flight wasn't on the screen, but I think it's because I'm so early. If my flight still isn't on the screen I'll ask someone. then I will make my way to my gate and people watch until it's time to board.

I'm on board and ready to go. Whee! The flight is pretty short. I think there is a one hour time difference that puts us at 2.5 hours. Not too shabby. I' m in an aisle seat so hopefully it won't be too uncomfortable. This is my first time flying on a budget airline. So far I've noticed a few things. The seats are small, with little leg room, there are no TVs anywhere, the seats don't lean back, and all the food and drinks cost extra. No complimentary peanuts on this flight. I'm going to grab a bit and try to take a nap. Next stop, London!

I've landed in London after a fairly uneventful flight. However, I have yet to make it across the UK border. I received a "Notice to a Person Required to Submit to Further Examination." Apparently I'm a bad liar and when* the passport people started asking me questions all I could do was tell the truth. She didn't like what she heard. 1) working in Spain and 2) staying with a friend I've never met before. She asked me to have a seat. Then several minutes later a guy and his trainee walked me and my backpack to a table. They then asked me some informal questions and removed nearly everything from my pack. I think it would have been everything but the trainee was unfamiliar with the awesomeness that is my backpack (ie. it fits a lot of stuff). After being searched (just my bag, not my person) I was taken back to the seating area. I didn't have any documents about my trip so they took my journal because that is where I had written my flight information and Nate's contact information and that sort of thing. Everything that is before the Astrix (*) was in the journal when they took it. I finished writing in it later. They also still had my Passport.

I sat for what felt like a long time. I listened to my iPod and also a Brazilian man tell me his tale of troubles with immigration. I watched person after person make their way effortlessly through customs. Finally, I was called back into another door. I was asked to set my bag and purse down on the shelves in a closet-like room. I was shown to waiting room A where I was patted down. I was also handed a couple sheets of paper that said why I was being detained. The short of it is I didn't satisfactorily answer the agents questions. Next I was taken to another room. This room was small plain and had a table and four chairs, all of which were chained to the floor. The agent who had first taken my passport and I were the only ones in the room. She was a British lady (obviously) who looked tired. On her right hand she wore a silver chain bracelet that made noise while she wrote and a silver ring. On her left hand she wore two gold rings and a gold watch.

She began by asking questions she already knew the answers to. In fact she started writing my answers before I spoke them. She asked me things like why I was coming to the UK, how long I had been in Spain, what I was doing in Spain, and who I had lived with in the US. Fair enough. Then she began asking a bunch of questions about, Nate, the guy whose flat I had planned on staying at. How did I know him? How long had I been emailing him? What did he look like? What was his nationality? Who did he live with? She also asked who the guy in my picture was. In my journal I had placed a copy my favorite picture of me and Flynn. I told her it was my boyfriend in Seattle. To which she replied, "So, you have a boyfriend in Seattle, a boyfriend in Spain, and now one in London too." It wasn't a question. I was shocked and told her that she was obviously mistaken. But she wasn't listening, so I stopped trying to clarify. Unfortunately I began writing this entry in my journal when I was asked to sit down the first time. I had no idea my random flow of thoughts would be used against me. She wanted to know what I had meant when I said I was a bad liar (see the Astrix above). Again I explained that I hadn't finished my thought, but she wasn't listening. She asked me a series of questions about the intentions of my travel. She seemed particularly ticked that I had written down notes from the Rick Steves travel book "Europe Through the Back Door." She said it sounded "dodgy" like I was trying to get away with something or avoid the law. Again I tried to explain (Through the Back Door is all about traveling like a local as opposed to a tourist) bu she wasn't hearing a word of it. When she was finished I was taken back to the front area. The guy who had searched my bag and the guy who had secured my bag in the closet took me back towards the "interview/interrogation" room but instead we went to a different door. In this room I had my fingerprints scanned electronically. From there I was taken to waiting room B. This room was much different than the other rooms. This was more like a holding cell. There was a TV, a pay phone, two bathrooms, a book case with a few very used books, a a series of tables and benches all of which were secured to the ground. There was a Portuguese girl (late 20s or so) who kept trying to get a hold of her sister on the payphone. She was crying a lot. There was another lady who looked pretty dreadful too. I remained surprisingly calm throughout all this. I figured getting upset wasn't going to help the situation much. The way I saw it I had three options. 1) Stay in London and finish my trip: Sweet! 2) Go back to Spain: Fine by me. 3) Go back to the States: This was the most unplanned for plan, but it was strangely reassuring. At least I would have friends and family there to receive me with open arms.

Finally I was called out of the waiting room. I was handed yet another sheet of paper. This sheet said that I had been refused entry into the UK. Can you believe it?! Since Spain is where I've just come from they had me scheduled for the first flight out in the morning. Now I just had to figure out how to sleep on a hard steel bench in a cold brightly lit room. It wasn't easy. And I wasn't allowed a pen so I couldn't even write to fill my time. I chatted with the other ladies a bit, watched CNN a bit, and tried with very little success to sleep. At about 6a I decided I couldn't pretend to sleep anymore. Not only that but my flight was in less than two hours and it felt weird just sitting there. Normally before a flight I'm getting to the airport, checking in, finding the gate and all that jazz.
At 7a a very tall younger guy called me out of the room (which had acquired two more people overnight). He got me my bags and he and his partner walked me to the gate. I chatted with them and told them that the agent had pretty much insinuated that I was sleeping my way across Europe. They that was hardly any of her business and said I should file a complaint. At the gate I "got" to go straight to the door with my friendly escorts. Then we got to be first on the plane. Lucky me! I still didn't have my passport though. The security lady had given it to the head flight attendant in a big brown envelope.

So now I am on my way back to Spain and I have no idea what is going to happen. will I be handed over to the Spanish immigration officers? Will I be deported working with a tourist visa? Will this journal be used against me, again? I don't know. Worse. I don't have a clue. Whatever happens, happens. I'm not too worried about it. This may not have been my plan, but God knows what He's doing and this is in his hands. For now, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the rest of my flight. I could really use a nap. Oh! And that agent never gave me back my picture of Flynn. She must have thought he was cute. I tend to agree.
The remainder of the flight was uneventful. I took a nap and ate a sandwich. My third sandwich in 24 hours actually. I think I'll be done with them for a while. As we were landing I had visions of armed security officers boarding the plane to haul me off. In the end, I stopped at the front of the plane before exiting to ask for the envelope containing my passport. They got it out of the cockpit and sent me on my merry way. We had to take a shuttle to the gate, then back through customs. He didn't say a word to me and I didn't say a word and neither did I. He stamped my passport and off I went.

Now I am sitting on the Metro thinking about what to do next. I have to change Metros soon then take the bus back to Tres Cantos. I think I'll take a shower and a nap. Then I need to email Nate and let him know what happened. I also want to talk to my mom. Should I stay till my visa expires (4 more weeks)? Should I do the trip in August or will it be too risky? If I want an out, this is it. Do I want an out?

Waiting

I have about an hour and a half before I head to the airport. My flight lives in about five hours and I should land at Gatwick airport in about seven hours. I'm nervous. I'm not going to lie. I'm very excited about being in London and speaking with English speakers and seeing all the sights from the history books and movies first hand, but I'm nervous. I think it would be irresponsible for me not to be nervous.
I think I have just about everything I need. I've emailed my London contact information to my mom, I wrote out a copy for my Spanish family, my cell phone is charged, and my Passport is packed.
It's just the anticipation of the unknown. What will I see? Who will I meet? Where will I go? What will I eat? (I'm a poet and didn't know it!) It's all the unknowns that make the trip intersting, but sitting here... waiting... and waiting. I just want to be on my way already!

Blonde.

I've been spending a great deal of time outside in the sun since in the two months that I've been living in Spain. (Yes, it really has been two whole months now.) I'm wearing plenty of sunscreen and up until today was actually looking forward to the natural effects the sun would have on my hair. I was hoping for lovely sunkissed highlights. But unfortunantly I'm affraid I've been sporting a dumb blonde look lately. Sigh... here's the story.
Last week at lunch after the Hash I was given a series of questions to test my validity as an American. I did very well and at one point stunned the group of on lookers (nearly all men) by asking the question, "When does East end and West begin," in response to a question regarding which state was the farthest East. The gents made a comment about that being something a blonde female doesn't usually ask. Then the proceeded to tell their favorite dumb blonde jokes. Of course, this is all in good fun, but I was quite proud of myself for not fitting into their stereotype.
Once you've been to the Hast several times you are awarded a nickname. Names are often inappropriate, generally embarassing, and always have a story behind them. I thought my success in being anything but a dumb blonde would pay off down the road. I thought for sure I would be awarded a cool cleaver name because I had been so cool and clever last week. Unforfuntantly, I am pretty sure that has all be thrown out the window this week.
This week's Hash was in Colmenar Viejo, a ton one train stop north of Tres Cantos. I thought in order to save myself some time I would take the train then walk to the car park to meet up with the hashers. When I got off the train this afternoon I started walking in the general direction google earth had told me to go. Being the blonde that I am I forgot my written directions at home and now had to rely on my memory to direct me. I walked along until I met a couple. I asked them if they knew where camino del Pardo was. The man pulled out his GPS thingermagig and and found it on a map for me. I walked back the way I came confident that I would be able to find some flour arrows (left by the hashers) on the ground at any moment. It didn't take me long to figure out I was going to be late for the run, but I kept walking. After a bit I figured I had missed the hash, but could do some wandering about and sightseeing and maybe I would find my way to the Hash eventually. An hour later I found an arrow. I followed it's path until I passed the road I had been on near the train station. If only I hadn't asked for directions!! I followed the arrows and finally FINALLY! wonder of wonders, I found the Hash. I was two and a half hours late and had walked over 6 miles, but I made it.
Everyone asked me where I had come from and how I had gotten there, but I wasn't affraid to admit it. I got lost. I thought I could save myself some time, but I didn't. I thought I was using my noggin' and knew my way around, but I didn't. I thought all the sun had done was make my hair a little lighter, but it didn't. It sucked out my brains! All this time, after graduating from university I thought I knew everything. Well, much to my shagrin, I don't!
To celebrate getting lost and walking and surviving I got to drink a green beer in front of the whole group. Then I turned around and drank another to celebrate the fact that this was my second Hash.
My humbling experience will surely be held against me and a nickname will soon result. No worries though, I got a good walk out of it. Next Sunday, I'm meeting at Larry's Bar and someone can drive me to the Hash. I'm not going to risk getting lost again. Plus, now I have to work damage control and prove that I'm not a dumb blonde. I'll let you know how it goes.

Today's photos were taken in Colmenar Viejo.

Happy Sunday

This weekend has been a nice relaxed one so far. Actually, this whole last week has been nice and relxing. After so many adventures last weekend, I layed pretty low. I spent time with the family and stayed in Tres Cantos. My long run with the Hashers last week gave me the confidence to push myself this week. I have been running more and walking less. It's a very good thing.
Yesterday, I taught another English lesson. It is sort of silly. It takes me two hours to get there and two hours to get back and I only teach the lesson for an hour and a half. But since I don't have other plans and I want the extra income, I'll keep doing it for a while. If I can find clients closer, I'll take them. After the english class I came home and watched movies and played with the kids. It was a very mellow evening.
Today I am going to go to Colmenar Viejo to meet with the Hashers. Colmenar is a nine minute train ride north of Tres Cantos. Carlos helped me look at the map and the driving directions the Hashers provided to figure out where I'll need to walk once I get off the train. I think (knock on wood) that I should be able to find it pretty easily. I'm going to leave soon though so I have time to get lost. After the Hash, I'll catch a ride to Madrid for some drinks with my new friends then head home. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so I can't stay out too late.
Tomorrow morning the family and I are going to go to Toledo. I haven't been yet, but it is one of those places that everyone says I have to go. We are going to check it out and be back in Madrid in the early afternoon. Then Carlos is going to take me to the airport. I should be in London by 8pm or so. Then I have to take a train, the tube, and a walk to find my new friend Nate. After I set my things down at Nate's we are going to a pub to celebrate St. Patrick's day. I am going to bring my computer with me to London. I will try to update pictures as I get them, but I may have to wait until I get back to Madrid. We'll have to wait and see.
Well, it's a beautiful day. I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine!

Scavanger Hunt

This is our happy group of scavangers. Going clockwise we have American Jenny, American Me, French Ivan, Mexican Eduardo, Spanish Carlos, and Spanish Raul. Hungarian Sophie had to leave early. After our scavanger hunt we found a restaurant that could accomodate our group, we chose an outside table, it turned out to be an alley. =)

One thing Jenny's team had to do was get a a kiss from a grandma. This nice little old lady thought it was hilarious. I love this picture. They are having so much fun.

On my list of things to do was sell something in my possession. Lucky for me I just happened to have an orange in my backpack. Who wouldn't want to buy a perfectly delicious orange for a euro cent? I was wishing I had my orange still when we were wandering the streets looking for a place to eat though.

Since the guards at the Palace were off duty, Jenny, Raul, and Eduardo had to find couple of cops to make friends with. Apparently, these two friendly law enforces got a kick out of our game, but they weren't able to find any others as willing to participate. Go figure.

I think they may have had some previous cheerleader training!

First thing on our list was to form a human chain with ten people. No problem! I have no idea where these people were from but they helped us!

Our directions told us to wade in the barely visable fountain behind us and sing YMCA. Since we didn't much feel like getting arrested we chose to get as close to the fountain as we could. The folks at the bus stop near by looks pretty nervous, but they helped us take our picture anyway.

Next up, Cat's Hostel. We found it no problem. Well actually we had to turn down a few wrong streets before we found the right one... but it was more or less no problem.

I got this young American to trade me a few pence for some euro cents. They'll come in handy when I'm in London next week.

I think all in all everyone had a good time. Everyone we talked about the game to thought it sounded fun. I think we are hoping to play a bigger city-wide version in the coming months. Stay tuned.

Fun with Fotos.

I've been meaning to put some of these pics up for a couple weeks now. Some of them I took others I "borrowed" from friends.

I hope you enjoy!

This first bunch is from our day trip to Aranjuez.

Me and Jenny.

Jenny said to pose real quick, so I did. Apparently we've got the lost/confused tourist look nailed.

I don't know what I was doing, but man do I look cool doing it!

Carlos, Joe, me, and Jorge.

This bunch is from our trip to Cordoba.

Look at me! I'm a backpacker!

Jenny was really disappointed this picture didn't come out better. Luis, our bus driver to Cordoba was actually quite attractive.

There are a lot of random paths and roads in Cordoba. It's a wonder we didn't get lost more than we did.

Vintage Cordoba.

Some of the pools and the palace at the "Palace for the Christian Kings."

Mi fin de semana

Warning: This entry is very long.

Even though I have suddenly become accutely aware that people are in fact reading this blog, I am going to do my best to avoid stage fright. Luckily for me, and I suppose you too, my weekend was just too good not to talk about.

On Friday night, I had lessons with the four children as usual then we had dinner. After dinner I surrendered the modem to the children for the evening. Jorge and I watched "What A Girl Wants" starring Amanda Bynes. We watched it with dubbed Spanish and English subtitles. It was weird watching a movie for teenaged girls with an eleven year old boy, but since we didn't have any other options it was ok. After the movie, Javier gave me back the modem. I talked with Flynn for a little while and then went to bed.

Saturday morning I woke up, had breakfast, and walked to the train station. I made my way to first english class. It took me about two hours to get there. I had to walk thirty minutes to the train station, take two different trains, then walk ten minutes to Gemma's house. As I made my way down Gemma's street I was looking for the house number. When I found it there were no unit numbers and there was no intercom system near the door. Luckily one of Gemma's neighbors was sticking her head out her second story window. She asked me (in Spanish) who I was looking for. I answered, "Gemma." She said (in Spanish) that there was no one there by that name. I confirmed the street name. After a couple minutes Gemma came out and asked if I was Hannah. Lucky for me, I am! The old neighbor lady asked if Gemma's name was Gemma and Gemma said, "Of course!" Gemma thought it was funny that the lady didn't know her name. She wondered what the lady thought her name was. The lesson itself was very low key. We just chatted for an hour and a half. We talked about her work, my work, traveling, Spanish vs. American child naming habits... We made plans to meet again next Saturday.

After the lesson I took the Metro to Sol. I found a spot on the wall of a building and leaned against it while I ate my lunch (cheese, bread, and apple). Sol was packed! It was a sunny saturday afternoon and everyone was enjoying being outside. The people watching was fantastic. After lunch I went to El Corte Ingles which is a huge chain store that is all over Spain. They have everything: books, clothes, food, sporting good, hardware supplies, etc. I went to the kids book section to practice my reading in spanish. I could understand the little kids' books. I had previously tried to read the first Harry Potter book but after referring the spanish/english dictionary about a hundred times for jut the first page, I thought I better start smaller. I read a few books then made my way back outside.

There is a great pastary shop in Sol. I love it. Dangerously cheap dangerously delicious pastaries. Yum! I bought one and ate it while I walked. I eventually ended up at the palace. I found a bench and started writing in my journal about nothing in particular. The sun felt great and again, the people watching was fantastic. There are so many different kinds of people just wandering around or sitting near the fountain. After a while I laid down in the sun, using my back pack as a pillow. I took a nap. It was great.

When I woke up it was time for me to start making my way back to Sol. I was a little groggy when I met my friends at 5:30pm. While on our trip to Cordoba last weekend Jenny and I decided to organize a scavenger hunt in the center of Madrid. We had seven people (including ourselves) show up. On team A was a Hungarian girl, a French guy, a Spanish guy, and me (an American). On team B was a Spanish guy, a Mexican guy (who grew up in Austin, TX), and Jenny (an American). It was a fun mix. What we did was we had each team write a list of twenty things to do within 15 minutes walking distance from Sol. Then we traded lists. We had two hours to do as many things on the list as we could. Some of the things that were on the lists were: giving a kiss to a grandma, selling something in your possession, trading a Euro for any other currancy, taking a group photo with twenty strangers, getting five hugs from strangers in front of the palace... Photo or video documentation of the team doing each thing had to be shown at the end. My favorites were singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in the middle of Plaza Mayor (and having to teach my teammates the song along the way) and seeing the pictures of Jenny kissing grandmas (the grandmas looked SO happy!). After the game was over we met up and found a place to have tapas. We ate while we tallied points and looked at pictures. It was fun. In the end my team didn't win but no one really cared by that point. We sat and ate and chatted for quite a while. Then we split up to get ready for a party that night.

Jenny, Carlos, and I went to her apartment so she could change for the party. I was too tired to go to the party so I just rode with them on the Metro and got off at a different stop. The bus ride home was nice and quiet. I made it home and rolled into bed at about 1am. I had not planned on staying out that late, but I had so much fun, it was worth it.

On Sunday, I woke up without an alarm. I love waking up without an alarm. There are so few days that. I woke up at about 8:30am. I relaxed in bed and tried to figure out how I wanted to spend my day. The way I figured it is I had two options. A) stay home and be lazy, save money, and hang out with the family or B) take the bus to Madrid and participate in a Hash.

I interrupt my randomly written blog to let you know what a hash is. Hash House Harriers (HHH) is generally referred to as "A Drinking Club With a Running Problem." Hashers are people who participate in the Hashes. A Hash is a run. Two "Hares" set a course using flour as markers to tell the Hashers which way to run. Some of the routes lead to dead ends though. So basically a large group of people runs around following a trail of flour on the ground. Only sometimes the trail ends and they have to turn back. At the end of the run all the Hashers and Hares meet in a large circle. In this circle Hashers are called out for various infractions (such as getting a bad hair cut or defiling the trail) their punishment is a they have to drink some beer. First timers must drink a beer. Basically beer is drunken by many and random songs usually making sexual references are sung by all.

Ok. Back to my decision. I stayed in bed watching a movie (The Notebook) for about an hour before I finally forced myself to get ready for the Hash. I first heard about Hashing while I was at community college in Tucson, but had never had the guts to show up for one. Well apparently I was feeling gutsy, so I went. I had a quick breakfast, put on my running clothes, grabbed my backpack and headed for the bus stop.

Once the bus arrived at Plaza Castilla I had a ten minute walk to the bar that everyone was meeting at. I was very early (by about 45 minutes) so I walked around the neighborhood. As I made my way back to the bar I saw a girl about my age leaving the Metro station wearing running clothes. She was heading the same direction I was, so I wasn't technically following her... but I sort of was. She went straight to Larry's Bar. I arrived right behind her and we introduced ourselves. Before long about a dozen people had gathered ready to go to the Hash. We carpooled to Alcala de Henares. I rode in a car with an American guy who has been living abroad for over 20 years, a very very chatty Dutch lady, and a Canadian lady from Nova Scotia. I sat in the back seat with my fellow North American. We chatted and I decided I would stick close to her until I had a clue what was going on.

Once we arrived at the CP (Car Park) we started unloading coolers of soda and beer. There were several ladies sitting in folding chairs and lots of people hugging and greeting one another. Everyone was very nice and welcoming to me. We all got in a large circle so that they could welcome everyone and explain the "rules" to the newbies. Once the explanations were made everyone just took off up the hill. Some walked others ran. I started off running with my buddy, who by the way has run four marathon and countless half marathons. We ran for a bit, took a few wrong turns, but mostly we just stayed with the crowd and let them find the trails. I walked when I needed/wanted to and jogged when I felt like it. There were people in front of me and behind me. I felt absolutly no pressure to perform (especially since being competitive is an offense punishable by bear).

The course was beautiful. I am kicking myself for not bringing my camera. I hope that someone will post pictures on the website at some point. We ran along hills sprouting with green crop shoots. The green against the blue blue sky was just breath taking. At one point along the way, the flour trail told runners to stop and look left. We could see all of Madrid from where we were. It was great. Sometimes I ran alone. Sometimes I walked with others. One lady I walked with is from Scotland and one guy I walked with is from the States and graduated from my almamatar (NAU) back in the 70s.

At the end of the run (which ended up being about ten miles) everyone relaxed drank beer drinks or soft drinks (I drank fanta) and waited for everyone to return. Once everyone had gathered again we formed another circle. At one point I had to step forward, reintroduce myself and down a small mug of beer. If you do not finish your beer you must pour the remaining contents of your mug over your head. I finished mine. One other notable offense was that anyone who wears new shoes to a hash must remove one shoe, pour a beer in it, and drink said beer directly from the shoe. It is both a disgusting and entertaining thing to watch. I will not be wearing any new shoes to the hash anytime soon.

After the ceremonies were done about 25 of us headed to a local restaurant for dinner. We chatted and filled our bellies with food. I was given a quiz to test that one guy apparently gives to all Americans. I'm proud to say I passed and impressed those around me by apparently proving that I am not a dumb blonde (HAH! As if there was any doubt.) After lunch we car pooled back to Larry's Bar (which apparently the Hasher's second home). Larry told me to come in a have a drink so I did. I chatted (I do a lot of chatting... all in English) with my new friends for a couple hours then headed home. I got home a little after 10pm. It took me a while to get to sleep because I kept replaying my weekend in my head.

This weekend was one of my best in Spain so far. I met new people, was plenty active, got some fresh air... I could go on and on, but since this entry is already ridiculously long, I'll stop.

Hablo Espanol

Viernes: Me despierto a las 7:30. Entro en Internet y hablo con Flynn. Yo desperto a los chicos, preparo desayuno, y voy con los chicos a la parada del autobus. Vuelvo a casa, vesto, y preparo para mi entrevista sobre las clases de ingles. Viajo en autobus a Sector Pueblos para mi entrevista. No conozco a la senora que me entrevista. La senora es muy simpatica pero no habla ingles. Como yo no hablo espanol la entrevista es muy breve. Despues voy a la biblioteca para volver tres peliculas y un libro. Entonces me quedo una hora lejendo. Vuelvo a casa para comer. Javier y yo hacemos los de beres durante dos horas. Hablo con Flynn en linea otra vez. Vuelvo a sol a reunirme con mis amigos. Tomamos sangria y nos divertimos. Vuelvo a casa y me acuesto a los 3:00.

Sabado: Me despierto a las 8:30 pero tengo mucho sueno. Tomo una ducha rapido y desayuno. Carlos me lleva en su cochea la estacion de renfe. Voy a Nuevos Ministerios a reunirme con mis amigos. Cojemos un tren hacea Aranjuez. Nosotros paseamos, tomamos fotografias, y nos divertirmos. A las 16:00 tenermos mucho hambre. Buscamos un lugar para comer. Amo la comida de Espana. Despues del almuerzo volvermos a la estacion de renfe. Espera el tren de Tres Cantos. El paseo desde la estacion hasta casa dura trenta minutos. Mi pies es muy consades. La familia es afuera cuando yo llego a la casa. Tomo un tranquila y relajente cena antes de acostarme a las once.


This is a sample of the homework I'm doing with Pilar, this children's aunt. She comes twice a week to help me learn Spanish. She speaks English very well and seems to enjoy the chance to practice. I wrote this journal in English first, then with the help of my handy dandy Spanish/English dictionary I spent quite a while translating it. Then when Pilar came we read it over and she corrected my grammer and spelling mistakes. I'm sure there are still some in there though. Learning a new language is tough!

Cordoba Pictures.

Here are some of my pictures from my trip to Cordoba last weekend. They aren't really in any particular order. It was a fun trip. Cordoba is a very neat little city. I hope that comes across in the pictures.

Here I am at the oasis that is Jardines del Alcazar.

The chapel at Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. Nearly all the walls in this chapel are mosaic tiles.

The view from the top of Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. (That's the palace of the Christian Kings)
Jenny and I chillin with one of the many statues in the garden.

Plaza de la Corredera was the lunch time hot spot. It used to be where bull fights took place but now it is the home of food lovin' hippies, families, and street performers.

It was absolutley beautiful in Cordoba. The weather during the day sat around 30 degrees c during the day. It was great.

Through that castle wall is a part of town called Barrio de la Juderia or Jewish Quarter.

The narrow streets are usually always shady so they stay nice and cool.

I don't know if it is illegal to pick fruit in public parks, but I did. Unfortunately the orange wasn't ripe and Jenny was stuck with a very sour taste in her mouth. She was a good sport thgouh.

One of the many pools at the Jardines del Alcazar.

Believe it or not, but this beautiful wall is actually in the tourist information office!

La Mezquita. The Mosque.

The courtyard at la Mezquita. Check out the cool little stone pathways. They used small stones like that for much of the walk ways in the city.

Jenny and I at la Mesquita.

A tower of la mezquita from the courtyard. La mezquita is the third largest mosque in the world .

This sunny room is where I called home for two days. Jenny took the bottom bunk and a young girl from New Zealand took the top bunk.

The bed on the left was claimed by a young guy from England. That left me with the bed on the right. The hostel was nice and clean and our roommates... well our roommates were nice and clean too!

These are Roman ruins. Apparently this used to be a Roman Temple.

This is another view of la Plaza de la Corredera. Hmm. Food!

There is a river that runs through Cordoba and this is it. It is nice to see water but I don't think I'll go swimming in it any time soon.

So that was a brief tour of my trip to Cordoba. I'm trying to get used to taking pictures. It isn't a habit for me yet. My next big adventure will be London in a little less than two weeks. That should be fun!

Cordoba

I went to bed at about midnight on Friday. I was nervous because the bus connection with the train was a little iffy and I wanted to make sure it was going to be ok. If I missed the connection I wouldn't get to the bus station on time. i went to bed a little anxious, but excited for the trip.

On Saturaday I woke up at 5:45a. I had laid out my clothes and bag the night before so I was all set to go. I got dressed and checked the bus times again. I chose to trust the schedule and prayed that everything would run smoothly. After breakfast I walked to the busstop. My bus came right on time and dropped me near the train station. The train came 15min later then my schedule said that it would, and I hoped it would be ok. As it was Jenny and I had planned to meet at the bus station 30min before we were scheduled to depart. The train ride was uneventful. I then took one metro and transferred to another metro. It wasn't until my ride home that I found out I could have taken the train all the way to the bus station, but at least now I know. When I go to the station I found Jenny without too much trouble. We found our bus and had the seats in the very front row.

For the first few hours of the bus ride Jenny and I chatted. We always have plenty to talk about. Teaching (she teaching enlish to 2-5year olds), traveling, grad school ideas... After a while we started chatting with the bus driver. Edit: Jenny started chatting with the bus driver. He was a young good looking Spanish guy from Cordoba. He kept telling Jenny not to translate for me or I wouldn't never learn Spanish. The two of them talked some and I tried to follow the conversation. The 5 hour bus ride went very quickly. Before we knew it we were in Madrid and it was about 2pm.

We found a map from a car rental place and started walking towards our hostel. Of course, being the blonde that I am, I forgot my paper with the hostel address and directions. Luckily I remembered the name of the street it was on and the general vicinity of it. Once we got a map I found it no problem. As we made our way through the streets we got our first taste of the city. It was great. It was warm and sunny. There weren't too many people or traffic. The buildings were old but in good repair. The hostel was about a mile from the bus station. We made it quickly and easily

Once we found the hostel we set our bags down and locked up some things. We were sharing our room with two other people, but they weren't there. We took off walking and pretty much walked all day. We found the mosque, some Roman ruins, and other miscellanious sites. We got back to the hostel around 11p. We were exhausted. Our roommates were there and they were great. Alex, a girl from New Zealand and a British guy. Both were young (18ish) and taught English in southern Spain. They were funny. We all had a nice chat, then crashed out.

In the morning, our bunkmates headed off for the bus station and Jenny and I rolled down to breakfast. We had juice, cereal, and toast. Then we went back up to our beds and relaxed, chatting until till it was checkout time. At noon we headed out to explore more of the city. We found the Alcazar de los Reyes Christianos (the Palace of the Christian Kings). It was beautiful, like an oasis. The views from the castle towers were great and the garden was gorgeous. We had lunch at Plaza de la Corredera and then headed back to our hostel.

Our bus left for Madrid at 6pm. The ride was a bit longer than the first one (or maybe it just felt like it). Jenny and I chatted some more, practiced my spanish, and slept off and on. Once back in Madrid I took a train from the bus station to Tres Cantos then walked the 30 minutes home. When I got home I was happy to get off my feet and get into bed.

I will get pictures up as soon as I can.