After my adventures in Athens and Santorini with Kelsey and Amanda I flew to Belfast where I was greeted by my parents and cousins. For living practically on the other side of the world, my family is quite close with the Irish cousins. When we were younger the family of 7 (Heather, Joanne, Richard, Ruth and the parents Rosemary and Norman) would come to Chicago and visit for a few weeks, while we toured them around the city. Then in 2002, my immediate family traveled to Europe and of course made a stop in Belfast to see the family. I was quite excited to see the cousins, as I hadn´t seen Heather and Joanne since 2002 as they were working when the rest of the family came to Chicago on the more recent trips. So as you can imagine I was quite excited a year ago when we found out the youngest, Ruth, was engaged…as it meant a trip to N. Ireland!

Once I was reunited with my parents we rented a car, thankfully my dad was brave enough to drive on the other side of the road. We were staying in a cottage just outside of Belfast, which looked out on the classic Irish landscape. We then climbed back into the car and drove to my cousin´s house. After many hugs, we finally settled down to a great BBQ meal, and tried to catch up on past years.

The next day, my parents and I ventured out to Derry, Northern Ireland, about a 2 hour drive from Belfast. We were about half way there when my dad, not used to driving on the other side of the road, slipped off the road and…POP the tire deflated. We then pulled into a nearby gas station, and changed the tire within the hour. This was of course after much teasing and laughing on the part of my Mom and me. When we arrived in Derry, we walked around the city and learned about the present and past conflicts in Northern Ireland. If you don´t already know, Northern Ireland has had several conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants dating back several hundred years and it unfortunately still exists today. Walking around the city, one could see the clear division between the ¨Catholic¨ and ¨Protestant¨ side of towns, which are separated by an ancient wall containing the old city and ¨neutral¨ part of town. This conflict is much more complex than what I presented above; I hope to learn more about the history and possible solutions of this conflict as it is very important in today´s world and to me personally.

Ok back to happy wedding stories. On Saturday, we drove to the church located a few minutes from our hotel which was located right on the ocean and was absolutely gorgeous. After the lovely service, we walked outside to bright sunlight (good luck for the couple, eh?) and drove to the reception. In accordance with the culture, we indulged in an afternoon tea with several sweets, followed by a wonderful meal and more sweets. After the toasts, speeches and meal we then headed for the dance floor. Guess what the first 2 hours of the dance music consisted of? Irish folk music! I learned a few new dances and possibly embarrassed myself a few times as I dosey-doed the incorrect way, or spun around with the wrong dance partner. After the traditional Irish music, the DJ came out and played everything from ¨Build me up Buttercup¨ to Lady Gaga. It was fun time…especially seeing my parents dance! I was sad to say my goodbyes to the cousins as I felt that I had just arrived, but we promised to keep in touch and to hopefully be reunited soon.

 Thanks for reading this obnoxiously long blog, but I felt guilty not including everything! I have two days in Coruña before I head off to Andalucía with the other HC kids and our housing director…for which promises to be an amazing trip! Stay tuned for an update!

Also my mom took all the pictures so once she returns to the states I´ll upload them!

¡Ciao!

It may sound cheesy and a bit childish but ever since I saw ¨Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants¨ and ¨Mama Mia¨ I have made it a goal to travel to the beautiful Greek Islands. So for Semana Santa, Kelsey, Amanda G and I booked our Easter break vacation to both Santorini (a Greek Island) and Athens (a pretty important city in Greece). We left just a wee bit early on Thursday April 14th and finally made it to the wonderful Greek island of Santorini around 8 pm later that night. We stayed at a lovely hostel, called Stelio´s Place and Perissa Beach and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Santorini! The next morning we woke up to a beautiful sunny day, hopped on the island bus and travelled to Fira, the main town on the island. There we walked around the narrow, curved and whitewashed town becoming completely enchanted by the steep cliffs and majestic blue sea. I think I took about 1000 pictures that day, and said ¨Oh gosh this is too pretty¨ about 2000 times. Later that day we jumped back on the island bus and ventured to Oia, another smaller town on the island. From here we saw perhaps the most gorgeous sunset, as there was nothing blocking your view of the sun dipping into the Mediterranean sea besides the gorgeous white houses and blue roofed churches. The next day we biked to a different part of the island, which was a much more difficult adventure than we planned, due to the unexpected hilliness of the roads…but needless to say we did make it to our destination. The other day and a half were filled with walks along the beach, laying out by the pool and simply soaking up the Greek island life and indulging in the amazing Greek cuisine!

On April 18th, we climbed on a huge boat heading towards the mainland to the historical city of Athens. We arrived late at night, so we took a cab to our hostel and quickly curled up under the covers. We awoke the next morning bright and early, and walked up to the Acropolis. This ancient and world famous monument literally means ¨high city¨ in Greek, and is built on a hill that looks over all of Athens and the surrounding mountains and towns. The Acropolis has quite an extensive history that I don´t have room to explain here, so Google ¨Acropolis¨ if you are in need of a good distraction or reading material. The other days in Greece consisted in walking around the city and coming across some ancient ruins ever few meters, a temple dedicated to Zeus or the original Olympic stadium. It was fun to just walk around the city, as it is quite different from anywhere else I have travelled. Since Greece is further east in Europe, it has a lot of influence from Turkey and other Middle Eastern/Asian Countries. However at the same time it is quite touristy and has a definite Mediterranean feel. So since I love learning about societies and different countries, the mix of cultures in Greece was very cool. On April 21st, we were all sad to depart the ancient country of Greece but excited for our adventures ahead. Amanda and Kelsey travelled to Lisbon, Portugal while I trekked to Belfast, Northern Ireland for a family wedding, once again stay tuned for that blog!

Hello beautiful coast!

Blue, blue sky!

We made it!

What a wonderful view to eat a Gyro…

A pretty cool Greek Island, if you ask me!

A greek chruch!

So pretty!

I miss it already…

Its just magical…

I must admit my camera makes us look tanner than we actually are….sorry Kelsey

Nothing in my way…

Before our adventures…

Grrr….yes we can conquer those Santorini cliffs…at least if we walk our bikes up them!

Just a little sleepy!

Our matching bags!

The ¨red beach¨ take a look at the sand!

The ¨black beach¨…take a look at the sand! This was steps away from our beds!

our hostel….very nice and excellent price!

The boat back to Athens…8 hours later…we arrive on the mainland!

Some old rocks, ya know…

The view of Athens walking up to the Acropolis

A cool view of Athens!

We are almost there! To the Acropolis!

We made it!

I think this is kinda famous, right?

Trying to be creative and artsy….

Two greek goddesses

I must admit I was scared a few times this was going to fall on me…

The changing guards ceremony…a must see

I couldn´t even hold the straight face for a second…how do they do it?

The Temple of Zeus

Zeus the dog…Kelsey thought that all the stray dogs in Athens (that followed us everywhere) were the greek god´s spirits…I think she might be correct.

Dream goal-To win the olympic gold in a running race.

actual life-I had to redo the ¨mile test¨ in 6th grade because I was too slow.

I try…

A final sunset, with our final day in Athens…

¡Adios!

So for the last 2 weeks I have been nonstop moving around A Coruña and Europe…here is how it all started. On April 9^th, the Amandas came to visit Kelsey and me in A Coruña. We have been looking forward to this reunion in Coruña ever since we were accepted to study abroad, and after Amanda G was unable to make it to Ireland in December due to snow, it was quite exciting when we were finally together. We toured around the city for hours on end which of course included the beaches, Torre de Hercules and Monte de San Pedro. Then we ate at all of our favorite restaurants including Caffe Vecchio, the Candy Store, our favorite Italian restaurant and of course PULPO…aka Octopus! I was very proud that both were quite adventurous and tried the pulpo and loved it, or at least pretended to enjoy the Galician delicacy. The days were filled with telling many good stories about our adventures abroad, while reminiscing about past years at Holy Cross and expressing complete excitement to be fully reunited with our other friends next year. The Amanda studying in England stayed with me while Amanda in Ireland stayed with Kelsey. Neither spoke much Spanish (although I will give them credit for speaking a little and greatly improving throughout their stay) so it was quite fun and hilarious translating between Amanda and the host family. While I have absolutely loved my experience abroad this year and wouldn´t regret it for a moment; the friends that I have made at Holy Cross are family, and I have missed them terribly this year abroad. Therefore it truly meant the world to me when two of them came to visit me in A Coruña. So thank you Amanda G and Amanda M!!!

Dato Divertido: This past week was Semana Santa or in English, Holy Week. Basically all of Spain shuts down, and everyone is off school. Since Spain is a predominately Catholic country, there are several processions and parades throughout the country (especially in southern Spain) that have deep religious significance. I was in Greece for Semana Santa (check out the next blog) so I was unable to see any of these traditional and world famous processions, but I hope to see one when I come back to Spain, as I will of course have to visit!!

City Hall

Looking out from Monte de San Pedro

The bloggers!

A classic and much needed picture in Coruña!

YUM.

The Amandas!

On the Boardwalk!

The group!

¡Hasta Luego!

This past weekend was quite a blast!  On Saturday night, James, Kristen and I ventured to Pato Mareado. This is a bar in A Coruña that we named the ¨Holy Cross Bar¨ as all of the HC Corunesas go here, and there is even a Boston Red Sox hat to prove it! There we watched the Butler vs. VCU basketball game, just to soak up a little ¨American¨ culture. After the game, we strolled down to the oceanfront, bought some kebabs and ate them on the beach. Good life, eh?

On Sunday, Kelsey´s host mom was able to get free tickets to the Coruña Depor soccer game. Elena, James, Kristen, Kelsey and I cheered on Coruña´s soccer team to a victory. They played (and beat) Palma (yes another HC program), which just proves that Coruña is a better city! OK totally kidding, Palma is great too, and the three HC kids there absolutely love it! But Coruña is still better…We all had such fun cheering on the team and I actually felt that we were residents of this city…as after living for a year in one place, it really becomes a part of you!

On Wednesday, Kelsey and I are giving a presentation in our art class. Yes, in Spanish…yikes! In fact, we have to do this every single week on a different artistic work…so I am hoping that my speaking (and presentation) skills improve. Our first presentation is on Dolmen de Dombate. At first this structure appears to be a few slabs of rocks placed together, but it is extremely old (were talking B.C) and was one of the most sacred places during the time it was used. Google it if you get a chance, there are also some videos on YouTube! So wish me all luck with this presentation!

Also, on this coming Saturday Amanda (the one blogging in Ireland) and Amanda (the one blogging in England) are traveling to Coruña! I am so excited to see them and show them all my favorite places in Coruña. Amanda England (new last name), Kelsey and I then jet off to Greece for Semaña Santa. I will try to do a blog entry before this trip, but since I will be playing host to Amanda and Amanda, I may not have time!

Dato Divertido: I can´t believe that I didn´t comment on this cultural difference before as it is SO obvious and apparent the second you land on the Iberian Peninsula. When greeting people here (a friend, family member or acquaintance) you give each other two kisses on the cheeks. Not wet smooches, but more like little pecks. This was quite strange for me when first arriving in Spain, but now I am fearful that when going back to HC and seeing friends that I haven´t seen in a year, I am going to unconsciously give them 2 kisses….wouldn’t that be a laugh?!?

¡Hasta Luego!

After about a week of rainy weather, I woke up on Friday to a glorious day. The sun brightly shined into my room to wake me up and I rushed to my computer to look up the weather. The high for the day was expected to be a balmy 80 degrees and just out of curiosity I looked up Worcester´s weather, which was represented by a little picture of a snowflake. Oh how I love Spain! The other HC kids and I went to the Santa Christina beach (about a 10 minute drive from Coruña) with our Spanish friend Giselle, and spent about an hour lying on the beach. The beautiful weather got me very excited for summer, but then unfortunately reminded me that I only have about 10 more weeks in Spain!!! 🙁

Earlier on Friday, before the beach adventure, I went to my first class of History of Galician Art…it´s on a different schedule, which is why I started it later than my other classes. The class was quite interesting, as we talked about art that dates back thousands of years ago that was found in caves and was used for hunting, storytelling or traditional ceremonies. The most interesting aspect was that a lot of this art was found in Galicia or other parts of Spain! It´s quite cool to be learning about such ancient history, and then go for a short drive and see it with your own eyes!  I hope that I am able to visit or see a few of these art pieces during my last few months in Coruña.

Dato Divertido: In Spain (and in most locations throughout the world) the university tuition is much lower than it is in the United States. I believe (not certain) that Universidade da Coruña costs about 3000 euros, whereas the average private university in the States is about $40,000 and public universities at about $11,000…obviously these are just averages and many schools (both private and public) cost more or less money. Part of the reason that Spain has a lower tuition is because a good portion of their taxes contributes to the universities and their taxes are higher than in the States. But on the other side, the United States offers more financial aid and scholarships than many other countries…probably due to the fact that it´s so expensive in the first place! In fact, many European countries (especially the UK and Ireland) have had student protests this year as the administration decided to greatly increase the tuition costs…but still far below the US cost. There are many other reasons for the differences in tuitions between countries that I don´t have time to list here, but overall it is a very interesting difference!

¡Hasta luego!

10 exciting, weird, interesting and thought provoking cultural differences…

So since I have been living in España for a year, I thought I would take the time to note 10 cultural differences that I have experienced in Spain that reminded me that I am no longer in the United States. And to prove to you (parents) that despite traveling a lot, I am also soaking up Spanish culture! I will try and only use new facts and not repeat the ones in my weekly ¨Dato Divertido.¨

Here we go!

1.)    The Spaniards like their coffee. I am not saying that Spaniards are always seen carrying their ¨non-fat mocha-frappe-caramel macchiato with 2 extra shots of espresso¨ around town, but quite the opposite. I only know about 2 cafés (out of about 100) that have ¨to go coffee¨ and even at these places when I ask to get a coffee to go I receive a very strange look and ¨ohh you must be American¨ laugh. Traditionally, Spaniards sit down at the café and drink their coffee (about half the size as the coffee in the US with 2X the amount of caffeine!) and have a chat with a friend. So civilized, eh?

2.)     Flip-flops are illegal. Well not technically, but if you wear them around the city, you get some pretty weird stares. I of course, had to learn this the hard way. When my friend Avery came to visit, we had quite nice weather, so I decided to pretend it was summer and pull out my hot green flip flops. Wrong idea. On average, people in Spain tend to be very fashionable, and wear cute and fancy sandals.

3.)    The nightlife here is quite different.  Going out in Spain starts at about midnight or later, the bars then close around 3 or 4 AM, only to allow the clubs to open at 5 AM and then close at about 8 AM. At HC, a ¨late night¨ for me was around 2 AM, so you can imagine the culture adjustment I had to face when coming abroad and I haven´t quite adjusted yet!

4.)      While Spaniards aren’t always late as stereotypes say, it is still somewhat true. It is not a rare occurrence for a professor to come 15-20 minutes late to class, or to not even bat an eyelash if students walk in 30 minutes late. Coming from a high school that would send you to the ¨tardy center¨ if you were 1 second late, this was quiet a culture shock. Although now if I miss the bus, I don´t have the panic attack I would have had in high school.

5.)    The majority of Spanish students tend to stay near home when they go to college, and many of them live with their family opposed to a dorm. As you know, this is different from the US where it is not rare for kids to go to college thousands of miles away from home.  There are pros and cons to both the Spanish system and the US system and reflect some of the core values of each country.

6.)    In the Spanish university system, students pick 1 ¨major¨ and most of their classes are pre-chosen for them every year. They also stay in the same classroom with all the same people all day long for the entire year. Coming from a liberal arts school, where I am required to take classes in basically every department, this is quite different. Pros about this system? They get tons of knowledge and skills in their field and they become very close with the other students in their major. Cons? It is very difficult to switch majors and still graduate on time and they don´t get to take many classes outside their major. As you can tell, the Spanish students get very confused when I tell them I am taking: language, sociology, education and art classes!

7.)    It is not an uncommon occurrence for a professor to fail students. Many, if not the majority of the students fail at least 1 class a semester, and are then required to pass an exam in July or repeat the class. It is not necessarily looked down upon, but simply a part of the education process.

8.)    On average, people in Spain don´t bake sweets such as cakes, cookies, muffins, ect. Instead, they cook nearly every meal (especially lunch) from scratch. While my love for baking has been lacking this year…my pants are a wee bit tight from all the amazing meals!

9.)    Nothing is open on Sundays, yet the streets are packed with people (especially couples) taking a mid-afternoon Sunday stroll, along the shopping streets, oceanfront or wherever else their hearts desire!

10.) I have never seen so many banks, travel agencies, bakeries, candy stores or pharmacies in my life until I came to Spain. I am still not quite sure why there is such an abundance of them, but stay tuned and I will find out why!

While there are possibly a hundred more cultural differences that are not listed here, I have never felt uncomfortable in the Spainish culture or experienced a really bad culture shock. Rather, I find it interesting to discover the cultural differences and simply laugh at myself when I break the ¨unwritten rules.¨

Since this whole post is dedicated to cultural differences, you must return later this week for a new Dato Divertido!

Finally, if you are still with me after this obnoxiously long post…I thank you very much!

¡Adios!

¡Hola a todos! (Hello to all…) This past week was absolute nonstop, so I finally have a minute to sit down and write an entry. Let´s start with last Tuesday. Professor LaPlatney, one of the directors for the study abroad programs came to visit us in A Coruña and took us out for dinner. She filled us in on the latest happenings on the hill and any changes in the study abroad program. We then explained all the ups and downs of the year, and the love we have for our gorgeous city by the sea! It was so nice to see a familiar face from Holy Cross, and we all had a great time reminiscing about our adventures from earlier this year, yet schocked that it is nearly over.

On Friday 5 of us Crusaders in A Coruña travelled to Madrid to sightsee and attend a concert. We arrived at the airport on Friday morning and hopped on the metro heading towards the city center. Once we were all settled in the apartment (we stayed at James´s host family´s apartment) we ventured out into the city. After eating a complete lunch, we started walking all over Madrid. We saw the old royal palace (the royal family doesn´t actually live there anymore), several churches, plazas and wondered down the winding and narrow streets. The next day, Kelsey, myself and Alexandra (who is studying in York, England) decided to tour around Madrid as we hadn´t really explored it earlier this year However, James, Elena and Kristen decided to take a day trip to Segovia, Spain as they had already visited Madrid earlier this year. We woke up early and headed out for the free walking tour. The tour lasted about 3 hours, and took us ALL over Madrid and was of course complimented with detailed descriptions and history about every building. They have these free walking tours all over Europe, and I highly recommend that any budget traveller (or non budget traveller) takes advantage of this opportunity! The tours are in English and the guides are usually young students, who request a tip at the end. It’s a pretty sweet deal!

After the tour, we countined to walk around Madrid and finally came across a huge park, where we laid down our tired bodies and tanned/napped for about 45 minutes. Next, Kristen and Elena returned from Segovia and we headed towards Plaza de Deportes to watch a…don´t judge….Taylor Swift concert…guilty pleasure…ok?! It was quite fun and since she isn´t as popular in Spain, we were actually able to stand quite close to the stage. I almost touched her at one moment! (insert gasp)  At the concert, we coincidentally ran into Kendra, another crusader who is studying in Palma, Spain for the year! We hadn´t seen her since Pamplona so it wonderful to quickly catch up on the past year.The whole weekend we had fantastic sunny and warm weather which we carried on the plane with us back to La Coruña! So as the east coast is celebrating their first day of spring with a snowfall, I am going to go run near the ocean with…a t-shirt and shorts!!

Dato Divertido: The Spaniards have several ways of saying goodbye. Whenever I am walking on the street and hear someone on the phone. The goodbye is very complex and long…I just think that they just don´t want to hang up. Here are the goodbyes I have heard this year….sometimes they only use one and other times you can hear them all! venga, ciao, adios, un beso, un abrazo, hasta mañana, hasta pronto, hasta próximo, hasta entonces, hasta luego…So a little hint…if you want to sound Spanish on the phone…just say all of these really quickly! You can fool anyone!

¡Ciao!

This past weekend was absolutely amazing!! Kelsey, Amanda and I explored the north, south, east and west parts of Barcelona and left with many laughs, blisters, sore bodies and many fond memories…ok let me go into more detail! So we arrived at the Barcelona airport on Friday. We caught a bus to the city center and walked the most indirect way (our map skills were a bit lacking at this point…but Kelsey soon took charge) and about 30 minutes after lugging our suitcases down narrow streets filled with people, vendors and of course carnival costumes…we arrived at our hostel. We checked in and placed our belongings in our room. Now here is the crazy part…guess how many people were in our room? Twenty four! Wow! At first I was a little scared about this….24 people…majority college age…in a huge, fun and thriving city…oh gosh! However, I was pleasantly surprised that the (majority) of the people in our room were quite considerate and quiet. It was also fun to meet the other people in our room. There were students from Brazil, Japan, the US and many other locations! Staying in a 24-bedroom hostel is definitely one of those classic study abroad experiences.

After settling down in the hostel, Kelsey, Amanda and I walked around the Ramblas and near the port and planned our next 3 days of adventure. These adventures included: the beaches, La Ravala, two free walking tours, the old gothic neighbourhood, the arc de triumph (de España), the bull ring, the Barcelona Cathedral, the Gaudi buildings/houses, the Sagrada Familia, the Park Güell, the magic fountain and the ¨spanish village.¨

My two favorite things in Barcelona were the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. The first was a huge, huge, huge basilica planned by famous Barcelonan architect Gaudi. This church was absolutely amazing. I had truly never seen anything quite like it. From the outside it looks like a cross between a heavily frosted cake or a drippy sand castle…but if you look at the detail it is absolutely stunning. The most amazing part of the basilica is that it is not yet completed…and they estimate another 20-30 years until it is finished!!! The inside is also a masterpiece. With pillars reaching up into the heavens, little crevices and paintings on the ceiling to gorgeous and mystifying stained glass windows. My other favorite part of the city was Park Güell. The majority of the buildings and artwork in this park was constructed by Gaudi as well. The park is located on a hill that overlooks all of Barcelona. There is one main plaza in the park, with a curving bench that encompasses the edge of the plaza and is filled with colorful tile. Inside the plaza there were hundreds of people enjoying the sunny weather and vendors selling scarfs, necklaces and little souvenirs. Directly underneath the plaza, there were dozens of pillars that support the plaza, but also allow for more open space to congregate. Further below the plaza, there are two houses. Back in the day, these houses were meant to be for the wealthy of Barcelona, but since it was too far away from the city center the architect (Gaudi) decided to live here himself! The Park appeared to be a cross between Disneyworld and the Willy Wonka Factory. Overall Barcelona was an amazing city and I would highly recommend adding it to any travel list! Also I have already decided I am going to return in 20 years when the Sagrada Familia is completed…and I will reminisce about how I travelled there during my junior year abroad!

Dato Divertido: Today was carnival! Happy Carnival! It was the last day of carnival, and therefore everyone was dressed up! I went to the ¨costume contest¨ in one of the plazas in coruña and saw everything from cows, chickens and pigs to elephants, dogs, cats to spiderman, flamenco dancers, witches, pirates, birdhouses, clowns, ladybugs, dragons and so much more! The cutest thing was that families would be dressed up alike. So there would be a mom, dad and child all dressed as bumblebees or pumpkins! There were so many people out walking around, dancing and playing instruments. It was a pretty cool sight! Today is the start of lent…so the carnival weekend is over. But guess what Nora is giving up for lent? English! I am giving up speaking English to those who know Spanish. Yup. This should be interesting.

The inside of the Sagrada Familia

One side of the Sagrada Familia

Kelsey, Amanda and I outside one of Gaudi´s masterpieces!

What was behind us in the previous picture!

My future house….for real!

Las Ramblas by night

The Arc of Triumph…Spanish Style…

Completed by a sand wizard at the beach…ok wild guess…what famous church in Barcelona is it constructed after?

That was the first line of my favorite Halloween song in elementry school. We would sing it every single year, loud and proud at our annual Halloween parade in our gym. (Go Willard Owls!). Why am I telling you this? Well, even though it is March, Coruña has officially turned into Halloweentown…or better yet….Carnival town!! Actually its not fair to Spain to compare Carnival to Halloween…but its the closest holiday I can think of! And well since I missed Halloween this year, its my opprotunity to somewhat celebrate it! Anyway, every year on Carnival….or Mardi Gras….or simply fat Tuesday, everyone gets dressed up in their favorite costumes and parades (and parties) around the town. However, unlike I initially thought, Carnival starts the weekend before the actual date. All around the city since last Saturday I have seen kids dressed up as bats, cats, mice, witches, ghosts, clowns and pirates and going to school/neighbourhood parties. I actually saw 2 five year old brothers get on the bus today with mouse masks on…they were absolutely adorable! And for months now, the stores have been filled with Carnival costumes, which basically consist of anything you find in the States 2 months before Halloween. Some adults even dress up the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday before and then of course go all out for Tuesday…now that is devotion! I can´t wait to pick out a costume…any suggestions??

While Carnival is quite big in Coruña, the largest festival is in Cadiz, Spain which is on the southern coast. In Cadiz, the entire weekend is filled with parades, parties, cultural events, carnival foods, colorful and exotic costumes and lots of fun!  Carnival is the last big celebration before the 40 days of lent. So basically everyone gets out all of their partying and craziness before a somber and reflective 40 days. While I will not make it to Cadiz this year, I am traveling to Barcelona with Kelsey and Amanda (the one in England) from Friday thru Monday. Apparently there is a big parade on Saturday in Barcelona to celebrate Carnival, so I am extremly pumped to see all the glamour and glitz! But don´t worry I will be back to celebrate Carnival in La Coruña on Tuesday! I am quite excited and thrilled to experience carnival in two very different cities…so obviously my next blog will consist of photos and stories about Nora´s first carnival!!

Dato Divertido: Since most of my fun facts are about food, and this entry is about Carnival…why not combine the two?! My favorite carnival food is called ¨Oreja de Carnival¨-direct translation Ear of Carnival. Apparently the dessert is shaped like an ear. Anyway, the dessert consists of fried dough, almond or lemon flavoring and powdered sugar. Yum! I have so far had two orejas de carnivals and they were both absolutely delicious!!!

¡Hasta luego!

These pictures are courtsey of google images…I wish I was the photographer!

Yum! Kinda shaped like an ear?

Lots of people at the cadiz parade!

Some cool Carnival spirited people in Cadiz!

On Saturday night, the streets of Coruña turned blue and white and masses of people started heading towards Estadio Riazor to watch what was thought to be a blood bath of Madrid creaming La Coruña. Arianna, our culture coordinator (and HC grad of ´09) got us tickets so that we could enjoy one of Spain´s religions…Football! Leading up to the game we were all joking as to how badly Coruña was going to loose, 4-0? 7-0? Honestly before the game, I would be impressed if Coruña could hold Madrid to 2 goals. However once we entered into the stadium, we realized what passion and heart the Coruña fans have. We were sitting right above the cheering section, which consisted of bullhorns, banners, drums, and very loud chanting. Basically, the entire stadium was rooting for La Coruña! All of the sudden, we realized that it was midway through the second half and the score was still 0-0. We all thought to ourselves, could La Coruña hold Madrid to a tie? I started to act like the other fans in the last few seconds, screaming, clapping my hands with the songs, and completely freaking out every time either team had an attempt at goal. The stadium erupted in cheers when the ref. finally blew his whistle signalling the end of the game. La Coruña, population of 300,000 had just tied with Madrid population of 3,000,000 and one of the best teams in the world. Although it sounds a bit cheesy, after the game I was reminded that if you put enough heart, devotion and strength into something you can achieve almost anything! GO DEPORTIVO!

Another exciting event this weekend was that my friend from high school, Avery came to visit me! Avery is studying abroad in Lyon, France for the semester and decided to spend part of her weeklong break in La Coruña and of course I was absolutely overjoyed! She arrived in the Coruña bus station at 7 pm on Friday and I quickly whisked her to the hostal. We then met up with the other HC kids and took her to our favorite tapas restaurants and had a relaxing night in Coruña. The next morning I showed off my favorite places in Coruña, which of course included the Torre de Hercules, Mont. San Pedro, Calle Real shopping and a dozen of bakeries, restaurants and ice cream shops. On Sunday we hopped a train to Santiago de Compostela to see the gorgeous Cathedral.  We walked around the old city, took a tacky but informative tourist train and attended a mass at the cathedral.  After a wonderful weekend, Avery left this evening and is heading to Alicante, Spain to visit a friend from college. However, I wouldn´t let her leave until she tried the famous Pulpo Gallego…Octopus, which I think she fully enjoyed! While I have been having an amazing time here in La Coruña it was so nice to see Avery, as we could reminisce about our experiences and friends from high school, but also compare and contrast our fulfilling and amazing abroad experiences. In the end, we couldn´t get over how old we felt, meeting up in a foreign country? While studying there? What? I thought we were just planning prom, like yesterday. Scary how time flies! So if you are reading this, thank you Avery for an awesome weekend!

Dato Divertido: If I haven´t mentioned it before, basically football (soccer) is the main religion in Spain. I am reminded by this mainly every day. In every bar and restaurant if there is a television, there is a 99% chance that it will be showing a football game.  Also, at least once a night in almost every club and bar the DJ will play ¨Waka-Waka¨ and ¨Wave your flag¨ two famous songs from the world cup (Spain was the champ!) When these songs blast through the speakers the whole club gets very excited and does the same routine dance and starts singing the words. It´s pretty great.