Communication Issues and Strange Encounters

So on Tuesday I wrote this glorious blog post about not having class. As it turns out, I, along with the rest of my class, was wrong about the professor not showing up.

She sent out an e-mail the day before telling us the hours for tutorial on our projects that we have to present. I read the e-mail and thought, "Great! I'll definitely go to the tutorial after class." We all went to class and the professor wasn't there. We assumed she was sick and didn't tell us or had some kind of emergency. So we left after 25 minutes of her not being there.

The same class meets the following day. The professor came in and asked us if we had gotten her e-mail. We all had gotten the one about the tutoring hours and told her this. As it turns out, the tutoring hours were DURING class, not after. I've never had a professor cancel class to do tutoring, or if they do, they're very explicit about the plans. She just sent us an e-mail saying, "Tutoring hours are 9-10:30" which is our class time.

She got frustrated with us because we didn't ask her to clarify her meaning. This reminds me of when I was having rent issues. Carmen got frustrated because I didn't ask her to clarify. I always ask to clarify if I don't understand, but you can't ask to clarify if you think you understand. I thought that we were going to have class and then she had open office hours for us to come in and talk to her. That's what it sounded like she said in the class before and in the e-mail. Luckily, I wasn't the only one who thought they understood so she scheduled another tutorial. I will read e-mails with more care in the future.

During my free time on Tuesday, I went downtown to look for Valentine's Day cards to send to friends back home. I thought they might like to see some Spanish ones. The only ones I found were these Hallmark Cards for lovers. I'm really confused as to why they don't have Valentine's Day cards. I understand that it's a cultural difference, but the gift-giving aspect of Valentine's Day has worked its way here. Do they give gifts without cards? Guess so. I seriously looked everywhere. I went in candy shops, stores for kids, little shops selling Valentine's gifts, and the giant department store here. Absolutely nothing. I thought about buying Christmas cards or party invitations, but I decided against it.

While I was shopping, I had my first experience of being hit on by a foreigner. It was really uncomfortable because he invited me over to his house and kept trying to get my number. I ended up lying about my age, name, where I live, made up a friend that I was going to meet, and finally made up a boyfriend just to get him to go away. Not going to lie, it kind of put me on edge for the rest of the day. There's a fine line between being cautious and paranoid. 

I honestly felt like I was targeted because I'm foreign. It probably wasn't the case, but with the media being what it is today I hear so many stories. I have to admit, while I'm out alone, I'm afraid of a lot of things. I'm afraid of being cornered on the street. I'm afraid to give money to performers or beggars for fear of being harassed for more. I'm afraid of the vendors on the street who sell things because they get really persistent. I'm afraid of strange men inviting me to their houses. I'm afraid of men who come up to talk to me when I'm alone. It's probably irrational, but nonetheless, these things go through my mind. I'm a very non-confrontational person and I don't like to be mean/forceful with people. But I have to learn how to be more assertive, I suppose.

I don't think that this is a magic solution by any means, but I'm thinking about buying a large purse here that's in fashion here. I was walking around with my backpack and American purse, and it made me look like a traveler. Another guy stopped me to ask me where I was from. I don't like standing out. I've always been a behind-the-scenes person. Maybe this is good for me. Whatever the case, this experience definitely frazzled me. I found a park with Wi-Fi and skyped my mom on my phone, which calmed me down a lot. It made me realize how irrational I was being. However, as a woman, I do have to take precautions that men don't necessarily have to take. It's not fair, but that's the way it's been since the dawn of time. I have to walk the tightrope that separates paranoia with being smart.

To clarify, I am certainly not afraid all of the time. Most of the time I'm fine. It's just sometimes when I'm downtown, I get wary when people approach me and I'll get edgy. Especially when they come up from behind me. Plus, I have a very overactive imagination. However, I'm going to follow the British slogan: keep calm and carry on.

When the professor skips class...

The professor didn't show up to my class this morning. Rather than going home, I decided to hang out around town. There are some things I want to buy and I know that if I go back home I'll just lay in bed. Which is nice, but I'd rather get things done.

At the moment, I'm sitting a café listening to Taylor Swift, Usher, and basically the top 20 radio of the US. Kind of strange being in Spain hearing American music playing. Anyway, I got a cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and fresh squeezed orange juice--which is the most delicious thing ever. They cost €2.60 Euros, which is quite good. Now I've got the Spanish version of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies (it's a post-apocalyptic novel that I read in high school) and I'm going to read a bit. After that, I'm going to go shopping.

There aren't Wal-Marts here, but there are little Chinese stores that sell commodities for very low costs. I think this is better than Wal-Mart, because I actually can buy from the Chinese.

Yesterday, Carmen showed me the library that is in our area. She told me that this one is much smaller than the main one, but it has books and movies that I can check out if I don't want to walk as far (the other is a 30 min walk). Well, we approached this really large building and I was confused because she said the library was small.

We walked in and I saw a museum. There was art-work hanging on the walls and sculptures. She lead me over to the stairs and a blast of chlorine hit my nose. Carmen laughed at my expression when I asked her if there was a pool. It's apparently the multipurpose building for our zone of the city. The basement has a pool, the main floor is an art exhibition, and the top is a library. So basically all of my favorite things.

I don't have class until 2:15, so I have to make it somewhat productive. I wish I could just finish all of them at once, but I'll figure out how to pass the time. Carmen usually goes out and deadlocks the door, which my key doesn't work on. I would ask if I could come back today, but again I want to be semi-productive. I'm enjoying bumming around town.

Festival de San Blas

Before I talk about the festival, I'm going to tell you a little more about my weekend. I didn't do very much because it rained all day Saturday, but I'll talk about what I did do.

Friday, I met up with a friend of Monica's to talk Spanglish with. She also brought along her son, who is about my age. They were both extremely nice and we went to a coffee shop and talked for an hour or so. We spent the first part talking in Spanish and the second part in English. I think the Spanish part went over better. I think it's hard for Spanish people to understand my American and quasi-Southern accent. I tried to talk slowly, but it was easier for me to say something in Spanish and them respond in English. 

It was funny how chill the mom was about her son's partying. He told me that he was really tired because he had been up late drinking with friends. I looked at her expression and she was just smiling and had this kind of "oh, young people" look on her face. As awesome as my mom is, she definitely would not be like that if I were out late drinking. 

I was planning on going to a Spanish book club meeting afterwards, but I checked Facebook for to verify the time and place and realized that they had changed the time. It's harder for me to read their online Spanish because it's more colloquial, so I had missed that fact. Ah, communication.

Speaking of communication, Carmen and I had a problem with the rent payment. I had to pay her a deposit before coming here to secure my place. That deposit will either be returned to me when I leave or I can use it to pay for my last month. I didn't understand that until Friday. I thought that the deposit I paid was the rent for January, so I thought I was good until then. A few weeks ago, she kept asking me about the rent and so I was really confused why. I paid her and just thought I'd paid early for February. Nope! I had actually paid her for January.

Well, Friday was the 1st so she expected a payment. However, I thought I was good until March. When she asked me about the rent, I was really confused. She explained it to me, using different means until I actually understood. I was close to tears. She wasn't angry, but kind of frustrated and exasperated that I hadn't asked her to clarify before then. I didn't because I thought I understood. I hate disappointing people. So, after meeting with Monica's friend, Carmen and I went to my bank's atm and withdrew what I could for that day, since I have a debit card with a maximum withdrawal per day. I paid her the rest the next day.

On Saturday, I went downtown with Carmen to run errands with her. She had to return a sweater, I had to buy a bus ticket and pay the rest of my rent, and she had to buy food. We went to two marketplaces. The first was one that I hadn't been to with her before and the second was the one we went to last time. 

The first market was obviously a newer building than the other. It blended with the city well, but it wasn't as pretty on the inside. It had two levels. Carmen went shopping and let me look around. I went downstairs and discovered this group of performers who were making their way upstairs. I followed them and got up really close. I'm linking the video I made. 

Two of the people performing live in our building, according to Carmen. In the video, it's hard to see the band but they had trumpets, saxophones, trombones, a couple baritones, and some other instruments I didn't recognize. There are several saxophone features, which made me think of my brother, Hank, who plays saxophone. The dances performed are typical of Navarra.

The performance in the video for Pamplona's Carnaval, or at least I think it was. I think Carnaval happens several times a year here. Today, Sunday, was a festival for San Blas. I'm learning little by little about this Catholic run nation, so forgive my ignorance. If I understand correctly, each day has a saint as well as every church. Today, for whatever reason, they have a festival for San Blas, "san" meaning saint. Carmen didn't know the reason for it. I guess it's just a tradition and after while you forget the original reason for it.

My Catholic friends (you know who you are) likely know much more about this than I do. I apologize for what I get wrong. All cathedrals have images of Christ and Mary; however, each has their own patron saint. There is one for San Fermin, the patron of Pamplona and the namesake for the "Running of the Bulls" festival. The festival for San Blas takes place outside of his church and they hold mass in honor of him throughout the day.

We went inside the church, which was ridiculously packed, and it was at the tail-end of a mass. They served communion and it was just amazing to hear the story of the last supper in Spanish. You kind of forget after a while that what we say is a translation of Jesus' Aramaic or Hebrew and therefore it's the same it other languages as well. Of course, I knew all this, but it's just different to see it in practice. I didn't take the communion for two reasons. One, it was really crowded, and, two, I don't think I'm supposed to because I'm not Catholic. Catholics believe the bread and wine is converted into the literal body and blood of Christ and since I don't believe that, 
I don't think I'm supposed to take it. 
I've heard one of my really good friends who's 
Catholic say that. Right, Katie? 

Carmen and I went downtown and vendors were all set up in front of the church of San Blas. They were selling all sorts of things. There are specific sweets for this day as well. The most popular are the "roscos," which sort of like a donut but smaller.








Unfortunately, we didn't stay very long because it was really cold and windy. However, I caught a nice glimpse of a Spanish festival.

The candy that you see hanging from the stalls reminded me a lot of "Ring-Pops." I don't know what they're actually called, but I call them "ring-bracelets" because essentially that's what they are. They also sold rings on a stick. Whichever you prefer, I suppose. The kids were just holding the ring bracelets and not actually wearing them. Silly kids.

Later today, Carmen and I are going to make torrijas (pronounced "tor-ee-has"), which are absolutely delicious. She made me some for my birthday and makes them every once in a while. This time she's going to teach me. She makes them whenever she has to much bread and it's going to go bad. Kind of like when we have too many bananas so we make banana bread. The torrijas remind me of the delicious french toast my dad used to make me when I was younger. Hint, Dad, you should make me some when I come home.

Well, that's my weekend in a nutshell!

Oh, if the video above for whatever reason didn't work, here's the link: http://youtu.be/-5zZ4tCmBq8 

A little bit of Corn Pops goes a long way

The other day at breakfast, Carmen decided to shake things up and give me cereal. Sounds normal, right? Well, she gave it to me in a saucer dry--no milk. I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do. So, I asked her for milk and she told me that the saucer wouldn't hold milk. I told her that I like milk with my cereal, thinking that maybe they eat it dry in Spain or just in her family. She proceeds to go to the stove and warm me up a mug of milk.

I must have looked confused, because she said, "We must not be understanding each other." So I asked her how she normally eats her cereal. She told me that she doesn't eat cereal, but Aran puts her cereal in her hot milk (except Aran normally eats it with Cola-Cow--their version of hot chocolate). It was actually quite tasty, but it was very confusing--especially in my befuddled morning state. It's fun to eat the cereal and then be able to drink the milk, in a socially acceptable way. I love drinking the milk after I eat cereal, but in front of other people it's not exactly the best manners to drink out of a bowl.

For the past few days now, I've asked for cereal in the morning. It's amazing the difference in adding cereal to one's breakfast. Even though the cereal at the present is Corn Pops, that extra food lasts for so much longer. I think it's also the milk, because it's so rich and creamy. Probably really fattening, but it feels me up so I don't really worry about it. Hopefully all the walking balances it out.

Another culture shock problem I've been having is my class schedule. I normally have class at 8:30 am or 9:00 am and my last class ends around 2:30-3:45, depending on the day. First off, it's really hard to go that long with just a bit of toast and coffee (and now cereal) for breakfast. I normally bring a snack, which only abates the hunger a little. Secondly, I usually have breaks between classes that last several hours. Carmen goes out in the morning to go shopping and deadlocks the door. My key won't work on the deadlock, so I can't go home. I could ask her to leave it open, but the breaks make me be productive so normally I do whatever homework I have. Often times though, I don't have very much to do so I wander around campus or Pamplona. I just feel like I waste so much time. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually.

I visited Carmen's friend Monica again yesterday. We had a lovely chat. She offered to ask some of her friends if they know of anyone who'd like an English person to talk with their children. A lot of her friends have grandchildren so maybe at least one family will want me!

We also talked about the drinking age in the US and how it can be problematic. In her building, they have an apartment of people from the United States who live there. Monica says that they are extremely nice during the week and often help her with her bags or hold the door open for her. However, during the weekend, it´s a "transformation." They hold raucus parties at all hours of the night and are drunk all the time. She said that they think it's normal in Spain to have house parties and be intoxicated. In reality, many people go out to bars and discoteques; however, people don't have late night house parties out of respect to the neighbors. After all, sound really carries in these apartment buildings.

I must admit, I kind of thought partying was the norm here. Then I realized that the impression I get of the Spanish has come from other international students who know just about as much as I do. The misconceptions are very interesting. I thought I saw the proof when I went to the part of the city where people party. It seemed like the whole city was out there because it was absolutely packed and there were people of all ages. I didn't know what to make of it. To a small-town girl where the only nightlife is fraternity parties, it definitely seemed like everyone was there. I'm relieved to know that there is more to Spanish culture than sleeping and partying because, if that were the case, the culture would be very shallow indeed.

Alcohol is just a normal part of culture here. People have a glass of wine with lunch and dinner and don't think anything about it. Monica said the word "prohibition" and it made me think. We had a strict prohibition a while ago, but in a way we're still in one. Our alcohol laws are very strict compared with other countries. And why? I really don't know. Maybe if they weren't so strict, we wouldn't have as much of a binge drinking problem. Just some food for thought.

So I went to the library the other day by myself. Why is that cool? Well, it was the first place that I have been able to get back to without help from another person or using a map. Carmen showed me where it was once and I found it on my own the next time. I didn't take a wrong turn or anything! It's still hard for me to find my house sometimes. Maybe I have a library tracker in my brain or something.

My main reason for going to the library was to return a couple DVDs I had checked out in Spanish. I've been reading Los Juegos de Hambre in Spanish on the Kindle my grandma lent me and so I decided I'd look to see if I could find the sequel. Well I found it all right, but it wasn't in Spanish. It was in Euskera, the Basque language. I can't read that!

The Basque are the people who've lived here for centuries, before the Spanish came into the picture. I guess kind of like our Native Americans. There is a region of Spain called the Basque Country, or País Basco, and it stretches from part of northern Spain to part of southern France. Navarra (Pamplona's region) isn't actually in the Basque Country, but there are many Basque people here. The second language on most anything in the city is in Euskera.

Back to the library, in the absence of a Spanish version of Catching Fire, I checked out the second Harry Potter book and a Scott Westerfeld novel that I read back in high school. I also picked up Easy A to watch in Spanish. I watched that last night. I learned a lot of Spanish insults from that movie.

There's this part in Easy A where Emma Stone's character uses a British profanity, so in this version she used a Mexican profanity. I know this because it said it in the movie. I thought that was pretty funny.  

Wow, I think my inner old-lady showed a lot in this blog post. I've actually thought about asking Carmen to teach me a little more about knitting. All I know how to do is one type of stitching.

Anyhoo, that's kind of what I've been up to this week. Mostly classes, checking out the city, the things mentioned above, and relaxing a bit. Until next time!

A Card for "Yoots"

My university didn't have classes today because of a fiesta/holiday of some sort. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know what the holiday is. It's not a big holiday, because Aran and other schools had class today; however, mine did not. No complaints from this end!

I decided to take advantage of not having class and buy a European Youth Card, or "Carnet joven." This will give me all sorts of discounts to museums, train tickets, plays, etc.

Carmen and I had a miscommunication this morning. She told me that I should go and get the card in the morning before they close for siesta time. Well, I thought she was going with me, so I got ready and sat on my bed reading until she told me again that I should go. Then I got it. A lot of times she'll just take me places and other times she doesn't. So, I get a little confused on the details sometimes.

I made my way downtown to get the card. Luckily, I found the place with very little problems. I did take a wrong turn once, but I found my way back. I must say, that the Maps on my iPhone have been a lifesaver. I do have a real map that I carry around, but the iPhone Maps doesn't need WiFi and it shows my location. If I had to choose two things that have been the best things to bring here, they would be my iPhone and my rain gear. I've been able to use my iPhone for taking photos, iMessaging people back home, texting people here, checking my e-mail when I don't have a computer, writing blog posts, checking Facebook, reading books, and the list goes on.

Moving aside from my iPhone monologue (Apple should hire me), I got to the office that sells the cards and they told me I needed photocopies of my student ID and passport. Well, I didn't have those, so the person gave me really bad directions, or granted maybe I'm just really bad at following them, and I wandered around looking for the place. I ended up  going back and another receptionist was kind enough to walk part of the way with me, point it out, and explain it to me. As it turns out, the place where I could make photocopies was in a Tobacco shop. No wonder I couldn't find it! I was looking for the fotocoperías that actually do photocopies. Once I had the copy, it was super easy to get the card.

I had time before lunch, so I decided to walk around the old part of the city. Then I remembered that I really wanted to try a doner kebab again, so I looked for the place I remembered seeing a few days ago. For those of you who don't know what a doner kebab is, it's the Turkish version of a Gyro wrap and they are absolutely delicious. I included a picture. We used to eat them all the time in Germany and I hadn't had one since then. I got lost a few times trying to find the place, but eventually I did.

The man behind the counter was very nice. But he, and the ladies at the youth card place, both knew I'm an English speaker and immediately started talking to me in English even though I was talking to them in Spanish. I just kept on talking Spanish and they would kind of respond in Spanglish, as their English was mostly confined to words they knew for their job. That helped me in the Doner shop, because I didn't know the Spanish word for take-out.

My picnic view: el Castillo

I took my doner to one of the larger parks on the way home and ate some of it. It was so huge! And I didn't want to spoil my appetite for lunch. It was good, but not as good as the place in our village in Germany. I'm going to keep trying places over the course of the semester and see which is the best. That way, when my parents visit, I can take them to the best one. I know my mom has particularly been craving doners.

I hope I haven't bored you with the talk of food! I thought some of the cultural differences were interesting and blog-post worthy. ¡Hasta luego, mis amigos!

My Spanish is better than someone's English!!

I am know going to devote a blog post to my complete and utter excitement of having better Spanish than someone's English.

Today, Carmen came into my room and told me that she ran into a friend who would like to meet me, if I was okay with it, to practice her English and help me with my Spanish. Now, normally, when someone wants to practice English with me, they already speak English really well and what they want from me is to fine tune it. Well, as it turns out, her friend spoke decent English, but I actually spoke more Spanish than she did English!

Carmen's friend, Monica, was super nice. She invited me over to her apartment and we had a nice long chat. Her husband brought me coffee and a muffin that Monica had baked earlier that day. I spoke mostly in Spanish and talked a little English when she would ask me a question in English. Basically, it was Spanglish, but I really enjoyed it. She told me that my Spanish is very good, which is not true, but it was exciting to hear all the same.

She and her husband have two adult daughters who have left the city. One is in Barcelona and the other is in India. This is a little strange, because many people who grow up here will stay here. Most of the Spanish people that I've met have lived in Pamplona or Navarra (the province) their whole lives.

Monica and I are going to meet up at least once a week and talk in Spanglish. She has also offered to take me shopping sometime and go out for coffee. She also told me that she has some friends who would also like to speak English with me. I'm so excited to be meeting more Spanish speakers! I will try to make sure that we speak both languages and not English all the time.

I've told both Carmen and Monica that I'd like to work part-time babysitting, teaching English,  or tutoring, so maybe with their help I can find something. The University has a job offerings page, but I haven't had much luck with that. It would be great to earn a few euros. I've saved money to come here and my parents are helping a lot, but I definitely would feel much better making a little money.

Taking the Scenic Route

Thus far, my weekend has comprised of determining travel plans, watching movies, and looking around Pamplona. The travel plans are stressful, but everything else has been very nice.

Why am I making travel plans? Well, I'm going to go meet up with my good friend and sorority big sister, Tyler, in Paris. She has been an au pair in the Normandy area for almost a year. This month is her last month, so we want to see each other before she heads out. This is my first time navigating the buying of transportation myself. Ah, growing up. Through the advice of my parents, Carmen, and Rick Steves, I think I found my best option: flying. I looked at trains and buses, but all in all, they were about the same price and took longer. I really want to take a train somewhere, but I suppose I can save that for later.

The travel planning took most of the morning. After lunch, however, Carmen and I went for a walk around Pamplona. She showed me some beautiful parts of the city that I hadn't seen before. She showed me some locations that are a part of San Fermin and just some other lovely places. We went to the oldest part of the city and we kept running into the same couple, which was funny. To get to this part, you have to walk through a gate. They were there, just making out on a wall. Then they left. I took some pictures. Carmen and I walked to another part and there they were, making out. That happened two more times. It was really funny. I guess they wanted to mark each spot with a make out session.

I think my Spanish is really coming along! However, it is surprisingly exhausting to try and speak another language. I feel like I'm tired all the time. It's like the SAT brain drain.

The girl who I met to talk Spanish with was so nice! We really hit it off. We're going to meet at least once a week for an hour or so and spend half the time talking in English and the other Spanish. She wants to practice English, I want to practice Spanish. This last time, she brought her boyfriend who is a business major and also wanted to speak English. They were both so nice and wouldn't let me pay for my pintxo.

The book club didn't meet this week, but they will next week. I'm very excited about meeting them. I hope they'll be cool with me coming. I won't be able to contribute too much, but it'll be fun to listen and try. Maybe by the end of the semester I'll be able to. We shall see!