Playin´ in ´La Playa´

What a weekend! Last Friday was a holiday in Salamanca so we didn´t have classes and instead went to the northern coast of Spain to spend time at "la playa" (the beach). The weather last week had been quite chilly and overcast, leaving us wondering if it would even be warm enough to go to the beach. We turned out to have great timing as the weather cleared off on Thursday and stayed sunny through the day on Saturday.

We drove about 3.5 hours Friday morning to Santander, Spain, where we had a hotel literally right next to the beach. Friday afternoon was then spent soaking up the sun, building amazing sandcastles, and taking quick dips in the water to cool off. The water felt cold if you weren´t moving around in it, but when you actually got in to swim around it was perfect. Friday evening we had a low-key tour of the area around our hotel where there was a palace and a small zoo with penguins, sea lions, and seals. To me it finally felt like summer- sun burn and all!

Saturday was the day I had been looking forward to since the beginning of the trip because this was the day for surfing lessons! It turns out we didn´t have lessons until 5 pm, so I spent the morning running on the beach (my first time ever, reminding me somewhat of running in the snow in Decorah!), playing paddle ball in the sand, and swimming out to some big rocks not far from the beach. It was a ton of fun and it would´ve been a perfect day even without the surfing lessons.

At 4 pm we drove to a different place along the coast where our surfing instructors were waiting. It was hilarious watching everyone try to get their wetsuits on; some legs were going in arm holes and one persone even put their suit on inside out! Then we were each given a surf board and we excitedly marched out to the beach. After about 30 minutes of instruction and practicing on the sand, we were going in. The waves were not super big but the current was strong, making it difficult to even get out to the waves. The first couple of times I just rode out the waves with my stomach on the board, laughing as I ´whooshed´toward the beach. I´m proud to say that I did get up and surf 2 or 3 times, one time even riding out the whole wave. It was a really fun experience, but I definitely need more practice. Since I don´t think I´ll be moving to the coast anytime soon, that practice may be a long time in coming. After an hour and a half of surfing (read: being in the ocean holding onto my surfboard) I was exhausted. It´s amazing how strong those ´little´ waves are! No doubt I will sleep well for the next few nights.

Beauty in a Bullfight?

Bullfighting has been part of Spanish culture for a long time. It involves skill, risk, and courage on the part of the toreros (bullfighters) and bravery on the part of the bulls. Spaniards do not see it as a sport, though, because the outcome is never in doubt. The 6 bulls that are part of a bullfight will die, either in the ring by the 3 matadors or by a bullring assistant if all of the matadors are disabled. The matadors aim to kill the bulls quickly by hitting a major artery with their swords after the bull has been worn down. The matadors are judged based on how artfully they can get the bull to run toward their cape, how much danger they appear to put themselves in, and how swiftly they kill the bulls.

Before going to the bullfight on Saturday I had been reading the book Death and the Sun by Edward Lewine. This book tells the history of one specific matador, Francisco "Fran" Rivera Ordóñez, and explains a lot about bullfighting in general. I was very glad that I had read the book because I knew what was going on in the ring, knew what to look for in the actions of the matador, and also because I got to see the exact same matador that I had read about!

Watching the bulls go after the cape was the best part of the bullfight in my opinion. Sometimes the matadors would be on their knees as the bull charged them, or they would guide the bulls behind their backs. After a few "passes" by the bull, blood for the bull´s earlier wounds was visible on the matadors clothing! That really proved to me how close the bulls were getting to the matadors and how much danger the matadors could be in if something didn´t go according to plan. I began to understand the "beauty" in bullfighting. The matadors had to get themselves in just the right positions to keep themselves out of reach of the bulls horns and make artistic moves to keep the bull coming back for more. It was an awesome experience.

I don´t think that I will need to see another bullfight for quite a while, but I´m sure glad that I went to this one. It´s not a very pretty sight if you don´t know what to look for, but when you really focus on the matadors´ body positions and actions, the art of bullfighting is clear.

Lost and Found

´Oh man, not again´, I thought to myself as I was walking around Salamanca and realized that I had no idea where in the world I was. I don´t understand how that happens! I start off on the right path that I know takes me to where I want to go, but then somehow I take a wrong turn or don´t take a little zig that I need to. I am left lost, frustrated, sweaty, and staring at my map! That´s what I get for being overconfident and not using my map in the first place.

We arrived to Salamanca last Wednesday, so I´ve been here for 5 days and have managed to get lost almost every day, sometimes twice per day! This is not normal for me. Usually I have a very good sense of direction, and that combined with scoping the area out on my runs usually leaves me in good shape. The difference here, though, is that the streets are very confusing for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that the streets are not set up in a nice parallel and perpendicular orientation. Nope. These streets are set up with no rhyme or reason making it very difficult to know if that street currently parallel to me is going to stay that way, or make a sharp turn, or even simply end. That´s where I´ve tended to get into trouble by assuming that a parallel street will take me to the same place.

The second reason that the streets are confusing is because sometimes their names are not the same as the names on the map, and believe me, I´m not just looking at the wrong part of the map! Often the street names are not clearly marked, and if they are marked, it is intermittent instead of at every intersection. The street names here are not found on little green intersection signs like at home. Instead they are on plaques that are attached to the sides of buildings about 1 floor up from the street itself. Therefore, if there are windows or something blocking where the street sign might go, then they just don´t put one there!

But thank goodness for my map that is now ripping apart from so much use. I don´t feel dumb at all having to use a map sometimes thanks to the numerous other tourists that are blindly walking around the city. I have been very surprised by how many tourist groups I´ve seen so far. People are here from China, France, the U.S. and more. I guess since Salamanca has the oldest University in Spain the architecture is quite a draw. The streets get pretty crowded, but it makes it a bit easier for me and my blond hair to blend in.

Since I´ve already met my ´lost´ quota for the day (yup, got momentarily lost on the way back from the gym to my house, and then again took the round-about way to get to a computer lab!) I´m going to stick to the tried and true route back home. Hopefully soon I won´t be writing about getting so lost, but rather about all of my good ´finds´!

Jet Lag Drag

Hola! I am finally here in my Spanish host city of Salamanca, where I will be staying for the next 9 weeks or so. The past five days have passed in a blur of airports, hotels, tours, and siestas! I left the United States on Friday at 5:30 pm out of Chicago. From there I flew to London, and then on to Madrid, Spain. I was definitely not prepared for the 7 hours time difference between Spain and Iowa! I was on my flight to London getting sleepy around midnight central time, but when I looked out my window as we were preparing to land I was shocked to see the sun coming up! It was around 6:30 am when I landed in London (12:30 am central time), and I was having a hard time comprehending how I just lost so many hours of my life while sitting on that plane!

Needless to say, by the time I arrived in Madrid at 2:00 pm, my body didn't know what it was supposed to do. That first night in the hotel, I'm fairly certain all of the students in my group who had traveled from the U.S. were all asleep by 9 pm (2pm Iowa time). It has taken me a good 3 or 4 days to adjust to the time change and not need a 'siesta', but I'm happy to say that I no longer feel so confused about whether I should be awake or asleep.

So far Spain has seemed similar to the U.S. in many ways. There are Starbucks and McDonalds in the cities, the roads are paved, and cars yield to pedestrians. There are also quite a few differences that will take some time getting used to. Two major ones that I can think of right now are meal times and the prevalence of smoking.

Meal times are a lot later than is common in the U.S., but quite similar to what I experienced in Ecuador. Breakfast will be before my 9 am class; lunch is at 2:30 and is the biggest meal of the day, and dinner is a light meal at 9 pm. So far it really hasn't been difficult to eat around these times. With the sun out for so long it is easy to lose track of time and not realize how late it is until my tummy starts rumblin'!

Worse than dealing with later meal times and tummy rumbles is adjusting to all of the smokers! Smoking is very popular and accepted in Spain. Many people smoke while they are walking down the streets, conversing, or after eating a meal. It seems as though dead cigarettes are all over the ground and just walking by the entrance of a bar or restaurant can overwhelm you with smoke. I realize now how much I take for granted the fact that smoking is outlawed in public places in Iowa. I will have to breathe in deeply when I return!

Half Way There...Livin' On A Prayer

Wow! After one more days of finals I will officially be half way done with my college career. SCARY! In some respects it seems like just the other day that I was moving onto campus for the first time and anxious about being on my own. Yet on the other hand, I feel like I've been at Luther for so long that it feels like home, the place where I belong.

Contrary to what all freshmen want to hear, sophomore year proved to be tougher and busier than freshman year. As my classes got more specialized I definitely had to put in more time studying and completing assignments. I can recall nights of reading and re-reading my physiology textbook wishing that instead I could be spending time with friends. Not only were classes tough enough in themselves, but I was also working multiple days a week and running more miles in practice, all of which left me "Living' on a Prayer" often enough.

But now that I've managed to sound like sophomore year was a bust, let me note a few of the good things that came with it:

1. Maturity. Being involved in activities and having multiple responsibilities to fulfill helped me mature. I became fully aware that I was the one who decided how busy to be and also how stressed I would let myself get. I became mature enough to realize when enough was enough, and how I needn't let trivial things stress me out so much. Despite what often gets portrayed, there is much more to life than grades and athletics.

2. World Traveling! As a sophomore, junior, or senior, Luther students are allowed to travel abroad for a J-term or semester. I took the opportunity to go to Ecuador over J-term and had a wonderful time. It was great to try out my Spanish-speaking skills and to experience a different culture. That was definitely one of the highlights of the year and I would highly recommend traveling abroad to anyone who hasn't yet.

3. Stronger relationships. Freshman year is a beginning for many great relationships, but unfortunately it takes the majority of the year to identify who you might want to be friends with and start getting to know them. When you come back as sophomores, though, you get to build on those relationships you had started. You get to live with who you want to, have more meaningful conversations, and actually make friends instead of just acquaintances.

Sophomore year can be a tough, but very valuable, part of the college experience. I am happy to say that I survived (well, I guess we'll see after tomorrow's exams) and that I have many lessons to take with me. Starting this coming Friday I will be in Spain for 10 weeks, taking classes and finishing my time abroad that's required for a Spanish major. Keep tuning in to my blog because I plan on keeping you all updated on my adventures in that part of the world!

Conference Camp Out

Oh man, what have I gotten myself into? That was the thought that kept replaying in my mind Friday afternoon as we were driving 3.5 hours away to Pella, IA for the Conference Track and Field Meet. This year I wasn't actually racing, so I was able to relax a bit and cheer my heart out. Most of us who weren't competing drove down on Friday afternoon to catch the evening events. The plan was to camp out on the Central College cross country course since Pella was having their annual Tulip Festival and no hotel rooms were available within a reasonable distance. Plus we're adventurous people without much money, so who needs a hotel, right?

Well, our plan was in jeopardy as the rain started pouring about 5:00. The sky was dark and ominous and lightning kept flashing off in the distance. Great. It would be a soggy cold night sleeping on the XC course at the rate we were going. Ideas kept popping into my head about people I knew who lived in Pella and wouldn't mind me showing up at their doorstep without any notice. But that was me; what would the other 12 non-competitors do?

The track meet was delayed for an hour due to the storms passing through, but conditions did improve. The rain left the area and but the strong winds stayed. At about 11:00 Friday night a group of us pitched 2 tents on the XC course, making sure we were in the most protected and driest spot we could find. The boys in the group didn't even bother sleeping in the tents. They wanted the luxury of sleeping under the stars and the almost-full moon. Go for it, I encouraged! I'd take all the room I could get!

Around 3 AM the clouds rolled in again and the rain came. But we survived. I slept through it and I guess the guys just pulled a tarp over themselves while the rain shower lasted. The next morning most of us were awake shortly after 7:00. We were packed up by 9 AM and got an early start at the Tulip Festival. The rest of the day we spent outdoors cheering our women on to a 3rd place team finish and our men 5th. It was an awesome weekend even though I didn't get to race. Being with my teammates and making new memories was special in itself.

Cleaning for a Cause

Rubber gloves + Buckets + Rags + Vacuums= Thank you. This past Tuesday the Luther student-athletes had the opportunity to thank our custodians that maintain our locker rooms and workout facilities by giving them the day off. That meant that we got to don the rubber gloves and get down to business.

I must not clean very often because I had a great time vacuuming, scrubbing down handrails, and wiping the fingerprints off of the glass doors in Regents! I worked for an hour and a half, but the time flew by much faster than I ever expected it would. Plus I felt like I had accomplished a lot more than I often do when I do homework for that long! I won't lie,though, I was really glad that I didn't get toilet duty.

Most of the custodians actually didn't take the day off, but came to work to do other tasks that don't get done frequently. Even though they were still working, they were very appreciative of our efforts to give them a hand. I have come to realize how great of a job the custodians do at keeping our facilities in tip-top shape. It's amazing the transformation that takes place in our locker room after a weekend of track meets, softball games, and golf practice. On Sunday night there might be a trail of mud leading into the showers and paper towels overflowing from the trash can. But come Monday morning everything is clean and refilled. Our custodians not only do great work, but they do it in a very friendly and caring way. They'll vacuum around you and stop their work of cleaning the showers if you need to get in. I really appreciate their flexible and friendliness whenever I run into them in Regents.

With only 9 days of classes left and stress levels rising before finals, maybe we should all take some time to clean. Maybe the feeling of accomplishment will run over into finishing the lingering projects...or maybe not. At least the lemony-fresh smell might keep us awake enough to actually turn in the project that finally got done!