Day Trip to Vigo

Hola again!
Ok so I know I've been the worst blogger ever and haven't given you much info about what it's been like the past month (!!!) I've been here! I can't believe it's been that long already! I will try to change that and find a way to remain consistent! Our class schedule changed Friday so after this week I hope to be in the swing of things and how they should remain for the rest of the semester. But thank you for staying with me and checking in hopes that I would return; and alas, you have been rewarded with another post! =) Also I've figured out how to load pictures, so you can share some of the beauty I enjoy every day!

Two weeks ago Saturday eight of us from Loras took a train to Vigo, a city about 1.5 hours south of Santiago. We didn't know much about the city but we found a map and ventured into the rainy weather. We walked through the new part of town and through an alameda, like a park with a lot of trees and a fountain. (It's amazing how green everything is, considering it is currently winter here, but we're too close to the coast to get snow. I guess I can deal with that :) )

 

Vigo is on the coast so we passed a port on our way to the mall. The port is inland from the coast so we could see the cliffs around the port, and it was foggy as well so we couldn't see the ocean.

 

Shortly after this photo, the wind grabbed my umbrella :/

 

Fortunately it still works! :)





After we finished taking in the view at the port we continued to the mall about two blocks away. Once we got there a few people needed waterproof boots (it rains every day in this part of Spain) so we made our way through the mall. While there the wind picked up even more and small waves started to move boats around in the port. It was a little scary even though we knew they couldn't get big enough to do much damage. When we exhausted the stores there, we took taxis to another mall not far but this one was smaller than the first. After we had walked around the second mall a time or two the weather had calmed and we walked to the third mall of the day. I'm not a big fan of shopping to begin with, so by this point I was really tired. However, we got to the top of a hill just up the street from the third mall and we had a spectacular view of the city, nestled in a valley. Some of the houses were so colorful!

This mall was larger than the other two so we spent about three hours there and everyone got their shopping done (thank goodness!). By this time the sun was shining and it was actually warm outside so we walked for about 20 minutes to a park in the middle of the city. During the walk we got a better view of the city

Eventually we made it to the park, where there was an awesome rope net. I was the first one to climb on it because I haven't been on one in ages! It was the most fun I'd had in a while; I felt like a kid again!

Who says 21 is too big for playgrounds?

And of course I had to show off :)

 

After we had our fill of fun, two members of the group decided to go back into the main part of town and look for a museum while the rest of us explored more of the park. I didn't know what to expect because not many things can top a giant rope course, but what we found certainly made the day much better: watching the sunset above the city and the ocean. As we walked to the park we had gotten higher and higher, so once we got there we could see a portion of the city as well as the ocean. It was amazing, and the photos certainly don't do it justice.

 

After we had taken in the amazing view we continued walking uphill. Soon we happened apon a giant stone wall that looked really old.



 

 

 

 



 We followed the stone wall til we came to an entryway. Inside the fotress was a staircase up to the ledge in the above picture. This sight was even more amazing than watching the sunset. We could see mountains beyound the city and it was breath-taking. I thought it couldn't get any better, but there was more of the fortress to explore so we continued.

 

 

The group!



 

We continued through another entryway with a wooden gate and found different levels of open spaces. On one side there were stairs to a ledge with a guard tower in the corner. In the middle of the largest open space there was a fountain. On the side opposite from where we came in was an overlook facing the ocean. This was the best part of the whole day was the view that greeted me there. I could see the ocean for miles and the city nestled in the valley and it didn't matter that the woind was a little brisk. It was stunning. Until that point it hadn't sunk in that I was really in Spain and stepping outside my small world of Northeast Iowa and seeing new places and experiencing new things. When I got to that overlook, it felt like I was at the highest point in Vigo and everything looked so small and it is so amazing to think that the same God who created this amazing landscape also decided to put me here, in Spain, right now. I realized how blessed I am to be here for the entire semester; This is a once in a lifetime chance, to travel and learn while I'm young. I better not take it for granted, because as one of my friends said that day, 'it's our first and last time being here because we probably won't return. For many of us, this will be our only time in Europe, so we all want to enjoy it to the fullest.' It was a really great experience with some really great people :)

 

 

My favorite part of the day

Stunning

When we had finished admiring the view, we left the fortress and headed back to the train station. We asked for directions first, but misunderstood or took a wrong turn and just walked in a circle around the park. Eventually we found the right direction and headed into the main part of town. We realized we weren't going to make it to the train station in time so we hopped in a couple taxis and reached the train station with plenty of time to spare. On the train ride back I sat by a girl from Loras that I didn't know very well, but we talked the whole hour and a half back to Santiago. It was nice to talk about whatever came to mind and get to know her better. That's the really cool thing about trips like this: you go in knowing a few people but most everyone is a stranger but somewhere along the journey you get to know each other and become friends and make memories of a lifetime.

 

So that was our first weekend trip out of Santiago. It was a lot of fun and it has instilled a desire in me to travel even more, within and outside of Spain! I indulged this desire last weekend with a trip to Madrid and a few cities outside of it. Hopefully I can write about that trip and post pictures soon.

 

Thanks for reading! :)

Brooke

Differences

There are a lot of things that are different from the United States, like the obvious (language and food) to little things one almost overlooks. Here are some of both I've noticed:
1. The language. Obviously they speak Spanish here, since I'm in Spain. But the region I'm in has a second official language: Gallego. Many of the street signs, newspapers, and books are in Gallego. Fortunately there are several cognates from Gallego to Spanish so it's easy to guess what the sign, etc., means.
2. The meals/food. Probably the biggest thing after the language that I have slightly adjusted to is the food and times of meals. Everything is fresher here. The dishes my host mom makes are different from at home only in the way they are prepared; they use the same ingredients and it's pretty delicious just the same. The super strange thing is when they eat meals. Breakfast is normal, between the time you wake up and leave for work/school, but lunch is anywhere between 2 and 3:30. Many stores close and students finish class at 2 so everyone goes home for lunch. Stores reopen around 4 and stay open until 8:30. This time in between is called siesta, and it's ideal for taking naps :) Then supper is eaten between 9 and 10 at night. This is the weirdest thing, especially because once supper is over it feels too late to hang out with friends but too early to go to bed. So I usually talk to my host mom about different cultural things or email friends from home.
3. Smoking. Unlike in the US, it's legal to smoke outside, and it seems like everyone does it.
4. The dogs. Similar to smoking, it seems like everyone here has a dog and they walk them everywhere. They come in a variety of sizes, from German Shepherds to terriers, but they are all extremely well-behaved; some aren't even on leashes and still follow their owners. My dog could use some European training ;)
5. Water. They don't have hot water here except in the shower because it's expensive. This was a shock and I don't know if I'll get used to it. But because it's expensive, we're not supposed to spend a lot of time in the shower anyway. I'm starting to realize how spoiled Americans are hahaha
6. Clothing. Spaniards are very stylish. They wear everyday what I wear to dress up. This means I had to buy a few more dressy clothes before coming here so that I would fit in. (I think I've done a pretty good job so far; three or four people have come up to me asking for directions, thinking I was a native. Success!) Almost everyone wears boots or Converse, and skinny jeans (even the men). It's nice to dress up every once in a while, but some days I want to be really messy and just throw on a hooded sweatshirt. However, that would be like a neon sign shouting "American!", so I can only wear it in the apartment *sigh*
7. Affection. Couples are unafraid to let everyone know how much they care for their significant other. Hand holding, quick pecks on the lips, and sometimes even full on making out is common in restaurants and in other public places. This will also take some getting used to, but I'm not alone in my discomfort. Other Americans here whisper to each other, "Did you see what they're doing over there? She's sitting on his lap! This is so awkward..."
8. Walking. People in Santiago walk everywhere, and slowly, which is the most frustrating. I usually just walk around them, even though it probably distinguishes me as a non-local.
9. Military time. They use military time here, which wasn't too challenging to get the hang of once you memorize that 16:00 is 4pm, 20:00 is 8pm, etc, etc.

Of course there are many other things I could mention, but these are just a few to give you a taste of how I'm living right now. Nothing so major that I can't adjust; it's actually kind of fun experiencing life at a different pace. I'm working on more posts on what I did during the first week here (including celebrate my birthday!) and also trying to figure out how to post pictures, so you'll be hearing from me again soon.
Ciao!