News.

Okay, so here's the deal... when I am in school typically I am so uninformed about the world. I do not what is happening on the news, but here... it is hard to not know, and with the news being a common thing to have on the television at night... I often have to not look so that my stomach is not too upset. It is quite frightening and sad what goes on in our world. Are you, dear reader, aware of the war in Kenya? It is really not a pretty sight. and my roommate Margaret, her sister just got back this week, and her husband is still there (he is in the army). Pretty intense.
Many many many things happen on the news, and I figure I will not get into them too much right now, because it only depresses me.
It is getting rather late... it is now 1 am and I think I will get myself to bed, and talk to God until I fall asleep.

Hope everyone had a good day, and that they are excited for tomorrow is a new one! and it is Friday!!! :-D

I love you all :)

Before I go to bed

Alright, it is super late, and I am once again, super tired! I thought it best though to write a little bit about tonight though, it was good... we ("we" being Kirsten, Margaret, and I) started out, off to San Teresa for some, "Radio City" to go to the Flamenco show... well, we got horribly lost but happened to run into two other guys from our school and they found us "Radio City."
Now, Radio City... I thought this was going to be the place we meet to go to a Flamenco show... but no... that is where it was at. Well, I did not find it at all to be what I had expected. I expected a theatre and a beautiful Flamenco show. Quite the contrary, we went in... with a 5 euro coverage charge... it was too full to sit, there was a bar, and the Flamenco was off in the back with a stage that only one could see if they had more than 5'3'' (so I was out of luck). So... yeah, a bit of a let down, but I did enjoy a glass of wine, well... not really... because I do not believe I like wine, but I had a class of "vino tinto" (red wine) because they did not have "agua de Valencia" (which is what I wanted to try because I found out today in my Conversation class that the "agua de Valencia" is a champagne of orange flavour). Yes, a Flamenco bar... my place to be ;-) Especially on a school night (Mind you this was an event organized through the school)!

I hope all had a good Tuesday! :-)

Love,
Amanda May Moore

"Gracias a Dios chao"

So the title says, "Thanks be to God, bye"
and this is rather funny because it was during prayer that I said this before eating food between Margaret and I. Thankfully, I was not saying grace for all of the family! Because that may have been a bit embarrassing.. eh? Yes.
Well, it is 12:30 am here in Spain... and I am so tempted to go to bed... but I have to finish reading the second act of "la casa de Bernarda Alba." I had a lot of homework to do today... and this is (finally) the last of it. Tomorrow I plan to wear this cute black shirt I acquired here for 5.90 euro, which is quite the deal! I am excited, because I will be in moda (it is fashionable). And, what I am looking forward to the most is going to a Flamenco concert tomorrow night at 10:30! How exciting! So once I make it through school... I can take a nap (siesta) and then pretty myself up for an awesome night out!
I will have to let you know how that all goes tomorrow... and now... I really must get back to my book!
Love you all :)
-Amanda!

mal día

You know... today not being the best of days... I have to remember that I will have those... and especially here. So I will not say any bad of it, God is giving me a new day tomorrow :)

Good things... (one) I did not have to eat fish because my "madre" remembered I do not like fish... even though I do not remember telling her :). (two) I had another cup of delicious coffee with my roommate Margaret at "café y té." Amazing. I love my joe. (three) I had a semi-warm shower. (four) I received my "un beso" (kiss) from Noemi. (five) I enjoyed my "espaghetti" dinner. and (six) I think I will be sleeping really well tonight and I will not have to wake up early early for class like before because I am dropping my business class :) and I must not forget (seven) I talked to my Lizzie via Skype (with video).

Vale, God is good.
and I hope you all had a very nice weekend!

God is good!

It is two o'clock, that is good because it means we can eat lunch now... Margaret and I are eating with just each other at home because our family went out again. They go out a lot! It is a common thing here in Spain... Which makes a lot of sense because the house (apartment) is not much living space. In fact, everything here is tiny! Stair-well, elevator, cars, people, and et cetera!

After lunch we plan to go out shopping! I am planning to purchase a bag for carrying my books... envelopes, stamps, and another silly bus pass. I will only need to use it four times a week now... so that is good :-) (granted my class schedule is approved). Oh! and I am purchasing postcards :) and a poem book (a collection of old spanish poetry).

So today is not too eventful. It does not need to be though, it is Saturday! We were planning on going to the beach... but it is only about 58 degrees, and it is super crowded anyway... so shopping is good :) I suppose.

Sleeping is also good, I got to sleep in today to about 11 am! Super exciting!
This morning's coffee tasted so weak after having some mud at "café y té" last night! I had a Vienés (Viennese coffee) which was some super strong espresso and chocolate (50:50) with some "nata" (whipped cream). Very good stuff!

Well, I hope all is well with you, dear reader. :-)
May you have a good weekend!

God is good (all the time)!

Love,
Amanda

You are the Milk ;)

Hey everyone :)
don't worry, even though I did not write yesterday... I am still alive. I had a really long day yesterday... with four classes and walking all about Valencia trying to find books so I could do my homework, and I hadn't much sleep before because I was talking on Skype... and it so was a looong day.
I did my homework though! I am reading "La casa de Bernarda Alba" (The house of B.A. in English) by Buero Vallejo, and I am really enjoying it!

Finding books in this town is fun... I have been to about five "librerías" by now. (and) Still have two books to find! Yikes.
I am only going to have one class on Mondays and Wednesdays it seems to be now, that is if Sr. Valle approves... :( and so I'll have four on Tuesdays and Thursdays! (I am only allowed five classes...)
My feet are tired, I have shin splints, and I think in spanish often. I think I am in Spain. yeah ;)

My translation class is Amazing! I think I may do an internship here which would be translating various things, and I would have them published with my name (of course). Which is such and incredible opportunity, no? because I want to do something as such with my PhD! So... hopefully I get the internship. :-)

Well, I am about to eat dinner now... seeing as it is about 9 pm, and after-which I plan to fix my hair to be straight and Margaret and I are meeting up with some other girls in a coffee shop, "Café y Té" to talk about going to Paris for four days during spring break :)

Chao chao for now!

"Michigan sin State"

¡Vale!
Today was a very productive day. and so I am happy. We had classes! finally! I had class from 9 am to 12:10 pm. Afterwhich, I walked home to find that it takes an hour to get back from school... so I have decided to only come back twice a week to save on bus fares, because I do not think I'll walk from home back to school for my class at 5 pm!
At any rate:

Business Spanish: I like... the teacher is very enthusiastic! Otherwise I would probably drop it... because I do not know much about it... and well, I may drop it any way in which case I will have three literature classes, which may be suicidal. A ver.

Literature I (1700s to modern present day): The professor has a lot of passion for the literature... and so maybe I can get into it, plus then I would have less of a gap in my schedule and one class with my roommate!!! :)

Spanish Mass and Media (TV, Radio & Newspaper): Well well well, I am not planning on taking this class... but I attended it today... because there was a bit of a mix up (reader) you see... because you know how in English we have Tuesday (T) and Thursday (Th)? In Spanish we have Martes (Tuesday, M) and Miércoles (Wednesday, X) and so I thought today being a day that starts with an "M" would be the Linguistics class... but I now know that it is tomorrow and Martes (Tuesdays, not Wednesdays)! So... I being me... was polite and sat through the entire class... and when they got to me and I got to the question, "why are you in this class?" I said, "well, I do not plan to stay in this class because I thought it was martes... (por la "m") and so I will have that class tomorrow!" (All in spanish mind you).

Then... the last class... (I could have only had three classes today! but no... so now tomorrow I have to have four classes again... but one good thing is that I know I could handle the level of spanish in that class, which is a class that I am sure Carol Harris, the director, would not let me take. But I think I could surprise her. and so I will, when it comes to grades)
Right the last class--

Literature II (Middle Ages- 1700s): At first I was thinking of getting rid of this class... but... I really like it! it is a class of about eight people! So it is tiny, but not in an awkward way. I think I'll keep it! :) Which means I will be buying a bus pass because I live too far away on foot (one hour). Vale (okay). Oh, and the professor is a hoot! Haha, he is a student too at the University of Valencia, but I am guessing graduate work, he is a professor after all... but a funny one at any rate. He made the mistake of calling the student from Michigan a Michigan State student... and later came to say "Michigan sin State," which means Michigan without State. I find that very funny... those Wolverines... they are really missing out!

So that was my day of classes... I suppose all went well :)
Perhaps the only thing I did not like... was walking back and the construction workers yelling at me... and the school boys talking about me... But whatever.
Oh, and yesterday... I learned that I cannot be too nice.
For example (as yesterday): When an old man is talking to ya on the bus... just because they are old it does not mean they cannot hit on you! EW!
And another thing: do not dance. not in public at least. my problem is that I tend to dance and not notice I am dancing... and well... it brings un-wanted attention.

Pues... no hay más que decir ahora. I really do like my classes. and I will like them more hopefully once I am situated... and maybe I can handle three literature classes at once... I am just a little afraid of the weight of reading, but I would have a lot to read in the other class I am sure. Vale, pues nada.

I love you all dear readers :)
dos besos (two kisses)

Love,
Amandita

quick jot.

Well, yesterday was very peaceful (minus the fireworks in the morning for the Patron Saint of Valencia). We went to the beach, and the sand is the smoothest I have ever felt, and I have been to some beaches in my days. Vale.

Today is Wednesday! and I have had two classes thus far, I am home now... typing all of you readers... but I have to go back to school for class at 3:40 pm. Then I have another class at 5pm and I come home about 6:50... yikes.
I'll have had four classes by the end of the day and three tomorrow... so by next Monday I should know which two classes I am going to drop. I need linguistics so I am going to drop one of my literature classes and I was given an adv. conversation class that I will keep (I did not sign up for it and so I'll keep it and drop something else). Yes...

I'm glad I got to school and home here okay... it is quite the trek. about a 20 minute bus ride to school... and an hour walk back, well there about. I am tired. I should take a nap before going back to school, eh? I think that sounds good, nap until 3 pm and then I'll get off to school!

Chao chao for now :)
Love,
Amanda

Agua de Valencia

Vale, I went out tonight. It was the typical walk 20 minutes... get to the bar, people drink, people have fun, dance, smoke, you name it. It was fun, and I did enjoy myself. I did not enjoy the smoke though, my allergies acted up or something... not so much my asthma.

They played the two best songs to be heard in a club: (one) "Hot in Here," Nelly. (two) "Yeah," Usher. We all, this being a school function mind you, were given free shots or taste (maybe) of "Agua de Valencia." I did not have it (one) because I had decided to not drink before hand and (two) because the bar was too crowded to get my free shot (and because reason two contradicts with reason one). Vale agua de Valencia. I have water here every day, I'll live. :)
I had a nice cold coke. That was good, and because I had no cash on me... I reminded my friend Kirsten that she owed me five bucks for the meal in the airport (in DC) and so she bought me the coke :). That way I did not look silly with out a drink, and well, I was thirsty.

Bueno. tonight was good. God is good! and... I think I have a few fractures in my right foot from falling down the mountain in Sagunto. So I am not really sure what to do about that. I am going to see if it still hurts in a weak. If it does... I'll mention it to my madre and ask her about seeing a doctor (I am sure I am over exaggerating so do not worry lol). But as for now... it is way past my bed time, about 3 am! Wowzers!

OH, and one more note- I am taking Flamenco. I do not care if it is only two classes... or whatever... and I am going to try to take some not through the school... but one of our teachers broke out dancing and WOW! it was so Beautiful, and I would love (for the first time clubbing in the states) to look that Awesome dancing :).

Vale, hasta luego-
Good night America ;)!

Love,
Amanda May

Americana

Well, I think today has been trying. Typically I go in to stores and I am complimented by the sales clerk and told that my spanish is very good. Of course I deny it because, well, I am modest. I think. And I also know that there are a number of experiences that I have been treated badly using my spanish, and so it is not always good...(?)
So today. After taking my proficiency exam, Julia, Margaret, and I walked around a little to do some shopping. Vale, well we were very rudely called "Americans" by a group of three guys because... well... Julia pulled out her camera to take a picture of a cathedral. So then... later today I (FINALLY) found a "papelería" (paper store) so I can write and well, have it for class! As I am being helped the lady was rather rude. Well, I guess not too rude... but she must have thought I did not know the word for pencil (lapiz) because she said, "this is a pen. and this is a pencil" in spanish to me as if I had not known! PFT! That is something one learns the first week of spanish class... Goodness! ¡Madre Mía!
Well, those are really the only two problems that stick out to me that come from being American.
Eventually I'll demand respect. and most often I do... but today was not the best.

OH, and I am going to be buying a flat iron... my poor roommate Margaret... I feel horrible because I laughed and it really is not a laughing matter (and I apologized) but she burned her bangs pretty badly with her flat iron because of the current difference and all... and now it is acting up. So we are going to buy one, I am thinking of paying 75% of it, then she pay 25%, and then perhaps once I bring it back home I could sell it for 25% to Hayley Pendergrass (I hope you are reading this missy :)) so that she may use it when she comes to Spain this summer :)!

Vale, that should be good. and it has been brought to my attention that some may not know what "vale" means! Well, of course. duh, I should have realized that. Thanks Ms. Otwell. Well, "vale" means okay in spanish, and is a very common expression in Spain. I used it a lot at home, still use it a lot, and I find students here in the program here that do not know it! Well, I know it because I was formerly exposed by my professor Tania (she would say it at the end of almost every sentence! and so I fell in love with the word!) and so... now you all know! Vale ya! :)

I have a cute scarf (picture below)! I have paper! I have shampoo and conditioner, and a phone... and three hours until dinner! goodness, it is 6 pm... and spanish dinner time is 9 pm! Yikes, and well... tonight... there is a group outing planned. I will be going. Not drinking. but... I missed my walking tour today, and madre mía, thank goodness because my feet are killing me. Well, just one really. Nonetheless, good. I plan to do the walk tomorrow with Margaret because it is a holiday and we really do not have anything planned.. and it would be hard for us to celebrate San Vicente. But it may be neat to see the processions!

Vale, vale ya. I love you all and hope you are enjoying your day :)
chao chao for now. if anything super exciting happens tonight, perhaps I'll post again ;-)

Love,
Amandita

Misa (Mass)

¡HOLA A TOD@S!

This morning I went to church... on c/ Albecete and it was interesting... I do not think I'll go again, and no offense to anyone, but it just was not all that lively, and this had no correlation to being Catholic. I have nothing against it. But I want to jump and smile and sing from books... so I am going to be church shopping for some time I am guessing. I'll ask at school tomorrow for a directory of churches I suppose... and I may end up going to a service in english, but hey. I will speak spanish to all those that speak spanish! no? (sí)

Bueno, church was nice though... I enjoyed hearing all of the prayers in spanish and the sermon... it wasn't as good as Pastor Keith's or Maggerz' or Margie's but... well... not much can compare to them... so I will have to find somewhere else to worship and praise (for Sundays at least because I can praise God anytime of day ;)). Also, I do not enjoy the fact that I can never partake in communion so... I will indeed be looking for another church! yikes!

Vale, I have all day to relax I suppose. I think after lunch I'll be heading to the beach! I have to take two buses though... I have a feeling I'll be buying another bus pass.. and I bought shampoo and conditioner yesterday, along with mousse! Thank God! now my hair is nice... and I also have my phone. That is fun, I'll bring it home to show you all, it is soooo cute! and cheap! it was 24 euros. To recharge the minutes I have to do that at an atm, which is neat because when with drawing money it asks if I'd like to put minutes on my phone. I am not really sure how many minutes I have... but I'll find out I am sure--when I run out. jaja.

Tomorrow being monday... I should plan on going to bed at the latest 12am because I have my proficiency exams tomorrow to be placed in my classes. I have my classes... but they have to know what level our spanish is at I suppose. eh. I am a little nervous... but hey, it is just the beginning. I guess what I am most nervous for is receiving my books in the mail. I just hope I get them... that would be nice.

Oh, and a care package with vitamins mom might be nice too... lol. I have my vitamins in the kitchen cabinet, sorry I did not pack them, you can send them with whatever you were planning to send for valentine's day. but... let me tell ya... the luxury of cold milk is Great, so do not take it for granted ;) Here I only ever have milk in my coffee... I am scared to have it warm. yuck. so vitamins for calcium purposes would be good. I believe the ones in the cabinet shall be sufficient! thanks madre mia! :)

I LOVE you all and I plan to post again soon!

un beso!

Más tarde

Well well well, Margaret and I did get dinner figured out... we were rather scared because there seemed to be soup on the stove... but it was a pot full of grease with chicken or remnants of chicken in it... not soup! and we did not see enough food in the toaster oven... so we were considering burger king or mcdonalds (surprisingly) when, our family arrived! Yikes, so we hurried out of the kitchen and I could not find the light, la luz, and then I hear Margaret hurriedly click it off as we ran toward them. We were not burglars or anything of that sort but we figured the light was off in the kitchen and so we did not want our madre to know! jaja (haha).
So upon seeing them at the door... we see that we have company! It was so great to have Manuel and Angélica over because they all spoke so much and we listened and interacted quite nicely--and--our madre made us some food, so we did not have to go out! yay :)
We also got to talk to the children a LOT! which is by far the best tool in learning at the moment because they correct us with out judgement, they are so kind in helping us.
Vale, it was a fun and crazy night with a lot of excitement, maybe a little too much but it was great. they gave us our besos good bye and little Benjamin asked how to say "adios" in English. lol. and I learned how to say it in Valenciano, "adio"

Bueno. tonight was fun. and now I think I'll end this write with a funny convo bit:
Margaret and I conversing.
"it is funny you water your shoes..."
(LAUGHS)
"I mean... wine."

Vale, the girls (Manuel and Angélica brought over their two children Mariam and Ben) Noemi and Mariam were wearing funny shoes and so instead of finishing her sentence she said shoes... and we laughed quite a bit... jaja :)
ya prolly have to be in the moment to laugh eh? sorry. Pues... I had a tiny glass of wine with dinner... and I watered it down. and then I drank four glasses of water afterwards! jaja, so I should be fine for church in the morning. "Dios perdóname"

Vale, adio for now :)
un beso y abrazo (a kiss and hug).

Vale, Sagunto!

Hola a todos!

Sorry about the last post... I lost internet last night and so I posted yesterday's blog today... and so there are two for today, and today is actually day three! Vale.
Saturday... okay.

So... today I went to Sagunto, España. It is a nice city... I am very tired though... walked a bit and I also fell down the rock path. I only just skipped a step but still. I am sore. No twisted ankles, so don't panic :). I took a lot of beautiful pictures in which I am going to see about putting some up for you all! Yes yes!

Margaret and I will be eating dinner alone today (solitas) because our family is out for the night... do not know where or for what reason... but they have left us a pre-prepared cena, we have to warm it up. Should be good :)

Sorry this post is not really all that exciting but I am exhausted... let's see... after we got back from Sagunto we were walking in search of a convertor or adaptor of some sort so to friends, Jacqueline and Julia could charge their computers but no such luck! yikes, that is really scary! I am happy I have one for my mac... and super happy I can use Margaret's for my camera battery. Otherwise... I would be out of luck! no suerte!

I got my class schedule yesterday... and I am very disappointed that I do not have linguistics. I have to make an appointment and see about dropping a literature class (I may have said this in the previous post).

I miss you all. and I talk about you ppl to my new friends here. all of you. and esp Scott :)

Pues, I do not plan on going out tonight... I think I am a little to tired to try getting any where fancy, and with the padres out we would not be able to call home if we were in trouble, so perhaps in is good. but if I do go out, I am sure you will know tomorrow ;)

I hope all is well at home... I here it is cold... here I am very luck to have 70 degree weather! It is very nice, but it gets cold at night, just like in California with Lleyana I suppose. :)

Bueno, I am going to let this blog come to an end. ¡Til tomorrow (Hasta mañana)!

con mucho amor!
Amanda

Vale, Vosotros

Wow! Day two, and I have signed a pledge in which if I speak any english at school I am sent home! I am "under oath." How cool is that? I have to speak or starve, eh? Sounds good to me :)!
Vale, I should probably e-mail my parents about now, let them know I am safe... yikes, I am horrible because I did not do that yesterday!
-----Vale------
Done, I wrote them an e-mail! :D

This morning was nice, I woke up pretty drowsy though. and once I got to the shower... oh boy... I forgot how much I despise european style showers! ugh. At least I did not turn on the shower and have the hose shoot up like a snake and get the whole bathroom soaked like I did in England... :D

Pues, after showering and breakfast Margaret and I caught a bus with our padre. He paid for our first bus ride, THANK GOD! because I have no cash on me... and that would have been horrible if I could not board... haha. but hey, God is good :). Me being tired and facing the back of the bus didn't see too much of where we were going... so going back home was fun! In Spain there is the "spanish lunch" in which all closes. So we got out about... 1:30 pm and so we (being Margaret, Julia, Kirsten, and I) decided to see about purchasing a phone! Being an MSU student... I am obligated to buy one... and by golly gee willikers! I love it! cheapest one, and Super cute!!!
Well, we planned on buying the phone at first before we had to go back to school but with the "spanish lunch" we weren't so lucky. So Margaret and I continued on home-ward-ish while Julia and Kirsten went back to school.

Margaret and I. We... got pretty lost :)
It was good fun though! and good bonding. And hey, now we know the way (for the most part). It was a two mile walk back from school to c/ Maestro Sosa, and Thankfully(!) our madre had food waiting for us! I was starving! and I had a horrible headache... which are never fun.
Lunch. done. good! a pasta dish with some bread :) and lots of water for me! Then... a nap... and then we rushed off to school again for the rest of the orientation! yay!
I went to find that I do not have the class I want the most! I do not have linguistics... I will be fixing that and perhaps dropping one of my literature classes because I think two may be too much for me to handle! Vale.

I took a bit of photos today while we were out, I hope you enjoy... ;)
and... I think I'll have to get used to eating corn. hmm... because the past two dinners I had a tomato and corn salad... with some funny oil that I am not really sure I like.. but I am trying really hard to not be picky. I also think I had some sea food tonight at dinner. A crab of some sort, but it was cut up in a roll. I did not mind it all that much :).

"beso beso"
"kiss kiss" (kissing each cheek is a common custom here in Spain for saying hello and goodbye)

I love you all!

Vale, Valencia

I have made it!
I am in Spain sitting on my bed, all unpacked, very sore from lugging my luggage around for the past day, and on the internet! Meaning I have some funny source of internet around here which is great for my roommate Margaret and me. :)

Here it is almost bedtime but for all my loves in Michigan it is only 15 minutes until 4pm! wow. I love my familia, they are so kind. The kids are easy to understand, I had worries but all is well. Jeje, and tomorrow is to be our first day out. oh boy. O-U-T. This should be fun, it is about a two mile bus ride to school I am guessing. Carlos (the padre) is going to be coming home from work at about 9:45 am and at that time he will be seeing Margaret and I off to school for the first day of orientation. I do not actually start class until Wednesday.

I am still a bit dizzy, just sitting. Darn planes. 

The city looks exciting, with so many adventures just waiting and begging to be discovered. I plan on finding these adventures! 

My favorite part thus far was when we pulled up to where we were being dropped off (4 hour bus ride from Madrid to Valencia) we saw our spanish parents all standing ready to help us with luggage holding signs with our names on them :). I found Carlos and he and I loaded my luggage, then we found my roommate Margaret :). It was exciting to see all of the spaniards all happy and eager to receive us!

Oh, a few notes... Kirsten informed me on the plane trip to Washington DC that we were not allowed to use microwaves on the plane, and I later looked at the picture and told her it was a radio!

One more silly note, she also got me to sit by her on that flight because she reached over the passenger next to her to hand me gum! It was very funny, and so he asked if we could switch seats. haha. So tips to the traveler- just pass things over the seat next to you if you want someone else to sit next to you :), that or constantly talk to the person you wish to sit next to you so as to annoy your partner ;). 

Also... when traveling to Europe keep in mind to not pack too much... because they tend to have tiny cars, and we Americans have trouble fitting all of our stuff in the cars! but surprisingly my two largest bags were each under 15 pounds... so you know what that means! SOUVENIRS! 

Well folks, I plan to blog often. I can not promise, but I do plan to blog as much as possible! God is good. and He is working wonders.