Sábado - 19.24

Today, I went to Segovia.

I got to campus about the same time as usual today, maybe a bit earlier. I ended up being a half an hour early for our 8:45 meeting time to go to Segovia. I wasn't the only one though. Alicia (a different one than last session) was on the same train I was on, so we sat on the bench and talked for a bit. She's in my cinema class, and she's the only one in the class before my conversation class. She's one of the only "new" people that says hi to me when she sees me. I like her. Then the rest of the people came, and we got on the bus and left. It really kind of irks me that we NEVER meet on time or leave on time, or start things on time. I know it's their culture, but man! We left fifteen minutes later than our "scheduled departure".

The bus ride was about an hour and a half, the average for the weekend trips. On the way to Segovia, we passed by a lot of really pretty views. There were mountains and a lot of clouds hovering over them. We passed by the huge cross that we're going to next weekend with El Escorial, which was pretty cool to get a preview, I thought. We also passed by one area that made me think of the drive up to Tech. There were lots of trees, that looked like pine trees, and the road was normal sized, not three or four lanes. It was nice, but made me miss my second home.

When we got to Segovia, we got out and walked to the Alcazar, which is the living quarters for the royal family, so basically a castle. I talked with Jennifer and David the whole way, and also Kristen. She's a new one from this session as well, but she's really nice. We (her, Jennifer, and I) talked about cameras a lot. Kristen has a Nikon too and was using it today. It was nice to talk to people and be social again. Jennifer said she's been doing a lot by herself this session too, which made me feel better about my being anti-social. Alicia was there too, but she was really tired (and hungover) from whatever she did last night, so none of us really talked to her much until after lunch.

As usual, the group was split into two when we got to the Alcazar. One group for those that wanted the tour in English, and one who wanted it in Spanish. I chose the Spanish one this time, because after meeting with Cora yesterday, I felt like maybe I could handle it. So did Jennifer, David, and Alicia. It was kind of funny the way that the group split too, it was like "session one" in Spanish, and "session two" in English... with a few exceptions, of course. I loved it this time, because all the rowdy, loud people were in the English tour, and the few people I like (or know, rather) from the second session were with us in the Spanish tour. I actually understood a lot of what she said too! I was so proud of myself! I had to watch her to get all of the information, so I listened to the first part of what she would say, and then I would take photos and half-listen. It was interesting to hear what she had to say too. We got to go up the tower to the very top too. The stairs were long and winding, so we were all dizzy and out of breath when we got to the top! I wouldn't be surprised if my legs feel that tomorrow. This is a photo of the Segovia cathedral from the top. It was so picturesque and beautiful!

After the alcazar, we walked back down the streets, getting snippets of information from our tour guide (Paloma) along the way. Then we were given free time. I went to browse the shops with Jennifer, Alicia, David, and Kristen (from the first session. I know, so many double names!). It was fun, I liked our group. I think Kristen and I were the only ones that bought anything. She bought a ring and a pair of sandals from one place, and I bought a ring from the same place. It's a gold band with a cameo on it. I love it! A few doors down I got a green hair-clip, and a few doors down again I got a turquoise colored ring. Then they were all hungry, so we went to Plaza Mayor to find food. We sat down and they all got a drink (cafe con leche for the girls) and a free tapa. I wasn't too hungry anymore, so I didn't get anything.

This was the PERFECT spot for us to stop at. Why? Because it just so happened that today, at the EXACT same time we were there, there was a "Festival Folclórico Internacional" (International Folklore Festival). They had dancers from four different countries, and they were traditionally dressed. It was amazing! We heard drums from the restaurant, and since I hadn't ordered anything, I headed out to see what it was. I got to see dancers coming into the square with their country. There were a few students (I think from the UK) to my right, and one started dancing. The others laughed at him and he replied "no one here speaks English and we're never gonna see them again". He then saw me chuckling and asked if I spoke English. I just nodded my head. He blushed while his friends made fun of him. I found it funny. But since I was there before the crowd gathered, I was able to keep a front row spot. I was so excited! Seeing the dancers made today well worth it... it actually made my week! To the right is one of the dancers from Argentina. This is probably my favorite photo I took today. We were that close to the dancers... this isn't my zoom! It was incredible! Below are photos of dancers from Mexico, and then dancers from Turkey, who also played the tambourine. It was so cultural, I loved it!

After watching the dancers, I mentioned that I wanted a picture with a dancer from each region. Jennifer said they probably would do it, so we headed out to ask them. They all did! (Minus Turkey, who left before we got to them). We got a photo from a Flamenco dancer who regrettably didn't dance. She was SO nice and so genuine! Plus she was gorgeous! David changed his profile photo to the photo he took with her haha. I was excited, because experiencing all their cultures (a little bit) by watching them dance had been so perfect for the time we spent in Segovia. Our free time was up a few minutes after that, so we met up with our Spanish speaking group. We got a few more tidbits of information along the way to the restaurant. Then, we finally were led inside!

We were all really hungry and so ready for food by this point. It was a nice restaurant too, the chairs reminded me of a wedding with the covers, and big bows on the back. I sat at a table with Jennifer, Kristen (session one), and Gary, who I met as we sat down. David and Alicia were sitting at a two person table behind us, so we could still talk to them. I felt kind of bad for Gary, because he was the odd person out from the table of guys on our other side. There were five of them and four chairs. So we tried to make small talk with him. He said he hadn't seen me much, and I replied that I don't get out much. Kristen then said that she wondered where I was for last session, since she hadn't seen me out much. I kind of laughed.

Then the food came. Well, the first pig came. Since we were a large (obviously tour) group, they did a "show for us". They brought out the pig and we had a few seconds to take photos. Then, the server cut the pig with a plate! A normal dinner plate, to show how tender the pig had become through the process. It was insane! He then threw the plate to the ground, causing it to shatter. I thought that was pretty cool, though perhaps a bit excessive. Then we sat back down and we were each given a portion of the pig. I have to admit, I was really glad I didn't get part of the face, or one of the feet. I think I got the rib section, but I didn't get organs, which I was glad for. Jennifer got a kidney, Kristen got an ear, and David got an eye. Eww! Alicia ate the kidney and the ear, and David ate the eye. I was glad I didn't see them eat it.

It was pretty good though. I like the food in La Mancha much better, I will admit. The pig was nicely seasoned though. We were given a big portion too, as per usual here in Spain. For dessert, we were given a cake thing with a scoop of ice cream. Ponche, is what it was called. It was so delicious! I wanted another piece! It wasn't served with vanilla ice cream either, it tasted like it had some sort of spice in it, but I don't know what kind of spice. It was absolutely the best dessert I've had here in Spain so far. On the way out, Jennifer noticed business cards by the door, so we grabbed one for our scrapbooks. I was excited. It's a fancy business card, even! Then we headed to the Roman aqueduct.

It was pretty cool to see, especially since they hadn't used mortar or cement or anything to hold it together, just pure rocks and gravity. Other than that, it was kind of disappointing, especially after the Alcazar and the Folklore Festival. It was cool though, and a great piece of history, so I was glad to see it. Then we headed to the bus to head back to Madrid. On the way though, about a five to eight minute bus ride from the aqueduct, we stopped at a small grassy area for photos. It was a great view of the Alcazar from below! Here's our group from today, minus Kristen, who wasn't around when we took the photo. Me, Alicia, Jennifer, and David the DU. Haha that's how I'll always think of him now. I also realized today we've kind of been "trading guys". First we went to Barcelona with Brendan, who then left at the end of session one. Then we went to the Basque with Julian, who stayed for that trip, and then left. Now we spent the day with David. Interesting...

The ride back was pretty quiet, I think most people slept. When we got back, I talked to Jennifer on our way to the metro. I told her I was planning on going to el Parque Juan Carlos tomorrow, which is the biggest park in Madrid. It's hard to imagine one bigger than Retiro for me, so it'll be interesting. She said she'd come along, but we're going to el Rastro first so she can shop and I can take some photos. We're going early too, so there won't be too many people around. Then, depending on whatever time we get done, we'll head over to the park. I'm excited to do something social again.

When I got back to my area of Madrid, I headed to the supermarket on my street. This morning was sad for me. My deodorant ran out. There's no way to get more of it either, because here in Madrid, all they have is roll on deodorant (eww!). It's like a liquid. I put it on my arm to see what it was like. It's like a goopy mess. It takes forever to dry, so it'll probably end up on all of my shirts. I'm not too happy about that, but it definitely beats going without deodorant. I'll be excited to switch back to my brand in the US. I'm still trying to make my shampoo and toothpaste last the last two weeks. We'll see how that goes. Anyway, when I got back to the apartment, I uploaded my photos to my computer, then Facebook. I read my emails too, and I had one back from the advisor of the enterprise I'm looking at joining in the fall. He described a bit of what I could do, and he said they wanted to become more diverse, since it's mostly CS majors or computer engineers. I think that's cool, because I'll definitely be able to find work to do, I wouldn't just be an noncontributing member. I'm going to go to their meeting in the fall, and potentially add the class.

After that had dinner. I really wasn't very hungry, that lunch really filled me up! It was a double decker sandwich today. There was a slice of bread, then a slice of ham, followed by red peppers (I think they were a mild form of red chili peppers), and another slice of bread. Then, the second layer was cheese, lettuce, and a hard boiled egg cut up. It was actually really good. I was surprised by the peppers. Pilar was in the kitchen today with me, also eating a sandwich, so I couldn't pick them off. It turns out I didn't need to, they weren't as bad as I thought they would be! I had yogurt for dessert. Then I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and now am probably going to bed real soon, I'm so tired from today! So I love you all, have a good night!