Hello Everyone!

October has been a busy travel month so far. We didn’t have school on Friday, October 2 or on Monday, October 5 because it was the Festival of San Froilán in León. Given the opportunity of a long weekend, Andrew and I decided to go to Madrid. We toured the city on a free walking tour and saw the Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, and Palacio Real while learning a bit more about the history of the city.

Photo Cred: Andrew

One of my favorite parts of traveling is staying in hostels. It’s like a hotel, but you rent a bed instead of a room. Depending on the hostel and options they offer you may stay in a single or mixed gender room with 4-12 people (typically). It’s a cheap and fun alternative to a hotel. The hostel atmosphere is built around the concept of a community of fellow travelers. They typically have a communal kitchen, communal spaces to hang out in, and hostel planned activities. Andrew and I stayed in a wonderful, quirky hostel in the center of the city and had a great time meeting people there. Most of the people we met were English teachers from the U.S. and Canada waiting to find an apartment in the city. One girl who was staying there has been on a 4 month tour of Europe. We had some great conversations and I learned a great deal.

Segovia and Toledo are just a short bus ride from Madrid, so Andrew and I went with some new friends from the hostel to Toledo on Saturday and Segovia on Sunday. Toledo is a precious town where you can see the influence of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim cultures in both the art and architecture. The Jewish quarter is an area of town particularly famous for its artisanry.  In Segovia, Andrew and I saw the Roman aqueduct, the cathedral, and the palace Alcazar. El Alcazar is my favorite of the castles I’ve visited so far. It has a moat, drawbridge, stamped ceilings, tapestries, paintings, and original furniture. They also have an extensive collection of cannons and armor.

Roman Aqueduct of Segovia

After getting back from Madrid, I celebrated my 21st birthday. My friends threw me a surprise party with pizza, chocolate cake, and cookies from Leon’s “Taste of America” store. The next day my host mom made me Tarta de Santiago, an almond cake with powdered sugar, and some earrings. It was a wonderful day.

Celebrating the 21st with new friends

Thursday night I left for Barcelona with AEGEE (a group that organizes trips and activities for the foreign exchange students). We went to Las Ramblas, the zona de Gaudi, the beach, Parque Güell, Montserrat (inspiration for the name of Holy Cross’ first year program!), Tibidabo, and La Sagrada Familia. It was a fun but exhausting weekend.

Barcelona!

Holy Cross at Montserrat

Have a wonderful week!

Ali

Hello Everyone!

Catedral de León

I am settling in well here in León. It’s a lovely little city with plenty of wonderful tapas bars and bakeries. In its center sits a beautiful cathedral, plaza, restaurants, and stores. There’s a relaxed atmosphere as people stroll, window shop, and catch up with friends over a cup of coffee. Day or night it’s a great place to be. Another popular part of the city is the Barrio Húmedo – an area of town with tapas bars. At tapas bars in León you order a drink and you get a bit of food. Every place is a little different. Some serve potatoes with alioli or hot sauce, others potato chips with ham, others croquettes, others pizza or crepes, etc. It’s a lovely way to spend an evening catching up with friends.

Holy Cross in León

A Holy Cross alum, Kyler, is acting as our cultural adviser this year. He went to León during his junior year abroad and is back teaching English at a local school. Kyler is a great resource because he’s been in our shoes and knows the stress and excitement of studying abroad. His role this year is to help answer any questions we might have about León, the culture here, or classes while taking us out to restaurants, tapas places, museums, and other fun cultural points of interest.

Our host moms brought us to our first day of school

Classes started last week at university. I am taking “History of Pre-Hispanic America”, “Ancient and Medieval Religions”, “Ancient Egyptian Art”, and the Holy Cross Spanish course. The language difference does cause difficulties, but overall I feel well-prepared to tackle this next challenge, and I can’t wait to see my Spanish improve.

One of the greatest resources at Holy Cross is professor office hours. During office hours you can ask questions, discuss a topic in greater detail, get help with papers, and chat. In León however, professors do not normally hold office hours. Fortunately, Holy Cross students are scheduled to have office hours with each of their professors to review material and make sure everything is going well. I’m sure it’s a resource I will come to appreciate greatly.

Kayaking on the river Sella

Las Médulas