Well well wine...

So now I'm getting more into a routine of going to my lectures in between drinking wine and beer and eating tapas and the weeks are passing by really fast but I still manage to squeeze in a bit of culture.

Following our Sunday dinner extravaganza last Sunday I slept for quite a lot of Monday and revolted at the thought of having to clean up the aftermath of the great mashed potato and gravy based escapade, so we pretended it didn't exist and avoided the kitchen. Monday and Tuesday were mainly attending lectures, avoiding cleaning and basking in the sun on the roof terrace. I know what you're thinking, and yes, yes I did pick the right degree. 

On Wednesday we finally decided to take on Mount Potato and armed with Senor Muscle* and sponges we cleaned the kitchen spotless. Then went to our usual Wednesday night spot at Caja Negra for our weekly dose of tapas, beer, wine and puppies. 

Thursday was lecture filled, well I had an hour lecture. Then we went to the conversation exchange at Lord Maguz. The group of Spanish people that go every week are really lovely, patient with our Spanish and always help and correct which is helpful. This week ended is a rather Scouting and Guiding Jamboree-esque way in that we all had a bit of a sing-song. From blink182 to Greenday and Jason Myraz, the Spanish lost it around this point and a wonderful rendition of American Pie spelt the end of another Spanish evening.

On Friday evening after a day of lectures/ doing work, yurp I did some work. Myself, Ruby and Jo had tickets to see 'Sonrisas y Lagrimas' which is The Sound of Music in Spanish. The whole musical was in Spanish which was good for practicing, even if some of the song translations left a little to be desired. A musical is obviously a very hard thing to translate, for the songs still to rhyme but to also keep the same general message and no song more difficult than 'Do Re Mi'. Because 'doe' isn't a female dear in Spanish. Obviously by the time the translator got to 'Fa' it was all becoming too much and we ended up being delivered one of my favourite lines of the whole show. Fa- es lejo en inglés. Fa- is far in English. It was a great production and I really enjoyed it!

Avilés

Awkward stance.

On Saturday we had a plan to go to Léon which is around an hour and a half away from Oviedo by bus. We met at the bus station in the morning but the bus to Léon was already full. So instead of wasting the day we took the bus to Avilés to explore, which is another one of the big towns in Asturias, about half an hour from Oviedo. The weather was beautiful and Avilés was really pretty. We walked around, I unsuprisingly took a lot of photos and then we ate our lunch by the marina before hopping on another bus to Gijón as to not waste the rest of this sunny day. Gijón is the nearest 'seaside' to Oviedo, is really pretty and has a tree built entirely of cider bottles. We couldn't go on the beach as the tide was in and the waves were pretty huge but we did enjoy a walk along the sea front and a coffee in a café. 

Sunday is a day of rest so we rested. That was my 6th day of rest this week.

Today we did exciting things like go to look for another toilet seat. We've managed to break 2 since being here. I had a lecture on the history of Portugal taught by a suspected 15 year old boy and managed to correctly describe my injured foot to the Spanish pharmacist and got myself some ibuprofen gel.** All in all a successful day, well except we never did find a toilet seat.

*sorry to dissapoint this doesn't actually exist
**lesson learnt children, don't run on an injured foot.

The tree made of cider bottles which 'resembles the circle of life' OH SPAIN.

A bad day.

Today was a bad day. We all have them wherever we are in life and they're over as quick as they've begun. 

Nothing particularly bad happened today, just things that would have usually passed me by without notice were noticed and I missed things I didn't have more. I think being abroad makes a bad day slightly harder to deal with because usually at home you'd know how to deal with this sort of mood, for example I'd usually take my dog for a walk or head to wetherspoons to laugh the day off. However, neither my dog nor wetherspoons are readily available in Spain. 

Bad days are important, as not only do they let you let out all the sadness, the homesickness and the general annoyance of Spain being so laid back when all you really want is someone to sign a piece of paper, but they also as cliché as it sounds force you to look for the good things, the little things that cheer you up, like Yorkshire puddings. 

Today was a bad day, but tomorrow is a new day and I've told myself it will be better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LMVJ2xd1g8&feature=kp

NB: Normal blogging cheeriness will recommence tomorrow.

Things Spain has got right Vs Things Spain need to work on.

So I've been here 3 weeks now and I feel like I should in someway grade Spain's efforts on life so I've created a list of things I think Spain have got spot on, and things they could do to work on. I hope other Year Abroaders in Spain will agree...

Things Spain is doing right*:


1. Sangria
They invented it, it's tasty and it's really cheap. Kudos Spain, Sangria is a keeper.


2. Tortilla
Now Spain does food pretty well in general, but I'd like to draw specific attention and applause to the humble tortilla. This is not the tortilla wraps that some of you are thinking of but kind of an omlette with potato and onion. It is fantastic, goes with anything and given away at tapas nights like it's going out of fashion. Tortilla, excellent, 10 points for Griffindor.

3. Canas
These are small draft measures of beer that usually cost 1/2 euros. Which means you can go out with 10 euros and happily come back with change!

4. Free alcohol
They just love giving away alcohol. On numerous occasions I have ordered a drink then had my money refused. I'm not complaining, you carry on Spain!

5. Free food and cheap food
If the food in supermarkets here isn't cheap enough there's at least 1 tapas night every night where you can go and have free tapas made up of traditional Spanish and regional dishes (including the best of tortillas). England needs more free food.

6. Sleep and being generally relaxed
I like sleep. I quite enjoy ambling everywhere and never rushing. The world should take a leaf out of Spain's pretty relaxed book. 

7. Cider
Asturian cider is pretty unusual and unique. The waiters pour it in a very specific way this is known as 'escanciar' and it involves pouring the cider from above head height behind you into the glass which you hold just below waist height. The majority of the cider goes on the floor, but the bit that ends up in the glass is 'mixed' well and you're supposed to drink the cider in one or the rest get's unmixed and tastes bad. There is a street here solely dedicated to Sidrarías, that's cider bars. Fantastic. Although I'm not sure doing the same with a can of cider on a street corner in England would raise the same amount of positive attention. 

8. Cheap rent
My rent is currently around 140 euros a month. Even compared to Hull that would rival the smallest of houses on Orchard Park, and it's a lot nicer.

9. Street cleaners
Oviedo is the cleanest city in Europe, I know, we should mention that more. This is due to the jetwashing of the pavements and emptying of bins at 3 in the morning, Spain never sleeps but we do have lovely clean pavements. 

10. Old people
It's not unusual at all for me to be wandering back from a night out at 5 in the morning to pass groups of old ladies who've been out with their friends and are on the way home. I want to live here when I'm old with all my old friends. 

11. Shutters
The ability to shut out daylight until the afternoon is welcomed with open arms.

*Many of these are food and alcohol based

Now we must sadly dwell on some of the confusing things that Spain just really haven't got the hang of yet;

1. Opening hours
Don't get me wrong, I like sleep as much as the next person and can see the need for siestas in the heat of summer. But shops close between 3 and 5 everyday and sometimes you just need food in between those times. Uni offices also close after 2, which means I'm yet to see my supervisor. As for Sundays, when you've not prepared for a hangover the day before and have no food in, it's like apocalypse now and you'll find yourself scraping change together to go to a vending machine to get chocolate and crisps. 

2. Bed sheets
Why so many? On my bed I currently have, a sheet, another slightly different sheet, a blanket, another sheet, and a weird thicker not blanket but not duvet thing. This makes getting into bed, out of bed and making the bed quite some feat and usually after getting out of bed and making it I'm ready to get back into it. And as for the long pillows...well.

3. Really tiny tins of tuna.
As an avid tuna fan I fail to understand the reason behind these really tiny tins of tuna. They don't contain enough tuna for anything productive. This may seem trivial but it is awfully odd. 

4. Weird bin times.
You can only put your bins out between 9pm and 11pm. Spain you're odd. 

5. Ham is not a vegetable
Despite not being a vegetarian the majority of Spaniards still think ham is a vegetable, like asking for something vegetarian and been given a sausage. Does this soup have meat in it? No. It's a pork broth. Spain, pigs are animals. 

6. Bells
Bells ring every quarter of an hour. When I'm tired I worry I resemble Quasimodo. 


I think for now that concludes my list, it shall however be updated...

The rain in Spain falls mainly here...

So on my third week of being in Oviedo I finally went to uni, shocking I know. Monday was a little unsuccessful as Spain being Spain was having another fiesta so there were no classes, luckily I remembered this before walking all the way to university and standing outside the room for half an hour right? Oh no wait...

However, I attended my first lecture on Tuesday afternoon which was part of my 'Introduction to Modern Cultures and their Literatures' module. So this lecture was about German writers and their literature, taught by a German lecturer, in Spanish. I managed to follow the majority of it, the fact that Spanish wasn't her native language helped me as she spoke a lot slower than a native Spanish speaker! I then went to purchase pens and paper, as I had gone to my first lecture with a scrap of paper and a pen that barely worked. 

Caja Negra

On Wednesday I slept through my alarm and hence my lecture. I'm really fitting in with Spain's laid back culture, a little too well possibly. We went to Tapas Night at Caja Negra again in the evening, the tapas is wonderful, there's always a selection of dogs running around and they play planet earth in the background, what's not to love? We then went for 'just one drink' at a bar afterwards, but were then plied with free beer by the barman, so it was more like 4...

Thursday I attended another German culture lecture on the German education system. Many many German words, all I remember is Kindergarten. Then I braved a 4th year French to Spanish translation class which aside from confusing my poor little brain was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. Thursday evening was 'curry night' at some of our ERASMUS friends' flat and both the curry and the company (as always)* were lovely.

Now very uncharacteristically of me, I had the most productive day since, well, since I can remember, on Friday. I went to my last lecture of the week which was on German energy usage, yes it was as thrilling as it sounds. Cleaned the kitchen, I said it was productive not exciting! Then walked to town to collect our tickets for 'Sonrisas y Lagrimas' which is the Sound of Music in Spanish, yes I'm very excited. I went food shopping, made a wonderful pasta bake, went on a trip to Carrefour to buy food for Sunday's roast dinner extravaganza, carried the heaviest chicken back from Carrefour and then watched all the TV in the world. Productive. 

The result.

Saturday was, let's say, less productive. I slept until about 3 o clock, reviving myself from the aforementioned productive day. On the evening we went out to a bar that was about as close to an English pub as you can get in Spain. We took cards and played a risky game of Ring of Fire, the risk being there was only 4 of us. Needless to say, several rounds and beers later I was more than merry and headed home.

Sunday I woke up with the room spinning less than it was when I fell asleep. We had invited everyone round to our flat for traditional Sunday Dinner so had around 5kg of potatoes and 2.5kg of carrots to peel and chop, chicken to cook, yorkshire puddings to make and yeah you get the picture. The preparation was going well when everyone arrived, except the fact having the oven and all the hobs on was tripping the power every few minutes. A huge mess was made but the result was so worth it, what Sundays were made for. Followed by a lemon cheesecake and the best selection of 80's and 90's classic hits made for a fantastic end to the week.

Sunday dinner!

Today I've been to uni and for a run in the pouring rain. Now at this point I'm going to be stereotypically British and mention the weather. The weather here is strange and changes so quickly because we're in a valley. This past week we've seen some quite sunny and warm days which I hope is a sign of things to come! Because of the aforementioned ever changing weather, everyone in Oviedo carries an umberella. Now after 3 weeks I think I have more or less mastered the Umberella etiquette required to walk in the rain without a) taking someones eye out b) getting caught up in someone elses umberella or worst of all c) getting wet. It involves either raising or in my case lowering your umberella so the other person can pass with their umberella, including a knowing 'nod' makes you more accepted into the umberella community. 

*Anyone need a bucket?

Happy Monday! 
Enjoy this Spanish treat on me; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFuqbH7FEts 

Paris Je t'aime...

Now I know this isn't strictly about Spain but I did fly from Spain to Paris and back to Spain, and reverting back to my Parisian blog for one post did seem a little silly.

So on Thursday evening we went to a tapas bar, I know, unusual for us, but however this time there was a conversation exchange type charade happening. After building up the courage to go over to the very large group of Spanish people we introduced ourselves and they were very lovely. After an evening of discussion ranging from the death penalty to the best places to eat in Asturias we left, very happy and intending to go back this week!

Friday began my Parisian adventure after some debacle getting on the bus to the airport, not realizing you couldn't buy tickets on the bus, asking the bus driver to please wait while I ran to the ticket machine in the station and finally setting off I made it to the airport and through security with no problems other than a slightly violent pat down by the Spanish security. 

The flight was interesting, but that's what you get when you book random cheap flights to Paris. There were 2 types of people on the plane; excited Spanish people chattering away and craning their necks out of the window to see Paris and then me. We finally landed and I made my way via bus and metro to meet Robbie at his new luxury 'costa pays for everything for me' apartment. After finally finding me among hundreds of people milling around we exchanged an emotional hello and walked back to the apartment exclaiming about how fun it was we were both in Paris. We then went to Equinox for tea, because when in Paris, go to the restaurant that does cheap but lush food. I disappointed myself in being too full for pudding, then we headed back in the pouring rain, drunk wine, caught up and slept. 

The next day we headed to Gare du Nord, wandered round aimlessly trying to find the ticket booths so Robbie could buy a Navigo, which Costa were paying for of course, found the ticket booth, saw the queue, laughed and went to wait for Olivia. After another emotional hello, full of yet more exclaimations of how fun it was that we were all in Paris together, Robbie headed off to work and myself and Olivia met up with Lorna, Mel and Lorna's friend Hannah and went for steak, because as much as I love chorizo, sometimes I just need a steak. Then we said an emotional goodbye to Olivia as she headed home before starting the second half of her Year Abroad in Spain. 

Sober.

I then had an afternoon of pretending to be a tourist, well actually no longer pretending, I was an actual tourist. Meandered down the Champs-Elysées, round Pere Lachaise cemetery before heading to hotel de ville. I went into BHV and everything was normal, I came back out and there were motorbikes EVERYWHERE. I'd accidentally got caught up in some protest, the French love a good protest. So I elbowed my way through and walked to the next metro station to head back to the apartment. When Robbie finally got in from work we headed to the local French delicatessen before heading out. Yup we had a McDonalds. Had a fantastic cocktail fuelled/ french speaking night with some brilliant people before catching a taxi back.

Just to prove I was there.

Once I'd dragged my hungover self out of bed on Sunday we headed to Jardin de Tuilleries for a stroll before Robbie headed off to work. Then I met Lorna and Hannah again by the tower and played tourist for a bit longer, had a crepe before setting off back to the airport. Now, I got to the metro station where the bus to the airport goes from only to be greeted by several police officers saying that only one exit was open, this had protest written all over it. I had to divert to another metro station to get the bus, but finally made it to the airport. 

After a turbulance filled flight and a bus ride I made it back to my flat, shattered but having had such a good weekend! 

This weeks aim, to go to uni.