A birthday in Spain

Thursday, 15^th December – MY BIRTHDAY!

Today I woke up and had a lovely shower and then had a great skype session with Mat. It was fantastic to be able to talk to him on my birthday and have some connection with home. After our chat I went to Britt and Sharna’s room to see what they were up to. When I entered the girls sang me ‘Happy Birthday’ in Spanish and gave me a lovely card with some really sweet birthday messages. I also got a box of delicious Ferreros wrapped in Dora the Explorer stickers! So awesome! We had breakfast downstairs in the hostel and I had a traditional Andalusian breakfast with toast, pureed tomato spread and dried ham. It came with tea and orange juice and was pretty tasty. Afterwards we went to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. It was a Visigothic fortress that was used by Abd Al Rahman III and then became the residence of Ferdinand and Isabella for a time. It was incredibly beautiful and had spectacular gardens attached with beautiful fish ponds and fountains. We went up the tower (Torres de los Leones) which had incredible views of the city and the gardens below. We explored for over an hour and I felt incredibly happy and grateful to be there. 

Afterwards we walked along the Puente Romano (Roman Bridge) which was so picturesque and then went up the Torre de la Calahorra (tower) which had the Museo Vivo de Al-Andalus inside. It was really interesting and the girls and I were feeling so positive and amazing. The weather was absolutely incredible – the sun was out and we were feeling fabulous. At one point I was down to just a little summer dress and tights (unprecedented) because the weather was so lovely.

We then had lunch at a cute little cafeteria, and I had a chickpea casserole thing (not amazing but not terrible). It was so lovely just hanging out with the girls who are super fun and very generous and kind.

We then went to the Hammam Banos Arabes (Arab Baths) which were SPECTACULAR. I don’t have the words to describe how completely amazing this was. I have never felt so relaxed and amazing. The bath house is absolutely stunning, with beautiful candlelit arches, amazing scents and smells and a extremely relaxed atmosphere. It only cost us about $30 Aus for a 2 hour session – ridiculously amazing value! When we entered we got changes into our swimmers and put our bags in the lockers. Entering rooms with the baths was incredible, I just could not believe what I was seeing. There was three rooms with cold, warm and hot baths and massage tables were set up around the warm bath.

We entered the warm bath first and then rotated in and out of the others. The baths were dimly lit and there were incredibly gorgeous cut outs of stars in the ceiling that let the natural light shine through. The girls and I all chose the jasmine oil for our massage which was extremely relaxing. I don’t think I have ever smelt so good. We all bought a small bottle of the jasmine oil afterwards so we could take it home and always remember the experience.

That evening we initially intended to go out but ended up sitting in our hostel room eating lollies and snack, drinking juice and wine and just relaxing. It was so lovely to just sit and chat with the girls and learn more about their families and lives back in Australia.

Sam, myself and Sharna in the beautiful gardens surrounding the Alcazar

Overall it was such a PERFECT day, definitely a birthday to remember!

Muchos besos, Clare

Yay! Spain!

HOLA

I have arrived safe and well in Spain and am almost at the end of my first week in this beautiful country! I am currently in my hostel in Cordoba and am feeling quite excited as tomorrow is my birthday. Twenty-two is my favourite number so I have a feeling that this year will be excellent.

I’ll give you a run down of what happened yesterday which was quite eventful! 

Tuesday, 13^th December

Today we had a delicious breakfast (the first I have actually enjoyed) and walked to the Alcazar, a 10^th century fortress built by Abd Al Rahman III. It was turned into a palace by the Spanish and actually destroyed twice, once from a fire and again during the Spanish Civil War. It was rebuilt in it’s image and became a military academy and now is a military museum. It was just amazing to see a structure (the bits that remain) from the 10^th century! Plus, the museum house so many interesting objects. We saw a document that was written by Cervantes that had his signature and everything – AMAZING! The Alcazar had SO MUCH in there but we didn’t have time to see everything. Plus, there is only so many rifles and cannons one can actually look at in a day!

We then tried to find the Monasterio de Santo Domingo El Antiguo. We could not find it for AGES and kept asking locals who gave us completely different directions. Some of them had never even heard of it! I was giving up hope that we’d even find it when we finally came across the building. We went inside but it was all closed up and we saw that it closed at 12pm, even though the Lonely Planet Guide said 1:30pm. It didn’t open again until 4pm so we were really disappointed!

We then went to the Monasterio de San Juan de Los Reyes, which was built by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. It had the most beautiful garden and a pretty little church that we explored. Just down the street we went to Sinagoga Santa Maria la Blanca which was a beautiful synagogue with Moorish architecture. It has these incredibly high white arches and lovely artworks all around the walls. I took a few photos and bought some gorgeous postcards to send to everyone back home.

Further down the road we went to the Sinagoga de Transito, which was another beautiful synagogue with a Sephardic Museum. This was really close to our hostel so we came back and booked our accommodation for Cordoba, Granada and Seville. I am SUPER excited for Seville because our hostel looks amazing and it will be so nice to spend Christmas in a lovely environment. That way I hopefully wont miss everyone at home too much! Looking unlikely but at least it will be a new experience. A cold Christmas will be new to me so I am hoping it will be fun.

After a little rest we decided to walk down to the water and try to find the cable ferry that crosses the river Tajo. This was not the most successful trip and although we sort of worked out where it would leave from, we were running out of time to see everything and it didn’t really seem worth it. We then almost ran back up into the city which was super tiring as the hills were really steep! We went into the café where we had breakfast but they said the kitchen was closed despite the fact they were over for another hour and a half. By this stage it was 4:30pm and we hadn’t had anything to eat since about 10am so we were HUNGRY! We found out that pretty much EVERYTHING closes at 6pm so we quickly went to the Iglesia de Santo Tome which houses the magnificent El Greco painting, ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’. The Count’s body was enclosed in a crypt underneath the painting. When we walked in a saw it we were in absolute awe and just stared at it for a good 10 minutes. After studying the painting at uni, it was so fantastic so see it in the flesh. The colours and lighting were just spectacular and it was probably the highlight of my day.

Afterwards we were determined to get to the Monasterio de Santo Domingo El Antiguo that had been shut earlier. This time, we did not get so ridiculously lost and got there with an hour to look around. When we arrived it looked really closed up so we rang the bell and eventually a woman spoke to us from behind a door. She asked who we were which really confused us and we tried to ask (in broken Spanish) if we could come in. She said no and we totally did not understand so I asked why. She said that no one ever came in and I was worried that they had closed the museum. Britt said “Es possible visitar El Greco? En la crypta?” And the woman was super confused and kept saying no. We had no idea what was going on so I asked her whether this was the Monasterio de Santo Domingo El Antiguo to which she said NO! Turns out it was an enclosed convent and not the Monastery at all! This was the second time we had tried to get in there today, we must have really freaked them out! We were laughing so much when we realised what was happening and then we were so confused because we realised we had NO IDEA where this Monastery was! We asked a lovely man in the street who gave us directions and we finally found it a street or two away! The Monastery houses several El Greco paintings and the crypt and coffin of El Greco himself. Turns out we had to crouch down on the floor as there was a tiny glass window to look through and see the coffin.

We went to dinner afterwards and it was probably one of the most hilarious meals I have ever had. We laughed so much that my sides started to hurt. It was such a hilarious, incredible day and I do believe that we pretty much walked up EVERY street in the city!

 Will write more soon!

Adios, Clare xx

One week left!

So I have been so ridiculously busy organising my trip and finishing uni for this semester that I haven't had the chance to write for AGES. Apologies!

Today is the first day of summer which means I only have 7 more days to go until I jump on the plane. Everyone keeps asking whether I am excited  and in some ways I am, but I am also feeling a little apprehensive and nervous. The trip still seems quite surreal and I'm not sure whether it will sink in until I actually land in Madrid.

I still need to finalise my travel insurance and purchase a few more items but I am pretty much all set to go. I have completed university for the semester and finished up at work on the 26th Nov. It feels very strange to have nothing I HAVE to do, just exciting things that I am choosing to do.

This past weekend I celebrated a fantastic reunion / Christmas celebration with my Peru family - that is, the group of 20 awesome people I did volunteer work with in Peru in 2009. We spent four days together and came as far from Melbourne, Western Australia, Canberra and even New Zealand to all be together again. It was a brilliant weekend and makes me hopeful that I'll meet people who are just as amazing and important to me when I embark on my new trip!

This weekend was the first lot of serious goodbyes I had to say however which I found quite strange and emotional. I am hoping that I wont get too emotional when saying farewells to other friends and family this weekend, and also with my Mum, Dad, sister and boyfriend Mat at the airport on Thursday. It's rather scary to think about but I'm sure we will be fine!

Yesterday we booked our accommodation for when we first arrive in Madrid and also our hire car which we will spend the next 3 weeks in touring the sights of Southern Spain. We plan to be in Seville for Christmas and back in Madrid by New Years! From all accounts Seville (below) is stunning and very picturesque so I am rather excited to have to opportunity to visit!

This will be my first Christmas without my family, something I am a little sad about, but I will be with three other beautiful girls and I am sure we will have a great time.

I will write more soon! Muchos besos,

Clare

EXCITEMENT!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post but it's been down to the fact that I've been SO busy!

I am so happy to say that I have been officially accepted by the Universidad de Leon AND have booked a flight to Spain. This momentous step means that I am definitely going!!

I'll be setting off on Thursday 8th December and will travel with three other lovely girls for about three weeks before heading to Leon.

There is still so much to do to before I leave though, and not a huge amount of time to do so. I have an appointment with the Spanish Consulate to apply for a student visa. I've had my finger prints taken by NSW Police and they're currently being processed by the AFP. Fingers crossed they are back in time for my interview!! I also need proof of funds, a medical certificate, travel insurance, returning flight booked and about a billion and one other things before they'll let me in!

Will write more soon!

Chao, Clare xx

Umm, so.. err... where's Leon?

Friends, family and acquaintances have all pretty much said the exact same thing  when I've told them about going on exchange. And to be honest with you, I still don't know a great deal about the city I'm going to call home in just a few months.

So for starters, Leon is in north western Spain, about 4 hours from Madrid and 3 hours to cross the border into Portugal.

It has a population of about 150,000 and from just a quick Wiki search, it is evident that Leon has a rich history and some SPECTACULAR architecture!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n,_Spain

I've also had a little look at the University's website and Facebook Page. The photos are the campus look fantastic!

 The more I see, the more excited I become. I know it's going to be a challenge but this is also shaping up to be an incredible adventure!

More soon!

Adios, Clare xx

Forms, forms, forms!

The exchange process has barely started for me and already I am started to be overwhelmed by the number of forms there are to fill out! I am submitting my final application for the the university today which will then be sent of to the Universidad de Leon to approve. Here's hoping they say yes!

I've also filled out the numerous forms for the Australian Federal Police as today I am going to have a fingerprint check. I'm excited to get another thing out of the way but a little less enthusiastic about parting with the $145 police check fee.

I had to fish out the passport photos I took a few months ago (hideous!) and make copies of my passport, driver's license etc (also hideous!).

As I make more and more preparations, I am beginning to become a little nervous about money.

Expected costs:

• Flights - minimum $2500
• Accommodation in Spain - €650 per month if staying with a family. With current exchange rates, that's about $870AUD a month. $870 x 6 months = $5220
•   Program fee - $150
• Police Check - $145
• Insurance - at least $500
• Student Visa  - at least $200
• Travel afterwards with friends around Europe - minimum $4000

That is almost $13,000 and I haven't even added textbooks, additional course fees, day to day expenses, transport, trips in Spain!! This task is seeming IMPOSSIBLE!!


I'm in need of a good lie down I think!

Hasta pronto, Clare xx

So why Spain?

In 2009 I completed a three month volunteer placement in Cusco, Peru working at a disadvantaged primary school in the Sacred Valley. This was my first time over seas and was  the most incredible experience of my life.  was part of a group of 20 other Australians and we lived in small groups with local host families. Prior to leaving, I didn't know a word of Spanish, nor anything about the country I was about to call home.

I was supported by two excellent organisations;

Antipodeans Abroad - http://www.antipodeans.com.au/Home.htm

and

Peru's Challenge - http://www.peruschallenge.com/

When my volunteer placement came to an end, I traveled around Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina before returning to Australia. When I was overseas, I never once wanted to return home. In fact, I wished I could have stayed for another six months at least! After returning to Australia, I was extremely surprised to feel an intense homesickness and longing for Peru. I had fallen in love with Latin America and that was that.



Although initially enrolled in a double degree -  Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Psychology - I knew that this was no longer for me. In 2010 I began a Bachelor of International Studies majoring in Spanish. I've now  almost completed 2 years of Spanish study at university and have taken as many Spanish history and culture classes as possible.

My love for Hispanic culture is what is drawing me to Spain - to see where it all began. I feel nervous, excited, apprehensive and exhilarated at the prospect and know that despite all by preconceived notions, this trip will probably be like nothing I can imagine!

Adios, Clare xx

Hola!

This is my very first post and a surprisingly nerve-wracking moment. I should probably start by introducing myself. My name is Clare. Hello.

I've decided to start this blog to track my progress and document my thoughts/ideas/expectations as I prepare for, embark on and return home from an international student exchange to Spain.

 The plan at this stage;

Leave Australia in mid December and travel for a few weeks before beginning six months of study at the Universidad de Leon in Spain. I'm hoping to stay with a host family for at least three of these months  so as to make stronger connections, truly immerse myself in Spanish culture and develop my (currently shaky) language skills. After my university placement, I will hopefully visit some relatives in the UK before starting a short tour of Europe with two of my girl friends from Australia. I'll then return home at the end of July 2012 ready to start the final semester of my degree.

There is still so much to do before I can even leave the country, and I'll be posting all the ups and downs of each stage of the journey here! There's so much more I can write, but it will have to wait for now.

Hasta lluego, Clare xx