Embarrassing Z-List “star” spotting

Saw one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s ex-girlfriends, Nereida Gallardo, watching the Real Madrid game tonight at a tapas bar.  I obviously followed their relationship like a hawk and did know she was from Palma, but it did not really cross my mind until seeing her out.  Some guys next to me were joking about whom she was rooting for.  I didn’t say anything to anyone about it at the time, but I thought anyone who is reading this already has an idea of how crazy I am, especially about Cristiano Ronaldo (pre baby-daddy thing, at least)… so, alas, I am posting the fact that I not only saw this woman, but recognized her right away.  Shameful, I know. 

First few days

Ok, so, let me just do a recap of what’s going on over here…  just got back to the hostel from quite the interesting afternoon.  I got up early, ate breakfast and caught the bus into the city center, then I then took a train in to Binissalem (about a 25-minute ride), where the school is I’ll be teaching at.  I really have to hand it to Mallorca, they have a great public transit system that’s really easy to navigate.  The signs are very easy to understand and placed intuitively so you can really visualize where you are according to all the maps, and routes posted!… or maybe it’s just really easy because there are only like 3 train lines and it’s a tiny island… I guess it’s probably a bit of all of these things… Anyways, I found my way to Binissalem, and I’m psyched because the main train station is like a 3 minute walk from where my apartment is (I move in on the 2nd). 

However, it was a little bit of a trek from where I’m staying right now.  My hostel is in this weird little carnival town filled entirely with German people, except for all the shopkeepers, who typically speak spanish.  This place (S’Arenal) it’s called, is a 30-minute bus-ride away from the city, which isn’t bad, and basically I’m just staying here because the hostel is cheap, and I have my own room and a balcony! Also, it doesn’t hurt that it has a nice beach that I spent the day on yesterday!  Anyways, it’s strange because this gorgeous strip of beach is lined with spanish restaurants that sell strudel and bratwurst alongside typical spanish fare, and all the menus are in german, and most of the clientele are the German equivalents of those Americans you see at amusement parks or you meet while you’re traveling, and you’re like… “Really?  These are the Americans that give us a bad name”… 

Anyways, I digress… today I went to the school (IES Binissalem) for a departmental meeting with the “foreign language” department there.  I had no clue what to expect!  The school is about a 10-minute walk from the train station, and the village is old-school, we’re talking really old-school.  There is a beautiful church in the central square, and everything is cobbled, the streets, and houses made of bricks of light stone.  It’s a really beautiful place, quite quaint.  You can see olive trees grouped along the perimeter of the town, as well as hear (and smell) bulls and lambs in surrounding pastures.  When I first walked into the school, I went to the front desk and explained in Spanish who I am and, why I was there and who I was meeting.  The ladies at the front desk were so excited, they had these silly grins on their faces like they were so happy to see me and kept asking me about North America, and how I was finding Mallorca to be, etc. etc., etc. They were really sweet. 

I was a little early, so I had to wait to meet up with the department head.  And she is really nice.  Though we have been communicating via e-mail in english, we spoke in spanish the whole time, and then before we headed to the meeting, she turned to me and asked if I speak catalan.  I basically was like, “oh, well I’ve taken one course and I can read it well, but I have a lot to learn,” to which she responded that the departmental meeting is usually in catalan, but she would try to help me out and take notes. hahah oy.  So, they started the meeting and were talking about the german department, in catalan, and when they started talking about the english department, they switched over to spanish for me… oh man, it was hilarious.  I’m going to learn A LOT.  A LOT.  A LOT.  of both catalan and spanish.  I’m super excited.  Also, for the record, I could mostly understand what they were talking about in catalan, which I did NOT expect.  Everyone in the department was really nice.  When we were discussing my schedule, one lady was like “we’re going to fight for you”, and thanks to her and the head of the department, they condensed my schedule into Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Hello, long weekend!!   Also, get this, apparently I’m going to be helping out with music and art classes.   The music teacher is this hilarious guy who speaks really good english, actually.  Well at least, he’s the only one who actively spoke english.  At the meeting, they asked me if I was musical, and I said I can only play one song on the piano (despite having taken it for like 6 years).  They told me I can just play that song all year. hahaha wait till they hear it.  “If I Were A Rich Man” will be haunting them now!    Some pics of Binissalem:

 

Some things weird tidbits I’ve taken note of so far:

- I saw a sidewalk store selling a t-shirt with a cartoon octopus on it singing “ole ole ole ole” and holding a spanish flag in one of his tentacles (re: the octopus that predicted Spain would win the World Cup)… I need to buy one of those shirts.

-All of the houses in Binissalem have green shutters, as do most of the buildings in downtown Palma… reminds me of home!

- People in S’Arenal assume I’m French?  Three separate people have assumed that, at least… strange.

-Also, super-excited I have polarized sunglasses because if not, I feel that I would probably be blind right now.  The sun is crazy here…

Anyways, hope you’re all doing well, I’m going to meet up with some people from my program tonight for the first time, we’re meeting in one of the main plazas to have some tapas, should be good!

Te adoro, Palma

  

These aren’t even pictures of my favorite area.  I put my camera away for that part because I was in awe.  Enough said.

Travel tips for Young Adults

Yep, for “young adults,” not “for dummies,” because if you’re a dummy, stay at home and do whatever it is that dummies do, like, you know, going tanning or picking your nose, or something like that.  For those of you who have seen the movie Taken, you know what happened to the dummy friend, and although I’m aware that is an extreme situation, I cannot stress enough how being aware and savvy can get you out of tough binds ranging from slight discomfort to serious danger.  Yes, my dad suggested I add this section to the blog, and, no, he is not Liam Neeson, and neither is your dad, so take heed! 

This post is the first in a series.  And don’t make any Jack Handy references, please!

Travel Tip #1: Invest in good walking shoes.  I know you’re poor.  You just booked a ticket for Europe that costs more than your credit card limit, you have student loans, the rate of exchange isn’t great… or maybe that’s just me?… Well, maybe you have the money, but you are painfully aware that good walking shoes often resemble moon shoes and/or leather tonka trucks.  Well, they may cost more than you like, but I highly recommend buying a pair of earth-toned Birkenstocks (I think the ones with the thong are flattering and don’t shout “tourist” as much as the 2-strapped ones) and also a neutral-colored pair of nice sneakers, like Nikes, something simple and durable, no imitation material.  Other options will debilitate you and/or make your feet smell like you grabbed them from the elephants’ cage at the zoo.  Consider it an investment.  If you could smell my feet after wearing shoes made with imitation leather, you would petition for the purchase of good quality walking shoes to be a tax write-off.  Again for the penny-pinchers or hobo students, if you buy cheap shoes that end up killing you,  you may have to buy new ones, which ends up being about as expensive as one pair of nice shoes.  And unless you’re at the beach, flip flops don’t cut the mustard, people!

Travel Tip #2: The return trip should be your priority. This is particularly important in a foreign country, where bus drivers or random passersby may not understand the meaning of the word “lost”!  Say you’re at a hostel on the fringes of the city center,or say you’re just going on a day excursion to some quaint village off the beaten path.  Chances are, at some point, you will be taking some form of public transit (a bus or a train) to get there, unless you can afford a taxi.  Chances are also likely that along your route, there will be what I call an English-language black hole.  This may seem like a no-brainer, but I want to stress that getting somewhere is usually easy, but getting back can be a major disaster.  Make sure you are aware of how you can get back, what time services stop and where, if there is a festival going on that weekend that affects bus times.  Find this out.  BEFORE. YOU. GO.  Bus stops do not always have maps, routes or times posted, and you do not want to end up squatting in an English-language blackhole for an extended period of time, especially if you’re alone!

Travel Tip #3: Go to Church, even if you’re not religious. No, I’m not preaching from the blog, or trying to convert people, but going to church in a foreign country is fascinating.  If you’ve ever been to mass before, you’ll know what’s going on no matter what the language.  And more specifically, if you are in Spain, you’ll realize there’s really  not much else to do on a Sunday, considering every little thing is closed.

Travel Tip #4: Find out what a popular regional drink is.  Ask someone from the region if there is a regional drink you should try.  It’s a good conversation starter, and you could end up really liking it… or, as in the case of Alhambra beer (Granada) or caipirinha (Lisbon), you could end up completely obsessed.

Travel Tip #5: In an emergency? Don’t call 911.  At least, if you’re in Spain.  Then you’d call “112”… Find out the emergency number in a foreign place, before you get there.  God forbid you need to use it, and pity the fool who needs it AND is dialing 911.  Now that person is in trouble.

Travel Tip #6: Look for hostels with breakfast included. These are typically buffets consisting of the basics.  Today, the hostel where I’m staying had cereal, granola, buns, croissants, cheese, ham, various fruit spreads and beverages (coffee!)… You can stock up for the most important meal of the day and then you’ll find yourself more content with all the walking you’ll be doing, not to mention, less likely to fall for the expensive, ginormous meals that are often advertised on the beaten path (here’s looking at you, street ad with vat of seafood paella pictured… I bid thee adieu. That ad follows me around everywhere I go in Spain, I swear)….

Travel Tip #7: Take your headphones out.  Chances are you’ll hear some interesting, enlightening things.  You don’t have to be actively trying to take things in, taking your headphones out is half of it.  Oh, the things I’ve learned and friends I’ve made from casually eavesdropping.

Travel Tip #8: Learn another language.  Obviously, if I’m studying in Spain or moving there temporarily, it helps that I’ve put in the time to learn the local languages (be it castellano [“spanish”], catalan, etc.).  As you would imagine, it helps in basically any conceivable situation.  However, I found out that you can use that supplementary language in more interesting ways… for instance, when I was in Paris, I spent a lot of time on my lonesome because I was meeting up with friends halfway through the trip.  Now, there’s a bit of, je ne sais pas, bad blood, between Americans and French, or so I’d heard, so, everytime I spoke to someone, I would say “Parlez-vous espagnol?” (do you speak Spanish?), and they were SOOOO nice to me.  A lot nicer than if I spoke in my strongest yankee accent, I’m assuming… I didn’t test out my theory, though… but if I had, I would have asked the haughtiest looking French person I could find if they knew where I could get some “freedom fries”.  Also, I’m pretty sure I’d be wearing a camouflage fanny pack.  and an Uncle Sam hat. 

More travel tips to come…

1st Leg

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excessive caffeination + free wifi + 7 hour layover = this post

Kate gave me this copy of The Alchemist when I graduated. from high school. I'm fiiinally getting around to reading it. It's a super-quick read, and I'm glad to be taking in its optimistic message regarding the beauty of the journey... something I need to take in, considering my current journey includes two 6+ hour layovers!!