Spain

For 4 days over fall break, I went to Spain with a group of my friends.


The journey there was an experience.  From a van driver who would never pass a driver's test in America with the way he sped and rounded corners, to a cold hour outside waiting for the airport to open at 4 am, we were already tired and the day hadn't even started.  When we finally boarded the Ryan Air plane, I was ready to sleep the whole way there.


We stayed in a hostel in Spain that had all sorts of amenities and events.  We went on a tapas bar tour, saw a Flamenco show, talked to the friendly people who worked the desk, made use of the kitchen, and I had an excellent all you could eat breakfast of cereal with milk every day.


One of the things that most impressed me about Spain was the high quality of the buskers and performance artists.  They are better in Spain than they are in Rome.  If I film them, I always give them some money for their performance.  I gave away a lot of change in Spain.  These performers deserved it.



We visited Toledo on World Protest Day, and stumbled upon the protest in Toledo.  It was a relatively peaceful protest.  People marching stuck large pieces of paper on banks and ads that said "culpables" which is like saying "It's this bank's fault".  They had a large circle in the plaza where anyone who wanted to talk could talk into the microphone.





My favorite part of being in Spain was being able to use my Spanish knowledge.  I could speak so much easier, and ask so many more questions, and do so much more with knowing the language better.  It makes such a huge difference to be able to speak the language better. A final highlight of the trip was going to the Prado for free because we were students.


We experienced many things in Spain:  an all you could eat buffet in which we behaved like true starving college students, meeting other people who were traveling through Spain, wandering through gardens and parks, seeing strange birds with blue feathers, seeing a couple scuffles on the street, taking the metro, playing in play grounds, eating Spanish food and treats, going to a markets of collectible items, and walking around the city in the day and at night.