What I've Done the Past Couple Weeks:
- Climbed the highest mountain in La Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range). It actually wasn't that high (~2,400 meters) and was just an easy hike up, but it was pretty cool. I'd rate this mountain about a 0 out of 10 for solitude. There were about 40 people at the summit, not counting the people still hiking up.
- Didn't go/have many classes this past week due to a teacher not showing up, setting my alarm clock wrong, not needing to take a test, and sleeping in because I stayed up late watching the elections.
- Got invited to go to Madrid to drink and party on Halloween. I ended up teaching some friends how to make pumpkin pie and caramel apples.
- Didn't embarrass myself too much during a volleyball practice
- Ate Kebap (Turkish food) and watched a movie with some friends from church.
Interesting Things I've Noticed:
- The Spanish people are very proud of their country. Someone mentioned that the greatest bullfighter in the world is from a neighboring town. I can't think of another country where people have bullfights except maybe Mexico.
- A jar of about two cups of peanut butter costs ~$6 and Nutella is about half the price!
- Lots of people use trekking poles to hike. It's kinda funny because it seems like it'd be more of a hindrance than actually helpful for the trails I've seen people using the poles on.
- Students here care a ton about school. However, I don't think they care too much about learning, only passing the exams at the end of the year.
- Spain has the craziest billboards. One said, "They Eat Meat", and had a picture of two very fit looking people. The vegetarians are abused here.
- Music from America is way, way more popular than music from Spain.
- A friend asked me the other day what are the white things that people roast over the fire in the American movies (s'mores), nobody here knows what they are! She thought maybe it was meat.
- They don't eat peanut butter!!!
Be sure to check out my pics. The link is at the bottom of the page. (I've got a few albums so you can choose which one to look at on the left side of the page)
About Me
- Ariel
- Look up the meaning of my Hebrew and Arabic names - Ariel Saleh. You'll get a pretty good idea of what I'm about.
2 comments:
Ariel,
Hey! They have those poles here, too! They even walk down the sidewalks looking as if they are only dragging them along. We think it's a marketing ploy by the pole companies.
Our favorite food here so far is Turkish kebabs! They are sooooooooooooooo good.
Uncle Steve and Aunt Brooke
hey ariel! just remembered you had a blog and found it even though i couldn't remember it's name! just searched "ariel" and "spain." i'm so glad you have a unique name!
i always wanted to do an exchange and it never worked out. i'm so glad you're doing it! keep us updated as much as you can (without getting homesick/retarding your cultural integration) :-)
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