Man have I got some stories for you guys! This past week alone I have visited Granada with my school, Tangier with my family and Barcelona with some friends. I will post more about the first two later but first I MUST tell you all about what just happened to us all on the Barcelona metro....
Around 8 p.m. the four of us decided that we wanted to go see this really cool light show at the old Olympic Stadium/Grand Palace. So, we got our things together and headed out to take the metro to the old end of town. Well, it being Saturday night and all, the metro was absolutely packed. But we managed to huddle into a corner and settled in for the long ride. Well, at the next stop these two blokes got on and stood next to me and my other blonde friend Marissa. They were standing too close. At one point I could have sworn that I felt one of the guys hands in the pocket of my purse but being my Midwestern self I figured that they were only pressing up against us because of the overpopulated metro car. Still, I decided to hug my purse after that. Well, after two more stops the guys were still creepin´ and I was getting a peeved. But my dude finally backed off after some forceful hints.
But then the craziness ensued. Around the third stop my guy got off of the metro as soon as the doors opened. Marissa's pal however, hung around a bit longer and made for the doors just as they started to close. Suddenly, Marissa turned to me panicked and said, "he has my wallet!" In my state of shock I looked over and saw that that guy had gotten caught in the metro door. Without really thinking this through I made my way over to him, tugged on his shirt and in the best Spanish I could muster asked if he had my friend's wallet. [Editor´s note: Ok, yes this was the lamest way to approach a pickpocketer but in my defense this all happened very fast and I had never been pickpocketed before]. The guy didn't answer. Apparently asking for a wallet was not very intimidating. But I guess I looked pathetic enough because suddenly this long-haired, bearded man grabbed the thief by the collar and pulled him back onto the car. Without letting go of the greasy little rat´s shirt, our knight-in-shining-leather (he was wearing a leather coat) started to yell at the thief and kept asking him where he put our wallet. The whole time this was going on the metro was at a standstill (remember this for later).
Another passenger on the metro began to shout and pointed to just outside the car door where the thief´s hands had escaped without the rest of his body. There, lying on the tiled floor of the metro station was Marissa´s leather wallet! The passenger handed me the wallet and I went back to our corner to give it to Marissa. In the mean time, the short rat (the thief) escaped from our knight and lunged for the still-open door. But he was no match for our hero. (I´m just going to name this guy Knight for the rest of the story, ok? And let´s just go ahead and name the thief Sotu [scum of the universe]).
Knight grabbed the rat again and yelled (in Spanish), "No! You are going to the police." Well, suddenly a random man (we will call him Jorge) standing outside of the metro car grabbed Sotu out of the hands of Knight and said that he would take over from there. Knight would not have this. (I think he thought that Jorge was Sotu´s friend and was simply going to help him escape). Yelling, "No! Police!" once again, Knight played tug-of-war with Jorge for the posession of Sotu. Looking back on this moment, I realize just how bizarre of an experience it was. Two grown men were standing on and off of a metro car in Barcelona fighting for the possession of a greasy, little man.
Anyways, Jorge eventually let go and pulled out a police badge! Apparently Barcelona has undercover cops stroll the metro systems looking for pickpocketers. Well, this was good enough for Knight and he let Sotu go. Jorge also wanted to speak with Marissa and the rest of us about the whole incident so the four of us got off of the still-stalled metro car and waited to be questioned. Looking up and down the metro station I could see dozens of Barcelonians peeking their heads out of the other metro car doors, straining to see what had happened and why they had not moved on to their next destination. When the metro finally left, it seemed like everyone was looking at me, the other girls, Jorge and Sotu...so much for a low-key trip.
While Sotu went with Jorge´s partner to sit on a bench with the man who had burst my bubble in the metro ride (I don´t know how he was caught) Marissa searched through her purse to make sure that Sotu hadn´t taken anything else. All of her money and cards were where they should have been. But wait, the cell phone that had been in her zipped up coat pocket was missing. Jorge instructed his partner to search Sotu´s pocket and sure enough the slime ball had used his greasy hands to snatch away Marissa´s phone! Not only that, but Jorge brought over two other cell phones to make sure that they didn´t belong to any of us. They didn´t. I guess Sotu and his pal had been at it for awhile.
In the end, we got to the Grand Palace and the Olympic Stadium (where there was no light show) unharmed and much wiser. I learned that when approaching a pickpocketer it is better to grab him by the scruff and scream in his face than to pull on his shirt and sternly question his motives. Sotu, on the other hand, learned what it was like to be booked for petty theft.
The only thing that I really regret is that I never got a chance to thank Knight. We were all still in shock when we walked off of the metro that I don´t think any of us really got a chance to properly express our gratitude. So Knight, I seriously doubt that you are actually going to read this but, thank you! You saved the day. And while I´m sure that I had the pickpocketer trembling in fear, I don´t think that everything would have worked out quite as well without you.
P.S. Moment of irony. When we got back on the Metro to go to dinner a woman stopped us as we were walking in the station and warned us to watch our bags tonight because they might get stolen. The universe has a very sick sense of humor.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Marbella or Bust
You know that scene in Sandlot where the boys stupidly chew tobacco only to throw it up on the tilt-a-whirl a few minutes later? (Pretty picture, yes.) Well minus the tobacco, I had a somewhat similar experience this past weekend. On Saturday, three of the girls in my program and I hopped on a bus to go to the seaside town of Marbella. We had heard that it was a little touristy but that it had great beaches, shops, restaurants and was just a cool place to relax. It was raining when we left but we all figured that we could live without the beach and just explore the city.
Turns out the road to Marbella is very mountainous and swirly. Combine that with a lead-footed driver and a late night and you can only imagine the trouble we were getting ourselves into. Veronica was the first to strike. Luckily for her some of our host moms had packed us all a lunch earlier that day and she was able to grab one of the sacks right before she ralphed. Unfortunately, the first time would not be Veronica’s last. The drive there lasted a little over an hour and she was sick for most of it. Between the tight turns, warm bus and the sweet, melodic tunes of Veronica on repeat, I began to feel a little ill myself. At one point I was even tempted to pull a trick my Mom taught me when I was wee little one and steal Veronica’s bag for personal use. Love you Mom.
But my will to not get sick on the bus carried me through the whole ordeal and I arrived to Marbella with all of my breakfast. Then I stood up. This was a mistake. I ran into the bathroom and well, started playing melodic tunes of my own. After rocking out, I tried to open my stall door to leave but the stupid thing wouldn’t budge. The lock was apparently rusted and by using it, I had sealed myself in. I pushed and pulled but it wasn’t until one of the other girls came and kicked/punched the door that the seal budged enough for me to escape.
A few pounds lighter, we all purchased tickets to take us to the shopping/beachy center of the city. But after about an hour into the drive we began to get suspicious that we might have made a mistake in choosing buses. Our suspicions were confirmed when we saw a sign that read: Bienvenidos a Estepona. We had booked a ticket to another city. Whoops! I guess I need to work on my pronunciation skills. Well the city we booked wasn’t all that bad. We found a pizzeria that hadn’t been shut down for the siesta and took a break from the wind and rain to dine on Italian food in Spain. After that we walked around this accidental city for a while before heading back to Marbella. I don’t think I have mentioned this yet, but the weather in Spain has been crazy. It’s not cold but has rained nearly every day. I mention this only because the ocean waves were gigantic! Flooding is also a big problem right now and the beaches are proof. They were completely buried beneath salt water and debris.
After exploring a bit, we made our way back to Marbella and went to some stores to not buy anything. Eventually, it was time to go back home to Ronda. We left the city of Marbella much wiser and better prepared for the ride home.
P.S. I passed my test and will not be voted off the island.
Turns out the road to Marbella is very mountainous and swirly. Combine that with a lead-footed driver and a late night and you can only imagine the trouble we were getting ourselves into. Veronica was the first to strike. Luckily for her some of our host moms had packed us all a lunch earlier that day and she was able to grab one of the sacks right before she ralphed. Unfortunately, the first time would not be Veronica’s last. The drive there lasted a little over an hour and she was sick for most of it. Between the tight turns, warm bus and the sweet, melodic tunes of Veronica on repeat, I began to feel a little ill myself. At one point I was even tempted to pull a trick my Mom taught me when I was wee little one and steal Veronica’s bag for personal use. Love you Mom.
But my will to not get sick on the bus carried me through the whole ordeal and I arrived to Marbella with all of my breakfast. Then I stood up. This was a mistake. I ran into the bathroom and well, started playing melodic tunes of my own. After rocking out, I tried to open my stall door to leave but the stupid thing wouldn’t budge. The lock was apparently rusted and by using it, I had sealed myself in. I pushed and pulled but it wasn’t until one of the other girls came and kicked/punched the door that the seal budged enough for me to escape.
A few pounds lighter, we all purchased tickets to take us to the shopping/beachy center of the city. But after about an hour into the drive we began to get suspicious that we might have made a mistake in choosing buses. Our suspicions were confirmed when we saw a sign that read: Bienvenidos a Estepona. We had booked a ticket to another city. Whoops! I guess I need to work on my pronunciation skills. Well the city we booked wasn’t all that bad. We found a pizzeria that hadn’t been shut down for the siesta and took a break from the wind and rain to dine on Italian food in Spain. After that we walked around this accidental city for a while before heading back to Marbella. I don’t think I have mentioned this yet, but the weather in Spain has been crazy. It’s not cold but has rained nearly every day. I mention this only because the ocean waves were gigantic! Flooding is also a big problem right now and the beaches are proof. They were completely buried beneath salt water and debris.
After exploring a bit, we made our way back to Marbella and went to some stores to not buy anything. Eventually, it was time to go back home to Ronda. We left the city of Marbella much wiser and better prepared for the ride home.
P.S. I passed my test and will not be voted off the island.
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Perez You Never Knew
Before I talk about this week, I must enlighten you all on a cultural phenomenon I recently discovered about Spain. As you know, in the US, when a kid loses a tooth he will place it under his pillow and wait for the tooth fairy to come and trade the pearly white for a green Washington. When a Spanish kid loses a tooth, he too places it under his pillow and awakens the next morning to find a higher-valued Euro tucked beneath his head. But this delivery is not carried out by a fairy. No, Spanish kids are brought up to believe that when they lose a tooth they are visited by Perez, the magical rat. I kid you not. While a child sleeps the orphaned, magical rat Perez creeps onto their bed and shuffles up to the pillow where he can make the exchange. Everyone apparently has a different idea of what this special creature looks like. Some people say that he is an albino who wears a cute suit while others like my teacher, Elyse, prefer to think of Perez as being “desnudo.” When we told Elyse that Americans believe a fairy comes to deliver the money she could only sigh and say, “Yes. It’s much prettier.”
On that note: last Saturday my school had an official excursion to Sevilla where we got to see the sights and enjoy a warm, sunny day. It was awesome. The whole place was filled with college students and had so many orange trees that our tour guide joked about how, in the Spring, it practically rains fruit in Sevilla. I personally thought this was more cool than humorous. Our tour lasted about three hours and took us on a walk through the beautiful royal gardens and into an old, Islamic palace. Everyone agreed though that their favorite part was the city’s giant
cathedral. And when I say giant, I mean giant. The guide said that when measured a certain way it is the largest cathedral in the world. It also happens to be where Christopher Columbus is buried. That’s right the small-pox bearing man himself was laid to rest in the cathedral that I got to see. The cathedral also has a tower that you can walk up and look out over the city below. When the tour came to an end, we all had about three hours left in Sevilla and decided to use that time to explore a bit. We saw markets, street performers, countless little parks and stumbled upon several mini-city/squares hidden from the main area of the city. When we loaded the bus I thought that the day had given us all a good taste of the city. Taste is the key word there. I want to go back.
In addition to Sevilla, this week also presented me with the opportunity to embrace my inner euroweenie. Yes, I’ve gone local and bought a pair of boots and leggings. Fear not, they were both on sale. After a round of tapas, some of my friends and I also went to the movie theater to watch the “Percy Jackson” flick. Surprisingly, I found that I could understand most of it…I guess that means I’m learning something! At least I’m hoping that this is the case. Today we all took our first test and it was not very fun. But we got to take part of the day off and hiked into the tajo (gorge) and soaked in some of that sweet Spanish sun.
P.S. Congrats to the KU basketball team! Big 12 Regular Season Champs what, what…
On that note: last Saturday my school had an official excursion to Sevilla where we got to see the sights and enjoy a warm, sunny day. It was awesome. The whole place was filled with college students and had so many orange trees that our tour guide joked about how, in the Spring, it practically rains fruit in Sevilla. I personally thought this was more cool than humorous. Our tour lasted about three hours and took us on a walk through the beautiful royal gardens and into an old, Islamic palace. Everyone agreed though that their favorite part was the city’s giant
cathedral. And when I say giant, I mean giant. The guide said that when measured a certain way it is the largest cathedral in the world. It also happens to be where Christopher Columbus is buried. That’s right the small-pox bearing man himself was laid to rest in the cathedral that I got to see. The cathedral also has a tower that you can walk up and look out over the city below. When the tour came to an end, we all had about three hours left in Sevilla and decided to use that time to explore a bit. We saw markets, street performers, countless little parks and stumbled upon several mini-city/squares hidden from the main area of the city. When we loaded the bus I thought that the day had given us all a good taste of the city. Taste is the key word there. I want to go back.
In addition to Sevilla, this week also presented me with the opportunity to embrace my inner euroweenie. Yes, I’ve gone local and bought a pair of boots and leggings. Fear not, they were both on sale. After a round of tapas, some of my friends and I also went to the movie theater to watch the “Percy Jackson” flick. Surprisingly, I found that I could understand most of it…I guess that means I’m learning something! At least I’m hoping that this is the case. Today we all took our first test and it was not very fun. But we got to take part of the day off and hiked into the tajo (gorge) and soaked in some of that sweet Spanish sun.
P.S. Congrats to the KU basketball team! Big 12 Regular Season Champs what, what…
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