My grocery nightmare

In the U.S. I look at grocery shopping with an indifferent view. Sometimes I look forward to getting groceries and other times it is a burden. However, I never hate going to the grocery store. The opposite can be said about my feelings of grocery shopping in China.

Today I had two experiences with grocery stores. The first, was fine. I was indifferent towards it, as usual. I biked down to the import store right outside of my neighborhood and grabbed a few things that I could find there. However, it's a small store and everything is waay over priced ($10 for a box of cereal). This meant that I would have to make the dreaded trip to a Carrefour, Tesco, or Wal-Mart. Today, it was Carrefour.

I've decided that large grocery stores in China are hell on Earth. Here is why:
-there are so many people and you can't walk anywhere. It's like Black Friday in America, except I can't speak the same language as anyone.
-there are yellow signs everywhere and it's a sensory overload
-the meat area smells so bad that you want to barf. It's also full of pieces and parts of meat that you are never supposed to see
-the fruit area also smells bad thanks to the durian (a pokey fruit that is banned from public transportation in Singapore because of its stench)
-you have to weigh all of the fruits...including bananas...who weighs bananas?
-chinese people may be some of the most impatient people ever, especially in grocery stores
-salespeople talk on microphones. They will be standing next to you, just chatting away...in a microphone...in your ear.
-Also, I never know where anything is. That's probably just a personal problem though.

I finally made it out of Carrefour after 30 minutes of what felt like a lifetime in that place. I really try and embrace all parts of culture when I'm in different countries, but this is the one I've had the hardest time with. Hence, my rant.

Ok, I'm done.

p.s.-again sorry for the lack of pictures. I've tried more proxies and still can't figure out a way to get pictures on here. The commies have me beat.

1 Firestone

Recently my house here in China has been bombarded with boxes and boxes of our stuff that we are moving here. Not only did we get a shipment from Shenzhen, but we got a shipment from Arkansas full of things that we haven't seen for over three years. A few of these boxes had things full of old gems. I found my baseball trophies, solo and ensemble awards, yearbooks, journals, and picture after picture. Pictures from my dance team days, mud fights at girls camp, canoeing, boating, my inflatable pig halloween costume (perhaps my favorite costume yet), homecoming and prom pictures, and pictures of the house that I grew up in...1 Firestone.

So this post is dedicated to my trip down memory lane that I've been having the past few days. Remembering the windows I would sneak out of, the swing in the driveway where I had my first kiss, the deck where we had junior prom dinner, the hot tub where meetings for HTC were held, the street where we would meet to play night flashlight tag and truth or dare. That place is my Stonehenge (literally the name of my neighborhood, and no I did not grow up in England). I have so many memories of that house, that neighborhood, that town. And I think I'll always be able to remember the way the grass felt there and how freeing it was to drive down Walton Blvd. with the windows down or the way the square felt at night and how drinking a Jones soda from Tiger Stop seemed to fix everything.

Thanks 1 Firestone, for everything.

p.s.-here's to hoping Espana wins the World Cup in a few hours! What I wouldn't give to watch the game there at my favorite pub with my favorite Spaniard friends.

Summer in the city

So, after my adventures in Spain and the mediterranean with my family we have finally made it "home". They are still living in China, but this time in a new city. Shanghai. We've spent our first two days unpacking boxes, enjoying the new house, and learning that we may not see the sun for a long time thanks to the large amounts of pollution. However dreary daytime may be, Shanghai makes up for it by lighting up at night. I had the chance to drive into the city (about 20 minutes from my house) last night and walk around with a friend. The freeways are lit up with blue lights and the buildings sparkle. Trees are wrapped with christmas lights. Skyscrapers compete for height.

Well, I would post an awesome post with pictures from our cruise to the French Riviera and Italy, but China is really cool and blocks everything on the internet. Luckily my sister told me a proxy to use Blogger, but I'm unable to post pictures. To sum it up, we basically got to visit some amazing world sites. We stopped in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Florence, Rome, Naples, Pompei, Majorca, and explored more of Barcelona. I think I've almost covered every site in my humanities text book. Also, I've become a huuuge fan of Gaudi's work. He's incredible and I have a feeling that him and Dr. Seuss would have been best friends had they lived in the same area. Again, I'd post some pictures but I am living under a red iron curtain.

Well, that's the update on life for now. I'm off to watch a pirated movie that I just bought off the street.

Spain is...

Well, the end is here. Everyone has packed up and left and I am left to spend the day wandering the streets of Alcala de Henares on my own. Also warning: this blog post is cheezy and full of nostalgia. Sorry, I can't help it. 

It was the weirdest feeling waking up and knowing that the people I have spent the past two months with are now off on separate adventures. Mine will begin tomorrow when I meet up with my family in Barcelona. I can't believe that my study abroad experience is over. And the hard thing is that I can't explain the past few months in words. Pictures won't do it justice. It is something that will only be understood by me and the 28 other people on this trip (especially the 7 that I became closest with). But, here's a little snippet of just a few of the inside jokes and memories I'll take away from Spain. 

Spain is...

-eating tiny muffins with Julia every day for breakfast

-Julia and I being late to everything...or just missing it because of our siestas

-taking the cinco every day to the train station

-going to Madrid at least once a day, often twice a day

-eating Churros con Chocolate at Maestro Churrero and feeling so sick afterwards

-wrestling fights between Dan and Michelle that often led to many of us getting hurt

-talking like Ron Burgundy 

-incorporating the "awkward robot" into our every day lives

-eating meals with my host family and getting life lessons from our mom. 

-my "brother" coming in and sitting on my bed and Julia and I telling him about all of the ridiculous things that happen on our trips

-going to La Media Pinta all of the time

-Watching the World Cup at the Pint

-getting hit on by weird old people

-the scandal and drama

-The Crew and how Mabel and Profe hated Julia

-staying out until 8am and getting up an hour later for the day

-experiencing the nightlife of Alcala, Barcelona, and Madrid

-craving chocolate every day of our lives and going to Carrefour to stock up

-becoming addicted to Coke

-picking weird things out of the Paella

-going to Mushka in between classes to grab a croissant a la plancha

-going to McDonald's to study or use the internet

-hanging out in the Plaza de Cervantes

-seeing amazing, incredible, and beautiful things on our trips

-being sick of Cathedrals and Monasteries 

-hating Antonio and wondering why he showed up at every single event

-trying to make it through classes by passing notes or drawing pictures

-being yelled at by Blanca

-impersonating Rebeca "super, super, super, super Catolico. Los Visigodos"

-Jen jumping out of the boat into the nasty lake and having everyone in the park clap for her

-causing a scene wherever we go

-laughing so hard that I cry every day

-watching Bulls die at the bull fight and sweating our guts out

-eating gummies until we want to throw up

Ok, I decided to stop because this could go on forever. Basically though, you get the gist. Spain is incredible. For it's culture, it's language, it's people, it's history. I was talking with some of my friends the other day and we were reminiscing on the trip (it wasn't even over) and we all discovered that for us..."It's always been Spain". Since we can remember we had always wanted to come here to study abroad. Always. It was, is, and forever will be a dream. .

Dear Spain,

I'm leaving a part of my heart with you. 

All of the love,

Tessa

p.s.-Ya te hecho de menos!

It's a small world, after all

During my travels I am constantly reminded about just how small this world really is. My first week here in Spain I was able to meet up with a friend that I had met on a cruise last summer in Alaska. Today, I met up with a dear friend that I knew in high school in China. Yesterday, I discovered that a friend of mine from high school in Arkansas is here at the same University as me in Alcala and we saw each other. Another old friend of mine is living in the north of Spain and we may have the chance to meet up in a few weeks in Barcelona. This all just blows my mind. 

On another note, my days of study abroad are winding down. It is the weirdest feeling to think that in three days I won't be waking up in Juana's house and eating tiny muffins for breakfast. I won't walk down cobble stone streets to get to school and grab a croissant a la plancha at the closest bar for a snack. I won't be able to experience the thrill of the World Cup in Spain anymore. I won't go to Madrid whenever I want. I won't live in this little dream bubble. After my host mom taught me how to make spanish tortilla today we were talking about how the time has flown by. But, at least I will have only fond memories of Espana. And I guess that's really all I can ask for. 

p.s.-more updates on my adventures and life in Spain will be coming soon. Right now I need to study for finals. Studying while living in Spain is the hardest thing everrr

Dinner-time conversation

"Alli donde fueres, haz lo que veras"

I learned this saying tonight at dinner when my host mom was telling us about her crazy sister-in-law that is from the DR and refuses to accept Spanish culture even though she is married to a Spaniard and is living here. For all of you non Spanish speakers it basically just means that wherever you go you should do what you see. Embrace culture. 

This got me thinking. Sure, we all have our own culture and our own ways of doing things. We want people to know and understand where we come from. I am American. I am an Arkansan. I am a student. I am a writer. These are parts of me, parts of my culture. However, I am always changing and bringing new parts of culture into my world. My past cultures affect the way I do things and view the world, but I must have a constantly changing perspective. We can't have a set way of doing things and expect that to be the best and only way of doing it. And when we are in a new place that isn't our own we must keep our eyes open. It is such an invigorating feeling to know your way around a metro system and which bus to take to the train station. It is exciting to feel like you belong somewhere that you didn't previously call home. 

So, while I'm off in different lands I do my best to "hacer lo que veo". Here in Spain I eat meals at odd times, I only use public transportation, I relax in the Plaza, I go to bars for tapas and coke, I get excited about futbol games, and if I decide to go out to a club...it's not until 3 or 4 in the morning. It's interesting though, how "my" culture will always be a part of me. We can't ever get rid of where we grew up and the way we are used to things. And that's how I like it. I am me and I am exploring other people's worlds. And maybe our worlds can affect each other in good ways. 

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I finished this book a few weeks ago and my roommate is almost done reading it. We enjoy discussing the thought process of Oskar and why these people are acting they way they are. It's a mini book club of sorts between ourselves. 

"Well, what I don't get is why do we exist? I don't mean how, but why.' I watched the fireflies of his thoughts orbit his head. He said, 'we exist because we exist. . .we could imagine all sorts of universes like this one, but this is the one that happened." 

-Johnathan Safran Foer

Mainly we enjoy how the book actually makes us feel.