We're home!

By Tindall Sewell and Caroline Brown

We didn’t realize until after we left how much we’d miss all the people that made our trip an incredible experience!  Hasta Luego (see you again soon) meant something different with each good bye, so we refused to say Adios (bye) hoping it won’t ever be true!

Volleyball Friends: Throughout our weeks in Cádiz, we had the opportunity to play beach volleyball a few times each week with some native gaditanos (citizens in Cádiz).  Our host mother, María, always encouraged us to make new friends from Cádiz, and this group was the closest that we got to her goal. We skipped a few intercambios (language exchange student classes) to play with them by claiming that we were still getting Spanish speaking experience, but mainly they just taught us new slang expressions.  By the last week, we actually felt like we knew the guys and one girl, Marta, on a personal basis, so they invited us to celebrate the last night playing with them! Lina got to play with them until we saw a gorgeous sunset but left to finish her final paper, and Tindall got the chance to stay out with them playing until midnight then enjoying an American burger and hanging out with them into the late night.  We got everyone’s Facebook information, so hopefully we will be able to keep in touch with them! Appeasing María, we really did become friends with them, who are truly genuine people that we will dearly miss!


Pepe (María’s soon to be husband) and Abuela Loca:  Whenever these two characters joined us for lunch, we knew that we were in for a good time.  We spent the majority of our time laughing at Abuela for ridiculous things like her yoga moves at the dinner table or on the other hand, trying to crack a joke with Pepe.  Our last lunch together, we got the best of both of them- Pepe, who always speaks the truth, declared that Abuela is the main part of María’s crazy family meanwhile she refused to stop feeding Poncho, our dog, like a little kid.  No wonder María refers to her mom as hija (daughter)!  By the last lunch, we figured out a few cues to our meal- the blender noise equaled gazpacho, Pepe wearing the apron hinted at fried fish, and the Abuela Loca wore the same dress every lunch.  We always enjoyed their company throughout the week!

María (our mom): Claaarrrro.  This soothing word coming from María’s mouth always put us at ease.  We could say so much about this amazing woman, and she ultimately made it the experience of our lifetime!   Chatting for an extra hour at the lunch table every weekday, we learned about her life, compared Spain and the USA, or pondered about our ideal place to relax.  She always encouraged us to go out, but we rarely made it back later than her staying up to watch Supervivientes (Spain’s version of Survivor) until 2:30AM, which is too late for our American standards on a school night.  She’s such a free spirit, who has a sense of joy for all aspects of life!  For example, she told us the solution to ending world hunger was selling one of the Pope’s sinks made of gold. Giving her the last besito was the hardest part of leaving Cádiz!

She went out of her way to make sure we were always happy and comfortable and without a doubt treated us like real daughters!  Although she always joked about us needing to find friends, with her we always had a friend at our side. From visiting her store, watching movies with her, treating her to a dinner on the town, listening to her sing as she cooked our lunch, feeding us like giants, enjoying beverages in the Plaza, and Skyping our families with her (impressed with the Brown’s Spanish skills and thought my dad was guapo plus loved that he’s a political man), we will miss every laugh, language misunderstanding, joke, or smile together!

Davidson Group: Although we only knew about half of the people in this group before arriving in Spain, we have new friendships that we’ll keep forever.  We spent the first week together touring Barcelona and Madrid, but we kept growing closer throughout our weeks in Cádiz.  Whether it was a required Salsa class, playing with Profesora Willis’ adorable daughters, spending a day at the beach on Playa Victoria, eating ice cream in Plaza Mina, or starting the night out together at Nahu, we made many memories together along the journey!  We’ll see y’all at Davidson soon!

Looking back on our experience, we had THE TIME OF OUR LIVES and built unforgettable relationships!  As for us, it is a summer that we will be able to share together for the rest of our lives, and we know that these memories will remain with us forever.  God has really blessed us with this opportunity, and we couldn’t have asked for a better journey together!

Getting a Grasp of Granada!

By Tindall Sewell and Caroline Brown




We loved visiting Granada, and the city had many new experiences to offer! Honestly, I’m surprised we left the hotel after sleeping our first full nights without the church bells every 15 minutes in Cádiz! Also, I now know why there are stereotypes in Spain about Americans loving breakfast! Scrambled eggs, crepes with chocolate, cereal, various meats, fresh fruit, and a coffee machine filled us up for the weekend. Ultimately, we did leave the hotel to wander the narrow streets with a Muslim-influenced flare! Before leaving Cádiz, we finally met our mom’s daughter, who lives in Granada, so we switched places with her for the weekend! She gave us a few recommendations, but we’re jealous of where she lives because Granada is definitely an ideal place…forty minutes from the snow and beach!

Following our Americanized breakfast at the hotel, a majority of the group went to go see the La Catedral of Granada and the Capilla Real. Although somewhat similar to other cathedrals and capillas (small chapels) we had seen, it was very unique in the fact that it houses the marble tombs of Los Reyes Católicos, Ferdinand and Isabella, along with Ferdinand’s sword and Isabella’s crown and scepter. These Catholic Monarchs had an incredible influence on the history and unification of Spain!

 

After seeing the Alcazar in Sevilla last weekend, we had high expectations for the Alhambra in Granada! This “palace-fortress” is by far Spain’s most popular attraction. Again, the scenery blew us away, but we probably only observed portions of it outside of our camera lenses. We had a set time to enter the most famous Nasrid Palace, but we were easily able to entertain ourselves with the gardens and palaces scattered throughout the mountainous land! The main garden, called the Generalife, was our favorite, which was full of bright colors and flowers galore. Our moms would have been in heaven! Because of the many different plants, trees, scent, and smells, all of our senses were put to use. When we climbed to the top of the Alcazaba, the castle at the tip of the Alhambra, we could see a 360-degree view of the city. Once we entered the Nasrid Palace, we had déjà vu from Sevilla’s Alcazar, but this original masterpiece surpassed all comparisons. Besides admiring the tiles and intricate designs on the walls, we kept looking up to find our favorite ceilings! Sadly, the Court of the Lions was under construction, but we got to see the Court of the Myrtles, which the Alcazar tried to copy. Overall, we were in awe of the Muslim’s original design!




Another handy experience: Every tapas bar in Granada combines a free tapas with each drink usually for around three Euros, so the norm for dinner is to hop from each place to place. On Friday night, we started with the group at Bar Minotaur, but twenty people overpopulated the tiny tapas bar, so we switched to the oldest tapas bar in Granada, Antigua Bodega Castenada. On Saturday night, we searched the Arab streets for Mr. Brown’s best friends’ daughter, but we got lost in the maze and joined other friends at the Beauty and the Beast tapas bar for the night. The longer you stay at a tapas bar, the bigger the tapas become, so we eagerly anticipated each dish! We ended the night at a discoteca, Camborio, that overlooks the Alhambra illuminated at night and appears a shimmering gold in the mountains. There’s no words to describe it besides that it was gorgeous! We can’t believe that we’ve come to our last week in Cádiz, and even though we have exams and final papers, we’re hoping to live it up as much as we can!

Cádiz

By Tindall Sewell and Caroline Brown

We have been living in Cádiz for a week and a half now and have had the chance to get situated, embrace the culture, study Spanish, and explore the city. Although every day brings something new, we have developed somewhat of a daily routine. Clanging bells from the church wake us up around 8:30 every morning. We get ready for school and usually have juice, cereal, and some sort of fruit for breakfast. Although we try to leave the house as quietly as possible, we usually hear a ¡Buenos días! or ¡Hasta luego! from María’s room.

It’s only a 5-minute walk to the university. We are both taking the same 2 culture and art classes for the first 2 hours. Then, a 30 minute café con leche break to wake us up for our 2 hour grammar class…long, but it flies by, and next thing we know we are back at the house to meet María and Pepé for lunch, the biggest meal of the day. A typical meal includes some kind of meat or fish, a salad, side, and of course—the famous gazpacho (pronounced “gapasho” in Southern Spain). The gazpacho definitely took some getting used to, but now we pretty much expect it every day. Lunch has been our favorite meal, not only because of the delicious food, but also because of the relaxed, yet entertaining conversations we have had with both María and Pepé. After lunch we have a daily bible study and then, depending on the day, either rest, siesta, go to the beach, play beach volleyball, or have other activities planned by the program. One day this week we had the chance to visit the “Torre” to see all of Cádiz, while other nights we learned how to sevillana dance and attended a flamenco show.

Beach volleyball has been one of our favorites. After receiving a name of one of the professors at the university who played beach volleyball, we tried to contact him, but didn’t have the best of luck. One of the other teachers talked to him and gave us a sheet of paper with his name and a time to show up to the courts. So, we show up to La Playa Victoria (a beautiful beach just a short bus ride away from where we are staying in Cádiz) in our sporty beach attire, hoping to give them the impression that we are serious about playing. We knew this beach was longer than the other one we had visited, but we didn’t know it was miles longer!  Not knowing where the courts were, we asked this boy that looked like he might be playing beach vball. We lucked out, and he showed us the way. We arrived right at the time that was written on the paper and started asking around if anyone knew a man named Rafa, the professor we were supposed to meet. No one had any idea. So, we waited for a while, and about 20 minutes after they had told us to arrive, we were about to leave, when we saw this guy walking up to us. It was Rafa! I guess it wasn’t hard to find 2 tall, pale American girls. We realized that Spaniards take their time with just about anything, except for talking really fast. We played some super intense 2 on 2 matches and have even been invited back to play more. Since then, our communication has improved, as we are now on their beach volleyball league e-mail chain, wooo!

If we don’t have the chance to play beach volleyball one day, we’ve continued to make up our workouts depending on the circumstances.  Also, we joined the Millennium Gym, where we’re the only Americans and girls.  The humidity seeping into the hot gym and rampant smell of testosterone covering every machine create an undesirable atmosphere, but it’s got all the machines we need! If we don’t go the sweat chamber gym, then we usually make up a circuit with sprints in Plaza San Antonio just outside our apartment.  People have stopped to take pictures of us, just stare, or one day these little kids tried copying our pushups.  Whenever we pepper with the volleyball in the plaza, the little boys surround us and beg to be on our team!

Hola from Tina and Carrol!

By Tindall Sewell and Caroline Brown

We’ve finished our first week in Cádiz and can’t believe it’s flown by so quickly!  Our host mother, María, is so sweet, and we’re finally getting to know her better, closing in on the communication barrier every day.  Because she only knows “Ok,” “Wow,” and “Oh my gosh!” in English, we’re forced to speak Spanish in the apartment.  Hence our new names, Carrol and Tina.  Who knew Tindall was such a complex name and Caroline was too long to say? We’re begging to respond to them, but these names will NOT travel back with us to the US.  Our apartment looks out onto San Antonio Plaza, one of the oldest in Cádiz, and María owns a hippie clothing shop directly across the plaza.  People watching is easily done from our balcony, and one night the yearly theatre parade happened to be performing below on the plaza.  Despite the gorgeous view and prime location, the church bell ringing and loud kids hanging out through the night disturbs our sleep.  Why would the bell ring 57 times at 8:45 AM? Neither one of us can answer this question, but it’s our alarm.  Also, Pepe, María’s partner, doesn’t understand our sense of humor, but we keep trying to crack jokes with him every lunch and starting to warm up to him.  We can’t forget to mention Pancho, our guard dog Chihuahua, who lives like a king and uses a liter box.  All in all, we love our family and couldn’t be more blessed to be here!

María promised us the first day that she’d cook “operation bikini style,” and we’ve fallen in love with her food, except gazpacho!  The clumpy, cold, vegetable soup has become a cuss word between Lina and I because we both hated it before arriving, but now it was somehow lost in translation that it’s our favorite.  Even María’s mom claims that María’s gazpacho is the best around, so we gulp it down every lunch.  She prepares wonderful fruits, vegetables, cheese, and of course bread to go with our main course of every meal!  She’s also fascinated by how tall we are, so she feeds us twice as much food! One lunch, we had to try to find all the spines of the fish then spit them out, which is harder than you’d think!  Before we realized tuna, tomatoes, and onions were components of every meal, we switched salad plates to help each other join the clean plate club when María walked out of the room.  Luckily for us, María praises us for eating everything she puts on the plate, and most of it we normally love!

Madrid

By Tindall Sewell and Caroline Brown
 

During our two bus trips to Zaragoza and Segovia, we’ve noticed Spain’s beautiful countryside, covered with fields of sunflowers and mountainous towns.  Zaragoza had a beautiful Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar with frescos by Goya.

Fun fact: In Zaragoza, we made it onto the Spanish television as an example of viewers judging suggestively dressed people, which somehow translated into the difference of showing versus teaching.  We ate lunch on the Main Plaza of Zaragoza and relaxed during our bus ride from Barcelona to Madrid.

We also took a bus from Madrid to Segovia, to spend the day in the quaint town with windy cobblestone streets and unique architecture.  The Cathedral stands out with its gothic architecture and classy décor.  But the main draw of Segovia is the Alcázar Castle, which Walt Disney actually modeled Sleeping Beauty’s castle after this gorgeous sight.  Following the lead of Lina’s friends, we’ve been planking in famous town squares, but we decided to plank on the monstrous Roman aqueduct in Segovia too.  What better way to see the view than perched on the edge of the wall?!

We’ll finally be traveling to Cádiz tomorrow and can’t wait for the slower paced lifestyle.  Although we’ve been here for a week, we have not slowed down to take a real ciesta.  We can’t wait to meet our mom and get into our new routine life for the next month!

10 facts we’ve learned so far in Spain:
1. Water for free does not exist, so 1.5 liter bottles are sold everywhere.
2. Ham and cheese sandwiches replace turkey and lettuce.
3. We’re taller than the general Spanish woman’s population, garnering extra stares.
4. White bread or French bread comes with every meal… I don’t remember what wheat bread tastes like.
5. Spanish tortilla is the best thing you’ll ever eat until you realize that it’s served all the time and everywhere.
6. This past week was Gay Pride week in Madrid: rainbows covered the city giving us a different perspective on the culture.
7. McDonald’s hamburger and fries is 7 Euro’s (around $10.50), so there’s no such thing as the Euro (Dollar) Menu.
8. Don’t try to take a picture down the middle of the street because cars don’t follow the red stopping signal.
9. Starbucks are internationally on every corner.
10. The maid comes to remake your bed around 6pm after ciesta time, which are necessary.

Imagine trying to do an exercise circuit on a City’s busiest street…. People stopped to watch us do each station from planks to sprints.  Our overview tour of Madrid, a walking tour through the historic district, was informational but an overload of Spanish to start the day, trying to understand the tour guide. Eventually, each city’s Cathedral seems the same, but this one stood out as our favorite.  Madrid’s Cathedral de la Almudena has painted ceilings, vibrant stain-glass windows, and intricate stonework. Why did citizens in the sixteen or seventeenth century put so much money into this creation? At the same time, no building during my lifetime compares to the innovative architecture of the Cathedrals, palaces, and basilicas. The Plaza Mayor, Retiro Gardens, Plaza Sol, theatres, Plaza de la Villa, and Palacio Real were other highlights of the tour! 

To get around, Spaniards walk everywhere and public transportation is always the second option, easily one Euro to get anywhere.  For lunch, most restaurants have a standard price, 10-12 Euros, for three courses and a drink.  We dined at VIPS, which is a similar chain to TGI Fridays and popular lunch spot.  For the afternoon plan, we quickly walked through Reina Sophia to see Pablo Picasso’s famous painting, Guernica.  Then, we walked through the rooms of the Prado with some of the most recognized artwork. Rafael, Velasquez, Goya, and many other early Spanish artists are some of the few we stopped to see.

¡Hola desde BARCELONA!

Tindall Sewell and Caroline Brown continue to explore Spain

Part 1
The past three days we have been in the beautiful and historical city of Barcelona. After arriving in the airport around 9 AM on Sunday morning, we settled in at the Colon Hotel in the plaza of central Barcelona, directly across from the cathedral and surrounded by little shops and restaurants. Although jet-lagged after an 8-hour flight out of Atlanta, we had the chance to explore the city on our own. After dodging several cars, Tindall and I quickly realized that the lights telling pedestrians when to walk and don’t walk across the street are actually the same as in America. We walked down many streets, including Las Ramblas, one of the most known streets in Barcelona. We weaved our way through a flood of people, while holding our purse close to our bodies, as Las Ramblas has the infamous reputation for having thieves and scam artists. Although dressed in gym shorts and a t-shirt, we tried our best not to look too much like American tourists, while observing the cafes, vendors, and musicians along the sides of la calle.

Monday morning! Trying to adjust to the time difference, we woke up at 7:15 a.m. for a nice run/sprints along the port with the soccer girls. After breakfast, the entire group went on a biking tour to explore the city. We had a very entertaining guide from Australia, who gave us a good idea of what Barcelona is all about. One of the things that surprised me the most was the cultural diversity. Even though Barcelona is part of Spain, the Catalonia roots are still very prominent. Not only was this seen through the language spoken in Barcelona, Catalan, but also through the presence of buildings and parks built by the Spanish to show their authority over and suppression of all Catalan culture. It is very interesting to me how so many of the places and sites we saw are influenced by the Spain/Catalan conflict. The Catalan identity is still present, and to this day, many people do not feel as if Catalonia is a part of Spain.

The bike tour was not on the hardest terrain, however, there were still several obstacles in our way. Whether we were going up narrow streets, riding in the bus lane, ringing the bells on our bikes, or being distracted by the beautiful views and unique architecture, we had to watch out for people because they were everywhere! We stopped by the cathedral, parks, a bullfight arena, and towards the end of the tour we ate lunch out by the beach. Later that day we visited one of Barcelona’s most famous attractions: La Sagrada Familia. This church is very unique, as it is the unfinished masterpiece of the famous artist and architect, Antoni Gaudí. It is a representation of Jesus’ life, as Gaudí shows the birth, crucifixion, and the 12 disciples in some form through his architecture. We were blown away. I have never seen any sort of church like this.

For dinner we had tapas - a new experience for both of us! At the countertop there were plates and plates of different tapas, similar to appetizers. Each was a piece of food on top of a piece of bread with a toothpick through the top.  Depending on how many toothpicks were on your plate at the end determined how much you had to pay. Half the time I didn’t even know what I was eating, but I guess that’s what makes the whole cultural experience worth it!

Part 2
Wednesday we traveled to Montserrat (meaning- serrated mountain), a side trip from Barcelona. Here we took a gondola up to a small town, where we saw the Catedral de la Virgin Negra. We also went on a beautiful hike up to a cross. The views at the top were incredible; looking out over the hills and mountains to the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees.  After this we took a metro back to the city of Barcelona. Tindall and I would agree that after a workout in the morning and a hike up a mountain, we were exhausted and ready for a nap. However, we still had not seen Park Güell, another one of Gaudi’s projects. While most of the group went back to the hotel, Tindall and I and a few others decided that we would just make a quick visit there to see what it’s all about. Well, little did we know that it would take over an hour to get there.  We think we took the wrong metro because we ended up having to walk a long ways and had to walk up a super steep street just to get to the entrance. This definitely challenged our navigational skills. Although it was like another hike, when we arrived, we were so glad we had decided to go. Park Güell is another representation of Gaudi’s incredible work and his influence on Spain. It was originally built to be a private garden neighborhood, but because it was so out of the ordinary, the government decided it would just be a park open to the public. There are houses (that kind of look like gingerbread houses) with colorful broken tiles, gardens, flowers, and structural design that looks like dripping sand castles. We took advantage of our time there, and on our way back, we stopped to get some ice cream and to buy a Spain soccer jersey. They knew we were Americans and tried to rip us off at first. Who knew that bargaining in Spanish could actually be kind of fun?

Now we are on our way to the great city of Madrid! We are stopping in Zaragoza on the way for lunch and to see the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar. El Pasoans reading this—this could be where we got the street name Zaragoza. We are excited for everything yet to come…We are in love with Spain.

Volleyball Sophs Headed to Spain

Rising sophomore volleyball players Tindall Sewell and Caroline Brown (a.k.a. Lina) are studying abroad in Spain for five weeks this summer and will be blogging about their experiences. Check out their first entry!

Family, Friends, Davidson kids, random people stumbling upon our blog, or Lina’s thousand cousins,

Whatever brings you to this blog, I hope we can recapture our trip to Spain for you.  Whether it’s a long, short, thrilling, boring, or funny post, stick with us as long as you can over this five-week adventure (our parents need to know that we’re alive). We’ll update you as often as we feel necessary, and we can’t believe this day has finally come for us to leave!

I have a few expectations for the first day of our adventure: Lina will not need sleeping pills for the plane (she’s a veteran napper) and I will devour all Delta Biscoff cookies in sight (the best part about flying).  For now, Lina’s flight is on time (the first time these two phrases have been used in the same sentence), and she’s stopping in Atlanta for a brief layover before our 5:55 p.m. flight to Barcelona.  Willy’s with friends, west paces shopping center, Westminster, and the Sewell house will be the brief schedule for Atlanta, and then the journey begins to Spain.  We will be staying in Barcelona for 3 nights, Madrid for 3 nights, and then Cádiz (on the southern coast of Spain) for a month with a host family.  Our new mom’s name is María and we will have a 29-year-old sister, Chepa.  We’re technically there to earn two course credits, but I couldn’t tell you the names of them at the moment.  This is the preliminary information that we’ve received, but we’ll take each day as a surprise (it’s tough to translate the Spanish itinerary)!

Sit back, relax, and try to laugh at one of our stories!  We will miss all of our family and friends, thinking of you often on the trip!

See you soon America,
Lina and Tindall

Final Thoughts From Oxford

By Allen Page

Page on the beach of St. Malo in France

Well, it’s my last full day in Oxford.  This semester has been really great, and I am so glad that I got to study abroad – I’m especially thankful that our program is one that enables us, even as full time student-athletes, to participate in study abroad programs.  Having been away for so long, I’m really excited and rejuvenated to return to Davidson for this last year and for what promises to be a great season.

Notre Dame in Paris

The last few weeks of my stay here have been pretty action packed!  I think that I (and others) realized how little time we had left, because things had flown by so quickly, and decided that we needed to get all the traveling in that we could.  I went with three friends on the big trip to France that I had been looking forward to for a long time.  We went to Paris and got to eat a real French dinner with a real French family, which was great, along with doing all the great tourist things that Paris offers – the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the great museums.   Afterwards, we went up to the northern coast, and got to see the cool cities of St. Malo and Mont St. Michel.  We finished up our trip with a visit to the American Cemetery at the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, which was really cool as an American. 

I also got to take a shorter day trip to Bath.  I went by myself, just to get out of Oxford for a bit and see something new.  Bath is the location of the only natural hot spring in Britain, so it has been an attraction for (literally) thousands of years.  The Romans built a bathhouse and temple there, which was rediscovered relatively recently, and now it is turned into a museum where you can go and see what’s left of the ruins.

It wasn’t all travel though.  Sometimes, I just needed some time to catch up on Oxford.  I got to take a day and do a lot of cool stuff around the city, like visiting museums and touring some of the many colleges.  Magdalen College, for example, has a unique deer park inside its gates along with the more common college features like the massive chapel and many beautiful school buildings.  New College (which I believe dates to the 15th century – don’t quote me on that – and yet retains its title) is renowned for their choir, and I got to hear them perform a service, which was really cool.  Finally, the day ended with a meal and drink at the Turf Tavern, which is very likely the coolest bar or hang-out place I have ever been to.  That will probably be my last fish and chips for a long time.

Island Abbey of Mont St. Michel

My eighth-week tutorials marked the final academic challenges of junior year and witnessed the completion of the final of the eighteen papers I have written in these three months.  Talk about a lot of writing; I’m considering just combining all of them into a giant psychology/Shakespeare/modern literature dissertation … that’s legal right?  So, now I am officially a Davidson senior, which is really wild.  These college years have flown by so fast; I hope we can prolong this upcoming season as long as possible.

There hasn’t been much ado about soccer around these parts since the season ended.  A few stories about transfer rumors, a few tabloid scandals, but no real games to watch, and considering the Oxford students are swamped with exams, not much playing going on.  Last night though, I sat up until 2 a.m. and watched Freddy Adu (who would have thought?) guide USA into the Gold Cup final.  Mexico, here we come.  Also, at our last night at the house, we had a fun pickup game in the backyard, but I am looking very much forward to getting back in a real game again.  I can’t say I’m looking forward to the heat though, but I guess that’s the tradeoff.

Anyways, it’s been a pleasure sharing bits of my trip for you.  For those of you who ever have the chance to visit England, a trip to Oxford is definitely worth it.  It’s way cooler than London.  For my younger teammates, or future recruits.  If you have the opportunity to study abroad, I encourage you to be brave and try it.  I have missed playing soccer so much, but the time away has really motivated me to come back and do everything I can to make this season our best yet.  So, now, I get to travel for a few days in the Cinque Terra in Italy, and then it’s back to the States.  Even in Oxford, though, it’s a brilliant day to be a Wildcat. 

Signing off,
Allen

Halfway Through Term and Soccer Season Concludes

By Allen Page

Page, far right, with classmates in his backyard in Oxford.

Hi guys! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! I know I mentioned this last time, but it is so strange to think that it is summer back home, not only because I am still in school, but also because the weather has remained essentially the same since I’ve been here – between about 55 and 65 most every day. I’ve heard reports that temperatures are beginning to creep up into the 90s back home.

Anyways, we are well into the term here, just past the midway point. It’s fifth week according to Oxford students, who describe each of the eight weeks of term likewise. It actually makes planning much easier – you don’t have to worry about dates when you know you have an engagement Tuesday of sixth week, or Saturday of eighth week, etc. It reminds me a bit of how, at Davidson, we refer to the highway exits not by the name of the road or town, but by the number. Mooresville isn’t Mooresville; it’s 36. Each place has its own idiosyncrasies, I guess.

School here has been moving along as usual – two classes a week, two papers a week. However, I must mention I had an off week this go-around and only had one paper. One would expect that the extra time would enable me to get ahead on work; in reality, of course, I actually procrastinated more than usual for my one paper and condemned myself to doing all the reading and writing in about six hours. I generally do not recommend this approach.

I still haven’t travelled too much, although I am planning to go with a few friends to Paris and the northern coast of France this weekend. We will actually get to see the beaches of Normandy and the American soldier cemetery on D-Day, which I anticipate will be really special and cool. I have been to London a few times in the last month, though. On one of the trips, we went to see a play performed at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (notice my nifty British spelling), which was very cool. It is an outdoor theatre with a big standing area, where we stood for 3 hours, much of which was in pouring rain, and watched. It was a really unique experience, and nothing like I had ever witnessed before.

Page at Stamford Bridge

The other trip, a few weeks back, was to see Chelsea play their last home game of the season. They were playing Newcastle, and true to Chelsea form (remember I am a United fan), the blues totally underachieved. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, with Newcastle snatching a late goal to pick up the point. I must say though, of the few stadiums I have now been to on this trip and a previous one (Old Trafford, Wembley, The Emirates, Stamford Bridge, Craven Cottage, Loftus Road, and Kassam Stadium), Stamford Bridge might be my favorite. We were crammed underneath an overhang in the end-zone section, but it was still very cool.

As most of you know, the soccer season is now unfortunately over. The Champions League final in London showed that Barcelona is still without comparison. I had hoped to get tickets to the game, but it was nearly impossible, and incredibly expensive too, so I had to content myself to watch in the Dew Drop Inn, a pub near our house where I have watched most of the games so far. All this watching has me itching to play again, and though I am thoroughly enjoying my time here, I’m also looking very much forward to getting back on the field with the boys!

Cheers for now,
Allen

Tutorials Commence, the Royal Wedding and Old Trafford

By Allen Page

Hi everyone! It’s been a little while since I last posted. Since then, a lot has happened! The main change is that term has finally started, meaning that all the students have returned to Oxford and that tutorials have commenced. In fact, I had my first one yesterday – and I have the rest of the week off, which is great. Of course, I still have to do a ton of reading (maybe even more reading than…. Davidson? – am I allowed to say that?). It’s so strange for me that my teammates are finishing school so soon, and the seniors are preparing to graduate while I still have half of a semester left!

This past weekend, Britain has been abuzz with the Royal Wedding, the marriage between Price William and Kate Middleton. The wedding took place last Friday, and thousands of spectators flocked to Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Park, and Westminster Abbey in London to try and catch a glimpse of royalty. I tagged along with a number of people in our group and made the early morning trek to London to get a good spot to witness the festivities. It involved a lot of sitting around, but it was pretty cool to see the Queen of England and the other members of the Royal Family, even if for a brief moment. Fortunately, despite the overwhelming presence of the Union Jack, I never forgot my dedication to good ol’ America.

Though I’ve got to visit a number of cool places around Oxford and London, one of the highlights of my trip so far was my recent trip to the Theatre of Dreams, Old Trafford, home of the self-proclaimed world’s greatest club, Manchester United. There, I got to see the Red Devils go up against Tim Howard and Everton. Indeed it was a glorious occasion, especially since I am a United fan! As the game played out, it seemed that they were destined not to score, but just when the fans were beginning to lose hope, the young and energetic Javier Hernandez, called “Chicharito”, scored in the 88th minute to go ahead! And my, my, did the stadium erupt. It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed firsthand! By the time the crowd had settled down, my throat and arms were sore from cheering for so long. The goal had huge implications for the rest of the season, as Manchester United is only leading the title race by three points. Getting to see a game at Old Trafford had been something I’d always wanted to do, and the experience did not disappoint!

Besides that game, I got to see Oxford’s local club, Oxford United, play twice. Both games were a lot of fun; both were full of goals. The first one saw Oxford drop a 2-0 lead to one of the top teams in League Two, Wycombe Wanderers, to end in a 2-2 draw. In the second game, which was their last home game, Oxford went down 1-0 to Lincoln but rallied in the second half to win 2-1. The team draws pretty good support from the city – not quite the 75 or so thousand that Manchester United gets, but still a good 7-9 thousand, depending on the game.

To my teammates, good luck on finals. To the seniors, congratulations for a diploma well earned. To the rest, enjoy the summer.

-Allen

P.S. It can’t possibly be better weather at home than it has been here – if anyone tells you that England is cold, wet, and dark, don’t believe them! It’s only rained once for the month I’ve been in Oxford, and the temperature has hovered right around 60 for most of the time!

Allen Page Blogging from England

By Allen Page

Hi everyone! My name is Allen Page, and I’m a junior on the Wildcat Men’s Soccer team. Right now, I’m studying abroad at Oxford in England, and things are awesome here! I’m taking English and Psychology classes here (I’m a psych major back at Davidson). When I found out that the University of Georgia (I’m a Georgia native after all) had a program that spent a term at Oxford, I jumped on the opportunity. Even though I’m going through a different school, Davidson was so great in helping to get me set up with the program. I always knew I wanted to study abroad. I thought for a long time that I might go somewhere to practice foreign language skills, but ultimately, the chance to study at one of the most prestigious schools in the world was too good to pass up.

I’m living in a house with about twenty other students, all on the same program. It’s a little bit of a hike to downtown Oxford where the majority of the colleges are, but the walk is very pleasant. One of the most striking things about being in Oxford, and in England in general is the antiquity of everything. In the states, we consider something to be pretty old if it has been around for fifty or one hundred years. But here, there are very often buildings and institutions dating back five hundred years; some reach back close to one thousand! So, even from walking around town and exploring the old chapels, libraries, or pubs, the sense of history and tradition is palpable.

If you are wondering why this first update is coming so late in the semester, let me explain. Unlike schools in the States, Oxford operates on three eight-week terms. The third and final term of the year begins in May and runs through June. So, we are here about a month before that for some seminars to get us ready for the rigorous Oxford "tutorials." That’s what they call classes here, although “class” doesn’t really fit. Oxford students meet their dons one on one and only once a week to respond to questions, defend their opinions, and often present that week’s paper. The rest of the week is filled with extensive reading and writing to prepare for the next session. It’s very different from what most of us are used to!

Of course, as a Davidson student-athlete, I’m excited for much more than the educational opportunities here. England is a nation crazy about football (soccer); it’s all over the papers and all over the sports stores. In fact, in a brief trip to London, I found a four-story sports store, and the third floor was entirely devoted to jerseys from teams around the world! I’m hoping to catch an Oxford United game this weekend. They are the local club here, and although they are only a League Two team, they draw a lot of support from the city. Here at the house, we have a great backyard for pickup games and the like, so I’m looking forward to playing as much as I can.

That’s all for now, and let’s hope the Wildcats keep winning games!

Cheers,
Allen

Back in Davidson

By Yannick Pilgrim

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Back at Davidson. My plane touched down in Charlotte around 2:00 am on Friday the 7th. Even though I was coming back to the familiar, I was nervous. Maybe it was because I was excited to see my friends, teammates and other Davidson randoms who brighten my day, or maybe it was because a wonderful semester abroad had finally come to an end. Costa Rica had really become a home to me and leaving beautiful Central America was almost as hard as leaving my beloved Trinidad on my first trip to the US.

My last day in Costa Rica was an emotional one. My host family had problems of their own but still managed to keep it together in order to give me a very special dinner and farewell. Their kindness and unselfish ways were part of the reason I really enjoyed my time in Costa Rica. Not only did this family open their house to me but they let me into their home. From babysitting my host brothers to occasionally cooking dinner, I always felt like I was actually a member of their family. They introduced me to nearly all of their relatives and went above and beyond in terms of hospitality. If I had to suggest one thing to someone going abroad it would be to form a bond with your host family. Have conversations with them, surprise them from time to time with small gifts, and treat them as if they were your real parents or real siblings.

Before I stepped on the bus to leave the town of Puntarenas my host family stopped me. My host mom put her hand in mine and gave me a key. My host dad then explained that it was the key to the front door of the house. They said that I could return to Puntarenas anytime I wanted and would have a place to stay at their house. Back in my soft days I would have cried, but now hard and experienced, I just looked up to the sky and avoided the tears from leaking out. This exchange was truly symbolic of the relationship I formed with this family. To be honest I cannot picture my future without seeing them again.

My trip to Costa Rica has afforded me the opportunity to take a step outside of my hectic life in the States and recognize the more important things and the things about myself that I need to change. Sometimes we are too busy to actually think, and living what the Costa Ricans call ‘pura vida’ for the last four months has allowed me to approach obstacles in a very calm way. I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on my senior year at Davidson. I formed some great bonds in Costa Rica and I know that my friends there will be awaiting news from me in the future. The thought that a group of people cares for you is enough to produce a motivation within that inspires one to live a life that revolves around making these people proud to be associated with you. Knowing that someone stands with you through the good and bad inspires you to live for the good. “Para siempre” I will remember this far away family and “para siempre” I will carry with me the lessons learnt on our journey together these last four months ... “Gracias por todo,” and thank you Davidson for giving me the opportunity to experience this eventful semester abroad.

Adeu Barcelona!

By Josh Zipin

Hello Davidson family. My semester in Barcelona is coming to a close and this will be my final blog entry as I will be flying out back to the US of A this Thursday. The semester has flown by and I can’t believe my time is up here.

The last month has been very full with visits from Wildcat star athletes and friends from home. Showing friends the city has really allowed me to get to know the city much better. At the beginning of the semester I felt a little bit lost, not knowing how to get to places, especially with any kind of punctuality. But I’ve evolved into a real tour guide here, with walking and metro routes of the city that I’m comfortable with. It’s different than Davidson or my hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland, because I go so many places by foot so often. I feel almost as if I know my way around this city better than either American ones.

The weather has been incredible here for the last month, and one of my favorite activities during that time has been playing ping pong outside in the Ciutadella park. It’s a huge park, but in the corner of one of its many entrances there are 6 outdoor tables lined up. It has actually been a great way to meet local Catalans, just by goofing around and playing small, very informal tournaments. Small things like ping pong helped me feel much more connected to the city and its people.

It is a bit bittersweet because I feel so comfortable here now, but I am so excited to get home and get back to Davidson. I’ve developed a genuine affection for everything Barcelona, and it is almost like I am a real citizen now. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to study abroad, and especially choosing to study here. My Spanish has reached a level of fluency I did not anticipate reaching and I have become much more independent here. I’ve also experienced some completely new cultures, and of course, been privileged to be inundated in a soccer-crazy environment, home to the best team in the world, FC Barcelona.

I just finished my last exam of the semester, and am now officially a Davidson senior. That is really weird to think about. My flight is scheduled for Thursday morning but knowing this city, there are probably a few twists and turns left for me before I leave. It’s been great connecting with people at home through this blog and I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have. Make sure to catch the Barca Champions League game today! Visc a Barca y Visc a Catalunya!

Adeu.

-Josh

Nicaraguan Adventure

By Yannick Pilgrim

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Hola Amigos,

Life is good over here in Costa Rica. In fact it rained yesterday for only the third time since I’ve been here. The temperature is still easily 95 degrees and higher on a daily basis, and I’ve gotten used to waking up in my own sweat. If the ocean was not so close, I probably would be going crazy right now. Well enough with the weather update; I have much to tell since my last blog entry.

Studying abroad is an experience, and anyone who has done it can tell you that some days are harder than others. With the travel and exploration of a foreign country comes certain risks, and for me, I learned a painful lesson crossing the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Let me first say that I have nothing against Nicaragua as a country. In fact it is a beautiful place with remarkable geography and an interesting culture. The problems I experienced in Nicaragua were limited to the border crossing.

The people that know me well can tell you that I am the kind of person who loves to do stuff on their own. Despite the warnings from my host parents, I decided to head to Nicaragua by myself for four days. I did sufficient research and planned my trip accordingly. I also spoke to some students on my program that had gone to Nicaragua in February in order to have an idea of what to expect at the border. From Puntarenas it took me 5 hours by bus to get to the border at Penas Blancas. The Costa Rican officials handled my paper work quickly and things were moving along faster than I expected.

After being done with customs in Costa Rica, I had to walk about 100 meters to a gate that was the crossover point for both countries. When I entered Nicaragua I felt a difference in the atmosphere. People were shoving customs papers in my face, asking if I needed a guide or a taxi, and telling me that if I didn’t have either, I would find myself in some trouble. I guess it was a moment in my time abroad where I really felt like an outsider. I had grown so accustomed to the “tranquila” life in Costa Rica. After breaking through the barrage of hustlers, I had to deal with a different problem. I have always heard of corruption on the border, but now I can say that I was a victim of it. The corruption practiced by police officers and custom officials at the border has become so common place that they can now do it in plain sight. I had a minor physical encounter with the border authorities who requested that I pay extra money to get into Nicaragua. They also told me I was not allowed to speak to anyone besides them. My Spanish deteriorated as my anger increased, making the situation even worse. I was outnumbered and with the law on their side I had no choice but to pay the price.

It was a tough lesson to learn and I really did not plan on using a blog entry to talk about the problems I had crossing the border. But I figure that while studying abroad a person is going to experience good and bad. Hopefully if you were planning on crossing the border to Nicaragua soon, this testimony can be of some assistance. I am doing fine now and have long since moved on from the incident. In fact, while in Nicaragua I spent time in San Juan del Sur, a beautiful beach town about 1 hour from the Penas Blancas border. While there I visited Playa Madera, a secluded beach great for surfing. It was a bit hard to find, but after hitchhiking a ride on the back of a tractor I finally found it.

I spent two days in San Juan del Sur and then I went on to Isla de Ometepe. Nicaragua has one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the world. Isla de Ometepe is also a world phenomenon, being one of the largest fresh water islands on the planet. But what makes this place so impressive are the two volcanoes located on either side of the island. I have grown very fascinated with volcanoes during my time here in Central America. They truly are magical to say the least. Beautiful yet dangerous. On the island I rented a dirt bike and went on one of the most fun adventures of my life. I stopped to see waterfalls, crystal clear streams, and to let cows cross the road. Everyone there was really friendly and was always interested in where I was from. A guy there was also kind enough to tell me that my name was a woman’s name in Nicaragua and I should change my name to Geoffrey for the duration of my stay. What a nice guy…

My Nicaraguan adventure. I must say my time at San Juan del Sur and Isla de Ometepe sure did make up for the trouble I had on the border. The thing is I had to cross it to go back. I’ll save you the details and just say that my exit was no greater than my entrance.

I am enjoying my time here in Costa Rica but I would be lying if I said that I was not missing my team and playing for Davidson. I get to play soccer here almost every day but it’s not the same. For the most part I miss the organization and scoring countless goals on Chip during practice. Too easy…

Until the next time…

PuRa vIdA

Touring and Tour Guiding

By Josh Zipin

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It’s been too long since I checked in last, and I’d like to say I’m sorry, but it’s not like I’ve been sitting at home doing nothing. Since the last time I wrote I’ve been real busy, including taking trips to Paris, Spain’s Costa Brava, and the South of Spain with my parents for my spring break. I’ve also been lucky enough to play host to some Davidson friends in Barcelona.

Paris was an exciting trip that I made with two of my best friends from home who also study here in Barcelona. Other than getting food poisoning in transit (not pretty), the trip went smoothly and we experienced what Paris is all about: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and the Mona Lisa, the Orsay Museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomph, and of course, crepes.

We spent roughly the first ten minutes of our time at the Eiffel Tower looking for the perfect Heisman trophy pose on the Tower, but after a few puzzling looks, and of course, the perfect picture, we went to the top and got a view of the whole city. I felt like I was in a Google Maps screenshot with the view we had. We could see all of the other major destinations we were visiting from the top. We even picked out our hostel from the top. A few incredible art museum visits (I saw Van Gogh’s self-portrait and the Mona Lisa in two days!), an Arc de Triomph, Notre Dame Cathedral trip (to see the Hunchback of course), and roughly 3 banana and Nutella crepes later, we headed home to Catalunya.

For my spring break, I was lucky enough to spend about a week and a half with my parents. We spent the first couple days in Barcelona as I led them around and saw some things I’d been waiting to see and experience, including the Picasso museum, Montjuic, and Barcelona’s best restaurants. We were even able to go to a Catalan seder for Passover here, which was quite an experience. I was also lucky enough to have my parents over to my host family’s house for lunch. My host mom cooked for my real mom and asked her quite seriously how she was able to feed me at home. I had to do a good deal of translating as I was the person at the table with the best knowledge of both English and Spanish. It was great to introduce my family for the last few months to my blood family and vice versa.

After our time in Barca, we headed to the South for sunny beaches and the freshest paella. We spent time in Malaga, Granada, Nerja, and Cordoba. While some people might think that spending a week and a half alone with their parents would be nothing short of the most boring time ever, I realized that I actually really enjoy spending time and travelling with my parents. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen them since January, but it was great fun teasing my Mom and catching an FC Barcelona basketball game with my dad, among other fun excursions. The weather in the South was perfect and actually reminded me of what it is probably like in Davidson right now.

I have less than a month left here in Barcelona but it still feels like I just got here. I feel like I really know the city well and it’s almost like I’m a real Barcelona citizen now (minus the mastery of the Catalan language). I realized how comfortable I am with the city and getting places when I’ve had people visiting. About three weeks ago I had my first long visit from friends. Wildcat field hockey stars Courtney Tobe and Ellie Syzkowny came and stayed the weekend here. Besides seeing the local sights including the famed Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell by renowned architect Antoni Gaudi, I showed them some of my favorite food and night spots. I also showed off some of my much improved Spanish and cultural knowledge by steering them clear of the petty thieves and teaching them the tricks of living in Barcelona (watch your purses closely ladies!). It was an epic visit and it felt surreal to spend time with people I’ve known so well for three years, albeit pretty much exclusively at Davidson, in Barcelona.

With my time left here I really want to get to the Barcelona aquarium as I hear it’s one of the best in the world, and of course I need to see another FC Barcelona game. Barca plays Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, the competition that crowns the best club soccer team in Europe. The whole city is on pins and needles in anticipation and I’m still holding out a sliver of hope that I’ll be able to score a ticket somehow. I’m not done with travelling as I still have one free weekend, as well as a trip to Amsterdam planned. In addition, this weekend I’ll be welcoming volleyball stud, Anna Bradbury, another Wildcat superstar, to Barcelona. It should be another great time. I miss Davidson a lot, including my team, my friends, the weather, lake campus, and of course girls in sundresses. That’s all I got for now. Hope everyone is well and healthy in Davidson. Hasta luego!

-Josh

Estoy bien en Costa Rica

By Yannick Pilgrim


Hola Amigos,

Estoy bien en Costa Rica. I have so much to tell since my last entry.

It is unbelievably cheap to travel around Costa Rica. They have a really efficient bus system that I take full advantage of on the weekends. I usually travel around in a small group with about two other girls, one from North Carolina and one from New Zealand. Our program only has about ten guys to the forty girls, so the men of the group usually have to do some bodyguard work. Our first major trip together was to a place called La Fortuna. This town has a very interesting history and is one of the most visited sites in Costa Rica.

It is especially known for the active Arenal Volcano that dangerously looms over the town. We took a tour of this volcano and this tour included a visit to nearby hot springs, stops at breathtaking waterfalls, and a night tour in search of snakes and other nocturnal creatures common in La Fortuna. Our tour guide (a great guy who took us to play a pick-up game of soccer against him and his brothers) also told us the story of Arenal Volcano and I must say it was a bit sad and disturbing. The volcano got the name ‘Arenal’ because this was the name of the town it destroyed when it erupted. In the 1960’s, the people from this pueblo were caught off guard when what they thought was just a mountain ended erupting, and scorching vapor swept through their homes killing many and injuring dozens. For me, this story is disturbing because according to the guide, despite the rumblings from the ‘mountain’ and many suggestions from the elders of the community that this mountain was an actual volcano, the authorities and the scientists assured the residents of Arenal that there was nothing to concerned about and it was simply a mountain. Now a lake covers the remains of this pueblo. The steeple from the church can still be seen protruding from beneath its watery grave.

Currently I am enrolled in a Latin American Field Studies class in which we have many field trips to different parts of the country. One thing for me that really stands out about Costa Rica is its natural beauty. A lot of the care that goes into taking care of the environment in Costa Rica stems from the Costa Rican’s reliance on nature’s products. They are a major exporter of pineapple and coffee. Even though they can never rival the quantity of coffee produced in places like Brazil and Colombia, the quality of Costa Rican coffee is in a class of its own. We visited the mountainous town of San Ramon where coffee and sugar cane dominate the hillsides, a true representation of the success of these industries in Costa Rica. Also with this class we had an excursion to a fishing community called Costa de Pajaros. The people of this town are very humble and have a remarkable relationship with the mangroves that border their community. Speaking with one of the fisherman it was clear that he understood and respected the laws regarding fishing and preservation of the mangroves. ‘We need these mangroves’ he told me, “Without them there is no fish and no fish means no food and money.”

Even though I spend a lot of time learning about Costa Rica I find some time to have fun here and there. It is out of respect for those of you who struggled with a cold winter that I do not mention my surfing trips, 90 degree weather, and trips to sandy secluded beaches. I mean I don’t want anyone to feel jealous or anything. With that said I must mention my highlight for the month of March. I was in San Jose this past weekend and stayed at a guest house for two nights. The family who runs the guesthouse was very “agradable” and showed extreme hospitality. On my last day there, I went to thank the lady of the house for everything she had done for us that weekend. She ended up trapping me in a conversation that turned out to have a pleasant surprise at the end. It turns out that her husband is the head coach of the Costa Rican National Team. She introduced me to him and I had the pleasure of chatting with him for a while. He is quite a remarkable man with loads of coaching experience, from being the Assistant Coach for Nigeria during the France 1998 World Cup to now being the head coach of La Seleccion de Costa Rica. He gave me a book he wrote and was kind enough to autograph it. It’s crazy how things work out over here, but stuff like this happens to me all the time in Costa Rica.

We’ll see what adventures lay ahead.

PuRa vIdA

Yannick

Davidson Sports Blog Episode 2

By Josh Zipin

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What’s good Davidson family? I haven’t checked in for about two or three weeks, but they’ve been packed with travelling, some “futbol,” new cultural experiences and of course a little school here and there. The last two weekends have been my first two weekends travelling outside of Barcelona and they have both been fantastic. Last weekend I went to Andorra with four other friends and skied in the Pyrenees, and as I write this, I’m finishing up a trip to Bilbao in Basque Country, the North of Spain.

The weekend in Andorra was definitely the best skiing experience I’ve ever had. Four of my friends from Barcelona and I took a bus from Sants Estacio to Andorra, one of the smallest nations in the world, sandwiched between Spain and France. We rented a small apartment for the weekend and we had an amazing view of the Andorran valley in between some enormous mountains.

Unlike ski resorts I’ve been to previously, skiing in the Pyrenees means skiing multiple mountains and sometimes deviating from the obvious slope. To quote Robert Frost (wutup Mo), “I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”. The slopes, especially for very advanced skiers and snowboarders, were more of a suggestion or push in the right direction (towards the bottom). We blazed our own path to the bottom a couple of times and those were the most exciting runs - weaving between trees, slow skiers, and a few moguls. The snow was actual powder instead of human-produced, and made for really smooth skiing.

Euskadi, or Basque Country, was a great trip this weekend too. We started in San Sebastian, and learned about the local cuisine there, called Pintxos (pronounced “peent-chose”). They are little one or two bite dishes, usually put on top of a thin slice of bread. We went to a local cooking school and learned how a few were made, and then we actually got to eat some. It reminded me of a special day in Commons where you walk around and get lots of little things on your plate to try.

We also visited the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. The architecture was amazing and some of the exhibits inside were unbelievable with names like Van Gogh, Picasso, and Jackson Pollock popping up more than once. I learned a little bit of Basque, the historically-forbidden language they speak there. It was really interesting to see locals’ reactions when we said something to them in Basque. They were so much more excited than when we used Spanish.

As for what’s going on in Barcelona, I’ve just started doing yoga classes at my local gym—in Spanish. It’s a bit of challenge, both physically and linguistically. I have to sometimes stop and look around to see what pose we’re doing to make sure I’m not the only one looking awkward. I also recently toured Camp Nou (FC Barcelona’s stadium) and the 1992 Olympic museum and stadium. I also went to a flamenco show with one of my host brothers which was pretty different from any dancing I’d seen.

I’ve also started playing futbol with a new group of guys. It’s a very interesting group of players, with some former semi-pro guys, some scrubs, and a host of geographic diversity. Sometimes I’m not sure what language to speak on the field because there are guys from Ireland, Scottland, England, Ivory Coast, Germany, Sweden, and of course Spain. In addition to my Spanish class, I’m learning Catalan, the local language spoken by natives of Barcelona and Catalunya, so sometimes I speak to the Spanish guys using that.

As for the immediate future, I have a midterm on Thursday next week, and then immediately I fly to Paris for the weekend. The weekend after that I’m heading to Costa Brava. Should be a good time. Hasta luego!

-Josh

96 Degrees in The Shade: Pura Vida en Costa Rica

By Yannick Pilgrim


My name is Yannick Pilgrim. I am a third year English major from Trinidad and Tobago and a member of the Davidson Men’s Soccer team. I am currently spending my spring semester in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I chose this location because the size of the town seemed ideal for meeting and interacting with locals. The town is about ten miles long and no house is further than a three minute walk from the ocean. Despite being one of the poorest provinces in Costa Rica, the people of Puntarenas are very welcoming, and after only three weeks, I have become well acquainted with many of the locals. Coming from a small island in the Caribbean, their lifestyle was a bit similar to what I was used to back at home in Trinidad.

I am really focusing on improving my Spanish while I am here. I am currently taking four Spanish courses which include composition courses as well as a conversation course. I am also enrolled in a Latin American Cultures Class, a field studies class. However, my favorite class has to be my dance class. I figured that while I’m here I might as well immerse myself as deep as I can into the Latin American culture. Besides, it is a nice workout as well.

When I first met my host family, I felt a genuine connection to them. My host mom is a 32-year-old psychologist and my host dad is a 30-year-old elementary school teacher by day and a DJ by night. I have two host brothers aged six and three. The set up of my host family was perfect for me because their family structure mirrored that of my actual family back at home. At times when I see them interacting with each other it is like looking at and old photograph of my own family.

What made my living arrangements even better was the fact that my host Dad was an avid football fan. When I told him that I play soccer in college the expression on his face was that of a man who had just won the lottery. Every afternoon he takes me to the beach to find “un mejengon” (a pickup game). The guys I kick around with are maybe two or three years older than me. Most are good enough to play professionally, but each has their reasons for not making the most of their sporting potential. Some say that they have families to take care of, while others say that they just want to be ‘”fiesteros” (party boys). This made me realize that being a professional requires a truly different lifestyle and having skill is only half the battle.

My host dad also took me to see the local club team play these past two Sundays. This team, Puntarenas F.C. was the runner up in the Costa Rican Championship last year. The team resembles Arsenal F.C. in England because it is a young team with explosive attacking abilities. After watching two games I was attracted to their style of play, which is fast paced and very characteristic of Central and South American futbol. They play in pretty decent stadium located in the center of town. It seats about 5000 people. The fans here are passionately crazy about their team and turn the Puntarenas stadium into hell for the referees and opposing team players. After the Tiburones 1-0 defeat this past Sunday to the reigning champs, Liberia, the referees were bombarded with rocks and had to be escorted by the police out of the stadium.

All in all, it has been a great time here so far in Costa Rica. It’s been filled with interesting soccer experiences and great adventures. I’ll keep you posted.

Pura Vida.