Thanks for all the b-day wishes from around the world. I had a wonderful day and even better night that I'll never forget. My family wake me up (at 7!), with cake and birthday song in Spanish from a CD-player. Very cute!
A special thanks to my friends here that made my day so special, with roses and b-day drinks all night. Also greatings to family and friends in Norway, it's strange not to celebrate with you guys, but I want you to know that I had a great night with restaurant, "bar to bar round", concert AND disco :) Can it get any better?
The only negative thing now is that I got a stomach ache.. Almost everybody has been sick the past weeks, but I guess it was my turn now :/ Could be the food, or the water... So today I will do next to nothing, and hopefully I'll get better.
Henriette left this morning after a great week together. We went out to the salsa night on "La olla quemada" yesterday and danced all night. I took her to my salsa class on Monday and Wednesday and she really loved it as well. Well, now it's only me again in the room, and it's very quiet. Now she is going to Costa Rica for a week, and afterwards to Venezuela. She is a tough girl traveling alone like that. Miss her already.
Now I am just home after a lovely trip to León viejo (old León), followed by swimming in a beautiful lagoon (Laguna del Tigre). It was really an amazing trip. Rigo did a great job with the info about the old city and the history. In addition, all the teachers and students are so laid back and nice that the trip was just perfect!
Here are some pictures, I think they speak for themselves :-)
Weekend in Leon
Short summary of the weekend. Friday Henreitte came to visit me. (She is a Norwegian friend that I met thorugh Valencia.. She studied in Valencia the year before me, but we met in Oslo:) She is backpacking, and came to visit me in Leon for the week. It's really nice having Henriette here, and her Spanish is perfect.
Saturday we went to the beach. I tried to surf for the first time, with my new friend Antonio. He is one of the life guards at the beach, and also a surf teacher. I'm not very good, but not so bad either...:P Not a natural for sure, but I will definitely keep on trying.
Later that night we went to a beach party in "casa de los mangos" ( where my ex-roomies from Buenos Aires live). Crazy night with the best food ever ( Johanna, I love your cooking skills), and dancing in the kitchen + some guitar jamming during the late night. We took a taxi home that night, and checked out the night life in Leon.. Saturday everything closes around 2-3, so it was very quiet. We met some guys outside "Cameleon" and talked some Spanish, and went home.
Buenas!!!
Sunday we went on a trip to "cerro negro", one of many volcanoes situated in León. We were a big group of 40 students. The view on the way up was picturesque, really amazing. It was not so hot either, because it was so windy. We used about 45 minutes up, and then we ran down on 5 minutes :-)
50 years anniversary
Yes, you heard right… 50 year’s anniversary for the “Cortez brothers”. I went there with my “host mother” Carolina and her friends (Carolina in the middle wearing purple). It was a big happening, and everybody was very excited. I was the only foreign person, and for sure the only one who had never heard about the famous “Cortez brothers”. I'm grateful for having had this opportunity of experiencing such a authentic cultural and traditional event.
The music was fantastic and it was easy to like. The front singers were four hot guys that also danced quite sexy, that we all went crazy from the first song. It was not like in Norway that you normally drink before you dance, but straight to the point! Out on the dancefloor. The music was a mix of salsa and combia. Great success! :)
I was a bit tired after the welcome party, but I awoke after dancing for some hours. They asked me where I learnt to dance like that. They had heard that people from Scandinavia normally doesn’t know how to dance. So I take that as a compliment.
The night had a surprising turn when we were middle in the concert more or less. Suddenly one of the singers said: AND NOW, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The original” Cortéz-brothers”. I thought they were already playing, but they were only family of the Cortéz brothers. In came some really old (viejitos) guys and everybody went all emotional. They were so old that they needed help to walk in. For me as a foreigner an interesting experience.
:)
We walked home together, and Carolina and her friends are so nice to me. I feel very welcome here, and they include me even though I don't always understand what they are saying.
I will blog in English from now on...
Many friends have asked me on facebook if I can blog on English so everybody can understand. Well, I can try to do a bit both Norwegian and English. Some of the "hottest" news will at least be in English from now on..( if I'm too tired :P)
Here is a picture of my two brothers, Fransisco (15) and Mitchell (8). I often help Fransico with his English homework. It's pretty challenging explaining English grammar on Spanish, but I feel happy that I can help with something. As well it's good for my Spanish pratice, because I really need to think about the differences ect.
Mitchell reminds me a lot of William, my nephew. He has a lot of energy, so he is out playing with friends all day, or inside with his playstation. Picture of Carolina (my host "mum", but more like a sister), will come tomorrow. I am going out with her (and friends of her) tomorrow to dance some Salsa :-)
Tonight we have a welcome party at the Monkey Republic. I'm sure it will be great fun! I know a local band will play, and later on it will be DJ the rest of the night.
Besos desde Leon,
Ane xxx
Buenas noches a todos!
I dag har jeg hatt min første studiedag siden jeg ikke hadde timer. På kvelden var det skrivekurs for de ikke har skrevet akademiske tekster før, men valgte å heller studere på egen hånd. Var på et lignende kurs da jeg studerte i Argentina, og har skrevet en del akademiske tekster i løpet av lærerutdanningen.
Det var deilig med en rolig morgen hvor jeg fikk rusle litt i sentrum på vei bort til Monkey Republic for å studere litt (et av hostellene der mange av de norske studentene bor). Jeg gikk bl.a forbi "Hostal Colibri" der noen av de astudenter bor (se bilde). Det var kun meg og Erica som var på Monkey Republic hele formiddagen, så det var stille og rolig. De fleste hadde undervisning på "Casa Pelicana" på stranda.
Her ser du den viktigste katedralen i León. Det er den største katedralen i hele Mellom-Amerika, og ligger rett ved siden av el parque sentral.
Iglesia de recolección
Etterhvert kom det fler og fler, blant annet Silvia, Eskil og Kjersti. Silvia er akkurat som Bridget Jones og kommer stadig opp i veldig morsomme situasjoner. Dagens situasjon er følgende; hun skulle altså spørre han som jobber i baren på Monkey Republic hvor mye det kostet for kaffen hun hadde kjøpt, og tenkte å spørre "hvor mye penger vil du ha av meg". Det ble følgende:
Cuanto me quieres? - Dette betyr: hvor mye liker du meg / ønsker du meg.
Det ble dagens latterkule, og fra og med nå er det sånn man spør om pris! Kanskje hennes måte å prute på?
Her ser du noen bilder av Monkey Republic, utrolig idyllisk og fint hostell.
Kjersti, Silvia og meg
Vi feiriet en god studiedag med en aldris å liten is. Her ser du meg og Olle aka "
Party-sueco" (partysvensken). Under ser du bl.a Eskil og Elin som også koser seg med is:)
Det hele avsluttet med at jeg og Kjersti ville finne et sted hvor vi kunne få masasje. Har hatt litt vondt i ryggen etter den lange flyturen bl.a. Vi tok turen til " Casa de belleza" og tenkte kanskje det fantes der. Det gjorde det ikke, men vi endte meg å ta en pedikur i stedet. Det har jeg faktisk aldri gjort før, men det kostet altså 100 cordobas (25 kroner), så tok meg råd til det. En ting er jo at det ser fint ut med fargen ect, men jeg har aldri hatt så myke føtter før. I morgen er det velkomstparty, så da er det greit med nystelte tær:P
Sist men ikke minst, har jeg fått nytt kjæledyr på rommet mitt som ofte er på veggen min når jeg våkner. Det er en firfisleaktig sak, som lager lyder som en fugl. Har funnet ut at det heter gecco, og har bestemt meg for å like den. Tydeligvis så spiser den både edderkopper og mygg, så det forklarer hvorfor jeg ikke har fått et eneste myggstikk (!) Nå leter jeg etter et kallenavn til min nye venn. Noen forslag?
