Dia Numero Uno

Carly pays 7 dollars to access internet during her five hour layover in NY. She lost her pillow somewhere between SF and NY. Kara strolls up hair straightened while Carly searches for apartments. Both have separately purchased Chinese airport food.

They both decided that ice cream or frozen yogurt was pertinent to beginning their voyage, unfortunately they were devastated to discover that their terminal didn't offer any of said treats. After a short discussion about how long it might take to re-enter through security and asses the possibility of the already delayed plane boarding during their absence they came to the decision that one should go and one should stay. Kara set off in the direction of the main Airport in search of frozen delight.

Five Minutes later, she was rejected by the security guard on the account of her "liquid," which was not allowed in the terminal. Frantic, she gulps down her entire 25 ounce Oreo Mcflury without even tasting it and hid its twin behind a steel gate for Carly to seek out upon the delivery of the bad news.

They sent their last group texts via their American cell phone numbers while on the runway sprawled out on the entire row of vacant seats. The last American words they received were via text "don't be average".

5hours and 52 minutes later...

Boarder control calls the two out as " trouble" when they inform him that they will be going into Dublin to find a bar during their 7 hour layover. It is 9 am.

Tourist move Number 1: KO hands bus ticket to random rider. Number 2: They almost exit at the wrong stop until the bus driver intercedes.

After a quick lunch, latte and internet session, the hunt for the Guinness Museum begins.

They find the quote painted on the wall that proves to be an omen for their upcoming twelve hour adventure,"Home is not where you live but where they understand you."

An odyssey of search for their apartment ended with being charged 12 Euro for their 45 minute tardiness. After struggling through the language barrier with the landlady, they obtained absolutely no useful information. Only 20 minutes of downtime was required before they mustered up the energy and vigilance to infiltrate their new country of residence.

Low point of the day: confidence shot when they passed by at least 15 bars but didn't have the balls to actually go in to any one of them. They were craving a New York slice of pizza and were completely intimidated by the fact that they were unable to decipher where food would be easily obtained. They knew NADA.

The duo hid in the subway station and let the overwhelmed feeling pass through laughter and acknowledgment of their temporary defeat. They then riled and tried again at the next metro stop. Success came in the form of a 5000 calorie kebab.

"Me gusta su botas"

When I went to visit my cousin this summer in RI, I bought my first pair of boots. No, no more UGGs...but legit boots...Tan leather, gorgeous boots. I hemmed and hawed for a about hour...Leather boots just weren't me. Ithaca...black Uggs ...jeans and a hoodie. Fashion...def not my thing. Didn't even get the courage to wear them until I got to Spain.

Now....I want a pair of boots in every color. Have tan and black....still need grey and red. Thank God I got those boots cause boots are everywhere in Spain...everywhere. From the one and a half year olds, who freely walk the streets in front of their parents, to the 85 year old dressed to the nines Spanish women. I'm not the only one who has become obsessed...When we walk to class...grocery store...just around Madrid..."Me gusta su botas." is said by one of us...if not all of us at the same time, when spotting a pair of boots we like.

Tall leather boots and gorgeous scarfs. Two things you need in Spain. I know boots are in style back home too...but definitely not to this extreme. The funniest thing is about it...is I'm giving in to it all. From sweats and hoodies to boots, scarfs and a long pea coat....who would have thought? I even get dressed up to go to the gym..(yeah the gym part might not last that much longer) Embracing the culture.

Ryan Air...Just Don't

Ryan Air...where do I even begin...
My advice is to pay the extra 20 euros to fly another airline. IT IS COMPLETELY WORTH IT.

To start...I was charged double for my flight from London to Madrid. So I call them and if I didn't have free calls around Europe through Skype...it would have cost me .50euros a min to call them. My call lasted at least 15 minutes.

So Ms. Pleasant on the other line, who told me "well you sure aren't from Europe right?," finally refunded my account. Before I hung up the phone with her, I asked her if I could change something with my other 2 tickets I had bought through Ryan Air. Ryan Air charges you to check in at the airport and charges you 15 euros a bag. So, with not not realizing Kristen had a small carry on for me to use, I wanted to change this for my 2 flights....saving me 60euros. I explained the situation to Ms. Pleasant and she told me, "Ryan Air doesn't give refunds." Ummm...Didn't I just get a refund?

Once I packed and ready to go, we didn't start boarding in Dublin until an hour after original flight departure. Not one person from Ryan Air could be found during this hour delay. I ask the guy who finally comes to take tickets and he tells me "engine problems." Great.

Upon coming home I tried "online check in" to save 10euros. Great options if you're not America. There is no American option for nationality nor a United States option for origin of passport.

In Poznan and London I had to wait in line at the Customer Service desk to check in and pay the extra fee. I had a 2 and a half hour layover in London Stansted and I spent that time dealing with the wonderful people of Ryan Air. Waited in line to pay the fee, waited in line to check in, and waited in line to check my luggage. I got to my gate as they were boarding.

Their colors in the plane are bright yellow and blue with loud advertisements everywhere. As much as I loved wearing these colors throughout college, I wouldn't say they're a relaxing color scheme.

Moral of the story...if you aren't from the EU(allowing you to check in for free, at home) and have to check a bag...just don't put yourself through the pain of Ryan Air.

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A lot of People, A lot of Talk

Poznan, Poland hosted this years UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Poznan, Poland, never heard of it? Yeah, me neither until I decided to go to the conference. However Poland, which still relies on coal for more than 90% of its energy, was a great example of why there is such a need for this annual conference. Over 11,000 people attended the conference representing 190 countries. These 11,000 people included scientists, politicians, delegates, those working in non-profits, NGOs(category I fell into), business and industry.

The world met in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and drafted the Kyoto Protocol (and then signed and adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 97, giving it its name). Kyoto stated that developed countries would reduce their collective emissions by at least 5% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The U.S argued that developing nations should have limitations as well, therefore the US did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, making it the only major developed nation not to.

So next year in Copenhagen, Denmark (I'm absolutely going for any who would like to join) a new treaty will be signed, which will hopefully set stricter regulations for all nations. So Poznan, as exciting as it was...was a lot of talk since the actual action isn't happening until 2009.

So quick needed background info for all of you who haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth/have no idea what I'm talking about:

-Climate change/global warming is happening faster than we think
-Scientists have agreed that the earth cant handle more than a 2 degrees C increase
-For this to happen we have to stabilize our CO2 at 400ppm and we're at 378 right now
-If we go over 2 degrees C...Greenland is probably melting and say bye to those living on the coast...
-We have almost 7 billion people on this world and will probably have at least 3 billion more by 2050.
-Americans consume so much that if the world had the same lifestyle we'd need 4 earths to sustain us, andddd China, made up of over 1 billion people, wants our American lifestyle.

FUCK.

Don't panic...everyone at the conference knows this. This is why this conference has been happening for 14 years...even though with the slow progress you'd think it was maybe 4 years old..Anyway, with my thoughts jumping from hopeful to helpless on any given day at any given hour, I am walking out of Poznan, which I would actually recommend you visit if you ever make it to Poland, hopeful.

I have learned ALOT this past week, from the fact that Germany gets more than 70% of its power from solar while France gets more 70% of its energy from nuclear. I learned the pros and cons of carbon capture and storage, had drinks with the U.S delegate, and randomly met old professors' ex girlfriends. The main thing I have learned from this conference is that the technology is there. We have all the science figured out and the technology to reduce our emissions, its the will that is lacking. The lack of will from policy makers to make changes and the lack of will from individual people to change their lifestyles.

I'm a big fan of having those people who got us into this mess,(developed countries...mainly my home country) lead us out of it. In the side event titled: "From laggards to leaders:How the U.S and Canada can cut their emissions to 25% below 1990 level by 2020," Doug Boucher, an American from the Union of Concerned Scientists, spoke of a conversation he had with President Elect Obama one year ago. Obama told him, "I am going to be the best environmental president but I am going to need constant pressure."

With all that I have learned from the conference, combined with a new leader in the most powerful country in the world, I think Copenhagen will give the world the strict restrictions it needs to combat the most pressing issue for our generation. However, as individuals we can't just sit back hoping and expecting policy to make things happen for us...we have to keep pressure on those in power and also change our own lives. With living abroad, I am constantly reminded how much American politics and American people are under constant watch. The world is watching...why not show them how to get out of this mess.

Can Americans Ever Truly Relax?

Undergraduate is done, I don’t want to get a real job yet, so let’s move to a European country where I can travel and relax for 6 months. Spain, the perfect place for this to be made possible. Spain, the country where they close up shop for 3 hours in the middle of the day to take a nap. After a stressful 2 week period of looking for a “piso,” signing a lease, painting, decorating, and unpacking, we were finally able to truly relax. This lasted about a week. We were finally able to take our siestas, eat our tapas, drink our vino, and walk the streets in awe of it's foreignness. Yet, after one week of not having a care in the world, the three of us became restless.

I began looking for grants and fellowships to do environmental and city planning work with. Carly began questioning the fact of getting a “realll job,” one that would be 40 hours a week. We all agreed we didn’t want "real jobs," but it would look great on the resume. We came to Spain to relax after 4 stressful years of all-nighters, exams and presentations. We came to Spain to get a job, where’d we work the least possible, so we could travel on the weekends and take advantage of our location.

One week of this relaxation and we didnt know what to do with it. I called the GRE international office out of pure panic of lack of productiveness, and scheduled my test for the end of December for my fall applications. I honestly think that between the 3 of us, we’ve taken 10 siestas since we’ve been in Spain. We’ve been here for 2 months. This could be due to the fact that we dont usually get up until 10am at the earliest…most of the time we don’t usually all roll out of bed until noon, however sleeping until 10am in not considered late in Spain. My Spanish professor asks what time I “llevanto” all the time. When I say, “Me llevanto allas diez,” her response has always been “ahh es mui temprano!” And when the three of us don’t wake up until noon, we automatically feel like the day is wasted and were upset that we couldn’t pull ourselves out of bed at least an hour earlier.

It took us a little while to adjust to the Spanish lifestyle of eating late and staying out late, which makes sense for the late wake up time, yet will we ever be able to truly relax in this country and not think of post Spain? Can Americans every truly relax, or is it just us?

Viva la Vida

Dont worry, my blog is not about Coldplay, nor the vegetarian restaurant in Madrid which Kristen had to write a critique for. It is about a restaurant though...well kind of. When thinking of the word "viva," and the saying "live the life" translated into Spanish, I think of Viva, the Mexican Restaurant situated at the corner of the Commons in Ithaca, NY. Viva…the place we’d go to get 2.50 margaritas for Happy Hour on Fridays. This was usually followed by buy one get one free pitchers at Moonies…but we’ll save that for another blog…or just leave it at that. Viva, what we considered the best Mexican in town, even though my freshmen year roommate from southern California told me it was nothinnggg like real Mexican.

On day 1 of my month long Spanish course at Don Quijote, I learned that the letter v is pronounced as “b” in Spanish. Viva….We had been saying it wrong this whole time! We should have been sending texts that read “Biba for margs later?” …Biba for margs later?! That sounds awffull. I know I am probably showing my language stupidity right now, not knowing that Viva isn’t pronounced Viva in its native language, but my semester’s worth of 6^th grade Spanish really wasn’t shining through for me during my 4 years of eating and drinking at Viva.

With this said, I knew that Viva la (expat) Viva was the perfect title for my blog. My blog is not only about my life in Madrid as an American, but mainly about moving on from the Mexican restaurant I would meet my friends at in our quaint little college town, keeping in touch with those people who would enjoy that margarita with me, learning the true pronunciation of the Spanish language, and traveling the globe in search of that 2.50 margarita.

In other words...I didn't want to get a real job so I moved to Madrid, and now I have more time on my hands than I ever can remember...so now you guys get to read about it.

(And yess I know I used Spanglish in my title)