Thursday, November 19, 2009

Motorcycle Diaries

I have to admit, when I was invited to go on a day trip “por moto” (or scooters as we typically refer to them in the US (although I think moto sounds way cooler)) I exuberantly accepted, but never actually thought people would follow through with it. To my surprise/delight this past Saturday I joined a group of 12 people for a cruise up into the mountains and to the beautiful Valldemosa (which is a village I mentioned a bit in a previous blog post). Since our route was along the water we enjoyed some of the most breathtaking views that Mallorca has to offer. I shared a scooter with my friend David, and was able to take a ton of photos from the back seat. The entire trip took about seven hours, but that included stops for lunch and coffee...keep in mind that Spanish lunch is typically at least 2 hours. When we returned to Palma we decided to ride around a parking lot to give all of the people who were on the backs of the scooters the chance to drive them (ie me and a couple of other girls). My first time driving the scooter went something like this…


Revved up the engine and pulled down the handle for the gas.

Scooter takes off...

I make it about 2 feet before I lose control of the scooter.

Instead of braking I pull even further down on the gas.

The scooter spins out from under me, I jump off, and it smashes on the ground.

All the while the engine is still going and oil gets all over the side of the scooter.


Umm yeah so I definitely needed a little bit of practice, but right after that exciting event I hopped back on and tried again. Thankfully I quickly figured out how to use the brakes and then everything was smooth cruising.

Here are some pictures of our first pit stop on the way to Valldemosa...


The following pictures are taken from up in the mountains.  We stopped at this cliff that had views which I can't even describe...you'll just have to look at the pics and see for yourself  :)




And we finally made it to Valldemosa!!!





And these are some pictures that I took from the road...

Monday, November 2, 2009

Halloween


Although I couldn’t be happier that my favorite holiday is celebrated in Spain, Halloween here still does not compare to the festivities that I’ve grown up with in the United States.  Don’t get me wrong, I mean Spanish people definitely know how to party and have a good time, but when it comes to Halloween, a lot of the traditions that are extremely popular in the United States –ie haunted houses, watching scarey movies, haunted hay rides—haven’t made their way to Spain.  Egg throwing, however, is an activity that a lot of the teenagers take part in (I asked my students to avoid egging my apartment, and gladly they did).  Another fully embraced Halloween custom is getting dressed up in revealing costumes.  As in the United States, many girls here use Halloween as an excuse to be a slutty witch, or a sluttly angel, or a slutty devil.  I have to admit that I too was not orginal with my costume this year and was a dark angel (and yes a slightly sluttly one).  Check out the pics!