Yesterday was an interesting day. Traveling on the plane was just fine to Madrid but when I went and found a taxi, he took me to Alcala but then ripped me off and made me pay 280€ instead of 40€. I got an "official recepit" but it didn't have any sort of ID number on it and I forgot to look at the liscense plate or anything that would have ID'd the guy. The only thing I could do, according to my host mom (HM) who called her friend from the police, is to go back to the airport and look for him and then call the police while I'm there and try to get my money back. It seems dangerous but I will think it over because that is a lot of money I lost.
After the drama with the taxi, my host mom (HM) took me down to the University so I knew how to get to and from the campus. It's about a 20-25 minute walk which wouldn't be so bad except the temperature hovers around freezing all the time so I'll probably be taking the bus until it starts to get a little bit warmer. My first day of class was alright, I woke up late because my alarm clock on my phone thinks it's still in US time so my HM woke me up at 8, thankfully, and I was just about 10 minutes late to class. Today, the classes I took were "Iconos y Tradiciones de España" (Icons and Traditions of Spain) and "La globalización y la economía de española". The teacher for my Icons class is the director of the study abroad program and the teacher for my business class was the former director and speaks spanglish which actually helps me because he says what he is saying both times once in both languages.
Besides that, my day was quite plain (save for the fact that I'm in Spain). My HM marked some places on the map where I can shop and do some other things, so I might do that tomorrow, or maybe I'll just lounge around the apartment some more. Thats all I have for now, I'll put some pictures up soon of the city and my apartment so you all can know what it looks like.
-Jamie
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Frankfurt is Freakin' Freezing
The flight over here wasn't all that bad. There were a few crying babies on board but they didn't cry for too long after take off. I wasn't able to get to sleep for some reason (not because of the babies), so I'm sitting here in the Frankfut airport about to fall asleep. At least I'm not outside where it feels like it is 5 degrees, there is snow covering the ground, and low clouds limit the visibility to -- well not much at all, it keeps changing as I look out this window. Hopefully the clouds will clear up and the precipitation will stay away so I can get to Madrid on time. If you want a post card or something leave your address in the comments or email me at saxplaya (at) gmail (dot) com. That's all for now, more when I get settled in Madrid -- and get Internet.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Back from Miami -- on to Spain
I didn't get to update the last few days because I was without Internet. Anyways, the game was an awesome experience, except for the awful Florida fans (before the game at least) and the fact that we lost. The stadium was very nice and the crowd was probably 75% UF fans so it was basically a home game for them -- oh well, no excuses they beat us fair and square. After the game we sat in the parking lot on the bus for at least 2 hours and we were the last people to leave the parking lot --awesome!
The next day we left Miami, stopped in Tallahassee where we had dinner provided to us by the OU Tallahassee club which was very awesome. There is a little write up and some pictures about our stop here : LINK. Then somehow we got off schedule by 4 hours (!!!!!) and instead of getting home at 12:30 PM, I ended up not getting home till closer till 5:00 PM (ugh!). All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip but now I must repack and get ready to leave for Spain tomorrow!! (scary)
The next day we left Miami, stopped in Tallahassee where we had dinner provided to us by the OU Tallahassee club which was very awesome. There is a little write up and some pictures about our stop here : LINK. Then somehow we got off schedule by 4 hours (!!!!!) and instead of getting home at 12:30 PM, I ended up not getting home till closer till 5:00 PM (ugh!). All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip but now I must repack and get ready to leave for Spain tomorrow!! (scary)
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Only a Day Before the Game – Day 4
11:34 PM
Phew, quite a long day. Early morning practice at Barry University (where the football team practiced), then drum major auditions, and crappy quiznos sandwiches for lunch. When we got back to the hotel, I relaxed for a little bit then went and sat on the beach for a little while. Then at night we went to a lame "fan fest" and waited around for like 20 minutes only to play like 10 minutes worth of music – it was so much fun. When we finally got back to the hotel, I headed back down to South Beach and went to the "Nexxt" restaurant then picked up some more souvenirs. Now we're less than a day away from being in Dolphin stadium and I am so excited!!!!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Livin’ the SoBe life (sorta) – Day 3
8:27 AM
Early wakeup call this morning in order to fight through traffic to get to our practice site today. We’re practicing at “da U” today, apparently the current Athletic Director used to work at OU so he pulled some strings for us and we get to use their football practice facility for free. We’ll have a 3 hour rehearsal (gag), lunch, and then the rest of the afternoon/night will be free. Last night, Andrew paid the $10 to get internet which is good because we are all addicted to it, but hopefully when we get to the campus there will be free WiFi so I can update my blog.
On a side note: the build up to this game is getting kind of ridiculous and I wish we could just play the damn game already. The media is over exaggerating every little thing a player or coach says but I guess the media has to make their own news from time to time. Hopefully we can get away from the trash talk and settle everything on the field
1:02 PM
We just got done with our rehearsal at the University of Miami and it is very warm – at least for January. I guess I shouldn’t complain since it is apparently cold and rainy back home. Rehearsal was pretty typical but it seemed like it lasted forever. After rehearsal we picked up our uniforms and some KFC for lunch. Now it’s time to take a nap and then go down to the beach!!
11:37 PM
I took a nap earlier today instead of going to the beach; I think that was a very good choice and it made the rest of the night much better. Tonight was very fun – yet very expensive – we ate at an Italian restaurant where the food cost about as much as I would eat in two weeks in Norman. We then went to a gift shop and I got another shot glass to add to my collection. When we headed to the bus stop, we ran into this guy rambling about who knows what and then he found out that we were from Oklahoma he started talking about “The Game of the Century” and about how he was going to break our backs? Crazy south beach vagrants…when we got back to the hotel the Arkansas – Texas game was on and we got to see at least one team from Texas lose! Another long day ahead of us, with more rehearsals and pep gigs to get all the drunken fans even more excited for the game.
Early wakeup call this morning in order to fight through traffic to get to our practice site today. We’re practicing at “da U” today, apparently the current Athletic Director used to work at OU so he pulled some strings for us and we get to use their football practice facility for free. We’ll have a 3 hour rehearsal (gag), lunch, and then the rest of the afternoon/night will be free. Last night, Andrew paid the $10 to get internet which is good because we are all addicted to it, but hopefully when we get to the campus there will be free WiFi so I can update my blog.
On a side note: the build up to this game is getting kind of ridiculous and I wish we could just play the damn game already. The media is over exaggerating every little thing a player or coach says but I guess the media has to make their own news from time to time. Hopefully we can get away from the trash talk and settle everything on the field
1:02 PM
We just got done with our rehearsal at the University of Miami and it is very warm – at least for January. I guess I shouldn’t complain since it is apparently cold and rainy back home. Rehearsal was pretty typical but it seemed like it lasted forever. After rehearsal we picked up our uniforms and some KFC for lunch. Now it’s time to take a nap and then go down to the beach!!
11:37 PM
I took a nap earlier today instead of going to the beach; I think that was a very good choice and it made the rest of the night much better. Tonight was very fun – yet very expensive – we ate at an Italian restaurant where the food cost about as much as I would eat in two weeks in Norman. We then went to a gift shop and I got another shot glass to add to my collection. When we headed to the bus stop, we ran into this guy rambling about who knows what and then he found out that we were from Oklahoma he started talking about “The Game of the Century” and about how he was going to break our backs? Crazy south beach vagrants…when we got back to the hotel the Arkansas – Texas game was on and we got to see at least one team from Texas lose! Another long day ahead of us, with more rehearsals and pep gigs to get all the drunken fans even more excited for the game.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
On the road - Day 2
8:24 AM
Through the night we traveled through Mississippi and some of Alabama. I picked up a shot glass from Mississippi last night for my collection. I wasn’t awake for much of the ride but when I did look out the window all I could see was a dense fog, so I had no idea where we were. From what
I could tell, we arrived in Tallahassee – our breakfast stop – around 4 AM this morning, way ahead of schedule so we ended up driving through to Lake City, FL to eat breakfast. There’s nothing like eating McDonald’s in the back of a Wal-Mart while looking for outlets to charge your phone.
"Smile when ya say MISSISSIPPI"
12:22 PM
Quick lunch stop in St. Cloud, FL, just south of Orlando, now on to Miami – about 4 hours away. It is very warm here but then again when is Florida not warm? At least we’re not in the cold like it is back in Texas and Oklahoma!
5:15 PM
We’re in Miami Beach! The views are beautiful and the hotel is pretty nice, although the Internet is $10/day which is absolutely ridiculous!!! So, I’ll have to go hunt for free Wi-Fi around Miami Beach and then I’ll be able to upload my blog posts! Tonight, we’re going to go find a place to watch the Ohio St. / Texass game. I don’t know who to root for…on one hand I don’t like Texass at all but then again I’m not a fan of Ohio St. / the Big 10. Hopefully it’ll be a good game and not another Big 10 suckfest.
11:52 PM
So, Texas won in a thriller – I guess it’s good for the Big 12 but how in the hell can Mack think no one in the country can beat them when they only beat Ohio St. by 3 points!!! So, we went down to South Beach tonight and ate dinner at Jerry’s Old Fashioned Diner (where the menu was really big and the choices were a plenty) to wa
tch the game. I ended up splitting a large pizza with a few people and I had a cannoli while we watched the first half of the Ohio St. /Texass game which was actually kind of boring. So we left at halftime to go walk around South Beach which was pretty cool, but we didn’t really find anything just a bunch of shops which were way too expensive for me. Time to get to bed now because we have rehearsal at the butt crack of dawn.
Through the night we traveled through Mississippi and some of Alabama. I picked up a shot glass from Mississippi last night for my collection. I wasn’t awake for much of the ride but when I did look out the window all I could see was a dense fog, so I had no idea where we were. From what
I could tell, we arrived in Tallahassee – our breakfast stop – around 4 AM this morning, way ahead of schedule so we ended up driving through to Lake City, FL to eat breakfast. There’s nothing like eating McDonald’s in the back of a Wal-Mart while looking for outlets to charge your phone."Smile when ya say MISSISSIPPI"
12:22 PM
Quick lunch stop in St. Cloud, FL, just south of Orlando, now on to Miami – about 4 hours away. It is very warm here but then again when is Florida not warm? At least we’re not in the cold like it is back in Texas and Oklahoma!
5:15 PM
We’re in Miami Beach! The views are beautiful and the hotel is pretty nice, although the Internet is $10/day which is absolutely ridiculous!!! So, I’ll have to go hunt for free Wi-Fi around Miami Beach and then I’ll be able to upload my blog posts! Tonight, we’re going to go find a place to watch the Ohio St. / Texass game. I don’t know who to root for…on one hand I don’t like Texass at all but then again I’m not a fan of Ohio St. / the Big 10. Hopefully it’ll be a good game and not another Big 10 suckfest.
11:52 PM
So, Texas won in a thriller – I guess it’s good for the Big 12 but how in the hell can Mack think no one in the country can beat them when they only beat Ohio St. by 3 points!!! So, we went down to South Beach tonight and ate dinner at Jerry’s Old Fashioned Diner (where the menu was really big and the choices were a plenty) to wa
tch the game. I ended up splitting a large pizza with a few people and I had a cannoli while we watched the first half of the Ohio St. /Texass game which was actually kind of boring. So we left at halftime to go walk around South Beach which was pretty cool, but we didn’t really find anything just a bunch of shops which were way too expensive for me. Time to get to bed now because we have rehearsal at the butt crack of dawn.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
We’re going to Miami! – Day 1
9:39 AMThe day has finally arrived and the band is off on its 30-something hour bus ride to Miami to support the OU football team and to have some relaxing time off in South Beach. I am mostly packed but I think I will do one last look-through to make sure I have everything before I leave in 20 minutes. I'll try to update the blog at least once a day because I'm sure there will be plenty of stuff to write about while I am gone.
2:04 PM
Riding the bus is soooo much fun but we did get our per diem of $40 today and a personalized BCS National Championship luggage tags. They are pretty cool and I’ll have pictures attached later. Right now we’re stopped outside of Shreveport for a driver stop/bathroom break. It’s always interesting to figure out the logistics of moving 300 some-odd people halfway across the nation – in busses. Everything we do is planned down to an exact science but the question is, how well will we stay on schedule—I’ll keep you up to date on all the drama that unfolds…
6:35 PM
First food stop of the ride – West Monroe, LA. I went with a group of seven people to an IHOP that was painfully slow. The waitress was a female version of the Soup Nazi and it didn’t make the service any better. Apparently there was only one cook on duty when we arrived and some of the Pride kids didn’t even get their food until 10 minutes before the busses left. Somehow, my table was the first table served even though we were not the first to be seated. A cold front seems to be following us – when we got off the bus here it was warm and humid but by the time we left IHOP it was cold and windy – feels kind of like the weather in Oklahoma! We have a long drive left in front of us, about 24 hours or so until we get to Miami but our next stop is Tallahassee, FL. Oh and by the way, we are actually a bit ahead of schedule—for now at least.
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