Category: UP Comillas

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Niacka Carty: ‘Tis the Season

The start of December is always a reminder for me that Christmas will be coming up. However, this is also the time of final exams. This week was the first week of finals. Compared to finals week at Drexel, I feel a bit more hassle-free, given that my exams are nicely and evenly spread out ...

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Niacka Carty: Everyone Has a Dog in Madrid

It seems like everyone has a pet in Madrid, specifically a dog or two. This includes the young and the old. Dogs are seen in every part of the city. Because I live in a neighborhood, where there are many, who I assume are, retirees, I commonly see grandparents pushing the strollers of their grandchildren ...

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Niacka Carty: Christmas Spirit in Madrid

Madrid is undeniably in the Christmas spirit. There are bands playing Christmas music on the streets, in metro stations and inside the trains. The Christmas decorations in Madrid are beautiful! I noticed that the city was preparing for Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. There are not many where I live compared to the tourist areas. However, ...

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Niacka Carty: Papa Noel

A part from completing coursework while in Madrid, I also teach English to primary school children. It is very informal and can be thought of as private lessons. Twice a week for an hour each lesson, I play games with two Spanish boys ages six and seven. The overall goal is to build their confidence ...

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Niacka Carty: Urban vs Suburban High Schools

Since visiting La Jarosa, I became interested in the other close by towns. I visited another reservoir last weekend, Valmayor, with one of my roommates. It was organized by the housing agency with which I leased an apartment. Apparently, there is literally an event every weekend to explore other neighboring parts of Spain. The Valmayor ...

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Niacka Carty: A Public WC (Water Closet) – Quite Literally

I enjoy walking around my neighborhood and seeing the various restaurants and specialized shops. It can almost be the equivalent of site seeing. Additionally, I live in a neighborhood that hosts one of the most popular shopping malls in Madrid, El Corte Inglés. It reminds me of Macy’s store and in particular, the Macy’s in ...

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Niacka Carty: Another Spanish View of American Holidays

I decided to write about the point of view of Spaniards have of Thanksgiving because it was something I did not think they thought much about but I suppose because there is a plethora of shops and restaurants dedicated to the American cuisine and lifestyle, it makes sense that the city would have an opinion ...

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Niacka Carty: A Warm Holiday Season

I took a picture of my classmates enjoying the sun before our next class Thursday afternoon. Though the temperature is dropping and the sun comes out much later than when I first arrived in late August, it was mostly in the high 60s this week with the nights being in the low and mid 60s. ...

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Niacka Carty: First Thanksgiving Abroad

The preparations for displaying lights in the city during the night and the wide array of Christmas candy in supermarkets are clear signs that Christmas is next month. If I were home, Christmas would feel far away but because Thanksgiving is this month, I have already started to think of the two holidays. I will ...

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Niacka Carty: Globalization in Madrid

I remember the first time I noticed that a product in the United States was also written in Spanish. The change caused me to realize that the Spanish language is gaining increasing importance. I usually see the English and Spanish text written on the same side, though the text in Spanish is presented in a ...