Guest blog: R.I. Students Abroad

February 14, 2006

Meet Zaragoza

Welcome! Well I'll first start off by telling you about me. My name is Jesse Mills and normally I live in lil' ol' Providence, RI. Right now though I am sitting at my school for the year in Zaragoza, Spain. Zaragoza is right about in the middle between Madrid and Barcelona and it is probably a perfect city to do a year abroad. It is the 5th biggest city, behind Madrid, Barcelona, Valencaia and Sevilla (I think), and almost no one speaks english.

So when I got here on the first day, one of 63 freaked out Americans, I was welcomed by my host family. I live here with a single mother named Pilar and her son, Juan, who just turned 19 a few weeks ago. I go to school in what in reality is a large apartment in the center of town. The school is located in La Plaza de Aragon. Like I said before I am one of 63 Americans in my school, with a extremely skewed proportion of about 3 girls to every guy.

Zaragoza is a very old city, dating back to Roman times when it was known as Cesaragusta. It was also Muslim dominated in the day where the Muslims were prominant in Spain. Anyway Zaragoza is very art dominated, with art ranging from a Roman theater to an amazing basilica.

The Basilica and the River Ebro (which flows through Zaragoza):

Roman Theater:

Main street outside my school:

Anyway that's pretty much the main parts of Zaragoza. I'll talk to everyone later.

Posted by Jesse Mills at 4:55 AM | Permalink

Comments

Jesse -

Delight in your youth and enjoy every minute. Pictures are wonderful but experiences make better stories. Be safe and respectful!

Posted by: Spicoli at February 15, 2006 11:04 PM

Jesse, you have learned so much about Zaragoza. I hope you'll be the resident expert back at MB next year! ¡Que disfrutes!

Posted by: Betsy Archibald at February 16, 2006 03:12 PM

Jesse, I like the photos. I've never heard of Zaragoza but the Moorish influences I've seen elsewhere in Spain -- tiles, fountains, carved geometric patterns -- are very beautiful.

It also doesn't look crowded at all!

Do you get to town much, or does the school keep you on campus most of the time?

Posted by: s at February 21, 2006 01:35 AM

Well, there really is no school campus, like I said the school is really just in a large apartment. Therefore I have been able to explore the city a lot (we also do trips with school every now and then). Zaragoza is not the most beautiful or super interesting city (it lags far behind Madrid and Barcelona in things to do), but it is a great city to do a year abroad.

Posted by: Jesse Mills at February 21, 2006 04:53 AM

Thanks for the photos. I will be there in 3 weeks for visiting. Looks very interesting there with all the architecture and history. I was curious how the food is there, and is it safe to drink the water? I will be there for 2 1/2 weeks visiting with a friend. I have been reading up on the area, don't know alot of the history but slowly getting the jist of everything there. Sounds like a nice pleasant quiet place. I hope you are enjoying your time there. thanks in advance for any information about the area. - david

Posted by: David White at February 23, 2006 05:57 AM

David,

Sorry I haven't answered your comment. I've been quite busy. I have drank here and it seems fine to me, but most people drink bottled water so I wouldn't go around drinking tons and tons of tap water. In response to food, the food is quite good. I personally recommend Italian, but there is plenty of Spanish food here too if you'd like.

Hope I'm not too late,
Jesse

Posted by: Jesse Mills at March 12, 2006 10:48 AM

February 14, 2006

Meet Zaragoza

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