Un Buen Retiro

It’s officially spring break here in Madrid which is wonderful! It’s been three months since we arrived, so it’s finally nice to be able to sleep late, get caught up, and just enjoy Madrid!

This past weekend was probably the best weekend of the year. The college and career group at Amistad Cristiana (see my previous blog post “Dios”) had a retreat out in the campos of Extremadura. The countryside was beautiful and the nearby mountains still had snow clinging to their peaks. Also, it was nice to get away from the noise, visual, and air pollution of the city.

Our trip was about 2.5 hours in a packed 2-door sedan. I was in back and I was pretty close to getting carsick, thanks be to God that I didn’t! Once we got to our little retreat center, we all unloaded and helped the people who were already there start to set everything up. I was kind of homesick; I miss going on retreats with all of my friends from back home: fraternity retreats, youth group retreats, ministry retreats, etc. I didn’t know many people… but that changed really quickly. Through the course of the 2 short days on our retiro, I managed to meet 35 amazing people from all over the world: Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Netherlands, and all over Spain. It is incredible to see Christ’s love moving throughout people of all different races, ethnicities, politics, and economic backgrounds. We all became very good friends very quickly and we look forward to doing tons of stuff in the near future!

My favorite part of the retreat was our paseo, or walk/hike, through the small pueblo and to a riverside where we ate lunch. A bunch of the guys in the group got the great idea to go swimming- brrr it was cold! The spot on the river is a popular spot for the community swimming hole, but the locals who passed by thought we were crazy for swimming in what is essentially the snow melt from the mountains! Sooooo cold, but lots of fun!

The theme of the retreat was “…aprended de mi…” (“… learn from me”, Christ telling us to learn from Him) which is from Matthew 11:28-30. We learned a lot of about the idea of humility and what that truly means in our daily lives. I know I’m not the most humble person and God made it clear to me that when I judge and negatively criticize others, not only am I prideful in the way I treat them, but I am prideful in thinking that people deserve a degree of judgment in addition to God’s. Our sins (for we are all sinners), separate us from God and deserve His judgment, which is an eternity apart from Him. However, Christ came and died on a cross to give salvation, through grace and not by our own actions, to all who believe. Christ didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him, that we might be reunited with God (John 3:16-21, please check it out, it’s one of my favorite chapters in the Bible). I need to reflect His love for me by loving others, not by judging them. I, too, am a sinner who is saved by the same grace that he has offered to all!

In the end, it was a phenomenal retreat with a very applicable message to my life. It’s funny how I started out the weekend a little homesick, but now I wish I could spend 3 more months with all of my new friends at Amistad!

Problems in Paris

After 2 days in Amsterdam, we woke up bright and early again for a train back to Paris, where we planned to spend the rest of the day before our flight home the next morning. We had no problems checking out of the hotel and getting to the station, though it was reaaallllly hard for me to get out of bed. Linds came in and yelled "JUSTIN! WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" Scared the bejeebers out of me, but at least it got me up!

I half slept/half read a book on the train, it really didn't seem like that long of a ride (must have slept more than I thought!). We get to Paris Nord station and had to figure out how exactly we were going to get to our hotel. The hotel address said it was in Alfortville, so I figure, duh, we take a suburb train to Alfortville. We get on the train, which is much more train-like than metro-like. Everybody didn't believe me and we were all a bit worn out and cranky, so it wasn't a fun time. We get off in Alfortville and there's absolutely nothing around. No cars, no taxis, no signs, just a random neighborhood. We wander around with no map or phones (everyone's had either died or run out of money). I decide the best thing to do is go to the Hospital we see down the street, because surely they have a map or a phonebook or something. Two others in the group set out to find a taxi. In the end, we got a taxi and the driver had to call the Hotel to figure out where in the world it was.

We finally get to the hotel, which is even more in the middle of nowhere. Ends up, we got such a great deal because it's an extended-stay type place in the middle of a modern business park. As such, there aren't many business travelers on Sundays, so the place was empty. Seriously, everyone was so cranky, tired, and grouchy, plus scared and not able to speak French, we literally hung out in the hotel for the entire day. I wanted to meet up with a friend from back home who's in Paris, but I had no way of contacting him (or figuring out how in the world to meet him!), so it didn't work out. I ended up sleeping a lot and watching Fox News International (the only English channel).

Overall, it was pretty much a worthless day, but I guess it makes for an interesting life experience. If I could have planned life differently I probably would have stayed in Amsterdam and just flown home from there. Oh well. We live and we learn.

Next day, we flew back home and I tried to recuperate a bit before tutoring English that night.

Overall, minus the last day, this trip was great and I now have a respect for Paris and Amsterdam that I never thought I'd gain. I'm definitely looking in to learning Dutch this year (Rosetta Stone, anyone?) and moving to Amsterdam for next summer. We'll see what happens!

Amsterdam Day 2

The sunlight slowly faded in to our room and we could hear the traffic sounds below. My alarm went off at 8:30, but we all stayed in bed until one of the hotel staff knocked on our door with breakfast. Breakfast was quite the ordeal as we sat down at our little table with fresh coffee, orange juice, a fresh hard-boiled egg, gouda cheese, sliced ham, 3 different types of toast, butter and jam. We enjoyed waking up to one of the best breakfasts I've ever had on vacation!

My school's Model UN team was in the Hague (the other half of the Netherlands' capital) and I tried to meet up with a friend who's in it on this morning. However, we didn't realize how complicated meeting up in a foreign country that you've never been to before can be, especially without phone contact! Ends up, we both waited outside the Van Gogh Museum for the other one to arrive, probably for 90 minutes total, but we must have just missed each other! Oh well, maybe next time!

After waiting, my friend Chelsi and I just decided to go off an continue exploring the myriad of streets in the northwestern part of the city. Again, tons of great and unique stores to choose from, including one that has massive rolls of printed tablecloth vinyl where they can make anything you dream out of it. Very random. I ended up buying myself a great souvenir at a toy store. I've seen many different toy stores with varieties of hand-carved wooden animals. At this toy store I found a buck, which is one of my favorite animals, thanks to fraternity traditions. It was a little costly for a souvenir, but I know it's one that I will always enjoy having on my desk or bookshelf to look at!

Chelsi had to leave for Barcelona early in the afternoon so I walked her back to the hotel and ate another sandwich from the fresh groceries I bought the day before. We didn't have a fridge, but I left the meat and cheese on the windowsill and it was still freezing cold when I picked it up for a sandwich! After eating and saying goodbye to Chelsi, I decided my aching feet needed a nap. What better place for a nap than with the fading afternoon sun peeking through the curtains and the crisp breeze blowing in? Ahh, I miss Amsterdam!

In the evening we bought tickets for a comedy show called Boom Chicago that is, I guess, known as a place where SNL scouts look for new actors. The show was really hilarious, even the parts making fun of Americans. In fact, it made fun of ever country that sends tourists to Europe so it was really funny. It's the first real comedy show I've been to and it was a lot of fun. The audience was also asked to participate and our group got in a few funny topics, best one being when the comedian asked for a random line of conversation from the day and my friend blurts out, "The bikes are coming!"... it took forever for the comedian and her to figure out what she said, very hilarious.

After that, my friends and I wandered around the city a bit, I grabbed a Kebap sandwich (America needs these Kebap/b places that exist all over Madrid and the rest of Europe!!!) and went to bed, knowing we had another early train ride back to Paris the next day.

Amsterdam, Day 1

We wake up early in the morning, I'm talking, really early in the morning, circa 4:30 AM to get in a taxi at 5 and head to the train station. Our train left at 6:26 AM and we figured we should get there at least an hour early. After about 3 hours of sleep I stumble out of bed, but throw everything together really quick. Emily, Melisa and I are out of the room pretty fast and the man at the lobby gets the idea that we need a taxi. We get to the train station at 5:10 AM.


In case you are wondering, NO ONE is at the train station that early, I repeat NO ONE. It's freezing cold and while our train is on the board, not even the first train at 5:50 has its platform number listed. We huddle together, afraid of the random French sketchos (French seems to be a good language for people who want to be sketchy, just a personal opinion!) that happen to be wandering around the empty station, possibly homeless people trying to warm up a little around the weird, permanent space-heater things throughout the station. I wish we'd known the system for trains... it's nothing like the system for planes! Everyone arrives approximately 15 minutes before departure time; I could have had an extra hour of sleep!


Anyways, we get onto the train without problems and I even got to sit in at a table seat, where you share a central table with 4 people. It felt a little less claustrophobic which was nice. The train ride was absolutely beautiful. Trains are much quieter than airplanes and the scenery was amazing. We were headed east through France, Belgium and the Netherlands as the sun was rising over the green fields and misty valleys. Already I started to enjoy my visit in the Netherlands! After about 4 hours of train we arrived in the Centra(a)l Station in Amsterdam. Everything is hustle and bustle there as the train was packed. It seems like people in the Low Countries just have a different perspective on life, seems to me like people love using the train and for my first view of bicycles, there's a 3-story, bicycle-only, parking garage at the station! How cool!


At the airport we picked up a taxi to our hotel, Bema Hotel, which is located just across the park from the Rijkmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. I put a hyperlink to it because for 30 euros a night per person (which includes an amazing breakfast!) I would put it as one of my favorite hotels I've ever stayed in. You walk in the front door and up a long flight of steps to the main office/lobby/living room. The owner, I forget her name sadly, greeted us and welcomed us in. I was sure we would be turned away for being early, but we were perfectly fine. She laid out the rules (mostly just no smoking in rooms) and took our beverage orders for breakfast (coffee for me) and gave us the keys. Check out these pictures! What a beautiful and unique hotel! The beds were wonderful, too!


After laying our stuff down and resting for a minute, we left for the Anne Frank House Museum. I have wanted to see this museum ever since I read her published diary in 8th grade. The museum had a long line, but we waited, and the 8.50 euros to get in was well worth it. The house and adjacent offices of Mr. Frank and his partners still look almost exactly like they did when the house was raided during WWII. The house remains completely unfurnished, per the requests of Mr. Frank when designing the museum; the impact is incredible. Seeing the postcard and photograph-pasted walls of Anne Frank's tiny bedroom, looking at the worn kitchen counter, hearing the voice of Mr. Frank describe the emotions of reading his daughter's writings... all these experiences affected me significantly. I have always had an interest in human rights and international justice and this visit emphasized that to me even more.


The visit to the museum did not take very long and afterwards everyone was a bit hungry. I decided to separate from the group and I ventured off on my own to contemplate a little and explore the city. Let me just say that Amsterdam must be the most beautiful city in the world. The whole city revolves around semi-circle rings of canals and the tall townhouses that line them are all unique and colorful. Bicycles run all over the narrow streets and I especially like the "barrow-cycle" as I've named it, a bicycle with a small wheelbarrow-like box in front of the cyclist where they typically put their toddlers in for the ride! It's very cute! I couldn't stop taking photos of the canals, the houses, and the bikes.


I ended up wandering north, to a street called Haarlemer Dijk/Haarlemer Strait. This street is my favorite in the world as it's lined with scores of unique shops: bakers, butchers, print-makers, toy-stores (that sell absolutely no plastic junk, no barbies or mattel in sight!), antiques, porcelain, etc. Each store is independently owned and each one has a unique flavor. I could spend forever on this street and I definitely spent a good share of my budget on all sorts of neat things. This picture is of everything (minus the sandwiches I ate on the way home!) that I bought with about 50 euros: loaf of fresh bread (soooooo good!), fresh cheddar cheese, 2 fresh-meat sausages I couldn't pronounce (Gekooktewurst and Wijncervelaat), 2 absolutely amazing Italian sandwiches (gorgonzola and roast beef was one, the other had a chicken, pesto, and pepper filling), 10 hand-pressed (on old, wooden printing presses) postcards, a fair-trade gift for a friend, a Dutch greeting card for my family, and a box of handmade truffles. Wow. Could life get any better? I think not. After I was all done, I walked my tired little feet back to my hotel for a relaxing meal with my windows open and the cool, fresh, spring breeze blowing in gently.


In the evening, full from my fresh feast, my friend Chelsi and I decided to explore the "down-town" area of Amsterdam. No office buildings or towers of any type, just lots of beautiful architecture, especially in the Dam Square, which is the center of town. We grabbed a cup of coffee and did some tourist shopping- she was looking for a t-shirt for a friend. After wandering with no destination in mind we wound up in Amsterdam's "infamous" Red-Light District. To be honest, I was terrified of going to Amsterdam because of it's reputation for drugs and prostitution. In the end, I felt like the Red-Light District was thoroughly laughable. Indeed, the streetlights are red and the narrow canal is lined with walls of windows with scantily-clad women enticing you to come join them, but it reminded me of a trashy boardwalk on New Jersey. I felt totally safe (this area actually has the largest police presence in the city, go figure). It's funny because the true Amsterdam has nothing to do with this goofy, tourist-trap area!


In the end, we headed home, absolutely exhausted from a busy day in Amsterdam. I also officially concluded that I will be living here next summer between undergraduate and grad schools. I also started looking up programs for learning Dutch in the U.S. Everyone in Amsterdam speaks English, but I'm all about fitting in, especially since I think Dutch sounds really cool!

Paris, Day 2

So I get stuck in Madrid (instead of being in Barcelona right now), but y'all get lucky and get a double-helping of blogposts today. I (hopefully) won't be able to update until Monday night because our boarding house won't have internet. So enjoy.

...

Day 2: Our first real day in Paris began bright and early at around 8 AM. We were planning on meeting the rest of our group under the Eiffel Tower and decided that we would take the scenic route and walk there as opposed to just hopping on a metro. This would allow for some excellend photos as well. Our route took us straight down an amazingly beautiful street between Paris districts 8 and 1. We saw an old library, at least one old church, a gold-covered bridge, the River Seine, the Louvre gardens, an obelisk, and the Eiffel Tower from afar. It was a lot of fun.

Our only hope was to get breakfast along the way, we had crepes in mind. Sadly, after strolling and taking photos for an hour and a half, we didn't have time for crepes. Oops, my bad. I was starving so I bailed and bought a hot dog at a tourist stand underneath the Eiffel. Our friends who went to Paris last month told us to get the hotdogs, that they were awesome in Paris. I sacrificed my 5 euros, which really wasn't a bad deal in Paris, for a great foot-long baguette that was hollowed out and filled with a great tasting hot dog, tomato sauce, and onions. It was very good, one of the best hotdogs ever. I seem to be having good luck finding good hotdogs in Europe. I think Mr. Ikoniak would be jealous! Oh, and another thing: the gypsies at the Eiffel Tower are bold enough to present you a random sign in English, if you say no, they attempt to take your food out of your hands. Seriously, I'm hungry and I want my breakfast so bug off gypsy ladies! Plus, they don't do any good wearing the same style skirts and having long dark hair. They should diversify their attempts. But I digress.

Our whole group met up and we were originally going to go on a boat tour down the Seine, but it was pretty expensive and only an hour, so we figured we'd just walk it. In the end we figured we walked about 8 miles during the day and my feet were sore for at least 4 days afterwards. Anyways, during our extended adventures it was a positively beautiful day with complete sunshine so we all managed to get a nice tan and enjoyed the weather. First stop was a semi-circle of museums/plaza to the west of the Eiffel. From there we got great views of the Tower. we continued up to the Arc du Triomfe which sits in the middle of a massive, never-ending traffic circle. To get to the Arc you actually have to go under the road and pop out in the middle! The Arc was cool and is the location of France's version of the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier". Not as cool as ours in Arlington, but hey, it works.

The Arc sits at the top of the longest street in the world, Champs Elysees. And walking down it, we realized how long it was! It's lined with all the major world brands: Cartier, Luis Vitton, Gucci, Mont Blanc, etc etc etc. Not good for college shopping, but still fun. Next quick stop was the Gran Palais du Artes (I may indeed have butchered the spelling on that). There was a Warhol exhibit that several in the group wanted to visit, but I wasn't in the mood to fork over the money. We kept going, passing by the gilded bridge and heading towards the Louvre. I was convinced that my life wouldn't be complete without a trip inside the Louvre. I love how the major museums of the world have no student discount. Maybe I'll just become a senior citizen and get their discount.... Anyways, the Louvre was incredible. Seeing the Mona Lisa was worth however much I ended up paying to get in that place. We also went through the Italian and Greek sculptures collection (saw Venus de Milo, famous sculpture, but she has no arms or head), saw the original foundation of the castle that sat where the Louvre now sits, saw the ancient Egypt collection, and saw the Code of Hamurabi which is a huge chunk of stone with ancient civil and criminal legal codes written on every available space.

After the Louvre we were exhausted, tired and hungry. Knowing that it was going to be cranky, I decided to walk back to the hotel and along the way I stopped to pick up some fresh fruit and other groceries to try to save some money and be healthy. I also picked up a fresh croque monssieur which is a really snazzy grilled cheese in my opinion. I ate my feast on my balcony and then took a nap with the breeze wafting through the windows.

After my nap I met up with friends to see the nighttime lightshow at the Eiffel Tower. We stopped to get another hotdog along the way and this one was even better: a 15-inch baguette with fresh sausage inside and broiled gruyere cheese on top. Not your average ball-game hotdog! The lightshow was pretty cool, looked like tons of paparazzi taking your picture from all over the tower. Random event: we happened to run into a BYX alum from Sam Houston State who was traveling on his spring break (he's a choir teacher outside Houston). Very small world, indeed.

It was a good night and I tried to come back early to get some shut eye before our early morning train to Amsterdam!

Paris!

Whew, sorry again that it takes me so long to get posts up, I hope I'm not annoying anyone. Plus, I was without internet for two weeks this month due to school trips and this trip...

Last weekend we had a five-day break due to a holiday on Thursday and Monday was just a day off. As such, I decided to join some friends on a whirlwind tour of Paris and Amsterdam, two cities that I'd never visited and that I honestly would say weren't on my top cities to visit. However, I figured I should go now with friends because I was unlikely to visit on my own.

I left for the Madrid airport immediately after school as my flight left at 3. I felt like I was in a hurry, but I managed to get to the gate really early because the check-in and security didn't have lines. I got on the plane and arrived in Paris at around 7PM. That's when the fun started. In France, very few people speak English and even fewer speak Spanish. Also, though French is technically a romantic language, like Spanish and Italian, it sounds NOTHING like Spanish or Italian! It's pretty much impossible to communicate. Hmm, should be fun.

So I take a train from the De Gaulle Airport (wow, 2 major int'l airports I'd never been to in one day!) to the main metro/train interchange at Gare Nord. The train wasn't bad, definitely not as nice as the system in Madrid, but I managed to get to Nord. However, getting OUT of Nord was another story. I couldn't figure out how to get out! I thought I found the metro entrance, but I couldn't find a place to buy a metro ticket! So I proceeded to wander around the place, not worried, just confused. I realized that the train ticket to get there would work to get me in to the metro (at least I think that's how it works?), so I proceeded to stick my ticket in the slot. It spit out, but the guy in front of me jammed the machine and my ticket went through unread. In a whirlwind of people cramming by, the man in front tells me "Come on!" and a guy with a season pass swipes/shoves us through as the two of us in front share a turnstile. I'm glad I got through, though I never want to be that close to a French guy again!

Emily and I wanted to stay at a hotel with our friends, but it was booked. We managed to snag a great room at the Hotel Camelia International by the Place de Clichy. It was really inexpensive but very cool. I made it to the hotel earlier than Emily (she missed her flight and followed it with a harrowing, 50 euro taxi ride. By the time she made it to the hotel she was quite flustered. After a quick bit of decompressing in our nice hotel, I invited her to go with me to eat dinner with my friend Dani, a girl I knew from school who later transferred but has spent the whole year studying in Paris. We took the metro (again, another fun experience, try buying a ticket in french!), but we made it to her stop and she met us there.

Dani lives in a student residence, which is kind of like a dorm open to students of all different universities. She lives there with several students from her program and they cook with each other. It was Dani's night to cook and she made a great-tasting, traditional lebanese dish. Afterwards, she took us out to her favorite bar with her friend Sharif who is from Paris. We tried a typical Parisian student beverage which is half beer and half peach juice. Interesting flavor, probably won't have it again!

After that, we took the metro home, glad to be able to get some rest before our action packed day in Paris. I am still thankful for Dani's hospitality and friendship! I don't know what we would have done without her, being as confused and tired as we were! I'm glad we got to meet up after 2 years of going to different schools!

Andalucia Part III, Finally

Alright, so Part III has finally arrived and we can get on with our lives. I've got a lot of ideas for new posts, but I wanted to wait until I finished Andalucia and got done with midterms (which went alright, I believe).

We wake up on our third day and have to get ready to head out. I woke up early to shower and get down to breakfast. A few more people skipped breakfast this day than yesterday, probably people stayed out pretty late the night before. After breakfast everyone had their stuff ready to go.

As soon as we stepped out of the hotel... downpour. We ran with all our bags as fast as we could to the bus. Though I wore a rainjacket, everyone was drenched. My windproof umbrella already broke (I will be calling the company about that one when I get home!), so yeah. I was wet.

After several hours in the bus (like 4...) we made it to our hotel in Granada. I decided to shower and sleep as it was pouring outside. Then we gathered in the lobby and proceeded to walk through the rain-soaked streets to the Almaiceria, which served as a marketplace for the city during the muslim times. It was a little open square with doors all along where vendors would gather under tents and those requiring more permanent building space would have shops all around. Then, on the second floor were more rooms for shopkeepers. Now, the space is used to centralize all the services for elderly people in the town, works pretty well.

Next stop: Capilla Real. at this ornate chapel, the Catholic Kings (Isabel and Fernando) are laid to rest and their daughter Juana "La Loca" and son-in-law Felipe II are interred. The chapel was chock full of decoration, strongly influenced by the power of the Kings. They definitely made it clear that their reign was a Catholic one, separation of church and state was a total joke for them. Alongside an altar beautifully decorated with 3-D representations of Christ's life were powerful symbols of the kingdom: the coat of arms, sculptures, and other references to the Spanish Empire (which had grown to include part of the New World at this point).

After the chapel visit, in time that would normally be dedicated to postcard-shopping, I raced to eat lunch. I darted in to Burger King, lame I know. But with the downpour outside and being cold, wet, and hungry, I wanted a meal that was familiar, warm, and cheap. One thing interesting to note about fast food here: I've been in a couple KFC's, Burger Kings and the like that have security guards. Makes me feel more unsafe... why do I need a security guard in a place like that?! But I digress.

Then I went back and read For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway. It's my novel for the semester (but I've since finished. I'm dying for another novel in English other than the Twilight series, which every girl in my program has. Anyone up for sending a package is welcome to send a new book!). I also wrote some postcards. Around 9 PM we had a great dinner at the hotel restaurant which definitely beat walking around in the rain. At night, we hung out in rooms and watched TV, played cards, etc.

Next morning, our last in Andalucia, we woke up and got packed again. We headed out to La Alhambra and the Jardines del Generalife. The alhambra originated as a muslim castle and palace. Some parts of the first construction of the palace are deteriorating, while the later expansions are in better condition. The palace was very beautiful and full of artwork and beautiful design. The muslims didn't believe in using representatives of people (or animals for that matter) in their artwork, so they used absolutely stunning geometric and flora-like patterns. There was a domed ceiling in one area that was completely constructed out of puzzled wood pieces in a dizzying geometric design with rings of stars to represent their levels of heaven. And the pieces are just inches long, each.

Later in the life of the Alhambra, long after the last muslim caliph, or emperor, was kicked out, Carlos V built a massive palace that is one gigantic square with a circle plaza in it. It was designed by Enlightenment architects, but I thought it was pretty boring. Also, I believe it was he who built the large jardines, or gardens, that surround the area. Since it wasn't spring and nothing was in bloom, the gardens were nice, but certainly not breathtaking. However, the castle-wall-like hedges made me think about how when I'm rich and famous my garden will have a sweet hedge maze.

Finally, we were on the bus and on our way home. Some people decided to stay and explore Southern Spain or Morrocco. I was physically tired and kind of tired of people and traveling, so I decided to go home. On the way home we experienced at least two full cycles of bright sunshine, downpouring rain, and blizzard condition snow. Spain's weather is crazy.

And that's it for Andalucia!

We interrupt this broadcast....

... FOR MIDTERMS! YIKES!

Quote for the day (my very own, mind you): "Instead of being able to 'study abroad' we should just be able to 'abroad'. Now THAT would be an experience!"

Sorry for keeping y'all waiting all the time, Andalucia has one more post to go, but being that it's midterms week you'll just hafta wait!

I had a Business exam on Monday, a Commercial Spanish test today, a paper on Picasso's Guernica due tomorrow, an article review for Business due tomorrow, and a Civilization test on Thursday.

My Picasso paper won't write itself, so if any of y'all are interested you have until approximately 9 AM my time tomorrow to finish. I say go for it, but I'll make sure not to count on it!

Peace.

Andalucia Part II

Hey y'all, here's the second installment on our trip through Andalucia...


So on Wednesday we woke up and went to a very nice breakfast at the Hotel. Breakfast is usually pretty small here so it's nice to see a full spread for breakfast. Sausage is very popular here at all times of the day, not like breakfast sausages, but more like what you would recognize as salami. They had 6 different sausages plus all sorts of breads and things. Very tasty.


It took us longer than usual to get going from the lobby. We were all there, so we didn't know what was up. Our professor, Andres, gathers us up and tells us what the deal is. See, we were supposed to go see Los Reales Alcázares or The Royal Castles of Isabel and Fernando. However, no one was allowed to visit them on this day. Everyone was confused at first but Andres went on to tell us how, although the Castles and Palaces throughout Spain are big historical and tourist sites, the royal family can use them whenever they want. So today, either the royal family was in Sevilla or they were hosting other heads of state here! That's so mindblowing; I'd love to be able to just call up a 550-year-old castle and say, "Look, I think I'm hosting a party with Presidents, Kings and, of course, Celebrities. Could you clear it out of tourists for me? Okay great, see you Saturday." How cool would that be?!

So, although we couldn't see the castle, we were allowed by the guards to visit the royal gardens. the gardens were originally designed by the Muslim rulers and then expanded by the Christian kings, including one who had a huge portion built just for a wedding. I think it was Carlos I.

The gardens were beautiful and decorated with towers and fountains and a really unique section that looked almost like you were in a natural cave. Walking around the outbuildings, a lot of the structures were very worn down. Muslim and mudejar (Christian buildings built by Muslim artesans that thus appear like Islamic art) buildings wear away very quickly because they had a different philosophy. The Muslim rulers built their castles very quickly, so that they could be enjoyed to the fullest during their lifetimes; they didn't really care what happened to the building once they died. Christian rulers were determined to build structures able to withstand centuries, which is why there are so many beautiful cathedrals, monestaries, and Christian castles in existence.

After our time in the gardens, we went on a walk through the Barrio de Santa Cruz (the Santa Cruz Neighborhood) which was a Jewish ghetto many centuries ago. The neighborhood has a large wall around it and at nighttime the wall can be completely closed to the outside. The Jewish people are never able to live without persecution and medieval Spain was no different. During the time of Muslim rule, their beliefs were respected but they weren't allowed to be property owners and were restricted in what occupations they could have. Jews made the best of their situation and, since followers of Islam are not allowed to lend money to one another, the Jews were able to establish a prosperous culture based on commerce and banking. When the Christians came through in the late 15th Century, they kicked out not only the Muslims but the Jews as well: convert or leave. What the Christian Kings (Isabel and Fernando) didn't realize is how much their economy would drop by kicking out the Jewish people. Interesting note: the Jewish culture from Spain, known as Sefardi (may sound familiar) settled in what is now Turkey and other parts of the near-mid-east. Many families today still have the keys to their families' houses of the 15th Century, always thinking they would have the opportunity to return.

After that, we went to the Cathedral, the largest in the world according to Guiness World Records. Technically, St. Paul's in London and St. Peter's in the Vatican could be considered bigger, but the first is Anglican and the second is a basilica so they don't really count! Anyways, the church was absolutely enormous. It still fascinates me how much power the Catholic church wielded in the medieval ages. The royalty typically aligned themselves directly with the Church, the Church had great stores of wealth, and a strong bureaucracy. As a result, their was no problem (other than time!) in building a huge cathedral. The tower of the Cathedral in Sevilla was originally used by an Islamic prayer-leader who would ride a horse up the 36 ramps, 5 times a day to lead the Muslims in prayers. When the Catholics came in, they added a massive bell-tower on top. We got the opportunity to walk around-and-around up the ramps to the top. The view was spectacular and definitely worth the hike! This picture is from only half-way up, but it was one of the best ones!

In the afternoon we had lots of free time so some friends and I went to the Plaza de España which was a semi-circle shrine to Spanish culture, built for a long-ago World's Fair in Sevilla. Since then, it's extensive plaza and large fountain have been the main site for the evening strolls, paseos, that all Spaniards seem to take. The whole plaza is decorated in ceramic tiles, an art form characteristic of southern Spain.

In the evening, after some churros and chocolate (which is more like a melted chocolate bar than hot chocolate!), our class went to a local cultural center for a flamenco performance. I didn't expect all that much from the performance, I mean, it was at what I thought was a community center. However, as soon as the guitar player started, all 75 people in the intimate audience were captivated. When the beautiful dancer waltzed on stage, we were all mesmerized by the flowing sounds and sights of the performance. By the time it ended an hour-and-a-half later, we all thought we had traveled to another world, somewhere far across time and distance. In other words, the performance was simply amazing.

After the show, a group of us went out for tapas, we had chile rellenos and stuffed potatoes, a nice meal to gather in outside of the rain. By the time we left it started pouring, then hailing, so I bailed out and headed to the hotel with friends. A good choice, because those who chose to stay out were absolutely drenched by the time they came home.

This day was fun-filled and packed with excitement but we still had another day and a half which I'll post later!

Week in Review, Andalucia Part I

Hola Chicos! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back with you all! You deserve better! Last week we were on a school field trip through southern Spain, in a province called Andalucia. The next few posts will be a review of that trip. However, this week, I've been pretty lazy, but have managed to accomplish a few things: celebrate my birthday, catch up with LOST, get addicted to Grey's Anatomy and finish the first season, visit the Sorolla Museum (he is my FAVORITE painter of all time!), and manage to get really sick yesterday and feel a lot better today. Busy week if you ask me.

Anyways, here goes on Andalucia.

Last Tuesday I got to wake up before dawn (the weird time zone in Spain means that it's always dark in the morning) and head off to school. Once there, we all piled into our favorite (sarcasm) coach bus for what would be the longest bus ride of my life. 6 Hours in all. We stopped for a half hour at a little roadside pension for a coffee. Also, they played a Spanish film in the bus which helped pass the time. I don't fit into buses very well (being tall and lanky does that to you) so the trip was tough, but the Spanish countryside is beautiful.

The trip we were taking is called "The Route of Washington Irving." You may have heard of this fellow, he was an American diplomat and author that travelled through southern Spain in the early-19th Century. He travelled between Sevilla, Córdoba, and Granada, the three cities that we visited. He wrote about his travels and research and thus introduced America to the "romantic" Spain that most people know: flamenco, bullfighting, passion, rural lifestyle. Southern Spain is definitely representative of this, however the rest of Spain reflects other cultures and modernity.

Anyways, we got to Córdoba early, which is kind of odd for us. Córdoba is a small, quiet town of cobblestone streets and brown buildings. We got to walk around before lunch, so a small group of us went off in search of postcards. We had a lot of luck and went to lunch at a small restaurant with the entire class. All I remember is that the gazpacho-like soup was very tasty. At these restaurants, some of the dishes are served community style, where you just stick your fork in with everyone else at your table and eat. The salad was served this way. It's kind of odd as an American to be sharing food like that with someone else, we always have our defined spaces for eating; our own plates.

After lunch we toured the Mezquita-Catedral. What was originally a massive mosque for the Caliphate of Al Andalus, or the Muslim Kingdom in Spain, was added on to extensively throughout time by the Muslims and then converted into a Cathedral by the Christian Kings once they reconquered. The mosque is absolutely stunning. It's a large hall, filled with pillars of various materials that support beautiful double-arches of brick and stone. The effect is a "forrest of stone" in every direction. When the Muslims came in to Spain, they used the old Roman and Visigothic remnants (pillars) to construct their own buildings. When the Catholics came, they used the building and converted the center into a Cathedral. I find it fascinating that though there may not have been absolute respect for one another's religions, the civilizations of Spain respected and admired the art and architecture of the other cultures.

Also, in the center of the mezquita is a beautiful orange orchard on a patio. The trees are all connected by a beautiful latticework of irrigation canals set within the patio. Orange trees abound all over southern Spain (as do olive orchards). Though the orange trees in the cities and mezquitas are used for cosmetics and spices (not good for just eating), the oranges that you can eat in Spain are much more tasty than those in the U.S. I don't know if you've heard of a Valencian Orange, but they originated in Valencia, Spain. The mandarins, tangerines, and other oranges are very sweet here.

After Córdoba, we hopped back on the bus for our trip to our hotel in Sevilla. I'm impressed with the nice accomodations that we get on our trips; I always feel very comfortable and safe in the hotels we get to stay in. We stayed at the Hotel Fernando III in Sevilla, which is just tucked into one of the small streets.

It was rainy and wet in the evening so we just went out to a tapas restaurant for dinner. My friend and I split the black spaghetti with scallops and crab pie. The black spaghetti was VERY good, it's colored and flavored with octopus ink, how exotic! We expected the crab pie to be like crab cakes, but it was more like a crap pate, which was a weird consistency, didn't enjoy that one so much. Afterwards we just went home in the rain.

It's weird because Andalucia is semi-arid yet this winter has been the strangest one for all of Spain in many years. It downpoured, at least once, in every city we visited in Andalucia! The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain!

That was the end of the first day, I'll fill you in on the other days later this weekend! Sorry again that you had to wait so long for a new post! Hope you enjoyed this one!

El Kapital

Hello All,

Sorry I don't update my blog nearly as much as you or I would both like to! I've been very busy with a variety of activities and tomorrow we head out to Andalucia. Andalucia's practically a desert but there's a 100% chance of rain for the next three days, go figure, but that's an entirely different post.

Anyways, Friday could be considered my true introduction into the Madrid nightlife. On Thursday my friends and I were planning on going dancing, but we were all worn out so we decided to take it easy and just do tapas. I had a great time, but I was definitely itching to get out. Friday night I had my chance. We first started by hanging out at the apartment of several students in my program. Their Señora was gone, so we figured it would be cool if we chilled there for a while. At 1:15 AM we decided it was about time to head to El Kapital, Spain’s most famed discoteca (nightclub). We hopped into a Taxi with a Kenyan who lived his whole life in Madrid. Random taxi ride; all I understood is that he was excited Obama is now President.

After our taxi to downtown, we hopped in line with a variety of other folks. We weren’t “on the list”, so the “non-list” line is a bit longer. However, it was still moving quickly so I didn’t wait long. We get in the door and pay the cover charge. I think it was 15€ for the ladies but I think I got charged 20€, you’ll see why in a sec. We walked in to a nice little lobby and the girls checked their coats. Then I was ready to see if this club was all it was cracked up to be.

El Kapital is a theater in addition to a club. The main dance floor has a stage (in which no band was playing, but rather some Chippendale-esque dancers found their groove). The ceiling was 5 stories tall and on the sides all the way up were private VIP rooms, like theater boxes, overlooking the floor. In the back, each consecutive story had a different theme (hip hop, latin, pop, lounge) and were sealed off from the main room by walls of clear plexiglass. Pretty much in every direction you could find music to dance to and have a good time. At 1:30, the party was just starting, so things were hopping.

When you dance for hours on end you tend to get really hot. Instead of trying to air-condition the whole building (most buildings in Spain don’t have central AC), every 5 minutes or so a MASSIVE blast of chilled CO2 would be blown in from the ceiling in one gigantic pillar of cloud! It was a really cool idea and it was nice to get a blast of cool air while dancing the night away.

Additionally, I would consider myself lucky to have such a fun group of people to go out with. Since 35 out of 40 people in our group are girls, whenever we all go out, all of us guys look like total studs. All the Spanish guys were extremely jealous because, as I looked around, I saw that the dance club was over 95% men. Yes, that’s correct. Let’s just say, if you’re a desperate Spanish guy, you’ll have better luck getting a dance at a nunnery than at a club in Madrid! I spent a lot of my time “rescuing” my friends from creepy drunk guys. It was pretty funny; if some guy came up and danced with one of my friends and she enjoyed the partner, all was good. But as soon as I got “the look” I’d grab her arm and pull her over to me as though she was “taken.” I’m sure that to some of these Spanish crazies I looked like a true player, but really I was just making sure we were all having a good, safe time!

At 4:30AM, several friends and I decided that 3 hours of dancing to heart-pumping music was more than our euro’s worth and decided to hail a taxi home. The taxi home was quite a humorous experience. One of my friends was slightly inebriated and in “desperate” need of a hamburger. It’s odd because though everyone parties ‘til the morning light in Madrid, there’s absolutely NO place like Sonic, Whataburger, or Taco Cabana to pig out at when you’re in caloric deprivation after dancing. Our oddball taxi driver pulled over on a side street and told us to hop out and see the lady “over there” for a good Peruvian sandwich. We couldn’t find this sandwich lady at all so we gave up. Ends up, the sandwich lady is illegal, so she runs around the block with a bag of homemade sandwiches and sells them to whoever can catch her. Yeah right, like I’m going to buy a sandwich out of a random plastic bag at 4:45 AM from a Peruvian lady in Madrid!!! Way funny. So, we got back in the car and headed home, disappointed in the taxi driver’s choice of post-party food.

After getting home, I was desperate for a shower, there’s no way I can sleep smelling like an ashtray. I showered and went to bed. Concha finally woke me up at 3 PM, afraid I had died or something since she didn’t hear me come in! All in all, it was a very fun cultural experience, but I don’t exactly think I can maintain the clubbing lifestyle. Madrid young adults are famous for being able to party all night, come home and shower, chug an espresso, and head back to work! No way in the world I could pull that off!

Well, good night, and I’ll update you from Andalucia!

El Rincon de Esteban

This week has been busy, last night I went to the prayer service at Amistad which was great again. On Monday night I went to dinner with a partner from Ernst & Young who is from the States but has been working in Madrid for 4 years.

The dinner reservations didn't start until 9:30PM which is very typical in Spain. The restaurant was Rincón de Esteban which was very close to the Plaza de Sol, the main hub of Madrid. Like most good restaurants here, you'd probably pass it by, but once you walk inside it is a formal restaurant. As soon as I sat down, Esteban himself, the owner, came over and introduced himself and said that *Matt (name changed), the partner, is his sobrino (nephew). Not his real nephew, but because Matt has held several dinners there, Esteban has practically adopted him!

Our meal started with red wine and a wonderful tapas of dark and light anchovies fillets that you put on pieces of bread that was toasted with a tomato sauce. Not sure how I would normally like anchovies, but these were delicious. Next we had a plate of thinly sliced sausages and olives, more tapas fare. There was also bread and a foie gras (pureed goose liver), but none of us had any. After that we had a hot skillet with spicy, garlic shrimp. It was very tasty. The next dish was a small shot glass of lemon sorbet served with an equally small spoon. To cleanse the palette for our main dish.

Being in Spain for the first time, I've made it my goal to try as many new foods as possible. As a result, I tried Roasted Red Partridge for my main plate. The meat was extremely tender and I don't know if it was Esteban's magic, while it had the texture of chicken, it tasted much more flavorful. I wouldn't describe at all as "game-y" but it definitely tasted a little edgier than bland old chicken. I also had cooked potatoes, which are a pretty typical side dish.

For dessert, we had a variety plate, the especialidad de la casa. I'm not really sure what all was on it, but it tasted great! Sweets aren't very common here, so it was nice to get a dulce for dessert. Also, they served champagne in chilled glasses to Matt and the other student at the dinner.

After dessert (there's more!) you typically have a cafe (coffee). Coffee here is really espresso, so if you want an Americano (half coffee, half hot water) you definitely have to ask for it. Matt had a cortado which is half espresso and half milk. I didn't want any coffee (hoping to sleep later that night!) so I just enjoyed the additional round of sweet treats to go with the coffee. And after the coffee (!) they served shots of a liquor made from yerba (no clue what that is, but the liquor was green). Esteban was taken back by the fact that I didn't drink alcohol (waiting til my 21st), so he took it upon himself to serve me a wonderful liqueour (sp?) made from apples that was sin alcohol (without alcohol). It was wonderful and he served me like 3 shots at least!

Then, we were finally done and Matt took the tab. I looked at my watch and realized it was already 12:30 in the morning! As we were leaving, people were just starting their main course! Dinners here last forever; Matt told me that many people get caught up enjoying everyone's company and going back and forth between a coffee and pastry round, and a shot round.

As we were leaving, Esteban made sure to tell us goodbye, giving us his restaurant's pen and business card. He named me sobrino segundo (second nephew) and I promised him I'd be back! Hopefully I'll go for my birthday!

In the end, it was one of the best dinners I've ever had. Of course it was a little expensive, probably 35 Euros for my meal, but when you get food like that and service that's incomparable, I'd be more than willing to head back there once a week (don't worry, I definitely don't have the budget for it!)! The U.S. needs more restaurants like this, ones with unique flavor, with changing menus, with real service and owners that love each of their customers. Esteban is very successful and very happy. Matt told me that the difference between Madrid and the U.S. is that for restaurant staff in Madrid, this is their career. It's not something they just do to pay the bills, it's what they chose to do because they love it, whether as a camarero (waiter) or the owner. Gotta love it.

Sorry for making y'all hungry, because I know I'm hungry after this post!

Dios

First off, sorry for taking several days off from blogging. A couple days I was really tired and a couple other days I was trying to organize my thoughts on what my next post was going to be. Get excited because you'll get several posts in the next couple of days. The following post may make you think, make you mad, make you happy, make you sad. I tried to take my time writing it the best I can, so please don't dismiss it, even if you don't necessarily agree or know where you stand. It's a long post, but it has to do with my recent experiences in Spain, so read on...

The title of this post is Dios, the Spanish word for God. On Tuesday, I attended a prayer service for young adults at a local non-denominational church (Amistad Cristiana). My friend Danielle from back home had recommended this church as she studied abroad in Madrid several semesters ago. During the service, I experienced a feeling of safety that I haven't felt anywhere else in Spain. I don't know how to explain it, you just have to experience it. I've been a Christian for a long time, but I don't think you can truly understand the depth and breadth of the Father's love for mankind until you listen to other people, from other cultures and other languages, yearning to be closer to the source of the only unconditional love in the universe, Jesus Christ. God didn't just set the world in motion and abandon it. God is real, dynamic. His love is ever-reaching and knows no race, ethnicity, sex, nation, political party or social status. Sure, Christians are imperfect at times (okay, many times, I admit!), but the Lord is perfect, and even better yet, He has a plan for the world and He wants us, as individuals, to be a part of it.

This service reminded me of that fact, that God is waiting to meet us no matter where we are in life. I was also reminded of what the cab driver in Dallas told me before I left, something to the effect of "No matter where you go in the world, you'll find that all people are just like you and me." It's true. No matter how you try to convince yourself, you are not the only one struggling. There are others around the world wrestling with the same issues, doubting the same things, questioning the same ideas, having the same hurts, hang ups and addictions. Believe me, I've had them too. It's the human curse. But, there is hope. There is something so much greater that reaches you in all those corners of the world, in all those times you find your back up against the wall, all those times you think you are alone: God's love as demonstrated to us through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. He loved us so much as to send his son as the perfect sacrifice so that we might have a real, personal relationship with the living God.

One of my friends from school told me before I left that Europe is a relatively God-less place and that I would be challenged to grow in my personal relationship with the Lord. He was right. Though most Spaniards claim to be Catholic, most only go to church for baptism and marriage. As a result, not many people here know what it really means to be a Christian, to be a follower of Christ. I'll admit that I turned my back on God last semester, didn't want to listen to him, didn't want to spend time praying or meditating on His word. But going through life on your own sucks. This semester I'm hoping to get back on track; I hope to come back different than when I left.

Today I went to the official Sunday service. I don't know that I've ever been to a more genuine service. First, the church doesn't have enough space to fit everybody in it's building, so they meet in a nearby bar. Yes, a bar that smells a bit like ammonia because members of the church have worked tirelessly to clean it from the night before and set everything up for service. The worship team, mostly young people my age, stands on a stage that is set up and taken down every week, a stage where who knows what was performing the night before. But to have the opportunity to worship the Lord right in the community means so much to the members of Amistad Cristiana that they are willing to devote themselves to this. When I walked in, I was greeted by many new people, Rebekah, Ana, Esteban, and others. They recognized I was new and wanted to connect with me. It was all in Spanish, but all the better. During the service, I was amazed to see such praise devoted to the same Lord that I worship each week back home; that I worship here as well. There weren't any formalities here, no attempt for perfectionism, no attempt to "look trendy", no endless liturgies or "traditions", etc. Instead, the microphone kept slipping on the worship leader who was playing the piano so someone went up and fixed it. The offering plates were tupperware containers with a hole in the top. In other words, people were devoting their hearts to the Lord alone; no one was trying to sell you an image or a facade. They let their love for others, coming from the love that Christ first showed us, speak for their message.

I hope that you all have the chance to think about what I just posted. I hope you mull it over and think about it. Respond if you want. I know that so many times church in the States can just seem like either going through the motions or appears like a production, one doubts if there really is any life in the body of Christ sometimes. Believe me, I've had the same thoughts! But again, Christians are humans too, which means they tend to do stupid things, but Christ alone is perfect and we can rest assured in that. At the same time, questioning and considering are not wrong, instead they help you to seek truth and not become lazy and apathetic towards that which you may or may not claim to believe. I'm sorry for those of you who may have a negative view of Christianity, I'm sorry that it may have been an imperfect Christian (maybe even me) who somehow did something to hurt you or turn you away from the Lord. But remember, He alone is perfect.

If you have questions, comments, concerns, or would like to check out this whole God-thing out when I get back, please don't hesitate to let me know via comment on this post, e-mail, or facebook. I hope you all have a wonderful day. Hasta Luego.

Dejé la Corazón Mia en Segovia, Parte II

[The following post is a continuation of the previous post, so read that one first!]

Next, lunch requires nearly a post of itself. After walking around so much, everyone was starving. It was the first time I’ve been cranky a here in Spain; I wanted something good to eat. We decided on a very traditional restaurant in Segovia, near the main plaza. After we all got situated, I ordered the specialty of the house, which was a three-course menu of Segovian specialties. First we had a wonderful soup, judiones de la granja, also known as “Beans of the Grange.” These beans are large beans that were created by the gardeners of the Palacio Real de La Granja that I talked about in my last post. The soup was perfect for a frigid day. Next came the main course: Cochinillo Asado, or Roasted Suckling Pig. This is a very tasty, very expensive dish that is made in Segovia. A young pig is roasted whole and the meat is so tender, being such a young pig, that they bring it out to your table and hack it into 4-6 servings using plates. A very strange mental picture, but the plates demonstrate the skills of the cook (and of the waiter who dices as well!). Luckily for us, the pig was already served diced up, because Chelsi started crying over the poor dead piglet and my friend Melissa nearly swooned (I was actually pretty worried because she was getting hot, flushed, and had trouble breathing! Luckily when she stopped thinking about Poor Piglet, we were good to go!). We definitely looked like inexperienced tourists! Anyways, the meat was absolutely delicious, very tender. The skin had baked into a crunchy, glorified pork-rind that I found tasty as well. For dessert, we had Torta/Ponche de Segovia which is a rich cake that has been soaked in a liqueur and topped with a marzipan icing layer. Overall, it was one of the most unique and delicious meals I’ve experienced. I say experienced, because you don’t really “try” new foods in another culture. Everything about the experience is new. Also, I won’t tell you how much the meal cost, but let’s just say I’ll be eating sandwiches for lunch from here until eternity.

After lunch, the whole group met up in the Plaza Mayor for our tour of El Alcázar, or The Castle. The world used is of Arabic derivation, as are many words in the Spanish language, due to the presence of Moors during much of the Medieval Ages. Anyways, this castle was used by the Catholic King and Queen, Fernando and Isabella. Think Christopher Columbus. Anyways, this castle is absolutely gorgeous, with a very deep moat, towers, and slate roofs. Though not the official castle that Disney modeled, he used El Alázar as a reference. The interior was MUCH different from El Palacio Real de La Granja, which could be a result of the two centuries gap between constructions. Though much more Medieval, this castle had a beautiful interior, with original tapestries, thrones, suits of armor, woodwork and stained glass. Also, with our ticket, we got to climb the 141 steps to the top of the highest tower and look out over the countryside. Everything was absolutely beautiful in the crisp, cold winter air.

I think that was about all for our trip to Segovia. Everyone had a wonderful time, though we were exhausted by the time we got to the bus and everyone was asleep by the time we got back in Madrid. Our sleepy arrival and departure from Segovia made the trip seem much like a dream. I hope the pictures show how beautiful I found the city to be. Maybe you can see why I Left My Heart in Segovia!

Dejé la Corazón Mia en Segovia, Parte I

Hola Chicos,

For those of you who don’t understand the title, Dejé la Corazón Mia en Segovia, it means “I left my heart in Segovia.” Sorry it has taken me so long to post about our trip to Segovia, but being the most beautiful place I have ever visited, I wanted to make sure I was posting an entry without being in a hurry. Anyways, here’s why my heart is in Segovia.

[I started writing so much that I decided to divide this into two posts, so read this one first and get psyched for the next one which I’ll post tomorrow. I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone!]

We started our adventure early in the morning at 8:45AM; it was early considering I went out to celebrate my friends’ birthdays the night before and posted a nice entry on the blog in the middle of the night. We drove for about an hour and a half outside of Madrid with snow on the ground and partly cloudy skies. Many of us took a nap and rested so when we arrived in Segovia, it was like an entry into a whole new world. Unlike the DFW or Philadelphia metoplexes, when you go an hour and a half away from Madrid you are no longer even close to a suburb. All around us were rolling farm fields, rich with the brown that remains between harvests, a hue that I have never seen in America. First, however, we stopped a little bit outside of Segovia in the mountains at La Granja, which was the vacation palace of Felipe II. His family ties to Versaille encouraged him to construct a beautiful palace and gardens in the French style that were revolutionary in incorporating nature with indoors, using arcades of fully-opening French doors to allow light and air in. When we visited, there was a guard in every room to protect the immense beauty of the collections, so I didn’t get many photos of the inside, but let's just say that they're priceless. Gorgeous paintings on every ceiling and gilded everything. Also, lacquer art from Asia was very popular at the time. But for the pictures you see here, there are immense gardens and over 20 fountains. What's unbelieveable is that without any use of electricity or motors, the engineers at the time used the pressure of mountain streams to force water through the fountains, one after the other. The bottom one gets all the pressure of the ones before and shoots 40 METERS into the sky. It wasn't on because of winter, but wow.

Next, we began our walk down the cobbled streets in what is considered Spain’s most preserved medieval city. It feels very weird to walk down streets that haven’t changed much in 500 years. They aren’t knockoffs made by Disney or Universal studios. Everywhere we go, I feel like I’m going to turn the corner and see that the beautiful scene is just a plywood façade, but it hasn’t happened yet.

The first sight to see was the Roman Aqueduct constructed in who knows when, I think it was 100 B.C. or A.D. Can’t remember which, but it doesn’t really matter, because the granite structure has not decayed nearly at all and is one of the most complete structures of Roman construction. It’s in considerably better shape than the Aqueduct in Italy. This one was once 15 km long (nearly 9 miles), but luckily the part that remains is the most beautiful section, nearly four stories tall! The Aqueduct was not constructed with any nails, pegs, cement, or mortar; simply stones that were cut and arranged to fit perfectly with one another. Many years ago, preservation efforts thought it would be a good idea to nail it together. They got one pillar done and then realized that it was stronger to leave it, so the took out all the nails and left it as it was before!

Next, we walked through the city streets to see another Gothic Cathedral. We didn’t have the chance to go inside, but the outside was one of the most beautiful pieces of art you can imagine: soaring tiers of stained glass and ornate stonework. The Cathedral continues to shout the power of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. The Cathedral was mind-blowingly intense. You seem so insignificant when facing such beauty and compilation of capital and labor. And what’s most amazing is that the Church continues to use it for services, hundreds of years later.

Well, that's it for tonight, check back tomorrow for the rest of my day, including my lunch of a Segovian specialty Cochinillo Asado, or Roasted Suckling Pig...

A Week of Firsts & Madrilenos Part I

Hello All,

This week has been a really busy one! A group of us realized tonight that our program has really only been going on for about a week now! Crazy. We all have become such great friends in such a little time. I really look forward to the rest of the semester!

So on with this week. I did end up dropping that lit class, though now I'm thinking commercial spanish might be worse. But hey, if I want to work in Buenos Aires some day, I better sure as heck get my act together before then! These classes are, without a doubt, much more work than the ones in Dallas. Earlier this week I was pretty stressed, but living with a family has definitely helped. Somehow Concha is able to read my mind a little bit. I guess as a mother of four grown children, she knows a little about how to read young people. I appreciate it a lot.

For an abrubt change in topic, here's a list of firsts for this week: changing money in a foreign bank (by the way, you need your real passport, no copies!), eating in a Spanish sandwich chain (Rodilla and Quartertime), going out in Madrid (we closed the restaurant down!), using the Metro (which is actually the safest transportation I've ever used! There are always people on it and even at 1:30, there aren't any sketchballs that I've seen), watching a dubbed American film (deja vu in Spanish), buying from a Spanish convenience store, walking to school in the city, giving Spanish besos without feeling completely awkward (Concha's daughter Silvia and another sen~ora, Pilar, expected them!). I think that's a pretty good run down.

Also, I just hopped out of the shower. I went to celebrate the birthdays of a few friends and came back smelling like an ashtray. Granted, I really don't mind people smoking, but in Madrid, you just have to accept that whatever restaurant you go in or street you walk down, you're going to be smokey. I was working on a post about the differences between Madrileños and Americans. I think I'll start with this one: people here smoke like chimneys. However, I have to admit, they do it in style. I can see why smoking here is a big issue, because the common society seems to support it. Whenever I see Madrileños smoking, they seem to do it in such a devil-may-care way that they all look good doing it! I know, it's crazy, but they do! It also helps when all of the middle age-plus women have beautiful fur coats. PETA doesn't exist here and thank God. That's another difference, people just look dang good here. Americans stick out when we wear jeans and a sweater. Everyone here is wearing something either fashionable or at least well put together. Even the painter I saw walking down the street looked good. Concha and others have told me that brands don't really matter here, there are so many different places to get your clothes that people truly go for quality and price. The only "brand" that is truly popular are the sweatshirts that have "GAP" plastered on the front. Weird, I know.

Well, that's a quick update, I have to go to bed so I can wake up in 5.5 hours and head off to Segovia to take lots more beautiful photos for y'all to enjoy!

Ciao!