Sorry for the delay on the blog lately I have been busy traveling and with homework. Last weekend I went to a small town called Ronda for the day with some friends. Ronda is situated up in the mountains and is absolutely breathtaking. There is a huge bridge that connects the old and new portions of the city and is over three hundred years old. We visited the Museum of Peinado, a friend of Picasso that studied with him. Nearly all of his work is there and he used styles of cubism, realism, and impressionism. The weather was great and it has finally stopped raining here, which has been great. 70s and better has been great and the people here are coming out of hiding. This past weekend I headed to Granada with my school. We toured the Cathedral there, which is renaissance style and influenced by Greek and Roman architecture. The exhibit in the building connected to the Cathedral has old garments from Ferdinand and Isabella more than 300 years old. After the Cathedral we headed to Capilla Real which has two large sarcophaguses. They are enormous and in size and pure marble. The detail is immaculate and photos were not allowed but I highly recommend taking a look at some of the photos online. Underneath them were the crypts of Ferdinand and Isabella, it was very cool to be in the presence of the bodies of some of the most powerful people in the history of the world. Afterwards some friends and I walked up one of the hills that the city is situated on and were able to see the sun set on the city and the Alhambra, a Moorish and Christian fortress from the 10th century. Friday night we headed out on the city and one of the cool aspects of Granada is that it still follows the old tradition of Tapas. For every beer you order you get some sort of a tapa. We had a few rounds of beers and got battered fried shrimp, fried eggplants with a brown sugar honey sauce, Calamari, and buttered and salted little clams. Saturday we had a tour of the Alhambra, which is without doubt, one of the coolest things I have seen in Spain. It was a stronghold of the Muslim occupation of Spain and a military fortress. There are multiple palaces and gardens inside and only one half remains because Napoleons invasion destroyed the other half. There is a story that a Spanish soldier cut the fuse to the bombs in the part that remains otherwise the whole of it would have been destroyed. After the Alhambra I headed to the science museum in Granda and was very impressed by the physics, human body, and Darwin exhibits. Lately in Sevilla the preparations for Semana Santa (holy week) has begun. During holy week hundreds of year old statues positioned on alter that are carried through the city by upwards of 40 men. They begin at their respective churches and one from every church, there are many in Sevilla, are carried to the Cathedral on respective days for a blessing and then return that night to their church. It is the largest celebration of its type in the world and the altars are breathtaking. I suggest watching a video on youtube to get an idea of the magnitude and reverence during the festival. Next week I am heading to Paris for 5 days and then Pamplona to meet my aunt Gloria’s side of the family. I will post the pictures from the last two weeks on facebook and will put the links up here so you can all view them. If you have any questions be sure to let me know.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Ronda and Granada
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Morocco
Morocco was absolutely incredible, I have uploaded a bunch of pictures on my facebook and will put the link at the end of the page. I left for Morocco last Satruday and got back Monday night. I was very surprised by how green it was there since i had envisioned a desert but it was about as far from that as possible. We crossed the straits of gibraltar by ferry and arrived in the Spanish province of Ceuta. It is similar to the united States Puerto Rico, and nearly impossible to tell that you are in Africa. After a bus tour of the city we headed across the border and headed south to Tetuon. We got in there late and ate dinner which was a vegetable tray of beats, carrots, rice, cucumbers, and tomatoes. For dinner was fried fish and more rice. The next morning we got up early had breakfast which was definitely quite an experience, there were crossiants, coffee, and tea...but there was also some small date filled pastries and pan fried flatbread that resembled a crepe but was a lot blander, chewier, and drier. We got things going relativey early and finally were explained why everywhere we looked was covered in these enormous red flags with a green star on them, the flag is that of Morocco and the reason why there were so many of them is because Morocco is a Kingdom of Mohammad VI and since he was visiting the area because it was the birthday of the prophet Mohammad, founder of Islam. We took a bus south to Chefchaouen which is situated very high up in the RIF mountains. The mountains are absolutely breathtaking and every thing was so green, I felt as if i was back in Ireland. When we got into Chefchaouen we has a tour of the city and weaved in and out of these small streets. There are very few cars there and only on the main roads of the city, much of the city is only accessible on foot. An interesting part of the city is that all of the buildings were painted blue since it is symbolic in the Islamic religion of
After lunch we had a tour of the markets in Teuton which had very narrow streets and tiny stores. After the fresh food markets we passed into the old jewish quarter which while is still owned by many of the same jewish families as in the past many of the stores are rented and it is well known as a leather and gold area. In the Islamic religion, weddings last for three days and the women are required to wear a gold belt, but not plated, these belts are 18k pure gold and diamonds and can cost anywhere around 16,000 dollars.Thursday, February 25, 2010
Last week of Intensive Classes
This past week has been better in terms of the weather, today it was 65 and sunny and the sky was absolutely gorgeous. This afternoon I visited the Museo de Bellas Artes which is only a few blocks from my house. It has hundreds of paintings depicting Christ, the holy family, other religious figures, and religious events like the end of the world. I was not able to take pictures but there was no entry fee, which was really nice. The majorities of the paintings in the permanent exhibit were from the 15th century and were absolutely amazing in their size and detail. The paintings were at least ten to fifteen wide and over ten feet tall. Many of the sculptures were life sized and the detail was incredible and left me absolutely speechless. After the permanent exhibit was the Murillo exhibit, which contained paintings from all over the world depicting Christ as a child and other religious figures like Saint Ignatius. The grand hall was absolutely amazing and the ceiling had to be over 100 feet tall and was ornately covered in gold and awe striking paintings. In the end of the museum and the grand hall is an absolutely enormous painting of the Magdalena Mary. It hangs about twenty feet high up on the wall and dwarfed me. The museum itself was absolutely gorgeous and I felt miniscule at every point. Tomorrow I am heading to some ancient Roman ruins that contain an amphitheater and some other cool roman architecture, I will be sure to take lots of pictures.
The other night I had one of the best dishes at a bar close to my school called Los Coloniales. It was fried eggplant served over a bed of vegetables sautéed in honey, it was absolutely delicious and so sweet and complex, yet very light and a wonderful post dinner snack that was perfectly complemented with a beer.
My recent commitment to all Spanish has been tough but I have most definitely noticed that I am learning the language much faster and becoming more and more comfortable speaking with the locals. It’s a great feeling knowing that I can be in a restaurant or bar and can converse well enough that the bartender or waiter does not have to speak slowly so that I can understand them, and can understand me clearly.
I am learning that I have been very blessed with my host family and my sister and I have grown closer and now can have more complex and less mundane conversations. This has been influential in my comfort leve with the family and the transition to living like a Spaniard.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Photos on Facebook
Friday, February 19, 2010
This past weekend I took a bus to Cadiz, where the Carnivales de Cadiz is held. It is the worlds largest festival and can be compared Mardi Gras. The interesting part about Carnivales is that everyone comes in costume and in many cases a whole group of friends will wear the same costume or related costumes. I believe this is done for two reasons, the first to make it much easier to find your friends in the masses of people that overtake the city, and the second because it is a lot more fun. When I arrived in Cadiz there were large groups of people playing drums and the atmosphere was indescribable. My friends and I ventured to the Cathedral Square where there was a giant square. Throughout the night there were singing performances from large groups of people dressed in costumes that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. The festival goes on for days and I cannot imagine being apart of the entire thing.
This week it has been raining everyday and all day. One of the cooler things that I have noticed is that everyone has an umbrella and since the sidewalks are very small it is important to either raise or lower your umbrella while walking past someone. This creates a pretty cool effect of dancing umbrellas on the sidewalks as people pass each other.
Lately I have been eating like a king here, today for lunch we had swordfish and yesterday we had pan-seared tuna with onions. I finally asked the cook, Reyes, how she made the strawberries and I was surprised to learn how simple my new favorite desert was to make. She simply cuts the strawberries into small parts then puts a few aside to blend with sugar into an almost paste like substance. About an hour before lunch she puts the strawberries into small dishes and pours the paste over the strawberries in the fridge. The result is a sweet delectable paste with firm and fresh strawberries. It is a great treat to finish off a great meal.
This morning while wandering the city with a friend of mine we visited the Church of Jesus de Gran Poder (Jesus of Great Power). It was incredible and I am quickly learning that even though there is a church on every block they are all very different and have a very particular style. Jesus de Gran Poder is a round church with a domed ceiling and a layer of transom windows on top. It is done very tastefully and became my favorite immediately. Today after my class I went to the Cathedral in Sevilla for Ash Wednesday mass, the cathedral is by far the most immaculate building I have ever been in and no picture can do it justice. The mass was very elaborate and an interesting part of the Spanish culture is the way in which they receive the host. To me it seems quite primitive, but instead of forming lines they simply all huddle around the priest and budge to get up there before taking a zigzag way back to their seats. I don’t know if there is any particular significance or it is just tradition but it was very interesting to see the differences in masses from the US. Tomorrow I am heading back to the Cathedral with my school for a formal tower in which we will head up to the tower, the highest building in the center of Sevilla
Monday, February 15, 2010
First Week of classes
Sorry it has been awhile since an update, the first week of classes has really kept me busy. Its been raining here all week and been very cold, around 3 degrees Celsius or in the mid to upper 30s Fahrenheit. Classes are going well, but my brain gets so tired from the constant Spanish all day. My daily schedule includes waking up around 10:30, showering, eating a little breakfast, which is usually toast and jelly and an orange or banana. There is cereal here but I have been a little hesitant to try the milk since it comes un-refrigerated and I feel like there is no way it’ll compare to good ole 2%. After breakfast, I head to school or to a plaza to do some studying if its nice out. I usually head back home which is a 15-minute walk from my school around 1:30 since we have lunch at 2:30 everyday. Lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day and usually consists of a soup, vegetable puree, noodles and sauce, or something of that sort for a first course. Potatoes seem to be more common than anything else in the Spanish diet except pork and seafood. The main course is usually seafood, tortilla, or pork. Today we had tuna and onions seared in a pan and it was delicious. French fries are served at every meal as a complement to the main course. For desert we either have oranges, bananas, clementines, pineapple upside down cake, or strawberries in a sauce similar to a jelly. The strawberries have quickly become one my favorite foods. Lunch usually lasts between 45 minutes to an hour and is full of conversation, it is very impressive to see that the entire culture values this aspect so much and the streets are empty and stores are closed during the siesta. Another prevalent aspect of Spanish meals is bread, served with every meal. In Spain the people love small sandwich rolls that are made with white flour and are about 6 inches long. My housemother puts a couple rolls and some cheese and cured ham out to eat with the bread. After lunch I usually take a little nap if I have time and then head back to school for my afternoon class, which is technically a night class and starts at 5 and ends at 8:30 with a 15 minute break. An interesting part of Spanish culture is start and end times, they are very loose and events usually start somewhere around 5 – 10 minutes late. Spaniards tend to have very loose schedules and a very relaxed way of life. After class I head back home after checking my email and stuff since I do not have Internet in my house. After dinner we usually watch a little TV, either soccer or some sort of sitcom or reality TV show. Then around 11:30 I do a little homework and head out to meet up with some friends. The nights tend to end pretty late, around 3 or 4 in the morning but sometimes earlier.
My family here consists of my padre, Juan, who is a surgeon. My mother’s name is Concepción or Concha for short, the same word as a shell. My sister is 28; her name is Macarena and is currently out of work. She is very helpful in teaching me the language and she and I get along really well. My brother’s name is Juan Pablo and is a computer engineer. He is not around as much as Macarena but lately I have gotten to know him a lot better. Both children live in the house and it is a very typical part of Spanish culture. Concha described it this way, in the states your house is considered your parents house but in Spain it is considered the family’s house and children live with their parents until they find a very serious partner or are married because the family has so much importance and the cost of living is very expensive here. Tomorrow I am heading to Carnivales de Cadiz, the worlds largest festival. Everybody dresses up in costumes and takes over the city’s plazas and public places. This week I visited Alcazar, which is the palaces of the all the various cultures that have had control over the city since the middle ages. It was absolutely unbelievable and the rooms are enormous and covered with engravings and gold. Each era of the palaces has a distinct style. The coolest part of the palaces is that there is running water through all of them with little fountains in the center of the room. The palaces were breathtaking and were built in a way that allows large amounts of light to enter; even today there is no need for lights to display the architecture. I will put some pictures up on my facebook shortly and if you are unable to view them let me know. Once again, if you have any questions be sure to email me. Today I broke down for the first time and got a large fry from McDonalds. I walk past a burger king and McDonalds on my way to and from school every day and finally succumbed to the cravings.
