Patrick En España

Barcelona

2009-07-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

After our session ended, I dropped most of my luggage off at the airport and took a bus to Barcelona, where I was staying for a week.

On my first day of sightseeing, I came across some pretty awesome stuff. First up was La Boqueria, an amazing and beautiful market near the center of the city.

Close by I saw some Joan Miro artwork in the street - Barcelona is full of amazing art in public places, right where it belongs!

Later that night I took the metro over to watch the "magical fountains" that change color to music. Tons of people were outside watching them, eating, and just having a great time.

Speaking of amazing art in public places, the next day I saw many of Gaudi's famous works - Casa Batllo,

Casa Mila,

La Sagrada Familia,

and Parc Guell.

I kept seeing amazing graffiti by an artist named C 215. This is my favorite piece I saw while in Barcelona.

The National Museum of Catalunyan Art had an exhibition about Duchamp, Man Ray, and Picabia. I loved seeing Duchamp's readymades, including his famous fountain.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, MACBA, had a Nancy Spero retrospective that I loved. Below is a photo of one her pieces that addressed the violence carried out by the United States through our many wars.

Finally, this is one of the cool installations in the neighborhood around MACBA.

After my week in Barcelona, I took the bus back to Madrid and made my way home. I was sad to leave, but I know I'll eventually be back to enjoy Spain again!

2nd to last day of classes!

2009-02-14T23:30:00.000-08:00

After our second to last day of classes was over, LaShe, Kristina and I spent the afternoon having a picnic in Retiro park.

Afterwards, I met up with Sabrina to tour the Royal Palace! The Palacio Real is one of the most ornate and luxurious palaces in Europe. It's still used by the King and Queen for important ceremonies, but they live in a slightly more humble home outside of Madrid.

Granada!

2009-02-14T23:09:00.001-08:00

On our last weekend before school ended, we took a trip to Granada!

Our fancy hotel we got an amazing deal on because it was the summer and no one goes to Granada in the summer... It's too hot!

Awesome squatter graffiti!

Near the entrance to the Alhambra!

Inside the Alhambra - It was cool, shady, and beautiful! I can understand why it was designed like this. It stays cool during the Andalucian summer, and is full of green plants and water, a paradise!

Views of the Alhambra as the sun sets.

One of the best pieces of Graffiti I saw during my trip - "A thousand machines will never be able to make a single flower..."

The famous bull boards seen all over Spain!

2nd to last week of classes

2009-02-14T23:00:00.000-08:00

During our second to last week of classes, we went on a field trip around the city that required us to search for different things. Here are a few photos from the assignment!

Me with Mariano José de Larra!

My friend LaShe with someone I don't remember.

A view of Madrid from the top of a hotel we snuck into!

This guy pushed me out of his way.

Last Morocco Post...

2008-12-26T21:50:00.000-08:00

7/28/08 1:15pm
Yesterday we left Rabat early in the morning and drove to a rural town in the Rif Mountains. We saw the shanty towns on the outside of Rabat as we passed by. The people do not own the land and have no money to buy it or develop it. They live in fear of being removed from their homes, little shacks made of scraps. The stench and smoke from burning trash permeates the air, which we could smell even through the van. Morocco is one of the richest countries in Africa, and still has rampant unemployment and poverty.

For lunch we met with a rural family and ate at their house. They live completely off the land and grow or raise everything they eat. When there is an excess, they sell it in the community market. We learned a little bit more about life in rural Morocco, and took a hike into the hills to see a beautiful view of the surrounding areas. This family will likely be fortunate enough to be able to afford to send their children to high school several towns away because they host American students at their house for discussions like the one we had. There are no secondary schools near to their village, and most families cannot afford to have their children travel to the nearest school and live there. Education is free in Morocco, but access to it is not.

Later we drove to Chefchaouen, a beautiful city in the Atlas Mountains. Although a bit touristy, it was not without reason – the city is absolutely beautiful! The blue and white buildings stick out from the green mountain and we had an amazing time just wandering the streets around the central square and getting lost. We had a “Last Supper” together in a nice restaurant and then went on the roof of our hostel to hang out and think about our experiences on this short trip. We had a beautiful view of the town at night and got to know some other international travelers who were staying there.

The next morning we got up early and drove to the Spanish border. It was sad to see the preference given once again to Americans – our passports allowed for most of us to be waved through much quicker than the Moroccans or other Africans waiting in line. One woman in our group, who is African-American and has an Arabic name, was questioned for several minutes before being allowed to walk through. We got back to Algeciras on the coast of Spain and looked back on our exciting and enlightening time in Morocco as we waited for our buses to arrive and take us back to Madrid.

Day 2 in Morocco continued...

2008-12-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

Roman Ruins, and a later Mosque on the same site:

Later we visited Roman ruins and then the tomb of kings Mohammed V and Hassan II. They’re buried in the unfinished mosque that Mohammed V started building but died before completing. It was going to be the second largest mosque in the world. The current king, Mohammed VI, is unlikely to be buried there. He disagrees strongly with the repressive policies of his predecessors. The first thing he did when he became king was to ask forgiveness for his father’s mistakes. There were many human rights violations during his reign, and opponents were imprisoned and disappeared. Mohammed VI has become known as “the Guardian of the Poor,” and in his reign Morocco has progressed immensely and rapidly. There are still many beggars in Morocco and the government does not really know what to do with individuals who suffer from physical handicaps and mental illness. Women’s rights are also light-years ahead of other Muslim countries.

After lunch with our families we met with college students who chatted with us, showed us around the medina, and took us to tea. It was nice to spend time with international students and see how their lives were so similar to ours. I love the sweet mint tea they drink here!

In the afternoon we met up again to go out to Hamman, a communal bath. It was really wonderful, like a huge sauna or sweat lodge. I felt completely clean, reinvigorated, and refreshed afterward.

We came back for dinner and then watched a bit of Moroccan Idol before going out for a walk around the medina. Outside, people were watching Moroccan Idol on a big screen in the middle of the street as well. It was interesting to realize how similar our cultures are, even our TV shows mimic each other. The biggest difference, however, is that the songs on Moroccan Idol are in three languages – Arabic, French, and English.

2nd Day in Morocco - Perceptions, Religion, and Travel!

2008-12-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

7/26/08 12:10pm

Today we got up at 8 to go to a discussion with a Moroccan professor, but were delayed because our bus driver thought our leader, Ben, was in the back of the van and accidentally left without him. He of course wasn’t in the back of the van; he was in the market buying water, but we eventually found him after a difficult time communicating with our driver who spoke practically no English or Spanish.

We arrived a little late to our discussion that morning with a Moroccan professor who studies perceptions between the West and the Middle East. He spoke about how quickly Morocco is changing, and we saw tons of construction while there, a physical symbol for the radical changes Moroccan culture is undergoing. Morocco is being pulled in many directions by different sectors of its society. Currently they are attempting to discern how they can have a monarchy without absolution, and be Islamic without only one interpretation.

He also mentioned briefly the so-called “Berber” people that are identified with Morocco. They are one of the multitude of ethnic groups that inhabit the country and prefer the name Amazigh. “Berber” was an epithet used by the Romans to any group whose language thy didn’t understand.

We discussed law in Morocco. Laws there cannot be made unless they fit with Islamic law, but there are different categories. Some can be changed or applied differently, and some Islamic laws are interpreted by others as principles. When Moroccans are deciding whether or not a new law fits in with Islamic law, its “1st legitimacy” is consensus of community. Laws that are controversial or interpretations that are not widely accepted will not come to pass.

We went continued to speak about morality in Islamic culture, and he mentioned something that I thought was amazing. He said that you are not Muslim if you eat dinner knowing your neighbor does not, or if you are literate and do not teach the illiterate, or if you cut down a tree because you feel like it. “You can not break social solidarity.” This shatters the too prevalent American notion that Islam is a violent and uncaring religion. In fact, many Muslims view their religion as a reform to Judeo-Christian traditions, and I believe this is particularly evident in the emphasis placed on caring for others and giving to the poor. Jesus and Muhammad both spent lots of time speaking on these subjects. The third pillar of Islam, is Zakat, or alms-giving, and is necessary for all who can afford it. Aid to others is also a central message of Jesus’ ministry, one often overlooked by modern day American churches.

Next we talked about how morality changes over time. Again, similar to Christianity, different practices have changed in how they are viewed. At different times in both religions, polygamy and slavery were the norm. Now both view these practices disdainfully. Islamic law changes with new definitions of dignity.

We began discussing the women’s rights in Morocco, and spoke about some of the many advances made in for women there, and the U.S.’s perception of Islamic women as oppressed. Women can be the head of a household, own property, study in universities, hold jobs, and file for divorce. Divorces in Morocco are decided by legal judges, not the husband, and when settled the assets of the family are divided in half. There are also hotlines and shelters for women who feel they need them. Laws regarding women in Morocco are changing quickly, but mentalities and self-perceptions imposed by culture are harder and slower to alter.

I had heard before I went to Morocco that it was illegal to criticize the king. I mentioned this, and learned that while it is not illegal to criticize the king, it is illegal to insult or libel other people. In Moroccan culture, the private is very private, and it is inappropriate to delve into other people’s personal lives.

We went on to talk about U.S. foreign policy as it relates to Morocco and the Middle East in general. Algeria is Morocco’s neighbor, and in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the U.S supported a military coup of Algeria’s democratic, but Islamic government. Many North Africans see this intervention and way of influencing governments to be extremely immoral. Many resent U.S. influence and wish for greater regional autonomy, with the ability to solve their own problems without U.S. influence, specifically without U.S. military influence. Many are also troubled by the U.S.’s treatment of other Islamic democracies. When Hamas recently gained majority control of Palestine’s government through free and open elections, the U.S. and many other countries refused to acknowledge the government and would not talk with them. It is dangerous for us to ignore the results of democratic elections in other countries. It reduces our legitimacy as a democracy and is useless if we truly want to create lasting solutions for peace.

We also discussed the immense economic disparities between the U.S. and Morocco. The subsidies given to the U.S. steel industry is around 4 times the budget of the entire Moroccan government.

Finally, we ended on a hopeful and positive note. We spoke about how travel can shatter pre-conceived notions, as it did for many in our group. Some of us had been warned of dangerous thieves, Islamic extremists, and other dangers before our trip to Morocco; and found instead some of the most welcoming people in the entire world. Not one of us was pick pocketed, which is more than you can say for our travels in Western Europe, and we all were met with hospitable and kind hosts who respected our individual experiences and point of view. We also expressed hope for the internet, and its promise of alternative media and unconventional methods of gathering news. We anticipate new connections between the U.S. and Morocco in which both countries can learn about the other. Formal education is important in destroying stereotypes as well, as we mentioned that dictionaries contain derogatory definitions of the word Arab that include “street-peddler,” “waif,” “homeless little wanderer, child of the street,” “a homeless vagabond in the streets of a city, particularly and outcast boy or girl,” and “The ragged outcasts and street Arabs who are shivering in damp doorways.” Don’t believe me? I pulled these today from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/arab. Now we recognize these definitions as wrong and inappropriate, but the institutional bias inherent in western culture is hard to change. Our schools, our media, you, and I need to confront the many stereotypes Americans hold against foreigners, and help us to see their falsity.

First Day in Morocco

2008-08-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

7/25/08 10:45pm

Right now I’m in one of the coolest houses I’ve ever seen. There is really beautiful tile everywhere! There is one main room connected to all the surrounding rooms by traditional horseshoe shaped arches. The whole center room has no roof and is open to the air. All the rooms are furnished with couches and pillows that are decorated as beautifully as the tile everywhere else. I’m in Rabat, Morocco, and staying with a middle class family, something that is becoming rarer here. Like the U.S., the gap between the rich and poor in Morocco is widening.

My group took the ferry from Algericas at 9 this morning and arrived in Tangier at 11. We first walked through a market and picked up some food for snacking on later in the trip. They generally don’t have supermarkets here, so you walk from stall to stall that specialize in specific things and buy what you need from each one. We bought some amazing spicy olives and perfectly ripe plums and figs. There were also people who could not afford to buy a stall and were sitting on the floor between rows selling whatever they had, usually just one item, like mint. I thought about what would happen if I brought some food I had grown in our garden in the backyard down to our local supermarket and tried to sell it. I thought it was interesting that the people here recognized the poverty of these other people and allowed them to try and make a little money instead of kicking them out for competing with the other sellers. It’s a completely different mindset. By allowing them to sit there and sell their goods, the sellers with stalls lose a little money but also allow the poorer individuals to make a little money. Charity is one of the five pillars of Islam, and something that is immensely important in a country where 98% of the population is Muslim.

Next we walked over to the Darna Women’s Center. They provide resources, training, and technical skills for local women and children. They’re part of a larger network of centers that help men and boys as well. Here they have workshops where women create traditional crafts as well as modern products, learning skills they can use later to become economically self-sufficient. We had mint tea and a wonderful conversation with 3 Moroccan students pursuing their Master’s in English Literature. We talked with them about the political, educational, and social situation in the U.S. and Morocco. Moroccans do not trust the state-run television news stations, and regularly tune in to news the pick up on their satellites from other countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.. They make sure that they always have a wide variety of sources and viewpoints to take into consideration. I think we could learn from their approach in the U.S., where most people seem to pick one or two mainstream sources of information and trust them to be fairly accurate. Alternative media does exist in the United States, and although you won’t find it on TV or in most newspapers, it’s only a search away on the internet. Sites like Alternet.org, Indymedia.org, Democracynow.org, and Pacifica.org are decidedly left leaning, but even diversifying your media consumption to include mainstream viewpoints from other parts of the world by taking a look at the BBC or Al-Jazeera can be extremely effective.

Moroccans are very concerned with the U.S. elections and follow our politics closely. I think sometimes as Americans we forget how much of an impact decisions made in our country effect the entire world. Moroccans are very concerned about their own country and although it is illegal to criticize God, State, or King they do so fairly freely. They desire change and slowly work for it within the allowed avenues. The Moroccan people realize there is a difference between the American people and the American Government, just as it is in their country. They understand that not all Americans agree with what our government does and I encountered no hostility at all against me personally. Morocco is one of the most liberal Muslim countries, and so women are allowed to wear whatever they want. Most people are not followers of extremely strict interpretations of Islam and have tolerant views.

Later we rode camels on the beach and then walked the beautiful beach city of Assilah.

Tonight we arrived in Rabat and I’m staying with another guy from the program, Chase, at the house of a Moroccan family. We ate the communal dinner with them and met their friend who is our age and just returned from a year abroad in the U.S. He showed us around the old Medina after dinner. Before going out to the market though, we watched a soccer game on TV, and I felt like I was right back in Madrid!

Milan in pictures!

2008-08-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Milan!

Amor, Amen!

Apparently there are some poor people in Milan, and one of them wanted us to know that "They are not Communists"

On the roof of the Cathedral:

They have the light of the world on top of their Cathedral!

Back on the ground:

Inside the Cathedral they have hair or fingernails from each of the disciples. (Supposedly... and whether it's real or not, why????????)

Not in the Cathedral:

The one on the right is now in my luggage that's waiting for me in Madrid! Muahaha!

Now, why I went to Milan! Tom Waits!

Overall, Milan was really nice. The food was wonderful, even the really cheap fast food! My first day I went into a Pizzeria and got a whole meal for 4.4o Euro. Unheard of! I got two huge slices of wonderful pizza, and since they were out of the kinds I wanted at first, a free coke! I also had an amazing meal for not so cheap in the neighborhood around the Teatro degli Arcimboldi Opera House where I saw Tom Waits. I had a Risotto with a port wine reduction sauce and endives that blew my mind. The people were also extremely nice, especially the guy whose job it is to wander the trams leaving the Opera House and talk to tourists like me and find out that we're going in the complete opposite direction than we think we are. He told me very excitedly how to get back to the right bus, and added emphatically that "the last bus leaves from there in 4 minutes! RUN!" So I ran half way across downtown Milan, but he was completely wrong. The last bus left in about an hour.

And the next morning I had great fun trying to get to my plane on time. The metro of course opened late, the train leaving from the metro station to the airport of course only left every hour and I had just missed one, and of course it didn't go to my terminal so I had to take another bus that drove as fast as I can walk, and so of course I arrived at my gate 5 minutes after the plane was supposed to leave. Of course, they were just now starting to board, so I didn't miss a thing.

Galicia Photos!

2008-08-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

My new Spanish friend, Jorge!

We ran outside our hotel because we heard fireworks, and found nothing. Except - I found out all the amazing things you can do with fireworks mode on my camera!

Galicia, the Northwestern Tip of Spain!

2008-07-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

Some entries from my travel journal:

7/11/08 - Today is our second day in Galicia, which is amazing! Yesterday we were in the small village of O Cebreiro, which has traditional Celtic houses and a small cathedral. It looked like it was an Irish village, because of the green hills and Celtic architecture. Galicia was settled by the Celts back in the day, and the influence can still be seen now. The weather is much cooler and wetter here, and the food is amazing! Tons of seafood, and hearty bread and stews. Pulpo a Feira (boiled octopus with olive oil and paprika), Gambas a la Plancha (grilled prawns), Queso de Tetilla (typical Galician cheese), Caldo Gallego (Galician bean, sausage, and potato soup), Mejillones (mussels).... Yesterday we had a really cool presentation on traditional Gallego music and dancing. They use bagpipes and castanets at the same time. Today we took a tour of A Coruña (a larger city, where we're staying) in the morning and now we're spending some free time on the beach.
7/13/08 - Right now we're driving home from Galicia. The mountains here are intensely green because of al the rain they get here. It feels like I should be in Ireland, and nothing like the stereotypical Spanish climate. Yesterday we visited a small city on the coast to learn about Galician folk religion. In the town of San Andres, people come to the small chapel to receive good luck or bring specific requests to Saint Andrew. The Catholic Church officially opposes the rituals, but they thrive even today. Particularly prevalent among older generations, the folk rituals are practiced by youth as well, who come to ask for luck in finding a lover or spouse, or to do well in school or work. Speaking of young people, small towns in Galicia are losing young people faster than you can say "Madrid." Many leave for larger cities in the area or other parts of Spain for economic opportunities and jobs not based on traditional crafts or agriculture. On the other hand, more young people than ever are learning Gallego, the local language that is co-official in this region alongside Castellano and is similar to Portuguese. Interest has also revived in protecting the area's natural resources, exemplified by the Nunca Mais movement that started after an oil spill by the Exxon ship Prestige was almost completely ignored by the Spanish government. The movement is still alive today and popular among Galician youth. The regional independence aims typical of almost every part of Spain were witnessed here as well, with "This is not Spain" spray-painted somewhere in almost every city we visited.

pictures coming soon!

Portugal!

2008-07-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Friday night after our field trip me, Baran, Michael, Lawrence, Aimmee, Amy, and Melanie got on a bus to Portugal! We arrived there at 5 am and totally freeloaded in the lobby of the hotel we were staying in the next night. The next morning we got up early and took a scenic bus ride around Lisbon. We toured the absolutely beautiful San Jeronimo Monastery, and chilled on the beach. Lisbon is beautiful, and and really laid back. There is amazing artwork with tile in every subway station, the sides of buildings and on sidewalks. The balance of modern and historic architecture is perfect and tasteful. We had Vinho Verde with our Bacalou the first night, both specialties of Portugal! Bacalou is just cod, but for some reason the Portuguese have an obsession with it, similar to Spain and ham. Vinho Verde is light and fruity, a white wine that is bottled extra young so that it is still slightly sparkling! It's name literally means "green wine," referring to it's age. The next day we ate Caracois - tiny snails that are boiled in a big pot with olive oil and garlic and then picked from the shell with toothpicks. Portugal has as many Pasteleria's as Spain has Tapas bars, so we ate some wonderful pastries each morning as well. The graffiti here is much cooler than it is in either Madrid or the US, and I enjoyed lots of political and artistic expression on the streets! One of my favorites was "The Walls are the Publishers of the Poor!" We also went to the Gulbenkian Museum, a collection of ancient and modern art from a rich dude named Calouste Gulbenkian who wasn't Portuguese but really liked Lisbon so left all his stuff to them when he died. We took a ride on a historic elevator and got some really awesome views of the city. I think I took more pictures in Portugal than I had taken in Spain up to then.

The bus ride there:

Awesome views:

Awesome Graffiti:

Caracois:

The Monastery:

In the Museum:

Grills and Fascists

2008-07-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

On the 4^th of July we visited El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). El Escorial is an “austere” palace built by Felipe II and was pretty amazing. Its clean lines and simple ornamentation were supposed to represent King Felipe’s humility and focus on God, but a royal mausoleum made completely from marble floor to ceiling and ornate inlaid wooden doors throughout the palace didn’t seem that austere or humble to me. The castle is built in the shape of a grill, and there are grill symbols all over it because the patron saint of El Escorial, San Lorenzo, was martyred by being grilled alive. Tasty! El Escorial today is divided into a museum, a school, and a monastery. The señor of my hosts went to college there!

El Valle de los Caidos is a monument to fascists who died in the Spanish Civil War. It ignores the deaths of those defending the legitimate Spanish government and was built by the dictator Francisco Franco after the end of the Spanish Civil War. It was built with the forced labor of political prisoners, many of whom died or were injured in the process. The monument is still controversial today, and the Spanish government has considering renaming it a "Monument to Democracy." It's creepy because it’s built inside the mountain and has huge looming statues of hooded figures everywhere. Its design is intimidating, and the monument was intended to be an national act of "atonement" for the Spanish people's sins of supporting a liberal democratically elected government. It's disgusting, because it’s also a church. The Catholic Church in Spain doesn’t exactly have a long history of supporting the people, as it does elsewhere (e.g. Latin America, Catholic Workers...) It usually sides with the Monarchy and Military during popular struggles. As a Christian, I was horrified to see the giant Cross protruding from the mountain and was reminded of how often oppressive groups exploit people’s faith in order to achieve their goals. It saddens me to see how religious symbols have been appropriated throughout history by oppressive groups, and still are today (Pat Buchanan, James Dobson...)

Theatre!

2008-07-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

Outside the Flamenco Theatre:

Quick catch-up on what happened in the week after the Eurocup: Tuesday night me and a bunch of people from my school went to see a Flamenco show! It was really well done and I could definitely see the influence that Moorish culture had on the music and dance. It was also interesting to see how strongly it reminded me of Latin America and the cultural influence that Spain's colonialism brought to other parts of the world.

Inside El Teatro de Zarzuela:
Wednesday we had an interesting lecture about the history of Spanish Zarzuela, a form of light opera, and then Thursday went to see a performance. Zarzuela was created for the common people in Spain to enjoy, and was extremely popular in Madrid in the early 1900s. Zarzuela today is mainly the same as it was then, and we watched two classic shows with an intermission between them. Zarzuela is light and comedic, usually focusing around romance and comedic troubles in the life of the working class. I really enjoyed the performance! It was really cool to see theatre of a different style than I'm used to and in a different language as well. I understood most of what was going on even when I didn't understand everything being said. When we were walking back to the Metro after the show, we saw a huge protest going down the main street in the center of town. They were protesting wars in general, and specifically Iraq. They had some signs directly against US and our imperialist foreign policy, and I wanted to go over and say "Hola! Yo soy Estadounidense, pero acuerdo!" (Hi! I'm from the US.. but I agree with you!)

Eurocup, Segovia, Toledo.

2008-07-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I apologize for updating so infrequently. I've been way busy with my intensive Spanish classes all week and traveling on the weekends. I haven't had time to write up detailed descriptions of everything I've been doing, but here's an overview of what's been happening:

In the last week of June, Spain won the Euro Cup! I was extremely lucky to be in Madrid during such an exciting time! I went to Plaza Colón to watch both the semifinal and final games. On game days in Madrid, thousands of people gather in the Plaza to watch the game, hang out, and celebrate. It's absolutely insane. People are packed wall to wall screaming, chanting, singing, dancing, drinking, smoking, etc. I took the picture on the right earlier in the day before Spain played Russia in the semifinals. Plaza Colón was built in honor of Cristobal Colón, otherwise known as Christopher Columbus. These sculptures were added later in remembrance of the genocide that Columbus' "discovery" brought to the Americas. They're decorated with quotes from philosophers and indigenous leaders. The plaza was packed for both games, but especially the final. When Spain won, the crowd went insane! It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. There is absolutely no comparison in the U.S. for the amount of excitement that surrounds soccer here.

The last weekend of June I took two trips outside of Madrid. Friday I went with my program to Segovia, a medieval town just to the north of Madrid; and Saturday I went to Toledo, a medieval town just to the south of Madrid. Segovia is famous for it's Roman aqueduct that has been standing for over 2000 years and was built without any mortar. The blocks are simply resting on top of each other. In the picture to the left, me and my housemate Baran are standing in Segovia's castle. Toledo has a more important and more ornate cathedral and used to be the capital of Spain. The other picture shows me with the view from the front of the Royal Palace in Toledo in the background.

I have a whole ton more pictures up on my flickr site. I'm still uploading all my newer pictures to another site because I've run out of room on flickr, and I'll have another post as soon as they're up!

My first few days in Madrid

2008-06-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

My room:
The front of my building:

The Plaza de Castilla, a block from my house:

I'm now pretty much settled in here in Madrid. Last week before classes started I explored downtown with my housemate, Baran. He's a year older than me and a Psychobiology major at UCLA. He's also a Resident Advisor! We live with Begoña and Alfredo, a very nice elderly couple who host students now that their children have grown up and moved out. Begoña is very funny and tries to make us as comfortable as possible. Alfredo loves watching fútbol and can get a little grumpy when Begoña interrupts his games. Right now we're in the middle of the Euro Cup, so after dinner each day we all watch the current game. The games are usually really exciting and I understand why Europe is so crazy about soccer. The night I first arrived, Spain beat Greece. When I was being driven to the hostel, I passed by a square (which I now know was Plaza Colón) where thousands of people were watching the game on huge screens. They would all scream, cheer, and jump up and down in reaction to the game. I knew Spain had won when i was unpacking at the hostel and heard people running through the streets cheering and cars honking their horns. Spain played Italy on Sunday night, and of course won again. They're now in the semifinals and will be playing Russia. It should be a good game, and I'll be rooting for Spain!

Plaza Mayor:

After walking around Gran Vía and Puerto del Sol last Friday morning, I headed over to the Instituto Internacional for our program orientation. I've been placed in the most advanced of the four Spanish classes, and I think it will be pretty challenging but absolutely worthwhile. After the orientation I went out for a snack with a group of students I met at orientation. I had a normal U.S. timed lunch that day (Noon) so I needed something to hold me over until dinner at a normal Spanish time (10 p.m.).

The Instituto Internacional:

So far the food is wonderful, not only in my homestay but in the restaurants around Madrid as well. Our Señor actually cooks the food, which is uncommon in Spain, but I'm used to that from home! He made an amazing lentil soup with ham and bread our first night, Paella with ham and bread the second, and Rice with ham, fried eggs and bread the third. Notice a theme? Ham is extremely important in the Spanish diet and many meals focus around it. It isn't necessarily eaten every day at every meal (we didn't have any yesterday or today), but it is very popular and culturally significant. The gazpacho, chorizo, grilled chicken, and other foods I've eaten for lunch(the largest meal of the day) in restaurants have been equally impressive. Spain, along with France and Italy, is one of the culinary capitals of the world, and is not only known for it's traditional cuisine but is also considered to be one of the largest influences on modern gastronomy due to chefs like Ferran Adrià and cutting edge restaurants across Spain. I don't exactly have the budget to eat at restaurants like El Bulli, but I've enjoyed traditional Spanish food very much.

Lost in Translation

2008-06-18T03:41:00.000-07:00

When I get to Madrid tonight (hopefully) I will have been in an airport or an airplane continuously for over 40 hours. Right now it's 6:45am in Toronto and I'm waiting to board the replacement for my flight to Madrid that was turned back last night after the failure of air conditioning equipment that was necessary to correctly pressurize the plane. We had already flown over an hour and a half, and had to repeat that to return and then wait until morning for the crew to rest and a new plane to be ready. But here's a really nice entry I put in my journal last night before we got the bad news:

June 17th, 2008. 10:20 pm -
I'm somewhere over Canada. Today has been a long and monotonous day filled with waiting in airport terminals, walking around airport terminals, sleeping on planes, reading on planes.....etc. When we took off from Toronto, the view was beautiful. The multicolored lights twinkled and then became slowly obscured by black clouds as we ascended higher. It is both terribly exciting and wonderfully fearful to be traveling alone, and knowing that my life depends on God's will and my street smarts. As every minute goes by, I get more and more excited. Overhearing conversations in castilian and seeing flight attendants pass out copies of El País, and knowing I'll be in Madrid in approximately 7 hours makes me beyond exuberant.

7 Days Until Departure...

2008-06-10T09:56:00.001-07:00

...And I can't believe it's coming so soon. I've already started packing and getting mentally prepared. This year has flown by quicker than any other, and I'm about to study abroad in Spain for 8 weeks. Just two more finals, 40 more residents to move out, and 7 more days until I leave for what might be the most amazing summer of my life. I'll be living with a Spanish family in Madrid and attending classes at the UC Study Center, Madrid. I plan on updating this blog every week or so for all my family and friends to see what's going on and what I've been up to while abroad.

peace!