Spain, for real...

This has been the most Spanish of all my weekends. Last night I went to la corrida de toros...the bullfight. Here are pictures. I'm still trying to process it. It's horrible grusome and violent and awful, but at the same time it's beautiful and graceful and I don't even know. There were three main matadors and each got to kill two bulls. It's about a 15 minute process and begins with los banderilleros (men with pink capes) essentially taunting the bull. Next los picadores enter the ring. They are two men mounted on blindfolded horses draped in woven armor. They carry long spears and stab the bull in the back while the bull rams into the unsuspecting horse. The picadores exit and the banderilleros come back and take turn piercing the bull with two smaller baton-like spears which stick in the bull's back, in theory for the rest of the ordeal. The bull ends up with six of these dangling out of his shoulders. Then the ring empties but for the matador and the crowd is silenced. He waves his red cape and faces the bull for a while before stabbing him with his sword. The banderilleros return and taunt the bull a bit more before the bull eventually collapses and is dragged out of the ring by decorated mules. If it was a particularly good fight, the crow will wave white hankies in the air indicating they wish to have the bull's ear cut off and given to the matador. He then parades around the ring brandishing his prize. It's interesting to me that this country's symbol of masculinity is a man in sparkly beaded tights, pink socks, and ballet flats. It was quite an experience and at times I wanted to throw up, but I stuck it out because it is such a typical part of the culture. When the torero makes a good turn of his cape the entire crowd murmurs "Ole" but it's quiet and breathy and almost eerie, not full of passion and spirit. People of all ages were there and it truly is a family affair.

As I was leaving the plaza, my phone rang and it was Mayda, a friend of a friend of my Dad. She lives in Sevilla and invited me to eat lunch, Spain's main meal, with her family. I was with them from 1 until 7 today. We had a typical Spanish almuerzo at the tennis club and then returned to their gorgeous apartment for coffee. Mayda and her husband have two daughters, Mayda (14) and Teresa(5) they are both adorable. We were also joined by their cousin Felipe who is a 27 year old tax lawyer. I only slept for 3 1/2 hours last night so 6 hours of attempting to speak Spanish was a little difficult today. Also, we're out of gas again so I haven't showered in a few days and I felt absolutely disgusting. I'm going to have to brave a freezing cold one tonight. The whole family was incredibly kind to me though and encouraged me to call them if I ever need anything. I hope they call again and that I can be better prepared to be an interesting conversationalist, ie, know more Spanish and not be completely sleep deprived.

Oh, I also went to mass today with my friend Martin who is Colombian. It was so short and the church was quite empty. That's understandable though because we went at 10 and Spaniards are not morning people...which makes sense because a good night out for them doesn't end before 7 am. I didn't understand much because the priest mumbled and the church echoed, but I'm excited to go again and try to comprehend more. I've written out the prayers in Spanish and hopefully will become better at them soon.

Hope you all are great. Miss you loads! XOXO

Today was the first day of classes. I only had two though, Contemporary Spanish Cinema, and the Contemporary Spanish Novel. They both seem like they'll be really interesting. I could understand the professors, too! Unfortunately all my classes are only with American students, but they will all be taught in Spanish and the exams must be written in Spanish as well. Tomorrow I'm going to go to a Spanish art history class, from El Greco to Picasso. I'm really excited about that one. I also have Flamenco as an Expression of Andalusian Culture and something or other about the political development of the European Union. Should be pretty fun. My roommates and I went out for tapas the other night. We each had two small dishes and a glass of wine and only spent 5 euro each. Incredible. They were delicious too! I had some sort of chicken kabob wtih french fries and a sausage-stuffed, fried bell pepper. It sounds strange, but it was tasty. They really like to fry things here. I've been running with Zoe which is nice. We just do a little loop across two bridges and along the river. The river is my favorite part of the city, which is strange because it's actually rather disgusting and reminds me of the pond at Manito. The branch we live by is actually manmade because the real one used to flood all the time so they cut this one in. It's stillwater, but it's still nice to run along. One of these days I'm going to rent a little kayak and boat along it. I'm going to go to mass on Sunday. I printed off the Our Father and Apostle's Creed today in Spanish so I don't look like an idiot. Well, that's about all I know right now. XOXO

Here are some Portugal pics. It was amazing, as you can see. I love Lagos.

Portugal

Oh my goodness! Portugal is incredible. A group of six of us got on a bus at 6:30 am Friday morning, fell asleep, and woke up in a new country. We got off the bus, not sure where to go becuase Brian, who was in charge of planning, hadn't written down the address of our condo because he couldn't find a pen. It was cold and completely overcast and we realized none of us knew a word of Portuguese and the whole trip suddenly seemed crazy. Fortunately, we quickly found a little internet cafe, got the address of the condo and set off in what we hoped was the right direction. After walking about a mile Kristen and Brian asked a woman for directions, not only did she tell us where to go, she drove the other three girls there and then returned to pick up me, Brian and Matt. She was so sweet, a little crazy, but so helpful. Needless to say, our first impression of the Portuguese was a great one. We found the condo and it was perfect, two bedrooms, a little kitchen a bathroom and living room. After sitting around for a bit we decided we might as well check out the beach, despite the bad weather. We walked down the road and down about a thousand stairs to this beautiful little cove. We'd been there for about 15 minutes when the sun came out and everything warmed up. It was perfect. When I have more time I'll post pictures. It looked just like an ad from a travel magazine. Amazing. We spent the afternoon there, swimming, tanning and reading the British women's magazines we'd found in the condo. We did the same the next day at a beach just a little down the way from that one. It was the perfect weekend getaway. I just now got back, the bus trip took 5 1/2 hours this time, a little absurd, but worth it for the weekend we had. Tomorrow we have orientation at the university. I'm ready to have some direction and purpose again. I hope you all are still doing well. I love reading the comments and finding out about what you're all up to. Miss everyone! XOXO

Not much new has happened, so this entry probably won't be too exciting. Yesterday morning we had bike tour of the city. 17 Americans cruising around the town on rented bikes, not the best idea if you ask me. Everything went well though and we didn't have any mishaps. We went around the whole center of the city. I didn't realize that Expo '92 was held here. It was during that time that most of the city's bridges were built. The river divides Triana and a few other neighborhoods from Sevilla and for a long time residents of Triana considered themselves to be in a separate city. Today we saw the Real Alcazar which is essentially the palace where the royal family stays when they are in Sevilla. Parts of it date back to the 10th century. It's the place where Colombus frequently begged Queen Isabel for money for his trip to "India." Pretty incredible, huh? It has these beautiful gardens with all sorts of plants and fountains and even a small labyrinth. Lola, our senora, finally came again today. She hadn't been here since Saturday and all we had left to eat were a few muffins, half a loaf of bread, some apples and a few cornflakes. Oh, and the two jars of pate, one anchovy and the other duck. No thank you. She brought us tortilla espanola, salad, delicious chicken and some sort of lentil/veggie thing. It's all so so good! She and Mari also started our mountain of laundry. It's kind of weird to have your underwear just hanging out to dry in the courtyard where everyone can see. Oh well, at least it's not on the roof like it is at the other residencia. Our intensive Spanish grammar classes are leaving a little something to be desired. It's good to get back into Spanish mode though and I like having some sort of purpose in life, even if it is just to show up at the API office at 3:30 everyday. Today I got asked for directions and was even able to give them! I think I'm practically a native now. Yeah, I wish. It's been so hot here. I debate leaving 15 minutes early so I can slowly stroll everywhere so as not to arrive covered in sweat. Since it takes half an hour to get to school anyway I think I'll just go glistening because I'm not getting up that extra 15 minutes just for vanity's sake. I hope all is well with you all. I miss you lots and am loving the emails and facebook messages. Love you lots! XOXO

My Bedroom.
The Living Room.
Trees outside the main entrance to school.
Corridor in school.
Fountain in a courtyard in school.

Livin' the Life

Life is amazing right now. You will not believe my day yesterday. After sleeping until 1 pm, my roommate Sanja and I walked around Sevilla for about three hours just taking pictures and exploring. We thought we were a little lost, but only used the map once which just confirmed we were on the right track. It felt good. We also got asked for directions twice, of course we weren't any help, but it was nice to get asked. When we got back to Triana, our neighborhood, we saw a bride in a horse carriage and all these people in complete formal attire going into a little chapel. I love weddings! After coming home, eating, resting and showering, we set out for our evening adventure. Zoe, another roommate, had read about movies in the park and she spent the day searching for the gardens so we could go see "Pan's Labyrinth" a Spanish film, in Spanish, in a garden! We walked about a mile, caught a cab, fumbled around with the pronunciation of "jardines de buhaira" and finally ended up in a completely dark and almost deserted park across town. Sketchy, no? We followed movie posters to what looked like a small fortress. We bought tickets and passed through a gate into a beautiful courtyard with vine-covered walls and a screen on one side. There was even a concession stand. There we watched the film, which is a little terrifying but also wonderful, under the clouds accompanied by the occasional breeze. I can't even explain how cool it was. After the movie we went out to Calle Alfalfa, a little street where locals and foreigners go at night to drink and mingle. We stayed for a little while and then just came home. It was an incredible night and I can't wait to go back next weekend. Today I am going over to Meaghan's apartment which is across the river. She's giving me her computer for a while so I can mess around with loading pictures. I hope all is well back at home. Miss you guys!

I have a home! It's very little and I have to share a room, but it's a home! It looks exactly like it's straight out of an IKEA catalog. It's crazy. Lola, my senora, is adorable. She has bright red hair and comes to bring us food three days a week. I live with three other American girls who seem really nice so far. Today we took a tour of the university which actually used to be a tobacco factory, the factory in which Carmen, from the famous opera, worked. Cool, huh? Anyway, the school is 501 years old!!!! Ridiculous, right? It looks like the Davenport Hotel inside. I'm absolutely in awe of everything. It's about a 25 minute walk from my apartment, which is in Triana, an old gypsy neighborhood, to the school which is in el centro. I have to cross the river on a bridge which is beautiful and then walk along the river under a canopy of trees, really it's a canopy. We don't have to be anywhere until Monday morning when we're taking a biking tour of Sevilla. I'm excited. We have intensive languages classes in the evening next week and a few more sights to see. Classes start on the 24th and I'm getting nervous. It's kind of hard to understand the Spanish here. I really need to practice more which sometimes makes me wish I'd chosen to live with a family because we're mostly speaking English in the apartment. Some people are going to the beach this weekend, but I just want to stay here and explore what could be the most beautiful city I've ever seen. Did I mention I walk past the bullring on my way to school? I don't feel like this is real yet. It's great though!

I'm here! Well, I'm in Madrid. It's pretty incredible. We went out last night to a club and the whole thing felt like a dream. It was so surreal. There were frescos on the walls and marble statues and "Family Guy" was playing on a projection screen. They played Madonna, "Call on Me," "Gettin' Jiggy With It" and the sphere-off song from the camp dance. There was also a shirtless male go-go dancer dressed as a cowboy. Like I said, surreal. Tomorrow we go to Toledo and then Thursday we have a 6 hour bus ride to Sevilla. So fun. Everyone here is really nice and I think it's going to be an amazing quarter. I already miss people at home though. Oh well, I think I'll survive. I have a phone now and it's free for incoming calls so if anyone feels like calling me you're quite welcome. There is a 9 hour time difference and I don't know how much international calls are for you, but here's my number anyway 011 34 607 98 13 94. Love you! Hasta luego

Hi. Well, I'm not really the blogging type, but I decided this would be the easiest way to keep everyone updated on life in Spain. My good friend Trek helped me set this up and hopefully I don't ruin it without her to help me. Basically, I leave for Madrid on Saturday. I'll arrive Sunday and don't have orientation until Monday evening. I can survive for a day on my own though, right? Well, I guess we'll find out. After a few days touring Madrid we head to Toledo as a group and then finally down to Sevilla. I don't know when classes start or anything. I don't even know what classes I'm taking yet. I do know I'm living in an apartment type thing with three other students. Lola is the landlady who cooks and cleans for us. I think it will be a pretty sweet life. I'll try to keep this updated as much as I can and try to figure out how to put fun things like pictures up. I know I'm going to miss everyone tons and tons so if you feel so inclined, I would love a little hello every now and then, even if it's just through Facebook or something. Hope you all have a great fall and know that I'll be thinking of you. Lots of love! -Krista