Continued...

After tea we went back up the enormous hill to the hotel for dinner. Dinner was alright, bland Spanish buffet, but we made it through without anyone singing "Happy Birthday" which is good. When we finished we headed up to the room to get ready for flamenco. Once we were all dolled up, we opened a bottle of champagne for my first drink. It was delicious! Just as we were about to leave for the caves, it began to our. Several people were actually refusing to go out in the downpour. It hadn´t even occurred to us to bring our umbrellas to Granada. FInally we called a small fleet of taxis to take us to the show.

We pulled up in front of the building and ran from the cab into the shelter of the "cave." The cave was really a sort of small tunnel-like room with whitewashed walls, brightly colored lights and gleaming copper pots dangling from the ceiling. The walls were covered in black and white photos of flamenco greats, famous toreros and Spanish celebrities, like the beautiful Antonio Banderas. The room was long and narrow and each wall was lined with chairs. We took seats near the center and a waiter came around for drink orders. As soon as he left, the show began.

Flamenco is difficult to describe. It´s essentially a dance and music that conveys complete passion. Even after having studied it for the past month, I understand very little. In this "espectaculo" there were several female dancers (they only dance one at a time though) and a few males. There was at least one guitarist and several different people singing and clapping. Hands become an instrument of their own in flamenco, clapping out seemingly impossible rhythms at ridiculous speeds. The women´s dresses are elaborate, fitted on top and gaudily ruffled on the skirt. Many are vibrantly colored and covered in large polka dots. Their hair was pulled back and adorned with combs and flowers, but quickly fell down as soon as they began to dance.

They danced for about an hour. Flamenco is very sensual, but not in an overly graphic or offensive way. It involves a lot of arm and hand movement as well as an emphasis on the stamping of the feet. Flamenco singing comes from deep within the singer´s throat and is quite a challenge to try to understand. They play with the syllables, stretching some and then squeezing the rest into the short time left by the exaggeration of the first.

At the end of the performance they pulled in people from the audience to attempt to dance with them. My friends were kindly informed that if they mentioned it was my birthday, they would be killed. The warning worked and I wasn´t even asked to dance. Several people did have the courage to dance and it was quite enterataining. One of the real dancers has a brother who lives in Spokane with his Mexican wife. How crazy is that? She just had a baby. Maybe you helped deliver it, Mama.

When we left, the rain had stopped and it was only eleven. The night was young and we headed out to celebrate.

XOXO

Julia, Granada, Flamenco and the 21st.

Hello! I was gone for the weekend and without internet and it feels like I have a thousand things to write about. I apologize in advance if this is a really long post. First of all, Julia got here Friday night. It was so good to see her and although her trip was long, she made it here without any trouble. We just went to bed because we had to be up early to catch the bus to Granada on Saturday morning.

We arrived in Granada at 11 am. The city is beautiful and has a completely different atmosphere than Sevilla. For one, it was actually kind of cold there. The air was nice and crisp, as fall air should be. It´s quite a bit smaller than Sevilla, but seems to run at a faster pace. Sevillanos tend not to hurry anywhere whereas Granada seemed buzzing with people going places. After exploring the city a bit, we trekked back up the enormous hill to our hotel which was across the street from the Alhambra. At the top of the hill were the gypsies. I don´t know if I´ve mentioned, but there are gypsies at every main tourist attraction in Andalusia. They carry little sprigs of rosemary and try to read your palm with them. This is fine, but they charge 3€ for this elaborate display and unsuspecting tourists easily fall victim because they don´t give you much of a choice,essnetially thrusting the herb into your hand while distracting you with a torrent of Spanish compliments. I was unsure if they would let Julia get away without her fortune told, so when the elegant gypsy woman in the gaudy fur coat approached Julia, I grabbed the fur-covered elbow to pull her back and firmly said "No". Life lesson here: Don´t touch gypsies. They will turn around with fire in their eyes and curse you. I didn´t understand much,mostly just something about my ugly face. That was my first birthday gift, a gypsy curse. Awesome.

Later, as we were waiting to go in to the Alhambra, I recieved birthday gift number two. A bird pooped on my hands. Equally awesome. Turns out though, that several people think getting pooped on or stepping in poop is good luck. I think the bird saved me from the gypsy curse. As of yet, my face is not disfigured. Knock on wood.

The Alhambra was stunning, of course. I will post pictures when my camara battery is charged. After the tour, we walked back down into the center in search of a tetería. Martín, Julia Zoë and I ended up in this tiny,dimly lit cafe with cushioned stools and benches around tables made for a dollhouse. We were brought the menu which consisted of three or four pages of tea options and a page of Arabic sweets. We made our selections, Hawaian for Julia, Chai for Zoë, Al Andalus for me, and some unpronouncible green tea for Martín and ordered them along with an assortment of desserts. We were each given our own little pot and beatifully colored glass. It was exquisite. The room was so cozy and warm and filled with the sweet smoke from the hookahs which were also available. The sweets were amazing. There was a brownie with walnuts, some sort of moist, well, more like dripping wet, almond bread, a miniature caramelized funnel cake and a large slice of what I think was fig pie. It was the perfect way to spend a chilly afternoon.

I have to go to class now, but I will continue the Granada adventure later.

Much love!

Clase de Pintura!!!

I´m really proud of myself right now because I just signed up for a painting class. I´ll be taking a course in acrylics twice a week for the month of November. It´s on the second floor (really the third because that´s the way things work here)of this cute little building on Calle Betis which runs along the river. I need to buy a smock and some other things I need to translate into English in order to buy. The woman was really nice and said the class was . There were six people in there painting while I was there. Everyone was working on their own individual project, some in watercolor, some with oils. They seemed to be of all different levels, but all the paintings were beautiful. They had soft music playing and the entire room smelled of oil paints. I think it will be a great way to work on my Spanish and to just relax as well as feel productive. Who knows, maybe I´ll bring back a masterpiece. Or maybe not. I´ll post photos of what I paint, how does that sound? I´m really excited! Whenever I succeed in speaking Spanish and actually communicating my message I feel all giddy and like I can do anything. Plus, the moon is full and the river is beautiful right now. This city is stunning at night. The Plaza de Toros, La Giralda, Puente de Triana and El Torre del Oro are all lit up. I just want to sit at a café along the river and have a nice glass of wine and just admire everything. Maybe I will go do just that. ¡Buenas noches!

La Vida De Una Sevillana

Sorry it's been so long since I've written anything. Life has been pretty average here lately. Except that last night I went to a book release in a convent in the old Arab quarter. Mayda, Tres' friend called me and invited me to go with her. I went for a quick run with my roommate, rinsed off in the shower and set off in search of La Giralda cafe. I knew it was near La Giralda, which is the name of the large tower on the cathedral here, but beyond that I was clueless. Fortunately I found the place; I wasn't even late! Mayda met me there and we set off into the barrio Santa Cruz. It's a part of Sevilla where the streets are maybe four feet wide, thus it's only accesible by foot, bike or moto. The houses are beautiful and it's full of quaint bars and restaurants, and, well, a convent. The nuns in the convent are cloistered, is that the right word? Where they can't leave? I think it is. Oh, that's right we have several convents and monestaries in Sevilla and many of them still house monks and nuns. Mayda is taking a class on theology and a friend had given her invitations to this release. Usually the convent is closed to the public, but the book was about the life of Sta. Teresa and this convent was possibly where she lived? Needless to say it was in Spanish and I've discovered that Spanish in churches is really difficult to understand. I believe she lived in the convent for some time or at least these nuns are followers of hers. We left about halfway through because they were going to have a slideshow and the screen was tiny. Mayda took me out for tapas which were delicous. Curried chicken crepes, and little tostadas with cheese and ham and others with foie gras and fried onions. Que deliciosas! It was a really fun night and she even told me that my Spanish was good. She may have been lying, but I'll take it anyway. Much to my delight, she also informed me that I was not getting fat. The Spanish are very open about weight; a complete contrast to the American viewpoint. In their eyes, if you're gaining weight, you just change something and lose it. Alternatively, if you're too thin, they will feed you and feed you. They openly tell you what they think. I suppose this is good, for you never have to guess what's going on in their heads.

Julia is coming on Friday! I can't wait. I'm already drawing up an itinerary. I can't wait to show her around the city. We will first spend the weekend in Granada, a beautiful little city east of here. It should be a good trip. We'll get to see an espectaculo de flamenco in some caves on Saturday night. I promise to take lots of pictures, it's a great little town. I'm excited to show off Sevilla. The weather has been nasty today, we had to hang our laundry inside and let it dry all over again because it got drenched in the courtyard. It's been nice to have a cool grey day though.

Well, I need to go study for art history. Yesterday the profe told us that we were all going to fail; that he couldn't study for us and what more could he do than explain things and write them on the board? That we were there voluntarily and no one was making us do anything. That Spain may not have money, like we do in the US, but that it had culture and art. He said he was like Christ with his hands tied and there wasn't anything more he could do for us. It was a bit infuriating. In any case, I need to review the material.

Miss you all tons and tons! Oh, UB, I emailed your friend in Paris. I'll let you know if I hear back from him.

Love you lots and lots!
XOXO

More Photos from Sweden

Uppsala and Stockholm, Sweden

Well, I'm back from Sweden. What a beautiful country! It reminded me so much of fall in Washington. There were gorgeous yellow leaves on the ground and on the trees and the air was crisp and made me want to carve pumpkins and drink cider. Unfortunately, they don't have cider in Sweden. I arrived at Arlanda airport Thursday afternoon after a rather sleepless night in the shady hotel in Malaga. I got off the plane, got my luggage and found Mikael who hasn't changed much over the past four years. He's just taller and still as handsome as ever. We took the 30 minute train to Uppsala the college town where he lives. With 130,000 people it's the fourth largest city in Sweden. It's a quaint town full of history. I had no idea how influential Sweden has been historically. We saw museums and even the first ever thermometer which had 0 degrees as boiling and 100 as freezing. After the inventor died they changed this. Mikael took me to his school where he's studying medicine and I got to see a preserved whale heart and he showed me a few slides through his microscope. Tongue is very interesting. Friday afternoon we met Sarah, another friend of ours, at the train station in Stockholm. Stockholm is the world's most ecologically friendly city. It's built on islands and we had coffee and delicious pie with Mikael's friends Bjern and Frida in a cozy cafe in Old Stockholm. Frida had to catch a train so she didn't join us for dinner, but the rest of us ate at a funky little Mongolian restaurant where they were very eager to show the correct way to do things. Sarah had taken my plate to dish me up and the waiter came over and informed her that she was not to have two plates and that one was for me. When Bjern was eating his rice plain, a waitress arrived and showed him how he should put the sweet and sour sauce on it. Very interesting. That night we wandered between 'nations' or student clubs. It was fun, but the walk home was freezing. Saturday we explored Uppsala. The governor's castle, the botanical gardens, an old cathedral and one of the old university buildings. We returned home in the afternoon for lunch (Mikael is an incredible cook) and to get ready for the Oktoberfest party. It was a great time. The party was in the hospital as it was put on for the med students. We had huge steins of beer and German sausage, potatos and saurkraut for dinner. Everyone was very dressed up and we met lots of nice people. If you all ever have the chance to go to Sweden you most certainly should!!!

Off to Sweden...

Well, this week has been pretty normal so far. Lola brought us a feast! Empanada, rice with garlic, turkey in cream sauce, tuna/veggie salad, mini-muffins, bread, cookies, and a big ole thing of jam! We eat a lot of jam because you can put it on anything! I'm really liking my novel class. We started reading and it's slow and tedious having to look up words all the time, but it's reading, which I love. My cine class is tough because the professor is so enthusiastic and the students are so apathetic. So far all we've really done is watch movies and then say what we like about them. Not sure what the test is going to be like in there. I get to miss my art history and flamenco classes tomorrow! I like them, but it's always nice to not have to go. I'm going to Malaga on the train tonight and staying in a hotel there...by myself...I'm going to try not to think about scary things. Unfortunately I'm missing the movie night with API tonight. I think it's worth it though. Mikael has said he will meet me at the airport which is very nice of him considering it's about a 45 minute bus ride away. I'm kind of nervous. Who goes to Sweden to see someone they haven't seen for 4 years? I promise to take lots of pictures and write about it as soon as I get back. Love you all! Miss you! XOXO

Well, I've officially had the laziest weekend ever. We did end up going out on Thursday night...out until 6:30 Friday morning. Needless to say, Friday was mostly spent sleeping. Friday night I just watched a movie here at the apartment, Seven, it's very suspenseful and clever, but a lot disturbing. Yesterday I did a lot more sleeping as well. I did walk to el centro to buy a book for class and look for Oktoberfest attire for the party we're going to in Sweden. No luck, apprently German attire isn't popular in southern Spain. Went for a run with Zoe, we definitley worked it, which is ridiculous because we went in the middle of siesta, the hottest part of the day. We also did lunges down our street on the way back. Bad news, two women walked by and I'm almost positive they were talking about us. Good news, they definitely lowered their voices to do so, so I think they thought we were real Spaniards! Got some quality TV watching in yesterday. Saw the ends of both "Free Willy" and "Jungle 2 Jungle." No wonder people in foreign countries have such strange perceptions of Americans. Our food supplies are getting low again. We have some meat/potato dish that's mostly fat, some potatoes with egg and onion (basically unblended tortilla that you eat cold) and a garbanzo bean/sausage soup thing. Oh, and HICKEN. You probably read that and think, "Oh good, they have chicken and she was so excited about it she used all caps and didn't realize she'd forgotten the first C." Oh no, my friends, I mean hicken. Hicken is a lovely treat we found in our fridge this week. It looks like a small Christmas ham. It's actually pollo relleno de jamon or ham stuffed chicken. We're a little weirded out but then justify it as essentiallyl chicken cordon bleu, no? So I pull it out, open it and begin to slice. Not chicken cordon bleu. Somehow they have managed to magically blend the two meats into some sort of unified marbled meat...hicken. I hate to say that it actually tastes pretty good and that you can eat a few small slices before getting too freaked out to eat anymore. Alas, even the hicken is beginning to dwindle. I hope Senora Lola or Mari or yet unnamed woman comes today with more, real food that is, not hicken.

Mez and Jez

Today we bought pets! We now have two goldfish, one black one with big oogly eyeballs and one orange and white one, sitting on our coffee table. They are Mez and Jez, the El Dude Brothers. Zoe and I named them after the star characters of "Peep Show" a British sitcom she got me hooked on. They are lovely additions to our apartment. Today was a really good day. I was feeling sick earlier this week, but I feel a lot better today. Classes were really interesting. We learned how to clap, palmear, in flamenco class. Apparently, I'm terrible. After school I took care of finalizing my Sweden plans at the API office and came home. Zoe and I went shopping at one of the little China stores in our neighborhood and bought some necessities (stationary and a hairbrush) for very cheap and went to the pet store for our new little friends. We also went running which felt great today. I think we're getting faster! It's 10:00 and the night is young. We don't have school tomorrow so we might go out. It should be a good weekend! I can't believe that next week at this time I'll be in Sweden. It's ridiculous! Miss you guys lots!