Bus No. 6

Since I am reminded casi cotidiano (almost daily) that all I seem to do at night is homework (I can't even watch "Andaluces por al mundo" with my family!...My host dad and Maria just told me that none of their past host students did this much schoolwork.  In fact, they went to parties every night.), I truly feel as though I am missing out on so many cultural experiences that I have the opportunity to take part in here.  I resent this, but will not place the blame on anyone but myself...Anyway, por esta razón (for this reason), I cannot take this time to detail my extraordinary weekend in Valencia with my interest group.  I will instead, brief you on my day.

I woke up early so I could go to the instituto (high school) where I have started volunteering.  It is apparently a bilingual school.  The teachers I am working with all very nice and so excited to learn and take advantage of my help (which is great)!  This school is much more organized than the colegio (elementary school) where I taught students about our cultural traditions on Halloween.  Today was my second day.  I have not yet begun helping in the classrooms, but I am helping teachers learn/practice their English, in order to better instruct their students.  This is a truly interesting and helpful experience because I am learning basics about Spain's education system and I can physically see what qualities I have to offer them and in what ways I can help others at different levels (students, teachers, directors of programs, etc.).  Everyone is so thankful and open to new ideas, so I am always excited to go back.  Also, we take a coffee break to the bar/cafe next door, rather than in the "teachers' lounge."  It makes me feel so official and grown-up.  Especially today while I was speaking with an intern there who happens to be from Florida, working towards his doctorate to become a professor.  He's nice. We could be friends. Thursday I get to go to an English class and talk about Thanksgiving. You better believe we're making hand turkeys!

On my way to my class at the university today, I decided to take the bus.  It was cold and rainy. It seemed logical. It would have been logical, if I had executed this plan correctly.  I took Bus 6, swearing that it was the bus I had taken last time and that I would simply ride it to a stop near the school.  I felt reassured when students with University of Sevilla backpacks got on the bus. Through the outrageous traffic (this occurs when it rains) and literally 4 different ambulance causing minor traffic jams, I watched as we got close to my destination and turned away from it, as the clock was ticking.  Farther and farther away we drove, the time stopping for no one (the traffic clearly following suit).  It was now 17.04h...my class starts at 17.00. Since it is a known fact that my professor arrives 15 minutes late every day, I was not terribly concerned about this. I became concerned when we began to circle around the area near Betis Stadium (one of Sevilla's soccer teams).  Suddenly I found myself on an empty bus. The lights were turned off. Good grief.

I approached the driver and asked the question I had already known the answer to...clearly the sign was incorrect when it stated that this bus would take me to Prado de San Sebastian. He looked at me like I was dumb, but told me which bus to wait for when I got off. The time was now 17.22h. My metro card was out of money and I had used my last Euro coins on the bus I had just ridden.  My smallest bill was a 20. Bus drivers do not like this. As I waited in the rain, in what might as well have been the middle of nowhere, Bus 34 was nowhere to be seen.  The time was now 17.26h. I finally hailed a cab in order to take a direct trip.  I knew it was not far enough away to be a fortune and I had a large bill anyway. When I finally arrived across the street from the university (since there are too many one-way streets and turn-abouts to get on the correct side quickly), I waited for the cross-walk to turn green and ran to my class. I entered the classroom at approximately 17.36h.  I felt bad, but Ivan (the professor) could care less. I explained myself in order to justify my tardiness.  He simply explained that Spaniards are typically not very punctual.  So basically, I was just being Spanish...

What did I miss from our class discussion, you ask? An analysis of half of a paragraph.  When he realized that he had nothing more prepared for us in class, we were let out early.  Basically, I spent more time traveling to class than I actually spent in class. Typical.

Side Note: I now have a second blanket on my bed. My house is cold. We don't have a heater (to my knowledge). The new worst thing is waking up to walk on the cold tile floor to the cold bathroom to sit on the cold toilet and wash my hands with cold water.

Other Side Note: I ran out of clean underwear yesterday and I have still not received the washed and pressed pile. Therefore, I am wearing them inside out.  Problem-- no sign of a new supply. What happens after 2 days of the same underwear? Also, I ran out of clean socks today. Oh boy!    

checking things off the list

I cannot believe I forgot to include this in my last post!

I went down an "up" escalator.  It was thrilling and disorienting.  I've always wanted to do this.  Now, however, I feel the need to go up a "down" escalator to even things out.

I love escalators. They are never not functional.  When broken, they become stairs.


Side Note: The final film (note the alliteration...that may or may not have been intentional) I saw was Shahada.  It was a German film about several different people who rediscovered their Muslim faith after various challenging life experiences. I enjoyed it.    

This one goes out to Turrón…

Monday night, Sevilla FC played Valencia. It was a really good game. Too bad I couldn’t sit and watch it with María and my host dad. Instead I retreated back to my lonely little room to slave away on my homework, listening to the cheers from living/dining room. 

Tuesday during lunch my host parents said that all I ever do now is study.  Explaining my classes and the fact that I am taking them because they are the only ones my university back home accepts, did not make me feel like any less of a loser.

I knew Wednesday would be brutal before it even started.  I had a boat-load of homework due the next day.  On the way back from class, I stopped at Dia (one of the grocery stores) and purchased a snack.  I bought a nut and “dried fruit” (they claim to be dried fruit, but they aren’t the typical fruits we think of) trail mix.  It was so salty that I could feel my arteries clogging and I literally thought that I was going to die of a heart attack right there on the side of the road as I waited for the cross-walk to turn green...Instead, I tried the tres chocolates turrón.  This was a mistake. Not because it was bad, but because it was good. So good. By the end of the night, this giant bar of rich dulce goodness was gone.  I ate the entire thing. Myself. I can assure you that this was probably more than my recommended daily caloric intake.  In hindsight I kind of want to puke.  I could blame it on my sleep-deprived homework crazed state of mind, but let’s be honest, I knew what I was getting myself into.  No regrets.  Viva España, right?!

The only thing that kept me awake long enough to finish half of my homework (I did the other half when I woke up…this is my life right now. I wish I was kidding.), was the adrenaline I got after getting an email telling me that I got the CRA position and an email I got from a high school Spanish teacher in the Peoria area that I’ve been corresponding with, saying that she’d love to have me Student Teach with her.  I’m still pumped about this, to tell you the truth.

Thursday after my first class. Such a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.  I was so relieved to be done with all of that work that I could finally sit back and relax for a moment.  My history teacher (who’s a wealth of knowledge) took us on a class field trip to el barrio de Santa Cruz (the old Jewish portion of Sevilla…because during the Inquisition, the Christians physically separated them to emphasize the belief that they were “different” and needed to be treated differently). 

Later that day, I discovered that the World Cup trophy was in downtown Triana! Apparently, it tours around Spain, so that everyone can get a chance to see it and feel united and proud.  I really wanted to go and see it, but it would have taken over 4 hours.  The line wound around gates and down the block, like the line for Splash Mountain at Disney World or the grand opening for the Superman rollercoaster at Six Flags.  Needless to say, class got in the way.  But at least I can say that I kind of saw it.

In class we finished watching a classic Spanish film (according to our professor).  La Tía Tula.  It was based on a novella by Miguel de Unamuno, a Spanish writer during the literary period of “la generación del ’98.”  I really like Unamuno, actually.  He questions everything in life.  Poor guy.  He probably never slept.  Anyway…I normally have an extremely difficult time sitting through this 2 hour class every Tuesday and Thursday night.  The professor is clearly new at this and he is dry.  But he has started working on it.  He wants to be liked, and he’s trying to relate to us now.  It’s cute...End of tangent. This week was the best two days of this class all semester, so far! I loved the movie! I was so into it, that I had a discussion with Ivan (the professor) after class.  After our class finished the movie, we had a rousing discussion about the film.  At one point it got slightly heated.  And it was funny that my professor was the only male in the room at that time, because there were quite a few feminist comments that made him nervous. This difference in beliefs of the characters in the film (shot during the 70s) was a difference of perspectives of a society plagued by Franco’s beliefs of gender roles and modern America’s beliefs on gender roles.  Very different.  Before learning about this in one of my other classes here, I would not have understood this (like the majority of people in my class).

 

After class, I went to the Festival de Cine Europeo to see a film.  It costs 3 € for each film, unless you have a special pass, which the students in one of the interest groups received.  Aisha has one of these passes, so I’ve gotten into some films for free!  The film we went to see was sold out (some of the people there are crazy about this festival and make elaborate schedules to see as many of them as physically possible).  We chose a random film that was playing at the same time.  It was called Farewell.  It was a film from Holland, made entirely out of archived film clips from the journey of the Graf Zeppelin across the world in 1929, narrated from the perspective of Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, the first woman to successfully fly around the world.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but it was really good.  I never would have learned about this if I hadn’t seen this film.  It’s crazy to me, to think about how much history happens everywhere every day that we never learn about because it is impossible to teach everything, so “they” have to choose what’s most important.  And then I think, who are we to decide what is most important to learn.  Is any one culture’s history more important than another’s (I realize we are generally most interested in what affects us more directly)? 

After the film, I hung out with Fran, some of his Spanish friends, and a group of Americans in my program at a botellón for Fran, Dani, and Lourve’s birthday.  I didn’t stay too long, though.  I was exhausted. 

Friday morning, I woke up to go see an “official selction” film in el Teatro Lope de Vega.  It was a beautiful old theater in the park built for the Ibero-American Expo.  The film was called, The Happy Housewife.  I really enjoyed it.  It was a very strong film.  An emotionally tolling drama with a profound message.  My favorite kind…After the film we stood around for a while and then guess who just happened to show up?! Drum-roll please….Antonio Banderas! I’m not kidding!  It was so cool! There was a red carpet, a press room, and everything.  There were not many people there.  Just press mainly.  It was not chaotic like everything you see on TV in the U.S.  It was very surreal.  Antonio seemed very nice to me.  He took pictures with some people who were close and any time the paparazzi asked him to look to their cameras, he did so kindly.  He looked older in person, without all the stage makeup on, but he was still suave and graceful with his dark hair slicked back and his classy-casual ensemble.  I still cannot believe that this happened!  I saw two other films later that night. They were ok.  I was not very fond of Black Field and I am kind of indifferent about Silent Souls.  The cinematography was extraordinary (set in Russia…which I’ve discovered really fascinates me) and the language was beautiful.  I ate dinner at a restaurant by myself (not a sit-down restaurant so it doesn’t really count) and went to a movie by myself.  I can now check these things off my list.

(On the red carpet in el Teatro Lope de Vega)

(Inside the lobby of the theater...I couldn't get a picture of the actual theater, which was absolutely beautiful)

(the red carpet)

(paparazzi shot of Antonio) 

(Do I need to explain this one?)

(The press conference that Aisha snuck into...and then got kicked out of)

(Aisha in front of the fotocal...is that how it's spelled in Spanish...anyone?)

(I'm basically a celebrity)

(In front of the theater)

I woke up this morning after a wonderfully long slumber.  Much needed.  I will be meeting with Juan, my intercambio, later this evening to practice his English/my Spanish, and then I will be enjoying my last film festival flick. 

Summary of this past week:

I spend too much time on homework.  I love film festivals!  I can no longer by turrón for myself.  I should probably sleep more.  All I feel like doing right now is reading Harry Potter.  The weather has been beautiful.  I love my new boots!  My house is in Spain, but my home is in the United States of America.

This is the life I live.     

Caves are more interesting than my homework

I am procrastinating.

I don’t really know how much I need to read for my tres culturas class (three cultures—Muslims, Jews, and Christians) but it seems like way more than it should be. Obviously this confusion is distracting me from completing the actual assignment. Typical.

I am justifying this decision to temporarily alternate my priorities, by the fact that I believe that it would be simply unfair to make anyone wait two long weeks to read another novel of a post.  Also, I am super excited to tell you about my weekend.

I entered this weekend tired, but optimistic.  Friday morning, I slept in.  I didn’t shower.  I wrote the last post you read (Assuming you didn’t wimp out, and actually read it. Also assuming that you have been reading these in chronological order).  I ate lunch.  I think I ate puchero, but I cannot remember.  It was good.  I enjoy puchero.  We’ll say that I ate puchero…I then took Aisha on a guided tour (mild exaggeration) of the famous ceramic shops in Triana and we snacked at Charlotte, a hip café/pastry place in the recently renovated downtown street (they literally finished the construction last week and it looks really nice).  The city workers have begun to hang the Christmas lights all over the city. I’ve heard that they will not be officially lit until December 6^th, but I have no confirmation on this claim.  It’s going to look amazing, though. I’m excited. There will be pictures, no worries!

Saturday I awoke to find an email and then many facebook updates exclaiming the engagement of two of my dear friends from school, Nick and Lauren.  That was wonderful news!  Lunch was fantastic. Paella and boscarones (small fried fish that we have fairly often).  The best part, however, was that my older host sister and her husband ate with us.  I had a wonderful dinner-table discussion with them about sweets, Thanksgiving, the similarities and differences in our Christmas celebrations, my love of cooking, etc.  I tried several different dulces de navidad (Christmas-time sweets) and my host dad and I joke about needing to work out from all the food (but he was only half-kidding).  Later, Aisha and I finally found the free shuttle bus to the outlet mall. We made it just in time. I found boots! They’re really nice. “Chulísimo” (really cool) according to María.  My host parents had apparently gone to the beach for the weekend, so when María got home, she had Ale and two of her friends with her.  They made dinner and we chatted for a good while.  María introduced me as her “American sister.”  I felt included. It was reassuring. 

On Sunday I had to madrugar (to get up early…they have a single verb to describe this phenomenon!).  I went to Aracena (the pueblo I went to pick wild mushrooms) with my study abroad group.  We visited Las Minas de Riotinto and la Gruta de las Maravillas.  You’re probably confused.  Allow me to explain.

Las Minas de Riotinto:

Mines that were started by the British.  The water there is completely safe for your skin, but toxic to consume because it contains so many different types of minerals and metallic elements.  NASA actually does research here because the land has many similar characteristics as the planet Mars! We went into part of the mine and had to wear hardhats.  For safety.  We felt pretty official.

(A view of the the land with its layers of minerals, from above the mine.)

(Another view of the rocks.)

(Look at the red color of the water, caused by iron and other minerals.)

(Portions of the entrances of the mines had walls of pine logs for support because pine possesses desirable qualities.)

(The tunnels miners take to get into and out of the mines where they actually dig.)

(I could not contain my excitement. I was wearing a blue hard hat.)

(We were being taught about the mines...note how the logs are bound to form the sides of the tunnels.)

(Old portions of the mines from the outside.)

(In sepia because it looks old-fashioned.)

Gruta de las Maravillas:

Spain’s largest cave. I cannot even tell you how cool this was! I’m actually still in awe. ¡Que impresionante! (how impressive)  It was huge. We just kept walking farther and farther into it and circled around somehow.  There are 3 levels! There’s a bunch of water and so many rock formations.  We had to duck to walk through some of the tunnels and I almost fell at one point. I got cave juice on me!... One “sala” (room…that’s what they call them because it’s easier to explain different sections when they break them into “rooms”) was like a room of glowing chandeliers.  Another looked like cauliflower and another like garbanzo beans.  One looked like the Great Hall at Hogwartz, and one was called “la sala de los desnudos” (the room of the nudes) because it looked like there were male body parts on the walls.  There was a little boy on the tour with us and his dad covered his eyes, joking with his wife.  It was really cute.  They didn’t let us take pictures; however, we could purchase the snapshot they took of us for 5 €…What the heck?! This was a cave, not an amusement park! I do not feel that this was necessary. Needless to say (but I guess I’m saying it now…), I do not have pictures of this to share. But…here’s a link that does:

 http://www.google.es/images?q=gruta+de+las+maravillas&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=2XbYTMOHN4-SjAfkmNnXCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CDMQsAQwAQ&biw=1280&bih=649

That is an epic URL. 

By the way, cueva = cave in Spanish.

Also in Aracena, we ate some pastries and some tapas and walked around a bit.  It felt like a wonderful fall day and there were leaves on the ground…I love fall!

Enjoy a few random pictures of the downtown area:

(We ate lunch at the place on the right. The man forgot to charge Aisha for her rice pudding. We didn't remind him.)

(Statue.)

(Some sort of government offices...?)

(In the background is a giant stone structure. It looked like a castle or an old church of some sort.)

(Chairs outside of the place where we got pastries.)

(Woman selling chestnuts.)

(Stray dogs roaming around.)

(My fall day!)

When I returned from Aracena, María and Ale invited me to have dinner with them at Burger King.  I thought it would taste different than at home, but I didn’t notice anything distinct about it.  Dinner was fun, though. I was having issues hearing María and when she told me that people in Spain joke that the hamburgers there are made of rat meat, I said that people in the U.S. say that too, but it’s true.

(pause for effect)

What I meant to say was that the quality of the meat is worse at fast food restaurants than at sit-down establishments.  When they said “rata” (rat), I heard “caca” (poop), thinking they meant that the meat it crappy quality.  The look on their faces was priceless.

In addition to these wonderful events, I also had the opportunity to speak with several of my good friends online and through Skype, including my best friends who I hadn’t talked to in 70,000 years.  I felt so content afterward.  Even though I did not do my homework, a void was filled that I had not even realized was present.  It is a truly comforting feeling to be reminded of who is most important in your life and who your true friends are.  I have the greatest friends and family in the world.  Really.    

P.S.  I don't know why I just put this together, but I can change the fonts on my posts. How does this font make everyone feel (the font, not my absentmindedness)? I'm going to experiment with this now. Feedback is appreciated. 

P.P.S.  When I got home after class this evening, my madre was leaving and all the lights were off.  It was dark. On my way down the hallway to the bathroom, I ran into the wall.  Approximately 15 minutes later, I went to wash my hands and I did it again. I don't know what happened. We don't question these things.

         

“Lo último que se pierde es la esperanza.”

Ahhhh…I know. It’s been about 39,000 days since I’ve last posted. All I have to say about that is.

Life happens.

And so now I will do my best to fill you in on everything important that you’ve missed in the past 2 weeks. 

Random things that I forgot to mention on my last post:

-          I forgot my agenda (assignment book/planner) under my desk in my class at the university.  This occurred on a Tuesday evening.  I went back to the school on Wednesday morning. I could not get into the classroom since class was in session. I checked the lost and found and several offices in that hall. Nothing. I checked Thursday before class. Same. Nothing. It was gone. My perfectly organized life was taken from me and left in shambles. I had to buy a new, significantly less structured agenda with the little money I had. I was a mess…Note: apparently your name, address, class schedule, and the fact that only exchange students have class in that room, does not affect your chances of a safe return.  Now I know.

-          The night before this occurred (I decided it would be more dramatic to list this second, even though it is now not chronological), I lost my novella for that same class. Lost is not the correct word. I know where it is. But I can’t get it back. It sits there teasing me every day…In my bedroom, there is a giant wooden unit that consists of shelving and drawers, the armoire, cabinets, the bed frame is attached. It rests up against the wall, but there is a little bit of space behind it.  In a few places on this contraption, the wood paneling on the back is no longer attached to the shelving.  It is in one of these spaces that my poor San Manuel Bueno, mártir fell to its imprisonment…I was then faced with 3 options: 1) Try to move the wooden unit myself to get the book back. 2) Tell my host parents, and have them help me retrieve it. 3) Buy a new book for 7 €. After realizing that there was no way moving the unit full of video sets, encyclopedias, and other whatnots being stored there, was worth a little novella, I decided to buy a new one (because I didn’t have the heart to make my host parents help me…justification, I wouldn’t put my grandparents through this and they’re kind of comparable).

-          Problems with my Sevici bici (my bike…bicicleta=bicycle, “bici” for short).  It wouldn’t let me take out a bike with agreeing to charge my account 9-something euros. I don’t think so! I filed a complaint online. Two days later, they responded.  “It has been taken care of yesterday.” Ok.

Where I left off for real:

-          Saturday evening I went to La Feria de Naciones (a month-long festival that they had in the park, where you could buy things from different stands selling food from all over the world and other trinkets) and La Plaza de España with María and Ale (my host sister and her boyfriend).  We weren’t gone for long, but it was nice to get out and hang out with Spaniards.  I enjoy spending time with them because I can communicate with them much better than I used to and because it makes me feel like more of the family…This time I taught them a few English phrases, such as “food baby.”  Success.

-          Sunday I went to Córdoba.  I hadn’t been sleeping well and I was frustrated with people back at Bradley not sufficiently communicating with me and travel plans falling through, so I was grumpy.  In Córdoba, we were all randomly put into groups with the program tour guides that we get for all of our weekend day trips.  I was not pleased with my group.  The four people that annoy me in my program just happened to placed with us.  It felt like I was reliving every junior high field trip, where my valuable learning experience was being sacrificed for the behavior of the people randomly assigned to my group…I had Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum flirting with one another, asking questions that had already been answered, and photo-bombing every chance they could get.  Worse than them however, was the Dementor.  She has one of those droning/annoyed valley-girl voices and literally cannot say anything positive.  She sucks all life and happiness out of the room. Not kidding.  Also, several sites were closed (the guides did not anticipate this) because it was the day of Córdoba’s saint, meaning it was a city holiday…Anyway, everything on earth was annoying me this day. It was one of those days.   

-          I had eaten so much so the weekend. A lot of heavy foods and sweet foods that one person should probably not consume so much of.  That, in combination with a lack of sleep and induced amount of stress is not a good combination.  Needless to say, I was getting sick and that just topped it off.  I had an upset stomach and my head was throbbing.  I told my host mom that I did not want dinner because I had an upset stomach. She gave me something like Tums, but slightly chalkier and with a flavor of peppermint. It helped a bit.  For the next two days, she made me foods that were more subtle.  She was so concerned. Bless her. At one point she hugged me and said, “You just look so sad.” 

-          Later in the week, I discovered that I there was a conflict with two of the courses I needed to register for.  Really, there was a simple solution.  Nothing, however, is that simple in a bureaucratic system.  Not naming names or going into too much detail, I will say that although I knew it would all work out in the end, I was beyond frustrated and I was stressed and I still felt slightly sick.  I knew that the only real thing that would help was sleep, but I had no time for that…Without my parents’ support and the random cheerful messages I got from my friends back home, I probably would have been lost somewhere in the Twilight Zone.

-          My Sevici card, which worked for about 3 days, decided not to record my bike return correctly. Again. But this time was different—apparently, it thought that I had checked out my bike for 3 ½ days and charged me about 76 €.  I have temporarily refrained from bike use and filed another complaint. We shall see what happens this time!

-          I took Aisha to fnac (it’s like Barnes and Noble and Best Buy combined). Afterward, she took me to Beta Bookstore, which is an old movie theater transformed into a bookstore. It was so cool.  I looked at all the children’s stories in Spanish and started to get really excited about all of the teaching possibilities these books would provide…Basically, Aisha had to drag me out of the store, because I couldn’t leave on my own…Then, she introduced me to La Campana, the famous pastry shop in downtown Sevilla. It was glorious. They have nice old-fashioned looking tins filled with baked goods. I know I shouldn’t spend money on this, but I love tins and I would definitely regret not getting one. So in 10 years when you come to my house, I will be displaying it proudly in my kitchen decorated with various glass jars and tins that I’ve collected.

-          Last Friday, I volunteered at an elementary school, teaching the kids about Halloween. We did a few activities with them and explained the basics of the traditions we have in the U.S.  Halloween is a new phenomenon here.  The kids know about it and some dress up and go to the Toys ‘R Us for a big party, and the college-age people dress up and go out to the discotecas and other parties…It was a fun experience overall, but was very unorganized.  It was discouraging when we had a difficult time communicating with some of the 2^nd graders, but they were full of energy and all talked quickly and at the same time. They enjoyed their activities. We made paper spiders and did face painting. The 6^th graders were easier to communicate with, but we were only given one activity to do with them—the mummy wrap. This clearly is not sufficient enough to stimulate 6^th graders for longer than about 10 minutes…we did our best to explain the history of Halloween, etc.  A good learning experience for me, if nothing else.  

-          It was cold and rainy, so I bought myself a University of Sevilla sweatshirt…I severely underestimated the weather situation here before I left. It gets pretty cold now at night and in the morning. Who knew?

-          When I arrived home after a day out on Saturday, my family was all gone.  I took full advantage of this situation and had a nice hot shower, ate the dinner they left me in the oven, skyped with my parents for a while, etc. It was very relaxing…Apparently my family got home at 4AM.  They had been at a wedding.  The next day, my host mom was in bad shape.  She explained that she doesn’t drink much at all, but champagne always makes her sick.  This led into a nice conversation about weddings and Día de los Santos (which was the following day) and local Christmas time traditions.  She explained that it is tradition for the family to go to the cemetery on Oct. 31^st (the day before All Saints Day) to visit their dead relatives, but she was too sick to go this year.  This was interesting to me because in Mexico, they have a similar tradition, which is more elaborate (because they don’t celebrate Dia de los Santos), called Dia de los Muertos.  They have special pastries/dulces called huesos de santos that are made on this weekend every year in the pastry shops.  Naturally, I tried some.  So good!

-          Last Sunday, I went to a borderline fast-food restaurant called Papasá.  They have giant baked potatoes loaded with tons of toppings.  I indulged in one in honor of the Boy Scout Troop #40 baked potato that I get every fall at my hometown’s annual Pumpkin Festival.  It was my little taste of home.

-           I had no plans for Halloween because I thought that I was going to take a day trip to Jerez the following day, to tour the famous wineries there.  But those plans fell through and last minute, Claire and I decided to go out.  At this point, the stores were closed, so we bought a cheap witch’s hat and pumpkin head band from Open Cor (open 18 hours a day…like a 7-11) and wore black dresses.  We wandered to a couple different places, hung out in a plaza for a while, where we were pulled into many random photos with locals who were covered in make-up and looked like crazy surgeons.  While heading home, I had to pee severely (This is actually an issue here, because we walk everywhere, which is a fair distance apart, and there are hardly any public restrooms. At night you can forget about it, since nothing is open). So we found a hidden corner/alleyway and I peed in the street.  I’ll share this with everyone. I don’t care…We then got churros, which were consumed so quickly that we hardly remembered them.  Not the best Halloween I’ve ever had, but definitely the most interesting.

-          This brings us to this past week.  Bradley registration stress. (Finally got it all worked out!) Class by day, studying by night.  4 midterms in 2 days.  Not enough sleep.  Should have studied more, but life happened, so I did what I could. They went alright. We’ll see. After my last test last night, I went to a cooking demonstration/class with my interest group.  It was about Mexican food. I pressed home-made tortillas and got recipes (they will be made when I return home).  I then had tapas with a friend.

Last, but not least…I slept.  It was glorious.

Random learned fact that I need to share to clear up possible future confusion:

Remember when I explained how I saw street vendors running away with their goods to go set up shop in alternative locations? Well, I found out why they do that.  Apparently, in order to sell things on the streets, you need a permit.  Many of the vendors are illegal and have not paid for a permit.  When the police come by, the vendors run away, because they could be fined for not having permission to sell things on the streets, and these fines are pretty hefty.  Now you know.

Information about Córdoba:

I know I made Córdoba sound awful earlier. It’s actually really cool, but my perception was off because I wasn’t feeling well and had a bad day.  

Córdoba has a famous mezquita (mosque) that was built during the age of al-Ándalus.  Al-Ándalus signifies the Iberian Peninsula under the reign of the Muslims from 711-1492 (this is not limited to Spain, as many people think, because “Spain” as a country did not yet exist at this time and the area where Portugal now is, was also a part of this region).  Córdoba is especially important because it was the first capital during the Muslim reign in the peninsula.  The typical structure of a city in al-Ándalus was very significant and important to their way of life. 

A city consisted of 3 parts: the alcazar (the palace), the mezquita (mosque), and the mercado (market). 

Alcazar:

This was a huge palace surrounded by fencing because in the event of an attack from the enemies, it was able to house the entire city, protecting it from within the walls.  Because the city naturally divides into regions (kind of like what we consider counties), the fortress consisted of several sections in order to keep people organized, etc.  The alcazar is typically located on the highest part of land for more security.  From day to day, it was considered the political and military center of the city, where all of the official government things were located.

Mezquita:

The mosque was very important because for Muslims, life was centered on their religion.  A large city consisted of two types of mosques:  the aljama and the barrios.  The aljama was the largest mosque in the city, where all residents could enter to worship.  This is where the oration was every Friday.  It served as a reference of gratitude to the government for their defense and protection, and was a symbolical representation in times of religious and political ceremonies.  There were also smaller mosques in the different barrios (neighborhoods) of the city.  These were less important because they were just for the people in that section of town to go worship each day.  In general, the mosques were thought of as a place of religious education, which was important to their culture, as well.

Mercado:

The market was a very important place.  Unlike markets of previous city structures, this was very organized and professionally run.  There was an almotacén, who was in charge of overseeing the market and keeping track of the regulations set in place.  They actually had set rules on how certain things should be measured and how often things needed to be cleaned.  Of course, there were other things such as taxing that they noted.  For example, they made it certain that the Jews and Christians knew that they were not equal to them.  There were zocos (different sections of the market) to organize by type of good being sold. 

Córdoba is a unique place, because this city structure can still be seen.  Although the mosque was converted into a cathedral when the Christian king and queen took over, much of it was preserved.  They literally placed a traditional looking cathedral in the center of the mosque in order to have both the style and function they wanted.  An interesting fact is that both the mosque in Córdoba and in Granada is not oriented correctly toward Mecca, as mosques are designed to be.

Note about the title:

I learned this old Spanish saying the day I went to pick setas.  It means a lot to me because I think that this is the very belief that defines my life.  I believe that everything happens for a reason and that it will all come together in the end.  Having faith that things will work out, even when it all seems to be falling apart, is what carries you through the rough patches.  My past 2 weeks were fairly exhausting, but this saying made me realize just how great my life is and what I have to look forward to. 

“La última que se pierde es la esperanza.”

The last thing to lose is hope. 

¡Setas!

Everyone in my program is required to be a grupo de interés (interest group) that allows them to get to learn about a specific cultural element of Spain on a more in-depth level.  The groups meet once every week or two and take students on small excursions or bring in guest speakers, etc. At the end of the semester, every group goes on a three-day trip.  Many people picked their groups based on where the trip was.  I was torn between which groups to choose because most of them seemed very interesting. Originally, I decided to pick the group about gastronomía which was all about food and was going to do many hands-on activities, but last minute, I decided to pick a group about Sevilla in order to learn more about the city I’m living in and to travel to Morocco (mainly for the trip).  After waiting in line to sign-up and having people be allowed to cut because they had to go to class, I missed the last spot in the Sevilla group by one person.  So I went with gastronomía.  We are going to Valencia, which should be awesome as well, but there is slightly less mystical appeal…Well, all I can say at this point is that I was destined to be in this interest group and I couldn’t be happier! My interest group is the best one, hands down! While the other groups meet at random times to sit in a classroom and watch a PowerPoint presentation, we are going to a cooking class or visiting an old alcohol distillery to learn about the new cooking school there.  We have the best leaders, and we always get tapas or food at the end, because it allows us to try new things and actually converse with the Spanish students that are always invited to join us.  

So let me tell you what my group did yesterday.

We traveled to the countryside to hike a mountain and pick mushrooms…and then cook them!!!

I cannot even explain how much I enjoyed this experience.  But naturally, I will try.

We traveled to Aracena, a small pueblo north of Sevilla.  The environment was wonderful, and reminded me that I truly am a country girl at heart…It was a small village of white-washed houses and cobble stone streets. It was tranquil.  As we breathed in the fresh air (as opposed to the fumes of cigarette smoke everywhere in the city), the smell of wood-burning chimneys wafted our way.  An older housewife was sweeping the soapy water she had mopped the floors with into the street. 

When we arrived at the gates of the forest preserve area, we hiked the winding path, wicker baskets and pocket knives in hand, passing the small farm homes enclosed by stone fences.  Our extremely knowledgeable guide pointed out everything he could to teach us.

Mint and peppermint plants.  We stopped to smell the leaves. 

A tree containing small alcoholic fruits that when consumed in large amounts can actually make someone drunk.  We tried a few of the ripe ones. 

Chestnut trees (they’re much better when roasted…the chestnuts, not the trees).

Setas (the wild mushrooms of different varieties).  There were 92 different species in the forest preserve.  He showed us how to identify them, where they normally grow, and how to cut them.  If you cut them too low, they cannot grow back fully again in that place.  If you take them when they are too old, they are dry and harder to identify, etc…Apparently, one of the mushrooms that someone picked is so toxic that when consumed, it begins to decompose your body from the inside and will kill you within 7 days!       

We hiked back to the mason/pub where we prepared the mushrooms we had just picked.  On our way, a man was selling fresh fish from the back of his van to the local women…The mushrooms were cooked differently depending on the flavors they naturally contained. Some were sautéed with garlic, cream, and herbs, while others were blended with onion, olive oil, and spices…The best was a creamy mixture with oregano from the local countryside.  I have never tasted better mushrooms!

We thought that we were only going to be eating mushrooms.  Until they brought out platters of chorizo (special slightly spicy sausage) with more bread slices.  We thought that was nice.  And then they brought out salad (the traditional salad with iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, corn, onion, tomato, and tuna with an olive oil/vinegar dressing).  We were now full. Then they brought out potaje de garbanzos (a stew-like dish containing garbanzo beans, chorizo, and other things…it’s a heavy comfort food dish that is special to the Andalusian mountain side region).  I can honestly say that this is one of the best dishes I have ever had! Unfortunately, not much of this was eaten, because we were all full. Then, they brought out pan-sired pork with French fries. It was delicious. THEN they brought out flan with a little chocolate-coated straw-like cookie (you know what kind I’m talking about)!  I think I ate an entire Thanksgiving feat in one setting!

On our way out, two men were conversing about what was in the trunk of one of their cars: a deer that one of them had hunted and buttered.  The meat was sitting, cut up, in several boxes and the head was resting beside it, waiting to be taken to a local establishment to be hung on the wall….Only in the countryside!

Throughout this excursion, we were accompanied by our guides (María, who is one of the program directors, and Fran, who is one of the program and orientation guides. He’s a student at the university), and their friends. María brought her friend, who brought her 7 month old daughter, Candela (a very Andalús name). So cute. And Fran brought three of his good friends who all go to the university with him. They were all very social and were great to talk to.  Wonderful Spanish practice.

After this, I can probably say that this was one of the best days ever!