I had a great, special experience this weekend. Jose-mi, a guy I had met the first time very briefly at a meeting for people wanting to do language exchanges (intercambios), invited me to his hometown. He did so we met for the first time since our first introduction. It was crazy how much faith he had put in me as a friend! He then invited me to his flat for lunch where I met his two roommates, one of which was his brother. We had hit it off well.
His Dad got us on Friday afternoon and we zipped into the mountains to the town of Benalup. After meeting his fantastic family, we went off around town. I met his uncle and grandma first, then his friends who we visited in a matter of minutes (small town). After that, we met his other uncle who was at a little bar having some drinks at the local bar. Then, home again for merienda (snack), some TV, some dinner, and out on the town we went. The whole place was tiny! It’s not like Naselle where everything is spread out, it is a compressed little community. That sort of structure makes centralization of public places easy and also attracts all the youngins to the same part of town. We gave the town a gander, stopped to see an old man that was either drunk or the village idiot. I felt bad since we were there for just a laugh. After deciding the streets were not full of fun, we called it a night. The next day was slow and uneventful. We went back out that night though, doing a little botellin. We went over to his friend’s place where I met a whole bunch of his friends. I was a little weirded out by the fact that I was the oldest one there, Jose-mi at 18 the oldest Spaniards, and the rest: 15, 16, and a couple 17. Regardless, we all talked and I was indeed the spectacle. All along the conversations were in Spanish - a huge help to my overall skills. We went out to the discoteca. I was amazed that there was even a club in the town. There I met tons more people there. It was packed and was evidence that every town in Spain, including Benalup, has a place for young people to dance and get drunk.
Sunday was lazy and after lunch we headed back to Cadiz. I had a great time just experiencing the small town life of a Spanish family. The family had a really strong bond that was admirable. It seems almost all Spanish families have that bond and I wish that it would spread throughout American society too. In Spain, as it did drastically in America and still does, the family is losing the traditional importance. But, it is more due to lack of marriage and divorce. The Spanish family continues to have huge weight.
There was little to do in Benalup but I enjoyed it. His dad is a worker for the state’s water potency division and was really intelligent. Talking to him and Jose-mi’s brother (who is 22) I realized that Jose-mi, despite being ridiculously nice, was not that interesting of a person. His family would call him “delicado” (delicate) since he didn’t like to try new things and had to very clean all the time. He was certainly a pretty boy. Also, he wasn’t that interesting. Any academic topic I brought up would lead to him not being interested and me talking a lot. Regardless, the experience was great and I have an open invite to come back whenever I’m back in the area.
domingo, 25 de noviembre de 2007
domingo, 11 de noviembre de 2007
11-08/11-07 Cáceres, Salamanca, Mérida
This weekend we again did a whole program excursion, but this one took us to a completely different part of Spain. We left Andalucia and header north to Extremadura and Castilla y Leon. Extremadura es a very rural region of Spain. It is one of the poorest consequently. Castilla la Mancha is a little more prosperous and has some relatively important cities within it. Since it is a little north and around an area of higher elevation and mountains, it was gonna be cold!
First stop was in the town of Cáceres, which was about halfway to our furthest destination Salamanca and in Extremadua. There we spent a few hours looking around the city. It is a quaint little medieval town that made me feel llke we were still in the middle ages. There wasn’t a whole bunch of historical junk to go wonder over but the city itself was good enough! We were there after midday, which meant during lunch/siesta time! In Cadiz it isn’t too big a deal and people are still usually, to an extent, out and about. Cáceres was DEAD! It was a good view of a small town’s sleepy daytime hour. After a little wandering, it was back to the bus to finish our last few hours of the 7/8-hour bus ride.
Salamanca was fantastic, for sure one of my favorite cities in Spain. It, like Granada, is a college town. The University of Salamanca, I believe, is the biggest in Spain (also laden with foreigners I hear). Our hotel was nothing special, but it did have some odd rules. No food or drink in the rooms (including alcohol!) as well as no one was allowed in a room unless they were actually staying in that room. We proceeded to break every rule, aside from the one previously unmentioned, putting out cigarettes on the floor. With no smokers it was hard to be the full sweep.
We went out that night in search of some dinner and found a little restaurant tucked down an alley called “Casa de las Murcillas”. Murcilla is a type of sausage that is amazingly tasty and this place had like 100 different kinds. Mike, John, and Jon were there with me and we had a fantastic meal of meat, potatoes, and bread. Very Spanish. If you’re wondering what exactly Murcilla is you can ask me, thought I recommend trying it first… As we headed out on the town we went to the center of the old part of town to Plaza Mayor. It was gorgeous, a huge square tucked in the center of the city and illuminated brilliantly. I can’t remember what exactly went down there, but the city hall was located there and at one point in history the Reyes Cristianos, Ferdinand and Isabel, hung out there. The city had a much cathedral as they all do, and since Salamanca was once a super important city it was especially nice. Generally the city was done up well. The roads were wide, the buildings a little better kept. It is most likely since it’s age of importance was much more recent than those of the medieval towns of Andalucia.
The Cathedral was very cool since it was there that they also held job interviews for those that wanted to work at the University of Salamanca. The U of Salamanca is the third oldest in Europe. There in one of the rooms of the Cathedral they would hold oral interviews, but were more or less tests of ability. Even all of the 30 or 40 people giving the interview did not approve, the applicant failed. They were normally very prestigious figures. If a new professor was approved, he was allowed to write his name on a wall of university (in bull’s blood) and then there were many days of fiesta following. If not, they were quietly let out the a back door since out the front the people were awaiting the news that would let them party for days.
Another university related story is that of the famous frog of Salamanca. On the wall of a certain building there is hidden a frog. It’s small, and it was said that those who found it would have good luck. Therefore, it became tradition for students to go find the frog before final exams. Previously, the superstition had been the opposite, saying bad luck would come to those who found the frog. Some students back in the day reversed the story and today it is no hard task to find the frog. All you have to do is use the numerous postcards with photos of it as a guide. The frog is on top of a skull, making it even more ominous.
That evening we went back out and bought baked goods at a convent where the nuns which comprised it were never allowed to leave the compound. It had very specific hours, amounts, and prices, but all the pastries were great! After that we headed over to a Roman Bridge, still standing from long long ago. There we experienced a taste of fall that made us all ridiculously nostalgic since it was very Seattle weather. We played in the leaves, strolled on the bridge, and I tackled Josh on the grass, dragging him around a little, grass-staining his pants. It was fantastic to see grass again! On the way back we hit up H&M, a low cost clothing store that has some good-looking clothes and occasional great deals. Then, we went to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. It was actually pretty damn good. Mike had been there for lunch but came to join us during dinner anyways. He ate a total of 6 heaping plates of Chinese goodness. That night we were out to the street again. We started with a bar where John and I met a few local girls. We spent most of the night with them and I were home at a decent hour (3/4 AM?).
On Saturday morning Josh and I headed out early so we could hit up a couple last sites. We found a museum of modern art-deco which had some cool pieces (abinacos, statues, stain glass) and some rather ridiculous things (LOTS of dolls). We then stumbled upon a free museum that the government was sponsoring about the presence of the Stone Masons in Spain. The mason secret society was extensive and there is evidence of it even in Salamanca.
Mérida was also great fun. There were many roman ruins such as a fort, bridge, aqueduct, theater, and amphitheater. All were fantastic, especially the bridge which is the longest roman bridge in Spain and maybe also the world. A highlight was walking around seeing the quaint city and how much quieter it was than Cadiz. For lunch Sunday we went to a well know Italian restaurant and had some fantastic food. It was pretty damn authentic and a great way to end the trip.
I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind that trip about my image to others and whether I really cared what others thought about me. I realize that I need to be me a little more and that others will think what they may regardless. Most will eventually adapt to me, and those who cannot I don’t need to associate with. I’ll make concessions as well, as in any healthy relationship, but there should be a balance. I am a pleaser, but I don’t need to have everyone on my side. By standing with my own opinions (as soon as I figure them out) I’ll be more confident and in the end much happier.
First stop was in the town of Cáceres, which was about halfway to our furthest destination Salamanca and in Extremadua. There we spent a few hours looking around the city. It is a quaint little medieval town that made me feel llke we were still in the middle ages. There wasn’t a whole bunch of historical junk to go wonder over but the city itself was good enough! We were there after midday, which meant during lunch/siesta time! In Cadiz it isn’t too big a deal and people are still usually, to an extent, out and about. Cáceres was DEAD! It was a good view of a small town’s sleepy daytime hour. After a little wandering, it was back to the bus to finish our last few hours of the 7/8-hour bus ride.
Salamanca was fantastic, for sure one of my favorite cities in Spain. It, like Granada, is a college town. The University of Salamanca, I believe, is the biggest in Spain (also laden with foreigners I hear). Our hotel was nothing special, but it did have some odd rules. No food or drink in the rooms (including alcohol!) as well as no one was allowed in a room unless they were actually staying in that room. We proceeded to break every rule, aside from the one previously unmentioned, putting out cigarettes on the floor. With no smokers it was hard to be the full sweep.
We went out that night in search of some dinner and found a little restaurant tucked down an alley called “Casa de las Murcillas”. Murcilla is a type of sausage that is amazingly tasty and this place had like 100 different kinds. Mike, John, and Jon were there with me and we had a fantastic meal of meat, potatoes, and bread. Very Spanish. If you’re wondering what exactly Murcilla is you can ask me, thought I recommend trying it first… As we headed out on the town we went to the center of the old part of town to Plaza Mayor. It was gorgeous, a huge square tucked in the center of the city and illuminated brilliantly. I can’t remember what exactly went down there, but the city hall was located there and at one point in history the Reyes Cristianos, Ferdinand and Isabel, hung out there. The city had a much cathedral as they all do, and since Salamanca was once a super important city it was especially nice. Generally the city was done up well. The roads were wide, the buildings a little better kept. It is most likely since it’s age of importance was much more recent than those of the medieval towns of Andalucia.
The Cathedral was very cool since it was there that they also held job interviews for those that wanted to work at the University of Salamanca. The U of Salamanca is the third oldest in Europe. There in one of the rooms of the Cathedral they would hold oral interviews, but were more or less tests of ability. Even all of the 30 or 40 people giving the interview did not approve, the applicant failed. They were normally very prestigious figures. If a new professor was approved, he was allowed to write his name on a wall of university (in bull’s blood) and then there were many days of fiesta following. If not, they were quietly let out the a back door since out the front the people were awaiting the news that would let them party for days.
Another university related story is that of the famous frog of Salamanca. On the wall of a certain building there is hidden a frog. It’s small, and it was said that those who found it would have good luck. Therefore, it became tradition for students to go find the frog before final exams. Previously, the superstition had been the opposite, saying bad luck would come to those who found the frog. Some students back in the day reversed the story and today it is no hard task to find the frog. All you have to do is use the numerous postcards with photos of it as a guide. The frog is on top of a skull, making it even more ominous.
That evening we went back out and bought baked goods at a convent where the nuns which comprised it were never allowed to leave the compound. It had very specific hours, amounts, and prices, but all the pastries were great! After that we headed over to a Roman Bridge, still standing from long long ago. There we experienced a taste of fall that made us all ridiculously nostalgic since it was very Seattle weather. We played in the leaves, strolled on the bridge, and I tackled Josh on the grass, dragging him around a little, grass-staining his pants. It was fantastic to see grass again! On the way back we hit up H&M, a low cost clothing store that has some good-looking clothes and occasional great deals. Then, we went to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. It was actually pretty damn good. Mike had been there for lunch but came to join us during dinner anyways. He ate a total of 6 heaping plates of Chinese goodness. That night we were out to the street again. We started with a bar where John and I met a few local girls. We spent most of the night with them and I were home at a decent hour (3/4 AM?).
On Saturday morning Josh and I headed out early so we could hit up a couple last sites. We found a museum of modern art-deco which had some cool pieces (abinacos, statues, stain glass) and some rather ridiculous things (LOTS of dolls). We then stumbled upon a free museum that the government was sponsoring about the presence of the Stone Masons in Spain. The mason secret society was extensive and there is evidence of it even in Salamanca.
Mérida was also great fun. There were many roman ruins such as a fort, bridge, aqueduct, theater, and amphitheater. All were fantastic, especially the bridge which is the longest roman bridge in Spain and maybe also the world. A highlight was walking around seeing the quaint city and how much quieter it was than Cadiz. For lunch Sunday we went to a well know Italian restaurant and had some fantastic food. It was pretty damn authentic and a great way to end the trip.
I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind that trip about my image to others and whether I really cared what others thought about me. I realize that I need to be me a little more and that others will think what they may regardless. Most will eventually adapt to me, and those who cannot I don’t need to associate with. I’ll make concessions as well, as in any healthy relationship, but there should be a balance. I am a pleaser, but I don’t need to have everyone on my side. By standing with my own opinions (as soon as I figure them out) I’ll be more confident and in the end much happier.
domingo, 4 de noviembre de 2007
11-01/04-07 Morocco
To start off my Moroccan adventure, which was a Thursday-Sunday deal, I stayed out all night Wednesday, grabbed my stuff, and got on the bus to Tarifa. Our final destination was Fez, Morocco, the religious center of Morocco and one of two main cultural centers along with Marrakesh. Eight of us went, eight of fortunately returned.
Getting there: Bus to Tarifa at 6:45, 9:00 ferry to Tangiers, 11:00 train to Fez, 4:00 taxis to riad.
How getting there went: All tired and still drunk we get on the bus, we get to Tarifa a little later than expected and sprint to the ferry that ends up leaving late anyways, take the fast ferry that gets us to Africa in 35 min, almost get charged two euros too much for a taxi but wisely go to the official taxi stand, get to the train station and buy second class tickets that are supposed to be pretty crappy and end up being pretty comfortable, meet an argentine couple as well as a man that works in the Fez tourism office, get to Fez many hours later where a guide the man from the tourism office hooked us up with meets us, we take two ridiculously expensive taxis to the Medina (200 Dirham as apposed to 45 Dirham), are led through the Medina to our fantastic riad.
The Argentine couple we met were great people. I talked to them for a while and found out that they lived in Spain, though they could be living in the US. Their reason was a little different than what I’ve heard. The woman didn’t like American life and therefore didn’t want to live there. Cataluña, the most industrialized and progressive area of Spain, she also didn’t like to live in because she felt that it was like the America of Spain. The man, a computer scientist, gave up getting a very good job in the US to be an internet analyst in Spain where he works 9 hours a day and gets paid much much less. The other guy we met, Mohamed the tourism office guy, gave us all the run down on Fez and was super nice. He even called the house we were staying at to get our taxis set up. He also hooked us up with a guide (which we at the time thought was really awesome)…Idriss, our amiable, multilingual guide seemed like all good times from the very beginning. Even though he was a great guy, he definitely had alternate interests when leading us around.
A riad, such as the one we stayed in, is a traditional Moroccan home. Many have been restored and turned into to hostels/hotels. The one we were in was a small one, it only had 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, a central open area that extends up to the roof, a rooftop terrace with it’s own kitchen and a dinning table where we ate dinner. It had cushions and sofas everywhere, the beds were big and comfortable, and we lived it large. We had the whole house all to ourselves. The place cost a little more than a normal European hostel but it was worth it.
Thursday evening we did some medina walking. A medina is an old imperial city/market place. The one in Fez is the oldest and largest in the world with over 9000 small streets and the largest old mosque in Morocco (there is a newer mosque in Casablanca that is enormous). Fez and Marrakesh, along with a city who’s name I don’t remember were imperial cities of Morocco before the current one, Rebat. Surprise surprise Morocco is a constitutional monarchy. The whole Medina in Fez is a fantastic experience. There are a million little stores selling a million things. The food all looked super tasty and we were constantly tempted to buy up the plethora of fake Nikes and Pumas we passed. We were shown the doors to the big mosque which is tucked into the Medina and has 14 different doors for people to enter from. After some exploring we had dinner at a restaurant that, for the record, was not the one that our friend Mohamed had asked Idriss to take us. Aside from the lamb kebabas that were great, it wasn’t too fantastic of food. My couscous was pretty bland. Since John, Jocelyn, Jonathan, and I had been going since 8 AM the previous day’s morning we decided to head home after wards and sleeeeept.
Friday = Tiny bit of history, Shopping.
The day started with visits to the former Koranic school of Fez, the most holy Islamis site outside of Mecca (called the poor man’s Mecca since many poor people that cannot make it to Mecca come there to fulfill their Hajj), and to a former grand riad that was converted into a very pricey restaurant.
Then, we went straight off to hit up every government owned merchandise coop that we could. We started with rugs. The riad where the business was, was a “medium” sized riad and was huge. I can’t even imagine what a big one would be like. They took us to see a woman who was knotting a carpet. The loom and system in general looked really complicated and I was really impressed at the quality of the pattern that the woman could maintain. These rugs, which were all certified as the highest quality, had about 480,000 knots in a square meter. There were really durable and looked good on both sides. They are certified stain proof and easily cleaned without deterioration. After they showed us a million and one rugs and planted the idea of buying a rug to sell for profit in the US, we bought some rugs. John and I went in together on a medium rug to sell, Jonathan and Jocelyn did the same, and then Jonathan and I each got a smaller one for ourselves. It cost a lot, but it’ll hopefully turn out to be a big profit and pay for a lot of my European gallivanting. Also, if we pull it off it’s a good skill to have so that in my future travels I can do the same. Next we hit up the tannery of Fez which is very well known. Morocco itself is known for it’s high quality leather. The process of making leather is very time consuming and smelly. They gave us all some mint to smell while we looked over the actual tannery. There were many circular containers with chemicals and dyes in them where the skin was put to by conditioned and colored. There were many people taking sheep pelts and pulling off the wool. That wool is called dead wool and is used to make the lower quality carpets. Ours are all made with live wool. They make leather using sheep, goat, and camel skin. Of course, after seeing the leather making process, we were led to the buying areas! I held back there since the prices my “friend” (as every shop owner quickly became, I have NO idea why…) was giving me ridiculous prices.
After some weighty purchasing we were all decently hungry and had some kebab sandwiches. They were super tasty though Stephanie had a mental block towards it because of the sketchiness of roadside Moroccan food. Here, again, Idriss had us spending too much money. We all paid 25 Dirham and the next day Jonathan found that the normal price for what we had was 10. After lunch we went shopping for Berber Blankets. Also handmaid and beautiful. We haggled and got them down to a third of their price though still felt a little ripped off in the end. It was hard going to all these government stores. They were not a bargainable and Idriss wasn’t offering us other places to go. Can anyone say “commission”? After that we went to my favorite place, the spice shop!!
The walls were laden with spices and herbs for all sorts of uses. The man that owned the shop started to go through the most popular things. I got myself some lemon cumin, hot chili, all-spice, 5-spice, jiggy jiggy root (natural Viagra BUT also good for concentration, I’m going to dominata my finals next quarter). Others got magic lipstick (it’s green and turns red), henna, saffron lip balm, and saffron (most expensive spice in the world, made from a flower’s stamen). It was awesome, I bought tons and felt bad about none of it. Our last stop was a clothing place where they clothed us all in traditional Moroccan outfits but none of us caved in there.
The whole day of buying was deceptively expensive. A Euro is about 10 Dirham which isn’t too big of a difference. Yet, after Spain living and prices in another currency everything seemed so cheap and I wanted to buy it all!
That night we wanted to get some wine to share so Idriss was a great pal and took 3 of us in a car to a supermarket to buy us some alcohol. First though, Idriss took us to his house to have some tea, a snack, and pick up his wife. He really changed our perception about Morocco or at least Fez. It is not s Islamic conservative as you might think. It is pretty modern when it comes to tolerance and human rights. There were not many Burkahs and Idriss and his wife were very equal. The supermarket he took us to was HUGE. It was reverse culture shock to see that in Morocco after all the non-modernity we had experienced. Unfortunately, since alcohol isn’t too popular to the non-drinking Muslims it was all pretty pricy. We spent the night hanging out together, having a fantastic time together. I got lucky and went with some great people.
The next day Idriss took us on a half day excursion to see the ceramics workshop and buy some gorgeous mosaic ceramics. We then went to the king’s palace in Fez. Pretty damn impressive. It was great the Idriss was with us since the Medina is a huge maze and we would have lost ourselves a million times. Now that we’ve been there once we would be able to find our own way around next time, but having a guide at first was essential and it was nice to have him do some explaining of the city. He could have maybe gotten us some better prices on our purchases, but eh, what ya gonna do!
After saying goodbye to Idriss, John, Josh, and I went fake shoe shopping. Later that day we did probably the most new (for us) and cultural thing Morocco had to offer us. We went to the hammams which are turkish baths. With us we brought shampoo, soap, towels, and a Moroccan that was the manager of the riad we were staying in. When we arrived we stripped to our underwear and were given a large stack of buckets. The place had three subsequent rooms, each one hotter and steamier. The water was in the last room. There we filled each bucket with some hot water and some cold. The cold water is straight from the ground. The hot is heated by cedar fires which are far from the actial water but carries heat in the form of steam forced through pipes to the hammam. We proceeded to be massaged (more like stretched and thrown around), exfoliated, and scrubbed down by two Moroccan men. I can’t say that it was incredible but it wasn’t half bad and my skin certainly felt good after! The skin that flaked off us all was copious and revolting. We were all pretty dead-skinny due to the Spanish tans we had before the Moroccans stole them!
That evening Josh, John, and I went on some independent adventuring and ended up seeing some great views and getting back to the supermarket with some hand signals since none of us had any French knowledge and the taxi drivers didn’t know any English. We made pasta, mmmm.
The next day we headed home, and it was not as nice of a trip as the way there. The train trip took longer since the train we took required a transfer and it also was ridiculously slow. The return ferry also wasn’t as nice. There were some huge waves that got a lot of our stomachs churning. To top it all off, the bus to Cadiz (the last of the night) almost didn’t have enough room for us. We took exactly the last 8 seats on the bus. It was pretty stressful, but in the end we made it (though considerably poorer)!
Getting there: Bus to Tarifa at 6:45, 9:00 ferry to Tangiers, 11:00 train to Fez, 4:00 taxis to riad.
How getting there went: All tired and still drunk we get on the bus, we get to Tarifa a little later than expected and sprint to the ferry that ends up leaving late anyways, take the fast ferry that gets us to Africa in 35 min, almost get charged two euros too much for a taxi but wisely go to the official taxi stand, get to the train station and buy second class tickets that are supposed to be pretty crappy and end up being pretty comfortable, meet an argentine couple as well as a man that works in the Fez tourism office, get to Fez many hours later where a guide the man from the tourism office hooked us up with meets us, we take two ridiculously expensive taxis to the Medina (200 Dirham as apposed to 45 Dirham), are led through the Medina to our fantastic riad.
The Argentine couple we met were great people. I talked to them for a while and found out that they lived in Spain, though they could be living in the US. Their reason was a little different than what I’ve heard. The woman didn’t like American life and therefore didn’t want to live there. Cataluña, the most industrialized and progressive area of Spain, she also didn’t like to live in because she felt that it was like the America of Spain. The man, a computer scientist, gave up getting a very good job in the US to be an internet analyst in Spain where he works 9 hours a day and gets paid much much less. The other guy we met, Mohamed the tourism office guy, gave us all the run down on Fez and was super nice. He even called the house we were staying at to get our taxis set up. He also hooked us up with a guide (which we at the time thought was really awesome)…Idriss, our amiable, multilingual guide seemed like all good times from the very beginning. Even though he was a great guy, he definitely had alternate interests when leading us around.
A riad, such as the one we stayed in, is a traditional Moroccan home. Many have been restored and turned into to hostels/hotels. The one we were in was a small one, it only had 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, a central open area that extends up to the roof, a rooftop terrace with it’s own kitchen and a dinning table where we ate dinner. It had cushions and sofas everywhere, the beds were big and comfortable, and we lived it large. We had the whole house all to ourselves. The place cost a little more than a normal European hostel but it was worth it.
Thursday evening we did some medina walking. A medina is an old imperial city/market place. The one in Fez is the oldest and largest in the world with over 9000 small streets and the largest old mosque in Morocco (there is a newer mosque in Casablanca that is enormous). Fez and Marrakesh, along with a city who’s name I don’t remember were imperial cities of Morocco before the current one, Rebat. Surprise surprise Morocco is a constitutional monarchy. The whole Medina in Fez is a fantastic experience. There are a million little stores selling a million things. The food all looked super tasty and we were constantly tempted to buy up the plethora of fake Nikes and Pumas we passed. We were shown the doors to the big mosque which is tucked into the Medina and has 14 different doors for people to enter from. After some exploring we had dinner at a restaurant that, for the record, was not the one that our friend Mohamed had asked Idriss to take us. Aside from the lamb kebabas that were great, it wasn’t too fantastic of food. My couscous was pretty bland. Since John, Jocelyn, Jonathan, and I had been going since 8 AM the previous day’s morning we decided to head home after wards and sleeeeept.
Friday = Tiny bit of history, Shopping.
The day started with visits to the former Koranic school of Fez, the most holy Islamis site outside of Mecca (called the poor man’s Mecca since many poor people that cannot make it to Mecca come there to fulfill their Hajj), and to a former grand riad that was converted into a very pricey restaurant.
Then, we went straight off to hit up every government owned merchandise coop that we could. We started with rugs. The riad where the business was, was a “medium” sized riad and was huge. I can’t even imagine what a big one would be like. They took us to see a woman who was knotting a carpet. The loom and system in general looked really complicated and I was really impressed at the quality of the pattern that the woman could maintain. These rugs, which were all certified as the highest quality, had about 480,000 knots in a square meter. There were really durable and looked good on both sides. They are certified stain proof and easily cleaned without deterioration. After they showed us a million and one rugs and planted the idea of buying a rug to sell for profit in the US, we bought some rugs. John and I went in together on a medium rug to sell, Jonathan and Jocelyn did the same, and then Jonathan and I each got a smaller one for ourselves. It cost a lot, but it’ll hopefully turn out to be a big profit and pay for a lot of my European gallivanting. Also, if we pull it off it’s a good skill to have so that in my future travels I can do the same. Next we hit up the tannery of Fez which is very well known. Morocco itself is known for it’s high quality leather. The process of making leather is very time consuming and smelly. They gave us all some mint to smell while we looked over the actual tannery. There were many circular containers with chemicals and dyes in them where the skin was put to by conditioned and colored. There were many people taking sheep pelts and pulling off the wool. That wool is called dead wool and is used to make the lower quality carpets. Ours are all made with live wool. They make leather using sheep, goat, and camel skin. Of course, after seeing the leather making process, we were led to the buying areas! I held back there since the prices my “friend” (as every shop owner quickly became, I have NO idea why…) was giving me ridiculous prices.
After some weighty purchasing we were all decently hungry and had some kebab sandwiches. They were super tasty though Stephanie had a mental block towards it because of the sketchiness of roadside Moroccan food. Here, again, Idriss had us spending too much money. We all paid 25 Dirham and the next day Jonathan found that the normal price for what we had was 10. After lunch we went shopping for Berber Blankets. Also handmaid and beautiful. We haggled and got them down to a third of their price though still felt a little ripped off in the end. It was hard going to all these government stores. They were not a bargainable and Idriss wasn’t offering us other places to go. Can anyone say “commission”? After that we went to my favorite place, the spice shop!!
The walls were laden with spices and herbs for all sorts of uses. The man that owned the shop started to go through the most popular things. I got myself some lemon cumin, hot chili, all-spice, 5-spice, jiggy jiggy root (natural Viagra BUT also good for concentration, I’m going to dominata my finals next quarter). Others got magic lipstick (it’s green and turns red), henna, saffron lip balm, and saffron (most expensive spice in the world, made from a flower’s stamen). It was awesome, I bought tons and felt bad about none of it. Our last stop was a clothing place where they clothed us all in traditional Moroccan outfits but none of us caved in there.
The whole day of buying was deceptively expensive. A Euro is about 10 Dirham which isn’t too big of a difference. Yet, after Spain living and prices in another currency everything seemed so cheap and I wanted to buy it all!
That night we wanted to get some wine to share so Idriss was a great pal and took 3 of us in a car to a supermarket to buy us some alcohol. First though, Idriss took us to his house to have some tea, a snack, and pick up his wife. He really changed our perception about Morocco or at least Fez. It is not s Islamic conservative as you might think. It is pretty modern when it comes to tolerance and human rights. There were not many Burkahs and Idriss and his wife were very equal. The supermarket he took us to was HUGE. It was reverse culture shock to see that in Morocco after all the non-modernity we had experienced. Unfortunately, since alcohol isn’t too popular to the non-drinking Muslims it was all pretty pricy. We spent the night hanging out together, having a fantastic time together. I got lucky and went with some great people.
The next day Idriss took us on a half day excursion to see the ceramics workshop and buy some gorgeous mosaic ceramics. We then went to the king’s palace in Fez. Pretty damn impressive. It was great the Idriss was with us since the Medina is a huge maze and we would have lost ourselves a million times. Now that we’ve been there once we would be able to find our own way around next time, but having a guide at first was essential and it was nice to have him do some explaining of the city. He could have maybe gotten us some better prices on our purchases, but eh, what ya gonna do!
After saying goodbye to Idriss, John, Josh, and I went fake shoe shopping. Later that day we did probably the most new (for us) and cultural thing Morocco had to offer us. We went to the hammams which are turkish baths. With us we brought shampoo, soap, towels, and a Moroccan that was the manager of the riad we were staying in. When we arrived we stripped to our underwear and were given a large stack of buckets. The place had three subsequent rooms, each one hotter and steamier. The water was in the last room. There we filled each bucket with some hot water and some cold. The cold water is straight from the ground. The hot is heated by cedar fires which are far from the actial water but carries heat in the form of steam forced through pipes to the hammam. We proceeded to be massaged (more like stretched and thrown around), exfoliated, and scrubbed down by two Moroccan men. I can’t say that it was incredible but it wasn’t half bad and my skin certainly felt good after! The skin that flaked off us all was copious and revolting. We were all pretty dead-skinny due to the Spanish tans we had before the Moroccans stole them!
That evening Josh, John, and I went on some independent adventuring and ended up seeing some great views and getting back to the supermarket with some hand signals since none of us had any French knowledge and the taxi drivers didn’t know any English. We made pasta, mmmm.
The next day we headed home, and it was not as nice of a trip as the way there. The train trip took longer since the train we took required a transfer and it also was ridiculously slow. The return ferry also wasn’t as nice. There were some huge waves that got a lot of our stomachs churning. To top it all off, the bus to Cadiz (the last of the night) almost didn’t have enough room for us. We took exactly the last 8 seats on the bus. It was pretty stressful, but in the end we made it (though considerably poorer)!
domingo, 21 de octubre de 2007
10-19/21-07 Córdoba and Granada
For our second round of organized entire program trips, we headed to the two former Spanish Muslim capitals and former Caliphate capitals of the world – Córdoba and Granada. Leaving early Friday morning we spent the day in Córdoba. The old area of the city, named the Judería is full of tiny streets and white buildings like the majority of Medieval Spanish towns and was a pleasure to walk through. Our first stop was one of the 3 or 4 synagogues left in Spain. At the very end of the 15th century, the Spanish inquisition took full force and did it’s best to purge the Spanish kingdom of non-Catholics. The synagogue was tiny and through a no conspicuous door. We then saw an ancient door to the city, the disgustingly dirty Guadalquivir river which runs through, and then headed back to town to get some beers and tapas while we waited until our tour of the Mesquita/Cathedral of Córdoba to begin. Córdoba is the home to a traditional Spanish dish called Salmorejo. It is very similar to Gazpacho but with more bread (to make it thicker) and garlic and many little chucks of ham added at the end. It is creamier and is eaten like soup. The Salmorejo we had was godly. The region around Córdoba has a special type of vinegar that they use in it, and man was it amazing.
The Mesquita/Cathedral of Córdoba is the main attraction of the city. It is by far the most impressive and well known historical site. That was our last stop and, though I had seen it before, it was different because we had a guide taking us around. By seeing something so historical and gorgeous before, I could listen and learn as well as appreciate since I wasn’t as awestruck. The building was built in the 7th century as a Mesquita (Mosque) by the Caliphate (religious leader of the Islamic world) when he was exiled from Syria and forced to make southern Spain the new capital of the Muslim empire. The following Caliphates added to the Mesquita making it one of the biggest in the world. There are four parts, each created by a different man. After the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, the Mesquita was converted into a Cathedral by the Christian victors. The center of the Mesquita was more of less rooted out for the Cathedral to exist. Many columns were removed and it remains an odd mix of Christianity and Islam.
After our Córdoba excursion we headed to Granada. There we were put up in a hotel that was a nice change after many hostels. We all headed out after a little bit of relaxing and getting ready. We went out to a bar to celebrate a birthday and in the process drank and ate a ton! Dinner was all of the tapas that came with the drinks we ordered. In Granada, each drink comes with a free tapa (a little sandwich or some small but tasty snack). The night was relaxing but not too eventful.
The next day we headed to possibly the most historic site in Spain, the Alhambra. Gorgeous, hard to really explain. There is a palace, a fort, and gardens. The section called the Generalife is the gardens where the king used to stroll and escape the palace life. In the actual palace you see rooms where justice was served and many important decisions were made, including the spot directly upon which Queen Isabel granted Columbus the funding for his westward quest.
The day was filled with more cerveza, more free tapas, and a short siesta. I got my first hair cut at the nearby superstore since for some reason on Saturday afternoons no small hair place, none, are open. We therefore, sadly, paid too much and paid it to the big businessman.
That night, though, was one of the most interesting I’ve had since getting to Spain. John and I peeled of the big group and together went to a club. There we found a huge group of Erasmus students (a European study abroad program) from the nearby town of Murcia. I met Italians, Checks, Irish, British, Dutch, Belgian, French, and more. Great diversity! Early on I met a medical student who gave me a non-hangover drink mix to take before I started drinking. I’m still too skeptical to try it. And later, a group of Jack Daniels cowboy hat wearing, bush loving, Spaniards. It was insane! They were an anomaly and I had a ridiculously interesting talk with them. Their main support of our president was that he is a strong leader who makes strong decisions…hmmm…I was not quite in agreement. Regardless, interesting encounter. Then, after a falafel and a half hour lost wandering around the area looking for another bar, John and I ran into the exact opposite. Walking down a street we heard “Putas Americanas” yelled at us. That means, more or less, American Bitches. I, a little bit influenced by the drink, turned to go talk to these guys. There were three of them. I asked them why they said that about us even though they know nothing about who I am. A long conversation ensued and we listened and tried to correct their ignorant stereotypes. We received an apology, hearing that we weren’t like the others, that we were good Americans. I don’t think we made an impact on their stereotypic mindset. The night ended soon after but was certainly not a disappointment.
The next day Josh, Robert, and I left the group at the hotel and went to see the Capilla Real where the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel reside. Really cool to see and think about the magnitude of importance they had in Spanish and world history (for those of us not up to date on European history, they led the Spanish Inquisition of 1492). Next we weaved our way on a cool back path up to the Mirador de San Nicolas that has a gorgeous view of Granada and met the group that had driven up there a little earlier. We all then had lunch together. It was amazing; the food we had was almost all vegetarian but consisted of some crazy vegetable combinations, falafel, humus, babaganoush, cinnamon rice, and an incredible rich dessert to finish it off.
After a long bus ride home (4 hours) and teaching Jeni how to roll her R’s I settled in the plaza where I steal internet to check up on everyone back home. While sitting there, I heard someone shouting. I looked up, and a window full of Spanish girls were calling for my attention.
All in all the trip was fantastic. I don’t know what it exactly was, but everything went great, ambience was always good, and that Sunday night I felt fantastic.
The Mesquita/Cathedral of Córdoba is the main attraction of the city. It is by far the most impressive and well known historical site. That was our last stop and, though I had seen it before, it was different because we had a guide taking us around. By seeing something so historical and gorgeous before, I could listen and learn as well as appreciate since I wasn’t as awestruck. The building was built in the 7th century as a Mesquita (Mosque) by the Caliphate (religious leader of the Islamic world) when he was exiled from Syria and forced to make southern Spain the new capital of the Muslim empire. The following Caliphates added to the Mesquita making it one of the biggest in the world. There are four parts, each created by a different man. After the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, the Mesquita was converted into a Cathedral by the Christian victors. The center of the Mesquita was more of less rooted out for the Cathedral to exist. Many columns were removed and it remains an odd mix of Christianity and Islam.
After our Córdoba excursion we headed to Granada. There we were put up in a hotel that was a nice change after many hostels. We all headed out after a little bit of relaxing and getting ready. We went out to a bar to celebrate a birthday and in the process drank and ate a ton! Dinner was all of the tapas that came with the drinks we ordered. In Granada, each drink comes with a free tapa (a little sandwich or some small but tasty snack). The night was relaxing but not too eventful.
The next day we headed to possibly the most historic site in Spain, the Alhambra. Gorgeous, hard to really explain. There is a palace, a fort, and gardens. The section called the Generalife is the gardens where the king used to stroll and escape the palace life. In the actual palace you see rooms where justice was served and many important decisions were made, including the spot directly upon which Queen Isabel granted Columbus the funding for his westward quest.
The day was filled with more cerveza, more free tapas, and a short siesta. I got my first hair cut at the nearby superstore since for some reason on Saturday afternoons no small hair place, none, are open. We therefore, sadly, paid too much and paid it to the big businessman.
That night, though, was one of the most interesting I’ve had since getting to Spain. John and I peeled of the big group and together went to a club. There we found a huge group of Erasmus students (a European study abroad program) from the nearby town of Murcia. I met Italians, Checks, Irish, British, Dutch, Belgian, French, and more. Great diversity! Early on I met a medical student who gave me a non-hangover drink mix to take before I started drinking. I’m still too skeptical to try it. And later, a group of Jack Daniels cowboy hat wearing, bush loving, Spaniards. It was insane! They were an anomaly and I had a ridiculously interesting talk with them. Their main support of our president was that he is a strong leader who makes strong decisions…hmmm…I was not quite in agreement. Regardless, interesting encounter. Then, after a falafel and a half hour lost wandering around the area looking for another bar, John and I ran into the exact opposite. Walking down a street we heard “Putas Americanas” yelled at us. That means, more or less, American Bitches. I, a little bit influenced by the drink, turned to go talk to these guys. There were three of them. I asked them why they said that about us even though they know nothing about who I am. A long conversation ensued and we listened and tried to correct their ignorant stereotypes. We received an apology, hearing that we weren’t like the others, that we were good Americans. I don’t think we made an impact on their stereotypic mindset. The night ended soon after but was certainly not a disappointment.
The next day Josh, Robert, and I left the group at the hotel and went to see the Capilla Real where the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel reside. Really cool to see and think about the magnitude of importance they had in Spanish and world history (for those of us not up to date on European history, they led the Spanish Inquisition of 1492). Next we weaved our way on a cool back path up to the Mirador de San Nicolas that has a gorgeous view of Granada and met the group that had driven up there a little earlier. We all then had lunch together. It was amazing; the food we had was almost all vegetarian but consisted of some crazy vegetable combinations, falafel, humus, babaganoush, cinnamon rice, and an incredible rich dessert to finish it off.
After a long bus ride home (4 hours) and teaching Jeni how to roll her R’s I settled in the plaza where I steal internet to check up on everyone back home. While sitting there, I heard someone shouting. I looked up, and a window full of Spanish girls were calling for my attention.
All in all the trip was fantastic. I don’t know what it exactly was, but everything went great, ambience was always good, and that Sunday night I felt fantastic.
miércoles, 17 de octubre de 2007
10-17-07 Dropping the UCA class
The class through the university, Social and Economic History of Contemporary Spain, and I were not meant to be. I struggled from the start of real assignments due to the level of the writing that we were reading. The material was extremely academic and considering that I have not taken a single Spanish language course, it was no fun to read. Once we went over the paper in class, it was a little clearer but I still felt lost. My decision was made about 2/3 of the way into class Monday. I want to enjoy Spain, I want to have a full cultural experience, keep myself busy socially and make my Spanish grow that way. The course was not uninteresting but nothing exciting enough to make me want to work as hard as I would have needed to. I sacrificed some intense in school learning for cultural exposure. It does make me sad, not taking the class, because it would be ridiculously helpful to my Spanish. The material from the class can be learned in any country of the world, but experiencing Spain/Cadiz can only happen in one. Dropping the class was easy, regret will fade, pleasure is due to ensue.
lunes, 15 de octubre de 2007
10-15-07 Cooking School
Today I had the most amazing and valuable Spanish experience so far. Instead of my regular civilization class of 1.5 hours, it lasted for 3 hours and took place at the School of Hospitality. The school has two majors available – cooking and restaurant service. We were given a tour of the facilities as well as a short explanation of the way in which the school functioned. It was really interesting, and a cooking major would be something I would do in a heartbeat if it didn’t take 2 years of full university-level concentration.
Now, the main purpose of having class there was for us to get to learn to make a whole bunch of authentic Spanish dishes. And eat them. It was amazing and I loved every minute of it. The chefs were all ridiculously nice. We sat in our desks like good students watching them whip together professionally made ethnic dishes, while they explained to us the origins of the dishes and the tips/tricks they new. The chefs were all teachers/professors at the school so knew their stuff. The menu was as follows:
Gazpacho – a blend of tomatoes, garlic, green pepper, cucumber, onions, and a little bread into a cold, easy, and delicious soup
Tortilla de Camarones – A batter with tons of mini shrimp mixed in and fried. Sort of like onion rings with tiny shrimp.
Tortilla de Patatas – Potato pancake, really really common here. It is a mixture of egg (to keep it all together), potato (to provide filing), and a little onion (for some flavor).
Paella (Andaluz Style) – The most well known of Spanish dishes internationally, it is a mixture of veggies, rice, and various meats. Paella means pan in the language native to Valencia and is therefore the name of the dish AND the pan it is made in. The one we ate was made in the style of Andalucia (the region of Spain I’m in). It is extravagant and contains a huge array of items which are all the choices of the cook. The veggies consisted of red peppers, onions, peas, green beans, carrots, a tiny bit of tomato, and some garlic. Meat was chicken, pork, clams, oysters, large shrimp, and calamari. One of the most important ingredients, which gives the true flavor and fluffs the rice (which is added raw), is a broth made from the meat cuts not added to the paella. Another special ingredient is saffron (super-expensive spice which is a flower’s stamen), which gives a light flavor and a tint of color. All together it becomes amazing.
Arroz con Leche (Rice with Milk) – A very traditional dessert that is fantastic. It is made with some lemon rind, cinnamon, milk, sugar, and rice. Simple and tasty.
Tocino de Cielo (Heaven Bacon) – The name is a complete misdirection as to what the dish is. It is a SUPER sweet flan-like dessert that involves 22 egg yokes and 1 kilo of sugar. I though it was decent, but was a little confused by the eggy-sugaryness.
I ate it all, and lots of it. I had the seafood ridden Paella and though I avoided the clams and oysters, I actually tried and thoroughly enjoyed the shrimp and calamari. Also, I ate 2 or 3 Tortillas de Camarones, which I really liked (mom, I know you probably figured I would considering my love of Kupuk). The whole experience was great and has given me a ton of great new recipes to bring home and try out on everyone! My only worry is going broke considering the only oil they use (and swear that is the only one that can be used) was extra virgin olive oil – and lots of it.
Now, the main purpose of having class there was for us to get to learn to make a whole bunch of authentic Spanish dishes. And eat them. It was amazing and I loved every minute of it. The chefs were all ridiculously nice. We sat in our desks like good students watching them whip together professionally made ethnic dishes, while they explained to us the origins of the dishes and the tips/tricks they new. The chefs were all teachers/professors at the school so knew their stuff. The menu was as follows:
Gazpacho – a blend of tomatoes, garlic, green pepper, cucumber, onions, and a little bread into a cold, easy, and delicious soup
Tortilla de Camarones – A batter with tons of mini shrimp mixed in and fried. Sort of like onion rings with tiny shrimp.
Tortilla de Patatas – Potato pancake, really really common here. It is a mixture of egg (to keep it all together), potato (to provide filing), and a little onion (for some flavor).
Paella (Andaluz Style) – The most well known of Spanish dishes internationally, it is a mixture of veggies, rice, and various meats. Paella means pan in the language native to Valencia and is therefore the name of the dish AND the pan it is made in. The one we ate was made in the style of Andalucia (the region of Spain I’m in). It is extravagant and contains a huge array of items which are all the choices of the cook. The veggies consisted of red peppers, onions, peas, green beans, carrots, a tiny bit of tomato, and some garlic. Meat was chicken, pork, clams, oysters, large shrimp, and calamari. One of the most important ingredients, which gives the true flavor and fluffs the rice (which is added raw), is a broth made from the meat cuts not added to the paella. Another special ingredient is saffron (super-expensive spice which is a flower’s stamen), which gives a light flavor and a tint of color. All together it becomes amazing.
Arroz con Leche (Rice with Milk) – A very traditional dessert that is fantastic. It is made with some lemon rind, cinnamon, milk, sugar, and rice. Simple and tasty.
Tocino de Cielo (Heaven Bacon) – The name is a complete misdirection as to what the dish is. It is a SUPER sweet flan-like dessert that involves 22 egg yokes and 1 kilo of sugar. I though it was decent, but was a little confused by the eggy-sugaryness.
I ate it all, and lots of it. I had the seafood ridden Paella and though I avoided the clams and oysters, I actually tried and thoroughly enjoyed the shrimp and calamari. Also, I ate 2 or 3 Tortillas de Camarones, which I really liked (mom, I know you probably figured I would considering my love of Kupuk). The whole experience was great and has given me a ton of great new recipes to bring home and try out on everyone! My only worry is going broke considering the only oil they use (and swear that is the only one that can be used) was extra virgin olive oil – and lots of it.
sábado, 13 de octubre de 2007
10-13-07 Getting Hit On
While I was using the Internet near the beach today I found myself victim to a grave misunderstanding. A man walked up to me and said something incomprehensible, then rephrased the previous sentence so that I sort of realized what he was saying, finally asking me, “Entiendes (do you understand)?” Now, I thought he was referring to the previous sentence, so I said, “Sí.” He plopped himself next to me and started talking to me about “amor libre” (free love) which was a little odd, but I smelled alcohol on his breath and I thought maybe he was a little depressed and wanted to talk to someone. So, why not let him vent, right? Well, just a little bit after we started talking I noticed the pierced right ear, with an earring, and no such earring in the left. Now we talked for a bit and then I finally realized that he was completely hitting on me. After we talked about love, the perfect world, and relationships, he asked me what would happen if we were together, or perhaps were to go to bed together “hypothetically” (suuure, hypothetically…). So I tried to say no thank you, I don’t swing that way. He then asked if I was going to go out tonight. I said yup, but with my friends, not you. Then he asked if I wanted to get a drink. I said no. Instead of taking the hint he got closer, asked me name, touched my shoulder and grabbed my hand, after which I promptly got angry. I am in NO way a homophobe, but I don’t like it when people assume they can start to invade my personal space when every answer previously was a no. I pushed him away, told him off, and he finally got the point. After he left I remembered how the conversation had started and felt pretty stupid. When he said, “Entiendes (do you understand)?” as we learned during intensive Spanish class but I neglected to realize, he was really asking, “Are you homosexual?” My response prompted the intent, but definitely did not garner the persistence. That was something very Spanish that made me have much more respect for the girls here and in our program that deal with that sort of attitude constantly. I guess you learn something new everyday, here were my two lessons:
1. REALLY understand before you say you do.
2. Women in Spain deserve a lot of credit for what they have to put up with.
According to my ‘mom’, what I did was very polite and much much less intense than it would have been had one of her sons been approached. That man would have received a nice black eye so I hear.
1. REALLY understand before you say you do.
2. Women in Spain deserve a lot of credit for what they have to put up with.
According to my ‘mom’, what I did was very polite and much much less intense than it would have been had one of her sons been approached. That man would have received a nice black eye so I hear.
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