The rain that greeted us on Sunday morning was more or less a down pour. But we were leaving so no harm done! We left Portugal at around 1 PM and went straight off to Sevilla (after a return trip a little ways out to get a forgotten cell phone) to watch the last bull fight of the season. After about 3 hours we arrived, and I scoured the streets for a parking place, finding one after a while (wooo!) and then leaving it for paid parking after I realized I had no way to lock the car. We were in two cars so transferred all valuables to the other and then set off to buy some tickets. Since this bullfight was the last of the season and was in arguable the most famous plaza de toros (bullring) in the world, we were quick to dish out the 21 Euros it cost (that included 6 bulls/rounds of bullfighting) and were happy to find out that it cost only 19 Euros for those of us under 21 years old. Also, this was a professional fight; these guys were really famous – like good pro athletes.
The fight was by far the most uniquely Spanish thing I had seen and have seen since arriving in Spain. My mother here classified it as an art, but it seems like there is something else there that she neglected to explain because there was something about it that wasn’t quite artistic. I thought at first that it was a machismo (of which there is a lot) but even that didn’t cover it. I’m still not sure but will do my best to find out. My feelings about it as a whole was: I thought it was interesting, just interesting. Not bad but nothing spectacular. It is indeed very systematic and practiced, and these bulls (as I was told by my mom) were all a little above average on the ferocity scale. She, like the good Spaniard she is, was watching it on TV and absolutely loved it.
So here is how a corrida de toros (bullfight) works:
1. The bull is taunted a little with the pink-and-yellow-cape-waving group of four men known as the quadrilla. Their task is to control the bull as well as to get him riled up. Some do the valiant wave the bull past with the cape deal while others dash for the sidewall and hide behind it while the bull knocks his head against it.
2. These mounted men, named picadors, come into the ring and the bull is brought close to them by the quadrilla. One picador takes his staff that has a hooked knife on it and proceeds to cut the lower neck of the bull. This is one of the steps that had most of us a little confused since it was pretty cowardly to debilitate the bull that way. His nerves are significantly damaged by the act. The horse that the man is on is blindfolded and gets absolutely pummeled by the bull. Luckily they are padded (more to come on why that is essential).
3. Next, two men, called, banderilleros, and wield pointy metal poles which are about arm’s length and proceed to run at the bull, have him turn his head, stab them into the bull’s back, and sprint for the wall. This is a lot more dangerous, I believe, and makes the bull even more confused and weak. It is also a stylistically done process as they arch their backs a certain way and must skillfully stab the bull at the correct point.
4. Now comes the part that we all know about in America and has been popularized worldwide. The torero/matador comes out and is alone with the bull in the ring. He has a red cape as we all know about, but also has a sword and a metal staff (about the same length as the sword) that has a cross on the end. The sword is used towards the end and the staff is for mistakes. So, what exactly does the matador do? Here is where art and style are really clear. The other rounds seemed more like procedure while his is a one on one session with the bull. He drives him back and forth, round and round. The matador has a noticeable advantage due to how weak the other rounds made the bull but regardless does he job as fanciful as he can. Occasionally the bull can fall to the ground in his state of weakness, showing how much of an advantage the torero is given. Nevertheless, the bulls often nick the torero, injuring and/or killing him. The animals are huge, valiant, and to me seemed even regal – which made the last part a little degrading. The last act of the matador is to stab their sword into the bull, aiming for the heart. That part – pretty damn difficult. The bull is still very alive and dangerous, and to get a good stab they must get quite close and be very exact. The bull proceeds to wobble around for a minute until it’s loss of nerves and blood/blood flow brings about its end.
5. A horse drawn harness is then brought out with a couple men leading them. This group is called Monos Sabidos (wise monkeys). Why? No idea. Not even my Spanish dad knows. They hook the bull and, while loud trumpets play, drag the bull in a circle within the ring and crack a whip, finally taking him out of the ring in triumph. So, the bull fought valiantly, us humans used our wits to overpower him in largely unfair procedure, and then pretended like what we did was amazingly impressive in the cocky and degrading fashion of dragging the combatant in circles around the ring. It would be like rounding up all the enemy casualties in a war and dragging them around the capital city. It is certainly a show catching deal but I wasn’t a fan. I would have appreciated more honor and respect for the fight the bull put up.
So that is the structure. Here are a couple interesting things I saw. The second bull was amazingly ferocious and fun to watch, but the third was able to to tip over the horse upon which was the picador and rammed incessantly into the horse’s stomach. All of us first-timers were horrified for the horse (who as you remember is blindfolded) because we didn’t know at the time that the horse had padding on his underside. Makes sense, but was scary to not know! Poor ignorant horse, mean humans. Next thing, the metal pole with a cross on the end – used to pull out the sword after an unsuccessful stab. The torero either waits for it to fall out, since if it doesn’t go in right/far enough then their job isn’t done right, and then tries again. Half of the toreros took two stabs (one having to use the cross-thingy to retrieve the sword for another go), but the third did great and hit home on his first try. The crowd loved him and waved their white handkerchiefs in the air for him. Since he did well he received at the end of the corrida a ear of the bull he killed. The most scary bull stunt, though, was done by one of the men in the cuadrilla. He would hold the cape between his legs and have the bull charge at that. THAT is impressive!
All in all, it was an experience and a half. All of us that saw the corrida were a little speechless but of course fascinated. We drove home, got in a little late, I learned how horribly difficult (and fun) driving the tiny streets of Cadiz is, and then finally made it home after a fun, eventful, and exciting trip/day.
domingo, 30 de septiembre de 2007
sábado, 29 de septiembre de 2007
27/29-09-07Portugal
To Portugal!
At 9AM, I made it to the rental car shop ready to hit the road to Lagos. We were off to Portugal from Thursday to Sunday, heading down to the coastal town of Lagos. People started to trickle to our meeting spot, but the person with our reservation, Chloe, was a good hour and a half late (which I found out later was normal). So, after another half hour of paperwork and dillydallying we headed towards the new part of town, picked up the others, and the nine of us headed out of Cadiz. I drove since Matt, who rented the car, was not familiar with the art of the manual. Also, I kind of wanted to try out the driving style on the treacherous Spanish roads. The roads here are interesting. Europeans, as always, are in a bind for space. The old parts of all the cities I’ve been to have been made up of roads big enough for one car and a person on both sidewalks – walking around the streets is sorta scary, driving is a whole different experience. People hardly even take a glance when they cross the street and need a prodding with the horn to get them to clear the road (I’m guilty of that when I’m walking too, but the sidewalks are way too small to expect us to use them all the time). The corners are ridiculously tight, and had I not been in a dumpling-like car, they would have been extremely difficult to navigate as well. Regardless, it was really fun and I enjoyed driving again too (mostly due to the fact that we were free to do whatever we pleased). Also, the nine of us got along great. We rocked, that was that.
Getting to Portugal was easy and no getting lost occurred. We drove into Lagos and sent one car off to find the apartments we were off to stay at while we waited. The scary part about that, lack of communication. A couple people had cell phones that worked but not well and it cost a ton. It’s a little uncomfortable to be so out of contact now that we’ve become accustomed to cell phones. It seems harder now than it was before cell phones to be without them. Landlines are almost nonexistent and pay phone prices are much higher since they are used much less frequently. Also, nobody knows other phone numbers anymore since every one they need is stored in their cell phone.
Lagos and the south of Portugal are generally dry but there is a gorgeous coastline. The first thing I noticed about the town was the excessive number of tourists and generally people speaking English. It seemed that the town was a popular vacation spot and possibly had many people making Lagos their summer home.
Finally, we got to eat what we wanted to eat! The apartment we were staying at had a full kitchen, so we went to a grocery store and got everything we’d been missing living with pseudo mothers. I got the ingredients for red curry chicken and cooked it that night. It was glorious. We also bought bread – a full, large, fantastic baguette for .50 Euros. Portugal, like Spain, did bread well and cheap. The US needs to figure that out. Going to a supermarket wasn’t too difficult especially due to the Americanization of food here in the Spain/Portugal region. What we normally buy in the US isn’t all there but it has similar goods and if you really wanted, you could live like an American college student, eating frozen pizza and coke (which is what Matt did). That night we took all of our food, had some drinks by the pool (apartments, chicken, AND a pool!) and then made a wonderful dinner.
The next day, our first full one, we went to the nearby beach, Luz. It had a little bit of a different structure from our beaches in Spain. It was a lot more rocky which made swimming a little treacherous. The upside was that we were right next to huge rock formations around which we climbed for a while and actually found a little secluded beach which would have been nice to discover a little earlier so that we could have spent all our time on it. We frisbee’d, walked around, swam around, and took in some more sun. Our group split up that night since the rest of them were not as interested in going into town. Josh, John, Vanessa, and I went into town to look around and possibly find some dinner. What we found – boring, tourist based menus with a huge lacking in authentic Portuguese food. There were street performers, all sorts of international food, and as I said, very little Portuguese culture. We saw two cool acts – one was a human statue set with two people, an angel in white and a demon all in black (creeeeepy); the other was by far the funniest, a Jamaican man, in Portugal, singing an American Song (Times Like These - Foo Fighters), and doing so poorly. Good times! After some debate we stayed the night in, having dinner at our place.
We woke up Saturday with the mission of actually doing something unique that we couldn’t already do in Cadiz. We went to the tourism office and booked tickets to take a tour of the numerous grottos of Lagos (water caves). The tour was nice, nothing spectacular but still cool. The caves would have been fun to swim around in and explore a little deeper than our speedboat could take us. The most awesome sight was the holes in the roofs of the caves. They were carved out over millennia by water from the sea hitting the rocks and spewing up to slowly eroding that little area of the cave. As we rode around I got to know the man driving the boat/guiding the tour. He was Portuguese and spoke relatively good English. We began talking about the USA and where within it he had traveled. When talking about his visit to L.A. and I asked him how he had liked it. His response was interesting and disheartening. He enjoyed the country but the people put him off. Due to his skin color he immediately was tagged as a Mexican. Furthermore, after he would correct their mistake, it would still be assumed that he spoke Spanish due to the fact that they believed Portugal was a part of Spain. It really embarrassed me as an American. Especially since all that lack of education was coupled with a negative treatment in general due to the anti-Hispanic sentiment a lot of grudging Southern Californians feel.
After the tour we happily walked back to our car to have our mood demolished. The lock to the car, which Matt (who wasn’t with us at the time) rented, had been tampered with and was completely unusable. All the doors were unlocked which was even scarier. Fortunately the thief had taken absolutely nothing. Maybe we got lucky and got back at the right time or someone else might have scared them off. Regardless, it was really annoying, a little depressing, and made the trip a little less fun. To finish up our Lagos tour we took a walk around the city walls and through the old part of town which, despite being tourist ridden, is really quaint and beautiful. After that, we went back to the house to be depressed a little more and take a little siesta.
Dinner – Indian food!!! We ate curry and tikka and I burned my taste buds for the first time in a looong time with my curry of 5+1 stars. The food was great and my pride was boosted by the waiter who kept coming over concerned that my food would be too hot and I kept sending him away with the, “it’s perfect,” response. We found the others at a bar in town and proceeded to party the night away in a couple different bars, one of which was four stories of dancing and drinking. I went home “early” at 3:30 AM and was to bed by 4 AM. The others, in all their intelligence and knowing we had to be out of the apartments before 12 PM got home at around 7 AM. They were a little out of it the next day as we started our journey back.
At 9AM, I made it to the rental car shop ready to hit the road to Lagos. We were off to Portugal from Thursday to Sunday, heading down to the coastal town of Lagos. People started to trickle to our meeting spot, but the person with our reservation, Chloe, was a good hour and a half late (which I found out later was normal). So, after another half hour of paperwork and dillydallying we headed towards the new part of town, picked up the others, and the nine of us headed out of Cadiz. I drove since Matt, who rented the car, was not familiar with the art of the manual. Also, I kind of wanted to try out the driving style on the treacherous Spanish roads. The roads here are interesting. Europeans, as always, are in a bind for space. The old parts of all the cities I’ve been to have been made up of roads big enough for one car and a person on both sidewalks – walking around the streets is sorta scary, driving is a whole different experience. People hardly even take a glance when they cross the street and need a prodding with the horn to get them to clear the road (I’m guilty of that when I’m walking too, but the sidewalks are way too small to expect us to use them all the time). The corners are ridiculously tight, and had I not been in a dumpling-like car, they would have been extremely difficult to navigate as well. Regardless, it was really fun and I enjoyed driving again too (mostly due to the fact that we were free to do whatever we pleased). Also, the nine of us got along great. We rocked, that was that.
Getting to Portugal was easy and no getting lost occurred. We drove into Lagos and sent one car off to find the apartments we were off to stay at while we waited. The scary part about that, lack of communication. A couple people had cell phones that worked but not well and it cost a ton. It’s a little uncomfortable to be so out of contact now that we’ve become accustomed to cell phones. It seems harder now than it was before cell phones to be without them. Landlines are almost nonexistent and pay phone prices are much higher since they are used much less frequently. Also, nobody knows other phone numbers anymore since every one they need is stored in their cell phone.
Lagos and the south of Portugal are generally dry but there is a gorgeous coastline. The first thing I noticed about the town was the excessive number of tourists and generally people speaking English. It seemed that the town was a popular vacation spot and possibly had many people making Lagos their summer home.
Finally, we got to eat what we wanted to eat! The apartment we were staying at had a full kitchen, so we went to a grocery store and got everything we’d been missing living with pseudo mothers. I got the ingredients for red curry chicken and cooked it that night. It was glorious. We also bought bread – a full, large, fantastic baguette for .50 Euros. Portugal, like Spain, did bread well and cheap. The US needs to figure that out. Going to a supermarket wasn’t too difficult especially due to the Americanization of food here in the Spain/Portugal region. What we normally buy in the US isn’t all there but it has similar goods and if you really wanted, you could live like an American college student, eating frozen pizza and coke (which is what Matt did). That night we took all of our food, had some drinks by the pool (apartments, chicken, AND a pool!) and then made a wonderful dinner.
The next day, our first full one, we went to the nearby beach, Luz. It had a little bit of a different structure from our beaches in Spain. It was a lot more rocky which made swimming a little treacherous. The upside was that we were right next to huge rock formations around which we climbed for a while and actually found a little secluded beach which would have been nice to discover a little earlier so that we could have spent all our time on it. We frisbee’d, walked around, swam around, and took in some more sun. Our group split up that night since the rest of them were not as interested in going into town. Josh, John, Vanessa, and I went into town to look around and possibly find some dinner. What we found – boring, tourist based menus with a huge lacking in authentic Portuguese food. There were street performers, all sorts of international food, and as I said, very little Portuguese culture. We saw two cool acts – one was a human statue set with two people, an angel in white and a demon all in black (creeeeepy); the other was by far the funniest, a Jamaican man, in Portugal, singing an American Song (Times Like These - Foo Fighters), and doing so poorly. Good times! After some debate we stayed the night in, having dinner at our place.
We woke up Saturday with the mission of actually doing something unique that we couldn’t already do in Cadiz. We went to the tourism office and booked tickets to take a tour of the numerous grottos of Lagos (water caves). The tour was nice, nothing spectacular but still cool. The caves would have been fun to swim around in and explore a little deeper than our speedboat could take us. The most awesome sight was the holes in the roofs of the caves. They were carved out over millennia by water from the sea hitting the rocks and spewing up to slowly eroding that little area of the cave. As we rode around I got to know the man driving the boat/guiding the tour. He was Portuguese and spoke relatively good English. We began talking about the USA and where within it he had traveled. When talking about his visit to L.A. and I asked him how he had liked it. His response was interesting and disheartening. He enjoyed the country but the people put him off. Due to his skin color he immediately was tagged as a Mexican. Furthermore, after he would correct their mistake, it would still be assumed that he spoke Spanish due to the fact that they believed Portugal was a part of Spain. It really embarrassed me as an American. Especially since all that lack of education was coupled with a negative treatment in general due to the anti-Hispanic sentiment a lot of grudging Southern Californians feel.
After the tour we happily walked back to our car to have our mood demolished. The lock to the car, which Matt (who wasn’t with us at the time) rented, had been tampered with and was completely unusable. All the doors were unlocked which was even scarier. Fortunately the thief had taken absolutely nothing. Maybe we got lucky and got back at the right time or someone else might have scared them off. Regardless, it was really annoying, a little depressing, and made the trip a little less fun. To finish up our Lagos tour we took a walk around the city walls and through the old part of town which, despite being tourist ridden, is really quaint and beautiful. After that, we went back to the house to be depressed a little more and take a little siesta.
Dinner – Indian food!!! We ate curry and tikka and I burned my taste buds for the first time in a looong time with my curry of 5+1 stars. The food was great and my pride was boosted by the waiter who kept coming over concerned that my food would be too hot and I kept sending him away with the, “it’s perfect,” response. We found the others at a bar in town and proceeded to party the night away in a couple different bars, one of which was four stories of dancing and drinking. I went home “early” at 3:30 AM and was to bed by 4 AM. The others, in all their intelligence and knowing we had to be out of the apartments before 12 PM got home at around 7 AM. They were a little out of it the next day as we started our journey back.
miércoles, 26 de septiembre de 2007
24/26-09-07HomeworkInAPlaza
I love the fact that the city is open all night every night. This first have of the week has been absolutely sleep deprived. I got home at 5/6 AM Sunday night, 3:30ish Monday, similar Tuesday, and 2:30 Wednesday (but only because I had to drive a car to Portugal in the morning). Due to classes and such I’ve had between 4 and 6 hours of sleep and due to the insatiable need to go to the beach daily didn’t make up for that with siestas. I really didn’t mind though. At night I’d walk around plazas and go to the beach and watch the waves. Kind of sappy, but awesomely awesome.
On Monday night I actually had homework that had to get done. I did some at home and then went to a plaza in the old part of town where I finished it all. Three others and me sat around studying for our first exam and I finished writing/editing the essay I needed to turn in early for Spanish (also we saw a youtube video on Basilisks – crazy frickin lizards that can run across water). The other reason we met up that night in the plaza and the reason that I had to finish my essay early was to plan our trip to Portugal that would have us skipping class on Friday. After the homework was done, we had a couple drinks and then departed for the night a few hours later.
‘Mom’ vs. Eli – Round 75. Lunch on Tuesday was a complete victory on my part. After the first plate was done she attempted to give me twice as much of the second as I wanted. She left the room with two portions, warmed them up, brought it back, went back with another one portion to warm up for my ‘dad’, during which I gave my ‘dad’ the one portion I didn’t want but would satisfy him. When she got back, the last one she warmed up she could eat herself, and I ate what I wanted. To make the peace after the fancy maneuver I told her I would eat it for dinner (not something I did because I forgot I had plans for dinner already, though I would have!). I would have felt bad about it all but the Spanish mothers just haven’t gotten their minds around Tupperware. If something isn’t finished, they get completely nervous, sometimes leaving out till dinner, others covering it with a plate or some plastic wrap and sticking it in the fridge, or as they do all to often throw it away. The society seems to be getting in general richer and be receiving the same sort of disposable tendencies we see in the US. It’s a little sad, but inevitable as the rest of the world sees the efficiencies rather than degradation of discipline of a disposable culture.
That night we went out to a bar/restaurant well known for their tapas. Amazing, fantastic, so great. We ordered a beef in “spicy” sauce, a veggie mixture with sauce, montaditos (little sandwiches) – one of salmon and one of jam, and my favorite by far – a big old chorizo (spiced sausage). The beef was tasty but far from spicy, but that chorizo was absolutely fantastic. I know that it must have had a 100 grams of fat in it, but the flavor was so glorious that it matters not. I solemnly promise that I will be back to eat me another quite soon. The other great part is that I again did not eat too much, and spent just five euros for two dishes and a beer. Not a bad price at all.
As time goes on living in my house with my ‘parents’ and spending time with friends around the city I realize I sort of feel like I’m back in high school or worse. I feel like I’m more or less imposing on the household as is, even though I know they are getting paid to keep we there, and so I don’t feel comfortable having friends over since it is their house and they are only obligated to support my presence alone. It makes the personal space that I love at college and really enjoy sharing with others non-existent. The streets, plazas, and bars do alright, but it is certainly an aspect of the lifestyle that I’m happy to escape. Unfortunately for many Spanish children, they end up living with their parents for many many years (it is super common for kids to stay in the house until they are in their late 20s). This is due to the lack of quality employment, steep housing prices, and – a trait I notice more and more – extreme laziness. Due to all that they too don’t have their own home to host people at will, though they do have a different, closer relationship with their parents which makes things a little easier.
On Wednesday night I went out to get some tapas, botellón’ing before and after. The place we went was called Los Cien Montaditos which meant everything was in between bread. It was all great, though I was disappointed about the Carne con Mojo Picón (meat in a spicy sauce) which my ‘mom’ made for me once and told me was fantastic here. Hers was great and had a little kick while theirs was good but essentially kick-less. Regardless, another tapas success. Afterwards, we hit up the bars for a bit before I needed to head home and rest up for driving to Portugal. I met a couple of Gaditanos and was glad to get home early enough for a few hours of sleep.
On Monday night I actually had homework that had to get done. I did some at home and then went to a plaza in the old part of town where I finished it all. Three others and me sat around studying for our first exam and I finished writing/editing the essay I needed to turn in early for Spanish (also we saw a youtube video on Basilisks – crazy frickin lizards that can run across water). The other reason we met up that night in the plaza and the reason that I had to finish my essay early was to plan our trip to Portugal that would have us skipping class on Friday. After the homework was done, we had a couple drinks and then departed for the night a few hours later.
‘Mom’ vs. Eli – Round 75. Lunch on Tuesday was a complete victory on my part. After the first plate was done she attempted to give me twice as much of the second as I wanted. She left the room with two portions, warmed them up, brought it back, went back with another one portion to warm up for my ‘dad’, during which I gave my ‘dad’ the one portion I didn’t want but would satisfy him. When she got back, the last one she warmed up she could eat herself, and I ate what I wanted. To make the peace after the fancy maneuver I told her I would eat it for dinner (not something I did because I forgot I had plans for dinner already, though I would have!). I would have felt bad about it all but the Spanish mothers just haven’t gotten their minds around Tupperware. If something isn’t finished, they get completely nervous, sometimes leaving out till dinner, others covering it with a plate or some plastic wrap and sticking it in the fridge, or as they do all to often throw it away. The society seems to be getting in general richer and be receiving the same sort of disposable tendencies we see in the US. It’s a little sad, but inevitable as the rest of the world sees the efficiencies rather than degradation of discipline of a disposable culture.
That night we went out to a bar/restaurant well known for their tapas. Amazing, fantastic, so great. We ordered a beef in “spicy” sauce, a veggie mixture with sauce, montaditos (little sandwiches) – one of salmon and one of jam, and my favorite by far – a big old chorizo (spiced sausage). The beef was tasty but far from spicy, but that chorizo was absolutely fantastic. I know that it must have had a 100 grams of fat in it, but the flavor was so glorious that it matters not. I solemnly promise that I will be back to eat me another quite soon. The other great part is that I again did not eat too much, and spent just five euros for two dishes and a beer. Not a bad price at all.
As time goes on living in my house with my ‘parents’ and spending time with friends around the city I realize I sort of feel like I’m back in high school or worse. I feel like I’m more or less imposing on the household as is, even though I know they are getting paid to keep we there, and so I don’t feel comfortable having friends over since it is their house and they are only obligated to support my presence alone. It makes the personal space that I love at college and really enjoy sharing with others non-existent. The streets, plazas, and bars do alright, but it is certainly an aspect of the lifestyle that I’m happy to escape. Unfortunately for many Spanish children, they end up living with their parents for many many years (it is super common for kids to stay in the house until they are in their late 20s). This is due to the lack of quality employment, steep housing prices, and – a trait I notice more and more – extreme laziness. Due to all that they too don’t have their own home to host people at will, though they do have a different, closer relationship with their parents which makes things a little easier.
On Wednesday night I went out to get some tapas, botellón’ing before and after. The place we went was called Los Cien Montaditos which meant everything was in between bread. It was all great, though I was disappointed about the Carne con Mojo Picón (meat in a spicy sauce) which my ‘mom’ made for me once and told me was fantastic here. Hers was great and had a little kick while theirs was good but essentially kick-less. Regardless, another tapas success. Afterwards, we hit up the bars for a bit before I needed to head home and rest up for driving to Portugal. I met a couple of Gaditanos and was glad to get home early enough for a few hours of sleep.
domingo, 23 de septiembre de 2007
22/23-09-07RhondaWeekend
After school Friday I headed to the beach to begin the most packed weekend I’ve had. John and I played soccer with some local kids and some guys from Pamplona. We were both on the Pamplonan’s team and played for a few hours. The end result was fun and pain. There were little shell fragments on the beach, the sand was hard and rough, and we were most certainly barefoot. Both John and I felt like our feet were burning which made walking home a chore and our excursion the next day – where we walked for hours and hours – a trying experience. That night we went out for a while, had some beers, and I got home around 3:30 AM which gave me 3.5 hours to sleep before I had to wake up for our excursion to Rhonda.
And to Rhonda we go! I was up at 7 to catch our bus to Rhonda at 8. We weaved our way into the Spanish mountains which are NW of Cadiz and towards the center of Spain. The trip took us through some wonderfully quaint countrysides and hills to a pueblo blanco (white town) Rhonda which is on a hill itself and extends across the ravine which cuts the hill in half, providing beautiful views down into the surrounding fields. We walked around the quaint streets, crossed old bridges, and climbed the city wall (which didn’t look like it would keep an army out for more than a few minutes). All in all, the actual city itself was what I enjoyed the most. We saw some cool sites, more churches and palaces, but the town of Rhonda took the cake. Rhonda also has the oldest bull ring in all of Spain. It was there that the Spanish developed the modern form of bull fighting which is so famous today. Before they would fight while on horse rather than by foot. Another interesting fact is that Hemmingway was lived in Rhonda for a long while during his writing years and refers to it in his writing. After spending some time site seeing we had some lunch (as always, mine was enormous and I supplemented the lunches of others) and then headed off on the bus again to Arcos, another pueblo blanco. Arcos was less spectacular but beautiful regardless.
We made it home around 6, promptly after which I fell asleep. I woke up at 10 PM to have some leftovers for dinner (my mom was gone for the weekend and I could actually eat as much I wanted without having to fend off extra food). The leftovers I chose were albondigas (meatballs) on cuscus and paella – pretty amazing leftovers. After that, to the streets! We botellóned in San Fransisco and then hopped to a couple bars before heading out to La Punta for hours and hours of dancing and drinking until 7:30 when the discotecas closed down. When they did, we headed to the upper level, above the clubs, to hang out some more and watch the water. Up there we found the ground COVERED with trash (seriously there was trash everywhere) - plastic bags, alcohol, mixers, etc. Regardless, we hung around.
At around 10 AM I stumbled home and proceeded to sleep till 3 PM. I ate lunch alone since I missed the earlier hour and headed directly to the beach afterwards. There I found a huge group of people from the program, which is fun sometimes but is really getting old. The group of peeps I hang with is sliming but occasionally those crowds remain. I got home from the beach at 9:30 PM, headed back out after dinner and despite the lack of sleep stayed out till about 6 AM. Good idea? For now sure, when school starts, maybe not so much but so far all work has been done, no classes have been missed, and I’m actually staying attentive in class and learning something.
And to Rhonda we go! I was up at 7 to catch our bus to Rhonda at 8. We weaved our way into the Spanish mountains which are NW of Cadiz and towards the center of Spain. The trip took us through some wonderfully quaint countrysides and hills to a pueblo blanco (white town) Rhonda which is on a hill itself and extends across the ravine which cuts the hill in half, providing beautiful views down into the surrounding fields. We walked around the quaint streets, crossed old bridges, and climbed the city wall (which didn’t look like it would keep an army out for more than a few minutes). All in all, the actual city itself was what I enjoyed the most. We saw some cool sites, more churches and palaces, but the town of Rhonda took the cake. Rhonda also has the oldest bull ring in all of Spain. It was there that the Spanish developed the modern form of bull fighting which is so famous today. Before they would fight while on horse rather than by foot. Another interesting fact is that Hemmingway was lived in Rhonda for a long while during his writing years and refers to it in his writing. After spending some time site seeing we had some lunch (as always, mine was enormous and I supplemented the lunches of others) and then headed off on the bus again to Arcos, another pueblo blanco. Arcos was less spectacular but beautiful regardless.
We made it home around 6, promptly after which I fell asleep. I woke up at 10 PM to have some leftovers for dinner (my mom was gone for the weekend and I could actually eat as much I wanted without having to fend off extra food). The leftovers I chose were albondigas (meatballs) on cuscus and paella – pretty amazing leftovers. After that, to the streets! We botellóned in San Fransisco and then hopped to a couple bars before heading out to La Punta for hours and hours of dancing and drinking until 7:30 when the discotecas closed down. When they did, we headed to the upper level, above the clubs, to hang out some more and watch the water. Up there we found the ground COVERED with trash (seriously there was trash everywhere) - plastic bags, alcohol, mixers, etc. Regardless, we hung around.
At around 10 AM I stumbled home and proceeded to sleep till 3 PM. I ate lunch alone since I missed the earlier hour and headed directly to the beach afterwards. There I found a huge group of people from the program, which is fun sometimes but is really getting old. The group of peeps I hang with is sliming but occasionally those crowds remain. I got home from the beach at 9:30 PM, headed back out after dinner and despite the lack of sleep stayed out till about 6 AM. Good idea? For now sure, when school starts, maybe not so much but so far all work has been done, no classes have been missed, and I’m actually staying attentive in class and learning something.
viernes, 21 de septiembre de 2007
17/21-09-07FirstFullSchoolWeek
The first week of school was a little bit of a wake up call since I actually had to pay attention and start taking notes and such! Que horror! In all actuality, it was nice to get back to learning. I love the partying atmosphere and will continue to enjoy it, but this adds a new twist and life and is a great thing for the learning enthusiast. On Monday we will have fixed courses. We are supposed to take 4 or 5 depending on what you need credit-wise. Since I am working toward neither a major nor a minor, I get to do whatever I want! Mine are as follows:
Spain and the European Union (Honors) – This class is going to be excellent. It is a history of the Union to begin with and then goes into Spain’s interaction with the Union. We each are supposed to be doing a research project on a country in the Union, but I talked to my professor and was given the green light to do mine on Turkey as well as do some extra work and extent it so that I can receive honors credit for the course.
Spanish Civilization (Honors) – The professor is a little dry but I get to learn all about Spanish history from the perspective of who the Spanish are. We spend time on the normal topics (heritage, customs) and then go into depth with some very Spanish characteristics (1 week on gastronomy – food and culture – and a week on wines which includes a trip to a wine tasting facility I believe). I’ll be doing a separate project in this class comparing the Spanish life to American life to gain honors credit, but I am super interested in that topic so it should be fun. The differences are huge and there are some pros and cons that I am personally quite conflicted about.
Geography - might audit it since I only need 4 classes, but it is stuff I’d love to learn and the professor is awesome (Okay, geografía es la materia más importante, es una materia fantástica, la más bella, okay. Como se dice “okay”? Lo digo bien? Bueno! Okay…). The course will go over the map of Spain as well as cover the geo-political significance of the regions.
Social and Economic History on Contemporary Spain (Honors) – I will taking this course directly through the University of Cadiz (all the other courses are developed for our program and include only others people from our program). As there will be a much higher level of difficulty understanding the professor and the expectations will be much higher, I’ll be getting honors credit for this class too. I’m really excited, though, to be able to take a class directly because I am quite positive it’ll be more interesting/valuable.
Language I – This class is just the basic language course I’ll be taking. Due to the lack of courses I’ve been through at UW and a general struggle with grammar it is really nice that I get to take the lowest level language course offered. I feel I’m in the right place and the professor is fantastic which is going to make it really easy to fully take advantage of the course.
The next step after having made these choices is actually getting myself motivated! The beach, people, and Spanish life are much more alluring and pulling myself away is pretty damn hard. During the week I had some fun as well. Went to a movie called Murderball - It is a documentary on Wheel Chair Rugby, which is apparently a very popular sport in the quadriplegic world. Saw a concert from a local band, which had a mix of flamenco, salsa, and other styles. Also, there was some homework mixed in.
Spain and the European Union (Honors) – This class is going to be excellent. It is a history of the Union to begin with and then goes into Spain’s interaction with the Union. We each are supposed to be doing a research project on a country in the Union, but I talked to my professor and was given the green light to do mine on Turkey as well as do some extra work and extent it so that I can receive honors credit for the course.
Spanish Civilization (Honors) – The professor is a little dry but I get to learn all about Spanish history from the perspective of who the Spanish are. We spend time on the normal topics (heritage, customs) and then go into depth with some very Spanish characteristics (1 week on gastronomy – food and culture – and a week on wines which includes a trip to a wine tasting facility I believe). I’ll be doing a separate project in this class comparing the Spanish life to American life to gain honors credit, but I am super interested in that topic so it should be fun. The differences are huge and there are some pros and cons that I am personally quite conflicted about.
Geography - might audit it since I only need 4 classes, but it is stuff I’d love to learn and the professor is awesome (Okay, geografía es la materia más importante, es una materia fantástica, la más bella, okay. Como se dice “okay”? Lo digo bien? Bueno! Okay…). The course will go over the map of Spain as well as cover the geo-political significance of the regions.
Social and Economic History on Contemporary Spain (Honors) – I will taking this course directly through the University of Cadiz (all the other courses are developed for our program and include only others people from our program). As there will be a much higher level of difficulty understanding the professor and the expectations will be much higher, I’ll be getting honors credit for this class too. I’m really excited, though, to be able to take a class directly because I am quite positive it’ll be more interesting/valuable.
Language I – This class is just the basic language course I’ll be taking. Due to the lack of courses I’ve been through at UW and a general struggle with grammar it is really nice that I get to take the lowest level language course offered. I feel I’m in the right place and the professor is fantastic which is going to make it really easy to fully take advantage of the course.
The next step after having made these choices is actually getting myself motivated! The beach, people, and Spanish life are much more alluring and pulling myself away is pretty damn hard. During the week I had some fun as well. Went to a movie called Murderball - It is a documentary on Wheel Chair Rugby, which is apparently a very popular sport in the quadriplegic world. Saw a concert from a local band, which had a mix of flamenco, salsa, and other styles. Also, there was some homework mixed in.
sábado, 15 de septiembre de 2007
09-15-07Sevilla
After a semi-late night, and despite being exhausted from the week, Josh, Vanessa, Brianna, and I hoped on a bus to Sevilla to get out of Cadiz and see some cool stuff. John, in a sub-par state of health (bien crudo), didn’t meet up with us as planned so the four of us took off and got to Sevilla at around 12:30. The bus cost us 9 euros each way and took just 1.5 hours.
When we got there and oriented ourself we headed straight for Sevilla’s main tourist attraction, El Catedral. The cathedral was built in the 7th century and is not only enormous but covered with carvings and filled with gorgeous sculptures, stained glasses windows, golden art, and other similarly ancient things. Many many many many pictures were taken, though not being allowed to use a flash was a little difficult. Josh was muy enfadado (angry) as blurry pictures were taken one after another. After seeing the main halls we climbed the tower of the cathedral and took some time to scan the Sevilla skyline. The barrio Santa Cruz, an older, quaint and gorgeous part of town was next to the cathedral and we could see a lot of the great architecture from that tower.
Lunch was our next item on the agenda. Now, my ‘mom’ packed me enough food for about 8 meals in one bag for this one day trip, meaning that I had more than enough to share around. The most common bocadillo (sub-sandwich) is one that has a tortilla de patata inside of it. A tortilla de patata is a mixture of potatoes, ham, and salt held together with an eggy mixture and then fried. It appears to be more or less a potato pancake – which we then eat in a sandwich. Despite it being a little odd, it tastes fantastic. That came with another sandwich (both were huge by the way) of ham and cheese, cheetos, juice, more juice, an apple, and a chocolate croissant. Damn what a meal, one eaten underneath a statue of the Immaculate Conception (coincidence?).
Our next stop was the arena de torros to see if there was a bullfight, but unfortunately the fight we though was Saturday was Sunday and we were only planning on staying in Sevilla for the day. The river that crosses through Sevilla was right next to us at that point and we walked along it to find café where we could grab a drink and take a rest. The one we found had mediocre juices and fruit shakes which were able to tide us over for a while.
As we walked towards an area of town that looked cool (unfortunately it was more or less a park for hobos) we found underneath the city’s many bridges some of the most amazing graffiti. There were eyes, birds, writing, people, and tons of other crazy cool stuff done with a pretty impressive skill level. After passing all that we ran into a riverside barbeque spot which was quite American. The whole area being kind of creepy (especially the drunken man lying by his trailer trying to get us to come talk to him), we left to head back to the main part of town, finding more graffiti on the way.
Before heading totally back into Sevilla, we stopped at a supermarket in a mall to get some water. The water was warm so we stowed it under the ice bags on sale and went to use the bathroom before buying them. 15 minutes later, water wasn’t too much better. Josh, in his brilliance, bought a 1.50 euro box of 10 chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars. The name: Crocan Sticks, the color of the “Vanilla” ice cream: yellow…I choked down two, as did Brianna, and Vanessa took care of one. Josh handled the other 5 with grace, and then continued to eat dinner a few short hours later...
Going into the heart of Sevilla we found a plaza market which we browsed for a bit, a sex shop where I bought josh a wind-up penis toy, and an H&M outlet with western clothing galore. We randomly met some others from the program soon after, who we had no idea were in Sevilla. They were on there way to a hostel so they could stay the night and head back after the bull fight that they were going to the next day.
For dinner we had a treat. My ‘mom’ had suggested a pizzeria, which was situated in a 7th century home in the middle of the gorgeous Barrio Santa Cruz. We drank wine and beer and ate fantastic Italian food while appearing to be in the 600s.
The Plaza de España was our last stop, and unfortunately the most harmful. I, in my fantasticness, had checked the bus schedule online and, when we arrived in Sevilla, neglected to follow Vanessa’s advice of going and actually checking the schedule again. The last bus to Cadiz, which we thought left at 10:45, left at 10...meaning that when we got there at 10:20, ready to go, the bus was long gone. The schedule online had not been updated and had changed from Summer times to Winter times, hence the earlier departure. What to do, what to do, what to do. Hostel? Naaah. Stay up till 7AM and take the first bus home? Much better idea! Having made that wonderful decision, we headed back into town to hopefully find an internet café to check the UW football game score.
We spent the first few hours in a bar playing cards and having a few drinks, the next ones getting eaten alive in a park by mosquitoes, and the last few playing Frisbee and dosing on the bus station steps until their doors opened at 6AM. To add a little icing to the cake, I lost my return ticket sometime in the night and ended up having to buy another for 10 euro.
Regardless, all in all the trip rocked. The sights were great, I had good company, and Sevilla is a really fun city. The night wasn’t too restful, but we made sure to make up for it with some good beach hours the next day and lots of sleep.
When we got there and oriented ourself we headed straight for Sevilla’s main tourist attraction, El Catedral. The cathedral was built in the 7th century and is not only enormous but covered with carvings and filled with gorgeous sculptures, stained glasses windows, golden art, and other similarly ancient things. Many many many many pictures were taken, though not being allowed to use a flash was a little difficult. Josh was muy enfadado (angry) as blurry pictures were taken one after another. After seeing the main halls we climbed the tower of the cathedral and took some time to scan the Sevilla skyline. The barrio Santa Cruz, an older, quaint and gorgeous part of town was next to the cathedral and we could see a lot of the great architecture from that tower.
Lunch was our next item on the agenda. Now, my ‘mom’ packed me enough food for about 8 meals in one bag for this one day trip, meaning that I had more than enough to share around. The most common bocadillo (sub-sandwich) is one that has a tortilla de patata inside of it. A tortilla de patata is a mixture of potatoes, ham, and salt held together with an eggy mixture and then fried. It appears to be more or less a potato pancake – which we then eat in a sandwich. Despite it being a little odd, it tastes fantastic. That came with another sandwich (both were huge by the way) of ham and cheese, cheetos, juice, more juice, an apple, and a chocolate croissant. Damn what a meal, one eaten underneath a statue of the Immaculate Conception (coincidence?).
Our next stop was the arena de torros to see if there was a bullfight, but unfortunately the fight we though was Saturday was Sunday and we were only planning on staying in Sevilla for the day. The river that crosses through Sevilla was right next to us at that point and we walked along it to find café where we could grab a drink and take a rest. The one we found had mediocre juices and fruit shakes which were able to tide us over for a while.
As we walked towards an area of town that looked cool (unfortunately it was more or less a park for hobos) we found underneath the city’s many bridges some of the most amazing graffiti. There were eyes, birds, writing, people, and tons of other crazy cool stuff done with a pretty impressive skill level. After passing all that we ran into a riverside barbeque spot which was quite American. The whole area being kind of creepy (especially the drunken man lying by his trailer trying to get us to come talk to him), we left to head back to the main part of town, finding more graffiti on the way.
Before heading totally back into Sevilla, we stopped at a supermarket in a mall to get some water. The water was warm so we stowed it under the ice bags on sale and went to use the bathroom before buying them. 15 minutes later, water wasn’t too much better. Josh, in his brilliance, bought a 1.50 euro box of 10 chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars. The name: Crocan Sticks, the color of the “Vanilla” ice cream: yellow…I choked down two, as did Brianna, and Vanessa took care of one. Josh handled the other 5 with grace, and then continued to eat dinner a few short hours later...
Going into the heart of Sevilla we found a plaza market which we browsed for a bit, a sex shop where I bought josh a wind-up penis toy, and an H&M outlet with western clothing galore. We randomly met some others from the program soon after, who we had no idea were in Sevilla. They were on there way to a hostel so they could stay the night and head back after the bull fight that they were going to the next day.
For dinner we had a treat. My ‘mom’ had suggested a pizzeria, which was situated in a 7th century home in the middle of the gorgeous Barrio Santa Cruz. We drank wine and beer and ate fantastic Italian food while appearing to be in the 600s.
The Plaza de España was our last stop, and unfortunately the most harmful. I, in my fantasticness, had checked the bus schedule online and, when we arrived in Sevilla, neglected to follow Vanessa’s advice of going and actually checking the schedule again. The last bus to Cadiz, which we thought left at 10:45, left at 10...meaning that when we got there at 10:20, ready to go, the bus was long gone. The schedule online had not been updated and had changed from Summer times to Winter times, hence the earlier departure. What to do, what to do, what to do. Hostel? Naaah. Stay up till 7AM and take the first bus home? Much better idea! Having made that wonderful decision, we headed back into town to hopefully find an internet café to check the UW football game score.
We spent the first few hours in a bar playing cards and having a few drinks, the next ones getting eaten alive in a park by mosquitoes, and the last few playing Frisbee and dosing on the bus station steps until their doors opened at 6AM. To add a little icing to the cake, I lost my return ticket sometime in the night and ended up having to buy another for 10 euro.
Regardless, all in all the trip rocked. The sights were great, I had good company, and Sevilla is a really fun city. The night wasn’t too restful, but we made sure to make up for it with some good beach hours the next day and lots of sleep.
viernes, 14 de septiembre de 2007
09-11/14-07ToTheUni!
Last day of K2 (intensive Spanish classes) with our amazingly awesome teacher Anais. She, in her amazingness, took us to the central market to walk around and give us a little tour. She took us to see the invisible swordfish (there are usually half-swordfishes hanging from hooks in the market but the stall was on vacation). The market is pretty great. There are tons of vendors selling tons of crazy stuff. I love how that type of market can be mixed into the explosion of development and technology that is Spain.
Classes finally were going to start! For the first week we are required to attend every single class (4.5 hours a day, straight). Our first class was cancelled meaning the night before was a night on the town. I went yet again to the Irish pub with millions of people from the program but left soon after with some friends who took us to a Gay bar. Now, it would have been tons of fun had the place not been filled with old men, not dancing. To top it all off, as we walked in and started up the empty dance floor, they all sat there watching us with “hungry” eyes. Now since not even one of the 3 gay guys I was there with was remotely interested, we QUICKLY exited and headed up the street to a bar I knew and has become a favorite.
The first class of Thursday, History of Art, was interesting and surprisingly easy to comprehend despite its complete Spanish content. I can see that my Spanish comprehension has gone leap years since getting here though I REALLY need to get the vocab on a college level since the words used are now more complicated and not a given that they’ll be used the same. Though I though that the class was going to super boring (even though it’s exciting having classes in Spanish), it actually was pretty interesting considering the amount of history art contains. Styles and plain art aren’t too interesting to me, but why they did what they did (intersections of cultures/current political situations/etc.) and the intersection of art and intelligence/technological development are great and seem to be incorporated into the class.
The next day we started our college language classes with a really nice and young professor by the name of Victor. He seems to have planed a curriculum similar to K2 where we learn vocab in bulk, cement correct grammar, and learn little by little more about Cadiz. We found out that in October the city all of a sudden changes as the Spanish university term starts. All the students move back in and the streets and bars become a little more crowded. Cadiz is more or less a college town it seems and I can’t wait to see the change in nightlife that the Uni of Cadiz brings, as well as meet all the people that come with.
After a few rainy days, back came the sun to burn the white out of us. I’ve been talking a lot more with my ‘parents’ here. They’re still great folk and the convo’s range from 15th century Spain and global warming to raising kids and the ‘mothers’ of other kids in the program. I have a sneaking suspicion that my ‘mom’ is one of the best and I couldn’t be happier (unless I, of course I was being taken care of by you “real mom” ☺ ). My ‘dad’ gave me a little bit of the scoop on Sevilla so that Saturday I could get out of Cadiz for a bit and give northern Andalucia’s tourist center a second look.
Now during these first few days of school and the couple nights before I had gone out quite a bit just to be sure to squeeze in as much fun as possible before actual work had to be done. I went out Tuesday and Wednesday….and Thursday - and you can’t not go out on a Friday. Friday, though, was quite a burn out. In my half asleep state I started home only a few hours in (making sure to break Vanessa’s flip flop on the way) and got back at an early 3:30.
Classes finally were going to start! For the first week we are required to attend every single class (4.5 hours a day, straight). Our first class was cancelled meaning the night before was a night on the town. I went yet again to the Irish pub with millions of people from the program but left soon after with some friends who took us to a Gay bar. Now, it would have been tons of fun had the place not been filled with old men, not dancing. To top it all off, as we walked in and started up the empty dance floor, they all sat there watching us with “hungry” eyes. Now since not even one of the 3 gay guys I was there with was remotely interested, we QUICKLY exited and headed up the street to a bar I knew and has become a favorite.
The first class of Thursday, History of Art, was interesting and surprisingly easy to comprehend despite its complete Spanish content. I can see that my Spanish comprehension has gone leap years since getting here though I REALLY need to get the vocab on a college level since the words used are now more complicated and not a given that they’ll be used the same. Though I though that the class was going to super boring (even though it’s exciting having classes in Spanish), it actually was pretty interesting considering the amount of history art contains. Styles and plain art aren’t too interesting to me, but why they did what they did (intersections of cultures/current political situations/etc.) and the intersection of art and intelligence/technological development are great and seem to be incorporated into the class.
The next day we started our college language classes with a really nice and young professor by the name of Victor. He seems to have planed a curriculum similar to K2 where we learn vocab in bulk, cement correct grammar, and learn little by little more about Cadiz. We found out that in October the city all of a sudden changes as the Spanish university term starts. All the students move back in and the streets and bars become a little more crowded. Cadiz is more or less a college town it seems and I can’t wait to see the change in nightlife that the Uni of Cadiz brings, as well as meet all the people that come with.
After a few rainy days, back came the sun to burn the white out of us. I’ve been talking a lot more with my ‘parents’ here. They’re still great folk and the convo’s range from 15th century Spain and global warming to raising kids and the ‘mothers’ of other kids in the program. I have a sneaking suspicion that my ‘mom’ is one of the best and I couldn’t be happier (unless I, of course I was being taken care of by you “real mom” ☺ ). My ‘dad’ gave me a little bit of the scoop on Sevilla so that Saturday I could get out of Cadiz for a bit and give northern Andalucia’s tourist center a second look.
Now during these first few days of school and the couple nights before I had gone out quite a bit just to be sure to squeeze in as much fun as possible before actual work had to be done. I went out Tuesday and Wednesday….and Thursday - and you can’t not go out on a Friday. Friday, though, was quite a burn out. In my half asleep state I started home only a few hours in (making sure to break Vanessa’s flip flop on the way) and got back at an early 3:30.
lunes, 10 de septiembre de 2007
09-10-07Baloncesto
Today all of us in the program got back together to talk about how the families we have been staying with have treated us and whether they have honored the contracts they signed before taking us in. I didn’t have many complaints, but a few others did. Little things and big things. After listening to lots of complaining, I talked to Rita about my honors projects and such and found out that I might actually get to take a class with the Spanish students! Woooo!
After the university and lunch I took it easy for a while and talked to my ‘parents’ for a while. My ‘mom’ I make nervous I think due to my eating habits. I don’t eat as much as she wishes I would, and there are a few things (again FEW) that I don’t eat but she doesn’t want to make a mistake! Really sweet woman.
In the evening I went for a run and perhaps to find a game of something to join. Soccer games were everywhere but looked quite exclusive. I did, though, finally manage to find a basketball game.
I was invited to play as soon as I got there. The games are done quite a bit differently. First off, there is no checking of the ball. Second, contact in ANY WAY AT ALL was a foul. It was quite the downer. It was frustrating, since what would be a completely ignored in the US was a foul no matter what in Spain. Lastly, they were all pretty bad. A couple could rebound, a couple could shoot, the rest though…eeeeh. After playing some American style aggressive basketball I was nicknamed Kirilenko (after the NBA player). A little later though, I became giri (Cadiz slang for a Nordic Person). It was difficult for me to talk to them bccuase it was my first interaction with people my age in Spain and I really didn’t know much basketball terminology in Spanish nor many congratulatory phrases. Give me a couple more games to learn.
That night though, oooh man was it exciting. Dinner, homework, and sleep.
After the university and lunch I took it easy for a while and talked to my ‘parents’ for a while. My ‘mom’ I make nervous I think due to my eating habits. I don’t eat as much as she wishes I would, and there are a few things (again FEW) that I don’t eat but she doesn’t want to make a mistake! Really sweet woman.
In the evening I went for a run and perhaps to find a game of something to join. Soccer games were everywhere but looked quite exclusive. I did, though, finally manage to find a basketball game.
I was invited to play as soon as I got there. The games are done quite a bit differently. First off, there is no checking of the ball. Second, contact in ANY WAY AT ALL was a foul. It was quite the downer. It was frustrating, since what would be a completely ignored in the US was a foul no matter what in Spain. Lastly, they were all pretty bad. A couple could rebound, a couple could shoot, the rest though…eeeeh. After playing some American style aggressive basketball I was nicknamed Kirilenko (after the NBA player). A little later though, I became giri (Cadiz slang for a Nordic Person). It was difficult for me to talk to them bccuase it was my first interaction with people my age in Spain and I really didn’t know much basketball terminology in Spanish nor many congratulatory phrases. Give me a couple more games to learn.
That night though, oooh man was it exciting. Dinner, homework, and sleep.
domingo, 9 de septiembre de 2007
09-09-07CadizVsSalamanca
I again went to the beach to recover, but after I did some playing around on the Internet. My entire beach experience that day was in the hope of obtaining some sort of tan. Unfortunately, I have yet to obtain such a tan.
Later on there was a game between Cadiz’s segunda liga team and Salamanca’s. A few of us went to a bar in a plaza to watch it. It was great cheering with the locals. Since it was the segunda liga and not primera liga they certainly played harder and were more fun to watch. The best part though, Cadiz won, 1-0 (beautiful header off of a cross into the box)!
Afterward, off to the Cathedral I went to steal wireless Internet again. Still feels like I’m raping history using technology.
Later on there was a game between Cadiz’s segunda liga team and Salamanca’s. A few of us went to a bar in a plaza to watch it. It was great cheering with the locals. Since it was the segunda liga and not primera liga they certainly played harder and were more fun to watch. The best part though, Cadiz won, 1-0 (beautiful header off of a cross into the box)!
Afterward, off to the Cathedral I went to steal wireless Internet again. Still feels like I’m raping history using technology.
sábado, 8 de septiembre de 2007
09-08-07MasFutbol
After a looong sleep (6 – 12:30) and a tasty lunch I hit up the beach with more intention of playing some soccer. John, a little … sick … from the night before didn’t come with me to play. Instead, when I got there, I found some Italians, I found some Spaniards, and I found Josh. We played for a while on the beach, again – great times.
Later, after earning the title of “maximo goledor” I went home to take a shower, put on some nice clothes, and go with my ‘mom’ to an absolutely amazing Flamenco show. Again, absolutely fantastic. My ‘mom’, a Flamenco instructor herself, was herself excited. The dance was called “Cadiz” and had a theme which was the city itself. I went with my ‘mom’ and two other women, as well as Josh. We sat in “el paraiso” (paradise) -which was more or less the nosebleed seats but it felt really authentically Spanish. The women that came with my ‘mom’ were hilarious and lively. I got discourses on everything that was occurring (which really helped since Josh and I understood VERY little). The theater was gorgeous, slightly circular with a deep stage. It was a FANTASTIC experience.
After that we went off to an Irish pub named O’Connell’s where we found approximately 70% of the people in our program hanging out. After talking for a bit and hearing too much English I went over to talk to some Gaditanos I saw who looked friendly. They were actually super nice and really fun to hang out with. The Spanish was flowing and after joking around and learning some useful bad words and phrases - ☺ - the guys took me to a club nearby which normally costs 10 euros to get in, but the guys I was with (Hugo and Javi) got me in for free. Pretty awesome! The club had great music and atmosphere but roasted us alive. It was at least 100 degrees in there. After a little dancing and a lot of sweating I headed home.
Later, after earning the title of “maximo goledor” I went home to take a shower, put on some nice clothes, and go with my ‘mom’ to an absolutely amazing Flamenco show. Again, absolutely fantastic. My ‘mom’, a Flamenco instructor herself, was herself excited. The dance was called “Cadiz” and had a theme which was the city itself. I went with my ‘mom’ and two other women, as well as Josh. We sat in “el paraiso” (paradise) -which was more or less the nosebleed seats but it felt really authentically Spanish. The women that came with my ‘mom’ were hilarious and lively. I got discourses on everything that was occurring (which really helped since Josh and I understood VERY little). The theater was gorgeous, slightly circular with a deep stage. It was a FANTASTIC experience.
After that we went off to an Irish pub named O’Connell’s where we found approximately 70% of the people in our program hanging out. After talking for a bit and hearing too much English I went over to talk to some Gaditanos I saw who looked friendly. They were actually super nice and really fun to hang out with. The Spanish was flowing and after joking around and learning some useful bad words and phrases - ☺ - the guys took me to a club nearby which normally costs 10 euros to get in, but the guys I was with (Hugo and Javi) got me in for free. Pretty awesome! The club had great music and atmosphere but roasted us alive. It was at least 100 degrees in there. After a little dancing and a lot of sweating I headed home.
viernes, 7 de septiembre de 2007
09-07-07FlamencoYLaPunta
Today was yet another fun day of class. Our teacher, Anais, keeps us going at a slow pace but we learn fantastically since it’s a fun atmosphere and we’re all engaged and trying earnestly to get better. We’ve gone through some important topics, reviewing each (ser vs. estar, past perfect, preterit, imperfect, their differences). Also, we get a good dose daily of words to know in Spain!
That night we went to a Flamenco show in a plaza and it was absolutely packed. Dancers were good, but not as good as I would see the next night. That night we went out to La Punta which is more or less a strip of dock that consists of many many many discotecas (clubs). We danced and chatted, met some Gaditanos, and then headed home. Sadly on the way home (at 5:30) Josh, Erin and I saw something quite sad. A cat was dying on the side of street. It was bleeding out of the mouth. There was not much we could do being new in the city and, on top of not knowing where any vets were, the fact that Gaditanos do not generally like cats.
That night we went to a Flamenco show in a plaza and it was absolutely packed. Dancers were good, but not as good as I would see the next night. That night we went out to La Punta which is more or less a strip of dock that consists of many many many discotecas (clubs). We danced and chatted, met some Gaditanos, and then headed home. Sadly on the way home (at 5:30) Josh, Erin and I saw something quite sad. A cat was dying on the side of street. It was bleeding out of the mouth. There was not much we could do being new in the city and, on top of not knowing where any vets were, the fact that Gaditanos do not generally like cats.
jueves, 6 de septiembre de 2007
09-06-07PrimerasTapas
More pan tostada for breakfat, some class, more food, some beach, and finally some soccer!!
After class I headed to the beach and ended up playing with a few of the younger kids on the beach who were friends with the ‘little brother’ of someone in the program. After we (3 Americans and a Turk) started winning they became quite agitated. The result - lots of messing around by them so as to make the game slightly ridiculous. I guess it wasn’t fair of us to be beating them at their own sport! Excessive pride starts young in Spain. My knee, with the MCL I recently sprained, held up really well (I should not have been playing yet since I still have a good few months of rehab left, but I couldn’t help it).
That night I went out again to have some tapas for my first time since getting to Spain. At home I have a lot of the foods that are normally served at tapas restaurants but there are many many to try. We had three things – tortillas de patata, broquetes (little pickled fish which are sort of like sardines), and pan con lomo. All were very good, even the fish though I only had one.
Eating here in Spain has been something I feared at one point and now I have come to embrace it as a fantastic experience. My mind has really opened up in the last 6 months or so to new foods, partially due the fact that I realize that the taste of food is not as important as I once thought. Though wonderful when done well, food is good in many forms and I might as well give every one a chance to grow on me. Here I also tried grouper and found that it is a decent tasting fish as well. My mother attends to my dislike of foods carefully, always providing alternatives to what I might dislike. It creates a healthy environment for tasting new foods!
After class I headed to the beach and ended up playing with a few of the younger kids on the beach who were friends with the ‘little brother’ of someone in the program. After we (3 Americans and a Turk) started winning they became quite agitated. The result - lots of messing around by them so as to make the game slightly ridiculous. I guess it wasn’t fair of us to be beating them at their own sport! Excessive pride starts young in Spain. My knee, with the MCL I recently sprained, held up really well (I should not have been playing yet since I still have a good few months of rehab left, but I couldn’t help it).
That night I went out again to have some tapas for my first time since getting to Spain. At home I have a lot of the foods that are normally served at tapas restaurants but there are many many to try. We had three things – tortillas de patata, broquetes (little pickled fish which are sort of like sardines), and pan con lomo. All were very good, even the fish though I only had one.
Eating here in Spain has been something I feared at one point and now I have come to embrace it as a fantastic experience. My mind has really opened up in the last 6 months or so to new foods, partially due the fact that I realize that the taste of food is not as important as I once thought. Though wonderful when done well, food is good in many forms and I might as well give every one a chance to grow on me. Here I also tried grouper and found that it is a decent tasting fish as well. My mother attends to my dislike of foods carefully, always providing alternatives to what I might dislike. It creates a healthy environment for tasting new foods!
miércoles, 5 de septiembre de 2007
09-05-07SomeHistory
After class today I skipped on the beach to take a break from the sun. The tan is coming, but a burn needs to be avoided. Before heading home, Josh, Stephanie, Erin, and I went on a little walk around the city. We picked up a little guide to taparias around Cadiz as well as some coupons. Then, we went in search of some history.
Cadiz has quite a wealth of historical background. I have many many places to check out. Today we went first to a Roman theater dated back to 50 BC or so and then to a cathedral which is tucked into the side of the city. Both had tons of history and great artifacts and architecture. I then sat on the steps of the huge Cathedral to do some Internet surfing.
I find it fascinating that so much history can be intertwined with an ever-growing flood of technology. The fact that I can find multiple wireless networks no matter where I sit has really opened my eyes to the extent Spain is advancing, and the speed. A short 3 years ago wireless Internet at home was almost unheard of. I guess that along with all the economic changes that came with the European Union, the Internet usage finally caught up. We were told that using the Internet would be hard at home since the time of usage costs tons, but here at my house we have cable Internet with relatively decent speed. Most important, though, is a constant connection which is what most of us have in the US. Internet cafes, which before were EVERYWHERE in Spain are more scarce and contain fewer computers. Ah, the speed of technology…
After the day of walking around we went home, had some lunch, and took a nice siesta. That night we tried out the Mexican restaurant near my house. The food was good but nothing special. What was a little strange was the reaction I got from the Spanish waitress. She did not take kindly to me after I got her attention using “Señora” instead of “Señorita”. The service from that point on – not so good. Ah, all the things you learn day by day.
That night after dinner I went out with a couple friends and after arriving at the edge of the old town found a few lost Belgians who came with us to find a nice bar. We sat around and had a few drinks, chatting in a mix of Spanish, French, and English. It was great to be meeting people of different cultures, and talking/learning a little more about them. At about 2 or so I decided to head home so I could get a little rest before school the next day.
Cadiz has quite a wealth of historical background. I have many many places to check out. Today we went first to a Roman theater dated back to 50 BC or so and then to a cathedral which is tucked into the side of the city. Both had tons of history and great artifacts and architecture. I then sat on the steps of the huge Cathedral to do some Internet surfing.
I find it fascinating that so much history can be intertwined with an ever-growing flood of technology. The fact that I can find multiple wireless networks no matter where I sit has really opened my eyes to the extent Spain is advancing, and the speed. A short 3 years ago wireless Internet at home was almost unheard of. I guess that along with all the economic changes that came with the European Union, the Internet usage finally caught up. We were told that using the Internet would be hard at home since the time of usage costs tons, but here at my house we have cable Internet with relatively decent speed. Most important, though, is a constant connection which is what most of us have in the US. Internet cafes, which before were EVERYWHERE in Spain are more scarce and contain fewer computers. Ah, the speed of technology…
After the day of walking around we went home, had some lunch, and took a nice siesta. That night we tried out the Mexican restaurant near my house. The food was good but nothing special. What was a little strange was the reaction I got from the Spanish waitress. She did not take kindly to me after I got her attention using “Señora” instead of “Señorita”. The service from that point on – not so good. Ah, all the things you learn day by day.
That night after dinner I went out with a couple friends and after arriving at the edge of the old town found a few lost Belgians who came with us to find a nice bar. We sat around and had a few drinks, chatting in a mix of Spanish, French, and English. It was great to be meeting people of different cultures, and talking/learning a little more about them. At about 2 or so I decided to head home so I could get a little rest before school the next day.
martes, 4 de septiembre de 2007
lunes, 3 de septiembre de 2007
09-03-07FirstDay
Aqui estamos en America. Aqui estamos en America! Aqui estamos en Americaaaaaaaa!
We’re not onto actual learning and Spanish. We’re taking classes through a ‘Spanish for foreigners’ school where we’re being tested for skill level. And, despite getting along in the streets fine with my purely conversational Spanish, I didn’t do so hot in class. I’ve been put in the lowest level of Spanish our group has and I’m quite sure it is deserved. We had a short paragraph for homework, which was nothing horrible.
Later on we met up with the group to fill out more documents than I ever imagined would be necessary. It was the same with the visa for entering the country, lots of papers to fill out. Perhaps it is a socialism thing, bureaucracy seems to be rampant. A lot of it is European Union regulation; being part of such a large bureaucracy requires a lot of double-checking. Nevertheless, people seem not to mind it.
That night I got some pictures I needed for school and another ice cream (Watermelon flavor – good taste but not a good idea for ice cream). Then home for dinner, homework, and sleep.
We’re not onto actual learning and Spanish. We’re taking classes through a ‘Spanish for foreigners’ school where we’re being tested for skill level. And, despite getting along in the streets fine with my purely conversational Spanish, I didn’t do so hot in class. I’ve been put in the lowest level of Spanish our group has and I’m quite sure it is deserved. We had a short paragraph for homework, which was nothing horrible.
Later on we met up with the group to fill out more documents than I ever imagined would be necessary. It was the same with the visa for entering the country, lots of papers to fill out. Perhaps it is a socialism thing, bureaucracy seems to be rampant. A lot of it is European Union regulation; being part of such a large bureaucracy requires a lot of double-checking. Nevertheless, people seem not to mind it.
That night I got some pictures I needed for school and another ice cream (Watermelon flavor – good taste but not a good idea for ice cream). Then home for dinner, homework, and sleep.
domingo, 2 de septiembre de 2007
09-02-07LazySunday
Sunday was lazy, woke up late, sent some emails, went to the beach, etc. Tried to do a little more thinking about working on the projects I have planned but I’m still in the process of getting my head around speaking Spanish well. I had an ice cream, ate some dinner, and went to bed so I could get up and go to class at 9.
sábado, 1 de septiembre de 2007
09-01-07 Gadizanos
The city of Cadiz is actually much larger than I had imagined. The ‘Facultad’ where I’ll be studying is actually quite a walk (30 minutes). There are two parts to the town – El Casco Antiguo (the old part) and La Avenida (the new part). I live in the new part, but very close to the old part so walking to both is feasible for me. It isn’t as easy to get around as I had hoped but it works. Buses run pretty often and we’re occasionally given a Bonobus pass, valid for 10 bus rides, but I feel guilty using it since I live close enough to make my walk to school a casual stroll. People from the program are spread out all over the city, many at the end of the new part (which is pretty much a long strip) and many in the old part (a circular area with very intimate housing style). I am just three blocks from the beach - which makes taking in a little sun and taking a dip in the Mediterranean/Atlantic easy.
The streets of the old part of town are fascinating. They crisscross all over the place in a web of ins and outs. There are plazas tucked into corners all over the place and churches throughout. The town is almost completely Catholic but not too strict about whether or not church is attended (thankfully). I’m guessing this is a modern concession, but it seems that in general the people of Cadiz are very open minded and accepting.
To start off our day, my ‘mom’ brought me into town to reunite with the group. We went to a tower upon which we could see most of Cadiz (seeing as the buildings are all similarly stubby). We were taken to a room called La Camara Oscura (the dark chamber) where using a periscope (the first of its kind in all of Spain) we looked around the city and were given sort of a mini tour. The next event – a scavenger hunt! Our group broke up into teams and we proceeded to bring foreign ruin to the tranquility of Cadiz. Since all of our tasks, we appeared to be a disorganized hoard of students roaming the streets in search of various, seemingly unimportant places. We checked the prices of fish, bought stamps, asked questions, and ended with buying drinks at a sidewalk café. Que divertido! The most relaxing part of the day came next – the beach! A few of us went to the beach near my house and relaxed in the sand, swam around, played some Frisbee. Again, the tough life.
Lunch, which came between scavenging and the beach, consisted of a huge pan of paella! It was the best food by far that I’ve had since coming to Cadiz. My extremely thoughtful ‘mom’ put no seafood or fish in it. I eat normally here, yet am constantly hounded by Carmen (mom) to eat more because, as she claims, the Spanish eat a lot and it is Mediterranean and the food is not bad for you. On the other hand, about half of everything I’ve eaten has been fried! I’m so confused! I just go with the flow, eating and trying to get away with my normal amount rather than stuffing myself like she would like to see.
On to the nightlife…
So, when they say that the Spanish stay out late, they mean really late. The typical night consists of dinner, bar hopping, discotecas (club), and mucho divercion. We walked all around town until we found a Cadiz native who took us to a bar he liked and introduced us to all his friends. To avoid being sent home at closing time, we went to another, hidden bar (which had an interesting security system with cameras on the street ensuring nobody saw that we were entering). This bar was open till 7AM ☺. We stayed till 5:30 and I walked home the girls that came with, returned to my house, and fell asleep around 6:30. I got my first taste of meeting gadizanos (Cadiz was long ago Gadiz). The next day, I saw two of the five, and the day after a third. I like that it is a small town when it comes to people.
The streets of the old part of town are fascinating. They crisscross all over the place in a web of ins and outs. There are plazas tucked into corners all over the place and churches throughout. The town is almost completely Catholic but not too strict about whether or not church is attended (thankfully). I’m guessing this is a modern concession, but it seems that in general the people of Cadiz are very open minded and accepting.
To start off our day, my ‘mom’ brought me into town to reunite with the group. We went to a tower upon which we could see most of Cadiz (seeing as the buildings are all similarly stubby). We were taken to a room called La Camara Oscura (the dark chamber) where using a periscope (the first of its kind in all of Spain) we looked around the city and were given sort of a mini tour. The next event – a scavenger hunt! Our group broke up into teams and we proceeded to bring foreign ruin to the tranquility of Cadiz. Since all of our tasks, we appeared to be a disorganized hoard of students roaming the streets in search of various, seemingly unimportant places. We checked the prices of fish, bought stamps, asked questions, and ended with buying drinks at a sidewalk café. Que divertido! The most relaxing part of the day came next – the beach! A few of us went to the beach near my house and relaxed in the sand, swam around, played some Frisbee. Again, the tough life.
Lunch, which came between scavenging and the beach, consisted of a huge pan of paella! It was the best food by far that I’ve had since coming to Cadiz. My extremely thoughtful ‘mom’ put no seafood or fish in it. I eat normally here, yet am constantly hounded by Carmen (mom) to eat more because, as she claims, the Spanish eat a lot and it is Mediterranean and the food is not bad for you. On the other hand, about half of everything I’ve eaten has been fried! I’m so confused! I just go with the flow, eating and trying to get away with my normal amount rather than stuffing myself like she would like to see.
On to the nightlife…
So, when they say that the Spanish stay out late, they mean really late. The typical night consists of dinner, bar hopping, discotecas (club), and mucho divercion. We walked all around town until we found a Cadiz native who took us to a bar he liked and introduced us to all his friends. To avoid being sent home at closing time, we went to another, hidden bar (which had an interesting security system with cameras on the street ensuring nobody saw that we were entering). This bar was open till 7AM ☺. We stayed till 5:30 and I walked home the girls that came with, returned to my house, and fell asleep around 6:30. I got my first taste of meeting gadizanos (Cadiz was long ago Gadiz). The next day, I saw two of the five, and the day after a third. I like that it is a small town when it comes to people.
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