Well, Sarah (my Williams friend here) and I finally got our act together and traveled yesterday! Our incredibly economically-friendly trip (I think I spent all of 25 euros) was fantastic. Ciudad Rodrigo is a country town only an hour and 15 minutes from Salamanca on a very comfortable bus, and we had a great day walking around the midieval walls and looking at beautiful views. Pictures to follow soon, I promise!
Ciudad Rodrigo was a very important strategic site in the Middle Ages. It's on the highest ground in the area and it's very close to the border with Portugal. So there's a complicated system of walls that are about 900 years old now, and they are very well preserved. There are turrets, cannon and arrow openings, and the highest level of walls is open for you to walk around the city. The views are really impressive; the area of Spain where we are is very flat and the day was bright and clear so we could see for miles. We got there at about 9:45 in the morning, and the frost was just beginning to melt as the sun warmed everything up. It was so pretty! We were especially lucky because the weather has finally decided to behave, and it was the first really nice sunny day we've had. What a great travel day.
Since it was so nice we walked a TON in the morning, and got really hungry so we ventured into the town for a snack. The streets are cobblestone and gorgeously old looking, just like everything here! We wandered into the Mesón La Paloma, a bar with tapas where we sampled some potato and egg concoction and fried calamari with our coffee. Calamari is very common and cheap here; I'm really developing a taste for it! They just sell it with a little bit of lemon to squeeze over it and it was perfectly cooked and not rubbery at all ... delicious. I'm also going to have a hard time getting rid of my coffee addiction! I swear, Spanish people drink more coffee and wine then water. It's kind of crazy, but I kind of like it, surprisingly.
We were very refreshed after our stop, and moved on to find the Cathedral. It was lovely. Much smaller than the cathedrals in Toledo or Salamanca, of course, but it was very pleasant to be able to thoroughly investigate all the nooks and crannies. I got lost in the Cathedral in Toledo, but this one was much more people sized! Pictures were outlawed once again, but it was nice to see the building. It also had a very nice courtyard with intricate ceilings and lots of sun to get us warm again after the chilly church.
We picnicked on top of the wall, looking out over the countryside. (Maybe we were looking at Portugal! I have no idea!) It was very nice to just sit and talk and bask in the sun. We also wandered into a photo museum, and saw about 7 different Spanish photojournalists' work. All of them had an important societal message, so I enjoyed the pictures as well as the themes. It was interesting to see how much the important issues in the United States are issues here as well. There were exhibits on immigration, Alzheimer's, inner city poverty ... they were all gifted artists and it was a nice show.
During the siesta hours, not much is open, so we wandered into plazas and parks. Just before we had to leave, we went into a most delicious looking bakery where we met a very nice old lady who lived in Ciudad Rodrigo. We bought some cookies that she recommended (sugary and flaky, very good even if we don't know what they are) plus some annis cookies and a chocolate croissant to eat right there on the spot. So we ended our day in another park, eating the best chocolate croissant I've ever had with rich chocolate ganache filling, and took the bus home.
Well, I was too tired to do anything but fall into bed last night after dinner, but wasn't it a perfect day? Sarah and I had a great time traveling together, and we want to do it again soon. :-)
In other news, here in Salamanca I took two of my midterms. I got a 100 on one (I told you my classes here were easier than Williams!) and I get the grade for the other tomorrow. I have two more this week, and these will be more difficult because they are Emory classes, but I have plenty of time to study and I'm sure I will be fine. Pilar and Ju are doing well, and we ate the first sausage this week from the "matanza" this year, which is the annual pig slaughter. I know, it sounds gruesome, but it was amazing to eat sausage that Pilar's brother made a month ago and cured in his home. It was ... beyond delicious! As my Spanish culture professor told me, "No hay nada como lo natural" - There's nothing like natural. My carnivorous self was very happy!
This Thursday night, I am hopping on an overnight bus and heading to Cádiz in the south for Carnival! It's a huge deal here, and Carnival in Cádiz is the most famous Carnival in Spain. I'll be there all weekend, and will probably return very tired but hopefully with lots of great pictures and a very unique travel and cultural experience. I just have to get through my tests first ... :-) I'll post the update next week!
Sunday, February 15
Monday, February 9
Sickness is BAD. Pilar, however, is wonderful!
So, my Salamanca cold turned into a full blown sore throat, runny nose, headachey, potential feverish nightmare. I was a very unhappy girl on Friday, and all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep forever. Luckily, since I don't have classes on Friday afternoons, this was a completely plausible and brilliant plan. Pilar, my wonderful host mom, acted as my nurse as well and sent me to the drugstore for a lovely substance called Frenadol. It's the Spanish version of cold medicine, but instead of a pill it's a powder that you dissolve in a glass of water and drink. It was supposed to taste like lemon, but it was more like lemon mixed with benadryl or something ... however, it was entirely worth the slight unpleasantness. That stuff knocked me out harder than I've ever been knocked out before, and I took a two and a half hour nap, woke up and finished the book I was reading, ate dinner at 9, took more Frenadol, and was back in bed at 10:30. I woke up at 10 the next morning feeling tons and tons better, and had a very low key day. I did my laundry and was the only one in the laundromat on Saturday morning, I did some homework so I would have time to study for midterms (this week and next week! that was fast!), and I stayed in again on Saturday. So now there are no sniffles at all, and I really enjoyed my weekend in. I've been making a big effort to go out on the weekends to meet people and enjoy the Spanish lifestyle, but when it comes down to it, I would much rather stay at home with Pilar and Ju and a book than go to a dark, smoky bar. I am not putting a moratorium on nights out, of course! I just needed a break this weekend, and I'm glad I got it.
So, as I said, midterms start this week. Yuck. I have one tomorrow for grammar and one on Wednesday for my class on Women in Spain, and next week for Memory and Literature in Salamanca. However, since all my classes here are pass-fail and the classwork has been far less demanding then Williams, I am not too worried. I'm not really worried at all, actually. I will study and do my best, of course, and I'm sure I will do very well! I'm also trying to plan a day trip for the weekend, with Sarah, who is the only other girl from Williams here in Salamanca. If it works out, that will be quite fun!
Pilar also tried a very typical Spanish dish out on me, and this was probably the first time that I was a little grossed out here ... you'll see. It's called cocido madrileño, and it's basically a garbanzo and veggies first course, which was delicious, followed by big broil with all the parts of a pig that normally we wouldn't eat. Luckily, there are cornmeal dumpling type things and sausage and meat in it as well, because Ju and I aren't gutsy enough to try all the other stuff. Like the pig feet, and the pig ears, and the slabs of pure fat that you cut up with your fork and spread on bread. I was not feeling it, but apparently it's a delicacy and very delicious but very bad for your arteries. I did try some of the tiny pieces of fried pig fat that you eat with bread, and they were sooooo good! However, I don't even want to know how many calories are in one tiny piece of fried pig fat. Probably more than I should have in a week.
Other than that, we've been shielded from the worst of the weather that's closed highways and canceled flights across Spain, and today it's almost warm. 12 celsius ... that's pretty good! Sorry I didn't do much this weekend, but I'll write again soon!
So, as I said, midterms start this week. Yuck. I have one tomorrow for grammar and one on Wednesday for my class on Women in Spain, and next week for Memory and Literature in Salamanca. However, since all my classes here are pass-fail and the classwork has been far less demanding then Williams, I am not too worried. I'm not really worried at all, actually. I will study and do my best, of course, and I'm sure I will do very well! I'm also trying to plan a day trip for the weekend, with Sarah, who is the only other girl from Williams here in Salamanca. If it works out, that will be quite fun!
Pilar also tried a very typical Spanish dish out on me, and this was probably the first time that I was a little grossed out here ... you'll see. It's called cocido madrileño, and it's basically a garbanzo and veggies first course, which was delicious, followed by big broil with all the parts of a pig that normally we wouldn't eat. Luckily, there are cornmeal dumpling type things and sausage and meat in it as well, because Ju and I aren't gutsy enough to try all the other stuff. Like the pig feet, and the pig ears, and the slabs of pure fat that you cut up with your fork and spread on bread. I was not feeling it, but apparently it's a delicacy and very delicious but very bad for your arteries. I did try some of the tiny pieces of fried pig fat that you eat with bread, and they were sooooo good! However, I don't even want to know how many calories are in one tiny piece of fried pig fat. Probably more than I should have in a week.
Other than that, we've been shielded from the worst of the weather that's closed highways and canceled flights across Spain, and today it's almost warm. 12 celsius ... that's pretty good! Sorry I didn't do much this weekend, but I'll write again soon!
Wednesday, February 4
My gym is awesome!
Just wanted to let you all know that the gym visit was a complete and total success, and I'm definitely going to enjoy it! Of course, I was quite nervous when I arrived this morning, since all the machines have instructions in Spanish. Yes, in theory, I should be able to read them, but in reality, not so much! If there's one word I don't understand I'm a total goner.
Luckily, there was hardly anyone in the gym, since 12:30 is still considered morning here in Spain, and I was able to puzzle over the mechanisms for quite a while before I discovered that it's basically the same as the States. I mean, of course, but I just wanted to be sure! And I had a nice workout with almost everything open and I think I am really going to like the whole midday workout routine. It made me feel very refreshed for the rest of the day, and to celebrate (and totally ruin my workout) I went to Valor and ate chocolate. It was a good day!
I think I'm going to try and go as often as possible, since I don't have a limit on the days I can go and I always have a gap from 12 to 2 in the middle of the day ... I really will be muscular! Woo hoo!
If I continue to go, that is! Just wanted to give you all an update on the scary foreign weights and I'll post again this weekend!
Luckily, there was hardly anyone in the gym, since 12:30 is still considered morning here in Spain, and I was able to puzzle over the mechanisms for quite a while before I discovered that it's basically the same as the States. I mean, of course, but I just wanted to be sure! And I had a nice workout with almost everything open and I think I am really going to like the whole midday workout routine. It made me feel very refreshed for the rest of the day, and to celebrate (and totally ruin my workout) I went to Valor and ate chocolate. It was a good day!
I think I'm going to try and go as often as possible, since I don't have a limit on the days I can go and I always have a gap from 12 to 2 in the middle of the day ... I really will be muscular! Woo hoo!
If I continue to go, that is! Just wanted to give you all an update on the scary foreign weights and I'll post again this weekend!
Tuesday, February 3
A Tuesday
I officially have my first Spanish cold. Boo. That's not such an exciting thing to report, but I think it's because there is smoking permitted in every single outdoor or indoor space in Salamanca. My lungs are not used to that kind of abuse, so they are revolting. Luckily, the library doesn't allow smoking, so like the nerd I am, I go to the library a lot. :-)
Also, I have decided to join a gym for the first time in my life. I realize that in theory I could just go running or something, but I don't know if you've heard about our nasty weather. A cyclone formation (i.e. hurricane shaped thing on the radar! aaahhh!), unseasonal warm rain followed by snowmelt which creates floods, then unseasonal freezing cold with tons of snow, tornadoes: you name it and right now Spain's got it. The weather forecast is consistently depressing, but there is a gym across the street with nice warm machines that only costs 34 euros per month for a student. That is a deal I am willing to take!
So, I am going to be fabulously muscular when I get home. Just wanted to warn you all. :-)
Also, I have decided to join a gym for the first time in my life. I realize that in theory I could just go running or something, but I don't know if you've heard about our nasty weather. A cyclone formation (i.e. hurricane shaped thing on the radar! aaahhh!), unseasonal warm rain followed by snowmelt which creates floods, then unseasonal freezing cold with tons of snow, tornadoes: you name it and right now Spain's got it. The weather forecast is consistently depressing, but there is a gym across the street with nice warm machines that only costs 34 euros per month for a student. That is a deal I am willing to take!
So, I am going to be fabulously muscular when I get home. Just wanted to warn you all. :-)
Monday, February 2
Toledo continued, and some observations
Okay, a long overdue continuation! After we ate lunch, we hurried to go see a couple of things that weren’t on our official schedule. First, the Museo de Santa Cruz, which is famous as a museum of El Greco. It holds 15 of his paintings, and they are all kept together in a little hallway off another lovely patio. It was shocking, actually, because the museum is free, and you just walk into a little, unassuming patio with examples of ancient art from Spain all along the walls, and then you turn a corner and you are inside with giant paintings of shadowy saints staring at you with intense agony or spiritual ecstasy, or something. Craziness. I could have spent hours in there, but I was with other people who wanted to keep moving, so we went up to see the Alcázar. Located on the highest point in the city, it’s a fortress as well as a military museum, but it was closed for renovations. So I went to a store and bought some earrings (pretty, silver, very delicate looking with a geometric design) and some postcards (which I’m going to send this week!), and headed back to the Plaza Zocodover to meet up with the group.
Then, we ventured down some lovely hidden streets in Toledo to see the house where El Greco lived. Turns out it’s just a best guess, and they don’t actually know where he lived. Also, the little museum that’s inside was closed. So I was unimpressed. I did, however, sit on El Greco’s potential doorstep. It was very comfy.
Our final visit was another synagogue, the Sinagogia del Tránsito, but this one was from the 6th century and is the oldest synagogue still standing in Spain. The Muslim influence was overwhelming here; I’ve actually never been inside a mosque but it was exactly as I imagine a mosque to be. Pointed arches, elaborate designs on the walls, and lots of open space. It is also home to a Jewish history museum that explains Jewish life in Spain through the centuries with some really beautiful clothing and religious articles to go along with the exhibit.
Finally, our very tired group had about an hour left to wander our way back to the bus. We walked outside the synagogue hoping to find a bench, to be greeted with the most beautiful views of Toledo yet. To make it even better, there was a park with tons of benches to enjoy the view and the sun was just starting to sink and create beautiful shadows. It really did look like an El Greco painting, because the light created pockets of intense light and intense shadow and because of the angle everything looked very long and stretched out … it was epic. We sat and talked and took tons of pictures during our last hour, met some other Americans who were backpacking across Spain (what fun!), and then crossed the river and left Toledo. A wonderful, exhausting, exactly-what-I-studied-abroad-for day.
Well, but that was over a week ago! I really think that having homework here is unfair. Like I have always thought at Williams, sometimes classes get in the way of college. In this case, sometimes classes on Spanish language and culture and literature get in the way of Spain! This has also been the week that I have discovered I will not like everyone in my program equally. This sounds obvious, but it came as a great surprise to me, and made me quite sad for a while. However, I also have one person from Williams who is here with me in Salamanca, and last night we got together and had a lovely talk. I hadn’t realized how much I missed talking to someone who understands where I come from! It was a great break, and made me feel much better about having friends in Spain.
Some things that I have been noticing, now that I’ve been here for a week and have begun to get in touch with the Spanish crazy:
People here eat EVERYTHING with utensils. Very occasionally at a bar you can eat pure finger food, but it’s amazing to me the things that are eaten with a fork and knife. I feel myself growing embarrassed when I use my hands to eat things. How funny is that? Examples: fruit. They peel oranges with a knife, cut them into four or eight sections (when oranges grow with sections pre-made!) and then eat the sections that they have so carefully cut with a fork. Odd. Apples are the same way; they are peeled and sectioned before eating. I don’t think they get the concept of just biting into an apple. However, I now make a point of doing so because otherwise I just feel weird. Also, french fries. I had fried potatoes with this delicious saucy thing at a bar for tapas and they gave us all forks. Really?
Lack of a concept of “take-out”: well, I shouldn't say a total lack, because they do understand the idea behind cheap food that you take home to eat when you don't want to cook. But if you have leftovers at a restaurant, then you just leave it there. You don't take it home. I was comparing these two concepts of restaurant with my host mom and her sister-in-law yesterday, and they were totally baffled by the idea of taking stuff home. Then, as they thought about it, they said oh yes, we do that here. Only it turns out they were thinking about wine. They said that if you order a nice bottle of wine somewhere and don't finish it, then you can get it corked up again and you can take it home. Unfortunately, then I was the one who was baffled. I had to explain to them that actually, we don't do that in the States. They then made some slightly disparaging comments about the difference between wine that a Spaniard would order and that an American would order that I had to agree with, in general!
I also discovered that I had done the homework for three days for my culture class accidentally, because our homework schedule is all weird. I would like to chalk that up to cultural differences as well, but I think that might be my fault. Oops. :-)
Anyway, I'm starting another week, and I realized that I've now been here a month ... wow. How time flies! More to come soon!
Then, we ventured down some lovely hidden streets in Toledo to see the house where El Greco lived. Turns out it’s just a best guess, and they don’t actually know where he lived. Also, the little museum that’s inside was closed. So I was unimpressed. I did, however, sit on El Greco’s potential doorstep. It was very comfy.
Our final visit was another synagogue, the Sinagogia del Tránsito, but this one was from the 6th century and is the oldest synagogue still standing in Spain. The Muslim influence was overwhelming here; I’ve actually never been inside a mosque but it was exactly as I imagine a mosque to be. Pointed arches, elaborate designs on the walls, and lots of open space. It is also home to a Jewish history museum that explains Jewish life in Spain through the centuries with some really beautiful clothing and religious articles to go along with the exhibit.
Finally, our very tired group had about an hour left to wander our way back to the bus. We walked outside the synagogue hoping to find a bench, to be greeted with the most beautiful views of Toledo yet. To make it even better, there was a park with tons of benches to enjoy the view and the sun was just starting to sink and create beautiful shadows. It really did look like an El Greco painting, because the light created pockets of intense light and intense shadow and because of the angle everything looked very long and stretched out … it was epic. We sat and talked and took tons of pictures during our last hour, met some other Americans who were backpacking across Spain (what fun!), and then crossed the river and left Toledo. A wonderful, exhausting, exactly-what-I-studied-abroad-for day.
Well, but that was over a week ago! I really think that having homework here is unfair. Like I have always thought at Williams, sometimes classes get in the way of college. In this case, sometimes classes on Spanish language and culture and literature get in the way of Spain! This has also been the week that I have discovered I will not like everyone in my program equally. This sounds obvious, but it came as a great surprise to me, and made me quite sad for a while. However, I also have one person from Williams who is here with me in Salamanca, and last night we got together and had a lovely talk. I hadn’t realized how much I missed talking to someone who understands where I come from! It was a great break, and made me feel much better about having friends in Spain.
Some things that I have been noticing, now that I’ve been here for a week and have begun to get in touch with the Spanish crazy:
People here eat EVERYTHING with utensils. Very occasionally at a bar you can eat pure finger food, but it’s amazing to me the things that are eaten with a fork and knife. I feel myself growing embarrassed when I use my hands to eat things. How funny is that? Examples: fruit. They peel oranges with a knife, cut them into four or eight sections (when oranges grow with sections pre-made!) and then eat the sections that they have so carefully cut with a fork. Odd. Apples are the same way; they are peeled and sectioned before eating. I don’t think they get the concept of just biting into an apple. However, I now make a point of doing so because otherwise I just feel weird. Also, french fries. I had fried potatoes with this delicious saucy thing at a bar for tapas and they gave us all forks. Really?
Lack of a concept of “take-out”: well, I shouldn't say a total lack, because they do understand the idea behind cheap food that you take home to eat when you don't want to cook. But if you have leftovers at a restaurant, then you just leave it there. You don't take it home. I was comparing these two concepts of restaurant with my host mom and her sister-in-law yesterday, and they were totally baffled by the idea of taking stuff home. Then, as they thought about it, they said oh yes, we do that here. Only it turns out they were thinking about wine. They said that if you order a nice bottle of wine somewhere and don't finish it, then you can get it corked up again and you can take it home. Unfortunately, then I was the one who was baffled. I had to explain to them that actually, we don't do that in the States. They then made some slightly disparaging comments about the difference between wine that a Spaniard would order and that an American would order that I had to agree with, in general!
I also discovered that I had done the homework for three days for my culture class accidentally, because our homework schedule is all weird. I would like to chalk that up to cultural differences as well, but I think that might be my fault. Oops. :-)
Anyway, I'm starting another week, and I realized that I've now been here a month ... wow. How time flies! More to come soon!
Monday, January 26
Holy Toledo!
I know, it’s cheesy, but it’s what Rick Steves kept saying in my guidebook and I have to agree. What a place. I’m writing this up in my bed trying to keep my eyes open for long enough to get everything down, because I had a very tiring but great day. Toledo was the first seat of a bishop in Spain, and hence has Spain’s oldest cathedral site. It was also the first capital of Spain, and continued to be of great cultural importance throughout the era of the Muslim caliphate and during the empire of the Catholic kings. However, during more recent centuries Madrid has become the cultural and economic heart of the country, and Toledo slowly faded into the background. However, Franco did quite a lot of refurbishing (he was really into showing off the power of Catholic Spain, after all) and in the past few decades the entire city has been renovated in an attempt to refresh the site but maintain the look of ancient Toledo. The entire city is now a national monument, and it lives off of tourism. But with the most famous cathedral in Spain, the chance to see where El Greco lived and worked along with many of his most famous paintings, and a remarkably preserved Renaissance Spanish feel, I can understand why people from all over the world come to see Toledo.
Now, this was only a day trip, and so I had to be on a bus at 7 o’clock this morning. Not only was this far too insanely early for me, but on my way to the meeting place I ran into three very confused Japanese girls who were also looking for the bus. In our less than stellar Spanish, I explained to them that we had to keep going and pass the hospital, while they kept insisting, “No hay calle!”, or in other words, there is no street. They had not been able to find the right turn, but luckily we ran into some Americans headed the same place, and we discovered that we actually had to descend down some stairs and walk under a bridge to get to the right street. No wonder those poor girls were confused. So we made it just in time, in spite of all the confusion, and about 70 very sleepy international students boarded the two busses and headed to Toledo.
I was not prepared for a getting lost saga so early in the morning, but I got to take a little nap on the bus to refresh myself. It takes about three hours to get to Toledo, and during most of it we were driving through Castilla y León, the “autonomous community” that contains Salamanca. It’s the equivalent of a state in the US. Big, flat open expanses of fields and grass and cows are really all there is to see in Castilla y León; it’s still a very agricultural and livestock based economy. So I didn’t miss much as I slept, but I got to see the sun come up over windmills (the latest project of the Spanish government to try to get Spain completely energy independent) as we entered Castilla La Mancha, where Don Quijote takes place and, more importantly for today, where Toledo is located.
We drove up to the city, hopped off the bus, and were immediately treated to one of the most exquisite views of the city. Old central Toledo has a river as one of its sides, and we were on the other side of the river looking at the old buildings, the tiny streets, and the towers of San Juan de los Reyes, built for the Catholic Kings Ferdinand and Isabel, and the Cathedral itself. Don’t worry; I got great pictures of all of this stuff! :-) It looks just like an El Greco painting: steep hillsides, big clouds, lots of bright sun and deep shadow. Just beautiful. Then we crossed the river on a very old but surprisingly sturdy-feeling stone bridge to arrive at San Juan de los Reyes for a tour. I was lucky enough to be on the bus that was led by the International Courses art history professor, and even though I realized how few art history terms I know in Spanish, I could understand enough to really appreciate all the places we visited. San Juan de los Reyes is a beautiful church with a convent attached, and was to be the official church of the Catholic kings until they decided to move their central operations because of the Reconquista. Because of this, there are shields with the coat of arms of Castilla and Aragón everywhere (the official Catholic kingdoms), but it’s also a rare time capsule. Only a few years after the church was completed, the Muslim kingdom of Grenada was captured, and the coat of arms was changed to include the symbol for Grenada. This made a lot of sense at the time, because conquering the entire Iberian Peninsula was a huge deal for Catholic Spain, but the shields in San Juan de los Reyes are like the version 1.0 of Spain’s coat of arms that got booted out of favor only a few years after the giant church was finally finished. Kind of unfortunate, but also very interesting. I also learned, thanks to Professor Quique, that Spanish churches are generally much shorter, have shorter arms, and have a wider central nave than other European churches. This is a holdover from Muslim mosque architecture, which was the model for holy buildings for centuries. So architects just decided to meld the mosque architecture with European Gothic to get a wide central space with a lot of emphasis on the appearance of height. It’s a unique architectural type of the Iberian Peninsula. Sweetness! There were also beautiful orange trees in the central patio, which looked beautiful and also made me very hungry. :-)
Next to Sinagogia de Santa María de la Blanca. Yes, that is a very confusing name. Built in the 12th century as a synagogue, after the Reconquista it became a church. Now it is simply known as the Synagogue of Mary the Pure, but this is just another example of the layering of religious and cultural identities over long centuries in Toledo. This one was rather small, but it also looked quite a lot like a mosque, with typical Muslim arches and geometric designs. This is apparently typical architecture of the Sephardic Jews, or the Jews who lived in Spain for centuries before their forced relocation under the orders of the Catholic kings. To this day, Sephardic Jewish communities build synagogues with a lot of Muslim-influenced designs and speak a sort of pidgin language that mixes 15th century Spanish with Hebrew and some other things that I can’t really remember. But isn’t that crazy? It was the history behind the building that really fascinated me; it wasn’t much to look at but what a story.
Then, the cathedral!!! Oh my goodness it was so beautiful. It was HUGE, of course, because that seems to be a requirement for a cathedral, but it was also a really complex layering of time periods and architectural strategies and art. Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, it’s all there and all larger than life. Spain is also really big on pain and suffering and darkness. When I write it out, it sounds terrible, but the culture is simply fascinated, as a whole, on the darker side of life. Sometimes to the point of pessimism, but more like devotedly realistic. So the elaborate walls and paintings often had contorted gargoyles and martyrs, and all the depictions of Jesus suffering are … well, I guess exactly what a crucifixion would have been like. It took my breath away. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed (what?!), but I took a highly illegal picture of the organ for my uncle because some of the pipes come out of the wall sideways! I also touched a stone where Mary stood and talked to Saint Ildefonso and lit a candle for my family. So it was a great visit, even if it had to be sans pictures.
Then it was lunch time, which has never been more welcome! Of course, Pilar packed me a banging lunch that consisted of a sausage sandwich (the sausage was homemade), some weird milk-and-pineapple drink which was surprisingly delicious, and chocolate cookies. Of course, I also had to try some marzipan, which is a delicacy in Toledo. They are supposed to make the best in Spain, so I had to try some. I went to Santo Tomé, which Rick Steves says is the best, and tried a uniquely Toledan candy: marzipan coated in pine nuts. I know, I was skeptical! But it was delicious, and their marzipan is far less sweet than in the states. More creamy. I loved it! I took a picture of their fabulous display too, so check it out! Warning: it’ll give you a hankering for candy.
This is a good place to stop, I think, especially since I’ve been writing this update since Saturday night when I got home. Sorry if stuff I wrote doesn’t make sense; I haven’t proofread at all, but my computer is about to die and I really wanted to put something up tonight. I’ll finish tomorrow or Wednesday, and in the meantime check out the first round of pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/sceley. None of them have captions yet, but I’ll get there, and at least you can see something of what it looks like here. More to come!
Now, this was only a day trip, and so I had to be on a bus at 7 o’clock this morning. Not only was this far too insanely early for me, but on my way to the meeting place I ran into three very confused Japanese girls who were also looking for the bus. In our less than stellar Spanish, I explained to them that we had to keep going and pass the hospital, while they kept insisting, “No hay calle!”, or in other words, there is no street. They had not been able to find the right turn, but luckily we ran into some Americans headed the same place, and we discovered that we actually had to descend down some stairs and walk under a bridge to get to the right street. No wonder those poor girls were confused. So we made it just in time, in spite of all the confusion, and about 70 very sleepy international students boarded the two busses and headed to Toledo.
I was not prepared for a getting lost saga so early in the morning, but I got to take a little nap on the bus to refresh myself. It takes about three hours to get to Toledo, and during most of it we were driving through Castilla y León, the “autonomous community” that contains Salamanca. It’s the equivalent of a state in the US. Big, flat open expanses of fields and grass and cows are really all there is to see in Castilla y León; it’s still a very agricultural and livestock based economy. So I didn’t miss much as I slept, but I got to see the sun come up over windmills (the latest project of the Spanish government to try to get Spain completely energy independent) as we entered Castilla La Mancha, where Don Quijote takes place and, more importantly for today, where Toledo is located.
We drove up to the city, hopped off the bus, and were immediately treated to one of the most exquisite views of the city. Old central Toledo has a river as one of its sides, and we were on the other side of the river looking at the old buildings, the tiny streets, and the towers of San Juan de los Reyes, built for the Catholic Kings Ferdinand and Isabel, and the Cathedral itself. Don’t worry; I got great pictures of all of this stuff! :-) It looks just like an El Greco painting: steep hillsides, big clouds, lots of bright sun and deep shadow. Just beautiful. Then we crossed the river on a very old but surprisingly sturdy-feeling stone bridge to arrive at San Juan de los Reyes for a tour. I was lucky enough to be on the bus that was led by the International Courses art history professor, and even though I realized how few art history terms I know in Spanish, I could understand enough to really appreciate all the places we visited. San Juan de los Reyes is a beautiful church with a convent attached, and was to be the official church of the Catholic kings until they decided to move their central operations because of the Reconquista. Because of this, there are shields with the coat of arms of Castilla and Aragón everywhere (the official Catholic kingdoms), but it’s also a rare time capsule. Only a few years after the church was completed, the Muslim kingdom of Grenada was captured, and the coat of arms was changed to include the symbol for Grenada. This made a lot of sense at the time, because conquering the entire Iberian Peninsula was a huge deal for Catholic Spain, but the shields in San Juan de los Reyes are like the version 1.0 of Spain’s coat of arms that got booted out of favor only a few years after the giant church was finally finished. Kind of unfortunate, but also very interesting. I also learned, thanks to Professor Quique, that Spanish churches are generally much shorter, have shorter arms, and have a wider central nave than other European churches. This is a holdover from Muslim mosque architecture, which was the model for holy buildings for centuries. So architects just decided to meld the mosque architecture with European Gothic to get a wide central space with a lot of emphasis on the appearance of height. It’s a unique architectural type of the Iberian Peninsula. Sweetness! There were also beautiful orange trees in the central patio, which looked beautiful and also made me very hungry. :-)
Next to Sinagogia de Santa María de la Blanca. Yes, that is a very confusing name. Built in the 12th century as a synagogue, after the Reconquista it became a church. Now it is simply known as the Synagogue of Mary the Pure, but this is just another example of the layering of religious and cultural identities over long centuries in Toledo. This one was rather small, but it also looked quite a lot like a mosque, with typical Muslim arches and geometric designs. This is apparently typical architecture of the Sephardic Jews, or the Jews who lived in Spain for centuries before their forced relocation under the orders of the Catholic kings. To this day, Sephardic Jewish communities build synagogues with a lot of Muslim-influenced designs and speak a sort of pidgin language that mixes 15th century Spanish with Hebrew and some other things that I can’t really remember. But isn’t that crazy? It was the history behind the building that really fascinated me; it wasn’t much to look at but what a story.
Then, the cathedral!!! Oh my goodness it was so beautiful. It was HUGE, of course, because that seems to be a requirement for a cathedral, but it was also a really complex layering of time periods and architectural strategies and art. Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, it’s all there and all larger than life. Spain is also really big on pain and suffering and darkness. When I write it out, it sounds terrible, but the culture is simply fascinated, as a whole, on the darker side of life. Sometimes to the point of pessimism, but more like devotedly realistic. So the elaborate walls and paintings often had contorted gargoyles and martyrs, and all the depictions of Jesus suffering are … well, I guess exactly what a crucifixion would have been like. It took my breath away. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed (what?!), but I took a highly illegal picture of the organ for my uncle because some of the pipes come out of the wall sideways! I also touched a stone where Mary stood and talked to Saint Ildefonso and lit a candle for my family. So it was a great visit, even if it had to be sans pictures.
Then it was lunch time, which has never been more welcome! Of course, Pilar packed me a banging lunch that consisted of a sausage sandwich (the sausage was homemade), some weird milk-and-pineapple drink which was surprisingly delicious, and chocolate cookies. Of course, I also had to try some marzipan, which is a delicacy in Toledo. They are supposed to make the best in Spain, so I had to try some. I went to Santo Tomé, which Rick Steves says is the best, and tried a uniquely Toledan candy: marzipan coated in pine nuts. I know, I was skeptical! But it was delicious, and their marzipan is far less sweet than in the states. More creamy. I loved it! I took a picture of their fabulous display too, so check it out! Warning: it’ll give you a hankering for candy.
This is a good place to stop, I think, especially since I’ve been writing this update since Saturday night when I got home. Sorry if stuff I wrote doesn’t make sense; I haven’t proofread at all, but my computer is about to die and I really wanted to put something up tonight. I’ll finish tomorrow or Wednesday, and in the meantime check out the first round of pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/sceley. None of them have captions yet, but I’ll get there, and at least you can see something of what it looks like here. More to come!
Friday, January 23
A very rainy week
So much rain and grey and even snow ... this is nasty. And it's supposed to rain all this weekend and snow again on Monday. So still gross. I haven't done much besides go to class, eat, be outside as little as possible ... :-)
This Thursday, our weekly outing was to the movies, at the Cines Van Dyck. Yeah, kind of like Dick van Dyke, only pronounced with a long e in Spanish and the V is a B so more like Ban Deek. Which now that I write it out looks pretty hilarious! We saw a German movie dubbed in Spanish, La Ola (The Wave). I was more than a little apprehensive because it was dubbed, and it is far easier for me to understand Spanish when I can also see lips moving, but it actually turned out to be far easier to understand than I expected. Spanish tv is far more difficult; I guess sitcoms and the news move at a faster pace than a movie does. And it was a great film, but very disturbing. It's based on a true story that actually happened in the US. A high school teacher was teaching a section on autocracy, and he decided to create a mini autocracy in his classroom as a kind of group experiment. The class actually responded very favorably, but of course the experiment got out of hand ... lots of violence and unforgettable lessons later, I very much appreciate that I do not live under a fascist regime. However, I was also literally shaking as I left the theater. I need to look up the word for "disturbing" in Spanish, because it was really hard trying to explain to my host family what I thought about the movie.
So I guess it was a good movie if it could elicit that kind of an emotional response, but I felt a bit upset (guns were involved). I hung out with some Emory kids after that, but there is one kid here who I am having clingy problems with, so I didn't have as much fun as possible, but that's okay. I think he is just severely socially insecure, and his tactic seems to be to attach himself to one person at a social gathering. Unfortunately that was me last night, but I think this is only temporary, since none of us really know each other. At least I hope so, and at the very least I have other people here who are willing to rescue me if it gets too ridiculous.
Now here's the very exciting news of the week: Toledo is ancient Spain's capital and the entire city is protected as a national monument. It is famous for swordmaking, it was El Greco's home and a major site for seeing his artwork, and has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Spain. And I'm going to visit tomorrow. :-) :-) !!!
It was very last minute; there was a very poorly advertised trip that the International Courses at the University of Salamanca was offering, and I just heard about it on Tuesday. I thought I was going to try to maybe see some of north Spain with some Emory people, but that fell through, so on a whim I decided to check and see if by some miracle they had tickets left, and they did! It's actually a really great deal. 38 euros for transportation there and back, breakfast, and all the museum entrances. I'll take tons of pictures and borrow somebody's camera cord to finally get some pictures up online, and I can't wait to see the city. It's supposed to be breathtaking but perfect for a long day trip, and boy will it be long, but I'm sure I'll love it. I'm meeting the bus (not waking up, meeting the bus) at 7 tomorrow morning, which is far too early for me but I think it's worth it. I'll write something up about Toledo on Sunday! I'm excited! Next time I write, I'll have great stories!
This Thursday, our weekly outing was to the movies, at the Cines Van Dyck. Yeah, kind of like Dick van Dyke, only pronounced with a long e in Spanish and the V is a B so more like Ban Deek. Which now that I write it out looks pretty hilarious! We saw a German movie dubbed in Spanish, La Ola (The Wave). I was more than a little apprehensive because it was dubbed, and it is far easier for me to understand Spanish when I can also see lips moving, but it actually turned out to be far easier to understand than I expected. Spanish tv is far more difficult; I guess sitcoms and the news move at a faster pace than a movie does. And it was a great film, but very disturbing. It's based on a true story that actually happened in the US. A high school teacher was teaching a section on autocracy, and he decided to create a mini autocracy in his classroom as a kind of group experiment. The class actually responded very favorably, but of course the experiment got out of hand ... lots of violence and unforgettable lessons later, I very much appreciate that I do not live under a fascist regime. However, I was also literally shaking as I left the theater. I need to look up the word for "disturbing" in Spanish, because it was really hard trying to explain to my host family what I thought about the movie.
So I guess it was a good movie if it could elicit that kind of an emotional response, but I felt a bit upset (guns were involved). I hung out with some Emory kids after that, but there is one kid here who I am having clingy problems with, so I didn't have as much fun as possible, but that's okay. I think he is just severely socially insecure, and his tactic seems to be to attach himself to one person at a social gathering. Unfortunately that was me last night, but I think this is only temporary, since none of us really know each other. At least I hope so, and at the very least I have other people here who are willing to rescue me if it gets too ridiculous.
Now here's the very exciting news of the week: Toledo is ancient Spain's capital and the entire city is protected as a national monument. It is famous for swordmaking, it was El Greco's home and a major site for seeing his artwork, and has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Spain. And I'm going to visit tomorrow. :-) :-) !!!
It was very last minute; there was a very poorly advertised trip that the International Courses at the University of Salamanca was offering, and I just heard about it on Tuesday. I thought I was going to try to maybe see some of north Spain with some Emory people, but that fell through, so on a whim I decided to check and see if by some miracle they had tickets left, and they did! It's actually a really great deal. 38 euros for transportation there and back, breakfast, and all the museum entrances. I'll take tons of pictures and borrow somebody's camera cord to finally get some pictures up online, and I can't wait to see the city. It's supposed to be breathtaking but perfect for a long day trip, and boy will it be long, but I'm sure I'll love it. I'm meeting the bus (not waking up, meeting the bus) at 7 tomorrow morning, which is far too early for me but I think it's worth it. I'll write something up about Toledo on Sunday! I'm excited! Next time I write, I'll have great stories!
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