Sep 2005

School here in Córdoba is picking up the pace and we are diving into the lessons. I have three classes: Spanish Grammar and Conversation, International Relations, and Spanish History, and the last 2 are actually pretty interesting. Things move at a relatively slower pace which is great because the language difference adds a dimension of difficulty all on its own.

The professors here are very helpful, not only in class, but they keep us posted on the goings on in Córdoba and the nearby cities, as does our program coordinators. When I first got here things seemed really disorganized but as things get going I am realizing that its just a matter of finding what you need (and going to get them in the few hours the places are open).

The weather is still warm here, but the mornings are brisk and there is a nice wind that cools us off in the mornings and late nights.

Other than that I have just been walking around a bunch, SPAIN WALKS EVERYWHERE! and learning my way around the city while navigating through the Judería (the old Jewish neighborhood) whose streets are as maze-like as the ones in Cádiz. Yesterday Marissa, a friend from UCSB in my program, and I went out with her interacambio, Rafa, and exhausted myself by speaking spanglish for hours (The intercambio program is something the school sets up so that Spanish students learning English can practice and vice versa for American students), i get to meet my intercambio, Carmen, later this week.

I also tried a Flamenco class on monday, but wasnt too into it and would rather play rugby or fútbol (soccer) here, so im waiting to hear back on how to do that.

Plans for this weekend are to stay in town and check out Córdoba. Thier fútbol team is horrible but i need to see a game, for the sake of seeing a game, while I am here. There are also Mercadillos (huge bazaar type markets) on Sundays here, which will give me something to do when the place is dead.

FOOD: I also have been experimenting with the food here. There is only one thing I have tried, since the tapas sampler in Madrid, that i didnt enjoy, and that was a tuna salad smothered, literally, in Mayonaise, YUCK! other than that things are really yummy: Paella (a rice dish made with meat and saffron), lots of albondigas or bolitas (little meatballs or fried meatballs), pescado (fish), gazpacho (basically Spanish V8), paté, yes paté, and its not bad when its made with real meat and not liver, and tons of pan (bread). I think my favorite so far are the postres (desserts) here. Lots of yogurt in yummy flavors like pear and coconut and really good sweet breads. My favorite so far though, is called leche canela límon which is literally milk with cinnamon and lemon. I know it sounds nasty but the lemon is very faint and it is a really yummy drink. They make it as a batido (milkshake) too and you can choose what flavor of ice cream to put into it!

Well thats all for now, thanks for all the messages, i love hearing your voices. Happy Birthday to Steph (yeah for 21!!) and Nicole W!! I miss you all, talk to you soon!

So the first week of school was a wrap and friday afternoon was the start of an adventurous weekend (to say the least). Our bus outta Córdoba left at 18:00 and 4 hours, some hot humid "air conditioning," one bocadillo later we arrived in the city of Cádiz. Cádiz is the beach resort town of the west coast of Spain. It is just south of Portugal and home to some of the finest sand and great ancient Roman and Muslim architecture...pause...getting kicked off cause the internet cafe closes....ahhh i hate this....check back later for the update.....sorry....

....ok, back again...

so the beaches were gorgeous, but heed warning, just because sand looks comfortable doesnt mean it is! On our first night there, we scoured the entire town looking for a place, ANY place to stay. We looked at hostels, pensions, hotels, apartments and asked other travelers on the street and the answer was always the same: COMPLETA (full). So, that left us with three options (a)going home: I think not! (b) staying out all night: definitely possible, and (c) sleeping on the beach. We (being me and 5 others from my program) opted for a combo b/c. We hit up the local heladería y cervezería (ice cream shop/cafe/bar) for, well, ice cream and drinks, and then people watched as the night kicked off and the clubwear came out and the boteón began. A boteón is when the Spaniards all gather in a plaza with the drinks they buy, bring, and share, and hang out. They ususally get going about 2am and when we left headed out around 4am they were still going strong. We ran into a couple of people from our program at this local bar where we stuck out like sore thumbs. A small local pub, the size of my kitchen, filled with 6 ridiculously white Americans with all thier stuff. The place closed down shortly after and we called it a night and began our walk down La Playa Victoria. 20 minutes later we ran into an old Roman wall that extended from the town center out the entire beach, setting up camp (aka some towels and blanket or two) we attempted sleep. We were pretty much unsuccessful until the sun came up, but as soon as it warmed up we were out. We woke up at 11am to the old Spanish men in Speedos laughing and staring at us.

The first item on the list was a place to stay. We found one back by the bus station in the Pension Argentina just outside of the Plaza España where we saw a (bad) flamenco show later that night. The day was made up of eating spaish tortilla (a thick pancake of potatoes and eggs...yum yum) and sunning ourselves on the Playa de las Calletas, the smaller beach in Cadiz. It is situated between the old castle wall, which sticks in the water connected to the beach by a cobblestone walkway, and fortress walls making a little alcove perfect for some frisbee (very american) or wave jumping (note that Spainish ocean water is pure salt).

We headed back to the hostel showered and hit up a popular Italian restaurant hidden between the maze-like cobblestone streets. It was hidden between this tall, european, squashed-together building and the next, just 3 meters across the walkway from its neighbor. Yummy yummy some more and then off to find ice cream, a staple, before heading to a smaller plaza to take in the night.

The next morning we ate at the Plaza de Juan de Díos, my favorite of all the plazas in Cadiz, and there are tons, before catchin the bus back. Cadiz is a beautiful city combining all the charm of narrow, cobblestone streets littered with small balconies, window boxes, laundry hanging outside, and open doors with the relaxing atmosphere of the beach and all its comforts (or lack thereof if you are calling it home for a night), and the nightlife to keep you out late.

If you are in Andalucía and have and need a day to relax, head out to Cadiz and enjoy the beaches and some fresh seafood, pescado fritos is the local favorite!

Things to remember when traveling on Spanish buses: speaking in English makes you stand out, throwing a Spanish word or phrase in the middle gets even more attention and when the phrase is "tengo fuego en mi ano" you will get more attention that you ever wanted!

Its like Kindergarten in the sense that you dont necessarily know what is going on. Like in Kindergarten you arent paying attention because you are half crying cause you want your mom and your toys, and half so excited you cant pay attention. But for me, paying attention is a lot of work. Having all my classes taught in Spanish requires a huge amount of concentration, especially on the first day when you are trying to make sure you understand the goals of the course and the way tests work and grades (which are entirely different in Spain) are assigned. Luckily my regular classes: Spanish Language, History of Spain and International Relations, are only Monday thru Thursday 9:30-2:00 with a 1/2 `descanso´or break in the middle. Fridays are reserved for special activities like field trips, movies, and performances, or we get the day off for a long weekend (most likely to be filled with travelling).

Other than that nothing new here. Some of the people from my program and I were planning on taking a trip to Cadiz, Spain (a ancient little town on the West coast of Spain with great beaches) tonight and tomorrow cause tomorrow is a holiday here in Cordoba: Día de la Fuensanta (she is a patron saint of the Córdoba). We were rained out tho so we are going this weekend instead. My host `mom´Carmen, is from Cadiz so she has given me the run down of the place and all the best plazas to visit and times to go places.

Hope all is well on the California-front. Waves of homesickness come and go as i see things that remind me of home, or miss things that i have at home, but in general things are great and im starting to get used to life here, including the siesta!

So I began day 2 here with my family in Cordoba. It was kinda nice to wake up this morning and have everyone still sleeping so i could get myself ready and not have to concentrate too hard on forming a sentence, which takes lots of work!

So off to school I went, its about a 20 minute walk or a short bus ride, but as the lady at the bus stop informed my, i had just missed the bus and didnt know how long until the next one. Punctuality isnt really a big deal here in Spain for public transportation schedules, or store hours which can be frustrating. So the walk was nice, its cool here in the mornings and warm and sunny in the afternoons here (save for today when it was/is raining). Got to school, found the classes, sat down, answered the same questions they ask on every spanish exam: how long have you studied spanish? why do you continue to study? why are you studying abroad? why in Cordoba? and the lot....then off to more placement testing with an oral examination with much of the same questions, but in addition we had to describe some art. Needless to say, enought questions was enough and i welcomed the orientation that came next. To my dissappointment was boring as all hell, and the professor, a Poli-Sci prof from UCSD was the culprit. This man was literally foaming at the mouth (you know those people that have spit at the corner of thier mouth the entire time they talk, well that was him) and proceeded to repeat himself a ridiculous number of times.

I was relieved to finally get out of there and head home for la almuerza (lunch) and my siesta, which I had filled up with plans to meet friends at el centro (the city center) and get a cell phone, which I had to figure out the plans and what i wanted entirely in Spanish (uugghh) but hey, im finally connected to the rest of the world.

After that some of the other guys in the program and I met up in the Plaza de las Tendillas at the middle of the city to hang out where it proceeded to pour, yeah, thats right, in the middle of the heat, in summer, it was pouring! So we ventured away from the city and walked around through the small cobblestone streets just wide enough for one car and three college kids jumping out of the way as it whips around the blind curve.

The streets are beautiful. The city is very old and all the old builings and churches and walls are still erect and you weave your way inbetween all of them in a maze to find your way to some plaza or outlet. Its great, and being lost was never so fun and exciting!

I am definitely ready to start school here, there is a lull in the day for siesta and im (a) not used to it yet and (b) dont like it too much cause i feel like i waste valuable daylight hours. Ill either adjust or find something to do with that time... hoping to find a gym asap, this not working out thing is killin me.

Well, school officially starts tomorrow with classes and the like, then thursday is a holiday and if the weather is nice there is talk of going to Cadiz,a gorgeous city on the western coast of Spain just south of Portugal. Back to class Friday then the weekend..yeah!!!

SATURDAY 09.03.05: So today i had to say goodbye to Nicole as i dropped her off at the airport and boarded my train to Cordoba. The 4 1/2 hour bus ride sounded awful in the heat so i opted for the faster and more expensive train. I arrive in Cordoba 2 hours later to a swealtering desert, literally, in the middle of Andalucia. Cordoba is a historical town where Christianity, Islam and Judaism all intersected at one point or another, so the town is a melting pot of architecture and cultural influence from all 3. The city of Cordoba itself looks a lot like Petaluma or Santa Rosa, it has the small town feel but 300,000 inhabitants. The hills around the city are reminicint of the ones around Santa Rosa or in Novato. They are all tree covered but are more rocky as it is too hot here for grass to grow now.

When i finally arrived the tourist office was closed for siesta so i had to go on the little info i had from the travel book and take the #3 bus to the area where the hostels are. By the time i got off the bus and looked for any one of the 3 listed in my book i was hot, tired, sweaty, frustrated, and ready to settle somewhere. So, i found the hotel i was going to be staying at the next night and where i was supposed to meet for my program and forked over the extra dough for nice night to myself in an air conditioned room...ahh sweet luxury!

After settling in, I decided to stroll the town a little and find a supermercado to get some food for the rest of the weekend because EVERYTHING is closed on sunday, except for church and 2, 24 hour markets. El Corte Ingles is the department store of all dept. stores and aside from having everything you could ever want from a Sears Roebuck catalogue, the grocery store is on the 5th floor. Dinner was fresh fruit, turkey (a rarity here in this part where Ham is a staple) and whole wheat bread (calle pan integral). Dinner, a little spanish dubbed TV, some soccer (called futbol) in every language and a long hot shower put this baby to bed in no time.

SUNDAY 09.04.05: Today the rest of the program arrived. I awoke to a beautiful morning and took my time getting up and around. I went for a walk to see the city all locked up, as things are on sundays, and headed back to the hotel where the rest of the students in my program arrived. The day was basically a meet and greet/ eat and drink for all the students to get to know each other and chat. Not too eventful but a nice way to start off the program together.

MONDAY 09.06.05: Today we met our families. After a short orientation about Cordoba, Spain and what to expect from our families and culturally from the experience we were greeted by our host families. Finally my family arrived to pick me up and I was greeted by my host ´mom´ Carmen, and my younger host siblings, Carmen, 10, and Diego, 8. We went back to thier flat which is on hte 4th floor of a beautiful building about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the University. There i have my own room with a great balcony overlooking the neighborhood. There is even a cute yellow and white striped awning covering the balcony, how european, i love it! The rest of the flat is very cute as well. The two kids have thier own rooms. Diego´s is covered wall to wall in toys and action figures and Carmen´s walls, which are the same baby yellow with rocking paper wallpaper from when she was born, are covered in her artwork and awards. Both kids are very lively, but because thier family has hosted 3 others before me, they are also very respectful of my space. Carmen, their mother, is also very welcoming in opening up her home (and kitchen) to me. It is a very welcoming environment and I am looking forward to getting to know my family here.

Tomorrow we take placement tests and hopefully find my way around the university. The other kids in my program seem really cool, and everyone is really into the whole experience and ready to dive into stuff which is a good motivation to go out and learn new things.

I am definintely feeling the homesickness set in, or mayve some culture shock, probably both. There is always that weird getting settled stage and i dont think i like it but soon things will start to feel normal, and by then it will be time to leave. So im going to enjoy the ups and downs and live it up!