Nov 2005

Yesterday was Turkey day in the most untraditional sense. My turkey day festivities usually consist of NOT going to school, church, lounging, cooking/smelling whatever is cooking, maybe a movie, and then of course FOOD with all my family! Well, the program here does a Thanksgiving dinner for all us homesick Americans and I have to say, they did a pretty good job when it comes to cooking up a Thanksgiving dinner here, called La Cena de Acción de Gracias. They were right on the money with the turkey and mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (minus the marshmallows), and a pretty amazing stuffing, but after that it just wasn’t the same. There was no green bean casserole with the yummy crispy onions on top, the cranberry sauce didn’t have actual cranberries in it, there wasn’t gravy, the rolls couldn’t hold a flame to the amazing ones Grandma makes, and the pumpkin pie was more like flan with cinnamon in it. Nevertheless, the dinner was really enjoyable. In Spanish fashion, Marissa and I arrived late, to our luck, missing the cheesy poems written and read by the program director (what is it about a PhD that makes people think that anything and everything they say in front of a group of students will be recorded as the next “I Have a Dream” speech????). After that embarrassing display we ate, and took photos. Lots of photos. In a sense this was our goodbye dinner because we don’t have an official one after the program. Everyone, students and professors were all dolled up in their going our gear and the whole room was filled with energy.

Everyone was just happy to be with everyone else, in that kind of sappy forget-all-your-differences-and-just-enjoy-the-night kinda mood which made the whole experience even that much more enjoyable. Good company, good food, not so good wine made up for by good champagne, fun photos, and getting to go out with your teachers = GREAT NIGHT!

After the dinner, the hotel staff was ready to kick our lively crowd out, and, we all, including Antonio and Rafa (my history and International Relations professors) came out to the next stop, one of those whole in the wall bars you can only find once. Seeing your professors in a bar is strange enough, then realizing that your entire class essentially just put on skirts and ties and relocated to the bar….now that is interesting!

Sometime later we left the bar (into the literally freezing air, apparently some polar front has just moved into Spain) and headed towards another club. Cody, Marissa, and I, never quite made it and instead headed back to Cody´s to warm up our feet and eat, again! After that I braved the cold one more time, go get home where I plopped down on my bed around 4am and called it a night (or a morning??!!?).

It was definitely no traditional thanksgiving, but if I couldn’t be with my family yesterday then this was definitely a good way to spend it.

I hate to say it, but I have found yet another city more beautiful than Córdoba. Maybe it is because its new, and exciting, and I was with Kiki. Or maybe becuase anywhere other than what you are used to is more exciting (at least for a little while), but Salamanca is absolutely wonderful. It has all the charm of an east coast university town, minus the snow. Its gorgeous river is lined with trees changing colors, and punctuated by roman bridges which become even more picturesque at night when they illuminate them. At night the city doesnt lose any of its daytime charm. The huge gothic cathedral is lit up and can be seen from almost anywhere in the town if, and is better than the postcards when you are looking up at it from the river bank.

The town itself is filled with churches, the first university in Europe, the Cathedral, plazas, statues, a Plaza Mayor more beautiful than its predecessor in Madrid, and countless ofher buildings that fit the architectural style the monuments giving the city a coherent but not uniform feel. There is even a Zara (womens clothing store) in the shopping district built into an old church. Its amazing!

So as i walked around with my mouth gaping open at the beauty of the city, Kiki and I took in some of the tourist sights, wandered the town, frequented a local Irish pub for some good ole rugby watchin´and beer, hit up one of the packed bars for the Madrid-Barça game, ate delicious food (pancakes!!!!!!!), shopped, and enjoyed the scenery.

After 5 hours on a bus, 30 hectic minutes in between modes of transportation and 2 ½ more hours on a train, I was in Salamanca! Kiki met me at the train station and we headed toward the center of town where all the life is! Instead if heading straight home, we made a pit stop at O´Harahs, the Irish pub in town, this was just the first of our visits to what I will now refer to as the O.H. As if it just being an Irish pub wasn’t good enough, they had my favorite weissbier on tap; Paulaner, and I took advantage of it! A few hours later, after meeting up with friends and having a merry old time, we headed over to another Salamancan favorite, a bar called Jacko´s. The night just got better from there and I learned that B-52´s are not just a band, but a rather tasty drink. Very near 4 am, we finally made it back to Kiki´s house. After hanging our clothes on the balcony (as anything you wear inside in Spain takes on that sweet stench of cigarette smoke), we climbed into bed to catch some ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz!

Friday morning we lounged a bit and ate breakfast while looking out the balcony window onto the gorgeous Río Tormes. The trees lining either side, the leaves changing colors, the reflection of the bridge in the smooth water…need I say more? We headed out to play tourist (one of my favorite games) and made our first stop at the Universidad de Salamanca. The first university in Spain, this building was opened in 1218 and still holds some of the original books, and classroom benches. We entered through the famous façade where you can spend hours trying to find the frog (carved into the top of a stone skull on one of the pillars of the decorated entrance) that will bring you good luck, called “La Ranita de Suerte” (the little frog of luck). When you enter, you find the carved stone stairwell and elaborate ceilings that adorn the building and are just one more thing of beauty. Even more impressive was stop number 2 on our tour. The Cathedral. Its gorgeous. As you walk through it, you are led through passages and up stairs as you make your way up to the upper levels where you can walk around the outside for a great view of the city and wander in and out of the various rooms, gazing at the alter, finding cracks still visible from the 10.0 Lisboa earthquake of 1755. Walking through it you can almost imagine the priests from the 18th century making their way through the passageways (the choir music playing softly on surround sound definitely doesn’t take away from the mood either). After snapping back to reality we headed down the steep stairs and out onto the streets.

Wandering through the streets lines with the tourist stores we made our way to the plaza to grab some lunch before the afternoon of shopping . The Plaza Mayor in Salamanca is always crowded with students, couples, families, kids, dogs, and cute little old couples in matching outfits sitting together. After chilling ourselves to the bone we headed back toward home. On the way we ran into Clancey (kiki´s roommate) and her and I headed out for a run near the river. As it started to get dark, the lights in the city came on and from the riverbank where we were running we could see the gorgeously lit Cathedral and Roman bridge. It was definitely an image vying for a spot as the calendar page for November. Seriously, the city is gorgeous, the epitome of fall and absolutely beautiful.

Saturday was another relaxing day. Slept late, headed out for PANCAKES!!!, which we had found the day before at a restaurant in the Plaza. Soooo yummy! But, like many other “American” foods here, it wasnt quite satisfying (as they were the sixe of a a san dollar and you only get 2) and headed to the cutest little bakery just off the plaza for some Hornazo, the typical empanada of Salamanca. Imagine a hot pocket, pizza flavored, with 3 kinds of meat (and by three kinds of meat i mean 3 different parts of the ham). It was delicious! After that, we needed to walk off our meal(s) so headed back to the shopping strip. You think i would be sick of shopping but when your legs are 8 inches too short for pants (literally, im not kidding) or your shoulders are wider than 6 inches, finding clothes that fit is pure luck, which means that after not succeeding many a times to find cute stuff, we try try try try and try again.

To break up the shopping monotany (yes shopping gets old after a while, EVEN for me!) we headed over to the local peluquería (hair dresser) for a little ‘do’. Nothing crazy or anything, dont worry, the mullet will have to wait for another time, but i now have a few tasteful streaks of Córdoba orange (removable as soon as I am tired of them because i didnt actually dye my hair, they’re extensions!). So, now, feeling a little rejuvenated by our semi-rebellious behavior (why its rebellious i dont know, its not like anyone was telling us we couldnt do that, or anything else here), we headed over to our favorite little irish pub for some RUGBY!!!!!!!!

New Zealand vs. England kept us entertained, and every other rugby fanatic in Salamanca for the next few hours. As if rugby wasnt enough sport for one day, it wasnt too long after the rugby game that we were headed over to the any bar that had space for one of the biggest sporting events in all of Spain. The Real Madrid vs. Barcelona soccer match. These teams here are like the Dodgers and Giants to baseball fanatics, if you like one, you CANNOT like the other. Except here everyone is a fanatic! Its nuts, every bar was packed and we ended up standing up for the entire game (that Real was absolutely outplayed in....booo hooo!). Kiki and I had a great time yelling at the screen and laughing at the great acting scheme that goes on in professional soccer games (no one is ever really hurt but you wouldnt be able to tell by the amazing martial arts rolls and the grabbing of whatever part of your body you are faking injury with this time).

Sunday morning we got our lazy butts outta bed for a run to the local rostro, or market. Much like the one in Córdoba, the tables are piled high with socks and other cheap items. We were only able to spend a little time here before heading back so i could catch my train.

It was so nice to see Kiki again, and I just am that much more excited to have her as a roommate, and now i have one more city on my list of must-sees in Spain too!

Dont get too excited, I dont have any new adventures to talk about yet, you will have to wait until after this weekend, but it seems that i only write about the stuff i do outside of Córdoba, and never the stuff going on here. Given, its nowhere near as exciting, but its just as big a part of this whole experience as the travelling.

Boring stuff first: The Weather. Its cold here! My body thermometer is permanently registered at 65-70 °F, courtesy of beautiful San Diego, and I, as well as many of my other California friends are filling up our mornings complaining about the cold. BUT, truth be told, as much as I dont like being cold, its a nice change to have seasons.

Speaking of seasons, Christmas comes earlier here than in the States. They have no Thanksgiving to wait until as the 'official' start of the Christmas season, so now that its cold enough, we can call it Christmas time. This means that Christmas candies (Turron: nouget with different types of nuts, Mantecados: really buttery and yummy melt-in-your mouth cookies in assorted flavor, chocolate, and an unfortunate assortment of those nasty liquour candies: Marachino cherries here do not mean the deliciosly flourecent ones for the top of your sundae, they mean jellies cherry saturated with Anis (black licorice flavor) liquour native to Córdoba...gross!). Also, Christmas season means that El Corte Ingles, the 'Godfather´of Spanish shopping (aka a huge department store that has EVERYTHING!) has strung lights all over the outside of the building, and the rest of the downtown area has followed suit! They havent turned the lights on at night yet, but the lighting of the city is in just a couple weeks. Its so cute! Like small town,lets-crowd-around-the-fire-and-eat-roasted-chestnuts(which really happens if you go to Valencia)-stroll-through-the-christmas-shops-and-stare-at-the-manger-scenes in the windows(or singing christmas trees), cute!

Despite the cold, I have still managed to get out and about. I finally made my way to one of the Teterías (tea houses) here in Córdoba for some té con leche (tea brewed with milk), my favorite of the teas and infusions here. Entertaining myself at the cines (movie theatres) which are half the price of US theatres, has been interesting. American movies are better in their original voices (not dubbed) but Spanish movies are really good.

My search for warm clothes continues. I definitely didnt bring enough socks when i came, socks were most definitely at the bottom of my list of items to pack back in scorching August, and now im paying for it with frozen toes.

Um, what else is new?? I dunno, cant think of anything specific right now, i need to write stuff down thats odd/different/entertaining when i see it so i can remember to write it later. Well, in that case, we should all get back to whatever activity we were putting off by reading/writing this. Off to Salamanca this weekend to visit Kiki!!!! Making my way to a new part of Spain the central Northwest (just west of Madrid), where we will watch the biggest fútbol match of the season for Spain, Real Madrid vs. F.C. Barcelona!

Much love to all of you. Missing you more now that the holidays are closer, but always thinking about you guys, and cant wait to see you in a month!

So after a week of doing absolutely nothing (fearing to go too far from ‘el baño’), it was time to get out and about. Marissa was planning to go to Valencia for the weekend and I, ready to get the heck out of Córdoba and shake the last week off called up Sarah (my other future roommate studying in Spain) and two hours later, and just a few hours before our train left, I bought my train tickets and planned to meet up with Sarah there…I love seeing people from home!

A short night sleep later we boarded the 6 hour train to Valencia, home of Valencia oranges, Tomatino (the tomato throwing festival), Paella, Agua de Valencia (Spanish version of mamosas), Horchata de Chufa (made with Chufas, a peanut like nut instead of rice), and gorgeous buildings. I know the last doesn’t sound as exciting as the rest, but Valencia really got the whole architecture thing down right. They found the perfect mix of clean and modern, while maintaining some of the old style and even adding gargoyles to match the architecture of some of the remaining castle walls and churches.

We arrived on Friday afternoon to some light rain and real winter weather. Sweater, Jacket, Scarf, and Boots worthy weather! Wandered the city a little bit before settling in a colourful (by that I mean ever floor was a different color) hostel in the old town. Valencia is on the eastern coast of Spain in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, it’s the 3rd largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona and home to the (new) and famous Cuitat de Les Artes I Les Ciencies (Valenciano for City of Art and Science). We reserved the Ciutat for the following day and instead spent our first 24 hours walking the old town and the sites, and tasting real chestnuts…yes, they were roasted over and open fire!

Valencia is home to the Mercado Central (imagine Pike Street market in Seattle, mixed with the farmer´s market and put under the roof of what looks like an old train station and you have Valencia´s central market). Breakfast was a combination of fresh citrus, oranges and clementinas, from the market, after which we hopped across the street to check out the Lonja. The Lonja looks like a church without an alter or pews, and was the site of the 16th century market in Valencia. We forged on, full of yummy orange-y past the Plaza del Ayuntamiento with its gorgeous fountain and flower vendors, and headed toward the Plaza de la Reina and el Catedral. The Catedral in Valencia would be much like any other cathedral in Spain except that this cathedral is home to ‘La Capilla de Santo Cáliz’ or The Chapel of the Holy Grail. Yes…all you Monty Python fans, I have found the Holy Grail, the quest is over! The not so ornate gold chalice, said to be the chalice drunk from at the Last Supper, is encased in glass behind the chapel’s alter, and while you cant really get close enough to see too many details, I can now say that I have seen ‘El Santo Grail’.

Since we were in church-mode, we decided to cross the park (a river-like park that snakes its way through the city) to the Iglesia de Santa Monica, for a little vanity tourism. But the powers at be were keeping my ego in check, and my namesake church was closed. I had to admire it from outside and be satisfied with the small park just outside the church doors. It was about time to head to the train station to meet Sarah and her friends who were coming in from Alicante, so Marissa and I headed that direction, stopping along the way at a delicious looking bakery we had spotted the night before next to the 200 year old Horchatería.
A couple hours later, all the girls were settled into our hostel and we were on our way to the bus stop bound for the Art and Science Center. The center is divided into 4 parts, only 3 of which are finished. We arrived, walking over and under this botanical modern hallway-type-thing made of hundreds of white iron arches. Then climbed downstairs onto the entrance level of the center. We first headed into the Museu de Les Ciencies Principe Felipe on one side of the large modern walkway, bordered on either side by a shallow light blue pool that gives the effect that the very modern, intricately curved buildings have sprouted out of the serene blue. We entered on one side of the hands-on science museum and made our way up to level one of the exhibits. After bending light rays, changing the tone of our voice, experimenting with mirror illusions and two-way mirrors, we moved test our memories by trying to draw a Euro from memory, or sketch a map of Europe, examining brain cells of Alzheimer patients, and even got to watch a chick hatch out of an egg (note to self, add chick to list of possible pets…and farmer to give it to when its not cute and fuzzy yellow anymore). Then we moved on to my favourite part of the exhibit, ‘Deportes’ (sports). Here you could see how high you jumped and if it was high enough to be a professional rugby player, you could time your 10m sprint, shoot hoops, pretend to be John McEnroe (although a John McEnroe in a rare calm state to save yourself from getting kicked out of the exhibit), measure your height in meters (I am 1.66m) and all while learning who, what, when, where, why, and how?

We only gave ourselves 2 ½ hours in the exhibits before heading to our IMAX show about adrenaline and risk. We didn’t even get to really check out the 3rd floor, but hey, there’s always next time (Ha!). So part II of the science center is called L´Hemisfèric and is the huge dome screen with reclined seats used for Planetarium, laser, and IMAX shows. Of the few offered IMAX shows the next available one was about adrenaline and risk sports. As you laid in the seats, with your headset, which you could select to listen to the show in English, Castellano (our Spanish), or Valenciano, watching a huge screen about adrenaline junkies, we felt pretty ridiculous, but it was actually really neat. It confirmed my desire to skydive, and also my complete lack of desire to base jump (skydiving, but jumping off a cliff, and without a back-up parachute).

After the show, we decided to skip part III, L’Oceanogràfic, a huge biodome/aquarium type thing (after having just been to a stellar biodome in Montreàl, I didn’t really feel the need to drop 20 Euros, $25, on entrance to another one) and headed back to get ready for dinner.

Valencia is famous for many things, but it is the birthplace of Paella. A rice dish made with meat or fish, flavoured and coloured bright yellow with saffron. Paella is actually the name of the HUGE wok-type pan used to cook the food in, but the original name, Arroz de Paella, has just been shortened to Paella. Finding a restaurant that was serving the dish was a little harder than we expected, but when we finally settled into a place, the search and the wait was well worth it. Entertaining ourselves with fun girl talk, there were 6 of us, and a few pitchers of Agua de Valencia, the ½ wait for the freshly prepared Paella de Mariscos (seafood paella) flew by. We stuffed ourselves with the amazing rice dish to the point where it tasted so good we all wanted more, but couldn’t fit another bit into our stomachs (not that there was much left in the pan anyway, between the 6 of us, we downed almost an entire pan, about 18” in diameter…no joke!). After the incredible dinner, we were not about to call it a night and headed out.

Bar #1 was a Cuban club, playing all sorts of fun music but the crowd seemed a little older. We hung out for a few and after being offered birthday cake for a 47 year-olds birthday party, we decided to change scenery, and try and find a place a little more in our (how I say this nicely?), generation. Bar #2 was the Irish pub down the street from our hostel. Murrayfield (how Irish) sold my favourite beer, Paulaner, and had rugby stuff cluttering the walls. We hung out for a while and by the time we climbed down the stairs to head out, the place was packed, and a haze of cigarette smoke. Bar #3, the last for the night, was on the way back to the hostel, and was packed. We spent the end of the night dancing away to horrible music with English words and the repetitive Spanish beat that is the base for all club songs here. Nevertheless, it was fun, and we got to stare at the Spanish version of George Clooney (a.k.a. the bouncer) while dancing our little hearts out.

After that, we headed back to the hostel to get some sleep before our train left the next morning. Getting out again was a nice way to shake off being sick and see a new part of Spain. Also, it was so great to get to see Sarah and have someone around from home that knows about my life before Spain, its nice to have that perspective and that level of comfort, especially this far away from home!

So, that was my weekend. Next weekend its off to Salamanca, east of Madrid to see Kiki, and after that maybe Barcelona, and then Berlin to visit Laura and her family the first week of December. Its starting to feel like the end is in sight, as there are only 5 weeks left in the program, but there is still lots to do, and lots to learn, so I have to remember to stay focused on being here in the moment…aaahhh, always difficult for me. But, I may only do this once, so I better do it right, right?!!!

So, as if being sick doesnt suck enough, try doing it 6000 miles from home without any normal medicines or doctor or any of those comfort things. Moroccos was amazing, that is very true, but even more memorable is something I like to refer to as “La revancha de los Almoravides!” Consider it the Moroccan version of Mexico´s Montezuma´s revenge. While we all suffered some bowel discomfort after the trip, my experience was unique. Not only was that taken to a whole new level, but I managed to get a nice little virus somewhere. On Wednesday, my first day back at school, I started to feel flu-ish and by the time I got home that night I had a fever, chills and couldn’t eat a thing. For the next 4 days I split my time laying curled up on my bed and the bathroom, and trying to sleep, the only remedy for what seemed like a slow tortuous death.

In addition, a wonderful wave of homesickness set in and, well, lets just say it was a rough week.

On Monday I headed back to school, feeling like I had things “under control” although not 100% yet. By Wednesday I could eat normal foods again and Thursday gave way to Friday and I felt pretty good. I was so tired of sitting around and I was ready to shake off the whole sickness/homesickness thing and get outta town, and the perfect opportunity came up!