Hola,
As the days and weeks seem to be getting shorter, I am finding less and less free time in my days which means my blogging time in nearly non-existent. However, I have finally found some time so here's goes nothing. The weekend after Morocco my friends from Grinnell, who are studying in Denmark and London, came to visit! We had a great time. They arrived on Thursday and they discovered the heavenly kebabs we love here in Granada (I think they each had about five during the weekend) and had a fairly calm night. The next day we visited the Alhambra and explored the city. Saturday we went to a Flamenco show up in the Albayzin (the old, windy part of town) which had an amazing view of the Alhambra all light up. Then we headed back down to town and had a wonderful evening. Then in the morning we woke up and had one of Granada's many delights: Churros con chocolate. Just a perfect way to end off their trip. It was great to see them and they all loved Granada.
It was not long before I saw them again, however, because the next weekend I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit Meg and Eric and go to Sensation, which is what some have labeled the largest rave in Europe. But before my friends and I got to Denmark we had a 9 hour layover in London, well actually an hour outside of London. The fact that our layover happened to be from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. did not stop us from traveling into to London to see Big Ben, Buckingham palace, and various other parts of the city. My friends, Matt and Chris that visited me the previous week, live in London and we were lucky enough to have our very own tour guides. It was London in about 3 hours, after factoring in bus rides and getting to the airport early for our flight, but it was great and I can now stay I have visited London.
Before we knew it we were on another flight and off to Copenhagen. (Side note: both these cities are quite cold and made me very grateful that I live in southern Spain were it is much warmer.) We met Eric at the airport and our adventure began. After dropping our stuff off at Eric's dorm, we did a little tour of the city. We saw the city center with all the government buildings, the area in Copenhagen with all the different colored buildings by the water (this is a pretty famous area and is on many postcards, travel guides, etc. of Copenhagen), saw Eric's school, and went to Christiana which is an autonomous neighborhood in Copenhagen which follows a special law that appeared to actually be no law. It was a crazy place. That night we just hung out at Eric's and took part in some Copenhagen nightlife.
The next day we headed out to Meg's apartment, which is an hour outside of the city. Poor girl. But her apartment is really nice and the town she lives in is very quaint and cozy. We relaxed for awhile then headed back into the city for SENSATION!!! Huge stadium and tons of people and bright lights basically sums up Sensation. It was a great time. The next morning we woke up, hopped on a plane, and began an entire day of traveling. We arrived home around 11:30 p.m. and then I crashed. Great weekend! Tomorrow my program and I head to Cádiz and Jerez for a couple days. It should be a good time.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Back to real life, kind of.
Hola,
Life got extremely busy these last couple of weeks. Since I last wrote, I visited Córdoba, had a bunch of examenes parciales (mid-term exams), and visited Africa! It's been a blast. Here's a short but hopefully sweet recap.
In Córdoba we visited Madinat al-Zahra, which are the ruins of the royal city and palace of the Umayyads outside of Córdoba. The ruins were previously completely covered in mud and the royal city was actually thought to be a myth until the 20th century when it was found and excavation began. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but they have recovered a lot of beautiful art and architecture that by some grace of God wasn't ruined by the pillaging that occurred for several years after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and the natural causes that covered that city in mud. A lot of columns and arches essentially fell straight to the ground and could be reassembled fairly easily. After Madinat al-Zahra, we went into the city of Córdoba and saw the Mosque of Cordoba there, which is amazing. The most beautiful arches and quibla wall you have ever seen. The most interesting thing, however, is that when the Spaniards conquered Spain and this Mosque they turned it into a cathedral. They did not tear the hole thing down but rather just added a cathedral in the middle. So you have a ton of Islamic art everywhere and then you just walk to the next room and you are standing in a Spanish cathedral. It's like stepping into a whole different world. It's really bizarre. Another interesting thing is that with the addition of the Spanish cathedral, which include very high, vaulted ceilings, came some structural problems, i.e. there is now a row of columns that are tilting causing the outer wall to bend. This isn't a huge problem now but very well may be in the future.
The next week I had midterms. Boy was that a busy week. All I have to say about that is I'm glad it is over.
Then this past Thursday we left for Morocco! The first night we actually spent in southern Spain right off the Straight of Gibraltar. We visited Gibraltar that day, which is a English colony in Spain. It is a very interesting place. They speak English English and run on the English system of government, schooling, currency, etc. However, Gibraltarians also learn Spanish in their schools so most of them can speak both Spanish and English. The city is a very interesting mix of British culture and Spanish culture, a fascinating city. We also got to hike up the Rock of Gibraltar. It was quite the hike but definitely worth it. The view was amazing and you can see Africa on the skyline (I believe Africa is about 14 miles away). Plus, they have monkeys on the rock of Gibraltar, which come really close and of which we took a bunch of pictures! It was great. That night we headed down the rock for some good 'ol English fish and chips.
The next morning we took a ferry to Africa! We got off in Tánger and went to a women's house there that provides education to illiterate women and job training to women who don't have any job skills. It was really interesting and we got to speak with some women about the gender inequality, what the government is doing to combat this, and about freedom of speech (or lack there of, at least pertaining to the government and the king). It was really interesting to hear their take on things and hear how passionate they are about increasing literacy rates among women and women's rights in general. It's a concept that is basically unknown to us, at least in that scope, and such a contrast from American women's rights but at the same time they are making great strides and the government is helping as well. One interesting fact is that starting I believe next year, the government has passed some initiative or law saying that their parliament will consist of 50% women. They are very progressive in that sense but very behind in others, i.e. literacy and education.
After the talk with the women and lunch at the center, we headed to Rabat. On the way we stopped for a camel ride! It was so much fun but kind of scary we the camel's stood up. After that we visited the city nearby. Took a little paseo (walk) through the city, there is a bunch of cool street art painted on the walls, had a snack and hit the road again. When we got to Rabat my friend and I met our house family and went to their house for dinner. My host family consisted of a women and her two children. Her husband, who I believe is an American, but am a bit unsure because our host mom only spoke a little bit of English and Spanish (mostly we spoke in hand movements), was away on business so it was just the three of them. We were obsessed with the little girl! She was 7 years old, absolutely adorable and spoke Arabic, French and some English. The was the smartest, cutest little thing ever! We told her we could stuff her in our bag and take her home with us to the states to see a Miley Cyrus concert, she loves Miley Cyrus!, and she said "bye bye Mama," cutest thing ever. The little boy, I think maybe 9, couldn't speak any English, his third language is German, plus he is very shy so we did not talk much to him. The mother was amazing! She treated us as her own and made the most amazing food! The first night at their house I wasn't feeling well so she made us a simple dinner of rice, chicken, and I believe squash soup with an apple, banana, and carrot smoothie juice and tea. It was delicious. After dinner, my friend and I passed out.
The next day we woke to a breakfast of breads, jam, cheese, and tea. Boy do they love their tea in Morocco! It's a very, very sweet green tea. I like it but I don't think I could handle drinking it as much as they do, too sweet. After breakfast we headed off to a education center, where they help youth struggling in school, kids who drop out of school and want to re-enter (something that is pretty unheard of in Morocco), and kids and young adults that need job training to enter the workforce. We talked a lot about stereotypes, of the West, the U.S., and Morocco, with the directors of this organizations. They first asked us what is means to be an American and then they told us what it meant to them to be Moroccans. It was really interesting to hear them say democracy, happiness, religion, tradition. It was really an eyeopener for me because I guess all I could think about of Morocco before were things like inequality, unhappiness, and lack of freedom (of speech). This, however, is not how many Moroccans think of their country, but rather are very happy with where and how they live. They value tradition and religion and care less about what Americans may value more greatly. Just because it is different, doesn't necessarily make it wrong. It was very interesting. After this talk we visited the ruins of Challah, right outside the city, the Mausoleum of Hassan the II and the ruins of the Mosque there. Then it was off to lunch with our family where we had a delicious crepe like mix with lentils and chicken. Delicioso! Then we met up with some Moroccan students who could speak English and walked through the Kasbah (fortress), to the beach and through the main market in Rabat. It was a really cool experience to talk to Moroccan students and the market was huge! It went on for what seemed like miles and was packed with people. After that we went to the Hammam, which are the Arab baths. What an experience. The Hammam consists of three rooms, each increasingly hotter, where you exfoliate (scrub) yourself like you never have before. We left that place cleaner than we ever have been and much closer than we were before. Then we got henna. It was so cool! The girls that did it for us did the henna in literally like 30 seconds, they were so fast and it was beautiful. Then we headed home for dinner with our families (tonight was a pasta dish with ground meat and cheese, absolutely fabulous) and then passed out again.
The next day we traveled to the Rif Mountains and visited a village. First we stopped in the village for tea and snacks and then headed up into the mountains to visit a family and their small farm. We toured their land, which consisted of about every vegetable and fruit plant you could think of, and then had lunch, tea, and chatted with the family. They could only speak Arabic so we had everything translated to us but it was very interesting to hear how Moroccans live in the villages and the countryside. This couple said they leave their farm for the village about once a year. They live on self-sustaining land and eat from what they grow. They said they love their life and enjoy the peaceful life of the country. We spoke about many things but interesting one thing that came up was their views of the United States. They said that the U.S. needs to be more just, referring to the U.S. waging wars on innocent Arabs and pretending to be friends with Morocco and other Arab countries. It was really interesting to hear their take and realize that U.S. foreign policy affects so many people, even those living in a remote village in the mountains of Africa. After this visit, we jumped back on the bus for Chefchaouen, a larger mountain town, and snuck in some shopping before dinner and bed.
The next morning we walked through the city to a beautiful look out point of the city. After that we had breakfast and a short time to shop before heading to the border. Everything in Morocco is extremely cheap and I purchased a few Christmas presents at great prices. After a 2 and half hour bus ride we made it to the border of Ceuta, a Spanish colony in Morocco. After that we caught a ferry and were in Spain again an hour later. What a relief it was to be able to understand and communicate with people again. Although we all still need to work on our Spanish, we realized just how much we do know when posed with a language of which we knew absolutely nothing. What a relief. After that we had another 4 hour or so bus ride back to Granada. It was a wonderful 5 days but it was certainly nice to be home and have a second to breath. Now it's back to real life, well kind of.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Life got extremely busy these last couple of weeks. Since I last wrote, I visited Córdoba, had a bunch of examenes parciales (mid-term exams), and visited Africa! It's been a blast. Here's a short but hopefully sweet recap.
In Córdoba we visited Madinat al-Zahra, which are the ruins of the royal city and palace of the Umayyads outside of Córdoba. The ruins were previously completely covered in mud and the royal city was actually thought to be a myth until the 20th century when it was found and excavation began. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but they have recovered a lot of beautiful art and architecture that by some grace of God wasn't ruined by the pillaging that occurred for several years after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and the natural causes that covered that city in mud. A lot of columns and arches essentially fell straight to the ground and could be reassembled fairly easily. After Madinat al-Zahra, we went into the city of Córdoba and saw the Mosque of Cordoba there, which is amazing. The most beautiful arches and quibla wall you have ever seen. The most interesting thing, however, is that when the Spaniards conquered Spain and this Mosque they turned it into a cathedral. They did not tear the hole thing down but rather just added a cathedral in the middle. So you have a ton of Islamic art everywhere and then you just walk to the next room and you are standing in a Spanish cathedral. It's like stepping into a whole different world. It's really bizarre. Another interesting thing is that with the addition of the Spanish cathedral, which include very high, vaulted ceilings, came some structural problems, i.e. there is now a row of columns that are tilting causing the outer wall to bend. This isn't a huge problem now but very well may be in the future.
The next week I had midterms. Boy was that a busy week. All I have to say about that is I'm glad it is over.
Then this past Thursday we left for Morocco! The first night we actually spent in southern Spain right off the Straight of Gibraltar. We visited Gibraltar that day, which is a English colony in Spain. It is a very interesting place. They speak English English and run on the English system of government, schooling, currency, etc. However, Gibraltarians also learn Spanish in their schools so most of them can speak both Spanish and English. The city is a very interesting mix of British culture and Spanish culture, a fascinating city. We also got to hike up the Rock of Gibraltar. It was quite the hike but definitely worth it. The view was amazing and you can see Africa on the skyline (I believe Africa is about 14 miles away). Plus, they have monkeys on the rock of Gibraltar, which come really close and of which we took a bunch of pictures! It was great. That night we headed down the rock for some good 'ol English fish and chips.
The next morning we took a ferry to Africa! We got off in Tánger and went to a women's house there that provides education to illiterate women and job training to women who don't have any job skills. It was really interesting and we got to speak with some women about the gender inequality, what the government is doing to combat this, and about freedom of speech (or lack there of, at least pertaining to the government and the king). It was really interesting to hear their take on things and hear how passionate they are about increasing literacy rates among women and women's rights in general. It's a concept that is basically unknown to us, at least in that scope, and such a contrast from American women's rights but at the same time they are making great strides and the government is helping as well. One interesting fact is that starting I believe next year, the government has passed some initiative or law saying that their parliament will consist of 50% women. They are very progressive in that sense but very behind in others, i.e. literacy and education.
After the talk with the women and lunch at the center, we headed to Rabat. On the way we stopped for a camel ride! It was so much fun but kind of scary we the camel's stood up. After that we visited the city nearby. Took a little paseo (walk) through the city, there is a bunch of cool street art painted on the walls, had a snack and hit the road again. When we got to Rabat my friend and I met our house family and went to their house for dinner. My host family consisted of a women and her two children. Her husband, who I believe is an American, but am a bit unsure because our host mom only spoke a little bit of English and Spanish (mostly we spoke in hand movements), was away on business so it was just the three of them. We were obsessed with the little girl! She was 7 years old, absolutely adorable and spoke Arabic, French and some English. The was the smartest, cutest little thing ever! We told her we could stuff her in our bag and take her home with us to the states to see a Miley Cyrus concert, she loves Miley Cyrus!, and she said "bye bye Mama," cutest thing ever. The little boy, I think maybe 9, couldn't speak any English, his third language is German, plus he is very shy so we did not talk much to him. The mother was amazing! She treated us as her own and made the most amazing food! The first night at their house I wasn't feeling well so she made us a simple dinner of rice, chicken, and I believe squash soup with an apple, banana, and carrot smoothie juice and tea. It was delicious. After dinner, my friend and I passed out.
The next day we woke to a breakfast of breads, jam, cheese, and tea. Boy do they love their tea in Morocco! It's a very, very sweet green tea. I like it but I don't think I could handle drinking it as much as they do, too sweet. After breakfast we headed off to a education center, where they help youth struggling in school, kids who drop out of school and want to re-enter (something that is pretty unheard of in Morocco), and kids and young adults that need job training to enter the workforce. We talked a lot about stereotypes, of the West, the U.S., and Morocco, with the directors of this organizations. They first asked us what is means to be an American and then they told us what it meant to them to be Moroccans. It was really interesting to hear them say democracy, happiness, religion, tradition. It was really an eyeopener for me because I guess all I could think about of Morocco before were things like inequality, unhappiness, and lack of freedom (of speech). This, however, is not how many Moroccans think of their country, but rather are very happy with where and how they live. They value tradition and religion and care less about what Americans may value more greatly. Just because it is different, doesn't necessarily make it wrong. It was very interesting. After this talk we visited the ruins of Challah, right outside the city, the Mausoleum of Hassan the II and the ruins of the Mosque there. Then it was off to lunch with our family where we had a delicious crepe like mix with lentils and chicken. Delicioso! Then we met up with some Moroccan students who could speak English and walked through the Kasbah (fortress), to the beach and through the main market in Rabat. It was a really cool experience to talk to Moroccan students and the market was huge! It went on for what seemed like miles and was packed with people. After that we went to the Hammam, which are the Arab baths. What an experience. The Hammam consists of three rooms, each increasingly hotter, where you exfoliate (scrub) yourself like you never have before. We left that place cleaner than we ever have been and much closer than we were before. Then we got henna. It was so cool! The girls that did it for us did the henna in literally like 30 seconds, they were so fast and it was beautiful. Then we headed home for dinner with our families (tonight was a pasta dish with ground meat and cheese, absolutely fabulous) and then passed out again.
The next day we traveled to the Rif Mountains and visited a village. First we stopped in the village for tea and snacks and then headed up into the mountains to visit a family and their small farm. We toured their land, which consisted of about every vegetable and fruit plant you could think of, and then had lunch, tea, and chatted with the family. They could only speak Arabic so we had everything translated to us but it was very interesting to hear how Moroccans live in the villages and the countryside. This couple said they leave their farm for the village about once a year. They live on self-sustaining land and eat from what they grow. They said they love their life and enjoy the peaceful life of the country. We spoke about many things but interesting one thing that came up was their views of the United States. They said that the U.S. needs to be more just, referring to the U.S. waging wars on innocent Arabs and pretending to be friends with Morocco and other Arab countries. It was really interesting to hear their take and realize that U.S. foreign policy affects so many people, even those living in a remote village in the mountains of Africa. After this visit, we jumped back on the bus for Chefchaouen, a larger mountain town, and snuck in some shopping before dinner and bed.
The next morning we walked through the city to a beautiful look out point of the city. After that we had breakfast and a short time to shop before heading to the border. Everything in Morocco is extremely cheap and I purchased a few Christmas presents at great prices. After a 2 and half hour bus ride we made it to the border of Ceuta, a Spanish colony in Morocco. After that we caught a ferry and were in Spain again an hour later. What a relief it was to be able to understand and communicate with people again. Although we all still need to work on our Spanish, we realized just how much we do know when posed with a language of which we knew absolutely nothing. What a relief. After that we had another 4 hour or so bus ride back to Granada. It was a wonderful 5 days but it was certainly nice to be home and have a second to breath. Now it's back to real life, well kind of.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Madrid y Barcelona
Hola,
Long time, no talk. Boy has it been a busy weekend/week. Well, last Thursday my friends and I took a bus to Málaga and hopped a plane to Madrid. We got in around 11 and headed to my friend's friend's apartment to do some serious itinerizing (don't know if that is a word) before heading to bed. We got up bright and early the next morning and headed on a power-packed walking tour. First, we headed to the Temple de Debad, the ruins of an Egyptian temple close to my friend's friend's apartment. Outside there was a beautiful pond and arches and inside you could see traces of hieroglyphics. Pretty cool. After that we went to Palacio Real, which are the former royal palaces of the Spanish royal family (they currently have more "humble" palaces outside of the city). We saw something something like 30 of the 2,000 rooms in the palace. They were pretty elaborate and beautiful. After that we did a bit of a walking tour through the city, hitting most of the popular plazas-- Plaza de España, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and several others. Then we went to the Parque del Buen Retiro. This park is beautiful. It has amazing gardens at the entrance with the coolest trees that there leaves are shaved into individual little clumps (I thought it was really cool!) and a beautiful pond/lake you can take paddle boats out on. My friends and I took this time to pass out in the park for a much needed siesta. After our siesta, we headed over to the Museo Nacional del Prado, essentially the most famous museum in Spain and, some might say, in the world (all-ranking.com ranks the Prado the best museum in the world). I'm not an art buff by any means, but this museum is fabulous. It has tons of pieces by El Bosco, Velásquez, Goya and more. I really enjoyed it and left with with a greater appreciation of art. I want to learn more of these great artists. Another great thing about the Prado is that there are historic explanation and reasoning behind each piece, which you often don't find at other art museums. After that we went to one of the best tapas bars I have ever been to, el tigre. We ended the night with, according to my lonely planet guide book to Spain, the second of the top 25 experiences in Spain-- Madrid's nightlife. I think I would have to agree with lonely planet. It was a fun night.
The next day we slept in a little later and then went to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the modern alternative to the Prado. It was great as well. By this point, we were getting a bit arted out (not sure if that is a work either) and didn't stay too long. After this, it was raining and we desperately wanted churros con chocolate (similar to Mexican churros, essentially minus the sugar and cinnamon on the outide, and dipped in chocolate), a delicious and popular treat in Spain. We finally found an excellent churro place and chowed down. It was raining this whole day so warm churros con chocolate were perfect! After this we had to head back to our friends apartment to get our stuff together and head for the plane.
We arrived in Barcelona around 11 and checked into Hello BCN, an interesting but fun hostel. Community style rooms and bathrooms and a lobby that never sleeps. It ended up being great but definitely interesting. That night was pretty calm. The next day we embarked on our many planned activities. To say we loved itineraries, would be an understatement. The itinerary for this day included a walking tour of "Guadí's eccentric life and...his most magical building around the city" (walking tour brochure). We visited his first piece of work, a lamppost, and several of his houses, Casa Mila and Casa Batjllo, finishing the tour with La Sagrada Familía (lonely planet's number one top experience in Spain). All were amazing. Casa Batjllo looks like Disney land and a mermaid all at the same time. Casa Mila is more simple on the outside (apparently it was greatly disliked at the time it was built, many called it ugly and many mothers, the story is told, made their young children look away when they passed it) but apparently very elaborate on the inside and has an amazing terrace with a bunch of really cool sculptures (one of which apparently inspired the design for the storm troopers in Star Wars). La Sagrada Familia was absolutely amazing. There are three facades (Nativity, Passion, Glory). The most elaborate of the three is the Nativity facade, which depicts the birth of Christ. It's the most intricate, detailed thing I have ever seen. If you haven't seen a picture of La Sagrada Familia, you need to google it and the Nativity facade as well. My attempt at a description wouldn't do it justice. All I can say it that it blew my mind. One fun fact about this facade, they babies on this facade are mold of stillborns that Guadí got ahold of from a local hospital. A little creepy but interesting. I could talk all day about this but this should give you an idea. After a long day of site seeing, we had lunch and attempted to shop but everything was closed because it was a Sunday. We later had dinner and enjoyed some of Barcelona's nightlife.
On Monday, we took a gondola (cable car type thing) up to the Castella de Montejuc, which is at the top of a big hill. On the way up we could see the whole city from the gondola. It was really beautiful. After visiting the castle we walked around the Olympic complex nearby that housed the 1992 Olympics and is still used today for concerts and events. After that we had lunch and went to Park Guell, another one of Guadí's projects. This project was actually suppose to be a city park and a upscale housing site. The venture eventually failed and was left unfinished. However, there is a beautiful courtyard area, gardens, stairs, and two ginger bread looking houses that still stand there. After this, the girls and I did some shopping (who would we be if we didn't shop a little bit in Barcelona, but don't worry mom and dad, I was very frugal!). We also went to the best Chinese buffet I ever been to in my life for dinner. This sounds sketchy I know, but the food was delicious and I was a great end to our trip. Well, that is before we experienced one last night of Barcelona nightlife.
The next morning we caught a 8 a.m. flight back to Barcelona. A day of homework, ending with some great food at the renaissance type festival by my house completed my Tuesday. I had classes as usual yesterday and today and now it's the weekend again. Got to love those four-day weeks (two-day this week)!
The weather is starting to cool down here. It still gets pretty warm in the afternoon but is cool in the mornings and very cool in the evenings. It's is very difficult to dress for an entire day and I often change several times. It's a bit annoying but what can you do.
We are going to Cordoba tomorrow for a day trip. It should by fun!
hasta!
Ashley
Long time, no talk. Boy has it been a busy weekend/week. Well, last Thursday my friends and I took a bus to Málaga and hopped a plane to Madrid. We got in around 11 and headed to my friend's friend's apartment to do some serious itinerizing (don't know if that is a word) before heading to bed. We got up bright and early the next morning and headed on a power-packed walking tour. First, we headed to the Temple de Debad, the ruins of an Egyptian temple close to my friend's friend's apartment. Outside there was a beautiful pond and arches and inside you could see traces of hieroglyphics. Pretty cool. After that we went to Palacio Real, which are the former royal palaces of the Spanish royal family (they currently have more "humble" palaces outside of the city). We saw something something like 30 of the 2,000 rooms in the palace. They were pretty elaborate and beautiful. After that we did a bit of a walking tour through the city, hitting most of the popular plazas-- Plaza de España, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and several others. Then we went to the Parque del Buen Retiro. This park is beautiful. It has amazing gardens at the entrance with the coolest trees that there leaves are shaved into individual little clumps (I thought it was really cool!) and a beautiful pond/lake you can take paddle boats out on. My friends and I took this time to pass out in the park for a much needed siesta. After our siesta, we headed over to the Museo Nacional del Prado, essentially the most famous museum in Spain and, some might say, in the world (all-ranking.com ranks the Prado the best museum in the world). I'm not an art buff by any means, but this museum is fabulous. It has tons of pieces by El Bosco, Velásquez, Goya and more. I really enjoyed it and left with with a greater appreciation of art. I want to learn more of these great artists. Another great thing about the Prado is that there are historic explanation and reasoning behind each piece, which you often don't find at other art museums. After that we went to one of the best tapas bars I have ever been to, el tigre. We ended the night with, according to my lonely planet guide book to Spain, the second of the top 25 experiences in Spain-- Madrid's nightlife. I think I would have to agree with lonely planet. It was a fun night.
The next day we slept in a little later and then went to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the modern alternative to the Prado. It was great as well. By this point, we were getting a bit arted out (not sure if that is a work either) and didn't stay too long. After this, it was raining and we desperately wanted churros con chocolate (similar to Mexican churros, essentially minus the sugar and cinnamon on the outide, and dipped in chocolate), a delicious and popular treat in Spain. We finally found an excellent churro place and chowed down. It was raining this whole day so warm churros con chocolate were perfect! After this we had to head back to our friends apartment to get our stuff together and head for the plane.
We arrived in Barcelona around 11 and checked into Hello BCN, an interesting but fun hostel. Community style rooms and bathrooms and a lobby that never sleeps. It ended up being great but definitely interesting. That night was pretty calm. The next day we embarked on our many planned activities. To say we loved itineraries, would be an understatement. The itinerary for this day included a walking tour of "Guadí's eccentric life and...his most magical building around the city" (walking tour brochure). We visited his first piece of work, a lamppost, and several of his houses, Casa Mila and Casa Batjllo, finishing the tour with La Sagrada Familía (lonely planet's number one top experience in Spain). All were amazing. Casa Batjllo looks like Disney land and a mermaid all at the same time. Casa Mila is more simple on the outside (apparently it was greatly disliked at the time it was built, many called it ugly and many mothers, the story is told, made their young children look away when they passed it) but apparently very elaborate on the inside and has an amazing terrace with a bunch of really cool sculptures (one of which apparently inspired the design for the storm troopers in Star Wars). La Sagrada Familia was absolutely amazing. There are three facades (Nativity, Passion, Glory). The most elaborate of the three is the Nativity facade, which depicts the birth of Christ. It's the most intricate, detailed thing I have ever seen. If you haven't seen a picture of La Sagrada Familia, you need to google it and the Nativity facade as well. My attempt at a description wouldn't do it justice. All I can say it that it blew my mind. One fun fact about this facade, they babies on this facade are mold of stillborns that Guadí got ahold of from a local hospital. A little creepy but interesting. I could talk all day about this but this should give you an idea. After a long day of site seeing, we had lunch and attempted to shop but everything was closed because it was a Sunday. We later had dinner and enjoyed some of Barcelona's nightlife.
On Monday, we took a gondola (cable car type thing) up to the Castella de Montejuc, which is at the top of a big hill. On the way up we could see the whole city from the gondola. It was really beautiful. After visiting the castle we walked around the Olympic complex nearby that housed the 1992 Olympics and is still used today for concerts and events. After that we had lunch and went to Park Guell, another one of Guadí's projects. This project was actually suppose to be a city park and a upscale housing site. The venture eventually failed and was left unfinished. However, there is a beautiful courtyard area, gardens, stairs, and two ginger bread looking houses that still stand there. After this, the girls and I did some shopping (who would we be if we didn't shop a little bit in Barcelona, but don't worry mom and dad, I was very frugal!). We also went to the best Chinese buffet I ever been to in my life for dinner. This sounds sketchy I know, but the food was delicious and I was a great end to our trip. Well, that is before we experienced one last night of Barcelona nightlife.
The next morning we caught a 8 a.m. flight back to Barcelona. A day of homework, ending with some great food at the renaissance type festival by my house completed my Tuesday. I had classes as usual yesterday and today and now it's the weekend again. Got to love those four-day weeks (two-day this week)!
The weather is starting to cool down here. It still gets pretty warm in the afternoon but is cool in the mornings and very cool in the evenings. It's is very difficult to dress for an entire day and I often change several times. It's a bit annoying but what can you do.
We are going to Cordoba tomorrow for a day trip. It should by fun!
hasta!
Ashley
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Martes
Hola,
For the most part, it was a calm Martes, or Tuesday, in Granada. I had basketball last night. The only thing was it was at a different place than my last practice, much further away. I was simple told to go to the University's main campus, La Cartuja, and ask someone were the gym was. Turns out La Cartuja is enormous and I wound my way to the top of the "mountain" of La Cartuja (actually only a large hill, but large does not begin to describe it) where not many buses run and had to wander for awhile, hop on another bus, and ask many Spaniards how to get to the gym. I finally found it edventually but it was quite an adventure to say the least and I was a little late. Good thing the Spaniards are friendly.
Hasta!
Ashley
For the most part, it was a calm Martes, or Tuesday, in Granada. I had basketball last night. The only thing was it was at a different place than my last practice, much further away. I was simple told to go to the University's main campus, La Cartuja, and ask someone were the gym was. Turns out La Cartuja is enormous and I wound my way to the top of the "mountain" of La Cartuja (actually only a large hill, but large does not begin to describe it) where not many buses run and had to wander for awhile, hop on another bus, and ask many Spaniards how to get to the gym. I finally found it edventually but it was quite an adventure to say the least and I was a little late. Good thing the Spaniards are friendly.
Hasta!
Ashley
Monday, October 4, 2010
Baloncesto, Pampineira y paella!
Hola,
Long time, not talk. I have so many things to share. Thursday was a pretty calm day. I did find out that the activities director at my school hooked me up with the University of Granada's Women's Club basketball team, our first practice scheduled for Friday. That was exciting. Also, my friends and I went to an intercambio night at one of the tapas bars by our house. Pretty fun. We met a lady from the U.S. that had lived in Spain for 6 years and only goes back to the states about once a year. That is crazy to me but I think it is awesome as well. Her life is completely and totally rooted in Spain and she is fully immersed in the culture. I can't really conceive that because I always have in the back of my mind that I will eventually be going back, that my home is in the states. Very cool, nonetheless.
Friday I had basketball practice at 2 o'clock way across town so I took a bus to get there. Boy was my mind blown by this experience. First off, all the girls and coaches speak only Spanish. I was scared out of my mind when I first got there. I was completely and totally on my toes for about 2 and a half hours. They all came up and gave me dos besos, two kisses, on the cheek when they first got there and introduced themselves. Then they taught me their plays and a bunch of drills, entirely in Spanish. It as great. I am definitely on their level, in terms of my basketball skills, and I think it will be a great opportunity to stay in basketball shape and practice my Spanish. It was really interesting, however, how different their play was from the way we play basketball back in the states. For one, they do not shoot the outside shot much which means there offense consists mainly of driving to the basket. That then effects how they play defense and other parts of the game. Moreover, the lane is a trapezoid rather than a rectangle and the European ball is different from the ball we use in the states. It was very much a learning experience for me. When I first walked in I had a flashback to the first time my friend Tolu, a girl on the Grinnell basketball team from Nigeria, played basketball with us. I'm sure she experienced the differences in play and the adjustment to a fairly foreign situation. I think I somewhat know how she must have felt. I think scared is probably the best way to sum it up but great at the same time.
On Saturday, a couple of my friends and I decided to take a bus to this little village, Pampiniera, in the Sierra Nevada. It was beautiful! It had cute little shops and restaurants, windy old streets with whitewash carmens and beautiful Spanish doors. I was in heaven. We also hiked maybe a mile or two to the next little village, Bublion. It was a beautiful hike. We were very high in the mountains and the view was just breathtaking. We also stumbled by a fig tree and picked fresh figs, which thrilled my friend and I who are OBSESSED with figs! They are amazing. Fig Newtons most certainly do not do them justice, to say the very least. Once we finally got back to Granada we met up with some friends and later went to a cave discoteca, or club, up in the Sacromonte, which is the old, windy part of town where the gypsies live and there are a bunch of cave restaurants, bars, and clubs that are tucked away into the caves. This particular club consisted of caves on the main floor and a terrace on the second floor. It was really cool.
On Sunday, I did homework and hung out with my roommate and her mom who is visiting from the states. My Senora made us all paella (so delicious!) and we had the longest lunch I have ever had in my life, consisting of tortilla de patatas (basically an egg and potato bake), cheese and peppers, salad, paella, fruit and sweets with champagne and desert liquor (basically shots, not my cup of tea). It was great. Then later in the evening I went over to my roommate's mom's apartment she is renting and had a lovely dinner before grabbing ice cream (word on the streets is that the ice cream parlors will be closing soon because it will start getting cold, my solution: get as much ice cream right now as possible!) and headed home.
Today was a fairly typical and busy Monday. I had one class canceled which was nice. Also, my friends and I decided we are going to go to Madrid and Barcelona this weekend since we have next Tuesday off from school and intend on missing our classes on Monday to make it a five day tour of Northern Spain. We are really excited! We leave Thursday night. Happy Monday!
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Long time, not talk. I have so many things to share. Thursday was a pretty calm day. I did find out that the activities director at my school hooked me up with the University of Granada's Women's Club basketball team, our first practice scheduled for Friday. That was exciting. Also, my friends and I went to an intercambio night at one of the tapas bars by our house. Pretty fun. We met a lady from the U.S. that had lived in Spain for 6 years and only goes back to the states about once a year. That is crazy to me but I think it is awesome as well. Her life is completely and totally rooted in Spain and she is fully immersed in the culture. I can't really conceive that because I always have in the back of my mind that I will eventually be going back, that my home is in the states. Very cool, nonetheless.
Friday I had basketball practice at 2 o'clock way across town so I took a bus to get there. Boy was my mind blown by this experience. First off, all the girls and coaches speak only Spanish. I was scared out of my mind when I first got there. I was completely and totally on my toes for about 2 and a half hours. They all came up and gave me dos besos, two kisses, on the cheek when they first got there and introduced themselves. Then they taught me their plays and a bunch of drills, entirely in Spanish. It as great. I am definitely on their level, in terms of my basketball skills, and I think it will be a great opportunity to stay in basketball shape and practice my Spanish. It was really interesting, however, how different their play was from the way we play basketball back in the states. For one, they do not shoot the outside shot much which means there offense consists mainly of driving to the basket. That then effects how they play defense and other parts of the game. Moreover, the lane is a trapezoid rather than a rectangle and the European ball is different from the ball we use in the states. It was very much a learning experience for me. When I first walked in I had a flashback to the first time my friend Tolu, a girl on the Grinnell basketball team from Nigeria, played basketball with us. I'm sure she experienced the differences in play and the adjustment to a fairly foreign situation. I think I somewhat know how she must have felt. I think scared is probably the best way to sum it up but great at the same time.
On Saturday, a couple of my friends and I decided to take a bus to this little village, Pampiniera, in the Sierra Nevada. It was beautiful! It had cute little shops and restaurants, windy old streets with whitewash carmens and beautiful Spanish doors. I was in heaven. We also hiked maybe a mile or two to the next little village, Bublion. It was a beautiful hike. We were very high in the mountains and the view was just breathtaking. We also stumbled by a fig tree and picked fresh figs, which thrilled my friend and I who are OBSESSED with figs! They are amazing. Fig Newtons most certainly do not do them justice, to say the very least. Once we finally got back to Granada we met up with some friends and later went to a cave discoteca, or club, up in the Sacromonte, which is the old, windy part of town where the gypsies live and there are a bunch of cave restaurants, bars, and clubs that are tucked away into the caves. This particular club consisted of caves on the main floor and a terrace on the second floor. It was really cool.
On Sunday, I did homework and hung out with my roommate and her mom who is visiting from the states. My Senora made us all paella (so delicious!) and we had the longest lunch I have ever had in my life, consisting of tortilla de patatas (basically an egg and potato bake), cheese and peppers, salad, paella, fruit and sweets with champagne and desert liquor (basically shots, not my cup of tea). It was great. Then later in the evening I went over to my roommate's mom's apartment she is renting and had a lovely dinner before grabbing ice cream (word on the streets is that the ice cream parlors will be closing soon because it will start getting cold, my solution: get as much ice cream right now as possible!) and headed home.
Today was a fairly typical and busy Monday. I had one class canceled which was nice. Also, my friends and I decided we are going to go to Madrid and Barcelona this weekend since we have next Tuesday off from school and intend on missing our classes on Monday to make it a five day tour of Northern Spain. We are really excited! We leave Thursday night. Happy Monday!
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Thursday, September 30, 2010
La huelga
Hola,
Yesterday was the Huelga General, in other words, the laborers strike across Spain. Although I didn't encounter anything picketing, there apparently were protesters all of Granada and Spain. I did, however, see "HUELGA GENERAL yo voy!!" signs and stickers all over the city. I also heard that many store windows were busted in because they opened their shops and that a bunch of picketers attached the Burger King in the middle of the city around lunch time because it was still open. Supposedly the buses were on a limited schedule and the grocery stores were full of picketers but I didn't notice much out of the ordinary. Also, there apparently were huge riots in other cities in Spain with picketing and even cars lit on fire. Pretty crazy. However, most of the shops that did not open during the day opened in the evening, like a half strike. Besides that it was just class as usual.
Hasta!
Ashley
Yesterday was the Huelga General, in other words, the laborers strike across Spain. Although I didn't encounter anything picketing, there apparently were protesters all of Granada and Spain. I did, however, see "HUELGA GENERAL yo voy!!" signs and stickers all over the city. I also heard that many store windows were busted in because they opened their shops and that a bunch of picketers attached the Burger King in the middle of the city around lunch time because it was still open. Supposedly the buses were on a limited schedule and the grocery stores were full of picketers but I didn't notice much out of the ordinary. Also, there apparently were huge riots in other cities in Spain with picketing and even cars lit on fire. Pretty crazy. However, most of the shops that did not open during the day opened in the evening, like a half strike. Besides that it was just class as usual.
Hasta!
Ashley
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Baby It's Cold Outside
Hola,
Another Tuesday had come and gone. Basketball got canceled due to the non-functioning lights at the outdoor court we play at. That was a little sad but that left my evening wide open, which is currently very rare in my life. I took advantage of this spare time and hit up El Corte Ingles, which is essentially the Super Wal-Mart of department stores in Spain. They have EVERYTHING! Clothes, cosmetics, shoes, books, every day Wal-mart items, and groceries! I'm sure I am missing somethings but the basic gist is that if you need something, it's probably at El Corte Ingles for you to buy. Yesterday I was interested in their groceries. Grocery stores here are actually really great and pretty cheap. They have great produce, good meat, and delicious, freshly baked bread. They do not, however, have much of a snack section. They have tons of chocolate, fatty snacks (which are tasty but not what I should be spending my precious euros on) and then they have, in my opinion, weird diet cookies. Not much in between. El Corte Ingles, on the other hand, has a little bit of the in between. I found myself some nice little galletas (or cookies) from their fresh baked pastry section that I sort of love and I don't think are actually that bad for you because they are pan integral (or wheat bread) cookies but nonetheless very tasty.
After El Corte Ingles, I headed home to watch a movie for my Arab World and the West homework. The six part youtube video was titled: The Power of Nightmares "Baby It's Cold Outside." To all you conspiracy theorists and history buffs, I most certainly recommend this video. It talks about American politicians, and politicians in general, need to create myths of common enemies and threats to unite the the people. The video calls these myths "necessary illusions" that everyone can believe in, when in reality, they are often completely fallacious. This video specifically is referring to how the fear of terrorism/terrorist groups, nations, etc. have been used to inspire the neoconservative moment and Islamic radicals to use common myths to lead their nations. Very interesting.
After watching the movie I had sushi, very yummy, and headed home for bed.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Another Tuesday had come and gone. Basketball got canceled due to the non-functioning lights at the outdoor court we play at. That was a little sad but that left my evening wide open, which is currently very rare in my life. I took advantage of this spare time and hit up El Corte Ingles, which is essentially the Super Wal-Mart of department stores in Spain. They have EVERYTHING! Clothes, cosmetics, shoes, books, every day Wal-mart items, and groceries! I'm sure I am missing somethings but the basic gist is that if you need something, it's probably at El Corte Ingles for you to buy. Yesterday I was interested in their groceries. Grocery stores here are actually really great and pretty cheap. They have great produce, good meat, and delicious, freshly baked bread. They do not, however, have much of a snack section. They have tons of chocolate, fatty snacks (which are tasty but not what I should be spending my precious euros on) and then they have, in my opinion, weird diet cookies. Not much in between. El Corte Ingles, on the other hand, has a little bit of the in between. I found myself some nice little galletas (or cookies) from their fresh baked pastry section that I sort of love and I don't think are actually that bad for you because they are pan integral (or wheat bread) cookies but nonetheless very tasty.
After El Corte Ingles, I headed home to watch a movie for my Arab World and the West homework. The six part youtube video was titled: The Power of Nightmares "Baby It's Cold Outside." To all you conspiracy theorists and history buffs, I most certainly recommend this video. It talks about American politicians, and politicians in general, need to create myths of common enemies and threats to unite the the people. The video calls these myths "necessary illusions" that everyone can believe in, when in reality, they are often completely fallacious. This video specifically is referring to how the fear of terrorism/terrorist groups, nations, etc. have been used to inspire the neoconservative moment and Islamic radicals to use common myths to lead their nations. Very interesting.
After watching the movie I had sushi, very yummy, and headed home for bed.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
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