Ay! Que calor!

It is definitely springtime here. Actually, it feels more like summer. It's quite glorious - 77 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:30 PM? Perfection. It's actually not quite so perfect when the sun is actually out. I don't know what the temperature actually is during mid-day, but I'm going to assume that it's somewhere in the 80s (maybe 90s) and it will only get hotter as we head into May. I now understand why there is a siesta where you relax in your house for a couple of hours. It's to avoid the heat. I do have to say that I prefer the sun and it's rays full of Vitamin D (as well as other not so beneficial things) to the rain and the cold.

I apologize for not updating in a while - there really hasn't been much to report on. We went to Granada and saw the Alhambra (which I remember learning about in high school and was super excited to go there). Actually, funny story - the bus arrived an hour late to take us to Granada, so our tickets that we had reserved were given to other people (since the tickets have a specific time). Somehow, through some connections that PRESHCO staff have, we managed to get almost enough tickets to tour the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a Moorish palace, and it's gorgeous. I have discovered that I prefer Islamic art to Christian art. The cathedrals that we've been to all look the same - Gothic architecture with Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, and Neo-Classical art decorating the inside. The Islamic art is also very similar in all of the places that we go to, but since it's ornate in a less-gaudy kind of way (because, let's face it, the cathedrals have a touch of gaudiness to them), it's a lot nicer to look at.

Also, in Granada, we learned that "Al" is Arabic for "the" and all of the Spanish words with "al" at the beginning are derived from Arabic. This is also why Spanish and Portuguese sound so different from other Romance languages (like Italian and French) - because of the Islamic rule in the Middle Ages and the Arabic influence on the language. I was really excited when I discovered why French and Italian are more similar to each other than to Spanish.

I have also been watching a lot of television here (a byproduct of not having a lot of schoolwork to do since everything is lecture based & we aren't responsible for hundreds of pages of reading a week). It's actually probably a good thing, since everything (well, mostly) is dubbed in Spanish, so it's another way for me to be exposed to the language instead of watching programs in English or listening to music in English. I have found that cartoons (dibujos animados) are easier to watch since the mouths don't really look too different with the dubbing, and have been watching a lot of Bob Esponja (Spongebob Squarepants). From Bob Esponja, I have learned some valuable vocabulary words, like "cangrejo" (crab), "calamardo" (Squid[ward]), "aranita" (Sandy), "fondo de bikini" (Bikini Bottom), and more. I have also discovered that Dora la Exploradora is just as annoying in Spanish as she is in English - I watched about half of an episode before deciding that I couldn't take it anymore.

Yes, so that's about it. Nothing too terribly exciting, but the May festivals are going to be starting soon (including the patio contest, so there will be tons of tourists coming to our patio & I may have to prove to tourists that I do indeed live in this house and am not trying to cut the line). Hasta luego, amigos!

Veni, Vidi, Vici

So, I'm back from Rome (I've been back for a little over a week) and settling back in to classes. Tomorrow, we head to Granada (Pomegranate) with the group.

Coming back to Córdoba was rather interesting...we had an early-ish flight out of Pisa on Tuesday morning and decided it would be best to leave Rome in the evening and spend the night in the Pisa airport. Well, it turns out that the Pisa airport COMPLETELY shuts down between the time of the last arrival and 4 AM. So, from 1 AM to 4 AM, we had to hang out outside of the airport. It turned out to be a lot of fun, despite the cold (we dug into our bags and fished out the clean clothes we had left...I even threw my towel on top of my head, and then put my hood up to create a makeshift scarf/hat). Needless to say, I was exhausted when I came back, and ended up sleeping for 16 hours (after staying up for, more or less, 30 hours). It was an amazing trip! So much fun! :D

Volcano Day!

Ok, so to update you on what I did on Saturday and today.

Saturday, March 27: We toured pretty much all of Rome and the Vatican. I SAW THE SISTINE CHAPEL! It was so cool to stand underneath Michelangelo's frescoes! We also saw the Spanish steps (and I went on about Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, and Roman Holiday), the Trevi Fountain (I threw a coin in and made a wish), the Pantheon (it was way too crowded to get in, but I caught a glimpse and got to be the nerd I am and explain everything to my friends that I learned about the Pantheon in Art History last semester - be proud, Annie), and the outside of the Colosseum (we arrived too late to go in - that's our plan for tomorrow). We also finally had gelato! YUM!

At night, we had to stay out in Rome all night because the first train to Naples was before the hostel's shuttle started running. The reception told us there'd be a bar to go nearby the train station. There really wasn't. We ended up finding a chill place with comfy couches and waited there until the train station opened up.

Sunday, March 28th: Our longest day by far. It was crazy! We got on the train at quarter to six this morning and got some sleep on the 3 hour train to Naples. After that, we grabbed breakfast (an espresso based drink included) and headed to Pompeii. I have been wanting to see Pompeii since I was in 6th grade, so it was so awesome to go! I recommend a guided tour so that you can actually understand what's going on. Plus, the tour isn't too expensive and the guides are really good (and the groups are about 6-8 people, so you can actually ask questions and pay attention). I really loved Pompeii! I also couldn't help but think of the Doctor Who episode, haha!

After Pompeii, we went back to Naples to get PIZZA! We wanted to go to the original restaurant, but it was closed. At 4 in the afternoon. After walking all day (on little sleep and food), we were a little upset. We finally found a place that was open and probably a whole lot cheaper than Pizzeria Brandi. Besides, anywhere you go in Naples, the pizza is going to be great! The dough was different - a little spongier/stretchier (I can't quite explain it), but it was great. Plus, they used buffalo mozzarella and had a great balance of sauce, bread, cheese, and toppings. All in all, I love pizza from Naples, but I don't care for the city itself. The city is a little dirty and kinda sketchy and doesn't really have a lot of attractions. Although, making a stop on the way back to Rome from Pompeii for pizza is a MUST! By far, the best pizza I have ever purchased (and you know what? I've never actually purchased a Chicago pizza nor homemade pizza, so Naples can definitely receive that title). I'm still partial to Chicago and homemade pizza, but Naples is truly fantastic. I'm so torn.

Well, we finish up our tour of Italy with some more sightseeing in Rome tomorrow and leave from Pisa early Tuesday morning. I'm pretty sure we'll see some Semana Santa events in Spain, so I'll have to fill you all in on that later.

Ciao!

Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy

Ok, so I'm taking advantage of the free internet at the "Rome" hostel (it's actually about half an hour away) and Ke$ha comes on with "Tik Tok" and we all stop and sing the opening, hence the title of the post.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm in Italy now. We flew into Pisa yesterday and stayed in a fabulous little hotel (it was way cheaper than the cheapest motel in the states and the quality of a 3 star hotel or so). It was quite an adventure getting there. The first bus driver directed us to the wrong bus and the second bus driver kicked us out in the middle of freaking nowhere near Pisa. Luckily, there was an open cafe with a super nice owner who not only called us a cab, but waited 10 minutes on hold. It was really frustrating, especially since no one spoke English or even Spanish, but we survived.

This morning, we went to the tower. I refused to pay the 15€ to climb up the stairs since it seemed rather unnecessary to pay that much money to climb up a bunch of stairs. I did take the touristy picture holding up the tower, though! :)

We meant to go to Florence, but fell behind schedule, and ended up just taking a train to Rome this afternoon (thank goodness, because we didn't get into Rome until 7:45, and didn't get to the hostel (after taking the Metro) until, maybe 9 PM). Sorry, statue of David, but I'll have to come back to Italy to see you.

So, moving on to Rome. We got into the train station and ended up having to take the metro out to the suburbs (which, are supposed to be like the inner-city). The metro was a little sketch, but we found the hostel, and it's actually not so bad. Plus, we ran into another girl from our program, and some other cool people on the way. I also had pizza in Italy for the first time. The crust was thin like Chicago pizza (further proving Chicago pizza's awesomeness). It was quite delicious.

I feel like I had a K.Kelles moment today. I felt very accomplished in successfully navigating the metro of a foreign city (and in a country where I don't speak the language). I don't know why I thought of K.Kelles, but I think perhaps the phrasing I thought in my head was something similar to her phrasing.

Ok, well, there's my epic adventure of attempting to navigate public transit in Italy (one succes story and one not so successful story). Stay tuned for my adventures in Rome (including the Vatican), Pompeii (I feel like we picked Pompeii over Florence, sorry Annie), and Napels!

Aula de Informatica

I´m taking advantage of my Universidad de Cordoba e-mail account and using the computer room to surf the web (without the interruption of my finicky computer). The Spanish keyboard is slightly different from the American keyboard, especially since there is an extra key for the ñ right where the semi-colon key should be. Anyway, moving on.

Last Friday, I went to Sevilla with the group. It was nice - not my favorite. The weather was beautiful, so that was a bonus. We saw another cathedral and just chilled in the city. I did enjoy going to the Plaza de España. A bunch of cities have mosaics in the plaza. We definitely went to the Cordoba one to take pictures.

Ok, off to the other computer to print off my boarding pass for ITALY!!!!! Tomorrow, I leave from Sevilla to Pisa. I will update you all on my Semana Santa vacations after Easter!

Que pasa, calabasa?

So, I just realized that it has been almost a month since I last posted. Oops. For those of you who don't know, I've been having some computer issues, and thus have not been posting much (in fact, this is my second attempt at posting this one). Anyway, I'm hoping to get better at updating my blog.

I finally have a class schedule (we didn't do final registration until March 3rd - talk about being different than Wellesley). With the program, I'm taking a class on image, gender, and sexuality in contemporary Spanish cinema (AKA, watching a lot of Almodovar films), a class on the history of Islam (with special attention to Andalucia), a comparative politics course on the political institutions of Spain and the United States. As a part of the program, I have to take at least one course of "direct matriculation" into the University of Cordoba. For that course, I am taking a course at the Facultad de Derecho (which I guess would be the school of laws/rights) on the Spanish constitution. I don't have class on Fridays, which is fabulous (although, I get really confused during the weekend because I'm not used to having 3 days).

This past month has mostly been me settling in, picking my courses, and finally having a regular schedule (of course, I didn't get this regular schedule until all of my friends in the states were heading into mid-terms, haha).

I've also started taking Sevillanas, which is a lot of fun. I can't wait to dance it at Feria in May! I've also been taking the cooking courses when they're offered. The classes aren't quite what I thought - a lot more watching than actual doing. I'd prefer to learn how to cook by doing. Oh well, at least I have recipes for a lot of Spanish food (and we go to a restaurant after class to try everything that we learned how to cook in class, so I guess I can't complain if they want to feed me).

I have also been watching A TON of TV in Spanish (American movies and TV series, Bob Esponja [Spongebob Squarepants], etc.). I actually watch a lot of American series here that I don't watch at home because it's difficult for me to watch my favorite series (I keep wanting to hear the original actors' voices). I did watch The Sound of Music the other day - that was pretty great. In the song, "Do-Re-Mi," my favorite Spanish line was "Fa es lejos en ingles" (Fa is "far" in English).

Yes, so, that's about all. I'm going to Sevilla next week, and Italy the week after (I'm going to Rome and Pisa for spring break & I'm going to be in Spain for part of Holy Week. I'm really excited!). We also have a trip planned to Granada in April and there are a ton of festivals coming up in May. I can't believe I've already been in Spain for 1.5 months and I've been in Cordoba for a little over a month (and only have about 2.5 months left)!

Hasta luego!

Pictures!

Here are some photos, as promised.

Ávila:


Salamanca (La Plaza Mayor at night):


Segovia:


- The Aqueduct (totally knew it - thank you ARTH100! --> the Romans loved the arches)


- El Alcázar:


Madrid (El Palacio Real):


Toledo:


Barcelona:


Córdoba:


I'll probably post some more later or work on making a slideshow...