Monos y Museos (Monkeys and Museums)

Looking back, this has been kind of a busy week even though we had a day off from school. I started my volunteering on Wednesday - I am volunteering at a hospital with an organization called Solidarios. Essentially, we just go to talk to the patients, particularly those who do not have any family members visiting. It is a really good thing and I am so excited to work with this organization. I had a pretty hard time of it at my first day. I am still lacking a lot of confidence in my conversation skills, so I really did a lot of standing and listening. The people I work with are so nice and understanding that I am not very strong in my Spanish, although I think they think i understand less than I actually do. It is a bit frustrating, but they are such good people and I think I can learn a lot from them. At the moment, it's looking like this volunteering experience is going to have to help me a bit first before I can help it. Hopefully I will feel a bit more comfortable next time. I was uncomfortable this week, really uncomfortable. But I am definitely sticking it out.

Yesterday, my interest group (kind of like a club) took us to Gibraltar! It was probably the only time I will have any reason to go to Gibraltar, but it was very interesting and quite a sight to see. Gibraltar is a British-owned territory of about 28,000 all situated on, literally, one mountain-sized rock. Since it is British, English is largely spoken there - it was kind of a nice break from Spanish. We even had a presentation in English, so I am pretty sure that for once I got all my facts right! After the presentation and a stop for fish and chips, and pastries (duh), the group went to figure out a way to climb that mountain of rock and see the infamous Gibraltarian monkeys (...I don't know how infamous they actually are, but I had definitely never heard of them before yesterday). The cheapest means we found were two men driving white vans who eventually convinced us that they were real tour guides and that the rate of 20 euro/person that they offered was our best shot (both of which were actually true, so it ended up working out really well!). Both drivers were really nice and funny and drove us up the winding roads along the mountain, giving us some history and pointing out the best places to stop and take in the sights. We stopped at the pillar of Hercules, from which you can see Africa (only 14 miles away!), where there is an identical pillar. We also went to some incredible caves (I took some pictures in these ones!) and some tunnels from back when Gibraltar was under siege. Or something. All of which was very cool. We ran into our first monkeys outside the caves (see photo below for a chronicle of how enjoyable THAT experience was. Just kidding, it was pretty cool.) It was good to have our tour guides with us for this experience, because it turns out there is a lot more to those little monkeys than meets the eye. The guides advised us to leave all plastic bags in the van, or else the monkeys would see them and get aggressive, knowing that they probably contained food. The older monkeys are also known to get jealous when humans pay attention to the little ones, and the guides knew exactly how to keep the older ones from attacking (thank god!). The monkeys were pretty nuts - they were climbing all over the vans, and we even saw one that had a bloody nose from a fight! That species is not for the faint of heart. As we went up and up and the mountain, we saw some incredible views too. I got some pictures, but I really don't think I was able to truly capture how awesome it was. After that experience, we left and headed back to the bus. Luckily it didn't rain all day, even though it was supposed to! It was a really fun, albeit random, place to travel to.

Today, I went to the contemporary art museum - that was an experience for sure. To be perfectly honest, I really did not get most of the art that was there. I liked the photography though. A lot of it actually had American captions and took place on American backdrops, with signs and things in the background all written in English. The museum was very much out in the middle of nowhere in an old monastery, but it was a nice thing to do on a Saturday afternoon!

Up next...Hmm, I don't know. Guess you'll just have to check again soon! Thanks for reading :)

ME IN GIBRALTAR WITH A MONKEY ON MY HEAD GOTTA GO BYE

I am half-inclined to offer a prize to anyone who comes up with the best caption for this photo, but that would require me to give one of you some kind of reward, and I probably would not follow through on that. Don't want to get your hopes up.

In general, Gibraltar was AWESOME. more later I promise!

When you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done.

From now on, I am deliberately setting out to have at least one awkward moment with Spanish a day. I am just literally going to say whatever pops into my head, talk to anyone, and ask the dumb questions that my pride has been holding back. At the end of the semester, I'll be fluent. So, that's the plan. I'll let you know how it goes. I think things are about to get a bit more interesting!

Tio Pepe, the uncle I never knew I had.

This weekend marks the annual celebration of dia de Andalucia, the region of spain that I am in. The actual holiday was yesterday (Sunday), but the Spaniards jump on any chance they get to shut things down and siesta, so everything was closed down today. The long weekend gave everyone the chance to travel, but I stuck around with a few others and am very glad that I did. I really needed the weekend to just collect myself and had the chance to go explore some parts of Sevilla that I hadn’t seen yet. My senora Yolanda and roommate were both gone all weekend, so I had the apartment all to myself! I watched movies and laid around eating for most of the weekend and it was fantastic.
On Friday, some friends and I set out to have a really Spanish day, and I think it was pretty successful! We went to the movies and saw Princess and the Frog, the new Disney movie – we figured they’d talk slower in a children’s movie. We got palomitas (popcorn!) and crowded into the theater, which oddly had assigned seats. It was a pretty good deal for the whole experience, about six euro. After that, we went to a play put on by students of the University of Sevilla. It was a two-person show about two children whose fathers had gone off to war, and the play depicted the effects of the war on the children through the way they played and interacted. I thought it was pretty clever.
Yesterday, I tried to go to mass again. I liked it a little more than last time. I went to the University mass this time around, which was all right. No singing again, which bothers me. There were cell phones going off and people talking and many other distractions, which I am beginning to suspect might just be a norm at mass here. The church itself was much less gaudy than the first one, which was nice. However, I am still looking for my church!
After mass, I had some time to kill before I met up with some friends for exploring, so I found a little park and ate there. I hung out there eating and reading for a bit, and I was even asked for directions by a Spaniard! I am sooo legitimate. So once all the eating and reading and directing was done, I found my friends and we went to the Plaza de Espana, which I think is the most impressive thing I’ve seen in Sevilla next to the Catedral. Plaza de Espana was built in the 30s-ish when Sevilla hosted the World Fair, or something like that, and it was just amazing. An enormous plaza with different tiles at least ten feet tall, each depicting a different city in Spain. Pictures soon!
Today, out of a little bit of boredom and a lot of a bit of a desire to experience a bodega (winery), Becky, Lauren, Emily and I hopped on a bus and went to Jerez, a town about an hour south of here that is considered part of the pueblos blancos. It’s known for its sherries, and the bodega we toured did not disappoint. We toured Gonzalez Byass, where Tio Pepe comes from – a type of wine (sherry? Same thing? Maybe? Clearly I learned a lot today…) Tio Pepe is one of Spain’s biggest exports, so it was a pretty big deal. The tour was a blast – we rode a train around the bodega, and the weather was beautiful, and there was a wine tasting at the end which we all very much enjoyed. We spent the rest of the day just wandering Jerez, although there was not much to do there as they were celebrating dia de Andalucia too. It was a good way to spend a day off, I think.
We have a short three-day week of classes this week, and then on Friday I am headed to Gibraltar for the day! Pictures with monkeys soon to follow.

The Rain in Spain is a Great Big Pain.

I think that perhaps as soon as I typed the words “weather is getting beautiful” in my last post, the weather changed. Last week was day after day of torrential downpour, relentless wind, and horrible lack of sun. I am a self-diagnosed sufferer of seasonal affective disorder, so the weather hit me particularly hard. Just as the sun refused to rise, ever, so did my mood. But I realized that I was being quite the Debbie Downer, and luckily we had some nice weather this past weekend in Granada and have had nice weather so far this week, so I am feeling much better.
Last weekend we went to Granada, and it was absolutely incredible. It has a much more visible Muslim influence than Sevilla does, especially in the architecture and remaining monuments around the city. I loved the architecture in particular, especially at La Alhambra, a colossal palace on the top of a mountain. Granada itself is primarily built into the sides of mountains and the valley in between them. It has snow-capped mountains in the distance and daunting hills that most avoid walking up. Instead, people take minibuses to get around, but as you go up into the mountains, the streets become narrower. It felt like a roller coaster, and for only 1.20! The bus drivers are truly of another breed; I would not be able to handle the stress of jamming as many people onto the bus as humanly possible and then being responsible for careening them all through streets so narrow, there is literally a centimeter between the buildings lining them and the side of the bus.
Last weekend was also the first time that Caroline and I met Yolanda’s son, Claudio, who took the train home from University of Madrid for the weekend. I personally loved having him here; he is Patrick’s age, so it felt more like home having a little brother in the house. It was so interesting to observe the mother-son relationship; Yolanda kept reminding him to wear his jacket and reaching over the dinner table to cut his food for him. She also had a welcome home sign for him in the kitchen; much like my family always does for me whenever I come home! She was visibly excited to see him; on Thursday night, he had some friends over and she called us all into the kitchen and poured us some wine for a toast to Claudio’s return. It was really precious. That dinner was also really interesting to be a part of; Claudio and his friends were talking so fast! I noticed that Yolanda made him dinner but not his friends, so they just sat in the kitchen talking to him while he ate. They didn’t seem to mind; this must be a customary thing. I was looking forward to hearing them talk a lot the next day at lunch, but I think Claudio was a little resaca (hungover) because he was not so talkative!
So we had two beautiful days in Granada, and got back Sunday night. This weekend is a long weekend, for Día de Andalucia. Many people are clearing out on their first excursions independent of the program, but I am staying here because I rarely have my act together and certainly was not able to plan a trip myself for so early in the program. I am actually looking forward to my quiet weekend here like no other. Some friends and I might take a trip to wine country for the day on Friday (weather permitting), and I might try to go see a dance show on Friday, but the weekend is pretty much free and clear otherwise. I am looking forward to being able to explore Sevilla without trying to squeeze in the sights in between classes and homework! Granada was beautiful, but it made me eager to see all the things that I still have not seen here. However, if you want to see those things that I have seen so far, click below!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026463&id=1391040171&l=eea5b09a4e

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026464&id=1391040171&l=326433ca5e

MIA

My impeccable record of consistent blogging has been interrupted by my lack of having a computer! Welcome to Spain, McIntyre, where Dell does not exist, free computers are available to you only between classes and only on Mondays through Thursdays, and everybody else seems to have perpetually perfect computers and to have never had computer problems, making you the pioneer in this country to have them. This issue, slowly but surely, has been kicking my butt as classes have started, communication with loved ones has decreased to a frustrating rate, and I am recognizing that it is damn near impossible to figure out how to fix a broken computer without the use of one to find a place to go. On the other hand, I believe it has been a blessing. I knew all along that I had gotten too used to having America be too accessible, as well as the vice versa. I have taken this situation to be a subtle reminder to get out more.

so, i update you: real classes have started. i have two at the ciee study center and two at the university, though the ones at the university are with all american students as well. all classes are conducting in spanish, which has made my phonetics class, a field in which i have had class for a week now and still don´t quite understand what it entails. i am told by classmates that the only way this class will make sense is if i have a background with at least one class in phonetics. Uh, well, I don´t. So that should be interesting. My flamenco class is amazing. We are currently studying the five types of flamenco music, and my professor teaches through his guitar and rythmic clapping that makes me feel as ifI actually have some level of musical inclination past listening. My two CIEE classes are very interesting as well. One is a social justice practicum that includes the most interesting readings on human rights ever, as well as a volunteer component. we are picking our service sites this week and going into the community beginning next week. I cannot wait. My other CIEE class studies literature of marginalized societies and is taught by a crazy woman with big frizzy hair who doesn´t make a whole lot of sense (and i don´t think she would even if she were speaking english) but whom i have already come to adore. So those two classes and phonetics are all back to back, guaranteeing that I am hauling it from ciee to the university in a twenty minute time frame twice a week. However, flamenco is my only class on mondays and wednesdays, and no class on fridays, so i cannot complain.

The past two weekends I have done a bit of traveling, with friends and with CIEE, to some pretty incredible stuff. Last weekend we went hiking to Spain´s version of stonehenge, which was fun. Yesterday, I went to Aracena, a small town that I knew little about and didn´t get to spend much time in, but loved. This reminds me, Dave give me my postcard back. Anyway,Aracena is home to las grutas de maravillas, this really cool set of caves! So we toured the caves and that was a blast. We also saw some mine, which was actually pretty cool. A very geological day. Can´t say I´ve ever used that word to describe a day before. The mine is situated on a naturally exisiting lake called the rio tinto because the minerals of the rocks around it have filtered in, making the water blood red. After that little jaunt yesterday, we got on another bus to Cadiz, a coastal town that is famous for its Carnaval celebrations. Three friends and I dressed up as the four seasons, which I thought was pretty creative. Wish I could take credit for it. I unfortunately only took one picture, I am terrible about that, but I will maybe jack some off Facebook to give you kids a taste. It was a great night that I got home from at seven thirty this morning, which my senora says is typical and I should start getting used to.

As for my own immersion experience, I am still working on it. in the next few weeks, i will be starting an intercambio, where i meet with a student from the university of sevilla who is studying english, and we practice my spanish and her english. depending on how that goes, i might try to get another one. i am also starting volunteering soon, which i am so psyched for. i also might try to audit a university class (with real live spaniards, gasp) if my schedule allows it. I am working on it. i am still trying to find my favorite place in the city, though i am thinking it is this plaza near my house that is apparently the place where the young college kids and locals hang out. It is lined with coffee shops, bars that host live music nightly, and ice cream places. The cool spaniards have good taste. I have spent the past month in many bars and clubs that are far more american than spaniard, but i think i may have found where all the spaniards flee to. i hope they don´t mind.

travel plans for semana santa, my first of two spring breaks, are coming together. i will be in rome, florence, and santorini greece, and will be home with enough time to enjoy the end of semana santa as well. Semana santa is the weeklong easter celebration here that i have heard is pretty much the same thing each day. there is a schedule of processions, during which the different holy catholic brotherhoods process toward the catedral in the center of the city. at the end of the week, it is easter. I am definitely excited that I will be able to see part of this week. One of the processions is starting from my apartment building! Though I doubt i´ll be here for it. It was actually a pretty eerie night when I figured out that one of the processions was starting here. I was in the kitchen and heard a huge commotion outside the kitchen window. I looked outside and honest to god i thought a cult was meeting. About fifty men or more were all filing into a garage on the ground floor of the building, wearing shirts tied to their heads that were similar to turbans, but tied in a way that i had never seen before. I feel bad about saying this, but I got a little nervous. I just literally had no clue what was going on. I kept watching, and all of a sudden i saw this enormous wooden structure moving out of the garage. It was moving by the help of at least forty men under it carrying it. Each procession for Semana santa carries one of these wooden structures, which by semana santa resemble an altar I believe. I realized that these men were practicing for semana santa, and once I realized that, it was a very cool experience.

Next weekend we are going to granada, which I am excited about! classes are also getting rolling. hopefully some travel plans will come together as well. I caved and gave into the shoe sales a little bit this past week. hopefully i will have stronger willpower this week.

weather is getting BEAUTIFUL, unbelievable, although we are definitely not out of the cold weather yet. however, when it is warm, which it was about three or four days last week, it is sixty and not a cloud in the sky. Though I am definitely jealous about missing the five day snovafest happening at villanova right now, i am more pleased that i am essentially skipping winter, my least favorite season by far. I can run outside along the river in shorts and a t shirt, and i pretty much smirk the entire way because i feel like a champ for missing winter!

Went to mass today. It was kind of weird. Can I say that? Whatever. Anyway, considering that there are at least three churches within a five-minute stroll from my house, I chose not to repeat my Catedral confusion of last weekend and aim a little lower to go to a small, local church. I chose Capilla de San Lorenzo, which is in a plaza about two minutes from my house. First of all, it took me way too long to find the entrance because, for whatever reason, there is another Catholic church in the exact same plaza. They are so close together that they are literally touching. It is just like when gas stations pop up next to each other, competing for the most patronizers. This made for way too many big wooden doors on the plaza. When I finally found the one I was looking for, I walked into the church. At this point, it was about 7:25 and mass would be starting at 7:30. Given this, I was somewhat surprised at the amount of kids running around and people snapping pictures. Was I mistaken? Was this church no longer fit to hold mass and just there to mark history? Thankfully, this was not the case; I saw an older couple take a seat in the pews and followed their lead. I waited for the rest of the congregation to arrive. Well, it is now about twenty minutes after the mass has ended, and I am still waiting. As someone who has only attended churches with at least 100, typically more, people at a mass, I was not a fan of being a part of a congregation this small. Overall, there were about ten of us present, not including the tourists snapping pictures who would come and go as they pleased throughout the mass. Sounds distracting? Perhaps, but I was already distracted. The other thing that I was not a huge fan of was how this entire church was literally shellacked in gold and silver. Though I imagine this technique had the awe-inspiring effect it was going for back at this church's inception, it kind of just looked gaudy to me. Truthfully, I spent most of the mass captivated by a ten-foot-tall Jesus figurine who appeared to be holding a life-size aluminum spatula and a glittering snowboard. I really liked the father who said mass (as in I could understand most of what he said), but I don't think I will be returning to this one. While that may sound pessimistic of me, I am actually pretty excited about it. I've decided I'm going to try a new church every week, because what I am looking for is the feeling that I get when I am at the Villanova masses. This church was nice, it was a house of God, it had good people in it, but it just didn't do it for me. Especially because there was no singing. Next week I might try the convent around the corner, or maybe the university. Part of me hopes I don't find my favorite church too fast, because I am excited to visit different ones and compare them. Am also looking to get back into running in the next coming week. I don't have class until six, and I should really take advantage of it. Tomorrow I am going to Cordoba! It has a cathedral inside a mosque and one of only two synagogues in Spain. And hopefully good shopping.
Pictures below:

239. Orange trees EVERYWHERE, literally EVERYWHERE
287. The baths at Real Alcazar, a palace in Sevilla.
224. Climbed a tower in the Cathedral, saw this.
198. This is the Catedral. Just to give you some idea of how absolutely massive this place is. It's the third largest cathedral in the world!