As usual, it's been too long since I've written anything in here about my time here in Spain. My semester is finally coming to an end, but I've been trying to make the most of my limited remaining time here by doing some more traveling and spending time with my friends. I'll try to make this more interesting than just listing stuff off that I've done, because it's more fun to read (and to write)!
Two weeks ago, almost all of my friends here were on a trip to Morocco. (This was a trip sponsored by the school -- but not financially. Anyone who signed up had to pay something like 400€ to reserve his spot, and that was before booking a flight! I picked my battles, and while Morocco seems like it was an eye-opening trip, I had a great time on all of my trips and I would have had to cut at least one of them to do it.) Not wanting to take the alcoholic route and post at a bar by myself, or take the bum route and sit at home with Pilar, I decided to book a trip to Segovia by myself for the day on Saturday. This was my first time traveling by myself anywhere that wasn't just a solo flight to/from visiting someone or going to school. I liked the liberation of not having to answer to anybody but myself all day, but as being alone can be, I did feel a bit lonesome at a few points. (But not too much; spending time alone is important and not something that bothers me!)
Segovia is a very old city, complete with an original, still-standing Roman aqueduct running right up to the old walled section. My drive there was a really cheap bus ride, which was pretty cool because the weather was very un-Spanish: clouds and fog, obscuring the craggy peaks of the mountains. I could see clouds rolling up mountains, and distant buildings were completely enveloped. This isn't something one really gets to see that often in America -- I did this summer in the Berkshires -- but to see it in the dry, baked Spanish landscape was pretty cool. Out the window, I could also see Valle de los Caídos from a distance: a HUGE cross standing on the mountainside. That is the Spanish dictator Franco's grave, and it is somewhere I wish I had gotten to because of how much his life and legacy still resonate in Spain. Even just seeing it from afar, though, was very telling as to what sort of fear and respect he commanded.
Segovia was lovely. The weather cleared up and its famous sun made me wish I'd remembered my sunglasses I bought at the Roman market. The cathedral was very nice, but I am starting to get a little burned out on Gothic cathedrals, to tell the truth. Something has to really make a church stand out for me to pay special notice at this point, and Segovia's cathedral had a few things: very ornate and well-placed stained glass, a gorgeous meeting room with a ceiling that legend says was gilded by the first gold brought back from America, and a small museum that had some very well-preserved artifacts from as far back as the 1300s.
After hitting the cathedral and seeing the aqueduct, I wanted to treat myself to a nice meal, so I walked into the restaurant of a nice-looking hotel -- Casa Mudéjar -- and ordered the Menú típico segoviano: the "typical Segovian meal," which came with a copious amount of wine and left nothing to be desired. The first course was sopa castellana (Castillian soup), which was incredibly rich and a bit heavy, but really delicious. It was almost more of a stew, full of meat and vegetables, with a ball of mozzerella-type cheese at the bottom. The main plate was cochinillo, which doesn't have an exact translation but I saw it on English menus as "roast suckling pig." It was essentially a (very small) portion of a roasted young pig. It felt a bit like eating chicken: the meat was very tender (could hardly believe it was pork), and you have to work around the pig's bones. Some people get a little squeamish with this dish. It didn't really bother me; it's not so different from eating a whole chicken / duck / adult pig... but I do confess that the first thing I did was cut off the protruding EAR sticking out of the side of my cut of meat.
The dessert course was an extremely rich and extremely tasty pumpkin-flavored cake. Cannot get over how good this thing was, and I'm angry with myself for not writing down the name of the dish (or just remembering). I love pumpkin stuff anyway, and this was probably the best pumpkin-themed dessert I've ever had. Plus, as I mentioned, they gave me a jarra of wine, which had at least five glasses' worth. I was stuffed and a bit tipsy at the end of that meal -- extremely satisfied. I ordered an espresso to perk up, and hit the town again.
I went next to the Alcázar, which is a large fortress on the far end of town. The admission was cheap, and the interior was the well-maintained former residence of the King and Queen of León. The tapestries were huge, and there were huge suits of armor everywhere standing guard everywhere. At night, the place would look like the Addams Family mansion. The best room was the Room of the Kings, which boasted a very ornate ceiling whose thunder was stolen by the busts and short descriptions of every Leonese king lining the walls, from the 700s on. The rest of the place was pretty cool, too: you can see the King's actual bed from some 500 years ago -- not too big or comfortable looking! -- and apparently the Alcázar used to house the Spanish Academy of Artillery, so there was a (surprisingly large) museum that showcased many of the weapons, books, and uniforms that the students used throughout the Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries.
By this time, it was starting to get dark so I just wandered around town in the twilight. I stepped outside the walls to see everything lit up, and made my way through the Jewish quarter of the city. (Unfortunately, the old synagogue -- turned church -- was not open.) I was struck by the architecture of the city. There was a great deal of intricate brick work mixed in with the classic Spanish Baroque sandstone. It did not look Spanish, nor did it really look like anything I knew. I will have to do some more research. It actually looked a bit Andalusian to me (more on that later).
I wish I could have taken some pictures. Well, check that, I did. But my camera's memory card has failed, and the batteries also failed me on this trip. So, I got a few, but I want to download more because I don't want to forget Segovia, and unlike my other trips, I don't have my friends' Facebooks to pilfer pictures from. I will write more later about this weekend's voyage to Andalucía soon -- until then, I will see you all stateside in about 10 days!
23 November 2009
07 November 2009
Salamanca y la preparación para América 06:21
This past week weekend, Kelly and I took a trip to Spain's first "college town," Salamanca in Castilla & León. After a short bus ride from Madrid—and arriving on time for it was no given—we made it to Salamanca. I was pretty blown away at the city's beauty. Although the bus station is in the modern part of the city, once you cross the River Tormes into the old city, everything changes. Sidewalks are covered with overhanging roofs and arches. Almost every building was constructed of beautiful sandstone, giving everything an orange and sun-baked glow in the afternoon light. It looked very quintessentially Spanish. We were hungry and tried a few cafés for a bite to eat, to nearly no avail. Salamanca is very serious about its "tapas" culture—called "pinchos" there. Most cafés in the city don't serve a fixed menu but rather only do pinchos or raciones with drinks. This, although it was a fact we learned to love as the weekend went on, was frustrating when all we wanted to do was pig out!
The city was also a lot cheaper than Madrid, or basically anywhere else I've been, because of the prevalence of tapas bars. We found one bar near the historic Plaza Mayor on a side street run by a nice guy named Tony and full of regulars whom he knew by name. There, Kelly and I were able to get a glass of wine and accompanying tapas each—plus an extra porción—for under 5€... or, in other words, about the cost of a pint of beer with no tapas in Madrid. (No wonder I'm quickly running out of money!) At night, there were lively student bars that were colorfully decorated for Halloween weekend: an Anglo-Irish holiday that's just starting to catch on in Spain.
After Kelly and I settled into our hostel, we hit the town with very little idea of what we were going to do, simply hoping to take it all in. We wandered up the street from the hostel and immediately found the Monastery of San Esteban, which was a breathtaking place. The exterior was extremely ornate for all of its Baroque stone carvings covering the façade; it reminded me, to some extent, of Gaudí's architecture at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona some 300 years later. The Spanish call that "plateresco," meaning "silver-like" for the appearance of being smooth sculpture. The interior of the church there was one of the most intricate and, honestly, excessive, things I have ever seen. But I loved it anyway.
The Catedral Nueva—and the term "nueva," meaning new, should be taken lightly as it was finished in the early 1700s—was my favorite part of the city. I will have pictures up soon, but it was a stunning neo-Gothic cathedral. The pillars in the interior of the church are very thick, and the ceiling was extremely high. It was imposing and threatening. There was beautiful stained glass and an organ mounted high up above the choir loft... I'm lost as to how one actually gets up there. All told, the cathedral in Salamanca was probably my favorite cathedral I've seen thus far in Europe (although I didn't get to linger too long in Westminster Abbey). There were other cool churches, the Casa de las Conchas (House of the Shells, ornately decorated with large seashells), and the façade of the Universidad de Salamanca—unfortunately the interior was closed due to construction. All extremely beautiful.
The crown jewel of the city is its Plaza Mayor, which is spacious and beautiful at night, filled with little boutiques and expensive restaurants on all sides. That was Kelly's and my home base for the weekend; the only way we knew how to get anywhere in the city was to leave from a certain arch in the Plaza. What struck me was the sheer number of people in and around the Plaza around dusk each night. There were great shops lining one street off the Plaza, and they were always packed, with long lines and many browsers like ourselves. (The crown jewel of our weekend was this little Mexican place we found near the Plaza—Cantina Mariachi—with a good prie fixe menu, cheap tequila and margaritas, and a willingness to make gluten-free substitutions. We ate dinner there two nights in a row, without hesitation. Good Mexican food is surprisingly hard to find in Spain. Locals have told me it's because many Mexicans emigrate not to Spain, but rather to the USA.)
Kelly and I took a bus back to Madrid on Sunday afternoon and parted ways for the next seven weeks or so, as her journey in Rome doesn't end until December 18th. We had a fantastic month traveling together, though, and I felt truly lucky that we were able to spend so much time together seeing Europe when we had initially thought we'd get to see each other maybe twice. I feel very good about our relationship, though, and I'm looking forward to another Christmas together when Kelly gets home.
Back here in Spain this week, the dawn of November has suddenly made coming home seem real and imminent. Last night, I finished my application for the Baltimore City Teaching Residence, which is an intensive summer training course in elementary/secondary education followed by placement—with full teacher's salary and benefits—in a "high-need" school in Baltimore. I am simultaneously thrilled and terrified by the idea of being offered or taking this job. But I think I'd do it if I got it. As I sincerely answered on one of the application questions, I've been in a very cushy suburban bubble all my life. An easy career path for me would be to find some sedentary, autopilot office job somewhere that pays relatively well until I really find my "calling," but I'm 22 years old! There is no other time to try new things and take chances in life. I want to do something that I'll feel truly good and satisfied about at the end of day, no matter how challenging. But I'm getting ahead of myself here—I just completed my application. We shall see what happens.
What has really gotten me into this idea has been my teaching here in Madrid, which I've really come to enjoy. Last week, I felt like I connected with my students more. I began to speak Spanish with them a bit more—to explain difficult and confusing concepts—and I feel like this has made them more engaged in the learning. I read them a home-made version of the Tipperary Hill stone throwers story a number of times, stopping after each reading to ask and field questions, write key words on the board, and explain a bit. Finally, by the third or fourth time, I not only felt like the students were understanding most of what they heard, but that they were also interested and engaged, asking lots of questions! The teacher asked for my copy of the story to make copies for the class, and they're going to read it over and bring in questions about grammar, pronunciation, and spelling for the next class. I am really disappointed that this is my last week doing this volunteer job, but when I get back to Syracuse, I am going for this job, "Literacy Corps," where you work—for money!—going to underprivileged Syracuse schools and helping to promote, well, literacy by tutoring struggling students. I am also looking for other jobs during the week, as the Literacy Corps is only about four hours a week. (Barring catastrophe, I will be free all day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as all my classes KNOCK ON WOOD will be on Tuesday and Thursday.)
Well, that's about all the time I have right now. Most of my friends are away this weekend, so I've been getting lots done, but it will be nice to go out in Madrid again tonight. Relaxing in this city is something I just have not been able to do due to my travel schedule. This afternoon, off to the Sorolla Museum. ¡Hasta pronto, to all those stateside!
The city was also a lot cheaper than Madrid, or basically anywhere else I've been, because of the prevalence of tapas bars. We found one bar near the historic Plaza Mayor on a side street run by a nice guy named Tony and full of regulars whom he knew by name. There, Kelly and I were able to get a glass of wine and accompanying tapas each—plus an extra porción—for under 5€... or, in other words, about the cost of a pint of beer with no tapas in Madrid. (No wonder I'm quickly running out of money!) At night, there were lively student bars that were colorfully decorated for Halloween weekend: an Anglo-Irish holiday that's just starting to catch on in Spain.
After Kelly and I settled into our hostel, we hit the town with very little idea of what we were going to do, simply hoping to take it all in. We wandered up the street from the hostel and immediately found the Monastery of San Esteban, which was a breathtaking place. The exterior was extremely ornate for all of its Baroque stone carvings covering the façade; it reminded me, to some extent, of Gaudí's architecture at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona some 300 years later. The Spanish call that "plateresco," meaning "silver-like" for the appearance of being smooth sculpture. The interior of the church there was one of the most intricate and, honestly, excessive, things I have ever seen. But I loved it anyway.
The Catedral Nueva—and the term "nueva," meaning new, should be taken lightly as it was finished in the early 1700s—was my favorite part of the city. I will have pictures up soon, but it was a stunning neo-Gothic cathedral. The pillars in the interior of the church are very thick, and the ceiling was extremely high. It was imposing and threatening. There was beautiful stained glass and an organ mounted high up above the choir loft... I'm lost as to how one actually gets up there. All told, the cathedral in Salamanca was probably my favorite cathedral I've seen thus far in Europe (although I didn't get to linger too long in Westminster Abbey). There were other cool churches, the Casa de las Conchas (House of the Shells, ornately decorated with large seashells), and the façade of the Universidad de Salamanca—unfortunately the interior was closed due to construction. All extremely beautiful.
The crown jewel of the city is its Plaza Mayor, which is spacious and beautiful at night, filled with little boutiques and expensive restaurants on all sides. That was Kelly's and my home base for the weekend; the only way we knew how to get anywhere in the city was to leave from a certain arch in the Plaza. What struck me was the sheer number of people in and around the Plaza around dusk each night. There were great shops lining one street off the Plaza, and they were always packed, with long lines and many browsers like ourselves. (The crown jewel of our weekend was this little Mexican place we found near the Plaza—Cantina Mariachi—with a good prie fixe menu, cheap tequila and margaritas, and a willingness to make gluten-free substitutions. We ate dinner there two nights in a row, without hesitation. Good Mexican food is surprisingly hard to find in Spain. Locals have told me it's because many Mexicans emigrate not to Spain, but rather to the USA.)
Kelly and I took a bus back to Madrid on Sunday afternoon and parted ways for the next seven weeks or so, as her journey in Rome doesn't end until December 18th. We had a fantastic month traveling together, though, and I felt truly lucky that we were able to spend so much time together seeing Europe when we had initially thought we'd get to see each other maybe twice. I feel very good about our relationship, though, and I'm looking forward to another Christmas together when Kelly gets home.
Back here in Spain this week, the dawn of November has suddenly made coming home seem real and imminent. Last night, I finished my application for the Baltimore City Teaching Residence, which is an intensive summer training course in elementary/secondary education followed by placement—with full teacher's salary and benefits—in a "high-need" school in Baltimore. I am simultaneously thrilled and terrified by the idea of being offered or taking this job. But I think I'd do it if I got it. As I sincerely answered on one of the application questions, I've been in a very cushy suburban bubble all my life. An easy career path for me would be to find some sedentary, autopilot office job somewhere that pays relatively well until I really find my "calling," but I'm 22 years old! There is no other time to try new things and take chances in life. I want to do something that I'll feel truly good and satisfied about at the end of day, no matter how challenging. But I'm getting ahead of myself here—I just completed my application. We shall see what happens.
What has really gotten me into this idea has been my teaching here in Madrid, which I've really come to enjoy. Last week, I felt like I connected with my students more. I began to speak Spanish with them a bit more—to explain difficult and confusing concepts—and I feel like this has made them more engaged in the learning. I read them a home-made version of the Tipperary Hill stone throwers story a number of times, stopping after each reading to ask and field questions, write key words on the board, and explain a bit. Finally, by the third or fourth time, I not only felt like the students were understanding most of what they heard, but that they were also interested and engaged, asking lots of questions! The teacher asked for my copy of the story to make copies for the class, and they're going to read it over and bring in questions about grammar, pronunciation, and spelling for the next class. I am really disappointed that this is my last week doing this volunteer job, but when I get back to Syracuse, I am going for this job, "Literacy Corps," where you work—for money!—going to underprivileged Syracuse schools and helping to promote, well, literacy by tutoring struggling students. I am also looking for other jobs during the week, as the Literacy Corps is only about four hours a week. (Barring catastrophe, I will be free all day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as all my classes KNOCK ON WOOD will be on Tuesday and Thursday.)
Well, that's about all the time I have right now. Most of my friends are away this weekend, so I've been getting lots done, but it will be nice to go out in Madrid again tonight. Relaxing in this city is something I just have not been able to do due to my travel schedule. This afternoon, off to the Sorolla Museum. ¡Hasta pronto, to all those stateside!