Glass Blowing and More Dessert

Also we got our first snow!

Last Friday, most of the other students were off traveling to various parts of the world; a few to Rome and the rest to Morocco. That meant that there were only 4 of us in class, which might have been sad, except that I think the professors all felt sorry for us. So in art class we went to a cafe and talked about everything under the sun with the professor. In grammar we did a fun little personality quiz in Spanish, which was hilarious. And for my European Union class we went to the glass factory museum in La Granja, a small town about 15 minutes away from Segovia. It was a very cool experience. We saw the tools used to make glass before as well as now. The factory is one of the oldest industrial factories in Spain, which was impressive. We also got to see an exposition of contemporary art using glass as a medium. It is incredible what people can do with glass.

Afterward we had the opportunity to visit the workshop where they make glass figures that are later sold. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life. The person working would take the hot glass, on the end of a long metal pole, out of the oven and would proceed to shape the glass mass with a stack of wet newspaper (newspaper!) and blow into one end of the pole, putting a big air bubble in the glass. We watched them for about 15 minutes making what looked like vases, but I could have watched them for an eternity. It is amazing to seem them work the glass, and all as cool as cucumbers.

Today was the last day of the year long celebration of the 25th anniversary of Segovia being named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Because of this, there was a celebration in the Plaza Mayor. I went over there today with another one of the students. We got free cotton candy, making our mouths brilliantly blue, and then we waited in line to get the commemorative dessert of the 25th anniversary. Unfortunately, while waiting in line, the beautiful blue sky disappeared and we were completely soaked by a surprise attack of rain. However, it was worth it to get to try the dessert. It was like ponche segoviano but a lot more fancy. It was made up of several layers of: cake, cinnamon custard, chocolate cake, orange custard, cake, and marzipan. The cake was all soaked in a syrup made of liquor, water, sugar, and a liquid made of anise seeds. It was delicious and almost immorally sweet.

A very nice weekend in all.

Salamanca, Ávila, and Home

It is December! I can't believe that September, October, and November have already passed me by.

Streets of Salamanca

This past Monday, I went with the program on a day trip to Salamanca and Ávila. We spent most of the day in Salamanca which was fabulous because it was an incredible city. The center of the city, where the university and the oldest parts are located, was closed off to cars and had a wonderful atmosphere. I don't want to betray my Harry Potter geekiness too much, but it felt like we were in Hogsmeade. It was chillier than it had been so we were all bundled up, scurrying from old building to old building.

We visited the (gothic) Cathedral of Salamanca which was incredible. Especially living in Alaska, where everything is super new, it is hard to comprehend just how long it takes to construct a cathedral. A year, or two maybe is what we are used to, but to imagine that it took at the very least 100 years to construct a building is mind blowing. The evidence of this can be found easily in the Cathedral of Salamanca, because construction continued into the 20th century. Because of this, there are small relics of modern times: an astronaut and a lion with an ice cream cone in the facade of the building.

Astronaut sans arm

Lion enjoying ice cream

We also visited the University of Salamanca, the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest and still operating universities in Europe. We learned some amazing stories of professors that worked at the university.

One professor was giving a lecture about literature and pronounced "Shakespeare" in a Spanish accent, causing a student to laugh out loud at him. When asked why he was laughing, the student responded that he was laughing because the professor couldn't even speak English; how could he know anything about English literature. The professor said something to the effect of "Is that so?" and proceeded to give the rest of the class entirely in English.

Another professor taught for years and years and was an expert in theology and had translated the Bible from Latin to Spanish, I believe, and some accusations were made against him and he was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition on charges of heresy. He was held and tortured for five years. When he was finally released, he returned to the university, walked into his classroom, strode to the pulpit at the front of the room and said to the students, "As we discussed yesterday..."

We also visited Ávila before returning to Segovia. We spent very little time there, but it was incredibly fun, mostly because it started snowing. I have not seen snow since last winter and I couldn't believe how much I had been missing it. What is Thanksgiving without snow? We were all walking through the streets with our mouths wide open trying to catch snow flakes on our tongues; we probably looked ridiculous. But it was wonderful to see snow.

Snow!

It made me think about home; I am coming home in just a few weeks, and I can't believe it. It feels like I have been here forever, and simultaneously like I haven't been here very long at all.

Thanksgiving, Birthdays, and Other Business

Phew, I feel like a lot has happened since the last time I wrote, and I want to write about everything, but I don't want to drag on forever. Basically, school has continued for the last 3 weeks, and it has been flying by. With classes, working in the tourist office, and doing my intercambios (conversational exchanges), I have barely noticed that November has almost completely passed me by.

La Granja

One occurrence of interest: last Saturday, we visited the palace of la Granja de San Ildefonso. It is an amazing palace with incredible chandeliers (which kept me craning my neck towards the ceiling the whole time) and extensive gardens. Unfortunately, it has just been getting cold here; it's not cold enough to be terrible, but just enough to make wandering through gardens slightly miserable. I can imagine, though, just how enchanting the gardens could be in the summer or spring.

This last week was my birthday! It was a little funny that I turned 21 in Spain, a country where that means absolutely nothing. Nonetheless, my host mom made me curry (she'd never made it before) and cake for my birthday. It was such a wonderful surprise, and it made me miss home a little less. I don't think I have eaten anything with that many spices in it since August.

The next day was Thanksgiving. To celebrate the day, the program puts together a potluck lunch with all the students and faculty. It was wonderful doing something with everyone on Thanksgiving, but it really made me miss home. I only made one dish, and I felt like I was lacking something because I wasn't running around a kitchen frantically pulling things out of and putting things into the oven, stirring contents of pots, and reorganizing the refrigerator with my mom.

This week, in my European Union class, we were given the assignment of doing some surveys of Spanish people we knew (not including our host families) in order to see how much of the material that we learned in class was known by the general population of Spain. I took the surveys to the tourist office with me today and I asked the questions to my co-workers. Questions included things like "How many countries are in the EU?", "How many countries have the euro?", "When did Spain enter into the EU", and "What does the EU flag look like?". Marian, our professor, warned us that Spanish people are very proud and would get very defensive if they didn't know the answers. I was a little skeptical, but it soon proved to be true. My co-workers were very defensive about not knowing the answers and attempted to look them up on the internet. I tried to explain that they weren't really expected to know all these things. I tried to make them feel better by saying that I didn't know that much about the U.S. But to no avail; they were really distressed that they couldn't respond to all the questions. It was certainly a lesson in communication and culture; perhaps I should have gone about the survey in a completely different way.

As today is a Saturday night, my host siblings will be heading out for the night, leaving at about midnight and coming home sometime around 5 a.m. I am not a very big fan of going out at night, but it is a huge part of the culture of the youth of Spain. I find myself aligning myself more with the opinion of my host mom and my intercambio, who is also a mother, in that it seems a little to crazy for me. For other people, yes, but I can't imagine finding the energy to go out for that long, that late, when I would much rather be sleeping. I think that I feel a little alienated from the Spanish youth that I have met because of my reluctance to go out (though I am perfectly ok with that). 

I can't believe my time here is winding to a close. I hope to make the best of the remainder of my stay.

'Ta luego!

Andalucía!

This past weekend, I went on an excursion with the rest of the students to the region of Andalucía, where we visited two cities, Córdoba and Sevilla. I enjoyed the experience immensely because we visited all the main monuments with the history professor who explained the significance of the monuments and I feel like I learned a lot more than I would have if I had gone by my lonesome. However, we also had free time to explore the cities without the professors which was wonderful. Traveling to Andalucía seemed almost like going to another country. As we rode in the bus, the dark clouds of autumn disappeared and the sun shone furiously bright. We also started seeing cacti along the road, and in Córdoba, I was shocked to see palm trees around the city. The two regions are surprisingly distinct.

La Mezquita de Córdoba

La Catedral in the mosque

After a five hour drive to Córdoba, we started out excursion by visiting la Mezquita, a mosque that was constructed starting around the 7th century and additions were made to it over the course of many years. When the city was retaken by a Christian king, the mosque was partially destroyed and a cathedral was built in the center. I almost can't describe what it is like walking through the mosque and encountering a cathedral in the center. Surrounding the cathedral remains the arcs built originally, which seem to go on for miles. It's hard to believe these two photos come from the same building.

Los Reales Alcázares

The next day, we traveled to Sevilla, where we visited the Los Reales Alcázares, a mass of castles of the Christian kings. The castle features work that can only be described by the Spanish word mudejar, which means work done by the hands of Muslims for use by Christians. In this case, the Christian kings commissioned the palace to be built by workers from the Arabic world, which is apparent in the incredible decorations of the castle. It is said that the work demonstrates a "horror vacui" which in Latin means fear of emptiness; every inch of the castle is covered with intricate geometric designs.

Plaza de España

Plaza de España

In Sevilla, we also visited the Plaza de España, an impressive plaza that represents the relationship between Spain and the Americas. It is enormous, beautiful, and unhurried. Also, I'm told it is where a scene from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones was filmed.

Flamenco

In Córdoba, where we spent both nights, a few of the other students and I sought out a flamenco bar. Flamenco (the dance and music) originated in Andalucía, so I had my heart set on seeing flamenco while I was there. We finally found this bar, and although all the tables had been reserved, we were able to watch the performance standing. Just being in that bar, sipping on Spanish wine, and listening to the music and watching the dance made me feel truly Spanish. The dancers were amazingly talented and the guitarist was almost surreal; watching his fingers was like watching a movie fast-forwarded.

Of course, I have to mention the food we ate. For breakfast, we had a typical Andalucián dish, which was bread toasted and drizzled with olive oil, topped with tomato puree, and sprinkled with salt. I also tried pescaítos, little fried fish, which are famous of the region, and the favorite dish of both my professor and host brother. We also had the signature dessert of Córdoba (it seems like most cities have a signature dessert), which was a pastry (like a pie) filled with angel hair pasta and a sweet filling.

Signature dessert of Córdoba

Pescaítos

Andalucían breakfast

I had an incredible time in Andalucía. I would very much like to go back one day; it is an enchanting place. There is something about Andalucía that is very unique, and it has a charm that I have not yet found anywhere else.

A Delicious Weekend

This past weekend was filled with all sorts of interesting experiences. I got to attend Carmen, a ballet converted into a flamenco performance, and I experienced el día de San Frutos, a holiday here in Segovia.

On Saturday, I attended Carmen at a local theater here in Segovia. The basic premise of the show is that there is an alluring woman named Carmen who attracts two (well multiple, but two main) men. When she chooses one of the men, the other kills her in frustration and fury. Originally it was composed as a French ballet but was set in Sevilla, Spain. What this production did (as do other Spanish versions of the show) was made the show more Spanish by replacing the ballet with Flamenco and making much of the music Spanish (while retaining the most famous movements from the ballet). The dancers were amazingly talented and the flamenco was moving. One of the best scenes was a fight between two of the suitors of Carmen. The force behind the flamenco gave the scene the same intensity of a real fight with lives at stake. Something about the rhythm hooked me; I really can't imagine the show as a classical ballet.

The Plaza at midnight

This Monday was the celebration of San Frutos (Saint Fructus) in Segovia. The day seems to center on a legend about the statue of San Frutos that stands above the entrance of La Catedral. It is said that every year, San Frutos turns a page of the book he is holding and that when he finishes the book, the world will end. Sunday night, much of Segovia turned out to the Plaza Mayor to watch the turning of the page and to have a share of sopa de ajo (garlic soup). Two other girls from the program and I went and stood in line for about an hour to get soup. Unfortunately, that meant we didn't get to see the page turn, though I was able to see it later on the local news. It turns out there is another, mechanical book that is brought out in front of la Catedral and a page is turned at the stroke of midnight.

Sopa de ajo

The soup was quite delicious and certainly more potent than anything else I've eaten here. It was basically a garlic broth with chorizo (sausage), bread, and eggs (made like egg drop soup). It was filling and warming, the perfect thing for a chilly night in the Plaza. There was a bit of a fiasco when we realized that we needed to purchase tickets to get the soup, but thanks to the nice old ladies standing in line behind us, we got it figured out. We also learned later that we were allowed to keep the clay bowls in which the soup was served as souvenirs.

hueso de santo

postre de San Frutos

On Monday, I purchased the dessert unique to San Frutos. It was a pastry shell filled with egg cream and topped with a sugar syrup and almonds, and to top it off, it was decorated with a little bird (because San Frutos lived as a hermit in the mountains and it is said he had an affinity with birds). I also tried a dessert called hueso de santo (saint's bone) which was a marzipan (almond paste) sweet in the shape of a bone (kind of).

Something interesting that I have observed in our family that our site director here has confirmed is that children in Segovia are rather mimados (spoiled). My host mom does absolutely everything for me and all my host siblings (and a lot for my host dad as well). She cooks all the meals and I'm not allowed to help cook. She also serves all the food out when we sit down for a meal. I'm pretty used to doing my own laundry; I've been doing it at least since middle school, if not before (correct me if I'm wrong, Mom) so it's hard for me to get used to having my host mom do all my laundry for me (which includes her ironing all my clothing as well). My oldest host brother, who is 30 and lives in Madrid, still brings laundry home for my host mom to do. Our site director has told us not to resist it, because we probably won't get the chance to be so mimados ever again, and that our host moms like to mimar (spoil). It's a very different thing to see, especially since I feel like I've been taught from a pretty young age how to take care of myself and be independent. But I will try to enjoy it while I am here (it probably won't be too hard).

Friendly Faces

This past week, I was lucky enough to host my good friend Amy in Segovia. She is currently teaching English in Germany and for her fall vacations, she decided to come visit me in Spain. We took a few Spanish classes together at UAA, so it was seemed rather fitting to reunite in a Spanish speaking country.

Amy and I! (taken by Amy)

The first full day that Amy was here, I got to show her around Segovia. We visited the three main monuments of the city; the aqueduct, Alcázar, the castle, and the cathedral. The aqueduct is of course a stunning monument, and scaled the stairs where the aqueduct meets la muralla (the defensive wall surrounding the city) from which we could see the aqueduct from above, as well as parts of the city. At the castle, we bought tickets so that we could explore more thoroughly that fairy tale like edifice, and we climbed the 152 (very large) steps to the tower, from which we could see Segovia. Later in the evening, we attended an organ concert in the cathedral, which not only allowed us free entry into the cathedral, but also was rather thrilling to hear.

El Rastro

The next day we took the bus from Segovia to Madrid. I cannot describe how tiring a city Madrid is. Something perhaps about it's largeness in comparison to Segovia seemed overwhelming. Nonetheless we persevered and found el rastro, a gigantic market in the center of Madrid. Although we did not do much do shopping, it was incredible to see just how much there was. At first, Amy and I were worried that we wouldn't be able to find the market, since the information she had found merely have the cross streets that enclosed the market. But once we got there, we realized that we need not have worried; there were streets and streets packed with booths and tables of every conceivable type of goods, and hundreds of people were bustling from booth to booth. In the time we were there, we probably did not get to see more than one-tenth of the market.

In Segovia, Amy decided to attend classes with me. I enjoyed having her there, and I hope that she found the classes interesting. When we weren't in class, we wandered the streets of Segovia looking at the different buildings and encountering various nooks and crannies of the city. For Amy's birthday we went on a walk to a park from which there a beautiful views of Alcázar. I thought it would be something like a forty-five minute walk, and it ended up being a terrifying two and a half hours. Poor Amy, what a birthday present!

The night before Amy left, we went to see a tango performance at a local theater in Segovia. It was fantastic, and we both wanted to start taking ballroom dance lessons after seeing the performance. Yesterday, along with another girl from the program, Chelsea, we went to Madrid again where we spent most of the time wandering through a famous park called el Retiro. Afterward, we saw Amy off. I was super sad to see her go, but I was glad that she had the opportunity to come visit me.

When I was on my way to Spain in September, I met another college student in the Washington D.C. airport (who was waiting for the same flight to Madrid) who was also studying abroad, in Madrid. We chatted a little bit about our prospective programs, and after we got on the plane parted ways. I didn't think that I would ever see him again. Today when I was working in the tourism office, he came in with a bunch of kids from his program to get some information about Segovia. I couldn't believe it! Sometimes it is incredible how small the world really is.

'Ta Luego!

Back to the Grindstone

Classes started again today, after my week of vacations. Although I was a little sad to be giving up most of my free time, I was rather happy to start back on what I came here to do. I may have been imagining it, but I felt more comfortable speaking up in class, and I think that it is due to the fact that I've been speaking a lot of Spanish over the past week. Also, and I don't know if this is a good thing or not, I have been mixing up my English and my Spanish. I am having trouble thinking in both languages, and I try to think primarily in Spanish, but every so often, (like when I am talking to my host mom) an English word slips in, and I feel absolutely ridiculous.

Over the break, I did a language exchange with a woman named Eva. She's a super nice, wonderful person (muy maja as a Spaniard would say) and we chatted about a lot of things, switching between English and Spanish. She told me about her experience when she was a young college student studying abroad in London. Apparently her host family was the stereotypical English family, very prim and proper and not very welcoming or emotional. She told me that she felt really alone while she was there, and thus knew what I was going through, being in a brand new place all by myself. She told me that if I'm ever feeling lonely or bored, that I could call her up and come join her wherever she was, whether she was with her kids or at her job (she leads tour groups through Segovia, so she knows a lot about Segovia history). I was so struck by her generosity and kindness! I feel so lucky to have met her, and I'm sure I will take her up on her offer.

One thing that is really different about Spanish culture is that as one walks down the street, one does not smile at people one does not know in passing. I am very much used to smiling at everyone I see, and I have had to work very hard to train my face to stay serious as I walk down the street. Of course when I see people I do know, I have to remember to smile, and that sometimes throws me off. I've noticed that when one does smile at strangers, they seem to think they might know you from somewhere and do a little double take to see if they recognize you. It's just a little something I need to keep working on.

Roasted Chestnuts (castañas asadas)

In the nude

I've been able to try a few more interesting things food wise since I last wrote. During this past week, there have been food and craft booths set up in the street facing the aqueduct and I got some roasted chestnuts (castañas asadas) at one of the booths. When I went to China on the study tour, we saw a man selling roasted chestnuts (at the Forbidden City? I can't remember now) but we didn't get any, and we never saw roasted chestnuts again, so I took this opportunity to try them. I had never had them before! At first I tried to eat them one-handed while walking to the Plaza Mayor, but that was a huge disaster, so I finally had to sit down and peel the shells off to eat them. It was an interesting sensation of the mouth; eating a warm and soft nut, with a really subtle flavor with staccatos from the blackened parts of the nut.

I also tried morcilla with my host family. Basically it is a black sausage made of rice and blood. I would love to say that I hated, that it was terrible, but that would be dishonest. Because, in reality, it was delicious. I think my host family expected me to not like it because I'm sure it puts off many Americans. But I think my past experience with bloody tofu prepared me to accept morcilla wholeheartedly (thought I won't be sad about becoming a vegetarian again upon returning home either).

This evening, I tried some membrillo. Membrillo is a jelly that is eaten in slices with bread and sometimes cheese. It was a really interesting contrast with the cheese (I'm not sure I liked it like that) but with just bread, one can taste the membrillo and it has a really unique flavor, sweet and bitter. It is made out of this fruit that my host mom showed me, and I have never seen anything like it before. It looks like a really big lumpy pear or apple and it is rock hard. Apparently people don't generally eat it raw (because it's so hard and acidic), but make it into this jam (which is called carne de membrillo). It was a little bit of an acquired taste, but on the second try, I found that I rather liked it.

This Friday, my good friend Amy (from UAA!), who is currently teaching English in Germany, will be coming to Segovia to visit. I'm very excited to see a fellow Alaskan and to explore Spain with her!

'Ta Luego!