Granada, España

A Visit to Córdoba

La Mesquita - Córdoba

La Mesquita - Córdoba

Arriving at Córdoba

Córdoba is located about two hours from Sevilla.  The city has a mixture of Christian, Jewish and Muslim influence, just like Sevilla.  The famous Mezquita is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever visited. This was a CIEE tour; one of three ours that are free during the semester.

The city wall of Córdoba 

An afternoon snack at CIEN MONTADITOS

La Mesquita - Córdoba

La Mesquita - Córdoba

The Entrance to La Mezquita

Walking to class

La Mesquita - Córdoba

La Mesquita - Córdoba

Los Remedios - My Neighborhood

The Calle Betis

This is the view of the Guadalquivir River, which is less than five minutes from my house.  The name of this river is derived from Arabic and is the only river in Spain that is navigable by medium sized boats.

The Rio Guadalquivir 

The Rio Guadalquivir - Across from my house

The banks of the river are crowded with people every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from dusk to dawn with partygoers. All of the buildings seen across the river are bars and discos. The Street is the famed Calle Betis, a name also derived from the strong Arabic influence in Spain.

Botellón by the River

The Rio Guadalquivir at night

Una Semana Nueva

Real Alcazar  - Palace in Sevilla

         This has been another great week. My advanced grammar class is now over, and I am ready to begin actually class tomorrow. The grammar class was easy, but was a good introduction to Spanish life. I learned some helpful phrases, got a review of the subjunctive tense, and learned about commonly mixed up words. For example, the verbs irse and salir have similar meanings, but have distinct applications.  For this class, I had to write three small essays and take two tests.
        


Here is my class schedule for the next four months:

Real Alcazar  - Palace in Sevilla

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 9:00 - 10:00 Geography of the Iberian Peninsula (UNI)
• Monday, Wednesday 13:00 - 15:35 Spanish for Business Students (CIEE)
• Tuesday, Thursday 15:00 - 16:30:00 History of the relations between Spain and the United States (EX)
• Tuesday, Thursday 17:00 - 18:30 Culture of Andalusia (CIEE)

          All of my classes will of course be taught in Spanish by university professors. However, my geography class is a direct enroll class at the Universidad de Sevilla with local Spaniards. This will be the true test of my Spanish communication abilities.  I am slightly nervous, but confident at the same time. I really hope that I like the class, because if I decide to remain in the class, I will be able to stay in Spain until June, adding an extra 3-4 weeks to my study abroad. Exams for classes with Spaniards take place in June, whereas exams for the other classes take place on May 12.

Real Alcazar  - Palace in Sevilla

          Last Tuesday I went to the Mercado de la calle Feria, which is a typical Spanish market here in Sevilla. I took many photos of the vegetables, meat and fruit. I can't decide if they under-refrigerate here in Spain, or if we over-refrigerate in the United States. Products like eggs, milk, meat and cheese are not usually refrigerated in Spain, which was surprising at first.






Here are a few photos from out and about in Sevilla:

Plaza del Duque de la Victoria - El Corte Inglés

La Cathedral de Sevilla

El Centro de Sevilla - The city center

El fin de semana era una pasada

One of my favorite bars

           Wow. What a weekend! Every day so far has been better than the previous. My two-week advanced grammar review class started last Monday and has been very refreshing. The class is three hours each day and is very easy. However, even though it is easy, it has been a great review and has forced me to speak Spanish to other American students. On Friday I had my first test in the class, which was over basic conjugations of the preterito, pluscuamperfecto, imperfecto and presente perfecto. I had to place object pronouns in the correct spot and correct erroneous sentences. I got a 9 on the test, and on a composition, which is very good. The European grading scale is a 0-10 scale. The class has been a great help in learning more about Spanish culture.

La Plaza de España

          For a homework assignment, I had to interview eight Spaniards on the street about their cultural and family traditions; even drug use. Some of the questions were quite personal, but I have learned that Spaniards are more open about personal matters than Americans. Tomorrow I have to go to a typical Spanish market to observe, and then write a composition about what I see using the many forms of the subjunctive tense.

With so much to do, I have suspended the idea of writing my blog in both English and Spanish. If I have time once the regular semester starts, I might throw in some Spanish, but as of now I only have time to use one language. Speaking of language, I feel like my Spanish skills have improved immensely in the past two weeks. With the suggestion of my Spanish friend Miguel, I am now carrying a small pocket sized notebook around with me to write words and phrases down that I learn. What a great idea!

Views from the top of the Cathedral

            I spent time with my Spanish friends this past weekend. We went to the top of the Girlada, the tower of the Catherdral. The views were spectacular! To get to the top, you have to walk up ramps, 34 flights high. We also rented a boat and rowed up and down the Plaza de España, one of the largest plazas in Europe. The plaza was stunning at nightfall. Other highlights included touring the Real Alcazar, a famous palace and garden in Sevilla. All this, and not to mention going to the discoteca until 5am two nights in a row.

Un misterio debajo de la mesa: La estufa

La Giralda / Catedral

            He estado aquí en Sevilla por casi una semana, y ya es muy obvio que la familia es muy, muy importante para todos los Españoles. Ayer, fui a una fiesta en la casa de mi amigo Martín, quien vive en una puebla muy cerca de Sevilla se llama Alcalá.  La puebla es tan bonito con casas muy típicas de Andalucía.  Cogí el autobús con mi amiga Hannah, y fuimos a Alcalá durante la tarde. Martín tiene una casa muy grande, de cuatro plantas, y con un sótano (con coches jaja) para tener muchas fiestas.  Cuando llegamos, habían casi 20 personas en su sótano para la fiesta. 

            Bueno, algo que me interesa mucho es la idea de una estufa, que es un calefactor pequeño que los Españoles ponen debajo de una mesa que está cubierto con un mantel largo.  Entonces, cunado estés sentado en la mesa, puedes levantar el mantel para sentir el calor.  La combinación de la estufa y una mesa se llama mesa de camilla.  Ambos Martín y mi casa acogida tienen mesas de camilla en la salón, con sofás en de lado.  En mi casa, comimos el almuerzo y la cena en la mesa de camilla con la estufa activado. 


               Anoche, hice una fiesta con mis amigos Hannah, Martín y Fernando en el Hotel Catalonia Giralda en el centro de la cuidad. Era muy divertido porque usualmente, Martín tiene que regresar a casa porque él vive en Alcalá.  Mañana tengo mi primera clase en el palacio de CIEE.  Mi horario de clases para los dos semanas que viene es 15:00-18:00 cada día.  

Una mesa de camilla / estufa

            I’ve been in Sevilla for about a week, and it’s already very apparent that family is very important in the lives of Spaniards. Yesterday, I went to a party at my friend Martín’s house, which is in a small village just outside Sevilla called Alcalá. The village is beautiful; full of typical Andalusian houses, white balconies and quaint streets. I took the bus with my friend Hannah during the afternoon.  Martín has the biggest house I’ve yet to see in Europe, with four floors and a big basements to have parties and park cars.  When Hannah and I arrived at Martín’s house, there were about 20 of his neighbors and relatives in the basement eating typical andalyusian food and drinking cervesas and tinto.

               Something that has surprised me, that I find very interesting, is the incorporation of an estufa in almost every Spanish household.  An esfufa is a small space heater that Spaniards put underneath a large table, covered in a tablecloth that reaches the floor.  This way, when seated at the table, it’s possible to lift the tablecloth to feel warmth from under the table.  Although this seems like a fire hazard to me, most Spanish houses have these heaters. The heater together with the tablecloth is called a mesa de camilla.  The mesa de camilla usually has sofas on three sides, with a TV on the fourth side. This is where Spaniards eat lunch and dinner. 

            Tomorrow I will start my intensive Spanish grammar class at CIEE. I’m not sure yet if I will be able to take classes with Spaniards with Spanish students. I will find out on Thursday.  For the next two weeks, I have class from 15:00-18:00 every day.