El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen

Yesterday was our second guided field trip and it was to a city an hour north of Madrid called El Escorial.  What's there?  There is a royal palace/monastery in El Escorial commissioned by King Philip II after his reign as king.  Apparently King Philip II was very pious and built the Church dedicated to St. Lawrence for his father Emperor Charles V and for himself to live in.  The entire building is said to be about 160km or 100 miles of corridors, rooms, gardens, etc.

The guided tour was nice we only get to see about a fraction of the entire grounds but we did get to see the Kings private rooms, the rooms of his daughters, some of the gardens and the amazing burial vault and library.  The entire palace is just basic stone, tapestries and paintings...Philip had loved to collect paintings and art.  When you get down to the burial vault underground, it is gold, marble of all shades and basically magnificence.  There are room after room of marble tombs with elaborate carvings and amazing detail.  Also in the hallways to the monestary, there are like 30 ft high frescos painted by an Italian artist of the life of Christ.  Again...no pictures inside but I did get some of the outside.

The Valley of the Fallen is actually kind of a controversial issue for Spaniards.  Francisco Franco was the one who commissioned the building of this monument, and it was for the soldiers that died in the Spanish Civil war, of both sides from the right and left.  However, most Spaniards think that only soldiers of one side were buried there and wont even go to pay respect if they were in opposition to that side.  Its hard to explain when I cant remember the names of the parties.  Anyway, Franco is buried there along with Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera who is another important figure in the history of the Civil War.  What is amazing about this temple is that there is a cross 125 m high that sits on top of the rock, while inside they carved 300 ft deep for a basilica with an altar, (mass is held their daily) crucifix and a dome that contains a 6 million piece mosaic.  The basilica was just amazing, and within the crypt that is sealed lie 70,000 soldiers.   Behind the basilica on the other side of the rock is a monastery for benedictine monks that care for the whole place.  

This morning Sonya and I went to El Rastro which is supposedly the biggest flea market in Europe.  It was a lot of fun and I bought classic Spanish fans, castanedas and some other goodies.

I have posted more pictures...including last week's visit to Toledo.

This weekend I have soooooooo much homework and midterms this coming week.  Phil is coming on Sunday so that is something to look forward to!

And it is freaking hot here.

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Gracias Cucarachas

Hooray!!! We have moved into our new apartment today, which is quite a little place.  So far it appears there are no traces of bugs (knock on wood) and it is very clean.  The rooms are small but we have a little 3 ft terrace outside of our little living room overlooking the main road, and a nice little kitchen.  My bed feels like a bean bag so we will see how I sleep tonight! PLUS the best part...we have free internet which is unbelievable!  If you want to set up a time to Skype let me know!!!!  Thank you to the cucarachas for kicking us out of the old apartment!

Today marks 2 weeks here in Madrid and halfway through my classes.  Im sad how fast it is going, and can't believe how much material we have already covered.  Tomorrow we are going to El Escorial and visiting the Valley of the Fallen...I will give the history lesson afterwards.

The weather is hot again and Im missing the rainy weather...however we might visit the pool this afternoon for some sun.

I will post more pictures and videos now that I have the internet at my disposal...can't wait!

OH PS If you would like me to send you a postcard please email me your address...I have quite a few but there are some that I forgot to write down before I left, don't be shy I love to send them!

Besos.

Happy

It's been a hard but good week at school...some days are just really tough in language class.  My vocabulary needs serious work but I seem to do well with grammar and verbs.  Next week is midterms already and holy buckets I have to study.

Tomorrow is a big festival day for Madrid and other cities...in which I still have yet to know exactly why, but I do know I don't have school tomorrow and no one works, except for restaurants etc... This weekend I may go to Granada and see the Alhambra, Katherine Lundgred has offered for me to come stay with her, so we shall see.

Oh a happier note, we are moving into a new apartment on Friday, one that is hopefully free of cockroaches.  I will update on how it is.

Today my Spanish teacher said she taught in Reno for a semester in 2001 and didn't necessarily like Reno, but she did remember the best pizza she has ever had at Pub and Sub...when she said that I flipped and was delighted to hear about a bit of home.

Last night I saw the flamenco/ballet performance of Carmen....and pretty much left speechless and breathless.  I have never seem Flamenco before and I have fallen in love...I want to be a Flamenco dancer.  It sounds so cliche but the passion and the emotion exerted is unlike anything I have ever seen, not to mention the physical fitness.  Everyone needs to look up Flamenco on YouTube and see it.  So pretty much I think I am going to go see it again.  Not to mention the comfortable feeling I felt being in the theatre...it just made me so happy.

Thats all for today, tonight I am meeting my intercambio Beatriz who lives here.  We are meeting at Starbucks, which who by the way charges 4 euros for a tall frapachino.  

Take care!

When a Foreign Language Turns on You

In Spain, Spaniards refer to jokes or jokes that are longer stories, as chistes.  For my conversation class we were supposed to find some to repeat in class.  I looked online for mine and found one that was cute about a parrot and another that I thought was funny...being what I thought it meant.  So I told it in class and got a shocked look from my teacher...I mean she chuckled but definitely looked at me weird.  So I told her I thought it meant something to do with the heart being stomped on, and lo and behold it was some kind of reference to sex that I was completely oblivious to.  Not to mention, from what I gathered it was pretty explicit...and she mentioned that it was something that Spaniard boys tell one another.  Im pretty sure it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, especially as I got a weird look from a classmate, but thank God my teacher is really nice and laid back and said "No te preocupes" "Don't worry about it" when I repeatedly said how sorry I was.

After I went and told one of the USAC directors and she laughed so hard and gave me some new phrases I should use carefully:

Me embarazado, one would think it means Im embarrassed but it really means I am pregnant.

Me constipado, we would think I am constipated, but it really means I have sinus congestion.

Ahh the joys of learning a foreign language!!!

Tomorrow, I get to meet Beatriz, who is an intercambio through the USAC program.  USAC sets up the American students with Spaniards so we can practice Spanish and English.  I am looking forward to meeting her as I talked to her on Skype before I had left the country.

Tonight is the ballet! I am sooooo excited!

Besos

Holy Toledo!

On saturday, USAC took us on a tour of Toledo, which is one hour outside of Madrid. The story of Toledo is impressive because after Romans and other Christians conquered the area, Jewish and Muslims also laid claim to the city. Ever since, Christians, Jews and Muslims have been living in tigh proximity of one another and have managed to maintain their identity and some sort of peace within. I was absolutely shocked to hear of this, because as we know, Jewish and Muslims have one of the most prevelent conflicts in our world today. What is amazing about Toledo, is that it is basically a hodge-podge of each religion. Of all the many churches, especially the main cathedral you can see elements of each religion as well as gothic, rennaisance and modern architecture. The main cathedral is absolutely stunning (will post pictures) and is considered the main cathedral of all Spain, beacuase at one point it was the religious capital of Spain. Inside the cathedral there are old artifacts including a gold leafed Bible for one of the kings and a crown that Queen Isabella wore...Im pretty sure it was her. The Cathedral took 400 years to make so that explains the different styles of architecture and also why there are pagan carvings within (workers were sometimes unsupervised and put whatever they want). Also, the head cardinal of Spain lives right next to this Cathedral. Unfortunately, for all historical sites in Madrid, there are no pictures allowed, so all memories must be stored in my brain for review. T

Toledo is also known for its Mazapan (Marzapan) and sword making. The little city sits on a hill and consists of narrow cobblestone streets that are so authentic and historic looking you really feel like you were in the Middle Ages. I kept picturing vendors with their pushcarts and the people of the city bustling about. It was a truly beautiful and magical place that I would love to visit again, for more than a day.

Other than that, school has been intense to say the least, and the weather is pretty unusual. Its blustery and always looks like its going to rain but hasnt. Its quite the tease when we are trying to hang our laundry outside and are constantly paranoid that it will rain on our cloths.

The cockroach situation had seemed to be better, but last night we had a brigade attacking us from the toaster. Thank God we had a friend over who witnessed our situation so we are in fact not crazy and over-reacting. At this point I am convinced that the spray we were told to use is ok for killing those that we see but in fact is not penetrating the walls in which they are living. I am also sick of my apartment smelling like the spray and am pretty sure we have lost brain cells. We are going to talk to our housing coordinator again this week to see what the next step is.

I did find real milk since my last post so that was quite the relief...I am however still dissapointed in Spanish food. I love spice and flavor and Spanish food is kind of bland. Maybe beacuse my budget allows for only not very expensive restaurants but I also have not been living off bread and cheese. I have however, found great spanish wine by the bottle at our local supermarket for 2-3 euros each...quite the deal.

Tonight we may go to the museum and tomorrow see a ballet inspired by Flamenco. I think we are going to try a good tapas bar tonight and hopefully my dissapointment will be relieved, because the best meal ive had so far was at an Indian restaurant. wah wah...

Ok well I should probably get off the computer, as other spanish students are eyeing me down.

Love, Hugs and Kisses to all

Anna Maria

ps i have some pictures posted
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La Cucarachas and the Quest for Real Milk

Today was my second day of school at the University Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.  I am taking Spanish Composition, Spanish Conversation and a Women's Study class.  All my teachers are great and very helpful, especially the Spanish teachers who have to put up with our lack of speaking skills.

The biggest news is that we have cockroaches in our apartment that have seemed to get bigger since the first day we saw them and have been procreating.  I kid you not I saw a mom with her baby.  I wasn't too bothered at first, I mean we are keeping our food in safe places, but it wasn't until I woke up one morning to use the restroom and I saw a few crawling on the wall where my bed is, that I lost it.  My roommates and I have made complaints to our landlord and housing coordinator at the University and they are in the process of cleaning and disinfecting.  I looked up characteristics of cockroaches online, and one site said they could enjoy nibbling on ears, once I read that my roommate had enough and ever since is worried about her ears.  

Its nice to have a schedule now that we started school.  We leave for the metro around 7:30 am, change twice and arrive at the university around 8:30.  Class starts at 9 until 12:30 and again a 1:50-3:30.  I am going to have a significant amount of homework every night but I will be completing 7 credits in a month that will be most helpful for graduating in December.

Over the weekend we had a great time, and literally walked for about 10 hours each day.  We saw so much in two days and have barely scratched the surface.  I have fallen in LOVE with Plaza Mayor (a huge plaza in central Madrid with cafes, vendors and beautiful architecture) and Retiro park which is like the central park of Madrid.  Im looking forward to spending time in each to do homework and read.  The spaniards have been very nice (except for one waiter) and most of the students are helpful...they can pick out us Americans from a mile away.  

I am the oldest of the group of students I am with so its a little disconnecting. Im pretty sure most of them think Im weird because I haven't talked that much.  But most of the time I am just absorbing everything that is happening around me that I get lost everything.  Besides, its hard for me to explain why Im here in Madrid, I think its very personal, only because Im here for me...and not to party or meet Spaniards.  Im not even worried about not having all day long to sight see, its nice to have a schedule and just do my own thing.  Anyway, I have made some nice friends so far, and my roommates are good fun so everything is good.

My Spanish is getting better and better everyday, and words keep coming back to me.  Although, I tend to sometimes mix the Greek words I know with the Spanish I am trying to say...for example...I wanted some juice and I said jimon instead of zumo and almost ordered coffee with turkey instead of coffee with ice.  For the most part, I think I have been pretty understandable and able to communicate.

So food wise, I have tried so far a lot of great cured ham, and tried paella that I was disappointed with.  My diet has consisted of a lot of ham and cheese in all sorts of forms (thank god for the great cheese) and delicious ice cream that reminds me of Greece.  We have not stopped for real tapas yet but we plan on doing it this week.  And my quest for real milk is because most stores here don't have refrigerated milk...its usually in a box sitting on a shelf.  I need milk for my cereal so I am going to the equivalent of the spanish walmart today to find some...we'll see how that goes.

The metro is super easy and typically safe, pickpockets are a little easy to spot and as we have learned they are not super threatening and just want some cash.  I have the benefit of blending in here better than my on the whiter side friends here, so its nice to feel like Im not sticking out.  Spaniards seem to be simple people, much like the Greeks, with a love for food and good conversation.  Plus they are very affectionate, I can't tell you the amount of make-out sessions I have seen in public.    

This week I plan to attend a ballet and some opera, we are also on a quest for a good flamenco restaurant with dancing.  Im sooooo excited!

My flickr account is acting slow, so i will post pictures soon, Ill post the link here on blogspot.