Seen on an Evening Walk in Córdoba

Tonight, I was out for a nice little Friday night paseo through the city when I came upon two women in neon leopard print, sitting on the stoop of their apartment building. When I walked by, I noticed two things:

1. One of the women in leopard print was visibly pregnant, like four months
2. Said pregnant woman was smoking a huge and rather fragrant joint.

But I also saw some other unusual things today in Zuheros, and will post photos of those things in the coming days.

Anyhow, tomorrow I'm heading to Málaga for the weekend, which means that if I'm lucky (not that I'm not already) I'll get to visit the Museo Picasso Málaga and to see where he was born. Tomorrow is also Día de Andalucia, which is basically a celebration of Andalucian independence. I'm holding out for heavy debauchery in the streets.

If it wasn't apparent already, I'm beginning to like Spain quite a bit.

The Andalusian Countryside, pt. II

We took another sendero last weekend with my wonderful host mother Carmen and her friend Lourdes. Lourdes, who is very cultured and helps me with my Spanish a lot, brought her dog Sting (who is, as you may have guessed, named after the lead singer of the Police). There were lots of children and dogs and steep inclines, and I essentially felt as though I were in a jungle. It's very strange to think that I live only ten kilometers from this place.

Córdoba from the mountainside

The Frog

This is a wonderfully endearing little film by an artist named Nick Fox-Gieg (his website is here). It's called "The Frog." It's only a minute long, too, if you're into the whole brevity thing.

On an unrelated note, when I watched it, I thought of this legend we heard in Salamanca. On the (extremely ornate) facade of the University, which is the oldest in Spain, there is hidden a frog sitting on a skull. The rumor is that students are not allowed to graduate with their terminal degrees unless they've found it.

But enough of that; here's "The Frog."

Beat City

We had it good with the '80's. Perms and hair gel included.

- "Beat City," by The Flower Pot Men, from The Janice Long Session (1987) and featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

The Andalusian Countryside

Yesterday, when I was leaving my apartment building, this older woman walked up to me and began speaking to me very animatedly. My Spanish is still rather rudimentary, but from what I could gather she was asking me to tell all the students in the building to stop smoking on the rooftop terrace because it's dangerous with everyone's clothes drying up there and that it makes her apartment smell like tobacco smoke. I tried to explain several times that I'm an exchange student, that I live with a host family and know none of the other university students who live in the building, but that if I saw them I would be sure to pass along the message. Then I left.

But, more importantly, here is a photo of the Andalusian countryside, courtesy of a hike I took with my host mom last weekend.

Eucalyptus

Boxing Toddlers

Sometimes, British Pathé posts really strange stuff. This is a video of a toddlers' boxing match from 1933.

I don't know whether to laugh uncomfortably or to cry uncontrollably.

The Andrée Arctic Balloon Expedition

I found this really cool archive of newspaper articles about S.A. Andrée's failed balloon expedition in 1897 (the second link is to the Wikipedia page, if you're into that kind of thing). To summarize, this Swedish balloonist named Andrée thought that it would be a great idea to travel to the North Pole, a relatively cold region, by hot air balloon. As you may imagine, this did not end well, and the crew crashed after two-and-a-half days, only having traveled roughly 500 miles. The crash was gentle enough that all three men survived (along with their homing pigeons and cameras) to endure three more months of ice and snow before perishing.

Their film survived and has been archived on this website. It's in Polish, and I unfortunately cannot read Polish, but the photos are still pretty cool:

To conclude, this is certainly an unfortunate little tale from the annals of history, and one which I mean to present in the most respectful manner. The tragedy in this story, however, doesn't detract from its fascination. It's tidbits like this that remind me how cool history can be.

The Spanish Healthcare System

...is kind of great.

So, long story short, I began crying last night because I didn't have any books to read in English (yes, that is excessive) and because I've been terribly congested since Madrid. After this, my host family called my study-abroad program and told them they were worried about me, so I got pulled out of class this morning to go see a doctor. After a very brief wait and a head X-ray, the doctor told me that my sinus infection--the one I had in December right before I got mono--had returned.

Now, I don't identify as someone who gets sick a lot, but this feels a little ridiculous. Regardless, the Spanish healthcare system seems to be working: the doctors saw me quickly, and for free, and I only had to pay an arm and a leg for the medication they prescribed. So until I feel better, I will take my medication and continue to read free books in PDF from Project Gutenberg.

Finally, thanks for reading this self-indulgent whine-fest.

Pills.

St. Valentine's Day

May you enjoy time with a significant other, or else the liberation of not having to buy anyone a gift.

-"I Don't Love Anyone" by Belle and Sebastian, from Tigermilk (1996)

Viernes

These are photos from the gardens of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand lived sometimes. I also get to walk by this every day on my way to school, which is pretty neat, so it's safe to say that I'm very lucky to be here.

Cansada (Kansas City)

Today was my first day of classes and it was great but now I'm exhausted and just want to sleep--I'm justifying my nap as a "cultural experience" because siestas are definitely a thing in Spain (somewhat). It already feels as though Spanish is becoming a thousand times easier and I'm excited to be taking all sorts of classes in a foreign language.

Perhaps relatedly (is that a recognized word?), my time in Spain has made me think more about life after graduation. Ironically, all of the excitement and wonder here has helped me realize how much I love Kansas City. There's still plenty of time to consider this, and I'm probably going to change my fickle mind a thousand times because I can't make plans for anything, but it's seeming more and more likely that I could end up in K.C. after I get my degree. At least for a few years.

But because I would feel badly if I weren't consistent with this blog, here is a photo I found from the day after Thanksgiving.

Waiting for the bus in Providence, RI

Keeping Me Awake

Classic.

-"Keeping Me Awake" by Tarkio, from I Guess I Was Hoping For Something More (1998); later re-released on Omnibus (2006)

Córdoba

Finally, I'm in Córdoba, which will be my home for the next four months. I haven't taken any photos here yet, because we only arrived last night, but I simultaneously feel excited and scared and tired and energized and just about every other possible emotion.

The city itself is stunning, and there are naranjos (orange trees) on every single street. Like in every other Spanish city, there are a lot of really old buildings and very friendly people. Despite the loveliness of it all, though, I feel very nervous about being able to express myself and finding warm clothing--when I was packing for this trip, roughly two hours before my plane took off, I decided it would be smart to only bring two pairs of pants and six shirts. Needless to say, it's been a very cold and smelly trip so far, and I'm very eager to do laundry and buy a jacket. With regards to the self-expression, I mainly worry about offending someone. My host family, who are warm and open people, are very patient in explaining things to me, but to be socially anxious and linguistically challenged is scary territory indeed. That said, my host mother, Carmen, has been phenomenal. She took me around the city this morning to see the university and bought me my first-ever oyster (comida para millonarios como Donald Trump). My other host mom, Rosa, works as a chef, so I haven't been able to spend as much time with her, but I look forward to the days when we can all loaf around and watch T.V. together.

All in all, I'm excited to settle into a routine, begin my classes, make friends with local students, and improve my Spanish. It's a tall order, but I'm ready for the challenge.

La Sagrada Família (or, Barcelona, pt. I)

Today was our last full day in Barcelona, and we spent it walking around the city in search of works by Gaudí. We passed by the Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, which were both impressive, but they were nothing in comparison to La Sagrada Família. This huge Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, it was begun in 1882 and is still under construction today. The interior was designed to look like a forest, with the columns resembling tree trunks and branches.

I don't know how to describe the experience of being inside...this will seem like a complete hyperbole, but I felt hopeful and whole in a way I don't think I ever have before. There was an ambiance inside that felt full of love and community. Perhaps it was the way the sun came through the stained-glass windows, or perhaps it was my over-sentimentality. Regardless of the reason, I'd be lying if I said that being inside that church didn't bring me to tears. If ever you find yourself in Barcelona, you have to visit La Sagrada Família.

Calling All Girls

I'm in Barcelona and it's maybe the most beautiful city I've ever seen in real life. Soon I'll post a bunch of photos so you can see for yourself, but right now I'm busy being a student and therefore will simply share a song with you.

This is perhaps the funniest music video Queen ever released, in my opinion. I especially like the robot guards, but the song itself isn't bad either; it's from Hot Space, which is Queen's kind-of-but-not-really failed disco album. To say that it's my favorite Queen album would be a very unpopular (and untrue) opinion, but I think that people don't give this album enough credit. Before getting carried away, though, I'll just share the video.

-"Calling All Girls" by Queen, from Hot Space (1981)

Madrid

Alright, so we’ve been in Madrid for (I think) three days now, and it’s been wonderfully fun. I was able to visit the Museo del Prado and see a bunch of paintings by Goya and Titian and Rafael this morning, and also to visit El Parque del Buen Retiro. Besides that, I’ve spent a decent chunk of time simply wandering around the different barrios (neighborhoods), which has taught me how much people love beer and ham in Spain. Who'd have guessed it? More than anything, wandering around just made me wish that I had more time here. Instead, I think I’m going to try to come back and visit Madrid again during the semester.

As always, here are a very select few of the things that I've seen.

The Royal Palace

Fresco ceiling inside the palace

The view from our hotel balcony

Toledo

Because tomorrow is our final day in Madrid, today we took a day trip to Toledo, which has a rather fascinating religious history. We went to the Toledo Cathedral, a huge Gothic church from the thirteenth century, as well as Santa María la Blanca, a former synagogue which was converted into a monastery. Finally, we saw The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco at La Iglesia de Santo Tome. It was overwhelmingly huge and, though we weren't allow to take photos, I doubt I'll forget the experience for a long time.

The city of Toledo itself is full of hills and narrow streets, but the people I met there were friendly and completely tolerant of my weak American Spanish. For instance, we ate lunch at this place called El Cafe de las Monjas, and the women who worked there (whom I'm ninety-eight percent sure were nuns) kindly corrected us when we made grammatical mistakes. When we left, they even gave us free marzipan. Despite the cold and the rain, it was a good day. Now, I think I'm going to try to compensate un poquito for the massive sleep debt I've acquired over the last week...

Zocodover Square

A fresco ceiling inside the cathedral

A poorly-framed shot of the cathedral

Toledo

Segovia

Sitting here, in El Puerta del Sol, I'm beginning to realize that there is absolutely no way that I'll be able to do everything I want in the coming semester. Which is an extremely uptown problem to have, and obviously I feel very lucky to be here. But there's something very liberating about coming to terms with limitations. Instead of worrying about trying to visit every city under the sun, I can relax and enjoy my time in the places I do get to see.

To rewind a bit, we arrived in Madrid last night, after spending the afternoon in Segovia. I'll write more about Madrid later, but Segovia was absolutely lovely. We visted the Alcázar de Segovia, ate lunch in a tiny restaurant next to the cathedral, and generally explored the city, despite a bunch of wind and freezing rain.

My mind still feels pretty disconnected; I've been averaging two or three hours of sleep a night since we got here and, needless to say, that's taken a bit of a toll on my thought process. Regardless, here are some photos of Segovia.

From the top of Segovia Castle

La ciudad

The Aqueduct