Granada, toma dos (Granada, Take Two)

Just got back from a weekend in Granada with the center. We went last semester, too, so not too much to say, plus I have reading pouring out the ears (although the first reading for my anthro of communication class is in Geertz's Interpretation of Cultures, and the prof recommended that if we know English, we should read it in English. Score)!

1) In Granada, you get free tapas with your drinks, something that is very different from tapas practice here in Sevilla. Normally with each drink you order, a tapa comes with it and then if you order more drinks, the quality of the tapas keeps improving and improving and improving (so I've heard; haven't had enough drinks to testify to that personally). Still, it's nice to order some wine and get free food with it, too. It must be a hippie culture thing, something that Granada rocks out at.

2) Now that I've been to Morocco and I understand what an active Medina is like, I saw the older parts of Granada in a much different light than I did last time. I could see how the Medina must have worked, the remnants of the mosques were much more obvious (dotted all over the hill, and under the newer Christian decor looked just like the mosque towers in Fez and elsewhere in Morocco). I felt the Muslim presence just much more, generally, and I could imagine what it must have been like in Granada with the al-andaluz empire in ways that I couldn't conceptualize last time. That was cool and it really changed the way I approached the tour of the Alhambra this time.

Ha, so those were my two main points. Quick, no? Generally everything is the same, not too much to report. I spent a lot of time in the Albayzin (a neighborhood) in Granada this time because I barely got to it the last time and loved it. It's the oldest neighborhood and began to be settled in the 7th century BC. Also, I hung out with Liz and Amy, two Cornell girls, a decent bit this weekend. I like them a lot.

Alright, on to photos and then on to work (oh, joy).

A mosque turned Church in the Albayzin, Spanish lunch outdoors at 4pm. Yep.

Detail on some of the oldest buildings in Granada.

Funky angle, shot walking up into the Albayzin to get to the main square on the top of the hill, facing the Alhambra (I blabbered a lot about that plaza in the last blog entry).

Ha, more funky angles... the Alhambra.

Me in the Alhambra's Alcazaba, the fort part, on the tallest tower overlooking the Albayzin.

That's all folks... I generally feel like I have less to write in here, less new, interesting, amazing cultural discoveries. On the one hand it's sad, but on the other hand it's wonderful. It means I'm adapting. It means I don't think twice about cultural differences that used to startle me. It means that I am really living in Spain. I'm really here, doing it. That's good.
Ha, oh, and it also means I just have less time to write in here now that I have a lot of school stuff. Yes, that too!

Pues, vale, hombre, venga, entonces... anda. (Well, ok, dude, come on, then... no way!)

1) There was a 17-year-old girl in Sevilla, Marta, who disappeared three weeks ago. It was a really big deal. There were posters and fliers up everywhere -- I saw tens every day. i don't think it would have been possible to live in the Sevilla metro area and not see these signs. They did a great job. There were manifestations and demonstrations that thousands of people attended to pressure the government to spend more time and money looking for Marta. The community went all out. People cared. People prioritized it in a way that I think rarely (if ever happens) in the US. Anyway, I write about the case now because Marta's ex-boyfriend admitted to killing her and throwing her in the river. The amount of news on it is incredible -- the two local Sevilla newspapers had what the major US newspapers must have written about 9/11. It's so huge here, so many people are invested in the case and deeply care. The community cared before it turned gossip, before it became a tragedy. It's so different from the way I've seen cases like this develop at home.

2) I bonded with Candela, Mayte's granddaughter who is 3, this past weekend. We played games, she asked me how you say words in English (her 'school' is bilingual), and then, when she was leaving with her mom to go back to Granada, she ran over to kiss me goodbye (her mom instructed on the cheek), but instead she kissed me on the lips. Uninstructed. Yep.

3) This semester travel-wise is crazy. I'm finally going all-out, American-abroad in ways I didn't last semester. I guess it's because I have more of a precise idea of what I want to see in Europe now than before, and also because Sevilla feels like home -- I know it and I know its backstreets, more or less -- so I feel more okay leaving to go do other things. So here's the breakdown: this weekend the center is taking us to Granada, next weekend is free, although I might go to Cadiz or Carmona, next weekend is Valencia with Austin, then Santiago de Compostela with Austin, then Beth (friend in Florence) is coming, the next weekend the center is taking us to Aracena, and then we're in April. Crazy. First weekend in April I'll be in Ireland for break, then back for the Semana Santa weekend in Sevilla, a weekend free, then Palma de Mallorca with Caroline (friend in St Andrews; hilariously it was cheaper for her to get there from the UK than for me -- the Brits love their Spanish beach vacation I guess!), then Paris, then Malaga with the center, and then it's May 15. That is sheer craziness. Crazy in a good way, crazy wonderful, crazy insane, but absolutely, definitely crazy. Time is going to speed by. Not to mention I actually have a decent bit of work and reading this semester... cool. I'm excited.... especially because most of those weekends are spent in other places in Spain, which I really want to see before I leave.

4) I generally know very little about Central and South America. I'm noticing this in my history classes. The kids here know way, way more -- even though most of it is just basic stuff, it still gives them a huge advantage. They understand the basic flow of events and what happened where, whereas I am pretty much clueless. I think I am normal (or maybe a little above, as I like to think) for an American student, but that doesn't come close to what the Spaniards (and many ERASMUS kids) know. The Spaniards especially know a lot because the classes still treat Latin America with the importance of the remains of the Spanish empire. It should be fine, but sometimes I can tell that I don't know basic contextual stuff that everyone else does. I'll just have to make up for it on my own, I suppose. Like today, I just spent 10 minutes quizzing myself on the countries on the map so that I can have a vivid picture in my head of where each country is when he talks about it (yes, I know, this one is exceptionally embarrassing and overly basic). You should try it! http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/Samerica.html

5) And the final, most important news of all... ANGIE IS COMING!!!!!!!!!! At the end of June as I finish my finals, she will come down to Sevilla after doing a bit of traveling on her own and then we will reunite (I'm thinking some slow motion running would do quite nicely, maybe a little theme music) and spend around 30 days traveling around Europe together. We're planning it all out ahead of time and we are both super-organized, so it should be safe, fun, and efficiently excellent. Yes, er, that's what I always say about us. Efficiently excellent.

And the ability to speak in English continues on its steady decrease...

Cornell viene a Sevilla (Cornell Comes to Seville)

Alrighty, well, the first week of classes are over and I know what I am taking! It was really easy compared to last semester -- maybe because I had a better idea going in which teachers to look for and which ones to avoid. Yes, the sign that I am no longer at the operational level of a first semester freshman here. I really like all of my classes, but I have a lot of work. Better said, a lot of reading, and a lot of participation. Last semester I didn´t have much work at all, barely reading, maybe a few take-home writing assignments (but only a few). This semester 3 of my 5 classes will be very reading and discussion heavy, like seminars at Cornell. I am happy, in a way, because I miss the serious stimulation that Cornell classes have. But then on the other hand, it´s stressful, and I want to still have time to roam Sevilla and be free. I think I will. I´m going to stay in my classes, it just might take a bit to figure out how to balance things. Also, I want to start trying my ´research´ in the cafes for my potential thesis ethnography. Anyway, here´s a list of my classes:

1) Anthropology of Communication with my favorite professor from last semester. We actually haven´t had the class yet -- he´s still in Cuba, I think, doing research -- but I´m sure I´ll like it. I enjoy his lecturing and there shouldn´t be much work, except for at the end. True European style.

2) Contemporary History of Iberoamerica II, which covers the 1870s until now. I really like the professor, but his class is going to be hard. 50% of the grade comes from participation in class, something that would have scared me away last semester. It doesn´t as much now, but I did fall on my face a flew classes ago when I tried to contribute something. Day three and I am already labeled as the stupid American... fantastic. Anyway, there´s a decent bit of reading for his class, too -- dense texts in Spanish -- but it´s a topic that really interests me. I want to learn more about Latin America, so this seems like the way to do it. The class touches on the political, social, and cultural aspects of a handful of countries and focuses on how the countries interact within Latin America and with Europe and America. It´s going to be a lot, but I´m going to learn. This is a good thing. The class meets one hour, four days a week.

3) History of Pre-hispanic America II: States and Empires. Not sure why it´s titled that. The course focuses on the oldest cultures of the Andes region. The Inca are of course the most well-known, but the Inca actually just take up the last two weeks of the course -- everything before that is other obscure cultures that lived in the Andes that I´ve never heard of. It should be cool. I think it´s going to be a mix of hardcore history and softcore arqueology. Good stuff. This class will be ok -- there is recommended reading, but not much, and just an exam at the end. This and anthropology are my two easier classes. The problem with this class, though, is it meets for two hours straight two days a week at night. It´s rough.

4) Real Spanish Literature is my class that is taught in the program center, but the teacher is a professor at the University of Sevilla. She´s fantastic. She was Katie´s favorite professor last semester and I can see why. She´s very intense and has very high expectations, but is also very nice. The class is interesting because it´s a mix of history and literature, connecting changing trends in Spanish novels, theater, and poems with the politics of the period. I will learn some really interesting stuff, but it is going to be an enormous amount of reading. There are 8 of us, I think. We have a decent bit of writing each week and this class is also heavy participation, but that doesn´t scare me as much because everyone in the class is from the program... but yes. Reading. A lot of reading.

5) Hispanoamerican Portrait. I love this class. It´s taught by this guy, Camacho (coolest last name ever) who has the best mutton chops I have ever seen. Not that that´s a reason I took the class, but it is impossible to see him and not marvel at his facial hair. He´s a big guy, very well dressed, square glasses, and very philosophical. He´s also, from what I can see, a fantastic teacher. The class is in the Filology auditorium, so it´s a big class -- maybe 100+ -- but his lectures are really good. He´s a nice guy, he´s funny, but he´s also really organized with what he has to say and he knows his stuff. We have to read 5 books for his class over the course of the semester. It doesn´t seem that bad, but remember that all of this is in Spanish...

Ok. That is the class overview. For now, anyway. I spent yesterday morning frantically running around from bookstore to bookstore, trying to find the novels that I need to start reading. It was amazing how hard it was to find such basic books (popularity just under Don Quijote) and it was also amazing how genuinely unhelpful the bookstore people are. They are reluctant to help and normally say they just don´t have what you want. My Lit teacher, Pilar, told us that we have to insist, be firm, and show them we mean business and chances are that they do have the book or can get it very easily. This is so bizarre to me. Don´t they want our business? I can´t imagine Borders ever acting like that. Oh, normal, well-run bookstores. How I miss you. Anyway, I finally ended up with two of the four books, but one of them is the wrong edition. Figures.

In other news, the England v. Spain game on Wednesday was not only in Sevilla -- it was also in the stadium about 10 min away from my house, which means that my neighborhood was infested with Brits. It was kind of weird, it kind of threw me off. I was walking down the street and there were Brits everywhere and I heard more than one of them discussing Spanish beer as compared to what they have in Britain. I found that funny.

My friend Jonathan from Cornell is studying in Barcelona this semester, but he´s here this weekend so I´m planning to spend a decent bit of time with him (in-between the hundreds of pages in SPANISH that I have to read). Should be fun!

Emma la extranjera viaja a una peluquería (Emma the Foreigner Journeys to a Hair Salon)

Today I got my hair cut for the first time in 8 months. I normally only get my hair cut a few times a year, especially now that I am trying to grow it out to donate and I have a pretty long way to go. Anyway, I had been steadily noticing that my hair was getting rattier and rattier (no matter how much I brushed it), which was not good. I had been planning to go to a hair salon for several weeks now, but I never got around to it, which is very unlike me.

It took me some time, but I realized that I was nervous to get my hair cut here. Not for the vain reasons that most girls would have about them messing up my hair or putting the wrong gel in it or whatever -- to be honest, I could care less, and pretty much anything they did would most likely be an improvement (save the mullet, which is a style that has still not died here) -- but more just because going to a hair salon that operates in a foreign language is quite intimidating. I was in there thinking about it anthropologically and it makes total sense: it's a space outside of normal space, all women, all gossip, with very specific social codes that differ from the outside world. Me, being the oh-so-fantastic foreigner that I am, would be very clumsy in a situation like an intimate hair salon, which I inevitably was. Getting your hair cut is something that is so basic when you're in your own culture, but I don't think we realize what a weird, intimate experience it is.

Also, this opens up a whole different box of problems, but the vocabulary one uses to get a hair cut is absolutely not normal vocabulary that one would need to get by on any normal day. I studied the vocab before, though, so I was good. To be honest, I wasn't worried about communicating with the hairdressers (a great improvement; I probably would have peed in my pants if I had had to do this in the fall) so much as not making a total fool of myself. Everything went more or less ok, though, with the normal bumps in any new cultural experience (I'm kind of chuckling at myself for calling a hair cut a cultural experience, but whatever, it really is in its own way). I'm having trouble fully articulating this because I'm exhausted, but yes. Going to get my hair cut was intimidating. I went to Luisa's place and had her woman, who was very nice but treated me like I was Forrest Gump (also, that movie was on the tv a few nights ago, hilarious to hear in Spanish).

Austin encouraged me to mess around and take photos (and my dad, who wanted pictures) so we did... the lady took 15 min to blow dry my hair so today it was soft and luxurious, something that it will probably never be again. People were stroking me all day. Oh well, I'm certainly not complaining!

The genius of my over-excited, very hardworking father.

So that is the rough overall news of my hair. Very important, I know. But I did it, I braced my fear, I entered into a space with social standards that were odd and unknown to me, and now I have touchable hair. Overall, not too shabby!

I will end with a quote of the day: we were talking about something in Historia of Iberoamerica -- I can't remember what -- and the professor was trying to give an example of when countries can be absurd, so naturally he went to the presidents of the US and started talking about Bush. There was a pause, and then he said "yeah, Bush... hmm, I bet he has never read any constitution from the other countries in the Americas, let alone his own!" It was hilarious. Ok, maybe you had to be there.

I am deteriorating quickly. In mind, not in body. And in an impermanent, I-need-sleep kind of way. No te preocupes!

Ay, que mundo (Oh, What a World)

Today was the first day of second semester. Or, better said, today was the "first day" of the second semester. Two of my four classes were canceled (and by canceled I mean no one showed up/the doors were locked), which I guess is pretty normal. I've gotten used to it, but that doesn't mean that I like it any more than before!

The first class I was supposed to have was Actual Spain (a history class) in the biggest classroom for History -- the same one where I took my local development final on Wednesday -- but the room was locked. The note on the door said that all classes in that room had been moved/canceled due to water damage from the rain we've had the past few days. This, to me, was hilarious. During my local development exam, there had been strong rain, winds, and lightening and thunder. My genius professor went over to the window (more like door -- the windows were huge and swung open like doors) and kind of looked about and then went back to sitting down. So my guess is that he was the one who left the water pouring in, and that supposed 'band camp' smell Liliana and I thought we were smelling was actually just the mildew from the rain. Good one, Jose Luis. Really nice.

Second, and much later in the day, was Anthro of Communication with my 70-year-old love, Antonio Mandly, but he never showed. My guess is he's still in Cuba doing his fieldwork? Who knows. Anyway, I'm sure I'll love the class and will stay in it, so that's fine.

Later was History of Contemporary Iberoamerica II, which I LOVED. The professor was awesome, solid, and really invested in the class. 50% of the grade comes from participation in class, which doesn't freak me out like it would have last semester. The substance is really interesting -- it's an overall history of Latin America from the 1880s until 2000s, with a particular focus on a few countries (Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Cuba). He stressed how it's important to understand what goes on within each country AND understand what's happening with the interactions with the US and Europe at the same time. He knew his stuff and he seemed very into it and dedicated. His expectations are much higher than any other class I've had here -- he assigns readings and expects you to do those readings and expects an interactive classroom dynamic -- and I have high hopes. Liliana is in the class, too, which makes me happy. Added bonus!

And finally, at night I had History of Prehispanic America: States and Empires, which deals with early cultures in the Andes. The Inca, obviously, is the most well-known, but that is what we talk about at the end of the course. Before that we will learn a lot about all sorts of other small, indigenous cultures. It should be interesting. It's a bigger class and way less interactive (read: not interactive at all) but the professor was really good, easy to follow, and knew his stuff. There is only a test at the end of the semester, nothing else, which is both nice and intimidating. Fun random fact about this class: the classroom is on floor 1.5. It's halfway between the first and second floor. Weird, no? That's the fabrica de tabacos for you...

This semester should be good because I have balanced my life (in terms of classes) much better than last semester. I am taking two history classes, two literature classes (all about things relating to Spain or Latin America), and an anthro class. I now know which classes and professors are good and which ones should be avoided, so that has also helped me to create a pretty fantastic schedule, if I do say so myself. Hopefully everything stays the same, the other classes I haven't tried yet are good, and the university doesn't randomly switch around any schedules, although I wouldn't be surprised if that happens.

SO, backtracking, this weekend was great, especially Sunday. I think I am slowly making a legitimate Spanish friend! I had an intercambio with her before finals and things went really well. She knew that I liked photography, so she emailed me and told me that on Sunday her friend who studies Photography in Madrid was going to be in Sevilla and that I should come with them around the center of the city to practice taking photos. It was great. I spent a couple of hours with Cristina (the girl) beforehand, and it was great, again. Not awkward at all and we had real things to say to each other. She took me to a plaza where every Sunday morning there is all kinds of art for sale and then we hung out in Plaza El Salvador and drank tinto de verano and I tried "chuchos." The plaza is interesting because the people go, buy a glass of beer or wine or whatever, and then take it out to the center of the plaza and just stand around, talking and drinking. No tables, just groups and groups and groups of people. There isn't shmoozing or anything like that -- you come with your own people and you stick to your own people -- but it's still a festive environment.

Ok. So chuchos. They are some kind of bean-ish type thing, I think, but they are basically called "vaginas." After a long discussion with Mayte at dinner on Sunday night about what it was that I had eaten earlier in the day with Cristina, she told me that they are altramuces (still haven't found out what they are in English; not sure if they exist) but everyone calls them chuchos or chuchitos, which is literally a slang word for vagina. People use it as an affectionate term sometimes for little girls who are especially cute (analyze that) and also for the altramuces because... uh... they look like chuchos? I mean, I didn't particularly think so, but hey, to each her own culture. So that was an interesting experience, although Mayte did help me clarify a lot in my mind.

And now, some pictures from the wonderful outing with Cristina and her friends:

Cristina and one of her two friends who came, Paula, holding up the chuchos we ate.They treated me differently and at points I felt like the foreigner, but it was okay. I enjoyed myself!

Cristina's idea for a photo and a good one at that!

Walking around the old touristy parts, taking pictures, messing with the features on my camera and lighting...

The classic Sevilla shot.

Ok, so the Giralda dominates my photos. I really like this one, though.

Alrighty, that's all I have to say for now. I mean no, I'm sure I had more (in fact I can already think of other things I meant to say), but I will end this entry and move on to the other things I have to do tonight before I go to bed. Buenas noches a todos!

"Emma... it smells like band camp in here."

Oh man, I'm laughing already just remembering the quotation that I used above for the title of this entry. There are so many things that have to come together for that to work, so much mixing of past and present in a "that's life" kind of way. I guess I'll explain that first, although it might throw the order of this entry out of whack (and heaven forbid, we couldn't have a disorganized entry). Anyway, so I had my LAST final exam yesterday (yes, yes, I am finally done with first semester, more on that later). It was for local development and I have that class with Liliana. The professor for the class was *always* late (literally always, class started at least 15 min late every time) and, surprise surprise, he was also late for the final. Actually, Liliana and I couldn't stop laughing because we had gotten there early, used the bathroom, gotten all set up, and were looking over our notes, committing stuff to memory (the fancy way of saying cramming) just like any good American student would do, while everyone around us was talking loudly, running around, laughing, and just generally acting like 3rd graders. The room was small. The test was supposed to start at 6pm (6-9; horrible time for an exam), but people were still trickling in at 6:05, 6:10, etc and there was no sign of the professor. At this point, the only thing Liliana and I could do was laugh. There was no alternative. It also did not help that on the bulliten board outside of the classroom, someone had written in marker (in English) "Yankees GO HOME." What a nice way to prepare for a final, no? Anyway, when the professor finally did come, he decided that the room was too small and we needed a bigger room. So he left again to go find a room, came back 10 min later (Liliana and I are still giggling to ourselves about how ludicrous the Spanish system can be; we are now getting looks), and we all proceeded in a great migration across the Fabrica de tobacos building to our new classroom. It was the Magna Aula, which is the biggest classroom in the Geography department. It is huge and old. It is the kind of classroom that has old wooden chairs that creak up and creak down and narrow desks that are more like one long, skinny table and have carved writing on them from generations past. The wood smelled. The whole thing smelled. It was raining outside and the windows were open, which I'm sure didn't help. It was then that Liliana looked over at me and said "Emma... it smells like band camp in here."

Ok, recap: Liliana is my good friend from high school who now goes to Michigan. When I am at Cornell, we keep in touch only by letters because we have this theory that snail mail is a better way to keep in touch than using email or facebook. It might sound crazy, but the past 2 years have been wonderful and, because of our promise to only write letters, Liliana is my only friend from home who I have actually gotten to be *better* friends with since leaving for college. I'm telling you, folks, the immediacy of communication thing of our age is not always the best. Anyway. So I'm not used to spending time during the school year with Liliana, let alone hear her voice (because we don't talk on the phone) or study for a class with her. But then here we are, in SPAIN, studying at the SAME UNIVERSITY, in the SAME CLASS, taking the SAME FINAL EXAM. We are the only Americans in a room of about 60 people. And she references band camp. (For the record, she was totally right -- it smelled like high school band camp cabin like nobody's business in that room.)

Ahh, life. Ok. That was the long rant/explanation of the title of this entry. And now for my traditional list:

1) I am now done with first semester, as I said before. I could have nailed the local development final (3 questions, 2 hours (the professor shortened the time period; I think it's because he's lazy and wanted to go home)) had it been in English, so I'm guessing I probably still did pretty well. Sometimes it's hard to tell, though, because I never know if my analysis in Spanish comes across as I intend it to. Anyway, I won't find out my grades for awhile, but I know I've passed 2 of my 4 classes and would be surprised if I don't pass the other 2. At this point it's more just a matter of what number I get (scale of 1-10, 5 is average and passing). I'm fine with anything, but it would feel really good to get an 8 in a class. It's really hard to do and it's a personal goal that I think I not-so-subconsciously have. Maybe if that doesn't happen this semester, I'll go for it next semester... So yes, now I have a long weekend off before second semester classes start on Monday. I'm excited, even though it isn't much of a break.

2) Normally the main essays for the semester are all due the day of the exam. The students here like to get their essays professionally bound to look all pretty and professional. Liliana and I were talking about it while we were waiting for our exam to start. It strikes us as really weird. Every class, we go to turn in our papers, stapled together without a cover page, American style, and everyone else looks like they're turning in their dissertation. What's especially comical about it is that most people have plagiarized, copied, or have just generally produced bad work and they somehow think that by presenting it well, the professors won't notice. In the US, doesn't it work oppositely? If a kid turns in something all bound with pictures, I feel like the professor would be suspicious. No, your paper is not getting published, you are just learning in a class in college, so why bother? I don't know. More evidence of the two distinct worlds of American universities and Spanish ones... well, Liliana and I proudly handed in our naked essays. And with a smile!

3) Yesterday, what with my local development exam and the absurdities of the Spanish educational system, I spent awhile thinking about how I am paying Cornell tuition for this experience. It is kind of funny, kind of bothersome. I miss Cornell's stimulating and rigorous classes more than I thought I would and the classes here just don't compare. It's also absurd to be paying $22,000 a semester or whatever it has gone up to now for what the Europeans (study abroad included) pay 300 euro a YEAR for. Oh well. At the end of the day, all I can do is chuckle and decide that I really can't strictly compare academics like that because I'm here mainly to learn the language and improve my language skills... all other learning is secondary.

4) New food that I miss: peanut butter. Austin's dad and sister are coming to visit in a few weeks. We have requested peanut butter. You have NO IDEA how excited I am. Oh, joy. Now if only I had some real milk to go along with it, that would make me one happy camper.

5) Old people here all take the same form: they become rectangles. I don't intend that to be mean; it's just the facts. Short, stout rectangles. Rectangular body, rectangular face. Often in a fat sort of way, but that is not an absolute requirement. Also, all the rectangular women wear the same kind of winter coat. It looks kind of like a longish trench coat. I didn't really notice this until my dad came and couldn't get over it. Not sure why. I told Austin about my dad's observations and since then we have been marveling over it whenever we walk anywhere together. Seriously, a society has to be pretty freaking homogeneous to create old people that all look the same. (Side note: all people here look the same, really, when it comes down to it. White with dark features. There it is. That's all there is to being Spaniard.)

6) I wrote this in an email and thought it was worth repeating in the blog: here, when you say America, that means Latin or South America. If you want to talk about the US, you have to say US. This is especially true with classes. Looking at all the class titles for History, for example, they all talk about "America" to mean the America that Spain conquered. I have had conversations with a few people who actually get upset when kids from the US say they are Americans, because saying your "American" can encompass all kinds of countries and backgrounds. My intercambio friend is Colombian and he calls himself an American. It's interesting how different their definition of an American is from ours.

7) When Fernando worked, during the mornings he taught plane-driving classes and during the afternoons he taught car-driving classes. DUDE. The man is a beast. He taught pilots of other countries (as in, armies, I think) how to fly planes. We had a nice family bonding moment a few nights ago--Mayte and Fernando came into our room and sat down and we looked through a bunch of old photos of him with various pilots from various countries and the planes that they were learning to fly. Each plane looked different depending on the country. I'm not sure if Fernando also constructed the planes or if he just taught them how to fly. I'm pretty sure he constructed them, too, because Mayte has told me he's an airplane engineer...

8) Things with Antonia, my older person who I volunteer with, are going well, except for it's still hard for me to understand her. I don't know if she has given up hope or not. Some days I think she's fine and likes me, and other days I feel like she doesn't even try to talk to me, which makes me feel inadequate for not being able to communicate with her. Last time I was over there she was talking to someone on the phone and I heard her talking about me. Antonia basically said that I was very nice, but I can never understand anything that she says and of course ironically that was the one time that I actually understood everything she was saying perfectly. Ah, the life of a foreigner.

9) I went to get my hair cut at a haircutting school today, but they had just closed for siesta. I looked at their prices in the window, and it is 2 euro to get a hair cut with a student. TWO EURO. At first I thought that was an awesome deal, but then as I walked towards the center I changed my mind and decided it is sketchy. Since I only get my hair cut twice a year, max, I'm splurging and going to the place where Luisa always gets her hair cut. Twenty euro hair cut? Let's see if I can do it. I think so.

That's all for now, folks... thanks for reading this book of an entry!

Cádiz y más (Cádiz and More)

The center took the new kids to Cádiz for a day trip on Friday, just like they did with us last semester. There was extra room on the bus, so Lauren, Jackie, and I went, too. It was fun and I think nice for them to see a little city on the water that has a different feel than Sevilla. Granted, they're in Granada right now, so they're getting more of a taste of Andalusia, but still. Lauren has been taking all the pictures, but I brought my camera to Cádiz and took a few, myself. And now, for your enjoyment...

This picture is mainly for Angie. Main square of Cádiz. Cute kids, all dressed in white, balloons, pacifiers. What more could you want?

Me being a creeper; Lauren has no idea that I'm behind her.

Jackie, Lauren's friend, off dipping her toes in the water.

Me and Jackie (I promise I do not have a mullet; that's just a bad angle).

This is my new favorite picture that I've taken. At the "Plaza of Flowers" where there are a lot of different flower stands. I love the contrast of the colorful flowers to the white buildings and white flowers. This picture is also currently my desktop background.

With Lauren and Jackie here, I have discovered and rediscovered all of the tourist corners of Sevilla. It has been fun, and I've also done some stuff that I hadn't done before, like take a tour of the bull ring here. Generally, this semester is starting to feel like a dream, like I've stepped out of reality. I have a lot of friends (from high school and from college) studying abroad all over Europe this semester, and having people stop by and visiting other people is easy and cheap. Lauren and Jackie are studying in France, cool, so they just decided to hop down to southern Spain beforehand, no biggie, to hang out with me for a week. That in itself is incredible. When else in my life will there be a time to casually go up to Paris for a long weekend? Or over to Ireland for my week off? Or have my friend in Barcelona stop down here for a weekend? It's just insane. Really nice, obviously, but it feels weird, too. I didn't get the same feeling last semester because no one was abroad, but this semester it feels a lot more crazy. I kind of like it, kind of don't. On the one hand, it's always nice to meet up with good friends in a new place. On the other hand, it makes my European experience feel much more like a rich American abroad than an American trying to fit in with local culture.

Also, I watched Carmen, the movie, last night for the first time. I've heard the plays are better and more authentic, but the movie (2003) was pretty good, too. To be honest, part of the reason I loved it is because it's set mostly in Sevilla and I recognized a lot of the buildings. My school, which used to be the tobacco factory, plays a huge role!! The opening 10/15 minutes takes place completely in and around where I go to class every day!! That was awesome. The plot also wasn't bad. Kind of intense for an old school movie (set in the 1800s), but I still enjoyed it.

Fernando taped it from TV so Austin and I watched it in Spanish, obviously, without subtitles. One thing I noticed is my ability to understand movies without subtitles has greatly improved. At the beginning of last semester, I could get the general idea, but now I pick up almost everything and with much less concentration. Progress, indeed!

Speaking of progress, yesterday Austin and I sat down and organized our lives, which also entailed getting tickets for two weekends in March to Valencia and to Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia. Iberia has some special deals and we found tickets for 19euro each way with hardly any tax! Not bad, not bad! Less than the price of a bus to Cádiz! That was exciting. I'm trying to figure out other places I want to go to in Europe this semester sooner rather than later because Iberia has some amazing deals and they end on the 9th. I feel more ready and up for traveling this semester than I did last semester, because I feel much more comfortable with Sevilla and with what is expected of me school-wise, etc. Not to say I'll be traveling every weekend, but there are some places I would definitely like to go.

Also, I almost forgot: the Semester at Sea boat was docked in Cádiz when we went down there and those kids have totally infested Sevilla for the week. It is gross. So, Semester at Sea is a huge cruise ship (700 kids) where some universities have "study abroad" programs. Basically, the kids cruise around the Mediterranean stopping in ports and they have time to get off and travel around. Lauren and Jackie and I are unsure whether any learning is actually done -- it appears that it's a no -- and are skeptical that the experience involves immersion in local culture in any way. I took Jackie and Lauren to my favorite free flamenco bar and it was OVERRUN with these kids. Normally everyone gets very quiet for the performance upon request, but these freaking kids would not stop talking. I was so irritated. A bunch of Spaniards tried to tell them to shut up and be quiet, but it didn't work. They were loud, they were bleached-blonde and over-dressed and overly made-up, and they did not fit in (nor try to fit in) at all. I was angry and frustrated, but also embarrassed to be an American. The way they spoke to Spaniards was also so insulting... like the Spaniards were mute or something because they didn't know English. You know, screaming things like "DOS BEERS POUR FAYVOR." And you know me. This is a recipe for an Angry Emma Disaster.

In other news, today I will be writing papers and studying (woo hoo) until Lauren and Jackie come back later tonight on the train. I'll spend tonight with them and then tomorrow morning they leave early for France. Hopefully we have a nice night and the Semester and Sea kids stay far, far away. Hasta luego!