Clases

Here's what's been going on with me!
         On February 7th classes started. I am taking 5 classes in total- Civilization and Culture of Spain, POE (a grammar class), the Art of Flamenco in Society and Culture, and Art History: Renaissance and Baroque. All the classes are taught in Spanish and so far, it has been okay. There are some vocab words that I don't know, but overall, I can understand my professor perfectly. It is actually strange because I forget that they are speaking in Spanish and then halfway through the class, I will suddenly realize that my entire class is in Spanish. It is kind of surreal but is really cool to think that my Spanish is good enough that I can understand my studies. (Thank goodness for that too!!)


        I absolutely love my Civ and Culture class because we are going to cover all the topics that interest me, like the Spanish diet, toros, flamenco, the different cultural groups, etc. We are also learning about the political system and terrain/climate of the peninsula, but this part is going by really fast so we can get to the more interesting topics! The POE class is boring because it is the equivalent of Spanish 1502 at Spanish which I took freshman year at Fordham, but I have made some great friends in the class, so I don't mind it too much. Oh, where do I begin about my Art of Flamenco class? My professor is hilarious, and he says some phrases in English that make me crack up. He is also extremely enthusiastic about the history of flamenco and it's role in Spanish society, so every class is exciting.  I don't even mind it being at 5pm (which would usually be the time for a nap after la comida!) I am learning so much though about the art of flamenco--the singers, the guitar players, the origin of it, etc, and I have realized that everything that I thought flamenco was, was actually the stereotypes about it. For example, the first day played a word association game with the word flamenco--we came up with woman, red dress, castanets, red flower, passion (among other things). Our professor told us all of that is "tourist flamenco" and in reality, there is a rich history behind the true meaning of flamenco. I can't wait to learn more about it because I find it fascinating that I could be so wrong about what flamenco is!


        My art history class is awesome (as I expected since I am in love with Renaissance and Baroque art). It is also at 8:30 in the morning--that my friends, is love! It is my only class of the day, but since I like my professor so much and the class, I don't regret taking such an early class. Plus, it is an excuse to take a nap in the afternoon! (I've only done this once so far though!)


      Some of the highlights of the meals we have enjoyed: The lentil soup with pinchitos (seriously, delicious). Also, our señora makes her paella with sweet sausage, a black sausage, mushrooms, asparagus, and chicken at least once a week, so we have been enjoying that as well. Also, since coming to Spain, I apparently fell in love with peppers (I know Marissa, who am I?!) I have eaten pimimiento relleno (stuffed pepper), and sweet peppers. I have also been branching out and eating spinach (For our señora's birthday, she made two special dishes with spinach that are typical of her saint's day.) Another thing that we had the other night that was definitely new to me was anguilla y gambas...aka eel and shrimp. The eels were small and thin and looked almost like noodles. It was delicious, but it was strange to realize after the fact that it was eels.  Since the weather has been getting warmer, Claudine and I have gone on some walks and stopped for gelato--I've tried fresa (strawberry) and tirimisu, but I haven't been crazy about either--I hope that I can have some coffee gelato soon (you'd think it would be a more popular flavor here!) 


          We have also been getting to know our host family better over these few weeks. Claudine and I play with the grandkids almost every afternoon- It is really fun but also exhausting!  They have so much energy-one afternoon I played make believe with dolls and with blocks with Cristina, hide and seek and cards with the rest of the kids. It was like 5 hours of non-stop playing, but it is also really good practice for us because we can talk in Spanish the whole time, and it is not as intimidating when the kids correct us as it is in a classroom setting. 


      The other thing that I have been doing a lot is going on cultural trips. The first one we went on was with the whole Fordham group and it was to La Catedral and La Capilla Real. Fernando and Isabel are enterred there because Granada was the center of power for Los Reyes Catolicos. Isabella was the patron of the cathedral and the chapel and it has the coolest mix of the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Islamic styles. There are Gothic vaults, the reja or grille that separates the nave from the altar is from the Renaissance period (we learned all about the plateresque elements in class), the altarpieces are Baroque and there is a banner-like stone piece that encirlces the entire interior of the Capilla that is borrowed from the Islamic style.  It is huge inside and filled with the art that Isabel bought including a Perugino and a work that is attributed to Botticelli. There are also the Catholic Royals' crowns and scepters that they donated to the chapel in their wills. It is an impressive building and I have been going to mass every Sunday there at 1pm. I like this mass because the Archbishop of Granada presides and there is music (which is not usually at every mass). I also went back to the Capilla Real on Friday March 2nd with my art history class so our professor could explain more in depth about the architectures of the buildings. I love going because every time, I see a new aspect of the art and architecture. For example, the crest of the Reyes Catolicos is very prominent inside, but they also used the symbols of flechas (arrows) to represent Fernando and yukos (yokes) to represent Isabel (Y stands for Ysabel, an old way of spelling in [I think] Greek). 


        I also went to the Basilica de San Juan de Dios which is a Baroque church. It was incredible inside--Baroque is of course decoration on steroids, so literally every single  surface was wither gilded, painted or had a statue on it. I loved it. We also got to go to the room that is situated above the altar and see a ton of relics. It was sort of creepy because there were skulls and bones, and even one mummified Roman soldier, but it was also really cool to see. Check out my pictures if you want to see more of the Basilica (and the soldier!)


         My most recent trip was to Carmen de los Martires, a former prison for religious prisoners, hospital, and residential home but is now a tourist sight. Here is the link to the website to read more about it, but it is near the Alhambra so once we got to the top, it has beautiful views of the city. It also has extensive gardens that I'm sure in the spring and summer are probably gorgeous! I can't wait to go back with my friends and bring a picnic lunch because it is a popular lunch spot.