I have to work on thanksgiving!

These past few weeks in Córdoba have gone pretty well and I am settling into life again in Andalucia. I have been keeping busy by going to school, tutoring, and the gym, observing and interacting with my roommates and occasionally going out with friends on the weekend. Although I have been here for 6 weeks now, this past one was full of a lot of firsts. Including…

Going to my very first Spanish demonstration with my roommates and their friends. The demonstration was against violence against women and the machismo that underlies Spanish (and other Latin) culture.

First English conversation class with a neurologist who pays me 12 Euros/hour to tell me the differences between the Spanish and US health systems.

My first late night out; I got home at 4am. This is nothing if you are Spanish, but now that I am 24 (eek!) I figure 4 in the morning isn’t too shabby.

Attending my first ever Step Aerobic class. Not only at my new gym, but ever! It was pretty hilarious because the teacher was doing a really difficult routine and I had no idea how to follow. I made a complete fool of myself but had fun and made a French friend.

The realization that my ½ hour walk to school in the morning would not be the quiet, meditative, stroll I had once hoped it to be. The closest thing I can compare it to is trying to beat a level of a video game like Super Mario Bros, but not nearly as fun. To beat the level and arrive to school on time, or at all, I have to ‘overcome’ 3-5 year old Spanish children with rolley backpacks linked hand-in-hand to siblings and parents on their way to school, stern faced Spanish women and their pointy toed high heeled boots, dog poop on the sidewalk (where there is sidewalk…about 1 foot wide), delivery trucks (like a UPS truck) driving on a road that was made to accommodate the passage of two horses, high school students on bikes playing their music out loud on their cell phone (can be compared to the 80s when people put boom boxes on their shoulders and allowed/forced everyone to listen to their music) and your everyday, regular car commuter traffic. All this on one street! So, how do I beat this level with all the challenges and opponents it presents? Usually by listening to music on my iPod and laughing at the whole chaotic mess and pretending I am apart from it, all the while walking quickly in my flat, comfortable shoes, and keeping my vision fixed ahead for any future obstacles. I have also found that what NOT to do and what DOES NOT help is to think, “there is a better way.” …(I have found this to be an unhelpful, but natural, thought in many of my experiences in Spain).

My first fall/winter cold. Mostly a cough but still annoying when you have to talk over 30 Spanish teenagers who come from a culture where interrupting is not seen as rude.

my favorite plaza

This Saturday I went to eat breakfast in the little bar at my favorite plaza, Plz. Jeronimo Paez. It is right in the middle of the old Jewish quarters but hidden from the touristy area of the mezquita. Here are some pics.

After breakfast I went to the Archeological Museum of Cordoba. It has some cool artifacts from the Roman Empire with descriptions of where they were found in the city. It also has a collection of pottery from the medieval period when Cordoba was the capital of al-Andalus.

This is a statue of Aphrodite (Roman Venus), goddess of love, desire, beauty, and fertility, kneeling over a swan and perhaps looking at her reflection in a pond. (Interesting the standards of beauty in Roman times and now.)

Cordoba, the city with many faiths

Check out this BBC article about Cordoba. Interesting view on the mix of cultures in the past and present.

view my fotos!!

Today I created a site where I can upload my photos and give you access to them. The link is posted below and every time I add more new photos I will put the link in this blog.

http://myyearinphotos.shutterfly.com/

The current album, titled Cordoba, shows photos I took this past weekend. They are taken in Cordoba's famous patios, Los Patios Cordobeses. In May there is a two-week competition in which patios are opened to the public and which culminates with the local government (I think) awarding a prize for the most beautiful patio. Despite the geraniums not being in bloom right now the patios are still gorgeous, so I am looking forward to May when everything is in bloom.

typical espanish

Walking through the streets of Spain it is pretty typical to see an older woman wearing a bath robe and slippers and either sweeping or mopping the street/sidewalk. Please refer to the picture below to get a better idea of what I'm talking about. I often ask myself why one might do this, but I have yet to ask anyone Spanish. Maybe this can be one of the topics I bring up in the "differences between US (or you-sah (USA) as my students would say) and Spanish cultures" class...


Also funny is when my students see me outside of school and say/shout across the street, "Hello! I'm fine and you?".

Here is the picture of the tortillas I mentioned a few days ago. It might be hard to see how big they are without a reference, but you can use the wine bottles in the foreground to give you an idea. I went back today and the bartender said they weigh approximately 5 kilos, 11 pounds.

a typical monday

Well, not really. But I do admit that these Andaluces have a lot of Dias de Fiesta... translation: we all get the day off of work. So yesterday on my day off I went to a famous bar near the Mezquita to try their tortilla de patata and a cold cerveza. The tortillas they serve (hopefully I will get a picture the next time I go, but they are quite elusive and difficult to capture on camera) are about 6 or 7 inches tall with an 8 or 9 inch diameter. If you have ever tried to make a tortilla then you know that to successfully make one that is this humongous takes real skill and experience.

And the taste? Exquisite. Those of you who can come and visit I promise to take you here (or you can take me here!).

xoxo

a walk through my neighborhood

View of the Mezquita minaret from Calle de Los Flores.




Minaret and detailing on the outside of the mezquita.


Plaza de Las Tendillas- I live directly behind the white building.