Granada and another week

First off, there was definitely a protest last week in the streets:

It was cold and rainy, but these kids were out there anyways. The European countries want to radically change the education system to make better graduates, but for a lot of people it means a massive increase in tuition as well as having to tack on graduate school, which is already somewhat private and also has a higher tuition. They were completely blocking traffic on one of the main streets. They go all out on their protests here.

In other news, I took a trip to Granada this past weekend. It was beautiful. There is a lot of Arab influence, especially in the marketplaces, teahouses, architecture, etc. We stayed at a fairly nice hotel as well. It was really a city to experience rather than tell about, so I will let the pictures tell the story:

A memorial to the Reyes Catolicos

A view of Granada from the Alhambra

A random guy playing a didgeridoo type instrument

Some of the Arabic architecture in the Alhambra

A fountain in some gardens

A fountain inside the Alhambra

For those who may be wondering, the Alhambra was a combination military stronghold/religious place/ dwelling place/all purpose place for the rulers during several hundreds of years of Granada history and is one of the most visited tourist spots in Europe.

So in the spirit of the mediteranean food I had in Granada, Loli decided to make some falafel for us today. However, even though she followed the recipe from the internet exactly, they still didn't come out too good. She was fairly upset at the internet, but she's going to talk to some people and try it again some other time.

Adventure for this coming weekend: Morroco! Will let you know how that goes!

Besos!

Figaro Figaro Figaro

So, it has been a pretty uneventful week. Some of you though may have guessed from the title of this entry, yes, I finally went to see the barber of Seville, not the opera, but an actual barber. They do haircuts a little differently here, mainly because they don't use the electric razor on the sides and neck to trim up to the hairline...they definitely use a straight razor. So that was interesting. I went with a friend so I didn't feel so stupid being the only American in there, although two different people asked me if I was from England while I was in there. I guess I look British.

I have now passed the halfway point in my trip. In 62 days, I will be back on U.S. soil. Yikes!

I went to see Burn After Reading today (in English with Spanish subtitles). It was an interesting movie and I really liked it. Although a lot of the slang/cursing in that movie didn't translate well into the subtitles, especially when in the movie they said "five" and the subtitles definitely said "ocho". For some reason a flag went up in my mind that said...umm, I don't think that's right, just a thought.

So, I have been to several cafes while I've been here, but this week I was craving Starbucks, and so I went. Two odd things:

-They play American music at the Starbucks' here, and when I walked in on that 75-80 degree day, they were playing "Baby, it's cold outside". Riddle me that.

-My cup. Apparently I have a secret admirer that works at the Starbucks on Avenida Constitucion in Seville
















Hasta Luego

La Fuerza sea con Usted

So, first off, as I'm writing this it's pouring down rain. Seriously, this is the most it's rained since I've been here. And the persiana (the metallic shades that stop the sun from coming in during early afternoon) was rattling all night because of the wind.

So, back to the title (May the Force be with you). I was walking down the street Wednesday. Just walking, when suddenly I am passed by four Storm Troopers who are on a mission to get somewhere. Yes. Storm Troopers. I thought this was a little weird, until they were closely followed by a couple Jedis and Princess Leia. I was slightly confused. But after asking a few people, they said it was part of a mentorship program that was being advertised throughout the city.






Luke Skywalker would have been another Luke Skywalker if it hadn't been for Obi-Wan.

We all have someone who we give thanks to for who we are.










So, yeah, that was interesting.

Also, I thought I should mention this. In downtown Seville, there is a photography display in the street. The collection is called "Mil Besos" (1000 kisses), I'm thinking based on the Catullus poem "Da mi Basia Mile". It's some of the scariest photography I've ever seen. Seriously, how would you like to be walking down the street and have this woman stare at you.



















That's scary stuff!

So, more cool stuff about Spain. We are required to take a class at our program center here, and I chose one called Historias de Amor, which deals with love stories and literature as they progress through time. There are only four people in the class, so yesterday, the professor just took us out to an outdoors cafe/bar and we had class there with coffee, beer, whatever. And the professor bought the drinks! Amazing! Classes in the US need to do that too. Seriously.

That's all for now. Hasta Luego-
Marcus

What? You're making me go to class?

Yes, classes started this week. Finally. I was really getting used to just kind of hanging out in Seville. I'm taking a class on the history of love literature, hispanoamerican short stories, descriptive linguistics, Andalucian sociolinguistics, and vulgar latin. Come to find out about halfway through this week that I'm taking one class too many, so it looks like I'm dropping vulgar latin.

I caught the last 2 minutes of the Wisconsin game last weekend. Great thing to here!

I don't know if I have talked about my senora's cat yet, and it deserves mentioning. There is a word in Spanish that describes it great: antipatico. Think the greek "pathos", then think the exact opposite. This is Chispi. Petting Chispi is not allowed, it will hiss at you. Sometimes it also just randomly starts mewing very loudly at odd times during the day. But he loves my Spanish brother and likes to play around in his hair...what a strange animal.

I also finally got a camera cord, so here are some pictures that have been missing for a while:

My bedroom (and my roomate's)

Eagle eye view of Cadiz

The Royal Gardens in Seville

Maria Sabugal!!! She studied at my HS 4 years ago. She showed me around Madrid.

Also, we went on a trip to Ronda today, here are some pictures from that:

A (sideways) bridge in Ronda that Hemingway used in several of his books

A beautiful view from the edge of the city

A real, live bull-fight in the Plaza de Toros

Sorry to bombard you with pics. Besos- Marcus