time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin' into the future

I feel like I'm racing time and it's kicking my butt. This past week went by "en menos que canta un gallo." (Literal translation: in less time than a rooster crows. I've never timed a rooster crowing, but you get the idea.)

The big event of the week was "Carnaval" this past weekend - a massive fiesta that lasts for more than two weeks each year in the coastal city of Cádiz, Spain. It began in the 17th century, and features singing competitions, parades, and witty shows in addition to thousands of people in costumes participating in the unofficially official "botellón" that crowds the streets. As a testament to the power of the party, it was the only one in Spain that Franco (the dictator) couldn't put a stop to during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

Entrance to Carnaval!

Beautiful sunset in Cádiz

On a totally unrelated but funny note, a friend of mine here, who is also staying with a host family, came down with a bit of the sniffles last week. Her Señora (host mom) came to the conclusion that the cold was obviously a direct result of eating her cereal with cold milk every morning. Now my friend eats cereal with warm milk. Gotta love home remedies.


 Yesterday I went to the Iglesia de San Antón for mass, and it was packed! However, it takes me by surprise every weekend when about half of the congregation does not receive communion. I think it's somewhat of a cultural difference; I have read that this is actually common in Europe, whereas in the United States the majority of people receive communion. My understanding of the mass is improving little by little, and I'm able to participate much more now!



Between classes (yes, I am actually here to study), going on trips, planning for trips (stay tuned!), volunteering at the soup kitchen, keeping tabs on things at home and at school, and exploring, I am rarely bored. There is so much to do and see here!

I think Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 offers the profound wisdom in that there is a time for everything, but sometimes it seems like there just isn't time to do it all!

Life Appreciation Moments

A friend once told me that her family celebrates "Sky Appreciation Moments", which can occur at any point in time. All it takes is one person to look up to the sky and start the moment of appreciation. I've always liked the idea, but I've found that I'm not content with just appreciating the sky. So I've upgraded the idea to "Life Appreciation Moments". It's all about taking a second to not be busy, or think about being busy, and simply be grateful for life (including the sky, or course). You're probably wondering what I'm doing what my inspiration has been for such thoughts. I can pretty much sum it up in a few short anecdotes.

First thing's first: I never though it would be so much fun to teach a Spanish person how to say "Lynyrd Skynyrd", and then explain that there is actually no translation for the name at all. It doesn't have to make any sense; it just is.

Shawarma. What can I say? It's an Arab food that's popular and cheap here, and basically consists of a pita-type wrap filled with a bunch of stuff like meat, cheese, eggs, veggies, and a delicious but mysterious sauce. There are countless places to buy Shawarma, but my favorites are the Shawarma King restaurants. They actually have real, comfortable furniture and lots of Arab decorations. It sort of feels like you've been transported into the movie Aladdin and are about to go on a magic carpet ride in a whole new world. But then you eat Shawarma, which is almost as exciting and just as other-worldly.

Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena

The different-church-every-week saga continues; last week I went to the Santuario Perpetuo Socorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) and felt very much at home. I think the secret was the upbeat, contemporary music, which is not common at all here. I really miss being a part of the music at mass! This week I was drawn toward the Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena. It's fun picking a new place each week. Throughout the week I always keep my eyes open and try to scope out new churches, and when I saw this place the other day I immediately wanted to go. The church was chilly, beautiful, and somewhat sparsely populated for mass. When I see how few people are in attendance, I have to remember that there are an enormous number of churches in Granada, and they all have several masses both on Saturday and Sunday. I've often wondered how all of these building can be maintained. After doing some research, I'm realizing that the Spanish government has something to do with it.

From the Santuario Perpetuo Socorro website: "Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us."

 While we were on our trip last week, I had an amazing experience. Since Catholicism is a major part of Spanish history and culture, we were visiting several Cathedrals. One of the girls in our group is not Christian, and after we left one of the churches she approached me and said, "So, who was this Jesus guy?" I was actually floored for a minute, but then I recovered and started to outline a few main points of Jesus' life. That has never happened to me before, but telling her the story - introducing Jesus as a man and the Son of God -  was honestly one of the most powerful moments of my life. As I was explaining, it was like I was hearing the story more clearly than ever, and believing it with strengthened faith. Sounds like an opportunity for a Life Appreciation Moment.


 On Saturday our group visited the Alhambra, which is one of Granada's biggest claims to fame. We were there for hours, but I feel as if we barely scratched the surface. Brief review: the Alhambra is a Moorish palace that was constructed in the 14th century. It wasn't used by the Moors for too long, because the Reconquista by the Reyes Católicos happened in 1492.   In the surrounding area are the beautiful gardens of the Generalife (pronounced hen-er-a-lee-fey). There is SO MUCH history and too many details to include here, but here are a few highlights of our tour.

Flags of the European Union, Andalucia, Spain, and Granada

  

Part of the Generalife gardens

View of the Alhambra from Generalife

This is cool - at the top of the outer arch you can see a hand with an eye in the center - the Muslim symbol for protection. The Reyes Católicos added the statue of Mary on the inside.

Now would be a good time for a life appreciation moment!
And now....
Now is good too...

: )

Tour de Spain

Wow. In five days we saw five different Spanish cities: Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Madrid, and Toledo. Here are some highlights:

Fairytale Castle

The Cathedral

SEGOVIA: The absolutely majestic Cathedral, built in the 1500s, was the last Gothic style cathedral to be built in Spain. The Alcázar is a castle that is said to have been an inspiration for Cinderella's castle. We climbed the tower, and the view from the top was astonishing.

La vista from the tower

2,000 years old and 15km long

Last but not least, the aqueduct - 2,000 years old, and supposedly it could still function today. There is no cement or anything to hold the stones together. One member of our group is a civil engineer, and she could not understand how the structure could maintain static equilibrium without cement. Showing my Pennsylvania pride, I gave a lesson on the importance of the keystone!







ÁVILA: Home of St. Teresa of Ávila, the city is also known for its wall. I'm pretty sure you can't see it from space (like the Great Wall of China), but ít's definitely  impressive.

This picture of Ávila's wall was taken from the spot where St. Teresa's father went to bring her home after she ran away at the age of seven. Apparently, she was hoping to become a martyr at the hands of the Moors. Today, a type of pastry called "Yemas" are made in honor of St. Teresa. "Yema" means egg yolk; the pastry is basically a mixture of egg yolk and syrup, soft boiled and coated in sugar. You either love them (if you don't think too hard about what's in them) or you can't stand them. Either way, it's very cultural.

SALAMANCA: There are some really cool pieces of history in Salamanca. Of course, there's another beautiful cathedral. If you look really closely, though, there are some funny things on the outside of the building. Look closely at these pictures; in the one on the left you will find an astronaut (added 'secretly' by a renovator in 1993), and in the one on the right the dragon looks like he's either singing karaoke or eating an ice cream cone. The university here was famous throughout history - apparently Columbus went to Salamanca for tips before his travels. On the outside of the university building, there is a frog about halfway up that has supposedly been a good luck charm for students over the years. Also, on the university building below you can see traces of red writing on the walls. That's the signature of successful students writing their initials on the walls, in an ink made of bull's blood. Quite a tradition.

Writing on the wall...

Chapel across from the Palacio Real

  
MADRID: Let's see...Madrid is the capital of Spain! We didn't have enough time there to do everything, but we made it to the Museo Reina Sofía, the Palacio Real, and the Prado. I don't have a lot of pictures because you can't really use a camera inside these places, but I'll share some of what I have. There was some amazing artwork in the museums, including pieces from Goya, Velázquez, Picasso, Dali, and many others. Unfortunately, although I can appreciate his work, I still just don't understand Picasso.

The Palace - 2800 rooms - currently used only for ceremonies (not for living).

Personally, I had several other "firsts" in Madrid, all of them relating to food. I had my first paella, complete with a mini crab and shrimp with the heads still on. I also ate my first flan, which is a traditional Spanish experience, but one that I do not need to have again. Oh yes - I can't forget the hot chocolate. In Spain, hot chocolate is literally chocolate that is hot. None of this watery powdered mix stuff. It's kind of overwhelming, actually. Speaking of food, you don't tip at restaurants here, which is refreshing. They're sneaky, though. If you eat the bread that they have set out on the table, you get charged for it. And you have to be specific to order tap water, or else they will bring you fancy bottled water that you have to pay for. If that's not enough, we also got charged one euro for using the bottle of ketchup! Ay caramba.

Stained-glass window reflections in the Cathedral

TOLEDO: Last stop of the trip. By this point we were all exhausted, but Toledo is a really cool city. It's the "city of three cultures" - Muslim, Jewish, and Christian. Throughout the city you can find old synagogues and mosques  that have been converted into churches. In fact, one of our stops was an old mosque that had been added onto and turned into a church. It was built on top of an ancient Roman road - talk about culture clash! You can also find plenty of sword shops, and the cathedral is beautiful.I'm not sure why, but I kept thinking of the Princess Bride movie the entire time we were here. I think I was waiting for Íñigo Montoya to challenge someone to a sword fight. Like I said, it was a long trip, and this was the last leg. It was so much fun though! Many more travels to come!