¡Olé!

Yesterday we had a meeting for my interest group (Spain and her Regions). The topic for our meeting was dance and music. We watched videos of traditional dances from a number of regions in Spain. Afterwards two girls demonstrated the sevillanas for us. Our group leader suggested that the full-year students learn the sevillanas because that way the Feria will be more fun for us. Before I knew it we were all on our feet trying it out!! With about twenty people squeezed into a classroom the dance seemed a bit hard to follow. I’m sure that it will not be as hard in an actual lesson. The two dancers explained the basics: the dance includes four pasos, or parts. It is counted in five-counts. The steps are easy, but putting that together with the correct arm movements proved to be a challenge. I think I am going to take a class as my group leader suggested.

I just added pictures from Granada and Ronda. Hope you enjoy them!!

Don't Forget to Look Up!

Friday I went with three of my friends to Ronda, one of Andalucia’s many White Hill towns. It is absolutely beautiful; we visited the palace, Arab Baths, and saw the old bridges that span the gorge. This weekend we went to Granada. It was completely different than any other big city I have ever seen. While walking in the streets of downtown, you can look up and see huge mountains nearby. The Alhambra was amazing. It always is so striking to see something that you have heard about or studied about for so long. Although we had a great time, I feel that the two day trip did not do the city any justice; I need to go back to see it again!

In my Women Writers of the 20th Century class we are reading "Nada" by Carmen Laforet. It's great to be reading Spanish literature again after the summer.

A thought:
I often have to remind myself to look up; I am usually concerned with tripping over the cobblestone roads that I forget to look at the buildings. I usually walk the same way to and from the Palacio every day, and yet there is always something new to notice.

Madrid, classes, upcoming trips

This weekend I went to Madrid with Erik, Diana, Vanessa, Mitch, and Morgan. We had a great time! Since the majority of the group had never been to Madrid, I played tour guide. We walked to the Palace, Gran Via, Puerta del Sol, Parque de Retiro, the Archeology Musuem, and more! On Sunday the boys went to a bullfight, and the girls decided to go to the Prado. Unfortunately we never made it; on our way there we ran into the parade for Dia de la Hispanidad. What a sight! I felt right at home amongst people from all over the world, celebrating la hispanidad. There must have been tens of thousands (if not more) people there. While in Madrid we even had a chance to get Mexican food, one of the things I miss most from home. It was pretty good, but nothing can compare to the good ol' food from the Bay Area.

Classes are going well. I just talked with a professor today about my final project for my Intercultural Communication class. I think I am going to look at publicity in regards to violence against women. In my Women Writers of the 20th Century class I think I will look more at violence through a literary standpoint.

This weekend we are going on a CIEE trip to Granada. I'm excited for it! It's also Erik's birthday this weekend, so it will be nice to celebrate together while on a trip. We might see if we can make it to Ronda on Friday. I'm trying to see as much of Spain as I can while here.

I have just uploaded more pictures, for your viewing pleasure, of course. :)

Weekend trips, classes, and more...

Last week my friend Marta moved to Sevilla. She was a TA at Mount Holyoke last year, and by chance we found out that we would both be in Sevilla this year. She contacted me and said she was moving to Los Remedios, which is where I live. Turns out she lives about a three minute walk from my house! This past weekend I went with Marta to visit her hometown, Rute, which is south of Cordoba. We had tons of fun! I met her friends and was able to practice my Spanish a bit.

Classes have really picked up now, which I always like. My favorite class is Women Writers of the 20th Century. There are two parts to the class: sociology and literature. Right now we are still in the midst of the sociology part. I am learning so much about the current situation of women in the world. It's heartbreaking to hear about all the legal atrocities going on in today's world, but it is important that we know what is going on. We have been talking about the Law of the Sharia, which permits the lapidation of women. Unfortunately the Law of the Sharia still exists in Nigeria, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. In this class we also discuss la violencia contra la mujer, violence against women. On the website of El País there is a whole section on violence against women. I read an article the other day that reported that in Catalonia alone there are more than 100 calls every day reporting incidents of domestic violence. Last semester at Mount Holyoke my Spanish class was on Gendered Violence: Rape, Assault, and Murder in Medieval to Contemporary Spain. It seems that I will be continuing to study this while I am here.

Thursday night a group of us are headed to Madrid for the long weekend. Be on the lookput for photo updates and more!