It’s September 20th and I find myself making my way back to Mount Holyoke. Albeit I have yet to arrive, it doesn’t feel odd going back to school. I’m lucky, really. Not only is it the GEMELA Conference this weekend, but it’s also the Inauguration of our new president, Lynn Pasquerella. And not only are these two major events going on this weekend, but I am also having a mini-reunion with a number of friends from the class of 2010! It should make for a great week back on campus. I’ve had a great transition out of Mount Holyoke… coming home and attending an alumnae event, having a chance to spend time with classmates who now live in San Francisco, and now this coming weekend with many close friends. Plus, two of my other good friends will be in Andalucía, Spain with me teaching there as well. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.
A little update on the summer… I worked for six weeks at camp as per usual. It’s a good steady job, and while not a very sophisticated job, I prefer it to retail or the corporate world any day. Additionally I house-sat, dog-walked, cat-fed, plant-watered, babysat, and transcribed almost the entirety of my time home. I spent time with my family, went to Tahoe and to Las Vegas (with my best friend). In other words, it was a successful summer. I even got a jump-start on the grad school process and took the GRE.
Now I am making my way to Mount Holyoke to work with my professor at a conference on early modern women writers in Spain and the Americas. I will have a chance to meet many of the top scholars in the field, whom I may work with in graduate school. I am so thankful for such a wonderful opportunity.
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The week was everything I could have asked for and more. I ended up spending most of my time with my professor, Nieves, as well as Esther (Spanish professor at Mt. Holyoke), José (Esther's husband, and a grad student at UMass) and Glenda (another grad student at UMass). We had such a great time! Nieves and I had many bonding moments; it was great to get some real conversations in while we had time together. She has been such an inspiration in my past four years and really the one whole has been responsible for many of the choices I have made. Although we were exhausted, the conference went very smoothly and was quite a success. I was able to meet many professors from around the US and the world. I have read many articles by them, so it was rewarding, albeit odd, to put a face to the name. It was also a great time to make connections for the future.
While attending the sessions I realized how much I really do love Spanish literature, history, and culture. I also became aware of how much I know. At one point, in a discussion about Marcia Belisarda's manuscript, unpublished in its entirety, a question arose about its being published at all. I was extremely pleased when I was able to name the other of the two anthologies in which the prologue is published. While only a small thing and a fleeting moment, it was then that I truly felt that I should go to graduate school. At another point Glenda and I were speaking about some of the works I read last year, (including Mario Bellatin's Salón de Belleza, or Beauty Salon, which she since has assigned to her class at Amherst) and she encouraged me to continue on to graduate school as well. "I wish my students were half as enthusiastic as you," she told me. So I guess graduate school is the right decision... Sometimes I wonder if I am not going to be good enough for it, smart enough, or prepared enough. But this past week at the GEMELA Conference really was great for me in terms of feeling secure about my future. I'm ready for it. Bring on the grad school applications.
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Yesterday Mt. Holyoke's new president, Lynn Pasquerella, declared it was Mountain Day. While I didn't go climb an actual mountain, I thought it was an appropriate day to be Mountain Day since it was my first full day in Fuengirola. All I could think of was the great Dr. Seuss. What would he have said about climbing mountains? Oh right, here's what he said...
You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!
And so I continue my journey up the next mountain. Onward to...
Fuengirola, Spain
un sol de ciudad
un sol de ciudad
I arrived in Fuengirola two days ago, and it seems I am still getting over my jet lag. It doesn't feel like Spain, but rather this weird multicultural/fusion place... There probably weren't more than a dozen Spaniards on my flight from London; there are tons of British people here, and almost everything is written in both Spanish and English. In the streets you see people from all over the world, of every race, including women in hijab which I never saw in Sevilla. In my neighborhood it seems like there are more Finnish people than Spaniards. Even one of the main streets in my barrio is called Avenida de Finlandia. I've gone out and explored a little... I've already discovered that I won't be missing "ethnic" food here - there's everything from sushi to Mexican, Indian to Chinese, British pubs to kebab shops. (Insert extreme excitement here.)
The town isn't too big, which is nice. It's odd not knowing which neighborhood is where. In Sevilla we had a tour guide who explained everything to us, and here I am on my own to discover the city. I feel like I am getting a hang of it, but I keep stumbling on new things. Today I found the Cien Montaditos, one of my favorite Spanish chain restaurants. It was so enjoyable to sit and eat my montaditos in the plaza, sipping on a tinto de verano.
Maybe this weekend I can head over to Málaga to see the big city. It's the sixth biggest city in Spain and about 3,000 years old. I'm sure it will have much to offer in terms of culture. I'm on the lookout for a local flamenco hangout, like La Anselma in Triana, Sevilla. Mijas is just up the hill and is said to be charming. It's one of Andalucia's many white hill towns. I'm hoping to get up there this weekend.
I moved into my piso on Tuesday and it's great. The place is small, but comfortable. "European", as my mom would call it. We have internet (yes!!) and even a pool. It's only about a fifteen minute walk to the beach. My roommate's name is Alicia, and she is fantastic! We have been eating dinner together every night; she's a great cook. :)
I start school tomorrow, which I am quite looking forward to, because up till now I don't know anyone here except for Alicia. There is another auxiliar at my school, also from California, whose name is Nandi. I'll have a chance to meet her tomorrow. I realized that I will probably spend a lot of time in solitude, but I think that's okay with me. I am ever so grateful that we have the internet at home, as it has made communicating with all of you much easier, and of course, cheaper. Sometime tomorrow I am supposed to swing by the bank where Nieves' best friend works to say hello. It'll be nice to know that I am not really alone here and have someone I can call in case I need anything. :)
Anyway, that's all for now. I am still using my Mt. Holyoke email address, so you can email whenever and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
¡Hasta ahora!
