Kilometers, kilometers, and more kilometers!

It's been quite a while since I last posted, and many, many things have happened since then. I'll try to give you a update on everything. I've included a few photos, although the links found on the right have full albums of my trips.

Semana Santa:

Rachel, Alicia and I left for our huge 1,800km trip for Semana Santa.

First stop: Merida. Walking around Merida at night seeing the Roman ruins lit up was breathtaking. It wonderful to see how they were so well kept for so long. Merida also boasts an impressive Roman amphitheater, one of the most complete still in existence today. Being able to witness the construction of buildings around a theater from over 2,000 years ago makes me have more faith in humanity; knowing that we can respectfully gaze upon our past while still moving into the future is essential to my belief in what lies ahead of us as a positive blend of cultural differences that have
changed throughout the course of history.


Second stop: Caceres. Although Caceres is relatively close to Merida, both located in Extremadura, it is completely different. While Merida embraces is Roman past, Caceres' old city walls protect an important slice of medieval/early modern Spain. Inside the walls exist a number of palaces and churches, showing off the lavish use of Gothic and Baroque architecture of the time. The Plaza Mayor, located just outside the old city walls, is immense and welcomes locals and tourists alike to kick back and enjoy the scenery. Caceres, like Merida, is a UNESCO World Heritage City.


Third stop: Trujillo. Trujillo is a small town, with a population of about 10,000. While small in size, this pueblo holds many treasures. It's Plaza Mayor is dominated by a large church; in front of the church is a statue in tribute to native trujillano Francisco Pizarro, who conquered Peru. The photo on the left shows one of the curious balconies, often used in the area during the time period. The ornate corner balcony is an eye-catching detail of the palace La Conquista, which also forms part of the Plaza Mayor. Siting above Trujillo is a castle, built by the Arabs during their reign of what is now Spain. We spent the night in a town outside of Trujillo and then continued on our trip north to the region of Castilla-Leon. While on our way there, the landscape changed completely as we drove through beautiful mountains and gained elevation. The temperature dropped significantly as we neared our next stop, Avila.




Fourth stop: Avila. While you may not have ever heard of Merida, Caceres or Trujillo, Avila is a more commonly heard name. This is because of a nun who later became one of the most important figures in the Catholic Church, Santa Teresa de Avila, or Santa Teresa de Jesus. Santa Teresa was born in Avila in 1515. She entered Monasterio de la Encarnacion as a novice. She later went on to reform the Carmelite order and found her own, the Discalced Carmelites. In 16th Century Spain, Santa Teresa was a fierce woman who not only opened many convents where extreme poverty was practiced, but she was also a prolific writer. Last year I focused a chapter of my thesis on her writings, specifically on the way she made use of the male-created rhetoric of the Church as women being "weak" with many "faults" in order to capture the attention of her male readers. She most certainly did capture their attention and even was examined under the Inquisition for the way she encouraged others to pray through mental prayer. After her death she was canonized and in 1970 Santa Teresa, along with Saint Catherine of Siena, was made the first woman Doctor of the Church. It was such a wonderful experience to be in the birthplace of la Santa and get a feel for the place she once lived in.

In addition to Avila's connection to Santa Teresa, Avila is known for it's magnificent city walls. Built in medieval times, Avila's walls are the only ones to be complete still today. We were able to walk along the interior side of the wall, from which we has a great view of the cities many churches and ornate cathedral. Avila is also famous for it's steak (yum!) which we, of course, enjoyed thoroughly. We stayed in an old palace from the 15th century just outside the Cathedral's doors. It was a pleasant stop along our journey, which led us to our next stop.


Fifth stop: Segovia. We arrived in Segovia and at lunch under it's aqueduct, one of the most famous in Spain. After eating lunch we headed towards the main part of the city. My day in Segovia was bitter-sweet; while walking along one of the streets, I got a call from my mom saying that my Grannie had passed away. I had been imagining the moment for months, but never would have expected that the call would come while on a trip. My mom comforted me on the phone, letting me know that she had a very peaceful passing. "It doesn't matter where you are; you can always pray for me," she told me in January. Her words filled my head and I knew that she would want me to continue on my trip, to think practically about taking advantage of the opportunities I had in that moment to see a new place and not sit and cry about something that could not be changed. While this was extremely hard, I was able to do so. Like my Grannie would have advised me, I said a prayer in Segovia's immense cathedral, swallowed my tears the best I could, and continued on my way.We continued our tour around Segovia, visiting the Alcazar and making our way through the old Jewish Quarter. In the late-afternoon we headed to our next stop, this time in Madrid.


Sixth stop: Alcala de Henares. The great writer, Miguel de Cervantes was supposedly born in Alcala de Henares (although Alcazar de San Juan also has evidence he was really from La Mancha). The old city center has held onto it's medieval roots, as can be seen in the cobbled streets and the style buildings. Rachel and I were able to catch a bit of Alcala's Semana Santa, which was especially impressive because the pasos we saw was at night, one of which was carried only by women. We were able to visit Cervantes' house, which has been turned into an excellent museum.


Seventh stop: Toledo. This stop wasn't planned out, but as we left Alcala for Marmolejo, we decided we could stop and have lunch in Toledo, as well spend a few hours exploring the city. I hadn't been to Toledo since I was sixteen, so it was a real treat to go back. Although we didn't do the least bit of justice to such an important part of Spain's history, it was a nice reminder of what I had seen seven years ago. We mostly wandered the streets, and visited the cathedral, which is known to be one of the most impressive in Spain. After our quick stop, we headed south.


Based out of Marmolejo, we went to Cordoba for the day to visit Nieves, my adviser and favorite professor from college. We had coffee together and it was really great to see her. I spent the rest of the week in Marmolejo with Alicia's family. It was great to experience Semana Santa in a pueblo, especially after having been in Sevilla, which is famous for it's Semana Santa, attracting tourists from all over the world. I woke up at 5am to see one of the pasos; it was absolutely beautiful to watch the Virgin Mary make her way through the streets of the town while the sun started to come up. Some of Alicia's friends were nazarenos/nazarenas, which means they make a promise to the Virgin and walk along side her in the processions, wearing hoods and robes. Many people walk barefoot as part of their penitence to Mary. In this photo you can see the black hoods of one of the hermandades.

We also started to prepare for Virgen de la Cabeza, which I'll discuss next. We celebrated Easter lunch with Alicia's friends at a restaurant in Marmolejo.


Virgen de la Cabeza:

Coming soon!

Patios de Cordoba:

Coming soon!

Algarve:

Coming soon!

Birthday Surprise Trip:

Alicia planned a surprise trip for me for my birthday. I had no idea where we were going, so you can imagine how fun it was/how antsy I was the whole five hours there. We ended up on a trip into Golden Age Spain. The first stop with Alcazar de San Juan, where there are records of the baptism of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, perhaps serving as proof that Cervantes was indeed born in La Mancha and not in Alcala de Henares. Nearby we visited four magnificent windmills, which Don Quixote supposedly thought were giants.

Windmills above Alcazar de San Juan

We continued with our Don Quixote theme and spent the following afternoon in El Toboso, hometown of the famed Dulcinea, Don Quixote's "lady love". In the photo you can see Mr. Quixote kneeling in salute to his love. The town devotes itself to Quixote-based tourism, and includes a number of fantastic museums, one of which holds over four-hundred copies of Don Quixote from all over the world, signed by the leaders of when they were collected - even Franco, Mussolini, and Hitler!


After a fantastic visit to El Toboso, we headed to our last stop, my beloved Almagro! What a surprise it was to be able to go back. While I have seen who knows how many pueblos, towns, and cities here in Spain, Almagro really has captured my heart. It's so different from the other cities I have seen, and despite it's small size, it's filled with many sites. Almagro has conserved it's Golden Age history in a way that really allows you to feel what it might have felt like in the time period. As I study Golden Age Spain, you can imagine how exciting it was to be there again. We went to see "Romeo and Juliet" at the Corral de Comedias, which we visited back in February. It was a great rendition - and totally strange to see it in Spanish... All the famous lines I have memorized didn't quite sound the same in another language. We stayed in the Parador, one of the many government owned hotels that a truly embody the beauty of Spain. The Parador in Almagro is in an old convent from the 17th century. It's absolutely stunning, and quite large - it has eleven patios (courtyards)!

Overall the trip was amazing - a wonderful birthday surprise indeed! Cheers to 23!

In Loving Memory
Elizabeth Mackay Galletto
"Grannie"

June 15, 1928 - April 18, 2011

Elizabeth M. Galletto, RN Passed away peacefully surrounded by her husband and family Monday, April 18th at her home. Elizabeth (Betty) was born June 15th, 1928 in The Bronx to James and Dolina Mackay of Scotland. Betty was a proud graduate of Bellevue Nursing School. She met her husband of 52 years, Dr. Antonio Galletto, while working together at Morrisania Hospital in New York City. She would fly west to San Francisco to marry Tony and begin their life together in California. Betty was a loving, dedicated mother to her 5 children, Maria (Richard), Paola (Daniel), James (Christine), Teresa (David), and Janet (Isaac). Dear sister of David Mackay. Cherished Grannie to Emmalie, Albert, Antonio, Dominic, Daniel, Jacob, Jessica, Peter and Mathew. Betty was a much loved zia of 12 nephews and nieces in Italy especially Monica & Giuseppe and Luigi & Beatrice who visited often, along with her cousins on the East Coast and in Scotland. Many thanks to her caregivers Cristina and Clare. "Mom" will always be remembered for her grace and unconditional love exuded throughout all of life's challenges. A selfless spirit who traveled life's journeys with a peaceful and positive Christian outlook. Her kindness and grace will be forever cherished by all who had the privilege of her company. May her journey on be filled with the same love she so willingly gave all of us here.

Semana Santa Begins!

And so does la ruta grande!

Fuengirola
Merida
Caceres
Trujillo
Avila
Segovia
Alcala de Henares
Cordoba
Marmolejo
Fuengirola

:) Be on the lookout for photos and a new post very soon!

Spain and English Language Learning

An interesting article written by Raphael Minder found in the NYTimes (published March 29, 2011). The article references the program I am a part of.

You can find it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/europe/30iht-spain30.html?_r=2

In Troubled Spain, Boom Times for Foreign Languages

MADRID — Facing high unemployment at home, more Spaniards are seeking work abroad. But they are confronting a significant hurdle: their poor foreign-language skills, in particular a lack of English.

With a 20 percent unemployment rate, twice the European average, labor mobility has become a burning issue in Spain, prompting some business leaders to call for an overhaul of the Spanish education system that would make better language training a priority.

Emilio Cuatrecasas, chairman of Cuatrecasas, one of the biggest Spanish law firms, said recently that “Spain has to take seriously the need to reform its education, particularly in terms of teaching English.”

There are early suggestions that the next generation will have sufficient communications skills to work outside Spain: More children are now being taught by English speakers as part of their regular class work. At the same time, more adults are playing catch-up, notably trying learn German to respond to employment offers in Germany, which has the largest economy in Europe.

One place where educational changes are under way is Madrid. A program run by the regional government has made about a third of primary state schools bilingual. The government expects to raise that proportion to half by 2015.

On a recent morning at the Rosa Luxemburgo school in the district of Moncloa-Aravaca, 10-year-olds were studying the human body in English, learning terms like “salivary glands” and “esophagus.” One of them, Macarena Ferrán, said that she also got to practice English regularly while vacationing abroad, last summer in the Netherlands. As to her long-term ambition, “I would like to live in New York because it looks like a very interesting city,” she said in almost flawless English.

For the current generation of Spanish job-seekers, however, working in New York might be more of a distant dream. While there are no reliable comparative statistics, language-school owners like Richard Vaughan even argue that “the level of English is lower than 15 years ago,” reflecting a general decline in education standards in Spain.

Mr. Vaughan, a Texan who moved to Spain in the 1970s, now runs Vaughan Systems, the largest English language teaching company in Spain. He estimated that “fewer than 5 percent of the students graduating from schools of engineering, law or business possess a working knowledge of English.”

Spanish politicians are also among the worst in western Europe in terms of English skills. Neither the head of the Socialist government, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, nor the leader of the main opposition Popular party, Mariano Rajoy, speaks English.

Madrid’s bilingual program, however, is giving the region’s politicians something to gloat about.

“This is a major step,” said Lucía Figar, who oversees the regional government’s education policy. “Until very recently, getting to a decent level of English was simply impossible for any child whose parents didn’t have the money to send their child abroad or to a private school.”

The bilingual schools rely largely on Spanish teachers who get a monthly bonus of €180, about $255, for making the language switch. The schools also have recruited assistants who are native English speakers — often Americans on an extended university break or sent to Spain through an education scholarship like the Fulbright program.

Between 30 percent and 50 percent of the class work is in English, including the science that was being taught last week at the Rosa Luxemburgo school.

In another classroom, Felipe Alejandro Luna Merlo, an 8-year-old whose parents emigrated from Bolivia, was finding it more difficult to assimilate human anatomy in English, and struggling to understand general questions about his upbringing. Still, he sounded eager to progress, saying that he was also teaching his father, a waiter, how to say “the numbers and the colors” in English because “I really want him to learn like me.”

One of the teachers, Fernando Azpeitia, had spent three years in Chicago at a transitional school teaching Latino children. He welcomed the enthusiasm among his Madrid pupils. “The big advantage here is that parents have chosen to have their children learn English,” he said, “while in Chicago it was kind of compulsory.”

Whether the children always get to hear the Queen’s English is debatable, however, and even Ms. Figar acknowledges that some teachers could improve their own English. Still, she said, more than 90 percent of the children have so far completed their bilingual primary school program by passing English language tests set by Cambridge University.

“These tests are the best way to measure our success, rather than discussing whether some teachers have good grammar but poor pronunciation,” she said.

Indeed, pronunciation is rarely a Spanish strong suit. Last month, during the televised ceremony for the Goyas, Spanish cinema’s version of the Oscars, participants insisted that one nominated movie, “Buried,” should be called “Bar-y-ed.”

Ms. Figar also described as “absurd” the criticism directed last year at a €1.8 million Madrid advertising campaign to promote bilingual education. English purists said the slogan for the campaign — “Yes, we want!” — amounted to a grammatical error because a direct object should have followed the verb. “This was only about powerful advertising,” Ms. Figar said. When Apple promotes its consumer electronics, she added, “nobody questions whether their slogan should be ‘Think positive’ or ‘Think positively.”’

In collaboration with the Spanish Education Ministry, the British Council, Britain’s cultural agency, also runs a bilingual project in more than 200 schools, alongside similar initiatives in Italy and Portugal. Raising English standards in Spain “isn’t an overnight happening,” said Teresa Reilly, a British Council official. Still, compared with Portugal and Italy, “Spain is considerably ahead in the introduction and development of solid subject-based teaching in English in the primary and secondary sectors,” she said.

The economic crisis is also forcing more adult Spaniards to return to the classroom — and not just to learn English. Applications to learn German this spring semester have risen 15 percent from a year ago, according to the Madrid office of the Goethe-Institut, which promotes German culture abroad. That follows a recent recruitment initiative by the German government to add about 500,000 engineers from other countries to keep its economy growing.

Meanwhile, Miguel Flor de Lima, who teaches the Portuguese language in Madrid, said that a growing number of multinational corporations were cutting back marketing and other activities in Spain and Portugal, two of the most crippled economies in Europe.

“The crisis means that more companies are treating Spain and Portugal as a single Iberian market and then asking their people to adjust to that,” he said. “And that leaves employees with no other option than trying to master both languages.”

Tell Me What Your Future Holds...

I realize it has been weeks since I last left you with an update on life here in Spain. I had an almost complete post read to be published, but decided to sit on it and wait. It began a little something like this....

Last year at Mount Holyoke, my whole plan of getting my teacher's licensure, went haywire. Being too late to start applying to graduate schools, I accepted the new proposed plan of teaching in Spain. I wasn't very excited about it at all; that had never been something I had wanted to do. But I listened to the advice of my professor and did it. After all, I would at least have a plan for the next year, and a job, something many of my friends are still searching for. At first I was unsure about being placed in Fuengirola. I arrived and slowly began to get accustomed to my new home. While I was physically here, my mind was elsewhere the first few weeks. I was planning for my future, spending hours in front of my computer screen while writing personal statements, writing samples, and filling out applications to graduate school. It was the second half of my plan for this year. Teach in Spain, apply to grad school. And while I am totally a planner, I began to start to feel as if I wasn't really living in the moment. Somewhere within the first six weeks of being here I realized this, and with it, that maybe teaching in Spain isn't supposed to be a one year gig for me. Maybe it's something I would enjoy for two years.

So as I said, I applied to graduate school, finishing my applications in December while at home. Recently I just heard from two schools and was accepted at both. The program at the University of Georgia is a Master's which would take two years. The program at UC Berkeley is a PhD and would take six years.

So here is my dilemma: once I begin graduate school (especially a PhD program), there is no real going back. There's no stopping midway through a degree because life gets in the way. There's no picking up and moving to Spain to really LIVE my life instead of just planning it. My mind is flooded with questions: What about happiness? What is it anyway? Is it waking up smiling, knowing that you're going to be challenged in all sorts of ways, and that you'll be alive at the end of the day? Is it being surrounded by people who make you feel good? It is immersing yourself in something new and allowing that to become part of yourself? It is feeling that you have found your center? While I'm not sure that's what happiness is, that's how I feel every moment. For the first time in a long time I feel truly good, like I am LIVING my life. And now here is my next question: Why should we ever chose to leave a situation we are extremely happy in? Why should we ever give up an opportunity to continue? My entire life has been about making good decisions that make me a better person, that enrich my life in all sorts of ways. It's been about find new things to add to my personal growth. And for once I am not blindly taking the advice of my superiors and truly asking myself, if I am not doing any harm to myself by being here, why should I move forward? Why should I leave? I don't feel as if I am ready to leave, and I know that if I am in the US next year, I am going to be constantly asking myself why I missed out on such a fantastic opportunity.

Much has changed since I started to write that post. In reading through the department websites, I realized it would not be possible to defer for a year. And after hours upon hours and hundreds of dollars spent throughout the application process, I was not about the repeat it. In the end, I was accepted at all five universities, and thus began my decision process.

• Boston University: Accepted. No financial aid. Out of the question.
• University of Georgia: Accepted. Teaching Assistantship, tuition waived.
• University of Oregon: Accepted. Teaching Assistantship, tuition waived.
• Boston College: Accepted. Teaching Assistantship, merit scholarship for full-tuition.
• UC Berkeley: Accepted. Teaching Assistantship, tuition waived.
  

While each of these schools have great programs, I decided it was really between UC Berkeley, a six-year PhD program, and Boston College, and two-year MA program. As exciting as it was to be accepted to Berkeley, the six-years were a little daunting. What if I don't like it? What about the state of the Californian economy? What happens if they pass the $500 million budget cuts to the UC system? What about academic resources? As I do not study contemporary literature, it makes more sense to be on the East Coast, with access to the libraries at Harvard, Yale, Brown, BU and the many other institutions in New England. (As you can see, I was starting to feel that BC would be the best bet.) Another factor about being at Berkeley was the proximity to home. While fantastic for millions of reasons, it is for exactly those reasons that made me think twice about being so close to home: six-years in a PhD program takes a lot of concentration. While at first thought the idea of living at home seemed fantastic, I began to think about it and imagine what it would be like. All I could picture was struggling to find a good balance between family and study. Perhaps this paints me as not-so-good of a person, but I believe the distance is necessary. I will be able to focus on my work while in Boston, and really enjoy my family when I come home. I won't feel as though I have to walk a fine line of balancing everything at the same time. The other wonderful thing about going to BC is that it is a two-year program, which will allow me to further assess my future once I am in the midst of my studies and not have to make a decision right now. While I am 90% positive I would like to enter academia, I have never been in a graduate school class. While a PhD is a more advanced degree, it is also prohibiting in terms of what jobs I would be able to take. Leaving with a MA in Spanish will permit me to enter a different field or different level of education, if need be. Lately I have been thinking about being a professor at a study abroad program here in Spain. It would have to be a smaller program, and I think I would like to work in a less popular city, as this would greatly affect the type of students I would be teaching.

En fin, come the beginning of September, I will be moving to Boston to start a Master's program in Hispanic Studies, under the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Boston College. It is also quite possible that I will live with my dear friend Zeinab, a fellow Mount Holyoke alumna from the class of 2010. We met during the summer of 2005 at a leadership conference and have been friends since. If all goes well, we will live together in the Brookline/Chestnut Hill area starting in September.

Getting back to my original post and upon much reflection, I have really learned something this year. I have learned to live in the moment in a way in which I never have before. I have taken every opportunity to travel around Spain, immerse myself in the rich history, culture and tradition. I have learned not to hold back, to actually live each day to its fullest potential and to rejoice in the small things. While many times I feel extremely sad when thinking I will not be back here next year, I have decided I am going to make the most of my time and ENJOY it.


Weekends since February: Trips we have taken, Plans we have made.

Feb 4-6: Marmolejo to visit Alicia's family AND learn how to make flamenquines, courtesy of Alicia's mom, Isabel.

Feb 11-13: La Mancha, specifically Almagro, Consuegra, Puerto Lapice, and Castillo de Calatrava. An absolutely amazing trip. Beautiful weather, towns filled with so much history. Windmills, Don Quijote's "castle", and the last surviving theater from the 17th century!

Feb 18-20: Ruky and Rachel came to visit. We went to Antequera.

Feb 25-Mar 6: Semana Blanca. My Aunt Lynne and cousins Andrew and Audrey came to visit. We went to Mijas, Malaga, Gibraltar, Ronda and Sevilla. We had SUCH a great week! From monkeys in Gibraltar to a night out in Sevilla to remember, it was definitely one of the best weeks I have ever had in Spain.

Mar 11-13: Fuengirola. Massive spring cleaning.

Mar 18-20: Jaen, Ubeda, Baeza

Mar 25-27: Fuengirola

Apr 1-3: Ruky visits. Granada

Apr 8-10: Toledo

Apr 15-19: (First half of Semana Santa) Merida, Caceres, Trujillo, Avila, Segovia, Alcala de Hernares

Apr 20-24: (Second half of Semana Santa) Cordoba, Marmolejo

Apr 29-May 1: Romeria de la Virgen de la Cabeza. SO excited!

May 6-8: Cordoba for la Cata and los Patios, two of Cordoba's famous happenings in May.

May 13-15: Algarve, Portugal. We scored the amazing deal: Two people, two nights, 5 Star Hotel, 66sq-km suite, Breakfast included. Value: 340 euro. We're paying 99. Yup, that's 25/person/night.

May 20-22: Fuengirola??? Sevilla?

May 27-29: Feria de Cordoba.

Eventually I am coming home... haha... Probably around June 13th or so. As you can see, we are definitely taking advantage of the time I am here. Once I get home, our travels will be on hold until July 12th when Alicia arrives in San Francisco. Then we will resume, this time in California! She is staying until August 24th. Beyond excited. :)

Jack Kerouac listed 30 "essentials" in his "Belief and Technique for Modern Prose". Number four reads:

4. Be in love with your life.

Why yes, sir, I am.

Mini-Trips, Here & There...

Two weeks ago was my roommate's birthday. I decided to get tickets to a concert of one of her current favorite groups, and in doing so, take the opportunity to go on a mini-trip for the weekend.

On Friday after Alicia finished school, we took off for Granada. We arrived at our fancy, shmancy hotel which had an exact replica copy of the Arab Baths of the Alhambra! We wandered around the center for a bit, visiting the Albayzin, the small streets that still embody their Moorish past. The barrio is filled with little shops and tea rooms. We stopped in one of them and drank Moroccan tea while listening to the beautiful sounds that make you feel all the more like you have stepped into medieval Al-Andalus. Later on we met up with my good friend Marta. In Granada when you order a drink, they give you a free tapa to go along with it. (Good idea? No. Excellent idea!!) Ali, Marta and I went "bar-hopping" (if you can call it that), eating different types of tapas. Quite yummy if I do say so myself! The next morning Ali and I hit the Arab Baths; we decided on the Arab Circuit which follows this order: temperate water, hot water, freezing cold water, the Turkish steam room, and finally a rubdown with ice. It was excellent so we decided to do the circuit again. After the second round we sat in a dark, candle-lit room and drank delicious tea. We had such a great time that we decided we should return in another two weeks.

We left Granada around 2pm and headed to Alicante. While on the way, we saw all sorts of weather, and terrain: from tall, green trees covered in snow to big, beautiful white clouds in the bright blue skies. We stopped for a coffee in an enchanting little pueblo called Velez-Rubio. We continued on and stopped in Murcia for a quick visit with one of Ali's friends. He took us into the center of Murcia to see the Cathedral which has a magnificent facade. As the story goes, Alfonso X El Sabio went to Murcia and fell in love with the city. He requested that upon his death, his heart be buried in the Cathedral of Murcia.

From Murcia we continued to Santa Pola, a town about 30 minutes from Alicante capital. We ate delicious paella in a very local restaurant and later went to the Supersubmarina concert. The concert was awesome, loads of fun, and Ali had a good time. Mission Accomplished. The next day we headed to Alicante. The weather could not have been better! The sky was blue and the clouds, a stunning white. The water in Alicante was much more blue than here in Fuengirola, making the city even more picture-perfect. We started by heading up to Castillo de Santa Barbara, which is one of the biggest medieval fortresses in Spain. It's in excellent condition and provides views of the entire city. After many photos we turned our attention to our stomachs. We found a great little restaurant and ate fresh fish and paella. Yum! After our meal we wandered the streets of the old quarter and eventually found Barrio Santa Cruz. Absolutely precious! It's set up into the hill so you have to climb up the stairs to arrive at the top - no cars, only pedestrians. The "streets" are lined with painted pots and the flowers contrast with the stark white of the houses. As you walk higher and higher, there are ceramic tiles with poetic odes to the climb, to the Virgin, to Semana Santa. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to bring the Virgin down the stairs for Semana Santa or any other occasion... It was truly one of the most breathtaking neighborhoods I have seen in Spain. If you ever get the chance to go, Alicante is definitely worth a visit.

Race in Spain

This past Saturday, we went to see Hairspray, a musical that has made its way from Broadway to the big screen and now to local stages around the world, including Fuengirola, Spain. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the play is about a teenage girl, Tracy, who dreams of dancing on the Corky Collins Show. She faces adversity from her peers because of her weight, and ends up in detention with many of the Black students of her school. It is there she learns new dance moves that get finally catch the attention of Corky Collins. When Tracy gets a chance to be on the show, she decides her dream shouldn't just stop with her. Tracy believes that both Blacks and Whites should be allowed to dance on the TV, and, after ending up in jail, achieves her goal and dances along with her Black friends on the show. Not extremely original, but it's a good story and has good musical numbers. Nothing too extreme... right?

Wrong. I should have known better before I went.

My excitement about seeing the musical went from 100 to 0 in about a second, as soon as I saw the black-faced Spaniards, dressed in clothes from America of the 1960's, come on to the stage. Blackface. It's something that one very, very rarely sees in the United States (and when such an incident occurs, it usually makes national news coverage, or at least there is conversation about it), but here in Spain there is an insensitivity to the issue. Their explanation is, "But that's what they look like," and it is very hard for them to understand our construction of race, the historical struggles that took place (and are taking place) in the United States and did not unfold in the same way in Spain. Saturday's production wasn't the first time I've seen blackface in Spain: I still remember being shocked beyond words when I saw a group of about twelve girls dressed as Mammies during Carnival two years ago, with their faces painted black, not brown, black. Last time I checked there weren't any people who existed on Earth whose skin was actually black... Another common time to see black-face is on the Epiphany with the Three Kings, or Reyes Magos, come. One of the three is black, and along with the one black-faced Spaniard comes his entourage or other black-faced Spaniards... Just thinking about it makes me feel extremely upset. What upset me so much about seeing the black-face this weekend in Hairspray was that the mother did not just have her face/body painted brown, but she wore bright red lipstick and blue eyeshadow. UGH!! REALLY?!?!?! I couldn't exactly leave the theater, so I closed my eyes, breathed slowly to stay calm, and tried to not focus too much on the characters who caused me so much internal friction. I made it to the end of the performance in one piece, consoled by the fact that I knew I was going to go home and blog about it.

There is currently a debate about this going on in the United States, about blackface and theater, and how to represent people of different races when they are portrayed by actors of a different race. While I understand how perhaps this could cause managers to become perplexed, it also angers me that another solution could not be found. I remember going to a production when I was about eleven years old which was set on a plantation during slavery. I still remember very clearly the way in which race was portrayed: each cast members, despite the color of their skin, wore a felt patch on their cheek to tell the audience what race the person they were portraying was. In fact, the slave owner was a Black boy who wore a peach-colored patch on his cheek. In other words, the director cast his actors according to their talent, not to their skin color. It made the production all the more beautiful, knowing that the Black boy could be cast as the protagonist and not just a slave based on the color of his skin.

For a little information about the historical significance of Blackface, click here.

De vuelta de nuevo

Hola once again from the sunny Costa del Sol!

Coming back to the warm weather makes it almost seem like Christmas break didn't even happen! But, indeed, it did happen. I spent all three weeks at home, mostly with my family and just a couple of friends. On Christmas Eve my Grannie got pneumonia, which really weakened her as she has liver cancer and tumors in her airway... :( But, my Grannie, being her strong, stubborn self, is starting to make a comeback, albeit with new modifications to the daily routine. I spent most of my time practicing my intrinsic nursing skills, which according to my Nonno, would have been a much better path for me. For now all we can do is pray, hope for the best, and be thankful for the many, many blessings we have received in life, as well as the time we have enjoyed together over the years.

Three Generations: Grannie, Mom & Me

I also finished my grad school applications while I was home, so that is great. Done! I am going to reapply to the program I am currently in, just in case I decide to defer on grad school/don't get in. Yikes, now that would be scary.

So here I am, back to my weekly routine of classes at school and private lessons/babysitting in the afternoon. No real changes as of yet (except that one of my vertebrae decided it wanted to pop out of my spine a bit -ouch). I'm looking forward to the next five months, and already starting to make plans, or at least deciding where I want to go before my time here is up. So far we've got Berlin, Morocco, Granada, Nerja, La Coruna (Galicia), Alicante, Valencia, Cordoba, Sevilla.... And maybe a trip to the UK, France and/or Italy. So many places to see! I want to try to see as much of Spain as is possible, and really see Andalucia in its entirety.

That's all for now. Stay well, stay happy, and keep smiling.