cordoba

hola todos,

now i just arrived in cordoba. two days ago i went to a beach in cadiz, the oldest city in spain. unforunately, it was pretty much a sandstorm all day, so needless to say we didnt get much sun as we tried to shield our bodies from every burst of wind with every article of clothing we brought with us. even so, the little town nearby was beautiful. 

sevilla on the other hand, aside from the castle and the cathedral, was a big disappointment. food is bad. and most of the restaurants claimed they were cerrado (closed) or lleno (full) when they werent, just to avoid serving us. and they answered our requests in english very condescendingly as opposed to spanish, which is how we asked them. very frustrating that we're trying but still being rejected. oh well. one night was very fun though. we played beer pong at a bar called bar long island, clearly made for americans, and we played against some spanish guys and we were talking smack in spanish back and forth, and then samantha and i won! it was a highlight, and the guys were hilarious. they said one important thing that really made an impact on me. when we kept telling them they were going to perder (lose), they said, it's ok. it's just for fun in spain. para divertir y beber (to have fun and drink). and we said, pero en america, siempre queriamos ganar (in america we would always like to win). And then he said, that may be true, but you're in spain now. it's so true. america is such a competitive culture, and sometimes you really have to take a step back and see things for the experience and the fun and not as a race or a competition. #1 lesson learned. #2 lesson learned: lebara mobile and cellularabroad.com are awful companies.

in other news, today we went to a mosque in cordoba. it was pouring rain, and we were not prepared for it. and our tour guide was very boring and rude. oh well. the rain has let up, and we are in a new city, in a nicer hotel, with a faster internet connection and hopefully a more significant form of sustenance somewhere in the city. and fyi daddy, we are trying every place under the sun to get good food, from little hole-in-the-wall places to bigger restaurants. and its still gross. :-)

today we have dinner at 8, and then a tour of la alhambra. i will write more later! must ducharme (shower) after being poured on earlier.

hasta luego!

alka at la alhambra

first days in sevilla

hola todos,

i'm here in spain! in sevilla to be exact! today i saw la alcazar, a beautiful castle, as well as the cathedral of santa maria - the third largest in the world! in the cathedral, there is a painting of saint anthony that was stolen from the cathedral hundreds of years ago, and thats where the little poem comes from - st anthony st anthony please look around, something is lost and cannot be found. but finally it was returned and restored, but you can still see the cut marks. apparently they had children steal it by climbing like monkeys up the iron gates in order to get into the locked area where the painting hung. pretty amazing. tomorrow we are going to the playa (beach) in Cadiz, the oldest city in Spain. And tomorrow night, we are going to a flamenco show! 

as for the food, it is pretty atrocious so far. very salty. very pork-ridden. and very, well, nothing to write home about. hopefully the seafood in cadiz will be more tasty.

so i spent 30 minutes on the phone with a spanish representative for the cell phone i'm using, and i actually did pretty well! she laughed at me occasionally, but she was very nice and patient and actually understood what i was saying to her in spanish, so it was good. good practice! i definitely feel like i'm getting more comfortable, even after 2 days. yayyy!!

ok i'm gonna go. escribire mas luego (i will write more later).

love you all,

Alkazar

Preparing for take-off

Tomorrow is my last final exam at Northeastern! And then it's senior week, graduation on May 2, and then I leave on May 4 for Spain! Very nervous, but excited, too. The first week will be spent travelling in the southern province of Andalucia, and then we will be moving to our more permanent dwelling on the campus of la Universidad de Castilla de la Mancha in Toledo, home to many of the works of El Greco, and only 45 minutos away from Madrid. Que suerte!

Pues, I'm gonna go and do some more studying. I just thought I should check in!

Hasta pronto,
Alejandra