Gibraltar and Morocco!

Hello everyone! We're almost at the 2 month mark of my stay here in Spain. I'm not exactly sure where time has gone--but this realization is no different from what I have every semester at school! I cannot believe that it's almost November! I feel like I've gotten the hang of living in Spain now and that my life has settled into a routine. That being said, it's time for me to recount the trip I took this past weekend, which involved me leaving the country...twice!

The trip began on Thursday morning (not too early, thankfully). I, along with 30 other people from my program, got on a bus and began the trip from Granada to Gibraltar. It was really nice traveling with a smaller group...when you go with 80 other people, you feel like you're part of an endless mob. 30 people made the trip a lot quieter, and also a lot less cumbersome.
So, GIBRALTAR. As some of you may know, it is actually a British enclave on the edge of Spain. Therefore, after we checked into our hotel and had lunch (still in Spain) we walked for about 15 minutes and just crossed the border into the UK! It was pretty cool to see signs/menus/everything in English again. The people in Gibraltar speak a mix of English and Spanish, but our guide mainly stuck to English, due to everyone's varying levels of Spanish skill. My absolute adoration of everything British meant that I was basically giddy at everything during this little trip. Here's a picture of the Rock of Gibraltar,to give you an idea about how small the area actually is:



Anyways, after a tour around the island, we stopped at a place called St. Michael's Cave. The guide mainly talked about the monkeys who live near the cave (more about them in a minute), but didn't mention that the cave was this amazing natural wonder. It was kind of like Natural Bridge Caverns in Texas...not very touristy but there was a random stage set in the middle of one of the caverns. Very impressive and so gorgeous!

Now, about the monkeys--Gibraltar has this random population of apes (they're not actually monkeys because they don't have tails) which live on the "Upper Rock" nature preserve. They're really cute and totally not afraid of humans--one nearly jumped into our bus while we were driving to St. Michael's Cave. The guides feed them to entice them into posing with us, but even if you don't, they often just use the tourists for climbing poles without prior notice. Example: A guide got a monkey to pose with me. This monkey then moved off of me to another person. Just as I was standing up again, another monkey jumped on my head! I had about a heart attack, but it was cool nonetheless.


After viewing the gorgeous view of the Strait of Gibraltar, we had a free night. However, there was a slight problem: everything (aka tourist souvenier stores) closed at like 7 pm! Very different from Granada, where these things are open until 10 or later. But we found a place to have fish and chips (when in Britain, do as the British do...), walked around a bit, watched an amazing sunset, and had ice cream at a pub. We then proceeded back to our hotel.

Very early the next morning we got on the bus and drove to the port of Algeciras. From there, we divided into 2 groups, and met our guides for the Moroccan part of our voyage. Our guide's name was Sarah and she was so cool! She had been in the Peace Corps in the rural Atlas Mountains, had gotten engaged to another Peace Corps volunteer, and was staying in Morocco working until she goes to nursing school back in the States next spring.
Anyways, in order to get to Morocco you have to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, which means we got to take a ferry (Cue "I'm on a Boat" references here). The voyage was a little shaky, and I'm very glad I don't get seasick. But, since it was so early, we were able to see the sun rise over the rock of Gibraltar. So stunning! After crossing the Strait, we had to sit in the port in Tangier for about 30 minutes due to traffic, then got to disembark.

Morocco is...kind of beyond definition. It definitely wasn't what I expected. If you've been to India, it's very similar, but a little cleaner and all Muslim. Islamic culture really defines Morocco--everything stops 5 times a day when the call to prayer is sounded. Also, most women wear headscarves. The fact that religion is such a large part of life makes the idea of secular government really difficult, but that doesn't mean the government isn't trying. Apparently, women who wear the hijab are banned from holding positions in the tourism industry, and are severely discriminated against in government positions or teaching.

We went from the port to a nearby women's center, where women who are divorced or illiterate or want a career can go to learn some basic skills to help them survive independently. We had two student guides who then sat down and talked to us about Moroccan life and culture in general, which was really cool. We also had AMAZING tea (this is going to be a pattern over the next few days), followed by a really delicious lunch in the center's restaurant (finally! food with flavor! I was so happy). And then we were off again, this time to Rabat, the capital city. It was a long bus ride, punctuated with tea breaks, and a random stop for us to ride CAMELS (for like 5 minutes each), but we finally arrived and met our host families. I stayed with two other girls from my group in a room that would not have been out of place in my mental conception of an medieval Asian palace.

Our host family was wonderful and welcoming--but the language barrier was so painfully present that it kind of made things difficult. At first, the only person in the household who spoke English was a 13 year old girl...and while she understood the basics, our introductory walk through the Medina (old city) was filled with lots of awkward attempts at explanations. Luckily, one of the girls from IES spoke basic French, so that made communicating with the house mom at least possible (I don't know any Arabic, and the little I had learned from our phrase guide vanished from my head almost immediately). We had dinner, and were so exhausted that we almost fell asleep at the dinner table. Oddly, after flipping channels, our host mom decided to watch a Coldplay concert on MTV Arabia. It's amazing how American culture permeates everywhere. And then we went to sleep

The next day, we got up to a delicious breakfast (more tea! And Moroccan style pancakes! So good!) cooked by our host mom, then headed out for another long day of cultural immersion (sort of). We began by visiting the IES Rabat center, which just opened, and having more tea and cookies with the students who are studying there. That was pretty nice. Then, we visited an ancient (ruined) mosque that's kept as a historical monument in the middle of the city, followed by Roman ruins on the outskirts. Those ruins were super cool--there was a pond there where women go to wish for fertility. They do this by throwing a hard boiled egg to the eels who live in the pond. If the eel eats the egg, congratulations! For those who aren't really looking to pursue that goal, there's a submerged disc in the pond. If you throw a coin and it hits the disc, you will meet many beautiful people of whichever gender you prefer. My nickel landed firmly on it, so bring on the beautiful men!

After this, we returned to our house to eat lunch with the family. This was fun because the elder daughter (who was 18) was home at this time, and also spoke english so we could talk to someone new. While we were eating, I looked over at the television and she was watching Zee TV Arabia! For those of you who don't know, that's a very popular Indian satellite channel. I was therefore able to talk about Bollywood with her, and that was so cool! After lunch, we took a much-needed siesta, then proceeded back to the meeting point for our next activity: meeting with Moroccan students.
Now, I was excited about this because I thought it would be fun to go shopping with said students and just have a nice relaxing afternoon. However, the problem is that all of the students who showed up to guide us around were guys. Cue one of the most awkward afternoons of my life. There were 4 of us (all girls) with three guys, all of whom I think were students (some groups had people who weren't students). They didn't really want to go shopping. They took us around to lots of pretty views, and then reluctantly took us to the marketplace. But the marketplace was crowded and kind of stressful, and our guides were obviously not into it at all. They kind of rotated around, talking to all of us, so I'd like to equate it to 3 weird first dates at once. We were exhausted, so we convinced them to stop and get tea. After that, we returned to the meeting point and said goodbye. Our guides weren't nearly as bad/sketchy as other groups, but it was just weird not having ANY girls and the setup was just kind of strange in general.

We quickly returned to our homestays and got ready to go to the hammam, or Arab baths. This was an...interesting experience. In my mind, I pictured an Arab bath like those we had learned about: 3 rooms (one for cold water, one warm, one hot), with people getting massages and manicures etc. However, most of these type of bathhouses are only open to women during the day (only one gender is allowed inside, obviously), so the one we went to was very small and basic. It was a good "bath", but there were so many of us that it was also crowded and a little clausterphobic. I had a good time, but most people were relieved to leave at the end. And then it was time for henna! Everyone got a simple design on the back of their hands. We were then beyond exhausted, so we proceeded back to our homestay, had a late dinner, and crashed again.

Btw, the reason there aren't a lot of pictures is that 1. My camera was dying at the time and 2. I really didn't want to make myself look like any more of a tourist than I already did. We didn't really see much during this day, so don't worry!

Day 3 was just as busy as the rest. We got up early (again), said goodbye to our host family (this was actually kind of sad--they were SO NICE and so welcoming!), and got on the bus to leave Rabat. Unfortunately, some of the people in our group had a bad reaction to the tuna from dinner the night before, so they looked pretty ill. And the road was not very hospitable to ill people--very windy, lots of hills. Even I got a little carsick. We ended up at a small village in rural Morocco, where we ate lunch at a farm with a Moroccan family. They were such gracious hosts--they had no qualms talking to us about their lives and sharing their food. Their farm was gorgeous and their kids were adorable!

After lunch, we proceeded to Chefchaouen, which literally means "look at the peaks". Here's a picture of the sunset we saw on the way there:


This city was far more touristy than Rabat, but so adorable! It's built into the mountain, so it's a little difficult to get around, but in general, I really liked it. What I didn't enjoy was the people openly gawking at us and saying obnoxious things in Arabic that we couldn't understand. Actually, sometimes they said them in English too. We had a couple hours to go shopping, so we did--but I'm not the biggest fan of bartering so I had a really tough time. I got a ring, a present for my sister, and a wallet. We then had dinner at a nice restaurant that served us traditional Moroccan food (mine was kind of like a vegetable pie. It was SO GOOD! And then pomegranate with honey for dessert). Our group practically took up our entire hostel, so we returned there, and had a rooftop reflection session about the trip. Then sleep again.


Yesterday was just a travelling day. We made our way from Chefchaouen to Ceuta, one of two Spanish enclaves on the North Coast of Africa. Crossing the border was really interesting. See, it's really hard for Moroccan people to get visas to cross into Spain (similar to the Mexico/US situation), so at the border, there were lots of sketchy people around. Furthermore, much like India, the concept of "orderly line" hasn't really developed. We didn't have to stand in line, but people with Moroccan passports did and it was chaos. The guards were only letting in 15 people at a time, but when they opened the gate, everyone surged forward. They then actually beat people back (with a belt/whip) to close the gate again. It was pretty shocking to see.
We then proceeded to literally walk into Spain, then go back to the ferry terminal. We had a final farewell drink with our wonderful guide, got on the boat, and made a (much shorter and smoother) crossing back to mainland Spain. Then back on a bus for a long journey back to Granada.

This trip was just surreal. It is impossible for me to comprehend that yesterday I was in AFRICA and today everything is just back to normal. I've seen and experienced so many things that I never thought I would/could do in my life, and it was just beyond amazing. I can't describe it, but I feel like I've changed as a result of this trip. It's weird.

Alright, well stay tuned because in 3 days I'm going to Madrid for another long weekend (yes, I do have class occasionally, they just give us lots of days off)!

Alhambra!

If you haven't gotten a postcard from me yet (and are expecting one), one major obstacle in my sending it to you has disappeared. The Alhambra Palace is Granada's most notable landmark, and therefore is featured in about 80% of postcards sold in the city. I felt severely guilty sending postcards which featured something I hadn't visited yet, but all of that changed today because I WENT TO THE ALHAMBRA AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!

Palacio Carlos V, not part of the original structure

So, there's a pretty nifty backstory here that I'd like to share. I am not taking the Islamic Art class here at IES because it didn't really fit into my schedule. It's one of the more popular classes here because it's taught in both English and Spanish, and it features trips to many of the gorgeous Islamic remnants around the city. Among these "visitas" are 3 trips to the Alhambra. Now, to get into the Alhambra is actually kind of expensive, and getting tickets is a very complicated process (which I'm still not sure about), so IES buys some spare tickets for kids who aren't in the art class so that we can go along on the visits. On Monday, later in the day, I happened to notice that the list for the spare tickets had already been posted, and filled up (with no prior announcement). I was then informed by my housemate that this visit was going to be extra special because we were going to be allowed in the restricted sections of the complex. I was very upset/distressed by this news, but I didn't think there was anything I could do. The next morning, I went back to IES for class and was sadly glancing at the board when I noticed A FREE SPOT for today's tour! Immediately, I signed up, and I am SO glad that I did. Today's trip focused mostly on the Alcazaba, which is the super-strong fortress that protects the rest of the complex. It's comprised of many towers, which are linked together by a wall and a Camino de Ronda (an unobstructed path which runs all the way around the second wall that surreounds the complex). A side note: though the Moors did give up Granada to Los Reyes Católicos (that's Ferdinand and Isabella), the Christians NEVER conquered the Alhambra. No one ever has. Because it's very impressively built. Anyways, there are lots of architectural details which I probably would mess up because the tour was in Spanish (and a lot is lost in translation) and also because I didn't take notes. I took some photos until my camera died, and from then on, Keely has kindly lent me her pictures to complete the visit. But here are some basics:

• The highest tower is called the Torre de Homenaje (Tower of Homage). It features a small palace where the Sultan lived while he was constructing the rest of the palace
• There are three walls which surround the complex, which is built on top of a mountain. It's basically impossible to attack successfully, and if you want to starve out the inhabitants, good luck. There are fields and huge water reservoirs within the Alhambra that will sustain the city for (according to the guide) hundreds of years.
  
• The previously mentioned Camino de Ronda runs between the first and second walls. If an army successfully scaled the first wall, they would be stuck because the second wall curves and they would be fired upon from all directions
• It's very well laid out: there's even a stable for people to check in their horses (this was one of the restricted areas: literally no one ever goes there...except us). There are also passageways within towers so that if you're guarding the first wall, and it falls, you can easily move to the second wall (this never happened).
  
• There are palaces in several of the towers. This was weird because on the outside, the towers look like completely defensive structures. But they were gorgeous! A lot of these were restricted as well, because some of them feature THE ORIGINAL ART FROM THE 1300s. Some parts have been restored, and some defaced by previous generations of tourists but it was unreal to see them.
  

So I've already hinted a little as to what the restricted tour meant. Basically, we got followed around by a docent who unlocked areas that regular tourists cannot get into. This included a couple of the towers (where we always got to go to the very top), one of those passageways which connected the outer wall to the tower, the "exit road" from the Alhambra, and the Camino de Ronda. I cannot stress enough how amazing this was, so I'll just put up pictures now.

Those look like bricks, yes? Actually, they're paintings of bricks. See, the sultan who built the Alhambra was poor and couldn't afford bricks of uniform size. To save face, he painted the irregular bricks white, then painted a brick design on top. This is original paint!!!

ORIGINAL PAINT FTW

One of the prettiest roses I've ever seen

Not the best picture, but taken from the second floor of the Torre de las Infantas (Tower of the Princesses). There's a cute story here. So, there was a Sultan who married a Christian princess (she was a captive who was kept in a different tower before finally deciding to marry the Sultan). They had 3 daughters, and the Sultan was afraid that his girls would fall in love with random, unworthy men. So, when they reached their preteen years, he locked them in this tower. It's gorgeous, so they didn't suffer too much, I don't think. Anyways, they ended up falling in love with 3 Christian princes who happened to be prisoners (and slaves) at the Alhambra. They decided to run off with said princes, but at the last minute, the youngest decided to stay behind and not leave their father (she was his favorite daughter, I think).
Anyways, this was one of the restricted areas, so the docent unlocked the door to let us in, then locked us in so that other tourists didn't follow us. When it was time to get out, however, she could not unlock the door again. So we were all standing in this dark hallway for about 15 minutes. I really wanted to send a text that was like "Hi I'm trapped in an Alhambra tower, no joke" but the only US phone numbers in my phone are my parent's, and I don't think they would have been amused.

La meva visita a la ciutat de Gaudí

This weekend, I took my first real trip without adult guidance and went, with a group of 3 other girls, to Barcelona. As many of you know, I only have classes Monday-Thursday every week, giving me Friday to travel. Furthermore, today is a national holiday (thanks, Christopher Columbus!), so that gave me a 4 day weekend. Made for vacation? Yes, absolutely.

So here's how it went. On Thursday, in the late afternoon, we caught the bus which goes from the Granada city center to the airport. I really REALLY wish that Houston had a similar bus (I know, there's one that goes to Bush, but it costs wayyy more than this one does), but I know it's pretty much impossible because Houston does not have a "city center". This bus has several stops along the major thoroughfares of Granada, and at the main bus station here, and it only took about 40 minutes to get to the airport--all for 3 euro. It was awesome! Anyways, got to the airport and caught our RyanAir flight to Girona, a town about an hour outside of Barcelona. From there, we got on a bus for an hour-long journey to Barcelona, then caught a cab to our hostel. I was a little nervous about staying in a hostel, but it worked out really well. We booked a little too late to have a private room for the four of us, so Audra and I stayed in a room with 4 other people (all really nice--it was kind of like a sleepover most nights), while Caroline and Madeline stayed in a room with 8 other people. They provided sheets and breakfast, and since they were a "non-partying" hostel, it was always pretty quiet.

Barcelona is a much bigger city than Granada (I'm sure everyone already knew that). Upside? A METRO SYSTEM that goes everywhere. Downside? Much more confusing once you're on the street. More on that later. The first morning, we cheerily made our way to the nearest Metro station and disembarked at Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's ultimate architectural masterpiece that has been under construction since the 1830s. That's right--it's still not finished (and will not be finished until 2030-ish). But have a look at a picture and you will immediately understand why it's not finished:


To say that it is a complicated design is a HUGE understatement. This place was ridiculous! So many intricate details...when it is finished, it will have a tower for each of the Apostles, one for Mary and a GINORMOUS (but as of yet unconstructed) tower for Jesus, of course. I could go on and on forever about how amazing this place was and how awestruck I was by it, but instead I'll just put up a picture of the epic stained glass windows and tell you to get yourself to Barcelona ASAP so that you can see this. I'll be going back in 2030, if anyone wants to reserve a seat on that trip preemptively ;)


We decided to also knock out the other major Gaudí landmark of Barcelona, Parc Güell. Originally, it was designed by Gaudí for a friend who wanted to make the area into a residential neighborhood. But, that idea was never completed (thank goodness), so it's just a huge, quirky park filled with all sorts of interesting architecture and landscaping. Here's a spot ANTM fans might recognize:


Ring a bell? No? Well then try and imagine Caridee and Melrose running through it in wedding dresses. That's right people: Tyra Banks was here. So was the ANTM finale fashion show. It was hard to imagine lots of people sitting around in this area for that sort of thing, but it was cool nonetheless. We also saw the world's longest continuous bench (too big to take a picture, sorry), houses that looked like they were from Hansel & Gretel, and obnoxious British schoolchildren. After all that, we were very tired, so we went back to the hostel and had a siesta.

And then...we meant to go out and have a night on the town, but I messed up. The guy at the hostel gave us directions, but they weren't very clear. Once we got off the Metro, I got myself oriented in the completely wrong direction...and after discovering a correct crosstreet, led my group valiently in this direction for about 40 minutes. Then we had to go back to starting position, and walk further to the recommended restaurant. After that, and a brief visit to a shot bar (where they set LOTS of shots on fire), we were exhausted. We returned to the hostel and slept.

The next morning, Audra and I got up and took the Funicular (best word ever) de Montjüic to the Fundació Juan Miró. I'm usually not one for abstract art, but my Mom loves Miró, and I've gotten pretty fond of him over the years, so I had to go check it out. It was an awesome museum--really nicely designed with a great variety of his works. Well, that was to be expected considering that it is THE Miró museum (he made works especially for it, like a really big tapestry). Though I wasn't the biggest fan of some of his pieces, I enjoyed the temporary exhibit, which focused on his friendship with the poet Jacques Dupin. Dupin would write a poem, print it on canvas, and then Miró would illustrate it. I wish I could have been able to understand the poems (they were all in French), but the concept behind the art was really cool nonetheless.

Then, we went to La Rambla, Barcelona's biggest (and most touristy) street to meet the other two girls. I had happily discovered Barcelona's Little India (suprisingly, there are A LOT of Indian people living in Barcelona) the night before, so I bought some samosas and devoured them. It was nice having spices in my food for once. Anyways, we went to a restaurant because not everyone was satisfied with the prospect of Indian street food, and promptly got ripped off. The waiter made us all order drinks--which turned out to be about half a liter each. We then found out (due to the horrified exclamation from an American family nearby) that these drinks were going to cost us 11 euro. Most expensive Coke of my life, but whatever, you live and learn. We went shopping on another nearby street, which featured another house designed by Gaudí (seriously, Gaudí is the man). I got pajama pants that have illustrations from The Little Prince on them! But after shopping for several hours, we were all exhausted. Again, we made an attempt to go out, but ended up watching Slumdog Millionaire in the hostel lounge. We met some fellow travellers though, so that was cool.

Sunday, Audra and I got up a little early and went walking to the beach. It was gorgeous, and I wish I had been able to spend lots of time (i.e. a full day) there, but unfortunately we had other places to go so I could only take some pictures:


After this, we decided to go the Gothic Quarter, which was a really gorgeous old neighborhood. It had a cathedral AND a castle, but it took a really long time to walk there from the beach. By the time we got there, we had only enough time to dash around quickly and look at a few things before almost running back to the hostel. Our flight was at 6, but again we had to catch the bus to Girona, so we had to leave Barcelona at 3:30. I really wish we had had more time (like 2 days), but we definitely packed a lot into a short time so I have no regrets.

In general, I just think I'm not a fan of big cities. They have their benefits (better variety of stores, more stuff to do, easier mass transit system, etc.) but also their downsides (more touristy, way more expensive, harder to navigate). I was really glad to get back to Granada! We were rewarded on the tarmac by a gorgeous sunset:


I'm pretty proud of myself. I've never travelled with absolutely zero adult guidance, and it definitely made me feel very grown up to do so. Walking around a foreign city with no one telling you what to do or where to go is quite liberating. I'm definitely looking forward to my Madrid trip in a couple of weeks!

Actually, there's a lot I'm looking forward to. I'm going to Morocco with my program in 2 weeks, followed by Madrid, followed by KRISTINA coming to visit me (!!!), followed by 2 nights in Cádiz with IES. I am going to be dead by November, but that's OK, because travelling is an important part of the study abroad experience (or at least, that's how I'm justifying it to myself). I still haven't been to the Alhambra, but hopefully that's going to happen soon!

I'll update again soon. Hasta luego!

P.S. If you're reading this, Happy Birthday Kelsey!
P.P.S Also, if you're wondering why the title isn't in Spanish, it's because they speak Catalán, a weird mixture of Spanish and French, in Barcelona (and all of it's surrounding province, Cataluña). I didn't learn any, but that's just one more reason why Barcelona is super cool.

One Month Anniversary!

Hello everyone! Today marks the one month anniversary of my arrival in Spain. It seems like it's been a lot longer than that...and then I look in the future and am sad because I only have 3 more months left here! But they're going to be three exciting, action-packed months, so I hope they'll seem longer than they are. I think the "honeymoon phase" mentality has worn off a little...I definitely had some serious homesick moments this past week, but talking to people on Skype ALWAYS makes me feel better (hint hint hint people).

So let's see what's been going on since my last entry. Nothing special really (which is why I haven't updated before today)...I've been going to class and to my internship and just getting the hang of my schedule. I caught a cold a couple weeks ago, and haven't been going out because I was either 1. taking cold medication or 2. had a terrible cough and there are no smoking bans here. A word to the wise--if you go out here, EVERYTHING you own that is made of fabric will reek of cigarette smoke for many days after. My classes are going well and I really like my professors. My internship is also going well, though the work is a little tedious right now. It will get better though, all internships start out this way.

Yesterday was a really fun (if really long) day. We went to Cordoba, another southern Spanish city. Cordoba (like all the others) has a really rich history. I don't know what it was about the city, but I really loved it. It was super touristy, but not in the overwhelmingly Seville-like way. Probably because all the touristy shops were bright and happy and in a place called the "Juderia" which has gorgeous buildings. If you can't figure out who traditionally lived in this neighborhood, here's a hint:



The Jews of Spain are a really interesting story. They were an integral part of administration and infrastructure in Muslim Spain, and then in Christian Spain when they conquered the South of Spain from the Moors. But then, in 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella issued an edict expelling all the Jews from Spain. They had three months to make a choice: leave Spain, or convert to Christianity. A lot of them chose the former, and now their descendants make up a community known as the Sefardic Jews--who, due to their continual separation from Spain, speak medieval Spanish (because they weren't in Spain as the language evolved). I think that this story is awesome. We went and visited an old synagogue, which was later repurposed into a church:


And then, continuing our journey into the very mixed religious world of medieval Spain, we went to the "Cathedral" of Cordoba. It looks like this:



Not very Cathedral-esque, you say? Well, that's because it was originally Cordoba's mosque--one of the largest mosques in the world (it can fit over 100,000 people). Unlike other cities (Granada and Seville), the Christians didn't demolish the mosque when they took over Cordoba. They incorporated their cathedral into the mosque, keeping the mosque's original structure. This was probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. And it was full of suprises. For some reason or another, the emperor Carlos V really liked the mosque. Because of this, he made the governor/King of Cordoba keep the mihrab in the cathedral. He was also angry when they converted a random sort of middle place in the mosque into a very normal looking cathedral space. But it was SO gorgeous that I didn't mind. I mean, this place was just mind-blowing. There are no words that can do it justice...look on facebook if you want the rest of the pictures, I suppose :)

After this, we wandered around the Jewish quarter for a while, then got back on the buses to go to a place called Madinat al-Zahra. When Cordoba was still a caliphate, and it grew really large, the caliphs got nervous about their safety and decided to build a mirror city to Cordoba. This city took 20 years to build, but unfortunately it didn't last very long. After 40 years of existence, it was pillaged by raiders (the caliphate was really weak). Then, more orthodox Muslims took over the city and were mortified by the absolute decadence of this city, so they demolished it. About 60 years ago, archaeologists started digging in a field and found part of the city. OK, this place must have been ginormous. It took us 40 minutes to walk around the site, and apparently, the site is estimated to be only 20 percent of the original palace-city. The most amazing part? That around the year 1000, these people built a city which took water running down the mountain and piped it through their city...and had plumbing. This is while the rest of Europe was living through the Dark Ages. Such an advanced civilization! Too bad that it is mostly just rubble now.

We came back from Cordoba, and I decided to go out. We ended up at a very special club called the Camborio--it's a cave built into the mountainside with an amazing view of the Alhambra. It's basically Granada's signature club. It was kind of cold, and we got there kind of early, but it was so fun! I would definitely go again, but I think I'm going to show up at 3 or 4 next time. Some people stay there until 8 AM so that they can see the sun rise over the Alhambra. Someday this semester, I will motivate myself to do that too. Until then, staying up until 4 AM is kind of my limit. Today I am so tired that all I can do is write this blog.

There's a rant here, so if you're not in the mood for it, skip it:
Oh, an aside about my internship seminar, which degenerated into hostility this past week. Our "professor" made us do a pretty fun exercise (close your eyes, find your way to another room, grab a tennis ball, come back, find your seat, open your eyes). Then, however, she divided us into groups and told us to do the same exercise again. And I mean, exactly the same. Trying to figure out what the point of doing this in groups was, we asked her whether it was a competition. She didn't really give us an answer, but we assumed so, because otherwise there was no point to the exercise. So, my group did it the hard way: we all held hands, made our way over to the other room, picked up a ball each, and came back. The other group was smarter: they designated 2 people to run to the other room, pick up enough tennis balls for everyone, then came back. So technically, they "won", and my team was envious of their creativity. But not our teacher. She launched into this diatribe about how competitive Americans are in the workplace, basically insulting the other team. She noted how, in the Spanish workplace, people are more cooperative than competitive (a valid point). This valid point could have been imparted so much better though, because personally I think that both competition and cooperation should be parts of the workplace environment. We all tried to point this out, but she would have none of it. Just over and over: You guys are so competitive, this is so American and so bad. Some people are so angry that they're considering dropping the seminar.

In conclusion: I've been having a lot of fun just living here. I'm getting used to Spanish culture and am really enjoying our trips to places. Next weekend we have an extra day of holiday (Christopher Columbus Day is kind of a big deal here), so I'm going to Barcelona! Stay tuned...