It’s “hasta luego,” not “adiós”

I’ve been putting off this blog post for a while now, but I guess it’s time I finally write it. It definitely feels strange being back home in the US, and I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that my year in Spain has finally come to a close. It was definitely a whirlwind of a week, my last few days in Spain. I started off the week taking my final exam for my Siglo de Oro class (Golden Age Spanish literature) and then spent the rest of the week running between the library and the Preshco annexo trying to finish up final papers and practicing for our flamenco performance. As my host mom kept exclaiming indignantly to me throughout the week when she saw me working, my professors had me working up to the very last day in Spain! Thursday night, however, began the final Prehsco festivities. The Lluvia de Estrellas, our end of the semester party, was held in the ballroom of the Real Círculo de la Amistad just like last semester. After guitar and Sevillanas performances, Noreen, Natasha, Harriet, and I took the stage to dance flamenco. After a semester of practice, it was exciting to perform for all of our host families and friends. Later, they brought out a band and there were tapas, drinks, and dancing into the night! (I’ve put the links to the videos at the end of this post).

Dancing flamenco
(Photo credit Leah Kramer)

Natasha and I with our flamenco teacher, Teresa

Friday morning meant more essay writing for me, but that evening my friends and I got together for the start of Feria! This annual May celebration is held in the area right outside the soccer stadium; they set up amusement park rides, food stands, and lots of  beautifully decorated casetas (tents) for all of Córdoba to enjoy. On the first night of Feria, they normally have a fireworks display (although it didn’t quite compare to some of the other fireworks shows I’ve seen…eg. Fisherman Bob at Fourth of July).

Fireworks for Feria!

Riding the ferris wheel

The main entrance of the fair- a lit up version of the Mezquita

About to brave “El Gigante”

A view of the fair from across the river

Saturday all of Preshco- students, host families, professors, friends- were all invited to a paella lunch in the caseta, El Esparraguero. There was lots of Sevillanas music and dancing, and we all enjoyed this final Preshco party. However, our Saturday didn’t end there. A bunch of my friends and I decided to see one of the bullfights that they put on specially for Feria. It was definitely an interesting event, and although I’m glad I can say I crossed this item off my Spain bucket list finally, I don’t think I’ll be back to see a bullfight anytime soon. So after a busy afternoon, and then a few hours spent packing, my friends and I geared up for one last evening at the Feria. We ended up riding “the Biggest Ferris Wheel in the World,” the scrambler, and a few of my friends even braved “El Gigante.” Later around 3am, after checking out the dancing in a few casetas and grabbing a few churros con chocolate, my friends and I parted ways and headed home.

Inside our caseta

Best friends enjoying Feria

Las flamenquitas

Mi familia española

With our directors: Eva, Maribel, Esteban, and Encarni

My host mom ❤

Decked out for Feria

Bullring in Córdoba

Una corrida de toros

“The biggest ferris wheel in all of Europe”

Feria by night

And no sooner did I fall asleep, than it seemed I woke up to the day I had been dreading all year long- the day I would have to say goodbye. During the morning my host mom helped me finish up my packing, and that afternoon we all had one last lunch together. After a quick siesta and one last sweep of my room, we piled all my luggage into the car and drove off to the bus stop where the group was meeting. Saying goodbye to the people that have become my second family and to the city that has become my second home is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. However, I now have a year’s worth of wonderful memories to look back on whenever I start to miss them. And I’m positive that I will be back in Spain at some point in my life, so for now it’s not “adiós” (goodbye), it’s just “hasta luego” (see you later).

Long time no see Massachusetts!

Links to the videos of our flamenco performance: Alegrías: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OLiSwPdnEc Tango: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vAchcO2fgk

Spanish cooking lessons: Salmorejo

Yesterday we had some special visitors over for lunch- my housemate Matt’s parents who are currently visiting him here in Spain. Since my host mom loves these mini-fiestas and cooking lots of food for them, we were busy in the kitchen all morning. In addition to some tortillas de patatas, we made salmorejo (a very typical plate from Córdoba).

Ingredients: day old French bread, garlic, ripe tomatoes,  salt, olive oil

1. Soak the bread in a bit of water and mush into smaller pieces.
   

   Soaking the bread and chopping up the tomatoes and garlic

   

   Not very appealing yet

2. Cut up about five ripe tomatoes and about three cloves of garlic. Blend everything with a beater.
   

   Blending the ingredients

3. Add in olive oil and salt and mix until the salmorejo has a smooth consistency. We ended up using about a liter in total of olive oil.
   

   Mixing in the olive oil

4. Sprinkle hard boiled egg pieces and jamón serrano over the salmorejo if desired.

Ready to serve

Our feast!

Romería de San Isidro Labrador

This past week we finished up with classes, and began the most stressful week of the Preshco calendar: FINALS. Now normally I wouldn’t be this stressed out with my abroad classes, however all these finals are accompanied by not one, not two, but three different fiestas and the inevitable task of packing up and saying goodbye. While I struggle to finish the rest of my work by the Lluvia de Estrellas and Feria this weekend (I’m about halfway through all my projects!), I though I would describe the fiesta this past weekend.

Saturday morning my housemate Matt and I woke up super early (think 6:30am), and got dressed in our gitano outfits. We then met up with the rest of the Preshquitos and hopped on a bus headed for Cañete de las Torres, the start of our romería (pilgrimage). We made it just in time to hop in the procession behind the big statue of San Isidro Labrador being pulled by a tractor. For the next three hours we walked through the town and through olive fields until we reached the hermitage, which marked the end of our romería. Around the hermitage were set up a several casetas (it looked like a little tent town) where the people gather to eat, drink, and dance Sevillanas. We started off with seemingly endless plates of tapas and had a chance to wander around a bit and take in all the different casetas. Dancing and rebujitos (Fino mixed with Sprite) were plentiful. At 3pm we were served to large paellas, and although at this point we were all stuffed, I couldn’t say no to such delicious looking food. By the end of the afternoon we were all tired and fell asleep quickly on the bus ride back to Córdoba.

San Isidro Labrador

The procession

The Preshco caseta

Gettin’ some air

La ermita de San Isidro de Labrador de Cañete de las Torres

Natasha and I dressed as gitanas

Las veteranas (full-year students)

Frolicking through the olive trees

This week has been a busy mixture of finishing up essays, practicing our Flamenco routine for the Lluvia de Estrellas (Preshco end of the semester party), and enjoying all of my favorite spots in Córdoba one last time. While I can’t wait to be done with all this craziness, I know that once I’m finished everything it will mean it’s time to say goodbye to Spain. At least with all these fiestas (Feria starts on Friday!), the semester will definitely be going out with a bang!

Spanish cooking lessons: Paella

Ingredients: Red peppers, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, meat or fish (optional) white rice, bay leaves, extra virgin olive oil, white wine, saffron, salt

1. Chop up the vegetables (minus the tomatoes). Fry in the paella pan with a generous amount of olive oil. Shred the tomatoes with a cheese grater.
   

   Grating the tomatoes- our host mom insisted I take a picture of Matt in the kitchen to show his mom that he now knows how to cook

2. Once all the vegetables are heated up, add the meat. It is best to use meat with bones (such as pork ribs). You can also make a seafood paella, in which you would add the seafood later with the rice.
   

   Costillas de cerdo

3. Flavor with salt. Add coloring or saffron (whatever you have) and white wine.
   

   Adds flavor and color

   

   White wine from Córdoba province

4. Add about 9 to 10 cups of water. You may need to add more as the rice cooks.
   

   Boiling the paella

5. A half hour before eating, mix in the rice (a kilo will do for about 7 to 8 people). Cook on low heat. When it is almost done, turn off the heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. According to the Spanish saying, “El arroz es mal guisao y bien reposao” (poorly cooked, but well settled).
   

   Moving the paella to a bigger pan

   

   “Bien reposao”

   

   The finished product!

    

    

Somewhere in between Scotland and Spain

Two weekends ago I boarded a plain in Málaga headed to Edinburgh, Scotland for my final Eurotrip of the semester. My friend, Em, has been studying there for the semester, so it was the perfect excuse for a short vacation from Spain (albeit a very cold one!)

Since Edinburgh is a relatively small university city, we were able to check off most of the  big tourist attractions on our first day. After lunch at the Elephant House, the cafe where J.K. Rowling supposedly came up with the idea for Harry Potter, we stopped at the Scottish Museum- a curious mix of Scottish culture, dinosaur skeletons, and astrology exhibits. Later we took a walk down the famous Royal Mile and got momentarily caught in a freak hail storm. Fortunately for us there was a Poundland store nearby, and we were able to pick up £1 umbrellas. After this quick stop we were able to continue our site-seeing at St. Giles Cathedral and the Edinburgh Castle. Later that night we met up with some of Em’s friends for drinks and some live music at a local Irish pub.

A necessary pilgrimage for all Harry Potter fans

Braving the Scottish weather to do some site seeing

St. Giles Cathedral

Embracing my Scottish heritage

Ice cream truck outside Ediburgh Castle for all those sugar cravings

Saturday we were blessed with some rare sunny weather, so we seized the opportunity to climb to the top of Calton Hill. We were rewarded with some beautiful view of the city below (and a half finished Scottish Parthenon on top of the hill). Afterwards we decided to be artsy and visited the Scottish National Gallery. For such a small country, I was pretty impressed by the works they had (I particularly liked their paintings from Monet and Degas). Seeing as we had completed most of our requisite tourist obligations, we decided on some retail therapy at the European chain, Primark.

Em and I atop Calton Hill (with Arthur’s Seat in the background)

The Scottish Parthenon

Stealth photography in the SNG…they really do wear kilts here!

Sunday morning Em accompanied me to the bus stop, and I hopped on a double decker (my first time!) headed to the airport. Saying goodbye wasn’t as hard this time around, since I knew it wouldn’t be nine months till I next saw her, but rather three days!

In fact, three days later I met Em at the train station in Córdoba for her weekend in Spain! Due to flight cancellations, Em’s visit to Spain planned for March had been moved to the first weekend of May. I’d say that her flight’s cancellation was actually a blessing in disguise, as she picked one of the most festive weekends to come visit Córdoba- just in time for the Fiesta de las Cruces (Festival of the Crosses)!

Starting on May 1st (Labor Day in Europe) crosses decorated with flowers were set up around the city by the different religious brotherhoods (the same ones that are responsible for the Holy Week floats). These crosses, 40 in total this year, were accompanied by little tents where drinks and snack were served. Basically, from Wednesday to Sunday, the people flock from cross to cross to enjoy a caña, dance Sevillanas, and bask in the spring sunshine.

The cross in Tendillas

The cross in the Plaza de la Compañía by my house

Natasha, Em, and I at, by far, the prettiest cross

One of forty in Córdoba!

In addition to the crosses, I decided to show Em all my favorite spots in Córdoba. It’s always interesting showing off my city to other people and doing all the typical tourist stuff; it definitely gives you a little refresher and reminds you about all the little reason you love this place. We stopped by the Mezquita and the Real Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, took our picture on the Puente Romano, and walked through all the tiny streets of the Judería. In our downtime Em spent a lot of time on the terrace taking in the sun (something they don’t see much in Scotland). It was also pretty funny introducing Em to my host mom. As a woman who expresses her love through cooking, I could almost hear her saying her catch phrase “Si no comes, te vas a quedar chiquitilla y fea” (If you don’t eat, you’re going to stay small and ugly) before Em walked in the room. I think Em really enjoyed my host family though, and I know for a fact that she liked my host mom’s tortilla de patatas.

Calleja de las Flores

Calle del Pañuelo…it’s an Em-sized street!

With my best friend in Spain
(Photo credit Em Jamieson)

Real Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

A sunny day at the Alcázar
(Photo credit Em Jamieson)

Showing Em where I go to school
(Photo credit Em Jamieson)

Patio inside la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
(Photo credit Em Jamieson)

Flamenco performance in Tendillas…bringing me back to my dance recital days

All in all these past two weekends with Em have been fantastic. It was definitely great to see her in person after nine months of virtual Skype dates and being separated by several countries (and at one point a whole ocean). As a write this blog post, I have less than three weeks left in Córdoba. One the one hand I’m excited for the rest of the fiestas that this month has in store (Festival of the Patios, the Feria, Lluvia de Estrellas- the final Preshco party). However, I simultaneously dreading the fact that I will have to say goodbye to my new home and my wonderful host family in a few short weeks. So I guess for now I will choose to focus on the pile of final essays I have left to complete. As one of my friends told me, “Vamos a vivir intensamente este mes” (We’re going to live this month to the max). Truer words have never been spoken.

Spanish cooking lessons: Berenjenas con miel de caña

Berenjenas con miel de caña (fried eggplants with honey)…my favorite Spanish dessert!

Ingredients: one eggplant, 3/4 cup of flour, 1/3 cup of beer, half an envelope of yeast, one egg, salt, one clove of garlic, olive oil, honey

1. Slice the eggplants without peeling the skin. Put a little bit of salt on top and leave for about 2-3 hours.

2. Mix the flour, beer, yeast, egg, dash of salt, and garlic with a beater. Soak the eggplants in the mixture for a few minutes.

Mixing in the eggplant slices

3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. When boiling, fry the eggplants until golden.

Fry until golden

4. Heat the honey in the microwave until liquid. Pour over the eggplants.

¡A comer!

Springtime adventures

It’s been a few weeks since Semana Santa, and I’m busy as ever! There’s a stack of books on my desk that are waiting to be read, but the nice springtime weather (well, somedays it feels more like summer weather) has been calling my name. Here are some of the things I’ve been up to in the past weeks:

1. Field trip to Almagro: It’s a small town in the region of Castilla- La Mancha about three hours from Córdoba. Natasha and I went with our Siglo de Oro (Golden Age) literature class to see a play, called the Innkeeper and to check out the National Theater Museum. A rainy day, but still a pretty fun time.
   

   Plaza Mayor de Almagro

   

   The theater dates back to the 17th century

2. Volunteering: I just started teaching English classes a couple weeks ago at the Fundación Proyecto Don Bosco, an organization that works with at risk kids and young people. The group I work with are boys about my age from Morocco, Algeria, and Uruguay. These past couple weeks I’ve been helping them prepare for an exam, which is kind of the equivalent of a GED in the States. Yesterday, instead of class, we went out for tea to celebrate them taking the exam!
   

   Tea with my new friends
   (Photo credit Younes Jedoui)

3. Fútbol: This past Sunday some of my friends and I decided to go see Córdoba FC play against SD Ponferadina. Although Córdoba lost 0-1, it was a fun match and we had really great seats.
   

   Estadio El Arcángel

   

   ¡Vamooo Córdoba!
   (Photo credit Zach Jamieson)

   

   Fútbol

   

   The girls

4. Picture crazy: It’s starting to dawn on me that I don’t have all that much time left here in Córdoba (less than six weeks, yikes!). A bunch of my friends and I have been talking about how we want to take more pictures of things that happen in our daily life, just being out and about in Córdoba. Although I feel like a tourist sometimes stopping to take pictures of my own city, I know that once I’m back in the US I’ll be glad to have them.
   

   Plaza de las Tendillas, my favorite place in all of Córdoba

   

   Plaza de la Compañía, near my house

   

   Clifford “helping” in the kitchen as usual

   

   Some graffiti art in Córdoba

   

   Cliffito

    

Spanish cooking lessons: Lentejas

The easiest and most delicious Spanish guiso (stew) my host mom makes!

Ingredients: Half a kilo of lentils, a soft tomato, a pepper, a small onion, carrots or potatoes, a link of chorizo (Spanish sausage), a link of morcilla (blood sausage), olive oil, a bay leaf

1. Put all the ingredients (minus the morcilla) in a boiling pot. The only ingredient you need to cut is the potato, otherwise you can leave the rest whole. Add a generous dash of olive oil, and then fill the pot with water.

Your ingredients

2. Add a dash of salt, and let boil. Once the lentils have started to boil, turn down the heat  to medium and cook for another 30-45 minutes (or until everything is well cooked and soft).

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook for 30-45 minutes

3. About 10-15 minutes before everything is done, add the morcilla. Take out the tomato, pepper, and onion, and mix with a blender until liquid. Add to the broth and mix well. Cook a bit longer, until everything is well done.

Lentejas ready to eat!

Semana Santa

Spring has finally sprung here in Córdoba! The streets are filled with the sweet smell of orange blossoms, and with temperatures in the 70s this past week, I find it much harder to want to stay on top of my work (and this blog!). However, I have some catching up to do on my Semana Santa (Holy Week) adventures with my Mom and Dad. So without further ado…

On the Thursday before Palm Sunday, I hopped on a train headed to Madrid to pick up my parents, who had decided to come visit me for Semana Santa. Barajas Airport is quite big with four terminals, but as luck would have it, I met my parents at their arrival gate just as they were coming out (talk about timing!). We hopped in a taxi to our hotel in Madrid, and after getting settled, went out to explore the city. Having been to Madrid several times now, I took my parents on a tour of all the major tourist attractions: lunch in the Plaza Mayor, a visit to the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), churros at San Ginés, and finally a visit to the Prado Museum.

Plaza Mayor

Quick stop to check out the restaurant chain, Museo del Jamón. So many ham legs!

Mom and Dad enjoying some churros at San Ginés

Friday morning I decided it would be interesting to explore somewhere new for me in Spain, so we hopped on the Cercanias train and made our way to the nearby town of Alcalá de Henares. Since I’m taking a class on Golden Age Spanish literature, it was cool to visit the hometown of Cervantes, author of Don Quixote. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t exactly cooperating so we spent most of the time walking around with our umbrellas opened. Later that evening, before getting some tapas for dinner, we stopped by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum to see the new exhibit on Hyperrealism- super impressive!

A rainy view of the Plaza de Cervantes

My Spanish knight, Don Quixote

A building painted with the infamous scene between Don Quixote and the windmills

La Universidad de Alcalá de Henares

A nightime walk through Madrid’s Retiro Park

Saturday morning we said goodbye to Madrid and hopped on the AVE to Córdoba. After checking my parents into their hotel, we spent a little time walking around the city. Sunday, however, was the big day! After attending Palm Sunday Mass at the Mezquita, my parents came over to my house for a lunch with my host parents. My host dad, José Padre, knows English and was able to talk with my parents, but I spent a lot of the time translating from Spanish to English and English to Spanish for my host mom and my parents. It was a delicious lunch as usual (my host mom let me prepare some of my favorite foods such as oranges with olive oil & sugar and fried eggplants with honey). It was also a very surreal experience to be surrounding by my two sets of parents!

Palm Sunday procession

The Mezquita-Catedral decorated for Palm Sunday Mass

Los nazarenos (the penitents)

El paso (the float)

However, if I thought my host mom outdid herself for the lunch with my parents, she really outdid herself for our paella party on Tuesday. Since Natasha and Leah’s parents, as well as two of Matt’s friends from Oberlin, were also visiting Spain during Holy Week, my host mom decided we would have a big paella lunch so everyone could get to know each other. It was quite a meal! Between the mix of Spanish and English flying around, all the delicious food, and lots of laughs, I’d say everyone had a good time (and left with full bellies). Our resident director, Esteban, even showed up for the festivities!

The rest of Semana Santa was a mixture of on-and-off rain, processions, and day trips with my parents. We ended up visiting quite a lot of Andalucía- Sevilla, Granada, Baeza, and Ronda- and of course, all around Córdoba. The few processions that didn’t get interrupted by the rain were spectacular! Although seeing a parade of cloaked figures walking through the streets with candles, crosses, and massive floats and followed by a noisy brass band might seem intimidating, it’s actually quite the experience. Since I think pictures might be more impressive than any descriptions I can give, I’ve included some of my favorites.

The whole family (minus Cody) in Córdoba

Little penitents in Sevilla

The Plaza de España in Sevilla

Tilework representing the province of Córdoba (and a sleepy artist) in the Plaza de España

A sunny day to check out the Alhambra in Granada

Almost got stuck in a procession in Granada!

La Virgen María

A float of the Last Supper

Spanish legionaries accompanying a float

Inside the Cathedral of Baeza

Plaza de Toros in Ronda

The New Bridge in Ronda

Anyways, after attending Easter Mass on Sunday with my parents and having one last home-cooked meal prepared by my wonderful host mom, I said goodbye to my parents. All in all, a jammed pack and exciting week!

The two best sets of parents a girl could ever ask for

Moroccan Adventures

Our (not quite) one thousand and one Arabian nights…

Natasha, Leah, Emma, and I decided that for our first time traveling to Morocco we would go with Discover Sevilla, an excursion company that caters to American study abroad students. Friday morning we hopped on the train and met up with the group in Sevilla. After a three hour bus ride, we arrived at the port in Tarifa, Spain and caught the ferry to Tangier, Morocco. From the port it was a short 10 minute drive to the Intercontinental Hotel where we would be spending the evening. Since it was already dinnertime when we got there, we all dropped our luggage off in the lobby and went straight into the dining room for a delicious couscous dinner.

Someone’s excited for our ferry ride

Saturday morning we got up early and hopped back on the bus to go to Chefchaouen, a small city in the Rif mountains famous for its blue-painted walls. During the bus ride our tour guide gave us some background on the country and on the city we would be visiting. He mentioned that Morocco has modernized quite a bit thanks to Mohammed VI, who became king in 1999. He also noted that many aspects of Moroccan culture regarding women have become more liberalized. For example, the wife of Mohammed VI, Princess Lalla Salma, frequently appears in public without head coverings and travels to other countries on her own- two things women used to be forbidden from doing. Another interesting point that our tour guide made was that he doesn’t refer to the Arab Spring by that name, but rather as the Democratic Spring, because the Berbers also revolted as well.

Our tour guide wearing a traditional Djellaba robe

After our history lesson, we hopped off the bus in Chefchaouen and had a short walking tour of the city. Our last stop was a restaurant called Aladdin’s palaces (yes, a bit touristy of a name…) for another yummy lunch. Later we had several hours of free time to walk around the city and practice our bargaining skills. Natasha and I decided to get some henna done on our hands. Afterwards we stopped in some stores to do some shopping and happened to meet one very interesting Berber (from Southern Morocco) store owner. He spoke perfect English and Spanish, and said that he had learned them not at school but rather speaking to people from all over the world. We ended up buying some beautiful Moroccan blankets from our Berber friend and later ended our day of bargaining with some delicious mint tea.

I wonder how much blue paint they go through in a year?

The Blue City

Henna

Moroccan slippers

Chefchaouen women

Sunday was another early day as we hopped on the bus and made our way to the seaside town of Assilah. Before getting there, however, we made some quick stops to see the Caves of Hercules and Cap Spartel (the point where the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea meet), and to go camel riding. Although our ride was fairly short, I guess I can now cross it off my bucket list! After lunch we had some time to explore Assilah and to check out the many murals spread throughout the town.

Caves of Hercules

Where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet

I think the girl next to me was having more fun

Emma and Leah with their camel friend

Artwork in Assilah

 

More murals

No sooner had we arrived it seemed, than it was time to get back on the ferry to return to Spain. Although our weekend in Morocco went by really fast, I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to explore Spain’s southern neighbor. Throughout the trip I was very struck by the very obvious contradictions between the really posh hotels and neighborhoods and the abandoned and run-down buildings and areas. I also found it interesting that in a country that is seemingly so westernized (in comparison to the rest of the Arab world that is), that there is still a lot of unemployment and poverty. Overall, our weekend in Morocco was very eye-opening and I hope to have the chance to visit other parts of the country in the future.