La Mujer Muerta

   La Mujer Muerta is a notable mountain range that can be seen from many different places in Segovia. My favorite place to admire the formation is in El Paseo del Salón where my school is located. There are several legends about La Mujer Muerta, but my favorite one goes like this: 

   A long time ago, there were two families living in a village. One of the two families was the richest family in town. They had a beautiful, kind daughter. The other family was the second richest in town and they had two strong sons. When the children were young, the parents decided, when they came of age, the daughter would marry the eldest son to unite their legacies. As the kids grew up, the daughter fell in love with the younger brother. The two of them begged their parents and the older brother to change the marriage arrangement, but the parents and the older brother refused. They were heartbroken, but continued to see each other in secret. One day, the oldest brother noticed something different about his wife-to-be and found out that she was pregnant with his younger brother's child. The two brothers drew their swords and began to fight. The daughter tried to stop the fight and ended up getting hit by one of the swords and dying. The gods made grew the mountains around her body as a reminder for the village people of this horrible event. (The translation from Spanish to English kind of takes away from the story, but that's okay.)

La Mujer Muerta is in the background of this picture. It's hard to see but you can almost make out her head on the left, then breasts, then pregnant belly, and feet to the right. 

   Fun fact about El Paseo del Salón - it's original name was El Paseo del Shalom because it is near the Jewish quarter in town and that is where the Jewish people would go to rest on the Sabbath, so it was common to hear Shalom in passing. The Spanish people do not have the "sh" sound in their language so it is extremely difficult for them to say. Due to this difficulty, the name of the park gradulally changed into El Paseo de Salón. 

El Paseo del Salón

Hiking [andando por las montañas]

   Last weekend was my last full weekend in Segovia. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by. I feel like there is still so much for me to experience here, so I am trying to get as much out of the next couple of weeks as possible. Last Sunday, a few friends and I went hiking on a trail and a small mountain near Alcázar (the castle). I thought the view was incredible, but was later told there's a better trail for pictures. I'll have to find it this Saturday! On our hike we also encountered the Eresma River. Here are some of my favorite shots of my friends & me. 

This is my favorite picture from the day. It wasn't the best view, but I love how happy all of us look. I am so thankful to have found this group of friends on this trip. With them, I am always laughing and I always have someone to adventure with!

We crossed the river using the stone path and no one fell in. Not even Lou! ;) 

Alcázar de Segovia inspired Walt Disney in the creation and design of Cinderella's castle. 

This picture does not do the view any sort of justice. Alcázar is in the foreground and La Catedral is in the background. Segovia is completely surrounded by mountains, fields, farms, and forests. It is absolutely beautiful. I will definitely be missing these views when it's time to return to the states. 

El Escorial y Valle de los Caídos

   My excursion with my class this past weekend was to Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Valle de los Caídos. In the most basic form, both structures are tombs. 

   El Escorial functions as a royal crypt, monastery, royal palace, museum, and school today. It is one of the largest buildings in Spain and is absolutely incredible. My class spent roughly two hours quickly walking through rooms and only focusing on very specific artifacts and we only got through about one-fifth of the enormous structure. 

   The necropolis was the section that I found most interesting. In the 16th century, King Felipe II had El Escorial built to hold the remains of his parents, himself, and his future descendants. Today the tomb is home to 13 rulers and 13 royal consorts, who parented a monarch. Every king except two since Felipe II are buried in El Escorial. The exceptions are: Felipe V who chose to be buried in La Granja, the palace he had built to resemble his home in Versailles, and Amadeus, who chose to be buried with his first wife instead of the wife who beared his prince. In addition to the Pantheon of the Kings, there is also a Pantheon of the Princes, where royal children are buried. 

   Although a crypt, the royal necropolis did not feel somber or dark. Instead, it was a beautiful series of rooms made from marble, bronze, and gold. To me, it felt like a tribute to the respect and admiration these rulers gained throughout their lives. Instead of a place to mourn, it seemed more of a place to celebrate the kings and queens who helped form Spain into the beautiful country it is today. 

   While at El Escorial, we were lucky enough to see part of King Felipe II's collection of relics, an opportunity not afforded to many. My professor said this was the first time in her life she was able to see the vast collection and she visits El Escorial at least once a year. King Felipe II was downright obsessed with his relics. His collection exceeded 7,500 primary and secondary pieces. They are now held in enormous cabinets that were created for the sole purpose of housing the collection during the construction of the Basilica. I was able to see porcelian heads painted with faces of saints that held their craniums, glass boxes displaying arm, hand, and leg bones, as well as some other artifacts I was not able to identify. Without a doubt this collection of relics was the creepiest, most awesome thing I have ever seen. 

   Valle de los Caídos was a whole different kind of creepy. Valle de los Caídos translates to Valley of the Fallen. This monument was built in 1940 by the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco. It is an extremely controversial monument amongst the people of Spain. Franco had the bodies of many fallen civilians and soldiers from the civil war buried in the valley just outside of the enormous monument. He claimed the structure to be a national "act of atonement." 

   Sounds innocent enough. The controversy comes from a few different angles. Franco had the bodies buried there without gaining permission from the families and as far as I know, there is no sort of monument listing the names of the fallen. Also, Franco used the labor of many political prisoners in the construction of Valle de los Caídos. The exact numbers are up in the air as I received contradictory information from my professor and online research. Lastly, it is controversial because Franco himself is currently buried there. The wounds of the civil war and of Franco's rule are still fresh in the minds of the Spanish people. A large portion of Spaniards want the monument destroyed, saying it promotes dictatorship and celebrates the hardships of Spain's recent past. Others argue it is a reminder of an ugly piece of the past that cannot be forgotten. Also, it was a step in establishing the democracy Spain has today. 

  The basilica in Valle de los Caídos was a depressing atmosphere. There were almost no people there. The structure was dark and cold. It is built about 150m into a small mountain so it naturally gives off a dark vibe. The natural granite ceilings, marble floors, and bronze statues were absolutely stunning, but not in a way that made me admire them. The craftsmanship was meticulous and beautiful, but lessened due to the monument. I am thankful for the expereince and cultural insight I gained from this stop on the excursion. 

While sitting outside of Valle de los Caídos, I saw an older man stumble and almost fall down the steps. At the same time, his hat flew off into the wind. I ran after and retrieved his hat for him. He thanked me and explained how he had almost fallen down the steps (in Spanish.) When he finished, he asked if I understood any of what he had just said to me. I told him yes, I understand Spanish well, but have a little bit harder time speaking. He asked me if I was British, German, or North American. I told him I was from the United States. He said he didn't like the US, so I asked him why. He told me that Kennedy was the only president he ever liked. The rest have gotten us involved in too many wars. I wasn't sure how to respond to his blunt honesty regarding my home country. In my head, I responded with "if I remember correctly, Spain has been initiated a war or two." But decided to keep my snarky comments to myself. The man ended the conversation by thanking me again and saying that America has "malos presidentes y chicas lindas" (bad presidents and kind girls.) 

Salamanca

   I had my first experience traveling while abroad this past weekend. I took a trip to Salamanca with five other people from my program. We had an incredible time. Salamanca is a city in the autonomous region of Castilla y Leon (the same as Segovia) so it had much of the same culture as what I have been experiencing here in my home city. Salamanca is best known as being a college town. It is home to many Spanish students during the fall and winter semesters, and many international students during the summer. 

   The University of Salamanca was built in the year 1218. It is the oldest university in Spain and the third oldest in Europe. It also was the first university to have a library in it. The main thing everyone must do when they visit Salamanca is find the frog hidden in the intricate carvings surrouding the university entrance. Finding the frog ensures good luck and passing grades on all of your final exams. There is also an astronaut hidden in the carvings. I'm not really sure what is up with that, but it's pretty cool seeing as it was built hundreds of years before astronauts were even a thing. 

   Salamanca also has two cathedrals. I think every major city in Spain has a cathedral, however, it is unusual for a city to have two. My friends and I toured the new and the old cathedrals which are connected to each other. The people of Salamanca decided to salvage the old cathedral instead of tearing it down when it was time to build the new one. The cathedrals and the university have been tied together pretty tightly through history. It was a very cool experience to walk through and see the different tombs, artwork, and artifacts that helped shape the city as it is today. 

   La Plaza Mayor de Salamanca was my favorite historical site. It was absolutely stunning. Up until about 100 years ago, La Plaza Mayor also served as La Plaza del Toros where bullfights were held. 

   Other places we also saw in Salamanca: El Convento de San Esteban Los Dominicos (built in 1524-1610), El Puente Romano (first century), El Palacio de Monterrey (16th century), and La Casa de las Conchas (15th century.) We also partied in a church turned bar called Camelot where the DJ played music from the pulpit. 

Can you find the frog?

La Plaza Mayor

El Convento de San Esteban Los Dominicos

The church that is now a bar, Camelot.

El Puente Romano (it's got nothing on the aqueduct)

My first time having tapas.

The New Cathedral.

YAY FOURTH OF JULY!

   This year was the first Fourth of July celebration that I missed in my 21 years of existence. I must admit I was missing America something fierce (but just for that day). About 18 or so people from my program and met up to have an "early" (around 9pm) dinner at Foster's Hollywood (the chain American restaurant that can be found in various cities in Spain). I got half of a bacon and half of a chilli burger, fries, and free refills on Pepsi (something you rarely find here.) It wasn't quite authentic American, but it tasted damn good. In honor of the Fourth of July, here are the top 5 things I miss most about 'Murica:

1. Long, hot showers. Water, electric, and gas are all very expensive here so I'm restricted to a 10 minute shower, turning the water off between lathering up and washing off. My host mom would never demand that I do this, but it is common courtesy here according to my professors.

2. Breakfast. The meals in Spain are way different than America. The food here is delicious but I gotta say what I miss the most food-wise is definitely a nice, big breakfast. Every morning here's have cafe con leche, some sort of sweet bread (like a muffin), and a piece of fruit. All I want is a nice, big plate of eggs (preferably from Ham Sweet Farm), bacon, and hash browns with ketchup! They also rarely use sauces here. There's no such thing as ranch and I've only seen ketchup with burgers.

3. The American schedule. The general schedule here was very hard for me to adjust to and I'm not sure if I have adjusted to the eating schedule yet. People in Spain in the summer do not sleep. I swear. I need a good 8-9 hours to function at home, but have been living off of 5-7 here. As far as eating goes, they have no snacks during the day. For meals, they have a small breakfast around 8-9, an ENORMOUS lunch around 2-3, and a big dinner anywhere from 9-11:30.

4. Knowing what I'm doing. If you have been reading my blog posts lately, you know that I have been making it up as I go here. I have struggled through attempting to learn the ways of public transportation, awkwardly figured out social norms of everything from buying shoes to ordering food to asking for help. Although this can be fun and adventurous, I'm craving the feeling of knowing what the norm is. Unfortunately, I think I will probably figure it out close to the end of my 6 weeks. 

5. Last but certainly not least, my friends, boyfriend, and family. I have made a group of friends here that I thoroughly enjoy, however, I do miss everyone back home.

A nice depiction of America, found in the local art school, La Casa de Los Picos.

A picture my family sent me from our annual Fourth of July vacation.

The service was horrible, but the food and company was great.

Mmm burger.

All of us :)

La Granja

   My class went on our second excursion at the end of last week. This excursion consisted of touring the palace in Segovia called El Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso or La Granja for short. The palace is situated in the northern slopes of La Sierra de Guaderrama and surrounded by over 1,500 acres of beautiful Versailles-inspired gardens. The royal history of the land starts before the 15th century, when it was a favored hunting spot among Castillian kings. In the 15th century, King Henry XV built a small shrine for San Ildefonso and a hunting lodge on the land. During the reign of Queen Isabel the Catholic, this land was given to a group of monks from the Parral Monastery. The monks built a farm and a small church on the land. This is where La Granja got its name (granja = farm). In 1719, King Phillip V bought the land from the monks and had a palace built. Phillip V was born and raised in Paris, France at Versailles so he had the palace and gardens built in the same style of design. For this reason, La Granja is sometimes called the "little Spanish Versailles." It became the summer palace of many kings and queens.

   Unfortunately, we could not take pictures inside of the palace for fear of people planning a heist, but it was truly remarkable. First, we saw a collection of tapestries, some bigger than most apartments in Segovia. The detail and craftsmanship in these tapestries was incredible. Spain has the best collection of tapestries in the world, both in quality and quantity. After the tapestries, we toured both the private and official rooms. In January of 1918 there was a fire at La Granja. The people living in the town of La Granja risked their lives to save as many artifacts as possible from the flames. Unfortunately, a lot was lost in the fire. However, thanks to the brave people of La Granja, much was saved. We were able to see the original artworks hung by the kings, statues, the table in which they ate and did business and so much more. Everyday I am shocked by the history here. It is definitely something that I will miss when I get back to the United States.

   The gardens were breath-taking.The forest surrounding the planted gardens truly reminded me of Northern Michigan in the summer. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking..

Me standing in front of La Granja.

El Mar de los jadines. This is where all of the water for the fountains originates from. All of the fountains depend on gravity to run.

The back of the palace.

Staying Busy [quedo ocupada]

  As of today my program is one third of the way through. :( Things for me are really starting to get going. I am still loving my professors and the classes I decided to take. I have learned tons about the history of Spain and the European Union. Going through school, I always hated history class, but I am really enjoying it here. The field trips to historical buildings and cultural events around Segovia break up the school day pretty well too. So far in my class, we have visited the aqueduct, a synagogue and artesian shop in the Jewish Quarter, the weekly farmers/flea market, and stopped at many different sites along the way.

 The fish here is delivered fresh every day. They cook it with its face, eyes, and bones still in it.
 

   Yesterday, I started my internship attempting to teach children English at a tennis camp. I didn't
write about it in my blog post yesterday because it was a disaster and I was afraid it wasn't going to get any better. My friend and I had no idea what we were doing, we had no classroom, no resources, no plan, no idea how much Spanish these kids knew, and to top it off, we were supposed to hold class with a bunch of 5-8 year olds on a playground. One little boy cried once and another cried twice. When they found out we were from the United States, all they wanted to do was play futból americano. Which to them means run around and hit/kick/tackle/throw sand at each other. Again, disaster. Today, I convinced one of my friends in the program who wants to be a teacher to come with us. Having three of us paired with the thunderstorms (rain = class in the tennis shop) made for a fun and somewhat productive day of teaching. We also have another group of students who are a little older. Today, their coach wanted us to teach them the English vocabulary relating to tennis. None of us play tennis or know much about tennis so we kind of pulled that out of our @$$ but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? 

   I bought my bus ticket to Salamanca for this weekend. I'm going there with five friends and am
very excited. The oldest university in Spain (and third oldest in Europe) is there, as well as everything that accompanies college life. Trying to navigate through the different options of transportation here is not as easy as I was expecting. I have been told that you don't need to know Spanish to visit Spain,
however, if you want to see the smaller cities and towns, I would definitely recommend it. Buying our tickets as quite an ordeal, but long story short, we learned that when you buy a round trip bus ticket here, there is no return date. Instead it's open and you have two weeks to decide when you want to come back. You tell this to the station at your destination and then they print out the ticket for you.

   Tonight, a group of native Spanish speakers met with a large group of students from my program and we separated into groups for "intercambios." We will be helping them with their English and they will be helping us with our Spanish. My group consists of me, three other girls from my program, and two 28-year-old women who live in Segovia. They were very nice and we have already had some great conversations. I think we will be meeting weekly so I am very excited to have the opportunity to improve my Spanish and cultural knowledge with natives.

My rainy view this morning.

   The weather has been unseasonably cold and rainy here. I seriously cannot escape Michigan weather no matter where in the world I go. As much as I may complain, I loved being able to fall asleep to a summer thunderstorm last night. Thunderstorms aren't very common here, so some of the Spaniards become a little distraught when the thunder booms and the lightning flashes. This was pretty comical for the rest of us who deal with thunderstorms quite frequently. 

Making a Plan [haciendo un plan]

   You know what's hard? Planning a trip. Do you know what's even harder? Planning a trip in a different language, in a different country. A group of friends in my program and myself have been working on planning trips for the last week with little to no success. We decided today was the day. We met up at the public bus stop to try and get a bus from Segovia to the train station so we could buy tickets. Problem is, the bus system here has stops specific to getting on and off. The stops where the passengers get off have a sitting area and look very similar to the bus stops in the United States. The bus stops for getting on the bus are a pole in the ground with the name of the stop. I'm sure you can see where this is going. As a group, we waited for line 11 at the wrong place. When the bus came, the bus driver tried to quickly tell us where we needed to wait to go to the train station and then closed the doors in our hopeful faces. We didn't quite understand what he was trying to say to us, so we started walking away. The bus driver turned around and stopped at the loading spot and honked and waited for us to run across the street and get on the bus. What a sweetie. It was roughly a 20 minute ride to the train station.

   When we got there, we found out the train tickets were sold out to our planned destination for this weekend. We ended up buying tickets for the end of July instead. By the end of the day, we had reserved hotels for Salamanca, Madrid, and A Coruña. Three trips in the next four weekends. I am going to be watching my spending even more closely now and probably return to the United States completely broke, but it will be worth it. I'm here to see and experience new places and that's what I plan on doing. :) Now, we just need to figure out how the bus schedules work and how to buy tickets for those. 

This is my little friend, rero. He's a patient traveler. 

Los Ultimos Días de Los Festivales de San Juan y San Pedro

   The Festivals of San Juan and San Pedro came to an end with fireworks at midnight on Sunday. I loved being able to participate in and see the various traditions, concerts, celebrations, and everything else that helped make the first ten days of my experience in Spain unforgettable. Last Friday, after my excursion to the castles, I went to a concert in La Plaza Mayor with a few friends. The band was listed as a Jamaican orchestra so we were excited to see a steel drum performance. There was nothing of the sort. Instead, it was more of a spectacle consisting of various popular songs and dances from around the world, acrobatics, and odd images playing in the background. We had a great time.

   Dancing is Spain is worlds different than dancing in the United States. "Grinding" is replaced with actual face-to-face dance steps. The people dance to have fun and without embarrassment. And just about everyone dances. There were whole families dancing, couples from every stage of life, friends, single people, anyone. And this type of dancing is what happens everywhere, not just in the streets, but in the clubs, too. I seriously love it. I told my boyfriend we are going to be taking dance classes when I get back. He misses me so much that he agreed.

The "Jamaican Orchestra"

   On Saturday, I went to a rugby game to see los lobos de Segovia play another club team. My friends and I got a little lost along the way. Apparently, I'm not any better at understand directions in
Spanish than I am in English. We ended up asking three or four people along the way of trying to find the pitch. The problem with directions here is that the roads aren't labeled clearly and there aren't many distinct landmarks outside of the historical quarter. To add to that, all of the roads have nicknames, so the name posted is probably not the one you were told. Also, three of the four people we asked had absolutely no idea what we were talking about. After about an hour of wandering around, we finally found the game and we even got there before it started (muchas gracias a both Spanish and rugby time.) I had a lot of fun watching the match with some of my friends who had never seen rugby before. Unfortunately, we had to leave the match early, but I like to think Segovia won. ¡Va lobos!

   Later that night, some of us met up for dinner and ended up sharing a giant box of fresh sushi. There was about 50 rolls with everything ranging from fish eggs to octopus to things we couldn't identify (the menu was in Spanish.) I tried both the fish eggs and the octopus and actually liked them. Spain is the country that eats the second most fish in the world and all of the cities get shipments of fresh fish every morning. This was definitely some of the best sushi I have ever had. After that, we met up with others from our program and experienced the nightlife. According to my professor, there are over 20 bars just in the small city of Segovia.

The rugby pitch overlooked the mountains. It was beautiful.

I live right across the street from this sushi place and it's reasonably priced. That's a dangerous combination.

We usually meet up at the aqueducts. It's a pretty central location from everyone's houses.

   Sunday was the last day of the festival. I spent a good part of the day doing homework and trying to catch up on sleep. During the normal siesta time (3-5pm) I went for a jog and found a really nice, hilly path that leads me along my favorite structure, the aqueduct.

   All week long my host mom was talking about the carnival and was so sad that I hadn't gone to it yet. So, I got some friends together and we headed to the fair. It was a riot. It was pretty similar to the fairs you see in big parking lots in the United States, just with way less safety regulations. Two of my friends and I rode the "DishDrop" which was a whirly-twirly ride that had basically no guard rails around it. Anyone could walk up the to the ride while it was in motion and get squashed (but no one did.) It was totally worth 3€. Then, we walked around the rest of the carnival to see the games and the rides. One of my friends spotted the most hideous prize I have ever seen in my life and as a group we spent around 12€ trying to win it. And we did. We were able to see the fireworks signaling the end of El Día de San Pedro and the festivals. We all walked home with sore cheeks and abs from smiling and laughing so much.

I am most likely going to post pictures of the aqueduct every single time it's somewhat relevant :)

Yep, we paid 12€ for that. Apparently, it's a popular children's TV show character, which is enough go give me nightmares. 

La Ruta de Los Castillos [the route of castles]

   All of the students in my program and two of the professors left Segovia at 10:20 in the morning and headed to the pueblo of Santa María la Real de Nieva to see Our Lady of Soterraña Monastery's cloister. A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walkways or open galleries. Many of the historic religious buildings here have cloisters because they allow a building to have a garden that is protected from the diverse weather experienced in this area.

   The architecture of this historical site is considered Gothic. Gothic architecture is characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vault, and the flying buttress. Yes, the flying buttress apparently has something to do with architecture.. (Although, I found that on Wikipedia, so maybe not.) Inside the cloister, there were beautiful pillars with extremely detailed pictures carved into them. These pictures mostly represented biblical stories. On one of the walls, there was a plaque with symbols on it. Because only the noble and clergymen in medieval times could read and write, the sculptors used symbols to "sign" their work. On many of the pillars, you could still see these "signatures." This monastery was constructed from 1393-1399 so that was mind-blowing. I saw signatures that were over 400 years old.

The Monastery

  

The sculptors' "signatures" 

   Our next stop was the castle of Coca. This was my favorite site of the day. The Castle of Coca has Mudéjar architecture. Mudéjar means a Muslim artist or architect worked for a Christian employer. Spain is the only country in Europe where the Mudejar style can be found, due to the strong Islamic influence that came from Africa and took over many parts of the country. Common characteristics of Mudéjar or any type of Islamic art/architecture include: geometric patterns, murals of vegetation, plain floors, and beautiful ceilings. All of these characteristics stem from their religious beliefs.
   As a class, we were able to tour many different rooms in the castle. We walked up and down the winding, narrow, steep staircases to get from the various rooms. My favorites were the dungeon and the room of secrets. The dungeon was actually multiple stories tall, with a hole in the middle of every level except the bottom. (All I could think about was the Moon Door in Game of Thrones.) The knights would take prisoners and throw them down the hole into the next room, causing the prisoner to break bones and receive other injuries, but not die. They would throw the prisoner down each level until he got to the bottom, where he would sit with his injuries amongst corpse and others waiting to die, either from starvation or infection. The holes were kind of small, so naturally we asked the tour guide what would happen if the prisoner was too big to fit. She said they would cut your sides until you fit through. The medieval times were ruthless.
   On a less morbid note, the room of secrets was built in such a way that if you stood directly across from someone and both faced the wall, you could hear the other person's whisper. This is where the knights went to exchange secrets.
   An empty moat served as the first line of defense for the castle. Contrary to what is depicted in movies, moats were supposed to be empty so that the enemy would surely die if they fell in. The imagery of water being in the moat came from the castles in Northern Europe, in areas that receive a lot of rain. To their disadvantage, the rain water would collect in the moats, filling them, and breaking the enemy's fall.
   Surrounding the Castle of Coca is the most largest pine forest in Europe. Because of this, the castle now serves as living quarters for college students who are able to complete internships working in the forest.

My class in front of the Castle of Coca

The dangerous staircase

   After the Castle of Coca, we briefly stopped at the Castle of Cuellar, which has completely Cheistian architecture. It was interesting to get to see the differences, although I definitely prefer Mudèjar. In the past, the structure has served as a castle (defense system), palace (housing for royalty), and as a prison for captives during the war for independence against France. Now, it is a high school.

The Castle of Cuellar

   Our last stop was an organic winery and vineyard called Malaparte. There, we got to tour both the winery and the vineyard while the owner explained to us the process of growing grapes and making wine. After, we got to try to different types of red wine. The owner had two Great Dane dogs that we got to meet and that are also featured on all of his labels and logos. Naturally, I bought a shirt and bottle of wine. Anything for a fellow dog lover, I guess. 

Malaparte was the name of the winery, after a famous author.

Princess Nala de Malaparte

The rose bushes protect the grapes from pests.

The Flamenco [el flamenco]

  The other night, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see a flamenco performance done by a group from Córdoba. Flamenco is a style of Spanish folkloric song and dance, more popular in the southern parts of Spain. A flamenco group is made up of a dancer, a guitarist, singer(s) who also utilize hand claps. It dates back to the late 18th century, but is still very much alive in the Spain of today.
   Seeing this performance was a unique experience for me. I have learned about flamenco in my Spanish classes, but I was still very surprised by the live performance. The singing is quite different than what I expected. The singers vary their voices greatly and take turns singing different parts of the same song. Also, I wasn't aware of the focus the sound of the music has on las palmas (handclaps.) The guitarist provided a beautiful song and the singers provided a beat for the dancers with their hands. As a person who is unable to maintain any sort of rhythm, the singers' ability to clap together to varying beats and melodies was awe-inspiring. Above all else, what I admired about this group was their passion for el flamenco. It was clear to me that each and every one of them was up there doing exactly what they loved. I am so thankful for every opportunity I have here to experience the traditions and cultures of this breathtaking country firsthand. Life, love, and passion are beautiful things.

The Aqueduct [el acueducto]

  The most incredible thing I have seen in Spain so far is definitely the Segovian aqueduct. I walk by it at least 8 times a day and I stop and stare every single time. It was built by the Romans to provide running water to the houses in the city. The pipes for the aqueduct originate in a spring in the mountains and run about 8 miles to La Plaza de Artillería in the middle of the city. The aqueduct provided water to the city of Segovia until the 1960's when the European Union decided to block the water supply in order to better preserve this impressive piece of history.
   Not only aesthetically magnificent, this structure is also a scientific wonder. It has stood for over 2,000 years through wars, battles, earthquakes, storms, etc. As if that is not impressive enough, the Romans used absolutely no cement when building it. It was made completely and solely out of enormous granite stones. Many famous architects and physicists have studied the aqueduct in order to figure out why it is still standing, but no one knows.  A few of the stones were knocked out or damaged during a battle against the Muslims. These stones were later replaced using cement under the rule of Queen Isabel to keep the integrity of the structure as a whole.
   As with everything historic, there are legends about how and why the aqueduct was built. My professor told us her favorite legend, which was told to her by her grandmother. It goes something like this: A long, long time ago there was a very wealthy family who had a beautiful maid to wash their clothes. The maid was content working for the family, even though every day she had to walk miles and miles every day to get water for the clothes. The maid had a wonderful boyfriend and she was so excited because he was going to propose to her on the night of the festival of San Juan. After he proposed, he would pick her up and jump over the fire, cleansing their relationship for the start of their lives together. The maid bought the most beautiful dress she could find and eagerly waited for the festival of San Juan to arrive. But then, the day before the festival of San Juan, the mother told the maid that she could not go out because they needed her to go fetch water to clean their clothes for the festival. The maid was distraught. She wanted nothing more to go to the festival so she called the devil. When he arrived, they made a deal that he would build a great aqueduct to get the water to her house before the first ray of sun in the morning in exchange for the maid's soul. She was young and naive so she agreed and signed the contract in blood. The devil called in his demons and they spent the entire night cutting stone with their horns and building the grand aqueduct. The maid watched them work and became worried. She didn't want to give her soul away to the devil. She spoke with her priest but nothing can break a contract with the devil. As the night went on, she became more and more anxious. As the first ray of sunlight appeared, the devil still had one stone left. He had not finished in time and the contract was broken. The maid's soul was saved and she was proposed to that night at the festival of San Juan. But she learned her lesson, never make deals with the devil.
   I asked my host mom if she knew any legends about the construction of the aqueduct. She said they were silly, but some people say the devil ran on top of the aqueduct and that is how the path for the water was created.

La Fiesta de San Juan

Me handing my paper to the firefighter. 

   La Fiesta de San Juan is a very big summer celebration in Spain. The holiday occurs on the first day of summer; the longest day with the shortest night. As part of the celebration, there was a big fire in La Plaza Mayor. The ancient tradition is for the people to jump over the fire or walk barefoot on the hot coals. This was believed to rid you of the negative in your life and purify you for the start of the new summer/year. Also, if two people were engaged, it was custom for the man to pick up his fiancé and jump over the fire holding her. Because these jumps are so dangerous, they don't happen in Segovia very often. Instead, a large crowd gathered behind a fence around the fire and people wrote down the things they would like to rid from their lives. They then gave the slip of paper to the firefighters, who threw it in the fire. I was so happy I was able to participate in this celebration. It is incredible how the people of this city are still celebrating traditions that date back to times before Christianity.

Standing outside of El Salón, where my classes are held. 

   I also had my first day of classes. All of the professors are very nice and welcoming. My classes seem very interesting and I am excited to be taught by Spaniards (I've never had a professor from Spain.) I am attending a university specifically for my study abroad program, which has its pros and cons. Pros: small class sizes, more attention from the professor, more opportunities to practice Spanish, easier classes, more flexibility to do excursions during the week, and no pressure to perform as well as local students. Cons: I feel like I'm missing out on a piece of the culture, it isn't a very authentic experience, I might learn more from being completely surrounded by Spanish speakers, many of the students speak English when the professors aren't around, and I don't get to meet local students in my classes. I am taking two classes during my six week stay here. They are titled "Culture and Civilization in Spain" and "Spain and it's role in the European Union." I am excited to expand my horizons academically while I am here.