T minus < 2 days

60 degrees on December 13th, I can dig that :)

One final exam down, one to go, plus one presentation and one already completed paper to be turned in.

T minus 6 days and approximately 21 hours

Well, well, it's been a while now, hasn't it? Where to start...

Not much happened during the rest of November. (How is it December already??) Our MA coordinator arranged a "study break/end of the semester dinner/alternative Thanksgiving dinner/anything else you want to call it" dinner on Thanksgiving at a nice restaurant near school. The food was not Thanksgiving-style, but it was incredibly good.

However, to resolve this lack-of-turkey feeling, one of my friends and I arranged a real Thanksgiving dinner (slash pre-Christmas party since none of us will have time for that between finals and going home for break) for us and our group of friends. Problem is that my friend doesn't have an oven...so I made a chicken (my senora's oven is tiny and I'm pretty sure a turkey - if I was willing to buy and attempt cooking one - would never fit in there), stuffing, sweet potatoes, and apple and pumpkin pies. Everyone else pitched in the other dishes and beverages. I learned later that apparently you can buy pre-made pie crust here (according to my senora, but I don't know exactly what this crust is like), but since I didn't know that I made pie crust from scratch, which actually isn't that difficult. Anyway, the food was good and it was a fun time.

Next up, last week - get ready, you're not going to believe this - it SNOWED. Granted, not a single flake stuck to the ground, and there were no snowmen to be built. However, it flurried for most of the day, and this is a rarity for Madrid. We beat you, Boston!

Now, if all this Thanksgiving and snow fun weren't enough, we just had a six-day long weekend. I know what you're thinking, but come on, we had class on Thanksgiving. We deserved extra days off. Anyway, this past Monday and today (Wednesday) were Spanish holidays (Constitution Day and some other religious but not really celebrated holiday having to do with the Virgen, as most Spanish holidays do), and it didn't make sense to squeeze class in on Tuesday. However, it's finals time, so I spent most of this past "weekend" working on two papers and studying for one of two final exams that I have. Fun, right?

Originally my senora was going to be gone this long weekend, she was going to Belgium with a friend. However, the air traffic controllers at Madrid's airport, Barajas, decided to go on strike last Friday and didn't return to work until Saturday afternoon. Flights were cancelled and delayed and all that chaos that you might expect ensued. Long story short, my poor senora wasn't able to go to Belgium, but she did wind up taking a day trip to Valladolid instead (I still felt really bad for her, but she didn't seem horribly disappointed). I'm still not exactly sure what the air traffic controllers were on strike for, because I read and heard on the news that some of them make an absurd amount of money. The government got all involved and threatened to arrest them if they didn't get back to work, which evidently worked. I can't imagine being that unhappy with a job that you would purposefully screw over you entire country by ruining so many people's holiday travel plans (this long weekend is a very popular vacation time). Anyway, if you're interested in reading more, here are some articles:

CNN
Telegraph
Some news source I've never heard of before
Daily Mail

Two of those articles are from British papers...the British were pretty angry about this situation because they too love to vacation in Spain.

Anyway, I think that's about it for now. At this point, I've got one paper to finish and two tests next week, and then I'm home free next Wednesday!

Salamanca: la ciudad dorada (the golden city)

Last Saturday, two friends and I took a day trip to Salamanca, a small city a few hours west of Madrid. The weather was perfect and it is probably my favorite Spanish city that I've visited so far (aside from Madrid, of course). It's possibly most famous for its university, which is the oldest in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. The old university buildings, built in the 15th century, have been converted into a museum that tourists can visit, but the modern university is still running and gives the city a sort of college-town feel to it.

The cathedrals of Salamanca from across the Rio Tormes

Se me olvidó

I completely forgot in my last post to mention that on Saturday night in Sevilla, a couple of friends and I went to see flamenco (a type of music and dance) that Andalucia is so well known for. It was pretty good, but we got there at the end, so we only saw the last part. I took a few videos with my camera, though, which I've posted below. The first two are kind of crappy quality and the last one is really short because I finally discovered a way to make the video slightly better quality, but apparently that comes at a price.

Córdoba and Sevilla

So NYU takes us grad students on one weekend-long trip each semester. Last weekend we all went to Cordoba and Sevilla, two major cities in the region of Andalucía (mainly most of the southern part of Spain). Next semester we'll go to Basque Country (Bilbao and San Sebastian) - which I'm really really excited about, but thats months away.

Anyway, we left before the crack of dawn on Friday to drive by bus to Cordoba. There we saw a few of the main attractions - the Roman style bridge, the mosque-turned-cathedral, and also the Jewish quarter with one of the oldest synagogues still standing in Europe. These buildings also represent the coexistence of three cultures/religions in the Iberian Peninsula at the time (under Islamic rule): Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. (This all came to an end in 1492 when the Islamic government surrendered to the Catholic kings, Isabel and Ferdinand.) Aaanyway, I'd seen this stuff all before when I was last in Spain (with NYU, too), and I wish we'd had more time to see other things in Cordoba (example: the Alcazar), which was the capital and a pretty important city during Islamic rule and the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, we continued on to Sevilla after a few hours in Cordoba. That night we had free time to do whatever, since we got there at about 8 p.m., but since we'd all been up so early in the morning, we just got dinner and went to bed.

Saturday was a packed day. We started by visiting the Alcazar, or the Royal Palace, which is HUGE. The buildings themselves, along with some courtyards, are pretty extensive, and the gardens keep going on and on as well. I really liked the gardens - there are a lot of flowers, plants, trees, etc., and there's also a labyrinth! Pretty sweet, huh? After visiting the alcazar, we saw the cathedral. Now, this is a very nice cathedral, inside and out (though still not as pretty as the one in Segovia), but we were in there for about two hours, listening to our professors go on and on about lord knows what (pun semi-intended), including about half an hour inside the Royal Chapel (which we got to visit even though it's not usually open to the public). I like visiting churches, but I'm still going to need a while before I can stand to see another...

After the cathedral and lunch, we visited the Hospital de la Caridad, which was, yes, a hospital that was built in I think the 15th century. I think we visited it because the architecture (in particular of the church in the hospital) is Baroque style, but quite frankly I was so tired and bored at this point that I don't really remember much of what we were told there. (And also, for some reason old buildings that were once hospitals creep me out a bit.) Then we passed by the Torre de Oro and the bullfighting ring (one of the more important ones in Spain), where we were told about bullfighting in Spain...fun.

Then free time, thank god. A friend and I walked through the Barrio Santa Cruz for a bit. Later one we went to see the Plaza de Espana, which is really pretty and probably would have been equally nice during the day also. It was built in 1928, along with the Parque de Maria Luisa that surrounds it, for a world's fair the following year (Ibero-American Exposition of 1929).

Sunday we visited a convent, the Convento de Santa Paula, which is still in use but open to the public at some hours of the day. I think it was originally built in the 15th century, and there's a little museum inside that shows its history. Interesting, I guess...not sure I fully understand the point of going there but it was definitely interesting. After visiting the convent, it was back on the road for the six-hour drive back to Madrid...

Valencia

So this past weekend was extra long: Tuesday was the “Día de la Hispanidad” or “Día de la Raza,” which basically celebrates Columbus’s (Cristobal Colón) “discovery” in 1492 of the Americas. There are huge parades everywhere in Spain, particularly in Madrid, more or less like our Fourth of July parades but perhaps a little more political and historical. (I.e. no crazy parade floats, no fireworks that I know of, no groups of fifth graders carrying homemade patriotic signs.) Anyway, since Tuesday was a holiday, they decided to give us Monday off as well, and since we don’t have class on Fridays, it was a five day weekend (bless Spain and their mid-week holidays). So three friends and I decided to go to Valencia for four days.

From las Fallas this past year in 2010
(this is from Wikipedia, I didn't
actually see this one, but just so you
have an idea)

Valencia is the third biggest city in Spain, located on the Mediterranean coast. It’s known for its oranges, its paella (which originated there), the City of Arts and Sciences (more on that later), and las Fallas, a huge celebration that includes a big parade of ninots, or papier mâché dolls (more like statues really) based on a predetermined theme. There is a competition for the best statue  and all but the winner are burned on the last day of the festival. Anyway, that takes place in March so we didn’t see any of that. However, there is a museum that houses the winning ninots, and we did go there (it was pretty cool but you’re not allowed to take pictures unfortunately so just google “las Fallas” if you’re curious – and you should be).

Aaaanyway, on Friday we woke up at 4:30 am to get to the airport for our 6:40 am flight. Ew. The flight itself is only about 50 minutes, so that wasn’t too bad. We spent our first day in Valencia first at the City of Arts and Sciences, which practically is a city itself of several futuristic-looking buildings devoted to science and the arts, including a huge aquarium, a science museum, an IMAX/planetarium, and more. Friday we went to the aquarium, which is pretty impressive. There are tunnels that go under enormous tanks filled with fish, sharks, and other ocean dwelling animals, so you can basically watch them swim over or around you. We also saw a dolphin show. After the aquarium, we explored a bit of downtown Valencia, including the cathedral (I’m pretty sure that the cathedral is the biggest tourist attraction in ANY Spanish city). Then we had a menú del día lunch, which included croquetas (basically fried balls of cheese and meat), paella (of course), and dessert. [Sidenote: every restaurant in Spain is obligated by law to offer a “menú del día” which is a three course meal of an appetizer, main course, and dessert, and also includes bread and a beverage. It’s wonderful because it’s also usually relatively cheap for the amount of food that you get – usually around 10€.] Later on Friday we explored a bit more and went to the beach in the evening before it started raining.

Saturday was a Valencian holiday, which we didn’t discover until that morning. It was Valencia’s founding day, essentially, which celebrates when the king Jaime I conquered the city. There was a parade and a special mass in the cathedral, and I think a few other celebrations. We also went inside the cathedral before the mass to check it out and also to see the alleged “holy grail” that they claim to have (see pictures). Later on Saturday, we walked a little bit through the Jardín del Turia (huge gardens/parks that surround a good portion of the city) and went to the Museum of Fine Arts.

Sunday we were going to go to the flea market at the Plaza Redonda (a round plaza), but for some reason they weren’t holding it that Sunday, perhaps because of the holiday the day before. So instead we went to the Fallas museum, and then after that back to the City of Arts and Sciences to go to the science museum. The museum itself was ok, though geared a bit more towards children. Also some of the exhibits were a bit strange in that they didn’t really seem very cohesive…but rather just some semi-related science information thrown together in the same exhibit. However, there was a temporary exhibit devoted to Star Trek, which was pretty good, especially considering that I’ve never really been a fan (that isn’t to say I dislike it per se, just that I never really watched it aside from when Aria had it on freshman year). The rest of the day consisted of exploring various parts of the city.

Torres de Serranos

Monday was our last day and we started at the Central Market, which is an inside market with fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, and other fresh food products. It reminded me a lot of the Boquería in Barcelona, if you’ve ever been there. More exploring ensued, including of the Torres de Serranos (one of two remaining doors or gates to the medieval wall that once surrounded Valencia) and the royal gardens. Our flight back to Madrid was supposed to be at 9 pm, but naturally, it was delayed about an hour, so that was fun. All in all it was a fun weekend!

Huelga general del 29 de septiembre

So the Spanish like to go on strike every once in a while, and this year September 29th was one of those times. The "huelga general" or "general strike" was planned well ahead of time, and everyone, including the government knew about it. I want to first off say that, despite Spaniards' fondness for going on strike (and other Europeans' too for that matter - the French went on strike yesterday), they are pretty peaceful about it. There were a few less than peaceful incidences on the news, but aside from that, they mainly seem to want to skip work and attempt to get their point across (however effective that may be).

Either way, businesses were closed, some banks were closed, Spanish newspapers didn't go to press, and practically every mode of transportation experienced delays or cancellations. People started gathering to protest a little after midnight and stuck with it for the next 24 hours. About 70% of the working population participated, apparently. I had class that day, but since I live about 3 miles from school and could never convince myself in a million years to wake up an hour early just to walk to a 9:30 class, I stayed over at some friends' apartment the night before (they live about ten minutes from NYU). However, I decided to risk it and take the metro home (trains were running at I think 20% their normal frequency during non-peak hours), and got to the platform just as a train was arriving. Success! I don't really know if the strike itself was a success...everything pretty much just went back to normal the next day.

Anyway, I thought this might be interesting to share since we don't really have general strikes in the US. If you're interested in reading a bit more, this article can give you a better idea of what went on.

El Rastro, la Noche en Blanco, y más

Oh boy, I've been in grad school for only two weeks and already I'm back to my crafty ways of procrastination. (I'm more referencing my blog-updating habits, not schoolwork. But once you've mastered the art of procrastination in college - or even high school if you're good enough - you can never really rid yourself of it.) Anyway, I will hereby attempt to recap on the last couple of weeks here in this lovely Spanish capital city.

Every Sunday morning/early afternoon, a huge outdoor flea market called "El Rastro" is held. According to my señora, Marisa, it used to be more of a traditional flea market, where you could find interesting and sometimes antique items. Now it is much more of a tourist trap - but it's still worth going to, and you can find some interesting things. A few weekends ago I went and it was nuts.

There are so many people there, and the booths just keep going and going. El Rastro actually reminded me a bit of the weekend street fairs that you can find in Manhattan (I particularly remember them around the Washington Square area when I was living there as a freshman). And I'm sure you've stumbled across similar ones elsewhere, so aside from historical value, there isn't a whole lot of uniqueness to el Rastro. Regardless, it was still interesting and worth going to. I got a bag and also a cheap little sugar bowl that says "azúcar" ("sugar" in Spanish).

*     *     *

Last Saturday was the "Noche en blanco" here in Madrid. The "white night" takes place in several European cities every September during the full moon. From sunset to sunrise, essentially, there are events everywhere, and many people stay out the entire night (although that's not something madrileños are unaccustomed to; they thrive on nightlife here). The events include live music, performances, museums that stay open until midnight or 1 am, and various other activities. Each year has a theme, and this year was "¡Hagan juego!" or "Game On!" We came across huge swing sets and seesaws, and apparently there were also huge game boards, like Scrabble (which I missed sadly - I LOVE Scrabble).

Life-size Scrabble board

One of the huge swing sets

We met in Sol, the center of downtown Madrid. Most of the 165 activities were taking place in that area. First we tried to go to the Palacio Real (the royal palace where the Spanish royal families used to live but don't anymore), but when we got there the line literally kept going and did not end ever. So we decided against that, and went to a few different places that were hosting live jazz bands. It was fun, but it felt like literally all of Madrid was jammed into a two to three mile radius of the center of town, and the huge crowds of people were a little overwhelming. After scarfing down some croquetas (basically fried balls of dough stuffed with ham and cheese) at a restaurant, we ventured off to find the metro...which, despite what we were told, was not open all night long, but instead closed at 1:30 as it does every night. Good planning, Madrid. You couldn't even take a taxi because every street in the center of the city was blocked off. After walking for a good hour or so, we did manage to get home, but my feet felt like they were going to fall off. Overall experience = good time.

All of us during the Noche en Blanco

*     *     *

Aside from these events, my life has been a little bit boring - you know, that whole going-to-class thing. The classes I'm taking include two required classes for the students in the language and translation track, History of the Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Theory and Practice of Translation, and two electives that I chose, Spanish Lexicon and Teaching Spanish as a Second Language. For the most part classes are going well, but I'm not super excited about any one in particular yet, but it's only been two weeks of classes so hopefully they'll get more interesting when we get a little more in-depth. Additionally, we are all required to take a 2-credit Research Skills workshop class that meets every other week and is supposed to help get us prepared for researching our theses (which will begin next semester). Our first activity for this research skills class was to go to the national library, the Biblioteca Nacional de España. I can't remember having been in the Library of Congress in D.C., but if you want to imagine the BNE, picture yourself going to a high-security federal library rather than, say, a branch of the Boston Public Library or the NY Public Library. We had to apply for a research card just to be able to enter and use the library. The majority of the books in the library aren't shelved in open stacks - instead you have to write down all of the information on the particular text that you want to use, and turn it in to a librarian, who will make you wait 20 to 30 minutes before they retrieve it and hand it over to you. Not a particularly efficient use of time, but if I have to go back there in the future, you can request texts ahead of time so that they're ready when you get there. Anyway, we were in that damn library for a good 3-4 hours and weren't in the best of moods after leaving. On the bright side, it's a very pretty building!

Summer in Madrid

One of the things I really like about Madrid is that at night (and by night I mean until at least 12 or 1 in the morning) in the summer, every cafe and restaurant/bar has tables and chairs outside on the sidewalk. And there are always a lot of people there, eating, having a drink, etc. I like the atmosphere, and it's so madrileño to be out so late, even on weeknights, for something as simple as sitting down for a drink.

Practically all Spaniards go on vacation for the month of August. So half the little stores close down and the metro is less crowded and everything is even more relaxed than it usually is here. But when the 1st hit last Wednesday, everything immediately opened back up, the city was crowded with its residents back from vacation, and the weather not only dropped about 20 degrees Celsius, but it rained two days in a row. (It rains very infrequently here.) I've got to get used to it, too, because classes start on Monday.

Cathedral in Segovia

Catedral de la Almudena, Madrid

Last Thursday evening we NYU students toured Madrid Viejo (Old Madrid - the historical and also very touristy part of the city) with a couple of professors. Then Friday we went on a day trip to Segovia, a small old town with Roman and Moorish influence/history. It's famous for its Roman aqueducts, the cathedral, and the castle (which is rumored to have influenced Cinderella's castle in Disney World). I've seen Madrid Viejo before a couple of times, and been to Segovia once before, but it was nice to go back and see them again.

Statue of Felipe III in
Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Hola mi amigo, Madrid, nos reunimos otra vez

Well, to be honest I hadn't planned on keeping a blog while I'm here in Madrid. I'm not sure if I will have a whole lot of time once classes start to keep up with entries, and since I've been here before I may not have many new interesting things to write about. But I think it may be the easiest way of mass communication, especially since my only other way is email.

Pero bueno. I arrived here early this past Monday morning, and aside from getting used to the time difference, this foreign language they speak here, and this inferno they call summer, I haven't done a whole lot. (Seriously, it is HOT - I have probably had more water since I got here than I drank the whole rest of this summer. I had three bottles of water and a few glasses yesterday, in addition to coffee, juice, etc., and if you know me at all you know that is a big step for me.) Our orientation began Thursday evening with a reception and then a brief session yesterday. I'm nervous but excited. And no, I have no idea what I'm going to write my thesis on at the end of the year.  But it will be good, ¿vale?

Hopefully by the next time I update this I will have taken some fotos to share, but so far I've been lazy. But really, how many pictures does one need of the Plaza Mayor and its iconic Felipe III statue? I'm going to have to start getting really abstract - or perhaps just exploring new, less famous parts of the city. Vamos a ver.

¡Hasta pronto!