A summary of normal life

Hello!

I know it's been a while since I've written a blog, but honestly, nothing that exciting has happened to me since I got back from London. It's pretty, well, normal here. But I thought at the very least I should catch everyone who does read my blog up with life over here.

I just finished my conversation classes with the teachers in the area. I must say, I'm really going to miss them! They were quite fun, and I learned a lot. I'm hoping to snag a few more private lessons to make some extra income, and it looks like I'll be able to do that. And, my regular work is going well. The students like  me (my 1eso class clapped when I came in) but that's mostly because they think, and I quote 'English is boring', and when I'm there we play games. (Jokes on them, they're actually learning English when they play the games, bwa ha ha).

I had great success with one game, which was fairly simple, but entertaining. Basically, you put a bunch of random letters on the board. From there, the students had to take the letters and make words. You see who can make the longest word, the most words, etc. They really enjoyed coming up to the board and writing the words the found, and even my usually non-participatory students wanted to join in. Sometimes, the best classroom stuff is the easiest. 

Recently, Spain enjoyed carnival, a roughly four day festival. It's much like Mardi Gras, you dress up in costume and party, but with a Spanish feel. I went out Saturday for dinner with some friends, joined them in group costumes (no one will ever see those pictures), and went out afterwards to some bars. The dinner was fine. It was really late, so late in fact that we didn't finish eating until 1 am. Yeah. It was late. The food was a bit disappointing, cold and slow and not very tasty, and I thought perhaps the waitress might give us a break off the 25 Euro menú cost. Not so. What she said, after we expressed our feelings was, "Sorry. Not my fault, you know? But you can smoke if you want." None of us smoked.

The bars I have to say were a bit much for me. I'm getting better with the lack of personal bubble in Spain, but packed in a club to the point where you can't even dance or breath, where people are shoving into you every five seconds and the music is blasting so loud you can't hear yourself think... well, I wasn't exactly having a good time. I'm not really a club person to begin with, but for the rest of Carnival, I stayed home and hung out.

After Carnival was Ash Wednesday. As you may have seen if you're friends with me on Facebook, I was confused all day by the fact that I saw not a single ash covered forehead. Not one. I know Spain isn't as Catholic as it used to be, but come on? What about the old ladies and the kids in Catholic school who went to mass during the school day? So I went to mass about 7:30 (19.30) and was all ready to get ashes smeared on my forehead. All seemed very much the same (though I missed the traditional English Ash Wednesday hymn. You know the one I'm talking about.) But when I went up, and started pushing my hair away from my forehead, the priest gives me a funny look. I realize that they don't do that here, instead, they sprinkle the ashes on top of your head in the form a cross! Mystery solved!

Other than that, nothing  much to note. Normal life, paying bills, trying to get the heater fixed, and enjoying the above 60 degree weather we're supposed to be having for at least the next seven days.

I'm most excited about what's coming up: Holy Week. I've got a trip planned to the south of Spain, to the three most famous cities; Córdoba, Granada, and Sevilla. Sevilla's Holy Week celebrations are legendary, and I can't wait to see them. I'll be there for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and most of Friday. Córdoba is a little town I've heard, so I'll be there on Saturday. And Granada is home to the Muslim palace and fortress, the Alhambra. It's a beautiful building, and I'm so excited to see it in person. I bought my tickets today online on the advice of some friends, and thank goodness I did. All of Holy Week, except for Monday and Sunday, was completely sold old. Luckily, those are the two days I'll be there! I think I got one of the last tickets for Monday as well, as there was basically only one slot I could choose from, all marked with the number 1. I must say I'm feeling quite lucky. So, in April, expect some gorgeous pictures!

I've got three other must see cities to visit before I go; Segovia (with its Roman Aqueducts), San Sebastian (a Basque costal town), and Barcelona (need I say more?). Anything beyond that will be a bonus, and I do have promises from friends to take me to their home towns (usually small towns in the vicinity of Burgos and Aranda). With all that, it should satisfy my desire to explore Spain before I head home. Only 97 days left in my program. How time flies! 

(PS Have a Holy Lent!)

London, Day 3

My last day in London. First of all, because I'm cheap, I hauled my stuff around London all day. Granted, I just had the one bag and a thing of souvenirs, but still, it was kind of annoying. I got a lot of pity stares. 

My first stop was mass. I started out attempting to get to the 9:00 at the Westminster Cathedral. I got on the tube, and once again, a closed station deterred me. The next mass was at 10:30, so I got off at Westminster and walked around Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. They're all incredible buildings, but closed on Sunday. Turns out I was at the wrong station for the church, so I took a long walk. The cathedral is only about 100 years old, but built in a Gothic style. It's filled with beautiful mosaics, new, but not... modern, if you know what I mean. And it turns out that by waiting for the 10:30, I got to go to a mass said by Cardinal Turk! Not only that, but it was a solemn mass, meaning most of it was in Latin, and the Westminster Choir sang from the front of the altar. It was gorgeous, and I was so pleased that the train had been shut down. Hooray for scheduled maintenance!

After mass I got some lunch (what I've been leaving out are all the places I ate... I spent a lot of my time eating), got some coffee (I was running on sugar and caffeine all weekend. Yes, it killed me on Tuesday.), and was asked out by the gentleman next to me. I thought I looked awful, so I took it as a compliment. I did turn him down. Nicely, I think.

From there, I was off to the British Museum. Again, it's free. And it's fantastic. Just the Rosetta Stone alone is worth it. There are also mummies and art from every continent. Their Egyptian collection is the most impressive I've seen so far, and it was definitely a different sort of museum from the religious ones I've visited lately. There's one building, I believe it was called the King's Library, that seems like it was the inspiration for the library in Beauty and the Beast. I recommend spending a couple hours there, at least. Especially if it's cold or wet outside (and it's London, so the chance that it's raining is pretty high). 

From there, I had a choice. I almost went to the Eye, which I still want to do someday, but instead of standing in line for a while there, I decided to use my time more wisely and went to Camden Market. If you like weird things, that's the market to go to. The buildings are covered with three dimensional shoes and mermaids and motorcycles. There are about a million exotic food stalls on the river, and you can sit and eat on a half scooter turned into a chair. It's got a  bunch of really kitschy stuff and several smaller markets inside warehouses that are basically mazes. Don't forget to haggle! And check out a store called Cyberdog. It's basically a rave from the future, android mannequins everywhere. Cool, but the clothing is ridiculous. Imagine the Fifth Element, and that's basically what they sell.

Finally, after buying a hat, a gift, and some delicious tiny pancakes, I made my way to my final destination-  A Jack the Ripper tour. It also gave me the chance to check out the Tower of London and London Bridge (making the only major landmark I didn't see the Palace. Next time). The tour was guided on Sunday by a world renown Jack the Ripper expert. It was creepy, but fascinating. You can still walk to the locations where the bodies were found. He also taught us a bit about the city at the time, especially about the lives of the people who lived in this eastern section of the city. London itself, the actual city, is only a one mile area. The rest of the surrounding was a very poor neighborhood, slums essentially,  and the prostitutes and factory workers lived there. They paid rent by the day, and hundreds of people would line up to purchase a room each night. The prostitutes would wear all the clothes they owned, men's boots, and got two pence for each man. That's less than a half a pound of cheese. The women would often find men outside a church, because the main roads in and out of the city passed in front and behind it. The rule was that if a prostitute stopped walking, they could be arrested for soliciting. So they would circle the church like a roundabout, going quickly around the sides and slowly around the front and back. We also learned about the warring police forces, that inside London proper, and that without, and how their competitive and territorial nature kept the Ripper at large for so long. It was fascinating, and done by the same company as the Sherlock walk. Of course, no one knows who exactly Jack the Ripper was, but they guy gave a pretty good reason for believing that the man committed suicide shortly after the fifth murder (even his family thought he was the killer).

I finished the tour about 22:30, and from there went back to the airport. The security desk was closed, but Gatwick is pretty well prepared for sleepers. It's got 24 hour desks and a cafeteria and really comfortable chairs, which I did not get to in time. They also have free phone chargers, and if you get close enough to the little hotel they have, you can use their internet for free! Unfortunately, there was this guy snoring like a bear or a elephant or something that would be equally annoying when it's asleep on a bench in the airport. I wasn't asleep, but he woke up everyone around him. I cannot over stress the importance of bringing earphones. I think I slept for about 1 hour on the floor and 1 in a chair. Needless to say, I've been recovering all week.

London is fantastic. If you can, go. And when you plan it right, it doesn't have to burn through your wallet and you'll still have a great time! 

London, Day 2

Day 2:

My plan was to get up and go to Cardiff for a day. Mostly to visit the Doctor Who Museum, because well, because I'm a nerd. But when I got up that morning to take the tube to Victoria station, it stopped half way. The whole line was closed. And it didn't even stop at a station where I could transfer. I was stuck. They announced that a bus would be taking people the rest of the way, but by the time I got up it was totally full. I tried walking to the next station with a transferring line, but by the time I made it my bus had already left.

Not a bad thing, though. I rode back to my hostel (on a double decker bus!), got another night at my hostel (for twice the price) and headed out again. I first made my way to Portobello Road. If you like antiques, this is the market for you. It's only open on Saturdays, but the shops on PR are also antique stores, so you'll still be able to find things. I got a cute dress (on sale! I love Jan/Feb in Europe) and some exotic food (Sudanese lamb sausages).

After the market I traveled to Foyle's Bookstore, a must for book-lovers. It's massive, and since the books were in English, I spent about 2 hours browsing. I got a couple of books for my private lesson students, all of which seemed to hit the mark! It was a completely worthwhile trip.

Part of the fun of London is just walking down the streets. It's a city unlike others I've been to. The ancient stone of Spain and Portugal and Italy are amazing, but London, because of the great fire, is mostly not that old (although you can find Roman walls) so it's a really neat city for architecture. And it's full of charming little pubs, with names like The Porcupine. 

After Foyle's it was getting late, and I managed to sort of... stumble to the National Gallery. Go there, it's free! I spent several hours here, looking at Renoir and Monet, Manet and DaVinci. Currently they have Van Gogh's Sunflowers, which was worth the queue. 

I decided to end the evening with a film in Leicester Square. But while waiting, I wandered around a bit. It's a really neat place, so there's lots to see. Chinatown is right there, and as I'm on my way down the street towards the hanging lanterns, I run into a church. It's a Catholic Church, and that evening they were doing Taize prayer. I decided to stop by, because, why not? It's was a lovely little church, but the coolest thing was that it was a French Catholic Church. The chant was in French, they have mass in French, the priests are French speaking. Most of the parishioners seemed to be French speaking African immigrants. It was really cool, even though I had no idea what they were saying.

Finally, I went back to the movie theater. Funny thing about movie theaters here- you have assigned seats. It was the same somewhere else I went, though I can't recall where. Other than that, it's just as expensive in London as it is in the States. But, they had less movies in general, and fewer movies late at night.

Thus ended my second day. It was a good one, and I wasn't upset about my plans being ruined. I think this is a good moment for a warning, however. If you are American and going to London, use cash. It's amazing to me sometimes how little cards are used. Cash is king in the UK and the EU. Finally, if you have an American card, you will probably not be able to use the automatic ticket machines. A number of them are chip based, so if you go just with a card, it's a gamble. Europe uses these cards with a tiny chip at the bottom which you can scan or partially insert into a slot. While the sliding motion can be used at tills and registers, machines are not as likely to have a slide option, and the machine won't take the card (though you can always got to the desk, where they can run it like credit). This is especially true in metro machines. 

London, Day 1

I'll probably go ahead and divide my adventure in London into a couple of different posts, by day I think. So, without further ado:

Day 1-

Actually, Day 1 started the night before when I made my way by bus to the Madrid airport. When you make 700 Euro a month and know that the city you're going to is super expensive, sleeping in airports is often the best option. Not only that, but trying to make a 7:30 plane is tricky when the metro doesn't open until  5:00 or so. The Madrid airport is not one for creature comforts, but if you get past security (I got in at 23:00, and they were still open) there are  a number of benches, some with four chairs between the arm rests! I got about 4 hours sleep. I think I'm becoming quite good at this. You need a sweater, a fluffy jacket, a glasses case (I do anyway), and something to lay your head on (I recommend your bag if possible). Also, ear phones. Ear phones are great. Especially when someone is snoring like a bear (but I'll get to that later).

I arrived in London at about 10:30, Gatwick Airport, and took a train from there to Victoria Train Station. It was such a relief to hear English again! And especially British English. This was the first time I noticed the stark contrasts between Spain and England. The train was rather crowded, and an older gentleman had to make his way up and down it several times. "Pardon me, excuse me, so sorry." It was almost a caricature. I realized though that it was pretty similar to the US, and the opposite from Spain. In Spain, you don't have to apologize for slightly bumping into people, you just do it. I also realized I've gotten used to the Spanish system. I was 'rude' a couple times on my trip, and I imagine that's kind of how it will be when I get back to the States. But more on that later, I'm sure.

I started out by making my way to my hostel. It was fine place, although I've decided that a must have for me from now on is a locker in every room. Anyway, by the time I managed to get through customs it was already 13:00, so I went straight away to a Sherlock Holmes tour with a company called London Walks. I highly recommend this company. It's only 7 pound if you're a student (with a card) and the guides are really knowledgeable. It was also a great way to see various parts of London. We went down all these little back alleys, and the guide pointed out all these things that you'd normally just walk right by. For example, the lamps behind St. Paul's are original, working, gas lamps! It was a very interesting walk, and I posted a bunch of pictures and a mini tour on my Facebook page.

One quick note on getting around in London- don't buy individual tube tickets. You can get one day ticket, regions 1-6, for about 9 pounds. And you'll be able to get your money's worth, easy. You can also get an Oyster Card, but I did the day pass and it worked out just fine.

After the tour, the guide mentioned that we were just around the corner from the only surviving Benjamin Franklin house in the world. He lived in London for 15 years trying to negotiate peace with England, and he loved London. There's no furniture in the house, but all the rooms and sconces and what not are all original. It was really neat to walk where he once walked. Another interesting aspect of the house is that when they were cleaning it up, they found a massive grave in the basement. Was Franklin involved in something shady? 

Actually, the owner of the house was a Doctor, and ran a sort of surgery school. But in order for his students to practice, they needed cadavers. This was illegal then.  They could only obtain the bodies of convicted criminals, which were not enough for all the medical schools, so instead they contracted these guys called 'resurrection men' who would dig up graves and steal bodies. Funny enough, it wasn't illegal. The only thing that would be illegal would be to steal their possessions.  

After the house I went to King's Cross  to check out the shops, most importantly the Harry Potter 9 3/4 doorway. One of the coolest things about London are the main train stations. Some are completely new, but some are a mix of new and old buildings, shops that have been in use since Victorian times. Finally, after eating some dinner, I went back to the hostel and passed out. 

Catholicism in Spain, Part 2

Sorry about the radio silence. I haven't been able to get on the internet in a week now, not from the library, anyway. Because of that, the only time I was able to get on (at a tea shop) I spent the entire few hours doing work. So no time to blog.

Finally though, I've got some spare minutes before I head over to a birthday celebration (with lechazo, so excited). I thought, heck, I should probably finish that religion post, part 2, that I promised (a month ago). 

Fair warning, it's a Catholic post, with Catholic themes, theology, morality, and the works. If you'd like anything further explained, if you'd like to argue, anything at all, message me on Facebook and we can discuss via email. Also, this is based just on my observation. I'd love to hear any opposing view points.

In a lot of ways, Spain has similar issues to the States when it comes to religion. There's a very low percentage of mass attendance, and those who do attend are usually older, at least in their sixties or seventies. The black hole of religious attendance is roughly 20-35. It's the stage after you become an adult (maybe in university, maybe still at home) but you don't have kids yet. It seems to be that children, just as in the US, are the ones who draw parents back to the church, at least for a little while. Though to be honest, I'm not sure that it's so much an understanding of the importance of the sacraments as it is more of 'this is what we do'. Which I think brings up another important point...

Spain was a Catholic country. Very, very Catholic. I've mentioned several times how incredible it is to walk into the thousand year old churches that are all throughout this country, from the smallest pueblo to the biggest city. It really is amazing. And Spaniards, in general, are proud of their ancient heritage (maybe not as a collective nation, but in their individual regions). The government pays to help up keep the old churches, they keep a number of feast days as holidays (even if the name has been changed), and as I mentioned, it seems that in general, children get the sacraments. But it seems that most people view these long standing traditions the same way they view the castle down the road, 'This is our heritage, this is part of our community, but at this point, it's a museum.' 

I think problems arise when your religion and national identity are completely intertwined. Stepping back a bit, it's easy to see that a good way to keep Spain unified (after really not wanting to be unified) was with their Catholic identity. As a number of countries fell to some sort of Protestantism, it would have united them to be Catholic, with the Reyes Catolicos, pilgrimages, shrines, religious orders, and saints. And at the time, when Spain was a world power, they never thought their would be a downside. 

Fast forward to Franco. 

My knowledge of Spanish history is not extensive, but in summary, Franco dominated by using what we in the US could call 'conservative values'. He used the church and, it pains me to say it, many clergy went right along with him. Catholic and national identity, instead of representing a world power, came to represent a repressive, totalitarian government. What often gets overlooked is that so many priests, religious, and lay people, were killed in the civil war for refusing to renounce their faith, which is a good thing, whatever side they were on (recently 55 were canonized from the Diocese of Burgos, my region, you can get more info here). These beatifications (1,500 or so at this point) were quite controversial because of the church's involvement in Franco's regime, despite the fact that those beatified were not fighters, but priests dragged from their convents or churches and killed. I think the controversy over the beatifications explains the entire attitude towards Catholicism in Spain- The church did bad things, so now nothing good can be said about it. Or, in maybe a less severe statement, until the church admits she did wrong in supporting Franco, nothing good should be given to those who supported the republican side.

Of course, the church did a lot of bad things in supporting Franco. He was crazy, murderous, and deserves to be denounced. It's a deep wound here in Spain (though I would note that the highest percentage of mass attendees are those who would have been adults during his rule). It causes a lot of people to really dislike the church in general, while still enjoying the cultural heritage. I won't repeat them, but if someone really wants to swear in Spain, they go for blasphemy. 

After what was an extreme union of church and state, they've gone, in a lot of ways, the opposite direction. Catholic morality has been completely discarded at the governmental level. Even a lot of people that I know who are Catholic have done away with Catholic morality. Abortion, gay marriage, sex before marriage, contraception; all these are clear Catholic moral teachings that seem to be rejected without question. 

There are definite parallels between here and the US. But here, it's on a massive scale, a country-wide scale. It breaks my heart a little, seeing the history and the present. The great saints of Spain left their mark, and now it seems like so little remains (I promise I'll end the post with something positive, bear with me). I think that what we as a church must take away from this experience is not to look at things on a national level, but instead on the level of right or wrong. Not that we shouldn't get involved in politics. I think that's key (and I hate politics). But labeling ourselves and conservative or progressive or liberal or whatever could never encompass the solid truths of the Catholic church. In order to see things clearly, we first of all must be Catholic. If we don't, it's only too easy to get carried away in being Franco's church. 

As promised, the positives. About half the priests I know here are under 40. They're fantastic, devoted young men. There's an entire community of religious women in a town right down the road. They make up the majority of the population, and they're young! I've seen them on numerous occasions, and most are in their thirties! In fact they are a lot of religious orders, all of varying sizes. I know very deeply religious people. Not just older, but my age and younger. I've been on retreats with them, prayed in adoration with them, gone to dinner with them. They are the new generation of Catholics in Spain. Untainted by the regime of the dictator that Hitler called crazy, they are revitalizing the church. Overall I'm left with hope, and the the assurance from Christ that the gates of Hell will not prevail, the victory has been won, and the church, despite the fact that it's made up of all of us sinners, will stand firm. 

Happy New Year, Spanish Style

Following my Christmas adventure, I came back to Spain (and was quite relieved to be back in a country in which I speak the language). I passed out after Christmas, quite exhausted. But my lovely priest here, Raul, invited me to a prayer group with some people roughly my age. One of the women is just a little younger than me (though she looks 2 years old than me) and invited me to celebrate New Year's Eve with her family! Que maja. I accepted, as my previous New Years plans included buying twelve grapes, eating them at the stroke of midnight, and going to bed. Lame, I know.

Instead, I dressed up and went over to visit with her family. It was a delightful and cultural experience. Her family welcomed me, even showed me pictures from their son's wedding. I ate rich, typical New Years food, which, similar to Christmas, is sea food. They were nice enough to make it without shrimp for me (I'm allergic). It was delicious. A third of a fish, avocado filled with tuna, Spanish ham (so much better than American 'ham'), bread, and wine and beer from their vineyard. We had good conversation, and I was amused by the little nieces, who insisted on dancing with me, and told me all the English words they knew. It was a fantastic evening.

A momentary explanation of grapes. After we finished up dinner (about 11:30) we took several pictures, and waited for midnight, holding tiny wooden baskets filled with 12 grapes each. In Spain, there is no ball drop. Instead, they eat a grape with each stroke of midnight. Ours were vineyard grapes, authentic and seeded (which made them kind of difficult to eat with each stroke). They also have a tradition of wearing red, singing villancicos (carols) and partying into the early morning. Several times I was asked, "What do you eat on New Years?" "What are your New Years traditions?" My answer was always, "I usually watch the ball drop in New York." Lame, I know. I did get some amusement out of explaining how people shoot blanks on New Year's ("You mean with guns? That they have in their house?") though that probably didn't do anything positive for American stereotypes. In truth, I don't really have any New Years traditions. Perhaps I'll have to import some from Spain back to the States.

Afterwards, we went out and partied. I made it until 3:30 am, and then I was done (this was excellent for me, truth be told). My friends weren't even close to being done. They bought this pass that got them in for free to three bars, with a drink in each one. When I left at 3:30, we'd only been to one bar, and that wasn't even part of the pass deal. We got into that one for free! As you can imagine, the 1st is a national holiday, mostly because it's an important feast day, but also probably because everyone's passed out until the afternoon. (because in Spain, bars aren't just for 20 somethings. Everyone goes out and parties.)

So that's New Years in Spain. I hope to have an adventure in Salamanca in a couple weeks (the bus leaves at 5:45 am, hooray) but coming up in less than a month is my trip to London and Wales, which I just booked hostals for (and got a killer bus ticket from London-Cardiff). I'll try and write up a blog with some cheap London travel tips as well (if only the relationship between Pound and Euro was a little more in my favor. Damn you crisis!) Write more soon! (oh and I'll finish the promised Church blog as well)

Rome, Part 2

Alright, I think it's time (you know, three weeks after Christmas) to finish up my blog post on my Christmas travels. I've gotten a bit lazy with the blogging, I know (that's not the only thing I've been lazy about. Christmas vacation always does this to me).

I ended with my recommendation for Saint Clements's. I'd also like to include a recommendation for St. John Lateran, which contains the chair that the Pope sits on during his... swearing in ceremony. I can't think of the actual word right now, and I don't have too much time left at the library, so I'm going to leave it with 'you know what I mean'. They have a free audio guide which is neat, and if you pay five euro, you can see some artifacts in the courtyard area. I think 5 was a bit of a rip off, but they do have some cool stuff. And St. John L's is huge and beautiful, so it's worth spending the time there.

Other recommended places-

The Spanish Steps. Full of people, and very beautiful.

The Vatican Museums. Awesome. Spend at least 4 hours there and go in the early afternoon, anywhere from 1-3 pm, not in the morning. It will save you a couple hour wait in the lines (I had no wait). And see the Sistine chapel!

Stop random places- See an open church? Stop by! They're all beautiful, even the small ones. I stopped in a number of random churches on the way, and love every one of them! There are also ruins hiding everywhere. If you see one, stop!

Rome is gigantic. I guarantee you will not see everything, unless you spend at least a week there, maybe two. I was not able to see everything I wanted, so in case you have more time than I did, and you're still looking for things to see, here's what I recommend: St. Mary Major, The Holy Steps (they close at 12 and don't open until 3, be warned), St. Paul Outside the Walls (take a bus), St. Peter in Chains, the Coliseum, and the crypts under the Vatican (they were closed during the Christmas season). Lots I didn't get to see. But I believe I'm going back with the family, and we'll have more time to see them. Heck, maybe we'll even take a bus.

Oh, and don't forget to eat Gelato. Sweet, sweet, gelato.

 

Side note- Let's say you're like me, and your plane arrives at oh, 23:30. You may be worried about transportation, or getting to your hotel safely. No need to worry! Remember, Spaniards are nocturnal on the weekends. The metro in Madrid goes until 1 am, and the streets are packed until who knows when. Even getting to my hostal at 1, I didn't feel the least bit unsafe. In fact, I felt less safe at 10:00 am going to the bus station, when there was practically no one on the streets except for these two drunk guys that started fist fighting as I walked past them.