life

I suppose I haven't updated in a while. Life has been great here, I love my family and I think I'm finally starting to make friends in the program. Last weekend I went to Granada which was beautiful. I'll have some pics on my website, but I forgot my camera in the hostel dorm the first day so I missed out on all those pictures. Granada is a bit smaller than Cordoba but it's hilly which makes it feel completely different. We didn't go to the famous Alhambra this time because we're going there with our program in 2 weeks. I definitely haven't exhausted Cordoba yet. I keep finding tiny new streets and plazas to explore and new ice cream stands to try. There's so much history here, it's incredible. Our history class is really great and what makes it even better is that I can see a lot of the historical sights and monuments right in front of me while walking back from school. Cordoba was the biggest city in Europe 1000 years ago during the Muslim rule so there's definitely a lot of that.

I just wrote a page in Spanish so my English sounds kinda funny to me. I've been saying things differently because I'm constantly in this mode of feeling like I have think before I say stuff, so sometimes my English sounds too formal or just plain awkward. Today during class I was getting really annoyed with some people in the program. I feel like so many of them don't really care about learning Spanish and I just don't understand. I'd completely understand them back in the U.S. because I was just like that (which is why I have to work harder now), but here we have such an amazing opportunity to learn "boring" grammar and go home and practice it right away, I don't understand throwing that away. Almost everyone speaks English during our breaks even though some simple things are so easy to say in Spanish. Maybe I'm annoyed because I feel like for a very rare moment in my life I'm so inspired to learn and soak up everything that's presented to me in class and I feel like these people are almost getting in my way. I'm certainly not talking about everyone and of course I'm guilty of the English cop-out also, but I really feel like some people aren't trying at all here and it's a bit depressing. Nevertheless, I've improved A LOT. On the bus ride back from Granada, I picked up a Glamour magazine and read it on the way and barely had to open a dictionary. Given, of course, that Glamour isn't exactly written by Shakespeare (or Cervantes for that matter), I think that's pretty good for 3 weeks.

My host mom is making tortilla espanola with sal morejo cordobes today so I'm pretty excited about supper. Her usual cooking isn't that great but when she cooks traditional Spanish food it's delicious. I'm definitely bringing back a cookbook. In all other respects I honestly can't complain about my family at all.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to a bullfight this weekend. I don't really know how I feel about it. I want to go and watch it, but I guess I wish the bull was... fake or something. Yeah, I eat meat, and yeah I'm sure that those cows are tortured just as much (but in different ways), but I never watch it happen. I feel like corrida de toros is only maybe a step above gladiators and yet it's still huge here in Spain.

Though everything is great here I definitely get lonely a lot more often than I expected myself to be so please, please write. I don't really have time to write everyone individual emails on my own initiative, but if you write to me, I'll definitely answer. Also, if you want to send me a postcard, or a letter or a present, all of which I highly encourage, you can do so at...
Rena Ragimov
University of California Program in Cordoba
UCO IDIOMAS (Edificio Servicios Multiples)
5a planta
Avda. Menendez Pidal, s/n
14004 Cordoba, Espana

I'll try to update this more often. Until then,

Besitos,
Rena