yay a post!

(photo guide, see P.S.)

Well, I'm back on the blog wagon. Sorry for not writing for such a long time to anyone who reads this. I guess I've been doing a lot since I last wrote so I'll try to organize this entry somewhat.

I went to Granada one more time, this time with our class and it was incredible! We went to the Alhambra which is now one of my favorite buildings (or, umm, cities) in the world. Others on that list are Canterbury Cathedral and the Space Needle in Seattle. A lot of it has been restored but most of it has survived in almost perfectly and it still blows me away to actually stand in the same rooms, touch the same walls that have been touched by caliphs and some foreign ambassadors and what not. I definitely felt a bit star struck to just be in this place that I've heard so much about. I feel the same way in the presence of great paintings too (more about that later). I guess it's a bit silly, but I let myself anyways. The hostel that we stayed at was honestly the best hostel I've ever stayed at. The kitchen was loaded with free food, there was a rooftop terrace with a hammock and an incredible view of the city. My friend Jenna's host brother is studying in Granada so we went out at night with him and his friends, which was a lot of fun.

The weekend after that was a really long weekend and while pretty much everyone in my program went to Barcelona, I decided to go to Madrid by myself since I'm going to Barcelona with Larkin in December. I figured that staying in a hostel I'd meet a bunch of people and have things to do, plus two of my friends who went to Barcelona were coming back through Madrid and staying for a night. What's funny though is that the only time I actually wanted to have someone there to hang out with was at night when I wasn't sneezing and coughing (yes, lucky me, I was sick). The day that I got there at 2pm, I checked into my hostel, dropped off my stuff and was at the Prado museum by 3:30 and stayed for 5 hours. Next to the Louvre it's the best museum I've ever been to. That night I went to get incredible ice cream with two american girls who have been traveling around Europe for 2 months and were so incredibly American... Definitely the stereotypical American tourists who walk into a place not even attempting to speak the native language at all, and just assuming that everyone in the world speaks English. The next day I went to the Thyssen-Bormenizsa (I think I'm spelling that right) museum which was really different in the way that it had works from all centuries put together in a chronological sequence, so you'd be walking through Medieval art, past the old masters like Rubens and Titian, through Impressionists and Picassos and Dalis and end up with pop art. Definitely a pretty cool experience. For lunch I got a cheap shwarma sandwich to go and headed to the Parque del Buen Retiro which used to be the royal hunting grounds, but now it's just a huge beautiful park. Eating delicious shwarma in front of the Crystal Palace watching ducks in a pond, while listening to some students practicing Spanish guitar near you was one of the best hours that I spent in Madrid. Unfortunately it was also one of the times that made me feel pretty lonely cause I would've loved to share that experince with someone. The next day I went shopping... bad idea. Shopping in Madrid is amazing! Not only are there normal stores like Mango, Zara and H&M (which are about 3x the size of the same ones in Cordoba), there are all kinds styles in smaller stores and about 3 shoe stores for each block. I didn't end up buying that much but I certainly wished that I could. The next day I went to see the Royal Palace and met up with my friends who came from Barcelona. Madrid definitely is a huge city in the way that it feels and the things it offers. We had Chinese that night and I had hot and sour soup that was actually hot and sour and not some concoction they made for spice-shy Spaniards. Don't get me wrong, the food here is amazing, but you will have a really hard time finding anything even remotely spicy in Cordoba. They also have movie theatres that play American movies UNdubbed and subtitled instead. This is a huge drawback of Spanish movie theatres, because pretty much everywhere else they keep movies in their original version and subtitle them... here, well, I think people are sorta lazy about that, so everything sounds really funny to us. Two nights ago I watched El Senor de los Anillos (yeah, go translate that yourself) on TV and it was pretty funny, but for me personally it helps with learning Spanish, especially when I've seen the movie about 5 times already in English and know exactly what the characters are gonna say. The only movie that I've seen here in theaters was Alatriste, which is the most expensive Spanish production so far, and you guys should all go see it if it's playing nearby. It's really good, despite the fact that there are throats slit about every 10 minutes. I understood about 25% of it, but still, enough to keep up with the plot and really enjoy it. So back to Madrid. On Sunday we went to the Reina Sofia museum which has a huge collection of Picasso and other modern art, which I don't really like very much so for me it was just ok. Over the whole weekend I walked around the whole city all day, every day and by nighttime I'd be so exhausted I had no desire to go out dancing all night or anything like that. Though nightlife in Madrid is supposed to be amazing, I didn't get to experience it that weekend, but I'll definitely go back.

Since that weekend I haven't gone anywhere else, mainly stayed around Cordoba and explored a little more. My friend Chaya has an intercambio who has a friend who is a tour guide around the city and he agreed to give us a walking tour of Cordoba for free. Needless to say it was amazing. I loved it, but I've already been to most of the places before because during the first few weeks I walked around the city a lot by myself, but it was still great to hear more about the history and random local legends connected with the buildings and streets. I also met some British students who are here to teach English for a year. They're friends with an American girl who is also teaching English here through a fellowship that she applied to, which apparently isn't that hard to go, you just need to apply carefully and write a decent essay. I really would love to come back here and stay longer, and that's been a partial cause for a lot of confusion that I've been going through lately. I guess just general confusion about what I want out of life, what is important to me and how to prioritise those things and people. It's been bothering me a lot and I've sort of been an emotional wreck for the past week and a half. The English teaching thing certainly isn't the only cause of all this confusion, but I guess I've been getting scared of leaving Spain and my life here. I have to force myself to keep in mind that this life isn't the real Spanish life. I live in the nicest part of town, my friends were handed to me on a silver platter, I go out every weekend and I barely do any homework because most days none is assigned. Then again, these British students pay 150€ for their own room in a nice apartment while getting paid about 650€ a month. Not too shabby either, and their life definitely resembles "real" Spanish life.

Obviously I can't possibly write down everything I've done and every way that I've felt over the past month, but here are the Cliff notes. I hope everyone's doing well. I promise I'm getting on this post card thing. Dear ol' McHenry is getting one for sure. I'll try to write more often...heh as always.

Besitos,
Rena

P.S. Guide to photos (up -> down, left -> right)
1. Neat statue in the middle of Paseo Del Prado in Madrid
2. A window at the Alhambra looking out unto the city of Granada
3. Inside the Alhambra
4. El Palacio Cristal (The Crystal Palace) in Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid
5. My feet, as I'm lying in a hammock out in the sun on the terrace of our amazing hostel in Granada

ole

On Saturday I had another one of my many "Oh f*ck, I'm really in SPAIN!" moments. Naturally it happened because me and a few people from the program went to a corrida de toros (bullfight) in a tiny town of Pozoblanco near Cordoba. I'll post some pics and many many of them are really good, mostly because it's really easy to take good pictures at a corrida. Every moment has this weird intense beauty to it, so it's only a matter of catching a few of those moments. The experience is definitely very, very intense. I don't agree with the killing of the bulls and it's very difficult to watch the end of each corrida, but at least you feel like the animal isn't suffering anymore. During the first one (there were 6 bulls killed in the span of about 2 hours...) I was so shocked I just sat there with my hand over my mouth saying "ohmygod...ohmygod...ohmygod..." As sad as it is, you definitely get a bit desensitized by the end of it, but the actual killing of each bull is still pretty hard to stomach. I feel conflicted on the matter, because I'm not a vegetarian and though I try, I don't eat organic very much so I feel like a hypocrite saying that corrida is cruel, but my filet mignon is not. I don't know how much pain my filet mignon cow experiences in comparison to the corrida bull, and who can really compare the two? Also, from a neuroscience point of view, I have no idea how pain is experienced by cattle as opposed to humans. Either way, I'd like to err on the side of caution and say that the torture and killing of the bull is not to my liking. That being said, I can't lie, the experience is absolutely beautiful. There is so much energy in the arena and though the bull is weakened before the fight, it at least feels like a fair battle. The matador is extremely graceful and (despite the funny black hat) just exudes an almost sexual confidence. It's almost like a machismo battle between the matador (or matadora) and the bull. One of the ways for them to get more points is to show their back to the bull and sorta wave to the crowd which shows the matador's dominance over the bull, I think. The level of showmanship is incredible and the whole thing feels like a dance. There is a corrida coming to Cordoba in a couple of weeks, and for a second I seriously considered going again, but it's still just too cruel. I would love to go to a bullfight in Portugal where they don't actually torture or kill the bull. I'm not sure exactly how that works, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it a lot more. In Catalunya (the northeastern region where Barcelona is located), people are really against bullfighting and it's almost abolished at this point. Apparently the only people that go are the tourists. I don't think they should abolish it, but the killing is unnecessarily cruel. I really wish I had read The Sun Also Rises or Death in the Afternoon before I came here. I'll try to get a hold of it at a library here cause buying books (esp. books in English) is insanely expensive.

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

getting a bit more comfortable in Cordoba...

I can't write very much now cause my wi-fi cafe is closing soon, but for anyone who wants to call me from America, it's 011-34 (dialing out and country code) then, 627-808-856, which is my actual number. Last night was my first big night out here in Spain and part of it was great and a part of it sucked. More details later.

I started a photo album online and the address is http://renasphotos.fotopic.net

enjoy! I miss you all!
Hasta luego!

happenings as of late

Yesterday (Tuesday) we all took a language placement quiz which consisted of an written portion and an oral one. I honestly thought I did ok on both, but today I found out that I got into Spanish 1 (there are 3 levels) and instead of an elective I got stuck with this "special" class for people who need extra practice in Spanish. Go me... They keep telling us that we're not in the class because we're less smart, but we all just give them these "yeah right" looks. I think that everyone in the class is pretty disappointed. Oh well, like the Spanish say "no pasa nada". On our first day our orientation leaders told us about that phrase and in fact everyone here says it all the time. It sort of epitomizes the lifestyle. The phrase literally means "nothing happens", and really, nothing ever happens. If you have to wait a few extra minutes for your coffee... no pasa nada. If you're stuck in traffic... no pasa nada. If you didn't get into the highest Spanish class... no pasa nada. All in all, I think I like these people. It's almost existential in a way. Nothing really happens.
Mati is great and I'm making friends with Taby the gato-perro, as they call her. She waits by the door, like a dog, when Manolo is due to come home every day. Mati watches A LOT of TV, and I think a lot of people here do. It's good for me cause I listen and ask her questions, but I don't get how she does it.
Monday night everyone went out to a bar called Bambuddha and though it wasn't a discoteca, there were like 20 of us so we sort of took over the place and started dancing anyways. At 2am I quietly opened the front door trying not to wake anyone, only to find Mati and Manolo still sitting around watching TV as if it was an early evening. They go to bed at about 2:30 or 3am every night. The schedule here is definitely crazy.
Last night I went to a free flamenco show at this old, open air court and it was amazing. The dancer wasn't that great, but the musicians were incredible. I think it's some sort of an anniversary here, so they're gonna have free flamenco shows every night for some time. We're also gonna have free flamenco classes through the university for anyone who wants to take them and I'm definitley signing up.
This weekend a lot of people are going to beach towns like Malaga and Cadiz, but I kinda want to stay around Cordoba and explore. I also don't want to roll into town with 20 other Americans and go around in a huge group. I think I'm gonna wait another week to see exactly who I want to travel with.

Cordoba!

I finally got to Cordoba in the early morning of Sept. 3rd and since our meeting wasn't until 7pm that night I had to hang out at the hotel for a bit. I met a few people from my program since we were all staying at the hotel that night. The people are pretty cool though some of them seem sort of young. I expected myself to be super-social here, but instead I find myself missing everyone a lot and I've been feeling like I have to force myself to talk to people. I don't really feel homesick, I just wish Larkin and my friends were here instead of these random EAP people.
During the first meetings there was a girl that came to talk to us who met her now-fiance here last spring and is now living here with his family (he's Spanish). She kept talking about how great her host family was, and it turned out that I'm living with the same family she was. So despite my crazy aunt, my family is great so far. It's a couple and their cat. Manuel (the husband) is barely ever home (I haven't met him yet), so most of the time it's just gonna be me, Matilde (my host madre) and Taby, who is an enormous, white persian cat. He works at the university, she is a hairdresser and I'm pretty sure Taby is a professional lounger. Mati is really nice and patient with my awful Spanish and explains everything really well, though she does have an Andalucian accent which makes it a bit harder. They skip a lot of S's and D's, so sometimes it takes me a while to understand simple words. It's ok though, I'm actually not as bad as I expected myself to be. Me and her already talked a little about politics and I told her about my family and friends and she seemed to understand me. We watched the news together and I could actually keep up with what they were talking about.
I'm pretty much in the best location in town, my room is great and I even have a little balcony from which I can see the famous Mezquita. I'll be starting a Picasa photo album soon so you guys can see pictures. Cordoba is amazing! I haven't seen any of the sights really, or gone to museums or anything, but they look gorgeous. I don't have internet at the house but there is a cafe with wi-fi really close to here. Right now it's over 100F outside and it's siesta so the streets are EMPTY. I think I really like this schedule. Everything closes at about 2:30pm and opens again at around 5-6pm and stays open till 9-10pm in time for supper. It's really rude to call or bother anyone around siesta cause a lot of people are sleeping or just relaxing in some way.
Well, our language placement exam is tomorrow so I better go study a bit. Hasta luego!

Bunratty and my crazy Alicante relatives

While my first day in Ireland consisted mostly of sleeping and talking to people on AIM from my hostel dorm, I was finally forced out of hiding by hunger. While making some pasta in the kitchen I met some German travelers who could not stop talking about beer. As much as I hate stereotypes, they do like their beer. The next day my bus back to the airport wasn't until 3pm which gave me plenty of time for an adventure. While walking around town (the perimeter of which took up about 10 minutes) I asked a nice Irish lady if Bunratty Castle was within walking distance. She told me that it was about a 3km walk (or did she say 3 mile?) so I took off. I ended up making a 14km roundtrip journey to Bunratty, down a very narrow country road with no sidewalks. Despite my blistered hurting feet, it was definitely worth it. The castle was beautiful and the surrounding folk park looked like an emptied out Renaissance Faire grounds, except the buildings were real. I miraculously resisted the urge to buy any more overpriced Celtic jewelry and I got back just in time for my bus.

The plane to Murcia (a town about 50km from Alicante, where my Aunt lives) was pretty uneventful and I was met by a VERY tall, young, blond Russian woman named Oksana (a friend of my Aunt), her husband Pavel and their 19 year old friend, Maxim. Apparently there is a growing Russian population on the Costa Blanca, where anyone who can afford it buys property and then moves to find illegal work. As much as I want to be appreciative of everything they did for me (pick me up from a distant airport), they were pretty much the epitome of the obnoxious, vulgar, rude Russians that I do my best to avoid. Maybe I sound prissy and prudish, but honestly, how many times can you make references to your cock in one car ride??? And on top of that Maxim threw an empty Coke can out the window while complaining about how Spaniards are so dumb and dirty and absolute nothings compared to them Russians. When we got to my Aunt's house everyone sat around and ate and drank and made me feel young and naive for not wanting to drink very much... And my Aunt (whom I haven't seen since I was 6 years old) chimed right in to their obnoxious conversation. Gah... Again, I really do appreciate that I'm staying here for a couple of days, and they are all very kind people, but definitely not someone I would want to associate with... I don't know... maybe people that I would associate with wouldn't pick me up from the airport and put me up for 2 nights, but I think you can be kind and intelligent all at the same time. After Oksana, Pavel and Maxim left, my Aunt had a talk with me about how ALL Spanish men are shit and I shouldn't talk to them EVER... She also read my fortune on cards and told me that everything is gonna go wrong with my host family and that I'm gonna have to switch. Yay. I'm glad I don't really believe in that sort of thing, though it may very well come true. After all, not getting along with my host family was pretty much my biggest fear about this trip. Last night I didn't sleep at all. I'm pretty sure the jet lag is gone, I just couldn't stop thinking about the events of the evening, and human nature, and feminism, and my own prejudices... bah. Needless to say, I'm pretty anxious to get out of here.