Classes

¡Feliz año bisiesto a todos! Happy leap-year day!

I had some free time today so I thought I'd let you know about the classes I'm taking here in Salamanca (in no particular order) --

1. Advanced Grammar & Usage V
This class, which meets for one hour four days a week, is taught through my program (IES) by a University of Salamanca professor named Carlos Cabrera. He is an eccentric, kooky guy who really understands how to explain grammar to students. On Mondays and Tuesdays we review grammar, not just the structures themselves but WHY they are used. While this incredibly helpful, I often wish that the class was taught in two 2 hour periods because frequently when I feel myself on the cusp of mastering a concept, it's time to leave. On Wednesdays and Thursday we discuss the spanish language from a variety of angles - for example, next week we will be starting a project researching whether or not Spanish is a sexist language. I enjoy this class despite the fact that it is right before lunch and the work, at times, can be tedious.

2. Franco Regime and the Transition to Democracy 
Another IES course, Franco is taught by Professor Zulima Sanchez Sanchez, (that's right, Sanchez Sanchez) a law professor at University of Salamanca who studied at Columbia University Law School for a while. I have somewhat mixed feelings about this course - on the one hand the material is fascinating and Professor Sanchez has an interesting outlook on the subject. However, the course lacks a certain amount of structure and organization. I feel like most days we just end up talking very generally about the military, the church, and that Franco was bad. I hope that the material will become a little more detailed once we start learning about the transition to democracy.

3. Introduction to Spanish Theater of the 20th century 
One of my two classes at the University of Salamanca. The professor, Emilio de Miguel Martinez, is an incredibly entertaining man probably somewhere in his late 60s or early 70s. He has a very dry sense of humor and although he seems very soft spoken, commands the attention of the classroom. Because the class only meets once a week and the first week he was sick, and the second week he presented the syllabus, I have only had one real class and still don't have a sense of what it will be like. I know it will certainly be interesting and I will have the opportunity to see some Spanish theater in Salamanca.

4. Comparative Literature (inter-artistic studies) 
This is my other USAL course which meets Monday and Tuesday mornings. I stumbled upon this class accidentally early on in the semester when I was trying to arrange my schedule around participating in a choir at another university in Salamanca (which I am no longer doing). The course is an academic mutt of sorts. It is listed as an art history course, taught by linguistics professor Manuel González de Ávila, meets in the history/geography building and, although it is called 'Comparative Literature,' it isn't really about comparative literature. The syllabus traces the evolution of images and words and looks at the connections, differences and overlaps between their representations over time. We started off by looking at the earliest cave drawings, heirogliphics, cuneiform etc., and working our way forward. In the end, I often feel like this is a philosophy class, as the professor questions whether the image or the word evolved first in the human consciousness...it can get a little 'metta' at times.

5. Reading the City: Art and Literature of Salamanca 
Another IES course, this is by far and away, my favorite course I am taking this semester. It is an art history and literature co-taught class by two USAL professors, Laura Muñoz Perez and Javier Sanchez Zapatero. On Tuesdays we have literature with Javier and we read famous works written since the 1200s by individuals who lived and studied in Salamanca and discuss their relationship to the city. On Wednesdays we do the same with Laura, but with art. But the best part of this class is that during class, we go with our professors to the streets of the city, tracing the paths of the works of art and literature we discussed in the classroom. It often reminds me of my summer in Israel on EIE and how learning and then walking the history made the country come alive for me. The course title in Spanish, "Leer la piedra," translates to "Reading the stone." As the semester continues and I walk throughout Salamanca seeing University buildings of the Renaissance and cathedrals constructed in the 13th century, with the knowledge I gain in this course I will be able to read the stories that the stones of the city still stand today to tell.

I have rambled on about school for quite a while...now I actually have to go to sleep so that I can function in class tomorrow.

Saludos,
Abby

Madrid for the day, Salamanca forever

Hola amigos!

I'm sitting with my window open after our weekly Sunday afternoon feast. The air smells like spring and I'm hoping that it stays that way forever. It has been an eventful week of continuing adjustments to "extranjera" student life in Salamanca.

Yesterday, my group went on a day trip to Madrid. First, we had a guided tour of the ornate Palacio Real. Constructed in the 18th century, the palace served as the residence for many of the kings of Spain, although now it is only used for state ceremonies.

El Palacio Real de Madrid - construction began in 1738
First occupied residentially by Rey Carlos (Charles) III
and last by Rey Alfonso XIII 

After our royal tour, we had free time in Madrid, near the museum campus area. I spent my time walking through "El parque del buen retiro," which could be described as Madrid's equivalent to NYC's Central Park. Then, after sitting in the sun, people watching and wandering through downtown Madrid, I rejoined the group for a guided tour of el Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid's contemporary art museum. The highlight of this tour, by far and away, was seeing Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" in person.

Fountain in El Retiro, built as a monument to King Alfonso XII

I had a great day in Madrid but not just because of seeing the great sights and enjoying the beautiful weather. Visiting Madrid  reaffirmed my decision to study in Salamanca in the first place. Here are a few of the reasons why: 

1. The city was beautiful, but it reminded me a lot of New York or any other cosmopolitan metropolis. I think that in addition to handling all of the changes that come with studying abroad - new culture, new language, new schedule, new people, new city - adjusting to such a big city would have been an enormous undertaking. I doubt that by the end of just one semester, I would have been built a  'relationship' with Madrid in the same way that I am/will with Salamanca.

2. There were  several Starbucks in Madrid, a phenomenon which fortunately does not exist in Salamanca.

3. Along with the Starbucks theme, just being there for a day I noticed that much more English was spoken in Madrid. Not many locals here in Salamanca speak English, so every interaction is really an opportunity to practice and improve.

The visit to Madrid was wonderful and I slept on the bus ride back to Salamanca. When I woke up, I was oh so happy to see this view of the city that I now call home -- 

Besos, 

Abby 

Carnaval de Toros - Ciudad Rodrigo

Hola amigos,

Yesterday I traveled with a group of peers from my program to celebrate Carnaval in Ciudad Rodrigo, a small town within the province of Salamanca about an hour away from where I live. Carnaval is a festival that occurs shortly before Lent and is celebrated all over the world with parades, costumes, street parties and general ridiculousness. The most famous Carnaval celebrations in Spain happen in Cádiz, a port city of southwestern Spain, and in the Canary Islands. However, Ciudad Rodrigo is one of the most well known Carnaval celebrations in the north of Spain, known for the unique way that it combines traditional Carnaval festivities and corridas, bullfights.

Standing on the old city walls, built in the XII century by Ferdinand II,
waiting for the bulls to run through to the Plaza Mayor. Cathedral
of Ciudad Rodrigo visible in background.

We got sick of waiting for the bulls and changed locations to the Plaza Mayor!
This is one of my friends from the trip, Eliza. She was dressed as a fly and I dressed as the ocean.
Shout out of thanks to mi madre for the blue dress :D

The bulls ran through to the Plaza Mayor around 1 pm, but the the corridas wouldn't begin for about 3 more hours. We wandered throughout the city, scoping out the street fair rides, trying different foods, pastries and graciously accepting free sangria. The weather was beautiful, about 60 degrees, so we sat out in the sun while observing the variety ridiculously dressed, intoxicated individuals. It was incredibly entertaining, as I'm sure you can imagine.

View of the Plaza Mayor in anticipation of the afternoon corridas

The time for the corridas finally arrived and I was completely unsure of what to expect. My host mom told us that bulls were not going to be killed at these corridas... it became apparent very early on that this was far from true.

Bull fight - up close and personal 

Watching the bull fight was a totally surreal experience and even a day later I'm still processing my reactions to what I saw. I was sitting directly next to the local band that plays specific songs depending on the stage of the corrida (also what stage of death the bull was experiencing). Men called bandilleros, who assist the bullfighter in the initial stages of the fight, stabbed the bull's shoulders with barbed sticks called bandilleras. Then the torero, matador, and the bull go face to face in a dramatic series of charges, swerves and passes (and stabs...)  At the climax of the fight, the torero corners the bull and delivers the final blow with his sword, stabbing it in between the shoulder blades, directly in the heart. If the fight was an exceptional performance, the torero is awarded with the ear of the bull he has just killed.

It is one thing to describe the step by step action of a corrida  as I just did. It was another to experience it first-hand. Although some may describe me as an emotional person (:p), I wasn't expecting to shed a tear over the bulls. But during the third corrida, the bull was cornered and killed right in front of us, and I was simply overwhelmed. I wept (shocking, I know). I think my emotions were a combination of the following factors.

- The bizarre sensation of witnessing something in person that I'd only ever before seen on T.V.
- The intensity of the culture and history of the corrida mixed with the divided opinions of the world population regarding the tradition.
- Watching the bull struggle for it's life, its breathing growing increasingly heavier with each passing moment.
- The blood
- The suspense
- Experiencing torn loyalties - rooting for the torero one moment and then for the bull the next.

I am so glad that I was able to witness this important tradition yesterday. I feel that my experiences at Carnaval helped to build the growing understanding I have of Spain, its history, culture, and people.

Hasta la próxima aventura,
AB

F-R-I-E-N-D-S

Friendship is mysterious – something we tend to take for granted and, like anything else, we realize how desperately we miss it once it’s gone.

I have many acquaintances here in Salamanca and some people that I have enjoyed talking to, both American and Spanish. But I have yet to find someone here who I feel understands me, who really cares about my well-being and happiness and who feels that my friendship is important to theirs. Over the past few days, I've been trying to sort out my feelings on this. I'll willingly admit that some of the time I have spent feeling lonely and sorry for myself, but other times I have really tried to challenge myself to dig deeper and really think about what I want from this experience. 

Wherever my adventures have taken me, it seems that I have been able to find one or two people to connect with on a deeper level - whether at Barnard, in Israel on a kibbutz, a military base, or living in Madison for the summer. It took time and effort to forge these friendships, and some took longer than others. But in the end I had the capacity to connect. Here, it's been more difficult, and honestly I'm not exactly sure why. I think part of it is that we've only been here for a few weeks and that everyone is spread out through the city. But I think it's more than that. I think that making friends here and how one goes about it has something to do with why one studies abroad in the first place. Everyone has such different reasons for being here, goals that they want to reach and things they want to prove to themselves and I think these differences affect the way we interact with one another. 

There are many reasons why I chose to study abroad - some of which I'm sure I will continue to discover throughout my time here. But, as of now, I'm not really sure whether or not I really came here to make friends. When I find myself spending time alone, experiencing culture during the day and then talking to loved ones at home and getting a full night's sleep, sometimes I feel like I'm doing something wrong, that I'm missing out, that somehow this is not the abroad experience that I'm 'supposed' to be having. I often get caught up in wanting to and worrying about making friends and I think that this, like searching for love, makes connecting with people more difficult. I wonder if it's possible to be open to friendships without looking for them, and in the meantime, just to focus on doing what I want at any given moment. It doesn't sound too difficult, right? But the part of me that struggles with uncertainty struggles with this too. I am caught in the binary that so often defines my thoughts and actions - either I decide now that I'm done trying to make friends and go it solo, or I keep trying and looking and searching for friends day in and day out. Rationally, I know that a happy medium exists, that I need not see my situation in such black and white terms. But I have always struggled with the gray area. 

This post doesn't have an arc or a final umph - I just simply wanted to try and get my thoughts on paper and to share some of my experiences and insecurities with those of you who read this as I continue on my journey. Although I may not have made strong connections here, every day from across the world you all manage to make me feel loved. This, is truly remarkable. Thank you for caring about me and for your friendship. 

Todo mi amor, 

AB

Taking Initiative - Hiking in the Sierras of Béjar

Today I rediscovered the importance of taking initiative, a lesson that I have learned before but is often easy to let slip away. Yesterday I reached out to some peers in my group that I hadn't spent much time with before. We decided to take a bus to Béjar, a small town within the province of Salamanca, and go hiking in the mountains. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect at the beginning of the day. It became evident pretty early on that we were going to have a wonderful adventure. 

After arriving in Béjar, we found the office of tourism. The very helpful woman who worked there pulled out some maps and showed us the hiking route we should take for a 4 hour hike. And just like that, we were off. We had to walk up a fairly steep mountain to get to where the hiking paths even started. Once we reached the top, we were greeted by a view of the snowcapped Béjar Mountain Range.  

This sign reads "Hiking through Béjar." When we reached the top
of the first mountain we used this map to orient ourselves and find the route we needed. 

We had this view throughout the entirety of our hike

The route we chose took us in a giant loop from Béjar, to the town of  Candelario which was nestled in the valley between the mountains, and around through a pine forest and then back to Béjar. The hike took us about 4 hours, including stopping for pictures and lunch.

The town of Candelario where we stopped for lunch (Candleas, my host mom, packed me a salami bocadillo AND a nutella sandwich...everyone was jealous :p)

The lesson of taking initiative that I learned today was twofold --

1. Even if it's difficult at first, it's worth it to reach out to people who you don't know that well to go on an adventure. I hope to continue to do this throughout my time in Spain, with both IES and USalamanca students. 

2. It is equally important to 'reach out' to Spain. I think sometimes it's easy to feel like just being in Spain, in such a new situation, is enough - that I can sit back and wait for Spain to come to me. But there is so much to find and experience, right nearby, that I (re)realize how essential it is, and how happy it makes me, to go out and chase after Spain. 

I certainly don't think that this is the last time in my life (or even on this trip) that I will relearn this lesson. But at this moment, I feel lucky to have it in my heart along with the memories of today. 

Saludos, 

AB

Visit to Zamora/Toro

Hola a todos,

Yesterday I traveled with my group to two cities fairly close to Salamanca - Zamora and Toro.
On our way to Zamora, we stopped in Toro at the Liberalia Bodega, a family owned and run winery. The owner, Juan Antonio Fernández Martín, gave us a tour of the bodega and led us in a cata de vino (wine tasting). In addition to making wine, Juan Antonio paints and plays violin which is important to his wine philosophy. Some might consider Juan Antonio to be an eccentric man -- he believes that grapes are living beings and plays violin to the grapes to aid and perfect the fermentation process. Whatever he does certainly works - his wine was delicious and a good time was had by all.

Owner of Liberalia Winery, Juan Antonio Fernández Martín

Our group wine tasting -- the white wine was poured right out of these vats into the vases that served us

Next, we stopped in Zamora, an important historic city of Spain and also the hometown of one of our program leaders, David. Zamora is a quaint city full of romanesque architecture and beautiful views of the Duero River. Zamora was once a strategic city for Roman military rule on the Iberian peninsula. Now, it is a quiet little town on a hill full of a rich history for those who live there and come to visit.

Romanesque Cathedral and Tower of Zamora

Zamora -Roman bridge above the Río Duero 

The last stop on our journey was quite memorable. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called "Los Yugos" in the small village of Perdigón, right outside of Zamora. The restaurant was in underground, decorated with antique kitchen and housewares. Many, many delicious pork products were enjoyed by all (except for the vegetarians!) Eating with the group at Los Yugos was such a unique and delightful experience.

Ceiling of Los Yugos 

Entryway into Los Yugos Bodega - land of pork and goodness

These excursions just keep on getting better!
Hasta la próxima vez,
Abi