No me ha dejado. She has not deserted me.

Now that it is the last week in September, I have finally finished my first week of classes. Poor students in the United States who have been in classes for a month already. Do I pity you? No. Because I have been there done that for the past two years with a schedule so heavy I had to trick the registrar into letting me do it. However, do I recommend that every single student takes a break from that to study abroad? Absolutely. Don't think twice.

Here's a brief summary of my classes so far:

Flamenco in Andalusia: Culture, Language, Music, and Dance (CIEE)
Fan-freaking-tastic. My profesor isn't the typical intellectual type, rather she has grown up within the Flamenco culture. Her dad was a famous flamenco singer, her brother is a guitarist, and her mom was a dancer. Although the class is more historically based than learning to do flamenco, we have already learned the different forms of clapping and practiced some of the basic rhythms. We all had to try the open clap and she told me "Buena cueva!" (Good cave!). There is a specific curve to the hand you have to have to get the resonating sound and I guess all the Eurhythmics (ughhhh) and tap (yayyyy) experience I have helped me to catch on pretty quickly.

Women Writers in the 20th Century (CIEE)
Honestly, I have never been in an environment that discussed feminism so its been very enlightening so far. My professor isn't extreme but she is very helpful in putting the norms of the country into perspective. The first few weeks I used to feel intimidated by the beautiful women that fill the streets with perfect hair, gorgeous clothes, thin bodies, and 4 inch stiletto heels (on cobblestone nonetheless). Now, in part, I feel sorry for them because this is what is expected, even required, of them. I can't imagine what it would be like to have never left the house wearing a sweatshirt. The patriarchal society in Spain is still very strong and there is historically little room for women's rights. The recent Franco dictatorship pushed women to having at least 12 children and its obvious from some of the catcalls on the street that women are still regards as objects (or baby-popping machines) in society.

Islamic Art in Spain (University)
Because Spain was controlled by an Islamic population prior to the Spanish Inquisition, there are huge Islamic artistic influences in the city. Even after the Inquisition, the Catholic kings and queens built their castles incorporating the intricate Islamic artwork and architecture. Luckily, my professor really understands the incorporation of personal experience with learning; he has a mini field trip in Sevilla planned for almost every other week, some of which aren't open to the public. He also wants to incorporate other elements such as food (YES!), music, etc. to give us the best possible understanding of the culture.

Introduction to Spanish Literature: The Middle Ages
So far, this is my least favorite class. Of course its also the only one I really need to fulfill a particular course in my Spanish major. Otherwise I would have to take Introduction to Literature at Hope after taking the upper level literature courses, which I do not want to do. My professor has a really thick accent and seems pretty intense. On our first day we wrote a short essay about the future of printed books to hand in, which he gave back to us, corrected, today. He's really enthusiastic about the class though, even if most of the other students are spacing out the majority of the time. I'm sure it will get better once we get past the introductory information though and get farther into studying the literature.

So all in all, I'm very happy. I've heard some horror stories about some other professors so if I only have doubts about one class, I think I'm in great shape. PLUS, students who have stayed at my señora's house in the past have taken the same classes as me so most of my books are just sitting in my room waiting to be used. I need to buy two but they are regular books so I can't imagine that it will be more than 50 euros total. Slightly different than my $851 book bill last fall.

On Tuesday I went on a visit with my Interest Group to a church that houses one of the major floats for Semana Santa. It was a good summary of the information but since I was actually here for Semana Santa in high school it wasn't quite as exciting. I ended up switching groups to one about performance which should be pretty cool.

Virgin Mary with Jesus

One of the floats entering the Cathedral (Semana Santa 2007)

In other news, Wednesday was a country wide general strike in Spain. Classes were canceled at the University, businesses were closed, and we were told to remain in our houses or neighborhoods as much as possible. Sevilla is a really calm city so our protest consisted mostly of a big parade with flags and people hanging out, eating bocadillos instead of going to work. One of the younger Spainiards at CIEE told me that in Sevilla a strike is basically an excuse to sleep in and not go to work. However, the protests were way more intense in bigger cities like Madrid, where roads were shut down, police cars were on fire, and people were getting arrested.

Signs covering the windows and walls on all the businesses, even Starbucks!

Strikers filling the Plaza... Me staying clear of the crowd

After navigating the crowds from the strike, I returned home to a lunch with my señora, her 4 children, their husbands/wives, and their children. 14 Spainiards + Amber = 4 hours of nodding and smiling while trying to figure out who was involved in which conversation. It was like Amber being at Jackie's family's dinner table x 1000000000000. Never thought that was possible ;) After the first two hours conversation was a little more directed and I was able to follow much better. Overall, it was challenging but a great experience. And Mom, I just want you to know that my señora managed to navigate her tiny kitchen to when 6 other adults followed her in to help. No more complaining about people in your kitchen at Christmas!

Now as a last side note, I want to share a pretty cool tidbit of information I read in one of my guide books on the bus last weekend...


This is the symbol that covers Sevilla. It is on the bikes, the sidewalks, the buildings, the streetlights, everything. The double-loop symbol in the center represents a skein of wool; the Spanish word for which is madeja. Thus the symbol reads NOmadejaDO. When read aloud it says, "No me ha dejado" (She has not deserted me). These words are attributed to Alfonso the Wise after the city remained loyal to him in the course of a dispute with his son Sancho during the Reconquest.

Although it is early in the semester, I believe this sentiment be the same for me. I can already feel myself changing: I'm more flexible, I'm more open to new ideas, I'm expecting without specific expectations. I know God is using this semester and these experiences to help shape me into the person I will be for the rest of my life. And years down the road I believe I will still be able to say, "No me ha dejado."

In the same way letters from Uncle Jack, Jill, and Nanny have brightened my days with a reminder of home.Talking to family on a weekly basis has kept me involved in their lives from afar. From the best quote finder in the world, Miss Jackie, in week 3 of my note-a-week...

"The art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." - Henry Ellis

Thank you family for giving me space but still reminding me of your love. Thank you Sevilla for filling every day with a wonderful adventure. I can't wait to see what the rest of the semester brings.

Flamenco and Apes: What we did for love

In celebration of finishing our exams and being excited for a flamenco show, Saturday evening Grace, Molly, Alia, and I met at 8:00 to buy our bus tickets for Sunday and to go for some leisurely tapas. On our way back from the bus station we happened upon the Festival of the Nations which is set up one of the large parks of the city. We wandered around and it was cool to see the stands of all the countries. Molly and I gave into our urge and each ended up buying a scarf :) There was a large food area as well and we wandered around until we found the baked goods area, where I piece of a piece of orange cake for after dinner.

We continued on towards Triana to find the tapas bar Molly had marked off on her map of places to eat (as advised by the CIEE handbook she read cover to cover). We finally found it, right as it was closing. So we walked in the direction of the theater and hoped we would run into something along the way. After about 25 worried minutes, we finally found one to eat at. Alia took charge and ordered tapas on her own for the first time and we were all pleased with the results. Except for the liver. I actually swallowed liver. It won't be happening again. The way it was flavored seemed good but it just reminds a little too much like an organ for my liking.

Having successfully filled our bellies, Alia, Molly, and I continued onto the show at Hotel Triana. The show was in this huge outdoor patio that was centered right below the almost full moon. The venue being cool enough in itself, the singers, guitarrists, and dancers were INCREDIBLE. The show was Noche de Extremadura Flamenco and included two completely different casts of 10 people for the two segments of the show. I honestly think I could have listened to the Spanish guitar all night; the response of the crowd with the energy of the performers was contagious. And to top it all off, the dancer of the second segment was a 70 year old man. AMAZING. By the time it finished it was 2 AM and I realized I was very happy to have bought the scarf earlier in the night. This show was part of the XVI Bineal de Flamenco and people come all over the world to see these flamenco shows in Sevilla. All in all, it was an unforgettable experience. I have pictures on my digital camera but I seem to have left the cord in the good ol' US of A so I can't put them up until I get home. Honestly though, pictures would not have done it justice so I'm happy to leave it at this.

Onto Sunday, of which I definitely have pictures. But I think this deserves some explanation of why I took a 4 hour bus ride each way to go through customs into a British colony for 2 hours: It was all Molly's idea. Her grandpa talked a lot about the Rock of Gibraltar (He-Bral-Tar, according to my señora after she couldn't figure out where in the world I was going) and about the free running apes that live there. Basically, Molly really wanted to go to see it for her grandpa. And I never thought twice about the logistics. Until the night before.

Luckily, when I was going to bed at 2:30 I thought, "Maybe I should look in the guide book to figure out what the deal is about Gibraltar." This is where I found out that a) we needed our passports to get in and b) they don't use Euros there. Luckily both these things were workable. I sent a lovely good morning text to "BRING YOUR PASSPORT" and we bought our tickets for the cable car before we went through customs.

We arrived in Gibraltar (after being able to see the rock for about an hour and trying to get off the bus at every stop only to be told by our bus driver that it still wasn't it) at 1:45 PM. Our bus would leave again at 4:30. We power walked almost 2 miles through customs, to the bathrooms, to the cable cars, all with backpacks and cameras in tow. I timed us with my stopwatch so we would know how much time to allow for return. It took us about 35 minutes with a bathroom and postcard stop.

View for an hour as we traveled around the Rock to get to the only land entrance, which involves crossing an active airport runway.

We took the 6 minute cable car to the top and were desperately hoping that after all this travel, we would at least see an ape. We giggled when we could see one near the path below and were so happy to have made it to the top of the Rock that I didn't even notice this:

Ape, just chillin' like a villan

Well come to find out, this ape is a villan. While Molly was trying to take a picture of me with it it proceeded to jump at some lady's backpack and steal her bag of bread, cookies, and other snacks. Ye,s I was like 2 feet away from a legit ape fight. Gregory stole the cookies, but then Dana, who is described in her bio as "arguably the most oversized female of pack" because of the "vast amount of junk food she consumes" came over to mooch. (Her bio also describes her as a "prolific pick pocket" since she can open zipped bags with her opposable thumbs. Yes, the first pick-pocket experience I've seen in Spain was an ape.)

Gregory with his snacks, Dana coming in to be a mooch.

Check it out.

Having been slightly frightened by the apes, we enjoyed the beautiful view around us 412 meters in the air, 31 meters above the Empire State Building and 90 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower.

Molly, me and Grace at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar

Cable Car

Strait of Gibraltar

Having achieved the mandatory ape and rock visit, we had 40 minutes to get back to the bus. We walked quickly but in no way power walking or running. We made the mistake to stop at Subway for Grace to get food since she hadn't gotten a lunch from her señora. We then realized we were in grave danger of getting back to the bus and began to run towards the bus: across the airport runway, past tourists, through customs when we hit a road block. We had 7 minutes to get to the bus and there was a line of about 40 people to go through customs. Molly and Grace started to say, "We're never going to make the bus...", when I realize that this is not an option. We are 4 hours from Sevilla and this is the last bus. There are no other options. Luckily we were in a British Colony so people spoke English and I start passing massive groups with the loaded statement in an anxious voice, "Sorry, sorry but we're 4 hours from home and we're going to miss the bus... Sorry, sorry but we're 4 hours from home and we're going to miss the bus...". Needless to say we cut every single person in the line, flashed our passports at the guy without stopping, and I took off at a dead Messiah soccer sprint towards the bus station. I arrived, still holding my coke, with 2 minutes to spare and apparently enough sweat to make nobody want to get near us. WE MADE IT. Unfortunately my coke was flat and warm and I had to ditch it. It was a sacrifice that was worth it. Ali, I think my entire summer of training with you was leading up to this moment.

By the time we got all back to Sevilla, I was sick of being on a bus and went for a run. I've decided the best hours to run are before 9 AM or after 9 PM. Its been fun to set off in a different direction each day and see what I come across. Only problem with the night time is you pass guys who decide that its okay to pee in bushes next to the river.

Today I had my first day of classes, both of which were at CIEE. I loved them both, and I'm really excited to start reading the books and have some good class discussion. History of Flamenco and Women Writers are definitely different (aka, way better) than Orgo :)