Yeah, this should have been posted almost a month ago. Oh well, enjoy it now! -JBB
Hi all! So I just wanted to give everyone a quick recap of the week that was. We’re doing extended bullet points this time around, so do enjoy this format.
• Yom Kippur: Alone. In Spain. Where there are maybe 10 Jews in a 100 mile radius of me. Plus, I was sick. Not my favorite day here thus far. And really, breaking fast without bagels, schmeer, kugel, and tuna salad is just not the same. Next year, you all try breaking fast with vegetable cream soup and lentils. It’s just not the same. Not even close.
• However, the following day I found The West Wing online. This completely made up for the sickly YK and lack of bagels in this country.
• Madrid w/Mom and Dad: So I met the padres in Madrid for a weekend of playing tourist. I didn’t have class on Monday (who knew it, Spain celebrates Columbus Day, too….that whole, “Columbus was OURS!” thing merits a national holiday!) so we had a whole weekend to enjoy the city. On Saturday we visited some art museums including the Prado which is home to the super old Spanish art, including Goya and friends. Sunday we “visited” the palace but it was closed for the Columbus celebration. We also wandered around this gigantic park and attempted to visit lots of museums that were closed because of the holiday. That evening we went to the Viva America! Parade which was the furthest from an American 4th of July Parade you could have gotten….and I know this because I marched in 3 this summer. More details about this below. Monday was quiet and included a visit to the Reina Sofia (modern art museum) and Madrid’s Botanical Gardens. We saw A LOT in just a few days, but it was really fun to hang out with the parentals. Seriously, mom, I mean that…..
• Viva America: So parades in America. Good times. You get little kids waving flags, a marching band or two, the old guys in the itsy cars, and of course, random folk handing you candy, stickers, and political literature. Being good Americans, the parentals and I figured this parade would be the same. Well, we were wrong. Very wrong. The parade celebrated Latin and Southern American culture. Each country got their own slot in the parade and performed traditional (or not so traditional) dances wearing traditional costumes. Also, many countries brought their biggest pop stars to perform in the parade. Think of the Disney Christmas Parade. They put Miley and the Jonas Brothers on floats with cool characters and little children to match. They lip-sinc a song or two and that’s it. Lots of smiling and waving. On a float with Disney characters. Now what if Miley was on a SEMI TRUCK with flashing lights and 1000 screaming adults dancing around the truck? Nope, we’re not in Disney World, we’re in Madrid. It was nuts. But lots of fun. Here are some videos to prove it:
Did I mention the parentals got in on the action?
• El Visite a Granada: Monday night the three of us made the treck to Granada where we all spent the next few days hanging out. One night we went to a really fun Flamenco show in the Sacramonte (the cave neighborhood), which was fun because I’m studying Flamenco and I could pick out some of the music and steps. Later in the week, Mom and Dad came to visit Carmen. She’s adorable and had tea and postres waiting for us. It was also really funny to hear her talk in English….and I’m pretty sure she thought it was funny to hear me speaking English, probably because I’m coherent when I speak in English (most of the time). Anyway, it was fun to introduce my real parents to my surrogate mom for the semester and everyone got along really well. We ended the Granada trip with a very nice dinner, which was a change in pace from tapas and tintos. Overall, it was really, really, really fun having the padres in Spain with me for the week(ish). Good times, good times.
• Cordoba: Mom and Dad jetted off to Barcelona on Friday while I went with my art history class to Cordoba, a city 3 hours from Granada with a very large mosque turned cathedral. The also are one of two cities in Spain with a Jewish history museum. Cordoba is the birthplace of Rambam, a very famous Jew to say the least, and so I was excited to go. Mom and Dad had been there earlier in the week and raved about the cute little synagogue and museum. Well, of course, my program screwed something up and we didn’t get to visit the synagogue . I did, however, spend 2 hours staring at red and white arches not understanding a word of Jose Miguel’s lecture.
So on tap for the next two weeks: MIDTERMS. Can you say, fun? I can’t, so I don’t recommend you try. I strongly dislike fall midterms because you realize it has been five months since your last long academic test. But, my “congrats you’ve survived midterms in a foreign language!” gift is a trip to Venice, Italy. Can you say, pizza? Can you say, GONDOLA? Should be lots of fun!
Hasta Pronto!
J
