Some pretty flowers near the coast.
One of the most dynamic advertisements I have seen in a long time.Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A few pictures for you.
Some pretty flowers near the coast. One of the most dynamic advertisements I have seen in a long time.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Hola todos! It is Friday, and I have the satisfaction of having accomplished one week of classes. My mind is swimming with thoughts about what I should tell you. It has only been one week, and it was so filled to the brim, that I don’t know where to begin.
I will begin with today. Today I had to turn in a 230 word description of my topic of choice. The past few days have been so hot that I decided to describe the autumn. It really must have been a love letter, because I think I lured autumn to Sevilla. The day started crisply, and during a 30 minute class break, I went to a café near my school for hot café con leche. Beautiful. The cafes on our cobble stone street have tables and chairs that spill out into the street, and the mopeds whiz by while I drink my coffee. My class is on the second story of our building. Our room has two French doors that open onto the two smallest balconies I have ever seen, only big enough to stand facing forward and peep out onto the street below or the buildings directly across. During class I hear horses pulling carriages clomp down the narrow cobblestone street.
The building itself had a big interior patio with a fountain. All of the hallways above wrap around so you can look down below. We also have an exterior patio, in which I have a dance class.
In this class we are learning the Sevillano, a traditional dance with hints of flamenco that the locals break out during Feria de Abril, a week long fair in the spring. Our teacher said that it can either be danced by two women, and is very elegant and beautiful, or else a man and woman can dance it together, and then it is very sensual.
And I have also found out that during the fall there is a flamenco festival here in Sevilla that only occurs every two years. I am excited for this since I won’t be able to enjoy the festivities that occur in the spring with Semana Santa and Feria de Abril.
As far as every day routines here in Sevilla, I am adjusting just dandily. I remember to throw my TP in the trash can (don’t flush it!!!), I am careful about not leaving lights on, and I am doing just fine without air conditioning, though it can be a little warm. (I’ll admit I have considered riding the tram back and forth through town just to cool off, but have yet to resort to this). I take my allotted 8 minute showers, exactly. (I time myself with a clock). I am used to eating lunch at 3 and dinner at 10. And I know my route and bus numbers by heart from home to school, gradually exploring more and more outside of my little route each day.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Today some friends and I traveled to the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo. It was an old Monastery that was converted into an Art museum, and after some exploring, we found rooms with old frescoes on the walls, and also rooms with white marble crypts in them. I’m not sure if tombs are the right word, but they were big marble boxes, and on top of each one there were three statues of people lying down with their arms crossed and eyes closed. I don’t know if mortal remains were enclosed inside. Anyhow, we went to see 2 international photography exhibits. One was called “On the Human Being” and was a collection of numerous artists. My favorite pictures were a set of 100 black and white photographs lined up side by side on the wall. Each one had a person in ascending order from the age of 0-100, and it was so neat to see the progression of life.
This morning classes were cut short for the first of a series of three trips. This morning my group visited Italica, which are ruins of a Roman colony in Spain. I had a hard time understanding all of the history that our teacher guided us through. However, there was an arena in which I gathered thousands of people could have been slaughtered in one day. (probably only that many on a real party day) That was my first time getting to experience ruins like this, and it was amazing to walk down a road which held so much history.
Hola todos! It is Friday, and I have the satisfaction of having accomplished one week of classes. My mind is swimming with thoughts about what I should tell you. It has only been one week, and it was so filled to the brim, that I don’t know where to begin.
I will begin with today. Today I had to turn in a 230 word description of my topic of choice. The past few days have been so hot that I decided to describe the autumn. It really must have been a love letter, because I think I lured autumn to Sevilla. The day started crisply, and during a 30 minute class break, I went to a café near my school for hot café con leche. Beautiful. The cafes on our cobble stone street have tables and chairs that spill out into the street, and the mopeds whiz by while I drink my coffee. My class is on the second story of our building. Our room has two French doors that open onto the two smallest balconies I have ever seen, only big enough to stand facing forward and peep out onto the street below or the buildings directly across. During class I hear horses pulling carriages clomp down the narrow cobblestone street.
The building itself had a big interior patio with a fountain. All of the hallways above wrap around so you can look down below. We also have an exterior patio, in which I have a dance class.
In this class we are learning the Sevillano, a traditional dance with hints of flamenco that the locals break out during Feria de Abril, a week long fair in the spring. Our teacher said that it can either be danced by two women, and is very elegant and beautiful, or else a man and woman can dance it together, and then it is very sensual.
And I have also found out that during the fall there is a flamenco festival here in Sevilla that only occurs every two years. I am excited for this since I won’t be able to enjoy the festivities that occur in the spring with Semana Santa and Feria de Abril.
As far as every day routines here in Sevilla, I am adjusting just dandily. I remember to throw my TP in the trash can (don’t flush it!!!), I am careful about not leaving lights on, and I am doing just fine without air conditioning, though it can be a little warm. (I’ll admit I have considered riding the tram back and forth through town just to cool off, but have yet to resort to this). I take my allotted 8 minute showers, exactly. (I time myself with a clock). I am used to eating lunch at 3 and dinner at 10. And I know my route and bus numbers by heart from home to school, gradually exploring more and more outside of my little route each day.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Today some friends and I traveled to the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo. It was an old Monastery that was converted into an Art museum, and after some exploring, we found rooms with old frescoes on the walls, and also rooms with white marble crypts in them. I’m not sure if tombs are the right word, but they were big marble boxes, and on top of each one there were three statues of people lying down with their arms crossed and eyes closed. I don’t know if mortal remains were enclosed inside. Anyhow, we went to see 2 international photography exhibits. One was called “On the Human Being” and was a collection of numerous artists. My favorite pictures were a set of 100 black and white photographs lined up side by side on the wall. Each one had a person in ascending order from the age of 0-100, and it was so neat to see the progression of life.
This morning classes were cut short for the first of a series of three trips. This morning my group visited Italica, which are ruins of a Roman colony in Spain. I had a hard time understanding all of the history that our teacher guided us through. However, there was an arena in which I gathered thousands of people could have been slaughtered in one day. (probably only that many on a real party day) That was my first time getting to experience ruins like this, and it was amazing to walk down a road which held so much history.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Still in Spain!
Friday, September 5th
We took a walking tour through the city to our school, which is pretty close to the center of town. The school is a three story building squeezed into a narrow street called Calle Harinas. It is an older building and is completely charming, with a court yard and decorative tiles up the walls and all over the floor.I was entirely charmed by my surroundings until it was time to take the Spanish placement test to assess our skills, and I am afraid the grammar was a little brutal on my poor rusty little brain. Not to mention I realized when the time was up that there were 2 pages I left entirely blank on accident! Oh well... I suppose everyone has to start somewhere, and I hope someone who graded my paper secretly got a laugh at something ridiculous that I unknowingly wrote.
Then it was on to our houses. My room mate and I took a taxi to our house and arrived laden with suitcases. Our taxi driver pointed out a big barbed wire fence that enclosed a Franco Era prison.
We took a walking tour through the city to our school, which is pretty close to the center of town. The school is a three story building squeezed into a narrow street called Calle Harinas. It is an older building and is completely charming, with a court yard and decorative tiles up the walls and all over the floor.I was entirely charmed by my surroundings until it was time to take the Spanish placement test to assess our skills, and I am afraid the grammar was a little brutal on my poor rusty little brain. Not to mention I realized when the time was up that there were 2 pages I left entirely blank on accident! Oh well... I suppose everyone has to start somewhere, and I hope someone who graded my paper secretly got a laugh at something ridiculous that I unknowingly wrote.
Then it was on to our houses. My room mate and I took a taxi to our house and arrived laden with suitcases. Our taxi driver pointed out a big barbed wire fence that enclosed a Franco Era prison.
Our family consists of a host mother, my room mate and me. I admit that I understood barely anything for the first 2 or three meals we ate together, but Saturday night I actually spoke to her and joined in the conversation some, so already I feel as though I am improving little by little. My room mate speaks spanish fairly well, and so she does the majority of the talking to our mother, and then I join in when I can.
Saturday, September 6th.
Today we went to the Christopher Columbus museum and watched a video that none of my friends or I understood about Christopher Columbus discovering the new world. Except for the part when the actor repeatedly screamed "Land... Land... Land... Land!!!" Then we went outside and saw three wooden ships that were replicas of the nina, the pinta, and the santa maria. They were full sized ships floating in a big pond. The pond was surrounded by grass huts with replicas of naked people with bowl cuts standing around holding spears and cooking fish.
Saturday, September 6th.
Today we went to the Christopher Columbus museum and watched a video that none of my friends or I understood about Christopher Columbus discovering the new world. Except for the part when the actor repeatedly screamed "Land... Land... Land... Land!!!" Then we went outside and saw three wooden ships that were replicas of the nina, the pinta, and the santa maria. They were full sized ships floating in a big pond. The pond was surrounded by grass huts with replicas of naked people with bowl cuts standing around holding spears and cooking fish.
This is me cooking with the natives.
Among other things... please note the fantastic bowl cuts.
Then we toured a monastery that was filled to the brim with artifacts and paintings of Christopher Columbus and all his pals. I saw Cortez's sword in a glass case as well. It was really neat, and the paintings were so large and beautiful, but I wish i had understood more of the tour. Then we went to the beach where it was a little rainy and cloudy and hijacked shells.
Sunday, September 7th
Today we finally unpacked our bags and got to relax. It was really wonderful. Tonight my room mate and I along with Sophie and her room mate went walking in our barrio, which is a nieghborhood. Our is called Nervion. We passed by a bunch of really beautiful apartments and also by a sand park. It looked really nasty and we couldn´t figure out what it could possibly be for except a place for peopel to take their animals to go to the bathroom.
Then we passed a huge wall with graffiti of a guy with worms coming out of his eye sockets... I´ll have to post a picture later.
We went to an little Chinese shop that was like the dollar store but better... and worse at the same time. Lets just say there were these scary gnome statues with lights built into them. And I bought a foam lilly pad with frogs on it for the beginnings of a hat for a haloween costume.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Now that I am NOT in the United States, I have finally heard that song that has caused such a stir. We were in a copy shop buying a photocopied book which I suppose is legal because our teacher told us to go there. Anyhow, ¨I kissed a girl and i liked it¨was playing on the radio and i think my life was better before that song ever had the possibility of replaying itself in my head.
Class was wonderful. I actually understood the things my teacher was saying and i made a list of the things i didn´t understand. And now it is really hot in the computer room and I can write no more... I´ll have to finish catching everyone up later.
P.S. Madonna is coming to Sevilla soon!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Estoy en Espana!!!
Hola, todos! Bienvanidos y welcome to my blog. This is my first blog, and I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone as I study in Sevilla this semester. So far I have been here 3 days, and so I will catch everyone up with a synopsis of the events leading up to my arrival in Sevilla.
Before Wednesday- pack, pack, pack, say goodbyes, pack.
Wednesday morning 12:00 am
I am double checking my passports and double checking the dates my visa is valid. Good from 1-9-08 until 1-12-08. Wait a second... something fishy. A three day visa that is valid for days that had passed before i even applied for the thing. Just kidding, I think. In Spain it is Day-Month-Year, and so my visa is valid until December 1st. Check. Wait, not check. I'm here until December 17th. Okay... a problem? Perhaps... but as they say "'tis better to have traveled and to be deported than to never have traveled at all." So first thing is first, consult dear Mommy and make sure I shouldn't freak out. After waking her up from sound sleep, she says the verdict is no, and so on with my trip.
Wednesday afternoon 2:00 pm
I said a teary goodbye to mommy and am now walking on nasty tile in my bare feet through the metal detector at the local airport. (I wonder how much microscopic dog crap and vomit linger beneath my toes? Well, at least I get to shower in 30 hours.)
Knoxville to Washington
airline hostess have the coolest dresses... should I change careers?
Washington to Frankfurt
sit next to really awesome older couple named Joy and Jimmy (i think). Jimmy likes to make jokes and they both like to laugh. Frankfurt airport is a labyrinth of dirty people, broken elevators, and my arm pits stink. I follow Joy and Jimmy to our connecting flight, and probably would have been utterly confused otherwise.
Frankfurt to Barcelona
opened my spanish grammar book and pretended to study. My seat mate didn't speak English and so I considered practicing my German with her, but decided against it because I only know how to ask her if she speaks English.
We flew parallel with the coast and it was beautiful.
Barcelona airport.
Talked with 3 Sweedish college students on holiday. They are friends with Jack Daniels from Tennessee, and I like Ikea, so the world is not so big, I don't guess.
I asked them their thoughts on Ikea, and was informed that now instead of picking up girls in discos, this Sweedish decoration and home furniture store is where they go, and it's "the shit."
Barcelona to ... where the heck am I?
So, getting into a Spanair airplane was not quite the death trap I thought it might be, considering their recent fiasco with over 150 deaths in Madrid. My only complaint is that their intercom system sucks, which is certainly the lesser of two evils.
During the flight the voice warbled in unintelligible Spanish and English, saying something about the airport esta cerrado... closed? Couldn't be. My spanish comprehension skills must be terrible. Alas, they were reaffirmed when we turned a full circle in the middle of our flight and landed in Jerez, a tiny airport in the middle of a bunch of dirt farms. We waited for 2 1/2 hours not being entirely sure what was going on, and finally a bus came to take us to Sevilla.
Before Wednesday- pack, pack, pack, say goodbyes, pack.
Wednesday morning 12:00 am
I am double checking my passports and double checking the dates my visa is valid. Good from 1-9-08 until 1-12-08. Wait a second... something fishy. A three day visa that is valid for days that had passed before i even applied for the thing. Just kidding, I think. In Spain it is Day-Month-Year, and so my visa is valid until December 1st. Check. Wait, not check. I'm here until December 17th. Okay... a problem? Perhaps... but as they say "'tis better to have traveled and to be deported than to never have traveled at all." So first thing is first, consult dear Mommy and make sure I shouldn't freak out. After waking her up from sound sleep, she says the verdict is no, and so on with my trip.
Wednesday afternoon 2:00 pm
I said a teary goodbye to mommy and am now walking on nasty tile in my bare feet through the metal detector at the local airport. (I wonder how much microscopic dog crap and vomit linger beneath my toes? Well, at least I get to shower in 30 hours.)
Knoxville to Washington
airline hostess have the coolest dresses... should I change careers?
Washington to Frankfurt
sit next to really awesome older couple named Joy and Jimmy (i think). Jimmy likes to make jokes and they both like to laugh. Frankfurt airport is a labyrinth of dirty people, broken elevators, and my arm pits stink. I follow Joy and Jimmy to our connecting flight, and probably would have been utterly confused otherwise.
Frankfurt to Barcelona
opened my spanish grammar book and pretended to study. My seat mate didn't speak English and so I considered practicing my German with her, but decided against it because I only know how to ask her if she speaks English.
We flew parallel with the coast and it was beautiful.
Barcelona airport.
Talked with 3 Sweedish college students on holiday. They are friends with Jack Daniels from Tennessee, and I like Ikea, so the world is not so big, I don't guess.
I asked them their thoughts on Ikea, and was informed that now instead of picking up girls in discos, this Sweedish decoration and home furniture store is where they go, and it's "the shit."
Barcelona to ... where the heck am I?
So, getting into a Spanair airplane was not quite the death trap I thought it might be, considering their recent fiasco with over 150 deaths in Madrid. My only complaint is that their intercom system sucks, which is certainly the lesser of two evils.
During the flight the voice warbled in unintelligible Spanish and English, saying something about the airport esta cerrado... closed? Couldn't be. My spanish comprehension skills must be terrible. Alas, they were reaffirmed when we turned a full circle in the middle of our flight and landed in Jerez, a tiny airport in the middle of a bunch of dirt farms. We waited for 2 1/2 hours not being entirely sure what was going on, and finally a bus came to take us to Sevilla.
Monday, April 14, 2008
David Brooks Conclusion
David Brooks was a very interesting, witty and fun speaker. He had some great insight, and some different and refreshing viewpoints. I have to admit that I thought coming from New York as such a well known columnist, I expected someone a little more stuck up, but he seems like a very positive, down to earth and intelligent guy. All in all, a great speaker. I hope to someday read his books for more insight into his thoughts.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
How does he account for the hatred toward hilary
Goes back to 60s, people see her as a feminist liberal.
See does see politics as war. There are enemies and you have to fight those people. In her disciplined way she made an effort to reach out to republicans, and now they think highly of her.
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