andalucía

lots of shenanigans have gone down since november. time to share with you all.

eap sponsored a program trip to andalucía, one of the comunidades autónomas in the south of spain. the combination of hearing the lovely summer stories of the south and my wild imagination, i decided to bring my tanga along for the ride. sadly, we were never close enough to any sort of water and my little friend stayed tucked away for the weekend.

anyways, after a 5 hour bus ride, we were in córdoba, home to the mezquita.
i've seen pictures of the interior of the mosque before, but the architecture was super cool. my favorite has to be these brick arches; if i knew how to make clothes, i would sew myself a dress with the red and white arch pattern all over. hey project runway contestants, did you hear that one?
once los reyes católicos kicked the moros out of the iberian peninsula, they decided this mosque couldn't take all the credit for beautiful architecture. the mezquita is actually half mosque, half church. mind trip.
i think the best part of our trip to the mezquita was this attempted jumping picture. i'm sure the guard was highly offended.
in córdoba, we also went to a flamenco show. the main singer looked like a fat persian cat, amplified by the look on his face, as if he had kidney stones. it was adorable, his family was essentially the only non-americans in the crowd and his grandparents were clapping and yelling ¡OLÉ! with glee every 5 seconds.
my front row seat was pretty legit; i love the brightly colored dresses and swingy skirts.
another 3 hours on the bus and we were in granada, home of la fabulous alhambra. this palace has to be one of the most amazing historical monuments i've ever visited. so bland on the outside, fucking outrageous on the inside.
so much attention to detail... i'm just glad i wasn't one of the slaves that was forced to carve these designs on every wall.

awesome view of granada from the palace.
granada is full of muslim influence, it was really cool to see all of the various shops selling trinkets, jewelry and clothing. i found this lam display pretty awesome.
and last but not least, the best thing about granada is the TAPAS. when you order a drink, you get legitimate sandwiches. i had lunch and two sangrías for 5€!
love love love.
some photo credz to danone.

it's a shame...

that i can't update this thing more often, like i always say i will?

anyways, it's officially second semester. the pain of finals was long and drawn out, a slow, painful nearly-like-death experience due to the of lack clear instructions, guidelines and motivation, thank you to the spanish school system. however, we all survived (barely)... just in time to start it all over again. my classes are more exciting this semester.

1) teatro español del siglo de oro: taught by the man who did jafar's voiceover in aladdin... not really, but they sure do share an uncanny resemblance (vocally and physically).

2) lengua, literatura y cultura brasileñas: finally! an organized profesora who starts on time, cracks jokes and speaks português!

3) la mujer en la literatura española: our profesora is really intense, extremely organized and unafraid to share her strong opinions, but it's clear she's passionate about her subject and is a reservoir of information.

4) historia del mundo actual: haven't actually had this class yet? this is where my story begins.

today was one of those bad days, almost like the movies? i rushed to class in the rain... just as i saw that my friend had called/texted me around the time i'd left to let me know that the class doesn't start until next week. so nice of our program director to have emailed her a mere 30 mins before the class was supposed to start... anyways, as i was walking to another building on campus, i slipped the slick marble/concrete and hit my knee pretty hard on one of the floor drains, busting a hole through my leggings and tights combo and putting a nice, deep gash on my knee. i must have looked like the most pathetic, disheveled mess, limping and trying to hold back tears with a defective umbrella...

i made it to a bathroom and a friendly, older woman, who happened to work at the school, ran to get some disinfectant stuff from the botiquín and helped me to clean and bandage my knee. i owe her, big time.

the moral of this story: holes seem to be a common theme in my wardrobe these days (two pairs of jeans, leggings and tights? it's a talent). time to scour the tiendas for some vaqueros... at this rate, i'm willing to shell out the dinero for some levi's, since spain doesn't understand that some girls have muslos de futbolista.

moreover, the helpful woman has given me hope that nice people really do exist. i know that sounds like a big can of cheez whiz, but she was so kind to me; as the awkward foreign kid, i've come to appreciate every little positive interaction with strangers.

i vow to help any foreign person i encounter in california... punto.