Um… Gorgeous!

I’m not sure how I initially found Cuenca. I think it was just looking at a map of Spain online. I’m glad I found it, though, because it’s been exactly what I was looking for, for my last days in Spain. It’s a small city, with a population around 50,000 or so, and it’s actually two cities in one. I’m staying in the upper part, which is the old city and has most of the tourist attractions. There’s a castle, or really what looks like the remnants of a castle, a cathedral, and the signature “casas colgadas,” or hanging houses. There are some walking trails that lead down to one of the two rivers, the Huécar and the Júcar. Basically, though, it’s a quiet place, and there seem to be very few tourists here. I was starting to feel like the only non-Spanish tourist yesterday until, up near the castle, a busload of Japanese tourists descended and starting snapping dozens of photos from the same spot, flashing the peace sign for the camera. Ha. Reality check.

Today I ventured into the newer part of town, which is basically the commercial district with all the shops. I was relieved to find some fruterías and panaderías, where I could stock up on cherries and bread. What I didn’t know about Cuenca before I arrived is that it is a very meat-centric town. You can easily find paté, venison, and I think I even saw boar’s meat, but a good zumo (juice) or fruit stand is pretty much non-existent in the old part of town. What’s interesting about most of the fruit stands I’ve encountered in Spain is they are not self-serve. You have to tell the owner what you want and he or she will get it for you. I’m not sure if they do it that way for hygiene, but I’ve kind of gotten used to it. I haven’t been disappointed yet by the quality of the fruit they’ve chosen for me. Oh also, another thing I forgot to mention about my shoe-buying experience - when you try on shoes here, they only bring you one shoe. This seems supremely odd to me. Like, would you buy a pair of pants after trying on only one leg? In the Camper store I asked the lady if I could please have the other one as well, which turned out not a problem. I thought maybe it was a security thing, but I think it’s just a “thing,” as I asked her if every shoe shop operates this way, to which she told me yes. Fascinating.

Anyway, this will likely be my last blog post from Spain. I leave tomorrow back to Valencia, where I switch trains and head back to Barcelona. I found what looks to be another great room on AirBnB (love this service!). It’s right near Plaça Espanya, from which I can catch the bus to the airport. Awesome! Spain has been a fabulous adventure, but I’m ready to go home. A few last pics from the lovely town of Cuenca…

 Maybe my favorite scene from the whole trip.

 The cathedral in the Plaza Mayor.

 View of the hanging houses and the Parador, a former convent turned hotel.

 Cathedral detail.

The hanging houses.

Spanish Fashion

Probably one of my favorite things about Spain is the way people dress here, particularly the women. Not all women dress alike, of course, and there's a fair number of fashionistas, but there's also a definite prevalent hippie vibe. There are a lot of very loose pants, the hybrid pant/skirt, and lots of kurta-style tops similar to what you would find in India. It makes a lot of sense given that summers here are incredibly hot, not unlike the weather in India at certain times of the year.

There are plenty of smaller boutique-type shops scattered about, and then there's El Corte Inglés. I'm not sure I can adequately describe the scale of this mega, mega department store. Perhaps something like Macy's in New York City compares, but there's a serious buzz of energy in this place that feels very much unique. I went there the other day to buy headphones, among other things, and worked my way through the maze of departments, many of which, on the electronics floor at least, have their own checkout counter. In other words, you have to buy certain products in designated areas otherwise an alarm will go off if you try to leave that area with a product you have not paid for. So essentially I had three separate transactions for three different things. I was chatting with one of the cashiers about how impressively huge and comprehensive the store was, and I jokingly asked him if you could buy a car there. He kind of laughed, but then said, "Actually, I think in the insurance division you can." He said the same went I went even bigger and asked about houses. I didn't verify this information, but I would not be surprised. Crazy store, crazy big... but also a good place to go for a nice air conditioned break from hot streets.

After my last day of classes I decided to make one last pass through the stores and ended up buying myself some awesome pants, which are also kind of like a skirt, from Desigual, and a pair of shoes from Camper, which is a company from Mallorca. The lady in one of the stores gave me a 50% off coupon, so it was hard to resist. I also wandered for bit and took a few final pictures. I'm kind of sad to leave Valencia. But alas, life moves on. Today I head to Cuenca, a much smaller city, but I'm told even they have El Corte Inglés there.

 Off the Plaza de la Reina, this is the spot where my fellow students 

and I would often grab a coffee during "la pausa".

One of the streets I took on my way home from school. It's very common to see a refurbished building next to either a crumbling one, or one that's been knocked down completely.

One of the plazas near my apartment.

Calle de los Caballeros, leading up to Los Torres del Quart.

Note: Sorry no pics of the awesome fashions, but I felt a little creepy taking pictures of random women on the street. You can check out my purchases when I get home. :)

Spanish and School

Today was my next-to-last day of classes. I will definitely miss the folks in my group, and part of me wishes I could stay for longer, at least to go through the next level. At the same time, though, I'm ready to head home to my favorite Spanish speaker. :) I plan to keep studying on my own, of course, and lucky for me, I'm surrounded by Spanish pros who can help me.

One of the best things about this experience has been switching from my role of teacher to that of student. It's almost a little surreal participating in activities like the ones I do with my students - work with your partner to describe such-and-such, fill in the blanks to the lyrics of this song, give your partner the information that s/he is missing, etc. Now I understand how challenging and/or confusing it can be sometimes. The teachers here are awesome, though. They are energetic and enthusiastic, which is the kind of teacher I strive to be. The other huge thing is that everything is in Spanish, even for students who come here starting from scratch. It's a major signal to me that I need to use the target language in class way more often, if not exclusively. This will not be a problem for the upper-level classes, but even for beginners I think it's super important.

Being in Spain, I've had a major baptism in the "vosotros" form of verbs and all the other words that go along with that. I've learned that "coger" is not a bad word here, that you don't "lavar" the dishes here, rather you "fregar" them. The list of linguistic differences goes on and on, and it's fascinating to figure them out. Since my host is from Argentina, she also has her own perspective on the language, and her own accent. Sometimes the letter s disappears from certain words, replaced  by a kind of breathy sound. We were also talking about how direct people are here. I noted it in the way that people use "tú" with just about everybody, and she mentioned that there's no need to preface your inquiry with an elaborate, "Excuse me, but would you happen to know...," rather you just ask your question.

At the end of your course, you have the option of taking an exit exam. I don't need it for anything, since I'm not getting college credits and I get a certificate of completion regardless, but I decided to take it. Part of me actually enjoys taking tests because they're a challenge, and I also want to know what I still need to work on. Plus, I was curious to see the test format. I took it today after six hours of classes, which included one hour of salsa, bachata, and cha cha cha. Ha. Anyway, it was hard. Not an impossible kind of hard, but definitely challenging. There's no multiple choice on these tests; it's pure production. Respond to such-and-such a scenario, choose the correct word for this sentence, etc. I'm anxious to see get my results. I felt decent afterwards, although I know I didn't completely ace it.

A fellow student, Paul form Belgium, took the test at the same time as I did. We went out for a drink afterwards. We were discussing the various possibilities for some of the questions and talking about how different it is speaking a language and having to produce it on paper. But of course, in order to speak it properly you have to understand some basic grammar concepts. He's only been here a week and said something like, "I feel like I don't know anything!" after the test. At the end of last week, I felt the same way. It's humbling not being able to express yourself to the fullest extent possible. But then you find yourself in a situation where you're able to and you feel like you're on top of the world.

Juan and all the ladies from our class. The guys have been absent for the last couple of days.

Elvira, Yolanda, and the conversation class.

Comida, comida, y más comida

I know I'm not the only one for whom eating is synonymous with traveling. Some people come to a new city armed with loads of information about the history of the place, but I arrive with a cursory knowledge of the local food, eager to learn more. And by learn more, I mean eat.

Spain has not disappointed in this regard. There's a strong coffee culture here, so a good café con leche is never far away. My favorite food locale in any part of the world is a good bakery. There aren't as many here as I had imagined, and they don't really compare to what you'd find in France, but they're a good option for staving off the hunger you work up as you walk around. The local specialty here is the fartón, which looks like a breadstick and tastes like a doughnut. You can eat them by themselves, or enjoy them as you sip your horchata, the other local specialty. Valencian horchata is very different from Mexican horchata, which is made with rice. Here it is made with chufas, which are a tuber. It's a sweet, kind of milky drink that is usually served in small quantities. It's not necessarily refreshing, but it is delicious, and the sugar content is enough to give you the burst of energy you need to make it the rest of the way home.

I have yet to sit down for a proper lunch "menú," which includes a first dish, second dish, and coffee and dessert. It is on the agenda before I go. Last night, though, I had dinner with two other Americans, one an acquaintance from school and the other from back home. We went to a local restaurant that was recommended to me by a friend, called Trenca Dish. It happens to be right around the corner from where I'm staying, and it was delicious. We had some apps, including bacalao (cod) and I had monkfish for dinner, which I had never had. I also didn't know the Spanish name for it, so I was going in blind. It turned out to be an excellent choice, however. The best part of the meal, as is usually the case for me, was dessert, torrijas de horchata con helado de turrón. They were these fluffy, creamy concoctions made with horchata, but with a caramelized exterior. The ice cream tasted like turrón, also a local specialty, which is essentially the same as Italian torrone, or nougat with nuts.

That is another thing I've found interesting about Spain, the serious crossover of other European cultures. Gelato, which I associate with Italy, is everywhere, and then there's turrón. Bakeries are packed with croissants, which are French. In one of the bakeries, though, I found a multigrain croissant, which sounds like it can't possibly be good, but it's actually delicious. I don't know if they have that option in France now or not. One of the major local specialties, of course, is ham. It's everywhere. Since it's not something I normally eat, I can't truly appreciate it, but a butcher in the market gave me a sample and it was definitely high quality.

The fruits and veggies here are similar to home, but much cheaper, which adds to the wow factor. I've especially been enjoying the cherries and these fruits called paraguayos, which are like peaches, with a similar circumference but about a quarter of the height. I haven't had to buy much in the way of food because Carolina is an excellent cook and I get dinner every night as part of my stay. She makes a mean mint tea, which on a hot Valencian day is perfect out on the terrace.

In the Central Market.

Ham, ham, and more ham.

Cones hang from the hams to catch any falling grease.  

 Mojama, a kind of salted tuna.

 Inside the bustling Central Market on a Saturday.

 That day there was a group of painters spread throughout 

the market painting scenes there.

 Lima beans.

A variety of snails.

Valencia

I've been trying to see as much of the city as I can when I'm not in class. I get out at 3, at which point I need something to eat, and then after that I kind of wander around. This city is gorgeous and has more plazas than I can count, and even more tiny little streets that wind this way and that. I have a map, but I rarely consult it. Perhaps if I did I wouldn't get lost so often. Eventually I figure out where I am, though, and sometimes I come upon something cool that I might not have found if I had taken the most direct route.

There are several cathedrals here, none of which I have been inside of yet, but they are all stunning from the outside. You can see many different architectural styles from one plaza to another as well. Apparently the "holy grail" is here somewhere, so perhaps I will attempt to find that. I guess that's kind of a pun, isn't it? Actually, I just verified and there is only one cathedral, wherein lies the "holy grail," and the others are simply churches. Regardless, they are all gigantic and ornate.

The sites are interesting, of course, but even more interesting are the people you meet along the way. I've had some nice conversations with all kinds of people, which helps me both practice my Spanish and learn about the city. Today I talked with a group of men from Senegal who sell sunglasses to tourists. It was an interesting mix of Spanish, French, and English. The other day I struck up a conversation with a policeman on horseback, who told me I must go see the river while I'm here. And yesterday I chatted with the Pakistani owner of a fruit stand. So not all native speakers of Spanish, but all interesting people. I did go see the river, by the way, which is not a river at all. It used to be one, but they diverted the water from it years ago and now it's a park, and a bike trail, and a playground... "un montón" of different things.

I can't believe my first week of classes is already over. It absolutely flew by. I'm looking forward to a couple of days filled with nothing but exploring the city. I'm excited to go see the food market, which is always closed by the time I get out of class. Carolina, our host, has also offered to take us to this great neighborhood known for its horchata, which should be delicious.

The apartment where I'm staying is right near Serrano street. Who knew? :)

The sculpture in the fountain in Plaza de la Virgen.

My street. In the early evening the light hits the buildings here in the most beautiful way.

There's a lot of interesting street art/graffiti here. This one is a commentary on gentrification.

The city center.

The outside of a bullring. They are impressive structures, but I don't see myself ever attending a show.

This building is right near my school. It used to be the residence of some marquis, but is now a ceramics museum. I happened to wander in on a free day. Bonus!

Another view of the same building. It's an impressive one, and I enjoy walking by it everyday on my way to class.

In My Element

I am now in Valencia, which is about a 3-hour train ride south of Barcelona, still on the coast. The main purpose of my trip was to come here and do an intensive Spanish course for two weeks (30 hours a week). I started on Monday, joining a group of students who have been here now anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. You can join the program for any length of time you wish, and it gets cheaper per week the longer you stay. I'll admit I was a little anxious about what kind of experience it would be, and I have to say that I couldn't be more impressed with the program. I opted for the Home Stay accommodation, and I am staying with a woman from Argentina, an artist, who has lived here for 18 years. The apartment is a 5-minute walk from the school and is located in one of the many little plazas scattered throughout the city. It's surprisingly quiet given its proximity to the center of town. Another student from the school, Gertrude from Germany, is staying in the other room in the apartment. I was psyched to meet her because it meant that I wouldn't be the only older student here. I was not thrilled by the idea of being in a class with a bunch of teenagers (the minimum age for students is 16). Not that I dislike teenagers, it's just that I work with them during the school year and in the summer I like a change of pace. While there are some younger students, most are in their 20's at least and relatively mature.

Before you arrive at the school you take an online test to help them place you in the appropriate level. Then when you arrive you have to do an interview, to make sure your ability to communicate in person matches what you can do on paper. I placed in an intermediate level, and the class I joined is actually moving on to the advanced intermediate level next week. I did my interview with Ishmael, one of the teachers, and although I was nervous, I think I was even more taken aback by how beautiful his Spanish sounded. It was like I had just tuned in to a classical music station on the radio, listening to the dulcet tone of his voice and his clear enunciation. I was kind of hoping he would be my teacher, but alas that wasn't the case. Instead, my teachers are Juan and Elvira. (I'm not sure where these names are coming from; apparently here in Spain, as in the U.S., parents are trying to outdo one another by finding the most unique name possible.)

We have our first class in the morning with Elvira, where the topic has been physical appearances and people's hang-ups about how they look, which has led to many interesting discussions ranging from piercing and tattooing to plastic surgery. After a half-hour break we have another class with Juan, where we have been discussing current events. The first day it was all politics and we talked about the political corruption that has been happening here in Spain. I was in heaven as I am kind of a news addict, so I was beyond excited to be talking and figuring out how to talk about these things in Spanish. From there I head over to the other building where I have a culture class, followed by a conversation class. It's kind of a marathon, but I love it. Learning about languages and culture is easily my favorite thing to do in life.

There are 8 students in the class: myself; Natalie from London; Stefi from Detroit, but living in Germany for many years; Georgia from Cyprus, who has been my partner on several occasions and is super cool save for her severe disdain for Turkish people (she lives on the Greek side); Adam from New York; Eva from China; Marie from France; and Alex from England, who is a scholar of Latin and Greek and often shares his extensive knowledge of language. It's a humorous adventure as we all try to muddle our way through Spanish and express our thoughts and opinions on a wide range of topics. Today Adam caused Juan to buckle over with laughter as he attempted to translate "fake boobs." I'm not sure how we found our way to the topic of physical appearance in our current events class, but alas, you never know where a class discussion will go!

Speaking of political corruption, there was a small protest in La Plaza de la Virgen the other day. This sign reads: "The workers are not the guilty ones," in reference to the sentiment that the average Spaniard is having to pay for the sins of the corrupt members of government, who are pocketing Spaniards' money for their own benefit, stashing it away in some Swiss bank account. The sign is in Valenciano, the local language here, and protesters were switching back and forth from Spanish and Valenciano as they took the bullhorn.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. I love the expression he made as he posed for the photo.

When in Barcelona…

I arrived in Barcelona a couple of days ago. Jetlagged and thirsty, I navigated my way through the city via bus and then metro to find my accommodations, a room rented via Airbnb in an apartment that’s about a 5-minute walk from the famous Sagrada Familia. The place is as nice as the photos promised it would be, and the host is even nicer. Her family is from the island of Menorca, but she grew up in Barcelona and knows the city well. She’s been a huge help whenever I've had any questions. The day I arrived she was at work, but her boyfriend let me in and helped me get oriented looking out over the city from the terrace. I didn't think to ask him if it was OK to drink the tap water. Shortly after he left, my bottled water ran out, and frankly I was too tired to go out and buy some more. After a nap and a shower, Carla arrived home and told me the good news, that I could in fact drink the water here. It didn't taste great, but it wouldn't make me sick. I downed about three glasses. It’s been a while since I've traveled somewhere where it’s OK to drink the water, so this is a bonus. Less money spent on bottled water, and more money for… wine?

Speaking of which, I had my first real meal in a restaurant on Friday night, in a little place just two blocks down the street from the apartment named “El Bar”. I was definitely the only solo diner there, but true to Barcelona form I sat down to eat around 9:45 p.m. They asked me if I wanted a menu in English or in Catalan, and stupidly I asked if they had one in Spanish, which they informed me they did not. "Really?" I asked in Spanish. "Really," they replied, but kindly offered to translate anything I needed help with. I should not have been surprised at the lack of a menu in Spanish. I had been told this might be the case in some places, and I have seen the “Catalonia is not Spain” signs and flags scattered about the city. Carla was telling me all about the independence movement, and pretty much all the signs here are in Catalan first, Spanish second, and English last, for all the tourists. In any case, I sat down with my menu in Catalan, which honestly is not that hard to understand if your Spanish is decent. There are also some things about it that remind me of French. I ordered a salad, a pizza, and a glass of wine. The super-nice waitress returned a few seconds later to tell me that the portions were pretty large and to ask if I still wanted all of that. Basically, I think I was ordering dinner for two people. I thought about telling her she might be surprised at how much I could eat, but instead just said I was hungry, but not sure if I was that hungry. Ultimately, she told me I could just take home whatever I didn't finish, which ended up being half a pizza. I noticed a sign toward the end of my meal that said “no cards,” but fortunately I had cash on me, and more than enough as my whole dinner cost a little over $20, the cheapest part of it being the wine, which was less than $3! Awesome!

Some the other highlights/observations so far:

- The weather is beautiful! Hot and sunny. You definitely need a good sunscreen and water, plus some well-timed breaks in the shade, preferably close to a bakery.

- People are generally very friendly and will speak to you in Spanish if you make the effort. I’ve been mistaken for Dutch, but when that doesn’t work they’ll revert to English. I just keep responding in Spanish and once they realize you can hold your own, they’ll go with it.

- I can't really do the Castellano accent. Occasionally I’ll say something that sounds more like “grathias” than “gracias” but that’s about it. I'm sure if I spent more time here, it would come more naturally, but for now I’m pretty sold on the Mexican accent.

- The vast majority of tourists here are Russian, or Russian-speaking. It’s incredible, really. Most signs near the major attractions are in Russian, in addition to English. At this point my Russian is pretty rusty, but I was able to understand that the angry man yelling at his 10-year-old son today at Gaudi’s Park Guell was not impressed that the boy was not impressed. Something along the lines of, "Your mother and I both appreciate this place, why can’t you?" Poor kid probably just needed a pastry and some shade.

Close-up of one of the sculptures of Sagrada Familia.

Close-up of one of the doors leading into Sagrada Familia.

Inside Sagrada Familia. Indescribably tall ceilings and amazing columns, 

fashioned after tree trunks, making the inside of the church like a forest.

La Padrera, another one of Gaudí's masterpieces.