Well hello!
I figured it was time to check in again since it's been a while since my last post, which my mother informs me what not informational at all. So here's the skinny.
As I photodumped a couple weeks ago, I went to Granada, to visit Boy. Granada is also in the south of Spain, but not on the coast and in more mountainous region. Granada has a lot of things going for it--it is home to the Alhambra, the huge Muslim fortress/palace/city that (of course) changed hands between them and the Christians. You can really tell the difference between what the Christians and the Muslims built. The Christians built a church and also a plaza. The plaza thing is unfinished, because some king ran out of money. The church also has angels carved into the side. According to Islamic law, depictions of people and animals aren't allowed so that's why you see all the beautiful geometric patterns as decoration.
Granada is also famous for its tapas. "Tapas" are small dishes, sort of like appetizers, that are typically served with drinks. So at pretty much any bar you go to in Granada when you ask for a beer they'll give you a dish to go with it. Sometimes you order a specific one, but most of the time you're surprised. Erik and I went to a lovely tapas bar called Poë and along with my cerveza I had spicy Thai chicken and spicy chicken livers. The liver tasted good, but the consistency was sort of gross.
One thing I noticed in Granada is that they had a lot of monuments dedicated to Christopher Columbus. They have the same view of Columbus as Americans generally do--that he "discovered" America and was basically a hero. So that's obnoxious, considering the diseases and cultural decimation and whatnot. I wonder if Spanish people ever feel a sort of "white guilt" that their ancestors oversaw the destruction of many ancient cultures. Perhaps I will ask one. A Spaniard, I mean. Not an ancient culture.
So, I've been here for over two months. As with last month, sometimes the time seems to go so slowly but then it accelerates and it is November 4th, I will be home in the United States in exactly 2 months, I'll be 21 in five days (and no one here will care, but I'll get myself a cupcake), and it's a month and a half until my program ends.
I've decided that Spain is a lovely, amazing place to visit. To everyone ever, if you have several weeks and lots of money to do whatever, you should go to Spain. There's so much to see and even traveling 300km will get you into a place vastly different than the one before. I love the trips I take and the little things I discover about Spain. But I wouldn't want to live here any more than 4 months. Spain is an extremely young democracy (boasting a constitution only 30 years old) and with the legacy of fascist dictatorship comes some unsavory qualities, most notably the sexism. Spanish men, by and large, treat me like I'm an idiot. I don't know if that's due to being an American or being a woman, but it's exhausting when I go out and I feel like I have something to prove. I just want to walk down the street ONCE without being checked out, or catcalled, or whistled at. And I'd like Spain to not dismiss it as part of the culture. So, Spain still holds some very conservative, Catholic, old-school values that I would rather not deal with (I know the United States isn't much better, but if I'm going to move to a place I'd like it to be pretty different than the conservatism I experience at home). Also, at least in Alicante, people are very concerned with their appearance and material possessions. There's not a lot of variety in how the standard young adult looks, and plastic surgery is very much the norm. Again, I know that in the US these things are also huge, huge problems, so it's not like I think home is any better in this aspect). These are just two little things, but there's a lot about Spanish culture that I haven't really adjusted to that well and don't know if I would want to (said the awful, stubborn traveler). But traveling and sightseeing in Spain are some of the most enjoyable experiences I've had.
Did I tell you that I'm spending Christmas in Edinburgh, Scotland? I'm really excited, but also nervous because I'll be traveling alone and I'll be alone on Christmas. I'll of course make the best of it. After that I'm meeting up with my friend Lisa in Berlin and we'll stay in Germany for a couple days before going to Copenhagen. WHEE I'M EXCITED.
Tomorrow I go to Seville with my group, and there will probably be another photodumb, and my mom will tell me I didn't give enough information so I will try to fix it, unlike this time.
Hasta luego,
Maren
No comments:
Post a Comment