Before I hit that though, I did have a few days here in Sevilla, which were mostly spent physically recovering from my trip to Portugal! On Monday we had our third Sevillanas (Flamenco) class. As always, I had a great time, and we learned yet ANOTHER dance (we are up to 3 now). However, we still have yet to learn the hands, which for now I'm more than ok with. I would like to think that I'm halfway decent at this as long as I can! I also met with my Intercambio, and I tried té con leche (black tea steeped in steamed milk with sugar, similar to Chai tea) and it was delicious! I now have another coffee substitute!
Tuesday was supposed to be a pretty normal day for me, but it ended up ending a lot different than expected. After various meetings and practice in the afternoon, I expected to pass the night at home, but at 9:45 some friends invited me to a flamenco show at 10:30, and after 30sec of deciding if it was worth going out (I had a test the next day...) I decided to go. The show was at a bar named La Carboneria, which is a converted coal(?) factory hidden in the depths of Sevilla that hosts poetry readings, Flamenco dancing, classical Spanish music, and artists... so pretty much a gem in the rough. The show we saw consisted of a Spanish guitarist, a singer, and one flamenco dancer, and was amazing! Even though it was decently touristy, I felt like I finally saw something culturally unique to Sevilla!
Early Thursday morning (6:20) we all met to drive to Toledo, where we had plans for a 2-day trip! The main purpose of this was so the art students (thats me) could see the gothic architecture of the Cathedral and some of El Greco's paintings. On the way there, we were able to stop by the windmills in la mancha, made famous by the novel Don Quixote. It was really cool to see these extremely old windmills up close! When we arrived in Toledo we went to the church that houses El Greco's most famous painting, "El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz". I was expecting a decently-sized painting, but it was huge! It was amazing to see it up close! Afterwords we went to an old monastery church to look at the gothic architecture, and this too was amazing. It is crazy that people built these extremely ornate buildings around the 15th century! After the church we had some free time, and so a group of us decided to find these ancient Roman springs.... well this ended very similarly to when we tried to find the concert a few weeks back.... needless to say, we didn't see any springs that day!
After the most glorious night of sleep since I've arrived in Spain (because of the a.c. it was cold enough in my room that I could use a comforter!!!), we ventured off to the famous Cathedral in Toledo, the oldest in the country. The entire thing was absolutely beautiful! From the hand-carved wood seats ta the grand roseton (flower-shaped stained glass), everything was stunning! In one of the back rooms there were other works by El Greco, and Goya as well. After the cathedral we had more free time, which I used to look around the shops. Toledo is known for their swords (and knives for that matter), and so it was really cool to pass all the knife stores! For all you Lord of the Rings fans, there were replicas of many a sword from that movie! Unfortunately I don't have a suitcase, or a wallet, big enough to buy one :/
This Saturday, I spent the morning walking around my neighborhood. Triana is known for its painted tiles, and I really wanted to visit a tile store/factory and look, so I visited 3! In the afternoon, I spent a long time hanging out with some friends from the program and their intercambios. It was really cool being able to spend some time with people my age from Sevilla and not feel like a tourist for once, but an actual Sevillana! This morning some friends and I decided to go to mass in the Cathedral in Sevilla. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, and the service was much different that what I am used to, but I was really glad I went. A highlight would definitely be singing the Latin chants, being accompanied by the grand organ! Simply being able to worship in the largest cathedral in Spain was something truly remarkable!
One thing that has really hit me this week is the idea of enjoying every day you have, and making use of the places around you. This semester I have really made an effort to go out and explore the events of the city and get to know my surroundings. While our trips don't always go as planned, they always end up as good memories. God has blessed me with every day here, and I'm learning to really treat these days as gifts, and this mentality is one that I know I can use more of back in Chicago!
And as always, your prayers and support are highly appreciated! I love hearing from you all back at home (whether by Facebook, Skype, or mail, hint hint....hahaha).... As I get ready to start another week of class, I would really appreciate prayers for endurance. Being surrounded by Spanish all the time is great, but sometimes I just really want to have a class in English, or be able to completely understand what my host family is saying!
Miss you and love you all!
Hasta luego!
Rachel :)
View of the windmills on the hilltop
Just chillin in a windmill :)
View of Toledo from the mountainside surrounding the city
Organ from the Cathedral in Toledo
Painting by El Greco, "El Espolio"
Just your run-of-the-mill sword shop...
No comments:
Post a Comment