This past week has been great. Mondays are always busy with school, institute, and FHE, but they are always great days. My institute teacher Hermano Faustino Lopez is great. He has such a great spirit about him and I have learned so much about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here in Spain. Wednesday I went to Madrid and did one of our assigned walks of the city. I just love walking around Madrid; it is such a beautiful and lively city! Afterwards Sarah, Rachel, and I took the metro to Plaza de España where the ticket office for el teatro is located. We bought tickets to see Bella y la Bestia this next Thursday and I can’t wait! I am so excited to see this play and even better that it is in Spanish. Thursday I discovered a new area behind the
apartments where I live, there is a nice trail by a small river an
d there were lots of runners out. I had the most amazing run, it was sunny and after a few minutes I was just in a tank top and shorts, the weather was great. Ana and I had some great talks this week. I should really write my thoughts down each day because I am not remembering all of the details; I will start that next week. A little just about the routine, we wake up a little before eight and get ready and then eat two tostadas with jam and usually an apple with Ana and then head off to school. Monday and Wednesday I have my two history classes from 9:00-10:15 and then from 12:30-1:45 and then Tuesday Thursday I have Spanish from 9:00-11:00. I usually exercise in between class or after and then we have lunch around 2:30. Lunch is always yummy, Ana is a great cook. Sometimes it is a little fried for my liking, but it’s all good. She makes really yummy albondigas, vegetable dishes which I can’t quite explain but they are good, stuffed avocados, and sometimes we are blessed with crepes for breakfast or dessert. She also makes us her signature postre de la casa sometimes which is fruit with leche condensada, muy rica. The Spaniards are not too big into dessert, which took awhile for me to adjust to, but my frozen yogurt and cookie dough withdrawals have subsided. I am loving life here in Spain and especially living here with Ana. We have become great friends and just love talking and learning from her.
I had no idea what to expect when we went to El Valle de los Caidos yesterday and it ended up being a very neat experience. It is supposed to be a memorial to those who died on both sides during the Spanish Civil War, yet after visiting the site it becomes very clear that it is really glorifying General Franco and his followers. There is a 150 meter cross, the largest cross in the world, on top of the basilica and you can see it several miles away. The basilica is the second largest in the world, carved out of the side of a mountain and designed in the shape of a cross. As you enter the building the immensity of overwhelms you. The architecture was designed to make one feel small and insignificant, to cause the individual to be in awe of the all powerful Catholic Church. Mass had just started when we arrived and so as we walked down the long hallway towards the chapel the music was echoing throughout the building. Along the sides of the basilica were gigantic statues of men wearing cloaks with their heads bowed, and they gave me a very eerie feeling. Halfway through the mass a bell rang and then all of a sudden the lights turned off and the only thing lit up was Christ on the cross, which stood in the middle of the sacrament table where the priests were blessing the sacrament. Since the basilica is carved into a mountain there are no windows for sunlight to come in and when all of the lights turned off it was pure darkness except for the glowing Jesus. Mass ended shortly after and we were able to view the chapel after the priests left. General Franco’s grave lies right behind the sacrament table, which seems so contradictory to me. Here is a man who is responsible for thousands of deaths of innocent people, yet his body lies right behind the figure of Christ. Unlike the peaceful carvings in the choir seats of the cathedrals we have visited, the choir seats in the basilica were engraved with scenes of killing, war, and human suppression. Also outside of the basilica there are ten sets of ten stairs leading up to the entrance, symbolizing the Ten Commandments. This also seems quite contradictory to me because one of those commandments is “Thou shalt not kill.” It is hard for me to think of this basilica as a holy place of worship when there are 40,000 graves of fallen soldiers just outside of its walls. I have talked to Ana about her thoughts about Franco and she thinks terribly of him and as I have talked with other students in the group, most of their parents feel the same way. There is a large number of people that are currently demanding the removal of the fascist insignia on the outside of the building as well as Franco’s grave so that the memorial can serve as a remembrance for both sides of the war, but nothing has been done so far. Although El Valle de los Caidos is very controversial, I thought it was very interesting to visit and I am anxious to learn more about General Franco and the Spanish Civil War very shortly in History 390.
After El Valle de los Caidos we went to visit El Escorial, the palace of King Phillip II, whom we have been reading about for the past week and half. It was neat being able to tour his humongous home, see the bed he slept in, the library he read in, and the gardens he walked around in when he was stressed with the endless paperwork of his vast kingdom. Knowing so much about him going into El Escorial helped me to appreciate and better understand his life and the great power he held during his reign. My favorite part of his mansion is the library. He was a book fanatic and very intelligent. King Phillip II collected thousands of books and could tell when one was missing or out of place! I also enjoyed one of the hallways on the first floor where the walls were lined with paintings of the life of Christ beginning with his birth, continuing with the stories we know about his life and then ending with his death and resurrection. King Phillip II was a very religious man; he even had his bedroom built above the basilica so that he could hear mass from his bed when he was feeling too ill to attend. I loved our trip yesterday, I learned so much and at the same time had such a great day.
Amy and I got home around eight and we had a delicious meal with Ana and then we were off for movie night at Sarah and Erika’s house. We decided we wanted to make ice cream sundaes, so different people brought different toppings and we made a delicious treat. We watched No Reservations on Emily’s ordenador, the moving wasn’t that great, but we just had a great time laughing at it. Today we walk and Ana had made crepes, so amazing! That woman is an angel. Afterwards we went to the other Alcalá campus where there are sports facilities. We got there about a half an hour before the group so that we could run the track and then afterwards I played in the basketball tournament that we had organized. There were six teams and we played four on four half court. It was so much fun; it had been way too long since I had played basketball! Our team got second place with was great and it just felt so good to be playing out in the sun. Afterwards I came home, did some homework, ate a delicious almuerzo and then was off to Madrid to study with a group in the beautiful Buen Retiro Park. We have our Spanish midterm this week and we all got together to study. We had a good study session outside, the park was full of people and street musicians and the lake was full of paddle boats. I love my life.
apartments where I live, there is a nice trail by a small river an
d there were lots of runners out. I had the most amazing run, it was sunny and after a few minutes I was just in a tank top and shorts, the weather was great. Ana and I had some great talks this week. I should really write my thoughts down each day because I am not remembering all of the details; I will start that next week. A little just about the routine, we wake up a little before eight and get ready and then eat two tostadas with jam and usually an apple with Ana and then head off to school. Monday and Wednesday I have my two history classes from 9:00-10:15 and then from 12:30-1:45 and then Tuesday Thursday I have Spanish from 9:00-11:00. I usually exercise in between class or after and then we have lunch around 2:30. Lunch is always yummy, Ana is a great cook. Sometimes it is a little fried for my liking, but it’s all good. She makes really yummy albondigas, vegetable dishes which I can’t quite explain but they are good, stuffed avocados, and sometimes we are blessed with crepes for breakfast or dessert. She also makes us her signature postre de la casa sometimes which is fruit with leche condensada, muy rica. The Spaniards are not too big into dessert, which took awhile for me to adjust to, but my frozen yogurt and cookie dough withdrawals have subsided. I am loving life here in Spain and especially living here with Ana. We have become great friends and just love talking and learning from her.I had no idea what to expect when we went to El Valle de los Caidos yesterday and it ended up being a very neat experience. It is supposed to be a memorial to those who died on both sides during the Spanish Civil War, yet after visiting the site it becomes very clear that it is really glorifying General Franco and his followers. There is a 150 meter cross, the largest cross in the world, on top of the basilica and you can see it several miles away. The basilica is the second largest in the world, carved out of the side of a mountain and designed in the shape of a cross. As you enter the building the immensity of overwhelms you. The architecture was designed to make one feel small and insignificant, to cause the individual to be in awe of the all powerful Catholic Church. Mass had just started when we arrived and so as we walked down the long hallway towards the chapel the music was echoing throughout the building. Along the sides of the basilica were gigantic statues of men wearing cloaks with their heads bowed, and they gave me a very eerie feeling. Halfway through the mass a bell rang and then all of a sudden the lights turned off and the only thing lit up was Christ on the cross, which stood in the middle of the sacrament table where the priests were blessing the sacrament. Since the basilica is carved into a mountain there are no windows for sunlight to come in and when all of the lights turned off it was pure darkness except for the glowing Jesus. Mass ended shortly after and we were able to view the chapel after the priests left. General Franco’s grave lies right behind the sacrament table, which seems so contradictory to me. Here is a man who is responsible for thousands of deaths of innocent people, yet his body lies right behind the figure of Christ. Unlike the peaceful carvings in the choir seats of the cathedrals we have visited, the choir seats in the basilica were engraved with scenes of killing, war, and human suppression. Also outside of the basilica there are ten sets of ten stairs leading up to the entrance, symbolizing the Ten Commandments. This also seems quite contradictory to me because one of those commandments is “Thou shalt not kill.” It is hard for me to think of this basilica as a holy place of worship when there are 40,000 graves of fallen soldiers just outside of its walls. I have talked to Ana about her thoughts about Franco and she thinks terribly of him and as I have talked with other students in the group, most of their parents feel the same way. There is a large number of people that are currently demanding the removal of the fascist insignia on the outside of the building as well as Franco’s grave so that the memorial can serve as a remembrance for both sides of the war, but nothing has been done so far. Although El Valle de los Caidos is very controversial, I thought it was very interesting to visit and I am anxious to learn more about General Franco and the Spanish Civil War very shortly in History 390.
After El Valle de los Caidos we went to visit El Escorial, the palace of King Phillip II, whom we have been reading about for the past week and half. It was neat being able to tour his humongous home, see the bed he slept in, the library he read in, and the gardens he walked around in when he was stressed with the endless paperwork of his vast kingdom. Knowing so much about him going into El Escorial helped me to appreciate and better understand his life and the great power he held during his reign. My favorite part of his mansion is the library. He was a book fanatic and very intelligent. King Phillip II collected thousands of books and could tell when one was missing or out of place! I also enjoyed one of the hallways on the first floor where the walls were lined with paintings of the life of Christ beginning with his birth, continuing with the stories we know about his life and then ending with his death and resurrection. King Phillip II was a very religious man; he even had his bedroom built above the basilica so that he could hear mass from his bed when he was feeling too ill to attend. I loved our trip yesterday, I learned so much and at the same time had such a great day.
Amy and I got home around eight and we had a delicious meal with Ana and then we were off for movie night at Sarah and Erika’s house. We decided we wanted to make ice cream sundaes, so different people brought different toppings and we made a delicious treat. We watched No Reservations on Emily’s ordenador, the moving wasn’t that great, but we just had a great time laughing at it. Today we walk and Ana had made crepes, so amazing! That woman is an angel. Afterwards we went to the other Alcalá campus where there are sports facilities. We got there about a half an hour before the group so that we could run the track and then afterwards I played in the basketball tournament that we had organized. There were six teams and we played four on four half court. It was so much fun; it had been way too long since I had played basketball! Our team got second place with was great and it just felt so good to be playing out in the sun. Afterwards I came home, did some homework, ate a delicious almuerzo and then was off to Madrid to study with a group in the beautiful Buen Retiro Park. We have our Spanish midterm this week and we all got together to study. We had a good study session outside, the park was full of people and street musicians and the lake was full of paddle boats. I love my life.
1 comentario:
Erin,
Loved reading about your life in Spain! Your joy is contagious - keep writing!
Love from Lodi, Karen
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