Alicante, Fiesta de San Juan

What a crazy, busy time it's been! I just finished another class today so I finally have a little time to breath and catch up. My class was about the Legacy of Al Andalus, and every day we spent an hour an a half in lecture, and another hour and a half visiting sites around the city. I did well on the midterm, and today's final also seemed pretty easy. So I'm mostly waiting to hear how I did on my paper. Thankfully my friend Pablo sat down with me for more than an hour yesterday and helped me correct the grammar!

I've spent almost all of my time the past two weeks either hanging out with Spanish friends or hanging out with with American and Spanish friends. We're all really excited about the soccer Euro Cup, and feel pretty confident that Spain will win this Sunday. It's also boosting the overall spirits of the city, as far as I can tell. Particularly when Spain tried to put the bank bailout plan into practice, things looked pretty grim here and everyone I talked to was sure it was going to fail. They also seem very disheartened with a lack of leadership and accountability (aren't we all?). With this Euro Cup, however people are happy to finally have something to celebrate. Some friends especially appreciated Germany's loss in the game, as a little rebellion against the country that sort of dominates discussions about the Euro. I think this article summarizes pretty well the sorts of discussions I've had about things here http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1218108--is-germany-s-angela-merkel-the-most-pro-european-leader-in-europe

On a lighter topic, I went to Alicante this past weekend with Megan and Mary, two amazing girls that were also in the Camino de Santiago trip (Megan's also the girl I went to Italy with). This time we were visiting our friend Alfonso that we met on the Camino. He welcomed us into his relatively spacious apartment for the annual festival of San Juan that coincides with the much more ancient traditions of celebrating the Summer Solstice. The most basic explanation possible is that every year they pay for artists to make huge sculptures out of wood or polystyrene and plaster and such and then on the night of the solstice it all goes up in flames. Bonfires and parties in the streets, added to a city on the Mediterranean with miles and miles of beaches? Who wouldn't want to check that out?
http://www.xn--espaaescultura-tnb.es/es/fiestas/alicante/hogueras_de_san_juan.html
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/06/24/alicante/1340547164.html

Alfonso was an amazing host, with an extremely rich knowledge of the city and it's history. Not only did we enjoy the festival, but he took us on a walking tour of the city, and learned all sorts of things about Alicante and Valencia in general. A lot of people only know about the southern culture of Spain, with the Flamenco Dancing and the Alhambra etc, but they don't realize how diverse the country itself is in terms of society, geography, climate, history, language, and cultural influences. With Alfonso's professional style tour we were able to get a much better feel for the area and its traditions, including the festival, but also architecture, history, buildings, neighborhoods, music, clothing, and current events.

I also got to spend a little time with some of Karen's best friends from Granada, because one is from Alicante and the other works there during the summer. Every time I have the opportunity to see them I really love it because they are so fun and so kind. I know Karen is really sad to part with everyone here.

(sergi's photo, he's not pictured)

By the end of the weekend I arrived back in Sevilla completely exhausted but quite happy in the knowledge that I have truly made some lifelong friends here in Spain. I know it's only a matter of time before our paths cross again.



Tomorrow we're going to Jerez for a winery tour and wine tasting, and then half a hour away to the beach!
(I finally stop being sunburned and we head to the beach...*sigh*)

Granada (sans Karen)

Last weekend I took an overnight trip with my program to Granada! Unfortunately Karen was in Madrid celebrating the end of her classes here in Spain.

This was my second time visiting the Alhambra, and it actually made a world of difference seeing it this time around. It was a lot less crowded, and more importantly, all the plants were blooming and fragrant, making all of the Alhambra and the Generalife smell like Eden. Somehow this time I really felt charmed and enchanted by my surroundings, whereas last time I was perhaps foolishly disappointed by a certain lack of magical ambiance. This time it was very clear why the Alhambra is one of the most visited places in the world.

This trip I also saw the Cathedral in Granada, where the Reyes Catolicos, Ferdinand and Isabel are buried. They conquered Granada in 1492, and always considered it the greatest achievement to have reunited the Iberian Peninsula under Christian Rule.

The main thing that I loved about my weekend in Granada was spending a great time with different friends that I've made. At first I was really nervous and kinda slow to make friends and warm up to people. This weekend I spent a lot of quality time with some girls from backpacking and some new Spanish friends Ines and Manuel, who came along with CIEE and turned out to be truly wonderful people. After I spent a lot of time with them during the day, I also met up with one of Karen's friends from her whole year, Telemeco. I can assure everyone that Karen met some really great people, and every time I have the opportunity to see one of them they welcome me with open arms. Tele was no exception, and I got to see a new side of Granada that I think most of the American students missed. P.S. If you even glance at the second photo you'll note that I'm still sunburned! Despite my best efforts and numerous applications of sunscreen spf 50 I can't seem to avoid looking like a Guiri lobster girl!

Karen's visit to Sevilla

Karen came!
She was here from Monday to Thursday, and she stayed in my room with the host family. I tried to show her new things that she didn't see when she came here with her own program, so we went to the park, where she was thrilled about grass, and she saw the river from multiple angles. She also came to class with me because my class is a history/architectural history class about the Legacy of Al Andalus (basically southern Spain) and we spend at least an hour and half everyday looking at things in the city. When Karen was here we saw the remains of the Roman Aquaducts, the remains of the oldest Mosque in Sevilla, the Antiquarium and las setas....Basically all the oldest stuff in the city.
We also went out of tapas with some of my friends in the program, as well as my intercambio partner Pablo and my new Tanya, who is originally from Bulgaria moved here with her husband to find work.

I think Karen enjoyed herself but now that she's gone I keep thinking of things we should have squeezed in. For example she thinks Granada has a lot more charm to it, or magic perhaps, in terms of the age of the city and the preservation of the landscape. If only I had shown her the old Judería neighborhood she would have realized Sevilla can be every bit as old and lovely as Granada.

Tomorrow I'm going to Granada for an overnight trip with the program. Everything's included and the hotel has a pool so I think it's going to be a very relaxing time. I won't be able to meet up with Karen however. Her plan now that she's done with the school year is to go to Madrid for the weekend and then to Morocco where she'll be working with a non-profit organization teaching English to students from the slums (Isn't that awesome?). She'll be there  for about a month, at which point we'll both be done, and may end up with a little time to travel together or meet up one last time before returning to the states.

That's the bare minimum of what's going on but I'm alive and well!

Love to all,

Laura

" Con Pan y Vino se Hace el Camino"

The Camino de Santiago is famous for it's food and we ate very well along the way. A lot of what we had was typical of the region of Galicia.
Some of my favorite foods:
Caldo Gallego, local wine, fine bread, grilled meats and vegetables, snails, flan, natillas, tarta de santiago, a sort of rum cheesecake I can't remember the name of, chorizo, and  empanada.
While dinner is the biggest meal in a typical American diet, lunch is the biggest meal here, and our Spanish guides barely even eat dinner when not on the Camino. With the Spanish breakfast, most of us felt a little unprepared for six hours of walking, but the two Spaniards absolutely fine with a light breakfast, always consisting of a croissant or pastry with chocolate inside, fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, and cola cao (hot chocolate).

Two dinners in particular were very special for the group: We had two birthdays in one week, one for Michelle turning 20, and another for Salva turning 40 the next day.

Ribadiso: the sweetest little albergue between fields and forest. Visually charming and entirely relaxing, our third day hostel was definitely a favorite of the group. When we arrived I washed some of my clothes and then waded into the stream while others dipped their feet in and lay down in the sunshine. Then later after we all had showered and out on our clean cloths we walked next door to a restaurant/bar whose sole patrons really are pilgrims staying in the nearby hostels. It was a small clean place with a typical rustic feel to it. We all settled into tables early and began to celebrate our friend's 20th birthday by each offering to buy her a drink (sounds more like a 21st birthday in the states, I know, but when you're on the Camino there's not much else people could really do for her).
This all starts with Mike, who asks for two shots of Melocotón (Peach) liquor. The birthday girl liked this flavor fairly well, so he decided to go back to the bar and ask for two more of the same. at which point this big surly Gallego bartender smirks, turns around, walks away from the bar area to a small freezer labeled for ice cream and pulls out an unlabeled unmarked bottle of bright yellow liquid. He walks back to the bar and proceeds to pour two more shots, pushing them over to Mike. Shocked and a little suspicious, Mike asks in Spanish, "What are these?!" The only response he can get from the guy is "It's traditional here" or "It's very characteristic of here."

The start of a very fun evening.
People were really agreeable towards despite the fact that as a table of 11 we were probably a little too loud. However the best part of the evening was still to come, as unbeknownst to everyone save myself and another student, our teachers had gone out of their way sneak out earlier and buy a tarta de santiago (cake), candles, and bottle of orujo (the herb liquor) that they carried in their backpacks all day so that after dinner they give her a real surprise and treat. Everyone was so nice, and this girl is such a sweetheart it really felt like a perfect evening for me.

After all of this celebrating Salva quietly revealed to our end of the table that his birthday is in fact the following day, so we all immediately chided him for not having mentioned it sooner...and then secretly plotted to give him is own unique birthday celebration. After all he was turning 40, which is a significant year, and he was spending his birthday with us, far from his parents wife, and children.

And it's a good thing we planned something, because for whatever reason, everyone struggled with the fourth day. Morale was down, I supposed you could say. People talked less, walked slower, felt their sore muscles more. Just as we were getting to the hostel it started raining steadily.

After we eat and shower there's usually downtime where people do there own thing. Salva promptly fell asleep while the rest of us wandered through the one street town in search of appropriate gifts. We ended up with some cheesy souvenirs of sorts but they were meaningful enough given that the entire reason for knowing each other is this class and this trip. We also bought an ice cream cake (what he ordered for dessert if available), saved the candles from before, and four balloons. Finally we made a card using some sketchbook paper and different pens I had brought along. All of this to be presented at Dinner.

Salva with his Birthday gifts (Not my photo originally)

The first phase of the operation happened when Salva excused himself to use the restroom, and students immediately brought balloons out from their pockets, blew them up, and set them around his seat, just in time for him to come back to our pleasant surprise! He thanked us profusely and sat down thinking that was the end of it all. I think by the time the cake and candles and card and gifts came around he was truly touched. Alfonso said he wanted to spend his 40th with us too.

Camino de Santiago Overall

Last Friday we left Sevilla and drove for about 10 hours up to Sarria in Galicia, where we started our first night of backpacking from hostel to hostel. Five days later we arrived in Santiago de Compostela, the village of the stars.

It's hard to begin to explain how amazing I think this experience was. The Camino de Santiago is a centuries old route with centuries of symbolism, stories, miracles, and traditions, and being a part of that community for a few days was really beautiful.

The northern countryside was so different from Southern Spain. Everywhere you look there are rolling hills and a million different shades of green. The terrain was not very difficult, and the weather was mostly the perfect cool temperature with a slight breeze. 

I think for the remainder of this blog about the Week of Backpacking I'll divide it into categories...

Graham
Our first night was spent in Sarria, a beautiful town with conch shell bridges and trees and pretty little creek. The real point of interest about Sarria however is that we went out to eat our first Peregrino meal, and who did we run into but Graham Spanier, who until recently was the President of Penn State University. since 7 of the 11 people in our group were Penn Staters there was quite a commotion as they called out to get President Spanier's attention. Apparently he'd been biking the Camino starting in Leon (quite an achievement) along with some other PSU Faculty Members. He seemed happy enough to meet all of us, as well as other members of our group. We even got a good number of photos together. At the same time, our Spanish professor Salva was incredibly confused that we'd run into someone we knew almost as soon as we stepped off the bus, but we explained things fairly well, and his English is good enough that he was able to joke around with Spanier as well. Such a coincidence!

The most meaningful thing on the Way of Saint James: People
We usually walked for about 6 hours a day, with a 15 to 20 minute stop halfway for a snack and bathroom break. Since most of the Camino in Galicia goes through countryside (little farms, and tiny villages) we were never far from settlements and waystations. As you walk you can vary your pace and meet up with people from all over the world. Some favorites of mine were a married  Dutch couple who walked from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We talked things like Family, Art, our homes, and their childhoods. I asked what their favorite part of the Camino was, and they said the Pyrenees were amazing. I told them my last name apparently comes from Leiden Holland and they said it was a very beautiful place to go. This is the sort of small exchange that happens all along the way. I also spoke with Irishmen, Spaniards, Italians, Germans, French....Some travelers from Korea didn't seem to speak much English or Spanish but every day when we passed them along the way they'd enthusiastically wave with both arms and embrace us. The one term everyone knows on the Camino is "Buen Camino" and these Korean Peregrinos said it with so much enthusiasm I don't think anyone in Galicia could have meant it more sincerely.

Once we stopped and spoke with some Americans who were curious about the nature of a college course that goes backpacking on the Camino; it's certainly not a common occurrence. They asked if the class really helped us get more out of the Camino, and without hesitation, the three of us present said we had learned so much already. I told them I couldn't hear a rooster without thinking about the Miracle of the Gallo and the Gallina that we learned about, and then, since they had not heard of this miracle from the Camino, we were able to translate the Spanish version of the story that we had heard and pass it on to others. When we ran into them again in Santiago they told us that thanks to our story they too had found the roosters more significant, and thanked us again for passing it on. In such a small way, we made an impact in their lives that bettered the rest of their experience.

On the Camino de Santiago you can't help but feel closer to humanity. It has nothing to do with the fact in that in albergues you shower in public stalls and sleep in room with at least 10 other people (some girls on our trip found that particularly gruesome). It's that along the walk you make so many connections, whether fleeting like ours, or life altering, like so many people that start the Camino to walk alone and end up finding their spouses or new best friends. All along the way there are messages of encouragement and promises from one pilgrim to another, much like the one I posed by: "Laura, I'm waiting for you in Portomarrin." Others were declarations of love, promises, thank yous'....Everything about the connections made with other pilgrims that you happened to walk a while with. In a way it's a microcosm for life, in that there will always be people you meet and instantly get along with, and others that only pass through your life briefly but have an influence nonetheless. The huge difference here is that when you're backpacking everything superficial is stripped away from your life. There's no class on the Camino, only pilgrims. The entirety of one's belongings must fit on your back. Age also plays less of a factor on the Camino. I spoke with retired people and smiled as children filed along with their parents.

I can call Salva and Alfonso our professors, and it's true that they led us and organized everything, and told us all sorts of interesting information throughout the course and the journey, but in the end we were all one group traveling together. They didn't have the status of "professors," but  it'd be impossible to find a class that has more respect for their teachers. Perhaps a result of hours and hours of walking, or sitting down together three meals a day for a week. In such a short amount of time they gained as much respect from me as the best studio professors and faculty in Art Education that I've known for several years now. Once we set out in  Galicia we weren't so much a class as a group of friends trying our best.

I think a lot of people have said that the Camino de Santiago brings people together, on a personal and societal level. All I can say is I wholeheartedly agree, and as a result I feel closer to Spain and closer the World.