Where SoCal meets Dubai

I'll jump right in without taking a breath. Sometimes that's the only option when the clock is ticking. Hectic, happy month, finally getting the chance to reflect on it. Here's what it has involved.

The Holy Week Experience: Malaga
I spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Holy Week in Malaga, watching the processions, sensing the solemnity, and having fun with Miriam, Johnnie, Julian, and some friends we met at the hostel. High/lowlights:

• Waiting outside on the somewhat nasty beach, waiting for the hostel to open, as the sun came up over Costa del Sol. Despite the cold, and wishes that I had organized arrival time better, it was beautiful. Picture to the right!
• Processions:
• The absolute power and faith expressed in the music, parading, faces.
• The sheer luxury of the floats: Madonna made of porcelain and swallowed by gold candles, Jesus' pearl face. Blurry picture of Madonna float hoisted by 200 men.
• The moment after the parade pause when the men shove their shoulders under the wood planks and hoist the several-ton float into the air, reminding me of a swinging chandelier.
• The occasional laughter, drunk group of adolescent men, or shirtless participant... reminding me we were still in Spain on a Thursday/Friday night!
• Flamenco: "the soul of the Spanish south," says my guidebook. very true. it was passionate and terrifying and fantastic and colorful and overdone. the dancers' lightspeed heels and drummer's knotted fingers.
• Bullfight: too squeamish and poor to see one in person, I watched parts of a bullfight from a mountainside in Malaga. close enough for me!

Soul of Andalucia: Sevilla
From Malaga, we went back to Sevilla, the capital of Andalucia, where we spent three days seeing everything. The Cathedral/Giralda, Plaza de Espana (where the walls are made entirely of individually painted mosaic tiles)...one of my favs was riding a 4-person Flinstone's bike through Parque de Maria Luisa. I saw Mikayla for a couple hours (love that girl), and also ate helado with Mary Beth Kime, who I had always wanted to get to know better.
Met some interesting people:
Rheut (nickname Mu) from Thailand, who I fell in love with almost immediately due to how much I miss Earm (nickname Chutima), my Thai exchange sister. He, like all Thai people I have met, struck me as smiley, open, peaceful, and he has facebook! I love (mostly) all things Thai! And will probably end up there one day...
Danielle from Washington DC, who is spending the semester in Scotland, but vacationing in Spain. We walked through Plaza de Espana together. I burnt her pasta (yeah, i know, how does that happen) and still haven't forgiven myself.
August, the curly-haired 20-year-old magician from Kansas, vacationing in Spain. He had a great time showing me card and rope tricks.

Mezquita Land: Cordoba
From there, Johnnie/Julian headed off to Tarifa (the southernmost point of Spain), while I went to Cordoba, a small but intriguing Moorish city, famous for La Mezquita. Two highlights:
1. La Mezquita, where hundreds of Moorish arches surround a golden capilla (chapel), the epitome of Mudejar (Christian-Islam mix art) architecture. It
blew me away.
2. A night walking around Cordoba with Claudio from Austria, Sebastian from Chile, Suzie the Kiwi and Allison the Aussie.

Where SoCal Meets Dubai: Granada
Having exhausted quaint Cordoba, I took a two-hour bus to Granada, which my guidebook told me was the ONE city everyone has to visit in Spain. I whole-heartedly agree. I had only two days in Granada and ache for more. Highlights:
Albaycin: the neighborhood, a reasonably far walk from all the city action, where I stayed. it's the arabic quarter of the city, full of white walls and cobblestones and olive trees and rainbow-colored flowers, but also of Arabic, wide-eyed children, Catholic churches, tea shops, and hippies.
The "ambiente" (vibe): walking down from my neighborhood, i passed thirty or more shops full of 3 euro scarves, elaborate vases, the smell of herbal tea...all boasting Arabic names and vendors. I remember feeling incredibly excited for Lebanon all of a sudden.

La Alhambra: the most beautiful building in Spain, called the "Taj Mahal of Europe." words don't work here. check out my pictures. the one thing i will say is that every wall was delicately carved with porcelain and pearl Arabic script, which I whole-heartedly gobbled up. I wish I could get married there.
Stay tuned.

Between Andalucia

I'm back from Andalucia for three days of class; I leave for Barcelona in less than 48 hours. So pardon me for not describing all my travels quite yet. In the meantime, keep up with what's going on in my neck of the woods:

Martitegi, leader of the Basque separatist terrorist organization ETA, captured in France

Heather-ana Jones

Woke up the morning of April 6(Candy Mandy's--my flatmate's--birthday, I might add) feeling like someone had once more stuffed a mucus hose into my nasal cavity. Had no desire to get up. Then remembered I was to leave for Andalucia in two days, and had no choice but to get up...so much to do/think about! I am of course looking forward to two weeks in the South and weekends in Barcelona, Portugal, Paris, Madrid and Zaragoza, but right now I want to curl into a hole and hide from work.
Our web page design for Taller de Escritura Multimedia, for example, is due the day we get back from vacation. A week later I have a major report due on the interplay of demographics, territory, and the environment. Then I worry about transportation to Barcelona, Paris, ya know...then flight tickets to Beirut and then to LA when SINARC has ended. So much to do, and it doesn't feel very good to do all of it right now while I'm sick. Procrastination and I need to stop hanging out so much.
In spite of all this, I am in a place of real consolation lately. First of all, yesterday and today are my last two days of actual surf class. Yesterday, we had a regimented, somewhat feminine surf monitor named Inigo who got me closer to standing up on that darn board than I've ever been before. Nearly standing up fully was such a rush. It's like a roller coaster, only more fun, because the speed and power are natural, and flow through your body. As I fell off I screamed, but out of excitement. I can't wait to get back out there today.
Also, today I had a few minutes alone in my piso while Mandy was out celebrating to do whatever I wanted. I like being alone in a habitation every once in a while...I danced to Sing,Sing,Sing and practiced the steps of standing up on a surfboard. Suddenly my head cleared and I felt invigorated. Wow, this exercise thing can be cool! Just don't ask me to run. Or shoot baskets. Or throw American footballs.
Last night I also finalized my trip to Granada and Cordoba. Olga from Germany and I were going to meet up in Granada, and yesterday she sent me the link to buy tickets to the Alhambra, the Moorish castle known as the most beautiful building in Spain. Turns out the day I planned on going, the 16 of April, was already completely full...they only permit 8100 entries a day. So I re-booked hostels to be able to enter on Saturday the 18. I will be entering the most beautiful building in Spain at 2:30pm on Saturday the 18!
I leave tomorrow at 3pm with Johnnie from Holland and Julian from Germany to go to Madrid, where we will meet my flatmate Miriam, and then head to Malaga together. You won't hear from me until at least the 21st of April, so it's hasta luego for now. Wherever life takes you, I hope you dance!
Working on trips to New York/Ghana, grad school in London

Senior Year Microcosm

Last night was my last party night in San Sebastian for a "long time," though I know that phrase is incredibly relative. On Wednesday this week, I will return to Andalucía for Holy Week (Semana Santa)...then after that, the other travel fun begins. Here is mas o menos mi itinerario:
Wednesday 04/08: To Málaga (via Madrid) on bus
Thursday 04/09-11: Spend Semana Santa in Málaga
Easter Sunday 04/12-15: To Sevilla
Wednesday 04/15-17: To Granada
Friday 04/17-19: To Córdoba
I need to stress the importance of this situation. Other than (perhaps Rome), the Spanish south is the most sought-after spot for Semana Santa. Spain becomes a heart beating with the lament and joy of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I have heard Sevilla is virtually inaccessible during the week because the processions (called pasos) go down every street. Málaga, where I will spenfd the deepest days of Holy Week, has the longest processions in the world.
Holy Week and Easter are coming at an ideal time. As I have said, San Sebastián and the Erasmus people here have definitely captured my heart. I will miss the friends I have made here during my two weeks. But I itch for more, for exploring the world around me that has been waiting. Once more, it hits me. You're in Europe! Think of what you could do!
Not that it's bad to want to go dancing every night, or go to a bar with silly Swedes and Germans, but it's time I expanded my horizons. And SanSe will be waiting (I hope. Wow, the irony of a meteor or tidal wave destroying this place while I'm gone). But it won't be waiting for long...:(. That's why I've titled this post "senior year microcosm." It's like Semana Santa and the weeks proceeding will be a study abroad of study abroad...I will be leaving my "home" in the Spanish north to see the world, but will be very happy to be back. The problem is, only a month-and-a-half after I get back, study abroad goes away, and I head to Lebanon, and then to LMU. Then only a few months after that, college goes away, and I head for the real world #$%^!! It appears I will be getting a lot of practice at goodbyes. I. Hate. Those.
At Altxerri Jazz Bar last night, down the street from mi piso, the German sweetie-pie Inga and I found ourselves talking about the end of study abroad, and what it means to be relatively near the end, or at least approaching the end. I began to tear up. I am going to really, really cry when I have to leave this place and these people...it's just like college; the reason you love it so much is that it's finite. Like life, I suppose.
Another reason Semana Santa is coming at a good time...so that I don't feel like reality has slapped me in the face on the day I'm set to jet off for Lebanon, I need to put this experience in perspective. To not rely on parties and dancing and cute accents to keep me happy...to become more reflective and less GO. And from what I have heard, you have no choice in southern Spain during Holy Week but to become introspective, even solemn. I may not call myself Catholic anymore, but I still feel the weight of the coming week pressing on my heart. For once this semester, I will give myself all the rest and thought I need.
Things don't die down for me after Semana Santa:
Monday 04/20: Meghan Fitch will be stopping in SanSe. She's doing an internship in London Parliament and (very wisely) decided to spend part of her vacation in Spain.
04/21-23: brief back-to-class break
Thursday 04/23-26: Barcelona with Elisabeth Randall, now studying in Strasbourg, France.
05/01-02 OR 08-09: Madrid: hanging with Brooke/Jordan and friends, but also hopefully seeing un partido de fútbol.
05/14-19: Portugal with Heather from New York, Katrine from Denmark, Sonja from Germany. Also, meeting Father Rui the Portuguese Jesuit in Porto. Apparently he's flying in to his hometown, Porto, on the 18th, which is, by chance (or more than that), one of the days I will be in Portugal!
05/21-24: PARIS
There's a lot more I want to do: go to the party island Ibiza, an island off the east coast of Spain. Walk in Ignatius' enroute to Santiago de Compostela. See the miraculous spring at Lourdes. But you can't do it all, and I think, by then, that I will want to rest awhile with my Erasmus friends :)
So there's my next month-and-a-half. I am bittersweet about it...just as I was to come to Spain. But I have the deep-down feeling that I will be so much more than thankful that I did it in the end. Oh world, I love you. A lot. Thank you.