Happy dia de andaluz

Today is a regional holiday for all of Andalusia and everything is closed. There are performers and vendors out on the street and all the families are walking around. I walked to the beach which is a beautiful walk clear across the town and I got to see all kinds of neat things.

This is my walk to the beach: http://maps.google.es/maps?q=M%C3%A1laga,+Spain&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title
Hostal Cisneros is right across from out apartment. It is in some of my pictures from my balcony and out the window.

This was a group of dancers putting on a suspension show. Here they are being suspended by a crane on the back of a very sturdy truck in a circular formation holding on to one another`s ankles. They are also quite a distance up in the air. This is taking place at one of the bridge platforms by my house.


This is the Teatro Cervantes. Lots of cool performances come here. Patti Smith is coming here in May. The most common shows to see here are theatrical performances and ballets.


These are all the kitties sitting on my bed and Bastisse, my favorite is the one posing. Note the crappy rental phone next to him. It is a model probably older than the first phone I got in high school. I think the phones from back then must have been built with a special kind of durability.



This is Bastisse again sitting outside the window. Today was the most warm and sunny day we`ve had so far. It is really a treat to not have school today.


This was my view from the beach. The sand is dark and grainy and there are lots of smooth rocks on the beach that the boys collect to skip in the water. There are only tiny waves, it is relatively calm.



So that has been my day and now I am going to rest and do some good work before dinner and maybe an evening activity later on. In the square next to where we live, Plaza de la Constitución, men have been setting up a stage and surround seating all day. It is funny how slowly they do it, they sort of work in the midst of all of the festival activities and as it gets closer to the evening more people show up to help put it up, but even now only the metal frame has been put together. On a day like today, I think that the town just comes together and helps out little by little so that no one has to really go to work today.

¡Hasta luego!
xoxoxo Mamie

Tonight I went by myself (I am very proud of that) to the Museo del Patrimonio Municipal for a poetry reading by Clara Janès.
You can read about her here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Jan%C3%A9s
I know wiki is a bad source at times but its a pretty good summary and one of the better ones I could find in English.



Up behind this museum is the fortress alcazaba and right before you arrive at the museum there is a really cool tunnel that goes straight under the fortress. On a nice day I will get a good picture of the tunnel with the fortress on top.
The reading was wonderful-- one of the best things I`ve gotten to do here in Spain and I will definitely go back for other readings.
Tonight I am going to organize my notes some more and first thing tomorrow I need to buy some folders. It is hard to keep track of the amount of handouts we get in class. In my literature class we are reading an epic poem called Mio CID. It is sort of a much more readable version, like the children`s version of Beowulf or something. I don`t really like it but I also didn`t ever really like Beowulf. In my art class we are learning a lot of Spanish history, right now focusing on the time that Spain was inhabited by the Visigoths and we are discussing the structures of the early Visigoth churches. In my Latin America class we are discussing things like the uses of corn, or Maize, rather, and the ancient <> which is a game that was spiritual, calling upon the gods to determine the winner by making the ball touch the ground or making a player miss the ball (that is how they understood it). It is a lot like volleyball but without the net in the middle. The losers of the game were often sent off to be human sacrifices. I see this mentality in American football culture today. Maybe this is where its roots come from.

UMA para extranjeros

Yes, it looks a lot like a jail. But it is actually a very nice building inside. The bars are to protect us foreigners from the little bit of hostility that exists outside and around Spain.




This is the view across from school. A park and behind that a mall called Euroski.


This is meee in class with my American classmates gearing up for our class on Spanish women of the 20th and 21st century.



And this here, is our lovely teacher antonio.


And here is a view of Màlaga from the top of el alcazaba I left out before.



¡I hope this little tour was enjoyable!

And the score is...Spain: 0 Mamie:1

So on Monday, I officially conquered Spain. Granted, it was in my own way, but I know my mom of all people will be very proud to hear that I went to a beauty salon here, and in Spanish, negociated a leg, bikini, and eyebrow wax for 27 Euro. Then, the part she should be most proud of is that I actually went through with all of it. Just under 3 hours of torture for the sake of beauty. And now I am oh soo smooth. Tonight, before I get to work on some major homework, I will post some pictures about my school and its surroundings.



This is the current theme of Corte Ingles, the market where I can go and find just about anything I am looking for baking-wise and pertaining to cosmetics and even music and video. The prices are in the middle but everything is always the best quality.


This is the entrance to the ISA office. My roommate is at the door.


This is the marina which is right down the street from me. It is the meeting point when we go on group tours around Màlaga.


This is the tunnel that you walk through to get to the elevator that takes you up to the highest point of the Alcazaba-- the muslim palace still intact in Malaga. It is fortified in three levels so the elevator really brings you up high. When the Alcazaba was in function, it was a fortified port right up against the ocean. Now, Màlaga has been extended and this mesquita no longer is on the edge of the shore.



That hole in the ground there is the jail in the Alcazaba. Just like the one Jennifer Conley gets thrown down in The Labyrinth.

My first day of electives

Right now, I am on a break from my classes. Around noon I have over an hour to sit and relax between my Art class and Latin American History class. It is a nice time to have a break but I am not really up for going outside because ever since yesterday it has been raining. Rain here, is very rare, and when it comes, it comes for a long time without end. I think it should stop by Wednsday, that is my hope (and the forecast). We need rain so that we can drink more water out of the tap and take longer showers. I can´t wait to see how green everything will be next week. This weekend I took a trip to Cordoba but alas, I forgot my camera. I will get pictures from my classmates or my roommate eventually, but for now I have a picture Jess sent me of the two of us together. It was really amazing to see her this weekend because we are both sort of having similar challenges, what with being the outcast liberal art students and wanting to not do things in large groups of Americans and just having a hard time with other people not relating to us. She is going to visit me next weekend while my roommate is in Barcelona. I asked Victoria if this would be alright and she is very excited to have one of my friends around for the weekend.

My first class today was Literatura Español with a professor named Antonio. He is very guapo like Antonio Banderes although I have the notion that he is also very much like Jack from Will and Grace. Nonetheless, we hit it off right away. The next professor I have is for Art and her name is Christina. She also was the woman who gave us our tour of the Alcazaba and she remembered me right away. I am thrilled to have her as a teacher. She came in today wearing an Orange sweater, orange glasses, stripped knee-highs, horse-back riding boots and brown shorts. She is very petite and stylish with curly hair like Mimi from Rent. I think that these teachers will find ways to keep things engaging for me, right away they asked me about my tastes and looked very thoughtful as I began explaining.

Also, I have begun a translation project with Victoria because she has never had her poetry translated into english. She is widely read here, especially in honors level high school classes. After I read all of her work I am going to attempt a few translations and she is going to guide me, as she is also an English teacher. Our challenge together is going to be the change from Spanish, to her conception of English from London to my American and hopefully, very expressive English. Eventually, maybe I can post the work I do with her translations on this blog.

I am thrilled that there are people reading this besides Katie, I feel like I am learning a lot here and am trying to summarize these struggles and concerns here to organize them for myself and also to show what happens when someone like me goes abroad for the first time-- what to expect maybe.

Anyhow, I am going to quit hogging the computer. ¡Hasta luego!

xoxoxoxox

Mamie

Oh NJ, nothing is the same as you.

Up since 5 AM working and still going...
I have class in a little while, but I couldn't sleep and thought of some good things to write about for a while in between studying all my different forms of the past tense.
Here are some fun ones!


These are the pretty views from out my balcony around 2 PM in the afternoon.



You will notice the city looks kind of dead, that's because it's siesta.


The cuties waiting for nap time.


This is the shop on the corner that recomends where I should take my dance classes. I'm trying something new just about every week. Also, Sangria is only 1 Euro and it comes with a funny dress or hat on it.



Here we have the "river". Malaga, or all of Spain really, is in a drought. These fountains are what comes up from the beach, but this used to be a very long river. The river is right next to our street, so if I ever get lost I just look for the river and follow it home.

More of the green river.

This is a cool building on the opposite corner of my street under construction.



Me and Bastise-- my great love here in Spain.


Contrarily, this is Jonnaton and Mauw (the dog) they are sweedish and both very friendly.


What a great specimen of an animal.

Just got out of class and I am going today to do some writing during siesta time around the city parks and such. I will take some good photos there. Just so that everyone knows, Spanish toothpaste is super super good. The other day, Victoria showed me a place to get lactose-free sorbet. Ice cream, or desserts in general, are much prettier here, though I am eating much fewer of them here because they are a little bit too sweet for me at times, and I don't want to get cavities. The best thing to eat to supress the habitual noon-time American hunger is churros y chocolate. They aren't the churros we get in the US, not so sugar coated, but the chocolate is close to drinkable, but you complement the churro with it by using it as a "salsa". I have yet to come across Mexican food here, but one of my teachers told me about a place that sounds pretty good. She said that Mexican food here would be like "Mexican-lite" for us. Salsa, on the other hand, is what they call everything, from churro chocolate to salad dressing to ketchup.

My point being,
never, never ask for chips and salsa. Who knows what you will get.
¡Hasta luego!

Eye candy numero uno

So I have finally gotten some photo capabilities and I would love to show everyone what's around me. First of all, my roommate:
How bonita, si? (on the left making the cute face and weird hand.)

The fog and sights on the way to Málaga:


Next we have some photos of my dwellings:

Those are my snuggle buddies sitting on my bed. As you can see the floor is tiled with all kinds of patterns and it is cold, but we are comfey. Between my bed and Nichole's we have a door that leads out to a tiny balcony. If a romeo were to want to, he could call up to us from the street. We hear the garbage trucks outside every morning around 3 AM.



This is Franco's church, now called Valle de los caidos. He is burried there and even today people go to hear mass there. I must say, the inside of the church itself is gorgeous... but does not put me in a happy mood. It gives me shivers-- escalofrios.

This is the view from Valle de los caidos.


This is the Cathedral of Toledo. It is huge.

A friend I made at one of the baths in Toldeo. She is drinking out of a fountain who's age is estimated to be from the year 300 AD. We were right next to an archaeological site.

The palace of King Phillip II.



The glorious Ronda. Above and below.

< The view from Puente nuevo (Ronda). Precipices and gorges.



Gorgeous, right?
Day of class #3 was a success. A bit of homework and then, when siesta is over, I will go buy some toothpaste, hair product, and my grammar book. I got into level intermedio-avanzada(¡!)

Un abrazo muy fuerte.
Mamie