Economics 101

I would receive an A+. In times of economic turmoil, chaos, and hopelessness, I saw the light. Twice. In two days. 

1. Emily Slatter was correct when she told me European Zaras (thee most ubiquitous clothing store, created by self-made and now richest Spanish man Armancio Ortega, 72 years old, worth $20.2 bill) trump the American Zaras. It took all the self-restraint I could muster up not to make any purchases. 

2. I just booked a flight to Pisa for 10 euros. It would have been 5 had I been the holder of a Visa Electron card, so there's still room for improvement. 

Until later, amigos. May the bail-out be with you. (I will obsessively be checking cnn.com for updates today)

Sevillan Nights

Sevillans live in the streets, totally opposite from Americans. It is not uncommon to see entire families out walking after midnight. Whereas Americans often congregate with friends inside someone's house for an evening of entertainment, here people prefer to meet at the bars and cafes. The house is a private space used for rest, not to entertain friends. The Spaniards would not approve of the countless Rollette Maintence Crew and Friends movie and game nights that occurred this summer haha. They would be even more shocked by Paul's mantra, "If you've been in the fridge twice, you're family." Yesterday after our (pseudo-)class, Alesha, Marisa, Joanna, and I went to a tiny cafe, sat outside, and played Yahtzee for about two hours. We kind of felt like old men, but we had fun. 

Later that evening we were joined by a couple other friends, and we were on our way to La Carboneria, a popular bar and flamenco destination. After stumbling (literally, shoes and cobblestones...not compatible) through the winding alleyways of the barrio Santa Cruz, we found it. There was a tiny, red barn-like door and no sign or address number. A very serious-looking man who could have given the British Guards a run for their money stood outside, looking straight ahead, no emotion. We entered and thought 'are we in the right place?' There was a bar on the left, in a dark alcove, with no one there. The room felt like a cave made of white brick, and there was a lady singing and sullenly playing the pianoforte. 

Finally, we found what we were looking for: two swinging doors opened up to a giant, white tent full of tables, benches, and a small stage. On the other side of the tent was a patio area, very lively. We chatted outside for a bit, but heard more and more people congregating in the tent, for what was a great spectacle. 

The performers:

young, 30-somethings guitarist

young, 60-somethings singer with a booming voice 

flamenco dancer, clad in a satin purple ruffled dress and a whole lot of attitude! 

They were outstanding, and a joy to watch. The dancer was fierce. After the performance, we managed to find our way back to the cathedral (sans getting lost), across the river, and it was back to our apartments. October 10th we are going to Arenal, where we are to watch the reportedly best Flamenco in the world. 

Tomorrow is the bull fight. I'm excited. 

Lost in Translation

...what happens to be a great movie and a phrase applicable to my current state. Sometimes I simply cannot understand my host mom. For instance, she knocks on the door this morning while I'm in the shower, asking me if the water's too cold (which it wasn't). I was a bit frazzled because I thought I had been in there too long, and she wanted me to turn off the water. Anyway, she tells me 'continue, continue'. When I got out, it took her about 5 minutes of explaining for me to understand that when you turn on the hot water, the heater in the kitchen cupboard produces fire. Since she was in the kitchen and didn't see any fire, she thought I didn't have hot water. That was all haha. I wish I could understand everything she's saying 24/7, but I know it will take time (patience was always a virtue I lacked, eh mom?) I felt a little better, though, upon reminding myself that yesterday in grammar class, Ruben our teacher told us if we could understand los sevillanos, we could understand all Spanish-speaking people. Phew. 

Bob- "Can you keep a secret? I'm trying to organize a prison break. I'm looking for, like, an accomplice. We have to first get out of this bar, then the hotel, then the city, and then the country. Are you in or you out?"

Charlotte- "I'm in. I'll pack my stuff."

Bob- "I hope you've had enough to drink. It's going to take courage." 

Princesses and Broken Cameras

Today I mourn the death of my camera. It turns on, but not completely. Kind of like the annoying iPod battery symbol that appears to let you know the battery's dead, what a tease. For now I will result to stealing group members' pictures off Facebook and utilizing Google Image. Ay. 

I'm trying to familiarize myself with Spanish sports, government, music, television, pop culture in general. Here is a song called "Princesas" by Pereza, one of the most popular Spanish Rock bands, enjoy! 

Vamos a ver una corona muy "bling bling."

...said the tour guide Pilar. Translation: We are going to see a very "bling bling" crown. Today we toured the cathedral here in Sevilla. It was magnificent: gothic architecture (tall columns, dark), 3rd biggest in the world after the Vatican and St. Paul's in London. Apparently this one is the greatest in volume, though, so...go Sevilla!

The cathedral houses the official tomb of the world's most glorified pirate: Chris Columbus. He wasn't actually buried, per se. His remains lie in a structure that is held by four kings, representing the four kingdoms of Spain, which were Castille, Leon, Aragon, and Navarre. Supposedly there are other tombs that contain some of his remains: Havana (Cuba), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), Valloloid (Spain) where he originally rested. 

In the words of Pilar, "May Columbus rest in pieces." 

The best part of the cathedral was the glorious Bell Tower (1st picture above), we walked up and up and up the ramp spiraling around the tower til we reached the tippy top. The bells (24 in total) sound every 15 minutes. You could see the entire city, which I noticed is almost completely flat. I saw the Plaza de Toros where we are going to see a bull fight Sunday! One girl in our group is opting out, citing that bull fighting is inhumane because they kill the bull...yet she's a carnivore. I feel like while it's not necessarily the nicest thing to do, humans have done much worse. The bull will die whether I go or not, and afterward it will end up on someone's dinner plate (just not mine haha). More to come Sunday night!

Note: Spaniards are very unaggressive drivers. No one beeps their horn at other cars (or pedestrians in the crosswalks.) I suppose it's because no one's in a hurry to get anywhere, bienvenidos a Espana.  

Art Things

Picasso's "Guernica"! Amazing, no? This is definitely el Museo de Reina Sofia's most precious work. There are three rooms dedicated to it (the glorious mural in the middle room and rooms displaying sketches of different phases of his masterpiece on either side). Guernica is a town located in Northern Spain, and during the Spanish Civil War, Franco, the brutal dictator who was buds with Hitler, allowed the Nazis to drop a saturated bomb that leveled the city. Picasso was away in France at the time, but the horror inspired him to create this brilliant anti-war mural. Perhaps it's difficult to see all the components in this picture, but it basically depicts the chaos and destruction of war..an injured horse, a woman and her dead child, a man trapped by fire, etc. 

La Vida Espanola

eat. relax. eat. siesta. eat. walk. sleep. repeat.