March 11 - Busy Streets

Today we got another new student in class - also three of the existing students have changed the days of the week that they attend so now we will have 3-5 students every day instead of lots of students on three days and only me on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I think that it is better, but it means that no two days have the same students.  The poor teacher.  I am the only one of the seven students who comes every day. 

After class, I went to Carrefour to pick up a few things that are not available at our local grocery store. 

There were LOTS of people out.  The temperatures hit the low 80's today, so part of it may have just been people out enjoying the nice evening.

I did notice when I passed that one of the large Cathedral doors was open (it is usually closed) with a number of people going in - I looked it up later and it was a special Lent event for all of the brotherhoods in Sevilla.  I guess that explains part of the crowd.

There were lots of buskers out playing music, painting, doing chalk art on the sidewalk,.... I liked this chalk art that was leftover from the International Women's Day on Friday.

Just past the Cathedral, I caught the metro over to the Carrefour neighborhood - much less crowded there.

I finished shopping, caught the metro back to our neighborhood and walked home.  It was about 10pm.  I put together the chicken chili for tomorrow ate a quick dinner and am about to call it a night.

March 10 - Back From Cordoba

Saturday morning, we headed out on the bus to the train station.  The train station is not huge, but there are a few shops and restaurants and a cool model of Sevilla.  Of course it also has lots of trains!

The short train ride landed us in Cordoba at around 10:30.  This gave us time to see lots of the city before we even checked in to our hotel.  First, we visited some parks.

Then we visited the cathedral.  It was amazing.  The arches, doorways, and woodwork over the windows that was clearly arabic and then the traditional Christian artworks, alters, choir boxes, and stained glass.  There was even a glass cutout in the floor that allowed visitors to view the beautiful tile floors that had been built over.  New discoveries have been made as recently as a couple of years ago.  But, this is not just a tourist destination or a museum (although it is both), it is also an active parish with regular masses.

Then we walked around a bit more and ate lunch in a cool square.

After lunch, we went back for our appointment for a quick trip up into the bell tower of the cathedral (lots of steps - but worth it for the great views).

Having seen lots of the downtown, we headed back across the Roman Bridge toward our hotel.

Once we checked in, we took some time to rest, go on a quick shopping trip for fruit, and then up to the hotel rooftop bar where we read for a while and enjoyed the views.

For the evening, we headed back downtown where we did some people watching and watched part of a free concert and then called it a night.

This morning, we had breakfast in our hotel room and then went for a nice walk to and around the botanical gardens.  It was peaceful and lovely. 

Afterward, we headed back to our hotel to pack up, walked over to a fun pizza place, and then headed back to the train station.

All in all, it was a quick fun trip to a nice Spanish city.  Of course, now I need to do some serious Spanish homework time tomorrow!

March 8 - International Women's Day

This morning, I watched a movie in Spanish and did a little homework, but mostly I cooked.  I made lunch (stir-fry) for Albert and I, of course, but I also made brownies, a berry mix, whipped cream, turtle bars, and caramel corn for my class party.  We were celebrating my teacher's birthday. 

Our normally boisterous class was an all out circus today.  I am not sure if it was the food (or wine) or the waxing crescent moon (ok probably not that) or just that it was Friday, but to say we got lots of speaking and listening practice would be an understatement.  We did not do one traditional exercise (even though the teacher had them prepared) or watch one video or anything - just lots of (sometimes heated) discussions.  The trip home was much lighter than the trip to school with only empty containers in my bag.

I tried to hurry home so that Albert and I could head out to the march for International Women's Day, but it ended up taking me a while to get across the last street before our bridge, the tens of thousands of marchers filled the street.

Once I made it to the bridge, things went much faster.  It was pretty empty - although I did see a couple of photographers.  This guy was walking away from the crowd -  I guess he already had his shots.

I did a quick drop of my school things and Albert and I headed back out.  In what was an amazing stroke of luck, we ran into Palma almost as soon as we crossed the bridge.  We ended up walking for the next hour and a half or so with her (and eventually Mario who caught up to us after about a half an hour).  They were able to both give us lots of details about the history of the march in Sevilla and about lots of the participating groups.  And, of course, for me it was one more chance to practice my Spanish.  I think my favorite sign was the one that said (in Spanish) "to people who have lived their lives with privilege, equality feels like oppression".  It reminds me of a speaker who I once heard at a workshop - she noted that when riding a bike, you almost never notice a tailwind, you just assume you are strong that day.

Once we got to the final plaza, Palma stayed to find her sister and daughter and participate in the activities there.  We headed back to Triana with Mario to try to get in bed at a reasonable time since we have to catch a train to Cordoba in the morning.

March 7 - Costco

Spent the morning getting all of my homework done so we could take a "quick" trip to costco.  With walking to and from bus stops, riding the bus, and shopping - the whole affair takes about two and a half hours.  So - we don't go too often.  Of course, when we go, we also have to limit our purchases to things we can carry to/from/on the bus.  After shopping, we were hanging out at the bus stop waiting for the bus back into the city and I noticed these guys "hanging out" as well.

After costco, we had just enough time for a late lunch and quick review before heading off to class.  It was just me again today.  It is great to have a 3 hour private class, intense, but good.

After class, I took a slightly different route home.  Since we had gone to costco, we hadn't done any "regular" shopping today.  So, I stopped of at the market closest to my route home and picked up a few things.  On my way, I noticed these young ladies doing a photo shoot on the temporary red carpet taped on the ground in front of a shop.

Tomorrow we should have a larger class again (lots of MWF students) - we are also having a small celebration for my teacher's birthday.  So, tomorrow morning, I will try to bake something.

March 6 - Big Class

This morning started out with pouring down rain - something we have not had much of since fall.  Once it stopped,  Albert and I headed out to the store and enjoyed the city fresh from the morning rinse.

I spent some time working on my homework although I was pretty sure we would not go over it today in class - I didn't want it to pile up.  I was right on both counts.  We had 6 students today so, of course, we did not spend time on assignments that only I had done.  It was a fun class - it is definitely more lively with 6 students than when I am alone.  The teacher let me know during the break that I would be alone again tomorrow unless something unforeseen happened (like a student from the morning needing to make up a class).  I am a little surprised that they don't just have me go to a lower level class for one day - but, it sounds like I will likely be having another 3 hour private class tomorrow.  So in preparation, the teacher gave me another three pages of assignments for tonight's homework to prepare.

Yesterday during class we talked a little about Carnival (in Spain and around the world) and how Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is or is not celebrated.  Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and all of the churches had special hours to dispense ashes.  There were parades of school children going from their catholic schools to their associated parishes to get their ashes.  

Interestingly to me, they don't talk about Easter much here as a stand-alone day - instead all discussion revolves around the full Holy Week.  They all talk about Holy Week being on April 14th.  I guess when your vision of Easter is the week of crowded streets and dozens of processions instead of the big rabbit with baskets full of eggs and chocolates, it is not too surprising that you talk about the holiday differently.

March 5 - Ready to Drop

After a pretty tranquil morning, I headed out to school.  I was pretty sure that my class was going to be small but I was not totally prepared to be the only student in class.  For just over 3 hours, I had a rather intense private class.

Needing a short break between class and intercambio, I took a walk around the city.  I have begun to realize what an expensive proposition it is for women to dress for the fair.  The dress of course is the most expensive part costing hundreds of dollars, but then there are shoes, earrings, hair combs, shawls, fans, ..... Although the style of dress changes each year some of the other items can be shared or reused - thank goodness. 

Maybe I could get a "flamenco dress" apron instead.  Since I don't know how to dance the Sevillano anyway, I don't really have a use for the proper costume - and I do like to cook.

After my short walk, I headed over to intercambio.  From 8-10, I had the standard conversations with my partner.  Then at 10 (when I would normally leave), the teacher introduced me to a couple of her local friends who had stopped by the intercambio - we ended up chatting for another hour.  It was great Spanish practice, but now I am ready to eat a very fast dinner and crash into bed.  Homework will have to wait for tomorrow!

March 4 - Back From Morocco

Friday morning, Albert and I left home at around 8:30 am to meet our student group for our trip to Morocco.  There were three busloads of students with about 40 students in each bus in total.  But, except for a few activities (like ferry rides and one common dinner) we were separated.  We even stayed at three different hotels.  So, we got to know many of the people in our smaller 40 person group.  Our first stop was the last Spanish town outside of Gibraltar - La Linea De La Concepcion.

We walked through the border check from Spain to Great Britain (Gibraltar - "We are British AND we have sun.")  Once on the Gibraltar side, we divided up into local tour buses and headed up the rock.

We stopped off at a windy point where you could look out over the water and see Africa.  We had a Scottish tour guide who gave a great deal of historical information as we traveled.

We continued up the rock through some pretty narrow tunnels and along some curvy roads to get to the entrance of  Saint Michael's Cave where we spent some time both hiking around in the caves and enjoying the monkeys at the mouth of the cave.  

The tour continued back down the rock to Main Street, Gibraltar where we watched a glass blowing demonstration and had some free time to take in the small downtown area.

Then, a walk back to the border crossing and short bus ride to Algeciras, Spain to catch the ferry to Ceuta, Spain (a Spanish city in the north of Africa).  We could see Gibraltar from the ferry.

Once in Africa, our hotel was only about an hour drive away - except for the added two and a half hours that it took to get the bus and all of the passengers through customs.  Thank goodness we had picked up a local Moroccan guide in Ceuta who navigated the transactions.  Everyone was happy to arrive at our hotel were we sat at long tables and had a nice (albeit late - 11:30pm) dinner.

After a short night's sleep we had breakfast in the hotel and then headed out for Tangier.  It was a short bus ride and then a panoramic tour in the bus.

Next stop, the Atlantic ocean.  There were big waves and beautiful skies.  We took turns - 6 at a time - taking camel rides along the beach.  While we had a total of 7 groups, that meant that we also had time to dip our feet in the ocean, walk along the beach and enjoy the baby camels while other groups were riding.

Once everyone had returned from their camel ride, we took a short bus ride to Cape Spartel - the point where the Med meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Then, it was time for the long drive up into the mountains.  Sadly, we had a bit of a delay when our bus was pulled over by the local police, luckily we were back on our way after about 15 minutes.

Our long mountain drive ended in the blue city of Chefchouan.  We started with a fun walking tour and then stopped for a great buffet lunch.  It really is a beautiful city.  Then we had a couple of hours of free time to enjoy the city.  Albert and I headed out to see one of the small rivers that runs alongside the old part of the city and then headed back in to the maze of shops to find him a T-shirt.  After some bargaining at one shop, we couldn't get a price I liked - so we moved on.  At the next shop, the poor guy kept trying to talk to Albert who just kept pointing to me - finally he figured out it was me or nothing and the bargaining began.  After threatening to walk away, he gave in and we had a price.  The shopkeeper thought it was hilarious that Albert had the money but didn't do the arguing.  He called Albert "the banker".  He was very pleasant, and we had our cheap T-shirt.

Then, another long bus ride down the mountain and to Tetouan (the city where our hotel was).  But, it was not time to go to the hotel yet - we had a big dinner (with all three groups) where there was Moroccan food, of course, but also entertainment with dancers and musicians and a fake wedding (between two students from one of the other buses).

We got back to our room at a little after midnight and fell into bed.   After another short night, it was time to check out and get breakfast before heading in to the old town of Tetouan for another walking tour.  We had some more free time after the tour.  I bought a jar of spices, and after a bit of bargaining we bought some small hand-carved wooden camels for the people in our "Camel Group".

Our bus ride back across the border was shorter - but not short - only about 90 minutes at the border this time.  Then back on the ferry.  Then a couple of hours on the bus for our last leg of the trip.  Finally some quick goodbyes and a short walk home.

This morning, we stepped back into the routine - laundry, groceries, homework (I didn't do much on the road), and class.  Three new students today made for a fun class - it flew by. After class, I took a nice indirect route home and enjoyed being back in my own beautiful city.