I´m finally taking flamenco classes in Sevilla. It´s been a difficult to find the ´right´ teacher or class. Not only is my schedule a bit tight, but most of the renowned teachers (that my flamenco teacher recommended to me) have basically retired and passed on their studio to their alumni. Also, a lot of flamenco dancers don´t really dance traditionally, which has been my training. Triana (the neighborhood that I live in) actually has a few flamenco studios, but I decided to try out Andrés Marín´s studio, which is about 30 min. away from my house by foot. Andrés is known as a innovative contemporary dancer, so I already knew it would be a experience different from what I´m used to.
I decided to enroll in the intermediate/advanced class - not because I´m really that good, but because it fits better into my schedule. After watching one of the classes, I thought the footwork & choreography was relativey do-able. My first day wasn´t easy, though. My teacher back home really likes to show things slowly, to make sure we get things right, but here, it´s a different story. One of the teachers, Úrsula López, would show us a footwork pattern once, and then we had to immediately do it. No explanations, no breakdowns. Afterwards, we had to do it to a super fast compás (beat/rhythm). I was really sweating within the first 15 minutes! Towards the end, we danced (or should I say, the other people did) the seguiriyas - which is a dance style I´ve never actually danced before (it´s probably the most solemn style I´ve had to learn so far). I was a bit surprised, because I thought Úrsula´s class was just a technique class, not a choregraphy one. It´s going to take me a while to pick it up, since everyone else already knows the choreography, and there are a lot of non-traditional steps involved.
This past Tuesday, Andrés actually taught the class. Like Úrsula, he would show us a pattern once. It was´n´t easy for me, but the other students could repeat it immediately. We had to do a lot of fast footwork, and it was really easy to forget the sequence. I messed up a number of times. My toe was actually bleeding by the end of class. I found it so funny ´cause it´s never happened to me before.
It´s been difficult, but I am learning relatively quickly and I´m up for challenges. I´ve also paid for a month of classes so I have to stick with it.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
La Universidad de Sevilla
After four weeks of pro-seminars (culture and grammar classes at the Center), I finally started taking classes at the University of Sevilla. There isn´t an actual campus, because the buildings are spread across the city. Fortunately, all of my classes are in the same building, which isn´t too far from home or the Center. The building used to be the Real Fábrica de Tabacos, home to the cigarette factory of Bizet´s Carmen (you know, that famous opera). There are a lot of open patios placed inside the building, so it´s easy to catch some sun (or rain) between classes. Some students also enjoy a quick smoke in the patios.
Here are the classes I´m taking:
Historia de Al-Andalus (Historia of Al-Andalus): Al-Andalus is the Arabic name for Andalucía. The first day of class was cancelled, because of the damage from the rain. The sign on the door said that the class was moved to a different classroom, yet still it was cancelled (apparently it´s normal around here). But we did have class the next day. One intersting fact: the name Al-Andalus is derived from Atlantis, the mystical island from the Greek classics. The Arabs, familiar with Greek knowledge, believed Andalucía to be an island.
Sociolingüística Andaluza (Andalucían Sociolinguistics): the professor is very engaging, and very nice. The first thing he said to us was, it doesn´t matter if some of us speak Spanish as a native language, and some of us don´t -- in his class, we´re all equal. We haven´t covered much material, but I´m excited to learn about the way the people of Andalucía speak.
Historia Medieval y Moderna de España (Medieval and Modern History of Spain): Except for one older gentleman, nobody showed up to the first day of class, including the professor. We ended up going to the aconsejeria (counseling services) of a few departments, asking what happened to the class (the guy did most of the talking, I should say). We were provided very little answers, and the counselors didn´t seem active in figuring out what happened. I don´t think I´ll be taking this class, due to the extremely low student enrollmenet.
Sociedad y Literatura en Hispanoamerica (Society and Literature in Hispanoamerica): the class is packed with extranjeros (foreigners -- probably all American). I think only four or five of the students are actual Spaniards. The first day of class wasn´t that exciting, as the professor only talked about the life history of one of the autors we´ll be studying. In general, it seems like professors here like to doddle on unnecessary details, such as the history of things (when the class isn´t about history).
Relato Hispanoamericano (Hispanoamerican stories): located in a medium-sized lecture hall, which surprised me a bit, because I´m not used to having literature classes in this type of a classroom. The type of work is similar to the other class, Sociedad y Literatura en Hispanoamerica, but this professor seems more interesting.
Cartografía de la memoria colectiva: la Guerra Civil y sus presentes (Cartography of collective memory: the Spanish Civil War and its presence): a class at the Center taught by an actual Penn professor, so I´m sure I´ll receive credit (which is also why most people are taking this class). The material sounds fascinating, but the readings are supposedly challenging and the professor tends to talk rapidly.
Here are the classes I´m taking:
Historia de Al-Andalus (Historia of Al-Andalus): Al-Andalus is the Arabic name for Andalucía. The first day of class was cancelled, because of the damage from the rain. The sign on the door said that the class was moved to a different classroom, yet still it was cancelled (apparently it´s normal around here). But we did have class the next day. One intersting fact: the name Al-Andalus is derived from Atlantis, the mystical island from the Greek classics. The Arabs, familiar with Greek knowledge, believed Andalucía to be an island.
Sociolingüística Andaluza (Andalucían Sociolinguistics): the professor is very engaging, and very nice. The first thing he said to us was, it doesn´t matter if some of us speak Spanish as a native language, and some of us don´t -- in his class, we´re all equal. We haven´t covered much material, but I´m excited to learn about the way the people of Andalucía speak.
Historia Medieval y Moderna de España (Medieval and Modern History of Spain): Except for one older gentleman, nobody showed up to the first day of class, including the professor. We ended up going to the aconsejeria (counseling services) of a few departments, asking what happened to the class (the guy did most of the talking, I should say). We were provided very little answers, and the counselors didn´t seem active in figuring out what happened. I don´t think I´ll be taking this class, due to the extremely low student enrollmenet.
Sociedad y Literatura en Hispanoamerica (Society and Literature in Hispanoamerica): the class is packed with extranjeros (foreigners -- probably all American). I think only four or five of the students are actual Spaniards. The first day of class wasn´t that exciting, as the professor only talked about the life history of one of the autors we´ll be studying. In general, it seems like professors here like to doddle on unnecessary details, such as the history of things (when the class isn´t about history).
Relato Hispanoamericano (Hispanoamerican stories): located in a medium-sized lecture hall, which surprised me a bit, because I´m not used to having literature classes in this type of a classroom. The type of work is similar to the other class, Sociedad y Literatura en Hispanoamerica, but this professor seems more interesting.
Cartografía de la memoria colectiva: la Guerra Civil y sus presentes (Cartography of collective memory: the Spanish Civil War and its presence): a class at the Center taught by an actual Penn professor, so I´m sure I´ll receive credit (which is also why most people are taking this class). The material sounds fascinating, but the readings are supposedly challenging and the professor tends to talk rapidly.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Rain rain, go away...
It´s been raining in Sevilla for the past two weeks. And I hate it. Normally, I can tolerate it, thanks to my comfy rainboots. But I expected more pleasant weather, and hence, I didn´t bring my rainboots. Big mistake. The only form of waterproof footwear I have are my puma sneakers, but they´re useless. They´re completely worn out, and basically function like sponges. I guess after a while I get used to it, but the water is pretty dirty. Possibly with the remains of dog poo.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Some more beautiful sites in Sevilla
Los Reales Alcázares
Marriage site of Charles V (Holy Roman Empire) & Isabella of Portugal
Friday, January 30, 2009
Madrid
Last weekend I traveled to Madrid with the other students in the program. We took the AVE, a fast train that travels from Sevilla to Madrid in about 2 hours. It always leaves on time, and always arrives on time.
My first impression of Madrid was that it looks pretty dull. I guess the season is partly to blame, especially since it’s winter and the trees have no leaves whatsoever. But all of the buildings were either one of two colors: off-white or brick red. Madrid looks like just another big metropolis – think New York, only less congested. I definitely do think Sevilla is prettier, and a better place to live. The people in Sevilla seem nicer and laidback.
The first night that we tried to go out for dinner was a bit of a disaster. Originally, we had planned to get tapas, but we had really no idea where to go. We stopped by one restaurant, and sat down with the menus. However, after the waiter told us that they don’t serve tapas until the Saturday, the whole group (about 11 people) walked out. It was kind of awkward. We then stopped by another restaurant, and we were informed that the restaurants don’t usually serve tapas until 8:30 pm. We decided to stop by a nearby grocery store for some light food, before we headed out again later at night. At the hotel, we decided to join in on another group’s dinner plans. They wanted to go to a restaurant named The Finca de Susana, and then head to a Cuban restaurant for dancing. However, when we got to that restaurant, we saw that there were no available seats, and the wait would be long. We gave up on that idea, and the group split up in search of food. At that point, it was around 10 o’clock. I was really hungry and would have settled for anything. We ended up at a restaurant/café named Las Fatigas de Querer. Andrea and I shared a humongous, sizzling plate of steak. I liked it, though it was oily and was more than enough meat for the week. After dinner, we headed over to the Negra Tomatita for some dancing. The one guy who danced with me asked me where I was from, and I said “Estados Unidos,” but I told him that I wanted to practice my Spanish. To my dismay, whenever I tried to talk to him in Spanish, he kept talking to me in English (maybe I should have said I was from China?) Although I didn’t really dance with many guys, I had fun being with my other friends in the program. I really enjoy dancing bachata, so it disappointed me that no guy asked me to dance bachata. Whenever they played bachata music, I just lead another girl.
The second day we visited the Prado, a museum featuring the artwork of Spanish artists like Goya and Velazquez. We had a long two-hour guided tour. I didn’t really appreciate it, because the guide only pointed out certain paintings, and I wanted time to just look at the captions and contemplate the meaning of each. Nonetheless, I was glad to see Las Meninas by Velazquez, which has always been one of favorite paintings. In fact, I actually bought a (children’s) book about the infantia of Las Meninas. I’m really a sucker for things like these, but I bought it to improve my Spanish. Plus, it comes with a free poster of Las Meninas!
Later in the afternoon, Andrea, Austin and I visited la Reina Sofia, which is home to Picasso’s Guernica. The painting is quite big, and up close, I could see the texture and mixture of paint. The museum also had pictures of Guernica step by step in the making, so it was interesting to see Picasso’s original intentions. Besides Guernica, nothing else seemed that interesting to me, as it only featured abstract modern art. Austin and I also lost Andrea along the way, so we spent most of the time just looking for her.
That night, we decided to try our luck again at La Finca de Susana, since it apparently is a very nice restaurant that offers relatively cheap food. We arrived earlier than the night before, so we were able to sit down immediately. What I was most surprised about were the waiters. They were all Asian. Filipino, maybe. I guess it’s not that surprising, since Madrid is a metropolitan of different ethnicities, but a fancy restaurant doesn’t sound like a usual place for immigrants to work at. Anyway, the service wasn’t that great. We tried to order our food in Spanish, but the waiters, pressed for time, made us order in English. Also, one of the waitresses brought out a dish of croquettes that none of us had ordered. We tried to tell her that none of us ordered that. She thought we didn’t understand, so she repeated the name of the dish in English, which was unnecessary because “croquetas” and “croquettes” don’t sound that different. Besides the bad service, the food was decent. I wouldn’t say it was the best, because the gambas (shrimp) were smaller than I expected, and the fish and mushroom kebabs were slightly more charcoaled than I would have liked.
The next day, we visited the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace). The exterior looks kind of dull, but the inside is magnificent. The rooms we visited included the king’s bedroom, the room with the king’s throne, and the king’s dressing room (and queen has a lot of her own, too). Every room is highly decorated (Baroque style) and has a certain color theme. Although the decoration seemed a bit too ornate, the palace gave me inspiration on what my future house should look like (haha). After roaming around the palace, I stopped by the gift shop. And guess what? I bought another children’s book! This book was about Goya and his painting of May 2, 1898 – another famous painting that I really like.
It was raining by the time we left the palace, and I wasn’t too happy about that because one of my shoes was torn and my foot was half-way soaked. But I decided to join the others in getting food at a local café. I really like getting coffee here, because they always serve them in cute little cups (I guess I can’t say much about American cafes, since coffee is mostly served in paper cups). The lack of tipping also makes things easier for me. One thing I’ve realized is that most restaurants aren’t accustomed to individualized orders that are different from what’s offered on the menu. For example, some of the girls tried ordering a sandwich without mayonnaise, but the waiter just seemed confused and overwhelmed. After lunch, we stopped by a sweet shop and purchased some filloas, which are cinnamon-y wraps with a cream filling. I really like the sweet shops in Spain, because of the traditional/fancy décor and the drool-worthy pastries.
We again took the AVE to return to Sevilla. I was sitting by Terry, and we spent the last 20 minutes listening to Britney Spears and dancing in our seats.
Good times, but I was definitely ready to head back to Sevilla.
My first impression of Madrid was that it looks pretty dull. I guess the season is partly to blame, especially since it’s winter and the trees have no leaves whatsoever. But all of the buildings were either one of two colors: off-white or brick red. Madrid looks like just another big metropolis – think New York, only less congested. I definitely do think Sevilla is prettier, and a better place to live. The people in Sevilla seem nicer and laidback.
The first night that we tried to go out for dinner was a bit of a disaster. Originally, we had planned to get tapas, but we had really no idea where to go. We stopped by one restaurant, and sat down with the menus. However, after the waiter told us that they don’t serve tapas until the Saturday, the whole group (about 11 people) walked out. It was kind of awkward. We then stopped by another restaurant, and we were informed that the restaurants don’t usually serve tapas until 8:30 pm. We decided to stop by a nearby grocery store for some light food, before we headed out again later at night. At the hotel, we decided to join in on another group’s dinner plans. They wanted to go to a restaurant named The Finca de Susana, and then head to a Cuban restaurant for dancing. However, when we got to that restaurant, we saw that there were no available seats, and the wait would be long. We gave up on that idea, and the group split up in search of food. At that point, it was around 10 o’clock. I was really hungry and would have settled for anything. We ended up at a restaurant/café named Las Fatigas de Querer. Andrea and I shared a humongous, sizzling plate of steak. I liked it, though it was oily and was more than enough meat for the week. After dinner, we headed over to the Negra Tomatita for some dancing. The one guy who danced with me asked me where I was from, and I said “Estados Unidos,” but I told him that I wanted to practice my Spanish. To my dismay, whenever I tried to talk to him in Spanish, he kept talking to me in English (maybe I should have said I was from China?) Although I didn’t really dance with many guys, I had fun being with my other friends in the program. I really enjoy dancing bachata, so it disappointed me that no guy asked me to dance bachata. Whenever they played bachata music, I just lead another girl.
The second day we visited the Prado, a museum featuring the artwork of Spanish artists like Goya and Velazquez. We had a long two-hour guided tour. I didn’t really appreciate it, because the guide only pointed out certain paintings, and I wanted time to just look at the captions and contemplate the meaning of each. Nonetheless, I was glad to see Las Meninas by Velazquez, which has always been one of favorite paintings. In fact, I actually bought a (children’s) book about the infantia of Las Meninas. I’m really a sucker for things like these, but I bought it to improve my Spanish. Plus, it comes with a free poster of Las Meninas!
Later in the afternoon, Andrea, Austin and I visited la Reina Sofia, which is home to Picasso’s Guernica. The painting is quite big, and up close, I could see the texture and mixture of paint. The museum also had pictures of Guernica step by step in the making, so it was interesting to see Picasso’s original intentions. Besides Guernica, nothing else seemed that interesting to me, as it only featured abstract modern art. Austin and I also lost Andrea along the way, so we spent most of the time just looking for her.
That night, we decided to try our luck again at La Finca de Susana, since it apparently is a very nice restaurant that offers relatively cheap food. We arrived earlier than the night before, so we were able to sit down immediately. What I was most surprised about were the waiters. They were all Asian. Filipino, maybe. I guess it’s not that surprising, since Madrid is a metropolitan of different ethnicities, but a fancy restaurant doesn’t sound like a usual place for immigrants to work at. Anyway, the service wasn’t that great. We tried to order our food in Spanish, but the waiters, pressed for time, made us order in English. Also, one of the waitresses brought out a dish of croquettes that none of us had ordered. We tried to tell her that none of us ordered that. She thought we didn’t understand, so she repeated the name of the dish in English, which was unnecessary because “croquetas” and “croquettes” don’t sound that different. Besides the bad service, the food was decent. I wouldn’t say it was the best, because the gambas (shrimp) were smaller than I expected, and the fish and mushroom kebabs were slightly more charcoaled than I would have liked.
The next day, we visited the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace). The exterior looks kind of dull, but the inside is magnificent. The rooms we visited included the king’s bedroom, the room with the king’s throne, and the king’s dressing room (and queen has a lot of her own, too). Every room is highly decorated (Baroque style) and has a certain color theme. Although the decoration seemed a bit too ornate, the palace gave me inspiration on what my future house should look like (haha). After roaming around the palace, I stopped by the gift shop. And guess what? I bought another children’s book! This book was about Goya and his painting of May 2, 1898 – another famous painting that I really like.
It was raining by the time we left the palace, and I wasn’t too happy about that because one of my shoes was torn and my foot was half-way soaked. But I decided to join the others in getting food at a local café. I really like getting coffee here, because they always serve them in cute little cups (I guess I can’t say much about American cafes, since coffee is mostly served in paper cups). The lack of tipping also makes things easier for me. One thing I’ve realized is that most restaurants aren’t accustomed to individualized orders that are different from what’s offered on the menu. For example, some of the girls tried ordering a sandwich without mayonnaise, but the waiter just seemed confused and overwhelmed. After lunch, we stopped by a sweet shop and purchased some filloas, which are cinnamon-y wraps with a cream filling. I really like the sweet shops in Spain, because of the traditional/fancy décor and the drool-worthy pastries.
We again took the AVE to return to Sevilla. I was sitting by Terry, and we spent the last 20 minutes listening to Britney Spears and dancing in our seats.
Good times, but I was definitely ready to head back to Sevilla.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Some things I've learned in Spanish
Aseo: means “bathroom” – or the toilets, literally. Don’t say “¿Dónde están el baño?” or else people will think you’re looking for a place to wash yourself.
Guay: means “cool” or “neat.” Used mostly by the young people.
Zumo: means “juice.” It’s not “jugo” in Spain.
Ordenador: means computer. Yes, it’s not “la computadora” in Spain. I’ve made this mistake far too many times to count.
Torpe: my new favorite word, which means awkward or clumsy. Andrea and I are currently keep track of points to see who’s more awkward.
Vale: means “ok” or “sure.” People here say it all the time. And I mean all the time. But it’s useful.
Apparently “v’s” are always pronounced as “b’s.” I’ve taken Spanish for at least eight years, and I have never been explicitly told this (well, except that veinte, or twenty, should be pronounced with a “b”). I’m thus having trouble adjusting my pronunciation.
Guay: means “cool” or “neat.” Used mostly by the young people.
Zumo: means “juice.” It’s not “jugo” in Spain.
Ordenador: means computer. Yes, it’s not “la computadora” in Spain. I’ve made this mistake far too many times to count.
Torpe: my new favorite word, which means awkward or clumsy. Andrea and I are currently keep track of points to see who’s more awkward.
Vale: means “ok” or “sure.” People here say it all the time. And I mean all the time. But it’s useful.
Apparently “v’s” are always pronounced as “b’s.” I’ve taken Spanish for at least eight years, and I have never been explicitly told this (well, except that veinte, or twenty, should be pronounced with a “b”). I’m thus having trouble adjusting my pronunciation.
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