Lo siento, necesito escribir en espanol para mejorar mi espanol, pero es probablemente Spanglish porque no se todos las palabras. Hay cosas que quiero escribir sobre de Espana.
Espana es peculiar. No hay muchas asians aqui, entonces los espanoles se llama chinos or chinetas. No es malo pero los chinos son extrano aqui.
I'd like to tell you about a typical day here but I haven't got into the groove of things yet. I can tell you some of the peculiarities and random things that I've learned and noticed so far.
What I like about Cordoba, or maybe it goes for most of Spain, is that it's not as dangerous as the United States. Here the only common crimes are petty like pickpocketing and mostly pickpocketing and hearing about a murder is rare. If you were to walk alone at night, you wouldn't really have to think about getting raped or murdered. Their crimes are not as violent.
Another thing is that besides the good food, Spaniards really like to watch T.V.- just like my family- as if it was a part of the family. I live in an old apartment and the newest and nicest thing is flatscreen T.V. Whenever we eat dinner, the T.V. is always on. It really reminds me of home and Mom. It surprised me that they have a lot of English shows (Simpsons, CSI, Law and Order...etc. probably all of them) dubbed in Spanish. And the gossip like our Entertainment Tonight show focuses on American television also. It mentioned Madonna and Angelina Jolie. It also reviewed the NBA stats. There's so much information about what's happening in America in Spanish T.V. that it surprised me because I assumed that the Spanish would focus or offer more Spanish shows/news because of their pride. I didn't realize how much the world watches us.
I've really liked the food so far, but haven't had the chance to watch mi madre cook. She's made different meals everytime: Paella, la cocido, some lentil soup, pollo con papas fritas, huevos y arroz, Spanish tortilla with potatas, y cereal para el desyauno.
It's been so cold lately, about 0 degrees Celsius and below. Even with gloves my hands go numb and its very cold in my room. My family and probably the others don't really use heaters to save electricity. The only heater they have in under the dining table. I shower during the cold mornings. They do have hot water but your shower is limited to a couple minutes to save water and electricity. I have to turn off the water, shampoo, turn it back on, then off, and then soap, etc. I'm freezing in the morning, but I guess I have to do what I got to do. The sinks only have ice cold water and I tend to get cold easily.
Right now, people are saying it is the best time to go shopping because of the sales. Apparently in January and February is when they have end-of-the-year sales, and the government somehow subsidizes the profit?? Not sure. But today after our excursion- which happens usually every Friday- we looked at some shops in the center of Cordoba. There are so many shoe shops and sales and things I want to buy but I don't really have the money and space for it. When I see all these things, I'm reminded that I should brings some things back for friends and family but I'm unsure of what to get for them. (If you're reading this in February while there are still sales, let me know what you want from Spain or Europe, and I'll see if I can find a good sale here to get for you! In other words, let me know what you want!) For instance, a friend bought a pair of nice casual heels for 9 euros= less than 12 USD. It's a great deal! We agree that people here in Spain dress up a lot more nicely and sophisticated than in the US- we like that. You don't see anyone in the shopping district or walking on the sidewalk wearing running shoes or hoodies. Everything is laid back here and the wardrobe is casual but classy. People usually wear boots or leather shoes in the winter and nice jackets.
Today, we actually went to the Mosque-converted to- Cathedral in the centre of Cordoba for our Friday excursion. This is one of the places that one can't comprehend just by looking at pictures on the Internet. You must be there to see it! I know I saw thousands of pictures of it before I came to Cordoba and I thought I had seen it all but it's different when you're actually there. There are so many times I see pictures of a museum and I go there only to see that the picture exactly captures it and a trip wasn't necessary. There is a long history to how the Christians conquered the mosque and continued to build upon it into the cathedral that it is now...it has so much history and value that you have to see it to believe it. The cathedral still has traces and elements of the mosque that was not destroyed and it's unbelievable the amount of precise details and elaborate decorations that adorn it. And it's really amazing that it derives all the way back to the sixth century -if not earlier- if I am correct.
One of the best part of being in Cordoba is definitely the siesta even thought I haven't exactly taken full advantage of it yet. After you eat lunch, it's appropriate to take a nap/sleep and rest. Even stores close to take a siesta.
At this point, I think my Spanish is plateauing and I am using the same old phrases. It's still difficult to understand when my family tries to talk to me or I try to listen in on a Spanish conversation because they talk so fast. I need to study and ampliar mi vocabulario de espanol. Sorry if this blog is a little disorganized but I just had to get all my random thoughts down.
No comments:
Post a Comment