First Day of Class

Hola! Today we got up early, ate some breakfast, and headed to Maria Cristina University. The university is beautiful and many of the royals of Spain attended this University. But, they allow commoners like me to teach there. :) Actually, when you walk in, you can feel the history of the place. There are beautiful paintings on the walls, and there are no lights in the hallways; the hallways were designed so that natural light could come through all the windows. I am not just teaching my class, but also attending Dr. Sicius's class, the History of Spain. Regarding the history of Spain, I know . . . . . .hmmm . . . well . . . . .hmmm . . ..pretty much nothing! So I thought it would make sense to learn about everything that I would see on this trip. So, I'm taking the class as well. Below is a pic of some of the students in our actual classroom. I also teach in this classroom which has a computer, projector, etc. . .everything that we have at St. Thomas. Below that pic is a picture of the window in our classroom and the nice view that we have (you just have to peer through the bars like Emanise is doing.)

They are having a heat wave in Spain right now especially in Madrid and El Escorial where we are. So, our classroom feels a bit like a sauna. Some of us just sweat, and drink tons of water (me!) while others adopt a more Spanish style in the heat. Notice Margaret with her abanico (fan) and rosa (rose) behind her ear. She fits in perfectly! We keep commenting that we are from Miami and should be able to handle the heat. I feel sorry for someone visiting from Michigan or New England. (But, Ginger, Deborah, etc. the AC does work decently in our hotel).

We learn about the different regions of Spain, and the distinct differences in food, architecture, and language in each region, and then it is time for a break. Dr. Sicius shows us the garden that is just outside our classroom. It is a beautiful rose garden . . .ok St. Thomas doesn't have anything like this. It is actually much cooler in the rose garden than in our classroom. So, we stay outside taking pics during our break.

The next thing we learned about in class was a bit about the history of the monastery that is beside the university. The city is known for this monsastery. The picture below is one side of the monastery. If you enter on this side, it will take you to the church. The name of the town I'm staying in is San Lorenzo El Escorial. And, you can see the statue of San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence) near the top of this monastery. Look for the statue near the top of the picture I took of the monastery. San Lorenzo was martyred for being a Christian, and people say that he was actually grilled (yes, roasted) to death. Morbid, I know. In the picture, look at the door, then look above the door just on either side of the window directly above the door, and you will see the symbol of San Lorenzo which is a grill (like the grill on which he was roasted). If you don't think this is morbid enough, legend has it, that San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence) had a really good sense of humor and he was rumored to have said as he was on the grill, "Turn me over, I'm done on this side." I'm not kidding. That is what people say! 

Below is a picture of me as I learned the story of San Lorenzo!

After class ended, Dr. Sicius probably felt we needed something peaceful to counteract the martyr story so he showed us the Garden of the Monks just a few steps away from our classroom. The monks used to walk through these gardens so we did the same. It reminded me of the labyrinth that Marie Therese brought to St. Thomas. Dr. Sicius told us that Napoleon actually stored his horses by this garden. The history here is amazing.

Finally, as we are walking back to our hotel for lunch, we spotted a man walking in the street delivering meat to a store. He was just walking down the street toward us; I had to snap a quick picture as he went by. WARNING: VEGETARIANS BEWARE! You might want to skip the last picutre and stop reading now. If you look under his arm, that is some sort of animal .. we think it was a goat, but we aren't sure.  Wow! Not something you see every day. What if Grace's had their meat delivered in this way?

Ok, I will leave you with this picture for now! Sweet dreams!! Ha Ha! Adios!