The centerpiece (and peace) in El Escorial: The Monastery!

Hola!
Lo siento (I'm sorry!) I'm so behind on the blog. I've been writing throughout the trip, but then sometimes my internet connection is slow and it takes a long time to upload the pics and post the blog. But, don't worry . . I will keep posting because I have been writing in a notebook (old school style) about all the things I've been seeing. So . . . stay tuned!! We continued our tour of San Lorenzo de El Escorial by touring the centerpiece of the town, the peaceful monastery! This is the jewel of the town, and Dr. Sicius gave us an extensive historical tour of the monastery. He told us how Philip II had the monastery built, but that he was worried that he wouldn't see its completion. It took 20 years to build; however, Philip II did live to see the finished product. This monastery is the largest granite building in the world. And, this is easy to realize because our tour took about 4 hours, but I love going through this monastery. First, I will show you some pictures of the monastery and the beautiful Spanish sky. Again, remember that this is the walk that the students and I  have every morning as we go to class. Bonito!

In the picture below, you can see the university to the right.

As we tour the monastery, there are security guards in every room (and Jose, one of our students, makes friends with each and every one of them). However, you cannot take pictures in most of the rooms of the monastery. And, as we've been discussing in class, we don't want to be those "tourists" who are sneaking pictures. But, to give you a sense of the amazing things we've seen, I've put a few professional images up. The picture below is one of the most amazing parts of the monastery, the Pantheon of the Kings. Here all of the kings of Spain are buried (and their wives, if the wives had sons). Again, I did NOT take this picture; it is a professional image from google images. But, so that you can imagine what it feels like here . . . you descend down many many steps, and there are signs asking you to remain quiet and respectful as you come into the room. On the way down the steps, you go past a door on the left and the right which are the drying rooms . .where the body dries out before being placed in the casket. Then, you enter this beautiful room that is very very very cold. Dr. Sicius told us that 500 years after one king died, the casket was opened, and the body was completely preserved. So, it is quite an odd feeling to imagine that you are surrounded by the completely preserved bodies of the kings of Spain in this room. Very interesting!

On the tour of the monastery, after you leave the Pantheon of Kings, you see several other rooms that house the caskets of royalty. However, there is one casket that just blows my mind. When I see it, I can't really believe that I'm seeing it, and that is the casket of Don Juan. Yes, the Don Juan! I did not take this picture below; again this is an already existing image. As you can see below, there is a sculpture of Don Juan, lying as if he were in the casket, holding his sword. It is difficult to see in the image, but on his fingers are many many rings. These rings are supposed to represent all the female lover that he had, because of course everyone has heard that Don Juan was the ultimate Romeo!

There is quite a bit of amazing artwork in the monastery because Philip II was a great collector of art. My favorite piece of art in the monastery is a painting of Doubting Thomas placing his hand in Jesus' wounds. More info on this later; I'm looking for the image online to show you, but I haven't found it yet.

The next picture below shows the garden of the monks . . this is a great place to walk through. It is so peaceful. Marcela even took her students here during one of her classes to do a guided meditation.

Group picture time! The students love it when I call for a group picture (sarcasm in that last statement in case you can't pick that up in written text!)

And, here I am in a picture with my next-door-neigbors, Rosa and Samara, treasurer and president of  the Psychology Club respectively.

This is the view from the garden of the monks! Hermoso! Feel free to correct my espanol if I'm using these words incorrectly.

Next we are walking back through the monastery to go to the iglesia (church) and then the library!

Quick pic of the students as they are walking into the center of the monastery that leads into the church. That is Rosanna front and center (Psychology club Vice-President . . we have the Psychology club well-represented in Spain this year!)

Below is a picture of the front of the church.

At the very end of the completion of the monastery (20 years later), the final tiles that were placed in the roof that were put in the shape of a cross. Do you see it in the picture below?

More images of the church below.

Last, but definitely not least, we toured the library at the monastery. This library is amazing and Dr. Sicisu taught us that it is the MOST important library in the world for Hebrew and Arabic texts. In fact, this library has the OLDEST Hebrew text in the world. We couldn't take pics in the library, but I added a professional image below so that you can get a glimple of the beauty of this library. The ceiling represents the many academic disciplines like philosophy, mathematics, etc.

And, then in the picture below, after the tour, everyone has gathered at La Chistera to rest their tired feet!  La Chistera is owned by Adolfo, long-time friend of Dr. Sicius and a huge help to us on our trip. This is the hang-out for STU Summer in Spain!

Below is a picture of the 3 guys on our trip: Jose, Juan, and Nico in the middle!!!

Adios for now. Stay tuned . . . I have quite a few drafts; I'm just waiting on pics to load!

What's the first word of the trip? Yes, Study!

Hola!
So, let the classes begin! On Wednesday, Dr. Sicius did a lecture on Spain for all of us, discussing the different regions of Spain, languages and particular norms and customs of the different regions. Before we left Miami, at the meetings with the students, (if I felt that we were a bit off topic or if they worried too much about how much homework Marcela and I might assign), I would ask, "What's the first word of the trip?" And, they would say, "Study." That has become a theme. We have discussed what a privilege it is to be more than simply a tourist here in Spain. In my opinion, one of the greatest things about the study abroad experience that has been built at St. Thomas is the academic part of it. Dr. Sicius is such an expert on Spain and the history of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. (And, students from previous years can attest to Dr. Conley's participation in the program and of course Richard Raleigh's Ernest Hemingway courses.) This year, Dr. Moyano (Marcela) is teaching Global Media and I'm teaching Multicultural Issues in Psychology. But, it has been essential to have Dr. Sicius here teaching all of us about the history of Spain. I remember some of the stories from last year, but of course, I don't have his knowledge base so I'm taking notes again trying to keep all of the kings (Philips and Carlos) straight! Of course, I have learned the most about Philip II because he is the one who built the monastery here in El Escorial, and we have learned so much about him from Dr. Sicius. So, we have had an academic couple of days with Dr. Sicius' history lectures and the start of Dr. Moyano's class and my class. I started off my class with this quote on my first powerpoint slide that Andrea (Dr. Campbell) found for me.
Isn't it great?

Then, at the beginning of my class, we watched this video that Andrea found for me (she finds all the cool stuff!)

Click on the link below to watch something that will definitely make you smile. This is how I started my class! (Note. When you click on the link, it should appear near the top of your screen, and then you click on it to play it. Or if that doesn't work, simply copy and paste the link into your browser, but it is definitely worth watching. You may have to watch an ad first, but be patient. It is worth it!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwe-pA6TaZk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Isn't this a great mood boost? If you want to be in a better mood, this can definitely do the trick, but I asked my students, what else does this clip teach you? And, they did a great job answering. They said, that no matter the location, language, political history, etc, we all share a love of music and dance, and that can bring us together. And, you will notice that Matt teaches them his dance, and then also learns from them about their dances. The song also talks about seeing with new eyes once you go to the different places, and we discussed how this opportunity allows us all to see the world with new eyes. Enjoy!!

Below is a picture of the students in our classroom. Don't they look excited for class?

Then, Dr. Moyano and Dr. Sicius joined the picture.

Here is Dr. Sicius explaining more about Maria Cristina University and the history of El Escorial.

Here is the St. Thomas University 2012 Summer in Spain Study Abroad group in front of our classroom (Aula 4) at Maria Cristina University. I think this should be an STU webpage picture!! :)

 Adios for now!

There's just something about this town: San Lorenzo de El Escorial

Hola!
So, after our first lunch and of course siesta and shower (thank goodness), we set out to explore the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Alejandra, Marcela's sister-in-law served as our tour guide for the day because Dr. Sicius wasn't going to arrive until Wednesday. She came to the summer in Spain program as as undergraduate, and then she came last year to the St. Thomas University Law School summer in Spain program. Then, she came again this year to the Law School's summer in Spain program. Her program finished just before we arrived, but she stayed to help Marcela with Nico, and she was the perfect person to give the students a tour of El Escorial. What an expert she is (not to mention that she is fun and super sweet as well!)

We walked around town so the students could learn where the ATM was (very important!) and where to get a good iced lemonade . .it was really hot this first day. Then, she took us to the University where the students take classes, Maria Cristina University. I mentioned this in last year's blog, but one of my favorite things here in El Escorial is the walk from the hotel to the univeristy. In this walk, you go past the beautiful monastery of El Escorial built by Philip II. Dr. Sicius taught us that Philip II chose the location for the monastery because of its placement between mountains that offered protection, but also for the alignmnent of the stars in this particular location. I know very little about star alignment . .(understatement!) . . but I will say there is something extremely peaceful about this place. I felt it last year, and I feel it again this year.

Some pictures of our tour the first day . . .Enjoy!

The picture below shows us getting ready for our tour of the town. This is the front door of our home away from home! Hotel Florida (perfect name!) Great hotel with wonderful staff and great food!

Here we are on our first walk to the university with the monastery behind us.

We can start a blog game here . . .count how many times I wear a black skirt here in Spain (or you can play the opposite game and count how many times I'm wearing something other than a black skirt in the pictures in the blog)! Yep . . the students and I joke about it. (Oh and for those of you who read the blog last year, you will see that I'm rocking black flip-flops again this year.) I'm telling you that you only want tennis shoes or flip flops on these cobblestone streets or there will be an injury for sure! No one can really accuse me of NOT packing light! However, I did bring 12 books in my very heavy carry-on. (3 were for Dr. Sicius . .the rest are mine . .hmm what does that say about me? Two black skirts but 12 books??)



Adios for now!

Deja Vu . . .Yes, I know it's a French word, but it's good to be back in El Escorial!

Hola! Que tal? Here I am again! It is the summer of 2012, one year after the start of my Como se Dice blog! I'm fortunate enough to be back in San Lorenzo de El Escorial for another study abroad experience. This year we have even more students (14 total), and Dr. Marcela Moyano is here with me as well. For those of you who don't know Dr. Moyano (Marcela), she is a great friend of mine so it will be awesome to spend the summer traveling with her throughout Spain, teaching together, and getting to hang out with her adorable son, 3-month old, Nico! Also, Dr. Frank Sicius, founder and director of the Summer in Spain Study Abroad program is here for the first week. Thank goodness! He is introducing me to the people I need to know in town and helping Marcela and I get everything started smoothly.

The original plan was for Dr. Sicius to fly from Chile and arrive in El Escorial on Sunday. Then, he would meet us Tuesday morning at the airport in Madrid. Dr. Sicius has been spending the year in Chile because he received one of the most distinguished academic awards that exists, a Fulbright award to spend a year studying and conducting research in another country. However, he was delayed leaving Chile because of some paperwork issues. I found out the day before we left that he would be arriving on Tuesday afternoon rather than Tuesday morning. That meant that Marcela and I had to make sure that we found all the students who were arriving from different airlines in different terminals and get them safely on the bus to El Escorial.

The flight went well. First of all, when I checked in my luggage, I would like to report that it was at 49 pounds (the limit was 50 pounds!) (Those of you who went to Taiwan with me know that I must be getting better at packing!) (Thanks for the luggage scale Cindy; that was perfect!)

So, Marcela, Nico, one student (Jennifer) and I flew from Miami to Philly, and then Philly to Madrid on US Air. The other students had a variety of different flights with different layovers. Nico was an angel on the flight and things went very smoothly.  Our layover in Philly was really fast (so fast that Jennifer noticed that everyone else had boarded but us . . good thing she was paying attention!), but I had a chance to quickly check my email. It was a very good thing to check because that is when I found out that Dr. Sicius was still delayed in Chile and wouldn't arrive in El Escorial until Wednesday morning! So, Marcela and I would need to get the students from the airport in Madrid to El Escorial, get them settled and do the tour of the town of El Escorial. But, we didn't panic. Marcela has that calming effect on everyone, and we figured things would work out ok!

On the flight to Madrid, I didn’t get to sit by Marcela because she had a bulkhead seat with more room for the baby, but I sat by a student from Temple University who was coming to do a study abroad program in Madrid where she would be staying with a host family. She was very nervous about the trip  (first time going so far away from her family) so it was good to sit beside her and talk about her thoughts about the trip. So, I’m hoping that Sierra from Temple  University is having a great time so far on her study abroad experience!

We arrived at the airport and although it was a bit difficult to find everyone, the students all did a great job finding us! We were all coming in on different flights so they had to find Terminal 1 and meet us there. It took a while and we had said to meet at the information desk outside of baggage claim, but of course . .that was probably not the best meet-up spot because we learned there were many many information desks in the airport. (note to self . . pick a more specific location in the future!) But, the last thing I told the students was “Don’t panic! No matter what, we won’t leave you!” So, it took a while, but finally, the students found the meeting spot, and we hopped on the bus to El Escorial.  Whew! Because we had a few students whose flights were delayed, we made the bus driver wait for a while (remember, I told the students, we would NOT leave them) so Alejandra  (who is here helping Marcela with Nico for the first week) helped to communicate with the bus driver to convince him to wait a little longer.

Once we got to El Escorial, he dropped us off at the bus station. Last year, we were dropped off on the street of our hotel, but at the bottom of the hill because the street is too skinny for a big bus. And, that was challenging to haul our luggage up that hill, but this year, perhaps because we made the bus driver wait, he dropped us off at the bus station, and we had to drag our luggage up quite a few hills to get to our hotel. I’m not sure that I can describe effectively how HOT it was, how HEAVY the luggage was, and what it is like to try to roll suitcases on cobblestone roads, but I have to commend the students . . .some of them had extremely heavy luggage, but everyone made it! It was one of those things where you just had to put on a brave face and keep moving. Once we checked in, we put our luggage upstairs (that takes a while because only one piece of luggage fits on the elevator at a time). Then, we met downstairs to have lunch (tired from our long journeys) However, amazingly, the pictures of us don’t look so bad. Knowing how all of us felt after the luggage haul up the hills and the fact that we were all still in our travel clothes, I can’t believe we didn’t look a little worse. :)

In the pictures below, we are waiting outside of the dining room of the hotel, getting ready for our first lunch in Spain.

Even after that luggage haul in the heat, three of our students (Rosa, Stephanie, and Samara) are still smiling! See pic below!

More students on the stairs of the hotel, waiting for our first lunch!

Christina and I waiting to go have lunch.

And, here are some of us at our first lunch in Spain!

And, there's Nico! I'm thinking that he will probably be the star of the blog this year!

Notice the first plate of lunch is pasta. Let the "carbathon" begin! Off to siesta! Hasta luego! 

The many faces of Andreas!

Hi everyone! Andreas would like to say Yassou!

For those of you who don't know, this is Tassis and Cindy's son. I think the picture below can definitely win any beautiful baby contest! Look at those eyes!

So, the next day in Zakynthos, Cindy, Andreas, and I went to visit Cindy's in-laws' farmhouse. Cindy gave me the tour of the house. Below you can see Andreas welcoming me to the farm house. Although I didn't get her completely in the picture, the woman behind Andreas is Cindy's mother-in-law.

We were sitting just outside of the house in the shade, and I looked up and took a couple of pictures of what was hanging just above my head. Do you know what you are seeing in the pictures?

Those are grapevines. The family has grapevines and lots of olive trees on their property so the family makes their own wine and also their own olive oil to sell at the restaurant.

In the picture below, Andreas decides we need to listen to some traditional Greek music.

Cindy took me on the tour of the farmhouse where we saw chickens and roosters. (There were also lots of cute rabbits, but I didn't get a picture of them.) Cindy pointed out that one chicken was in a cage separated from the rest. "Why?" I asked. Cindy said, "That's the next one on the chopping block." It's interesting how in the states, many of us eat all types of meat, but the meat never resembles the animal that was killed like it does in Spain and Greece. So, we forget about the animal that died for us to eat it. So, I winced, but of course I eat chicken all the time in the states so I shouldn't be a hypocrite about it.

So, Cindy told me about how much Andreas loves cars, motorcycles, and tractors. It is so true. He wasn't really that interested in toys. He just wanted to walk around looking at cars and trucks. He would walk around and around them, admiring them and also wondering why he couldn't get in other people's cars.  

   "What do you mean I'm too young to drive, Officer? But, I'm such a good driver!"

"Ha Ha! No ticket for me!"

You can't do a lot of catching up on the back of a motorcycle so Cindy and I spent a lot of our next day having breakfast, lunch, and coffee at different beautiful spots so that we could catch up and talk.

The restaurants are right on the beach so the views are amazing.

Another restaurant and another beach . .

At one point, when Cindy had Andreas, Denis took me to lunch at a great restaurant overlooking a beautiful tiny beach. The water was so clear here.

Then Cindy and I grabbed coffee and ice cream at this restaurant on the beach . . .

We headed back to the family restaurant later in the day and played with Andreas.

The many faces of Andreas are in the pictures below, and this is what I imagine him saying:

"How cool is my hair!"

"She did it! Not me!"

"Yes, I know. I've heard it before . .I'm cute!"

"This is my deep thoughts pose."

"And my GQ pose."

"And my artistic pose."

"And my Vogue pose."

"Me and Mom"

"Check out my cool ride."

"But this one is even cooler!"

That night we headed back to the family restaurant. Below are pictures of a few of the other people I met in Zakynthos. The picture below is of Cindy with Andreas' godfather.

Below is a picture of Cindy, Tassis, and me at the family restaurant.

Below is a picture of the youngest brother, Yannis, with his girlfriend Katie, who is from England. They were both a lot of fun! I hope they come visit Miami this year.

Below is a picture of the kitchen at the restaurant. How could I resist taking a picture of the kitchen? I spent many years working in my own family's restaurant. Denis is making my dinner!

And, here is my dinner! Look, it's more souvlaki! And, look at all those olives. I just couldn't get enough!

On my next-to-last night in Zakynthos, Cindy and I laughed and laughed. We had such a good time. Sorry for the inside joke . .only Cindy will get it, but I will never forget . . ."Let's see what is behind Door #2 . . . .the washing machine!" (How shiny is my face in the picture below? It was definitely hot outside!)

Then, on my last night in Zakynthos, Cindy introduced me to two other women, and the 4 of us had a blast that night. I laughed so much that I started to lose my voice. I got the chance to meet one of Cindy's good friends, Charlie. Charlie is originally from England, but she met her husband in Zakynthos, and then decided to stay on the island. She had just had a baby the week before; her mom was visiting so she got a night out to hang out with us. The whole night I couldn't stop saying to her, "I can't believe you had a baby last week!" I really couldn't believe it. She looked awesome. I also met Christina. She is the cousin of Denis, Tassis, and Yannis. She was so sweet and also very funny. Charlie, Christina, and Cindy had me laughing so hard the whole night. What a great time! In the picture below, you see from the left, Charlie, me, Christina, and Cindy. I'm so glad I got the chance to meet them.

Ok, so on  my last night, everyone said I had to eat something other than souvlaki so I reluctantly agreed. Now, as you know, I'm from Tennessee, and my parents' restaurant was known for their ribs. However, the guys decided that I should try the ribs at their restaurant. I thought that was quite risky of them, especially because I consider myself a connoisseur of ribs. I have to say that I was surprised because their ribs were actually very good, but how could I be disloyal to Grace's ribs? So, Grace's ribs from Tennessee take the Greek ribs, but just by a nose! Sorry, I got ahead of myself and took a bite before remembering to take a picture.

  

And, what could be more perfect that a horse-drawn carriage ride on my last night in Zakynthos? You can't tell, but I think this carriage was really for two people. Christina and I are sitting on a make-shift seat that was about 3 inches wide while Cindy and Charlie have the comfy regular size seats. Christina and I had to hang on for dear life to stay on that tiny little seat.

Cindy and Charlie on the carriage ride.

Christina and I hanging on for dear life on the carriage ride.

So, overall the Zakynthos trip was such an amazing adventure. It was awesome! Thank you Cindy for encouraging me to come visit, for planning everything, and for all the laughs! And thank you to the Lattas family for being so welcoming and for feeding me all weekend!

As I was leaving the next morning on my early-morning Olympic airlines flight to Athens and then Spain, I thought about what Tassis and Charlie both said to me. When I said good-bye to Tassis, he said, "You'll be back." And, when I told Charlie that I wished that I had met her little girl and brand new baby boy, she said, "Don't worry. You'll be back. The island has a way of taking the people it wants." So, maybe Zakynthos will take me back one day. I hope so! Adio for now!