el escorial

Unfortunaltely I have no pictures with me to post at present. So in compensation, a thousand words should do.

Here I go.

I went to El Escorial this past weekend only to be confoudned and amazed yet again. Not just a cultural appreciation for Spain but for people who dedicate themselves and their entire life pursuit to knowledge and the beauty that is the result. For those who don´t know, El Escorial is a monastery and school built by Philip the Second in the sixteenth century. During Philip´s reign it functioned as his retreat and public relation center, as well as a monastery, school, and burial grounds for royalty. Now it is still a monastery and school, along with guided tours for the public. I walked through shadowy and drafty hallways of granite, along with other curious tourists and could even hear the monks´ songs through the corridors. Certainly an uncommon experience for me.

We first were taken into the library which, the tour guide said, is the most ´important´ in the world. Important, I suppose, is quite subjective, but his description was that they housed books from the 5th century (I wonder though, if that was a language confusion) and the rarity of their collection is where it derives its importance. Along the ceiling was painted a mural of the seven sciences (philosophy, astronomy, theology, etc.) corresponding with the placement of the books. Certainly more esthetically pleasing then the Dewey Decimal. I had an alarmingly strong desire to stay there the rest of my life and learn along with the monks about life. I don´t think API would allow for it- maybe with a permission slip.

Indeed it was an excellent trip, and one of my favorites thus far. As November lurks only 4 days out of sight, anxiety sets in about returning to the real world. It is the Sunday night sensation, but a bit stronger. So, I will embrace all that I can in these next two months and do my best to maintain my memories and lessons!

En el Norte

Buenos Tardes.
It seems to have been a long time since the past update, and again, I find it impossible to recreate all that I have been through. This past weekend, API took a trip to Santander. It is on the northern coast along the Mar Cantábrica. The beachy breezes were deeply refreshing after a month in the bustle of Madrid. Not only did we get to see and play on the beach, but we toured the Royal Palace (there are several throughout Spain) , and saw the replica of the Altimirian caves. I much rather prefer romping through sand and rocks than the metro escalators, so I had a wonderful time.


I passed the evening along the beach talking with a friend and exploring the nooks. The moon was bright and there were many people drinking and carousing along the beach. The royal palace stood at a distance on a peninsula, so the sight along the beach was a high, bright moon behind the silhouette of a castle amongst rocks and jettys. However, if I turned around, I saw the highway and lots of drunk teenagers. I chose to look towards the ocean most of the time. Another great sight was the sunrise. The sun has been rising very late in the mornings here in Spain, 8 or 8:30, so I woke in time to catch the sun rise over the beach. I caught it indeed.



The caves we toured are filled with prehistoric paintings and tools. It is a replica in order to preserve the real paintings which were being damaged with all the tours. I had learned about them in my classes, so it was even more interesting to see them in ´real life´. Now, however, I plan on fully utilizing my siesta to catch up on sleep from these escapades.



I have been growing more comfortable with my life here in Madrid as I have reached the one month mark. I recognize the streets, know a few names of tappas and drinks, have settled in with a Bible study, and have a lovely group of friends. However, I have had my second dream of waking up at home and having coffee on the couch, so perhaps adventures and novelty can´t replace home.

This week been another round of adventures which is begining to leave me a bit exhausted. My roommate and I took about a 4 hour nap today and I´m sure my sleeping schedule is entirely askew. It is normal and expected to stay awake until about 1 weekdays and on a ¨good¨weekend, abour 4 or 5. It hasn´t been an easy adjustment and usually my companions pick on me for leaving early.
I have been keeping busy with classes, friends, and sight seeing, yet still have had time to read and write. Sometimes this trip feels like a vacation so I am trying to not feel guilty about the fun I am having while I know the world continues as usual everywhere else.
I had one of my loveliest days so far this past friday. My classmates had gone out to a discoteque the night before and went home after school to catch up on sleep so I was on my own. I revisited some of the shopping areas that I had been to on busy weekends hoping to find more gifts for people. I walked and walked most of the day in the nice weather and quiet atmosphere, for it was siesta. I happened upon a plaza that was celebrating goods from all different parts of Spain. Stands and stands filled with enormous cheese wheels and legs of hams, canned olives and peppers, wines and beers. The plaza was certainly lively. I migled through and tasted all the samples that I could. What fun it was! There were even accordion players adding to the affair. I stopped in a bookstore nearby to pick up another leisure novel (I´ve had sufficient time to finish my last one) and brought it back to read at the plaza. I retraced my steps of free samples and sat down for a glass of wine and read my book. It was such a lovely afternoon. The day was much like the day dreams I had prior to leaving. While reading short stories by Joseph Conrad, I was surprised at the story I was reading because there was a portion describingtwo men living as foreigners to a country. As always, Joseph Conrad describes life with brutal clarity and I was pleased with his description of the circumstance. He writes:

They were two perfectly insignificant and incapable individuals, whose existence is only rendered possible through the high organization of civilized crowds. Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities, and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings. The courage, the composure, the confidence; the emotions and principals; every great and every insignificant thought belongs not to the individual but to the crowd: to the crowd that believes blindly in the irrestistable force of its institutions and of its morals, in the power of its police and of its opinion. But the contact with pure unmitigaed savagery, with primitive nature and primitive man (in my circumstance a european country- not quite primitive) brings sudden and profound trouble into the heart. To the sentiment of being alone of one´s kind, to the clear perception of the loneliness of one´s thoughts, of one´s sensations- to the negation of the habitual, which is safe, there is added the affirmation of the unusual, which is dangerous; a suggestion of things vague, uncontrollable, and repulsive, whose discomposing intrusion excites the imagination and tries the civilized nerves of the foolish and wise alike.
An Outpost of Progress, Joseph Conrad

Toledo

In just a few days I have seen and experienced many new things, too many to reconstruct properly with words. Perhaps, more photos will do. Here is a photograph of a trip I took to Toledo this past weekend. Toledo was the original capital of Spain and has a deep history. The streets are barely wide enough for a car, yet thousands of tourists and cars push their way through every day. We walked through a Jewish temple, El Greco´s famous painting The Funeral, and an enormous gothic cathedral. The cathedral was by far my favorite portion of the trip.


It was a fine portrayal of man´s capability of expression. The place seemed very sancitified with its ornate qualities. The intricacies were difficult to comprehend because they were so abundant. There were choir seats looking like royal thrones, each hand carved with a unique Biblical scene pained above each chair. Through and through the cathedral was magnificent. There were also many paintings in the church, but it was hard to take in even more art by the end of the tour.

With sky scraping, gothic architecture rupturing the rocky mountain side one couldn´t help themself imagine they were perhaps in Gondohr.

I was able to see a bit more of the vast spanish terrain this week. Classes were not in session this Wednesday due to commencement activities. I went with some classmates to the mountians to pick blackberries or ¨molenas¨. There had been an abundance of bushes but we arrived at the end of the season and in the heat of the sun. Therefore most molenas were small and dried. But, it was wonderful to see a new area. There were beautiful views and a mix of desert plants I had never seen before.






This week was not only filled with blackberry picking, but a tour of El Palacio Real and El Prado. There is an incredible resepect and pride in history here which is wonderful to be apart of. Spanish history is full of changes and mixtures of people groups. There is a challenge to identify the true Spañiard because the true Spañiard historically comes from Greece, Italy, North Africa or other parts of Europe. Therefore, there is so much to learn in history classes and then see in the museums and on the streets.



These are photos from El Palacio Real. The king does not live here, but occasionally comes for ceremonies. In such a time, the state would close the museum and take out the good tapestries and cover the palace with flowers. It sounded like a fun event to have the king come to town, from what the tour guide said. There is a throne room I saw which was over decorated in the Boroque style. The guide told us that out of respect of the present democracy, the king and queen never sit on their thrones when holding ceremonies, nor do they wear their crowns.
I am off on another excursion now. I am going with my class to speak with a modern Spanish writer. Adios.