Blog 5: Reina de los Pañuelos (Queen of the Tissues)

Reina de los Pañuelos (Queen of the Tissues)

         

So incase my title didn’t give it away estoy enferma (I am sick) which is not fun to say the least. For the past few days it has been me and a box of tissues. Even my host ‘dad’ commented on how muy rojo (very red) the skin right under my nose looks. It was kind of embarrassing. Oh well it could be worse and there’s a lot of people who also are feeling sick in my program. It must be a combo of post travel fatigue and the weather. I’m not used to this cold! Also just to anyone studying abroad. If you ever feel like a cold is in the works but still want to go out at night with friends…DON’T. You’ll end up sick for days, which is not fun. Lesson learned.

            Well ‘pre-cold’ I went on a tour of the Alcázar on viernes (Friday). In Spain, school is not in session on Fridays so everyone gets a three day weekend. ¡Qué guay! (How cool!) So my school plans field trip around the city and day trips to other cities in Spain on Fridays. The Alcázar is one the oldest palaces in Europe that is still being used today. It dates back to when the Romans were in Sevilla and continued to expand when the Muslim conquered Sevilla. Then the Alcázar went into the hands of the Christians when the Spaniards retook Spain.  As a result, Sevilla was a melting pot of cultures and religions. It was actually a pretty peaceful, religion tolerant place (until the Spanish Inquisition when the Jewish people were persecuted and expelled from Sevilla). So the Romans, the Muslims and the Christians influenced the Alcázar’s design. The meshing of all three makes the Alcázar an architecturally beautiful and interesting place. Our guide was a native from Sevilla and knew a lot of Spanish history. Maybe too much because I probably remembered about a fourth of what he told us. Each room and every courtyard was breathtaking. I’ve never been exposed to Islamic architecture, which is simplistic but also impactful for that very reason. Everything is so symmetrical and the focus on combining light, stars, and water with art is so fascinating. I really could go on and on about how compelling I find Islamic architecture. ¡Me encanta mucho! (I love it a lot) The palace also has extensive gardens, which have both traditional European and Mediterranean styles to them. I need to go back one day and walk through the gardens because we didn’t have enough time to wander far and it was drizzling that day.

            Finally on a side note…I’m going on a weekend trip to the beaches of Portugal and I also booked a flight to Ireland in May! Portugal is supposed to have some of the most geographically beautiful beaches in the world. And I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland because I’m quarter Irish (and half Japanese and a quarter English for those of you who still can’t tell after all those years of knowing me!). I think trekking solo in Ireland for two weeks (and maybe hitting Scotland as well) will be the experience of a lifetime. Then the family flies into Madrid and it’s Spain and Italy for a month. So looks like this blog will take you guys beyond the borders of Spain in the near future!