Bad Anthropology

I feel that I should post something about the hilarious and strange differences between Spaniards and Americans, but I've got nothing. I haven't felt the need to assimilate culturally, beyond the obvious initial awkwardness living with a different family and being trying to speak a different language. I suppose there's the siesta, but it doesn't feel like anything out of the ordinary to me- the stores close, so it's a little more formal than just eating and relaxing at home for a couple hours.

Maybe cultural differences just aren't as dramatic as I was expecting. They eat at different times...OK...so I have to get used to different eating patterns. No fireworks, no streamers or confetti, no orchestrated music. Though finding out the reasons behind eating a huge meal at 2:30 and barely anything after that would be a tougher and more interesting pursuit. Eh, people are just more culturally fluid than they think, if they've a mind to it.

In other news, I've been here a week, orientation continues. I've decided I should pursue the dulcimer after watching, of all things, an American folk concert in sight of the Alhambra.

Someday I'll have pictures, but it's been raining every day (a rare occurrence for Granada) and I've only taken a few photos.

Obama's President: Naturally I Flee to Spain

So I've reached a point where I can organize my thoughts enough to write a coherent post... during my first siesta, and it's basically a formalized version of what I do everyday: relax, talk, maybe take a short nap in the middle of the day.

There's really nothing to report as far as travel goes. Didn't get to see Mike at Heathrow, but otherwise everything went smoothly. Though as a warning to anyone travelling through a London airport- they don't post your gate until 15-30 minutes before you board. Almost, almost I wanted to stay in England, but I knew Spain was waiting, and my plane to Málaga was about half full with IES students, so we all huddled together to await our fates.















For those interested, here's Granada, way in the south. Home of the Alhambra, called the most "sensual" building in Spain in several of my guide books. Take that how you will.

When we got to Málaga, it was a mad rush to recreate freshman orientation. There are 81 people and I remember about 20 names and 20 faces, but the two don't necessarily go together. Yesterday, after an uneventful night at the hotel, we drove to Granada and met our host families. I'm living in an apartment with a women, her two 20ish year old sons, and her mother, along with another student who is fluent in Spanish since she grew up speaking it. So, lots of Spanish all the time, but that's what I came here for, and I'll get used to it quickly enough.

María José is an incredibly nice woman, who loves to cook. She immediately told my roommate and I that we were to make the apartment and her family our own. And she knows all the cheap places to shop, and how to get around, and is willing to talk to us in detail about this for hours. She also, along with everyone in the area, thinks that 40-50 degree weather is terrible, and unbearably cold. Granted, there isn't much heat in the apartments here, so it feels cold most of the time, but I'm appreciating the heat wave compared with home.

Tonight I get to explore the area a little more, since we've really only been doing orientation stuff. Perhaps I'll use all the money I'm saving on buying dinner for 2 or 3 euros (free tapas with a drink!) and spend it on making myself look less American.

The Eye of the Storm

I've had requests to set up a blog, so away we go.

While its main purpose is to document my semester in Spain, I just got back from a couple weeks in Chile with my Chamber Orchestra. A few photos/notes are in store:

The view from my balcony in Valparaiso. It's a hilly coastal town in the middle of Chile, which is known as the New Years Eve capital of South America. And we just happened to be there on New Years Eve. The people in every one of the houses in this picture were on the streets partying till the not-so-wee hours of the morning (8 am).

We, uh, hiked the Andes. This was the view from the lagoon we stopped at. I think the picture speaks for itself...















A shot of some of the UR/Santiago youth orchestra members! URCO combined with them to rehearse/play a concert. Despite the language barrier, we all became friends. They were so enthusiastic, especially when playing their instruments: our version of Westside Story involved confetti and dancing on stage. And we had an audience. Heh, a bit different than playing in Strong Auditorium at Rochester.



A bit seasonally challenged at the moment, from Christmas decoration in an 85 degree summer to half a foot of snow. Now it's on to packing and getting ready to go to Spain on the 19th. Everything's a bit surreal...