So we went to Córdoba which was not as exciting a city as we had hoped. The Mezquita was amazing. It was a mosque built on the site of a cathedral, which has since been converted back to a church (sort of). Its real beauty is the sea of striped arches which hold the building up. google it- they’re awesome. it’s a place I had wanted to go to since studying it in art history back at nvot. I’m glad I got to see it.
The Mezquita was actually stop number two for us in Cordoba. First, my roommates, along with three other English teachers, went to the gov’t building to drop off paperwork so we can get our residency permits. it’s a multi-step process so we get to go back to Cordoba in a few weeks. we didn’t get much time to plan this mini trip and we figured we might want to spend a few nights there. so, we brought clothing and stuff, but realized we didn’t need to spend more time there and paying for a hostel would have been dumb (and we couldn’t find a hostel with space in it).
after the Mezquita, we went to some Arabic baths (aka a spa). we put on bathing suits and relaxed in the hot and temperate pools (the cold one was just way too cold). there was also a sauna and we had massages. I’d never done anything like this, so it was interesting but not really worth the money. after our relaxation, we wandered around looking for food. it was 6pm so nothing was open. Spanish don’t eat dinner until 8 or 9. we found some places that were serving drinks but no food. we finally found a tapas restaurant overlooking the back of the mezquita (aka tourist central). cecilia ordered: fried calamari, croquetas (fried balls filled with chicken, ham and mashed potatoes); erin ordered: potatas bravas (potatoes in a spicy sauce) and tortilla (an omelet with onion and potato); I ordered pasta with zucchini and salmon and eggplant in honey sauce. I like the calamari and the potatas bravas, but didn’t like the eggplant- it was deep fried, but the honey sauce was great. The pasta was okay, it was supposed to be in black sauce, but it turned out to be more green than black. after dinner my roommates wanted ice cream and we had a hell of a time finding an open ice cream place (there were a million open when we wanted food). basically, eating in Cordoba was generally a frustrating experience. we were also in La Judería, Cordoba’s oldest neighborhood which resembled the old city of Jerusalem in that both are full of ridiculously narrow streets that don’t appear to have any sort of design to them.
so we wound up back in Priego for the rest of the long weekend. it’s Hispanic national day (aka Columbus day). Saturday we ran errands in the morning because we knew everything would close at 2 and not re-open until Tuesday. I went for a run during siesta hours. here’s the thing about Priego: many people have not left Preigo and, if they have, they haven’t ever met an American or don’t understand American customs. Running on the street, especially during siesta hours, is kind of an odd activity here. that can explain the people almost driving off the road at the sight of me. I got a lot of weird looks and confused expressions from people of all ages and genders. it’s also extremely difficult to run here because most of the city is hills. you almost can’t avoid running up or down a huge hill. we walk it every day to get to school and it sucks to come down it. after my run, my roommates and I went to a beer tasting/”festival” in a plaza up the hill. they both like beer and enjoyed the tasting. I had ½ a beer, which actually tasted pretty good. I think it was from Belgium maybe. Saturday night we went out. we went to two bars and had a pretty good time. the town was really active at two when we made our way down the hill to our apartment. Spaniards go out late at night. when we were going up the hill at 11:30, there were teenagers and even young children out in the plaza hanging out and having a good time. some people don’t even go out until after 1 am. it’s a similar lifestyle to Argentina, so I’m somewhat familiar with it. even so, I don’t love the idea of going to be at 2 or 3 am. also, going out is super cheap here. my roommates got beers for €1.50. I had sangria at home and didn’t order any drinks, which was fine because the bar tender at the 2nd place sent us free shots. one was called a lolly-pop and tasted just as disgustingly sweet as its name suggests. another smelled like cheese (Erin swears it was vodka). we met some locals and generally had a good time.
There is nothing to do in Priego on Sunday. literally. everything is closed. Cecilia and I went for a walk and we found the town pool, which, like most of the town, is under construction. She swam at college and wants to continue, but the pool won’t be ready until winter (at the earliest). it’s weird how there’s a lot of construction going on all over town but there are also a ton of for sale signs. they’re literally everywhere. new houses sit unoccupied in many parts of town.
after our walk, we watched the Sex and the City movie and vegged-out on our couches. We’re planning lessons for the upcoming week. I don’t actually teach the classes, but work with the teachers to help with pronunciation and talk to the kids. The bilingual schools here have us working in English classes and Science classes. So, I have 3 year olds (I haven’t been yet….we’ll see how it goes), 1st grade English and Science, 2nd grade English and Science and 5th grade English. I also have four scheduled meetings with teachers to help them plan and improve their English speaking skills. It’s been fun so far. I haven’t really had to do much because the teachers at my school are pretty dedicated and interested in what they do. They actually don’t give me a lot to do, which is different from other people in my program who are basically thrown at the front of the classroom from day one. My school is also brand new (just finished in January) and only has 180 kids from age 3-12. Each grade has one class except 5th grade which has two. My roommate Erin also teaches at my school (she has 4 and 5 year olds, and the 3rd, 4th and 6th graders). I’m looking forward to this week because I’ll actually see all of my classes. I’ve been finding some stuff online like songs and nursery rhymes to teach the kids. if anyone has any suggestions please send them my way.
On Monday (Day of Hispanic Heritage aka Columbus Day) we went on a two hour walk around town and practically saw every corner of Priego. No joke. This town is super small. The bull ring appears to be in the midst of construction, like the rest of the place. It was nice to get out for a little while. The rest of the day was spent reading and sitting around the living room waiting for something decent to come on TV (no such luck).
No comments:
Post a Comment