I recently went to Brussels with Katie in order to see my mom, who at the time was visiting her sister and my two cousins. Brussels was no big whoop. It just started on the wrong foot. Katie and I waited at the train station for two hours upon our arrival because my mother refused to believe Katie ad I took the correct bus from the airport and were at the correct station. By the time she arrived with her sister, everyone was pissed off at one another. The next day, the city was enjoyable but when it was time to go home, we soon came to realize that my mom failed to get the correct cell number from my aunt. After an hour of banter and unsuccessful connections, Katie and I remembered that the Mali Embassy was next to her apartment complex so we had a taxi take us there.
Again, the night ended up with everyone annoyed and my aunt blamed me for being responsible enough to get all the contact information myself. I clearly relied on my mother for just being competent on this short trip. To make matters worse, my mother canceled the trip to Paris (which was only a 90 minute train ride away) due to expense reasons. Katie was downtrodden. I had convinced her to come along because we were suppose to see France as well, the one place she wanted to go. I was pissed because now I was spending my last free weekend this semester watching two small children yell and cry in an amalgam of French and Spanish.
As a compromise to a failed Paris trip, we went to nearby Antwerp, but unfortunately (though not surprising), the sightseeing was short lived. We were dragged by my aunt, who seemed annoyed that we were unsatisfied, to every clothing store on the way back to the car. It was bitter cold and the wind was unbearable; we were not having it.From that point on, I said no more than 20 words to my aunt until I left. Now, I rarely get upset or lose my patience but I was about to blow. Only a couple of hours of the weekend were remotely satisfying and I'm sorry if this offends anyone (as it tends to), but I do not have a good relationship with my mother. I'm pretty sure money gets in the way of our relationship, but regardless, we clash at almost everything. I was more than happy to get out of Belgium.
On a good note, we did enjoy delicious waffles and gourmet chocolates.
The following week has been much of the same routine. Be bored at work then go to class. However, I now have the added concern of completing my security clearance for the State Department on time as well as a panic starting to set in about my 20 page Honors Supplement. I have less than three weeks to complete it and I'm not sure how that is going to be accomplished when I'm traveling every weekend and trying to enjoy what I have left of Madrid during the week. It is beyond me.
I am currently on my way to Cordoba for a weekend in Andalucia. I am writing this in the Moleskin I bought for the purpose of taking notes for my honors supplement (I'm writing about Muslim Spain) I'll get back to you at the end of this weekend.
***
So I'm on the bus back and Steve is yelling about something in an attempt to entertain the bus. I decided to make the final leg useful by continuing this.
Cordoba, the first stop was plagued with cloudy weather, not the norm in Andalucia. Nevertheless, it was a neat first stop starting off our historical journey among the cities of Southern Spain.
When I was 15, I took a trip to Spain to visit my aunt (the same one I mentioned earlier) because she was working in Madrid at the time. One of the cities I visited was Cordoba and it remained a location I would strive to go back to. Fortunately, the program decided to add Cordoba to our Andalucia trip and I got to relieve my memories through now educated eyes.
Our first stop was the Gran Mesquizta. It is is actually the Great Cathedral of Cordoba, but everyone remembers it as the unique mosque it once was. With a careful eye, once can see where they just painted over parts of the mosque with Catholic murals and frescoes and where they just literally tore it apart. Thankfully, some parts of the Islam architecture remain, but this is glaring example of the erasing of history that remained prevalent in the cities we visited.
One of the things I remember vividly from my first time in Cordoba was a tiny square where each wall was covered in red flowers. La Calle de Los Flores may or may not have been the same place, but it was impressive nonetheless.
The next stop was Seville or more commonly known as Sevilla. When we arrived we saw a bustling city with horse carriages everywhere along with women and girls dressed in traditional clothing (they all looked like flamenco dancers). It shouldn't have come as a surprise since we arrived in the middle of city festival, very much like a grand fair. There were rides, drinking, dancing, and waffles! It was just a good time overall and I went on a quasi-Ferris wheel, which was like any other Ferris wheel except it didn't stop, kept getting faster, and seemingly brought us closer to death.
The day after we picked up a tour guide and did our thing in Sevilla. We went to another ancient Muslim site revamped by Catholics and we hit up another cathedral. A collective sigh came from our group because we've come to realize that nearly all cathedrals are exactly the same. This one, however, held the remains of Christopher Columbus, which may also be in the Dominican Republic or anywhere in the world. The cathedral also has a tower, which was interestingly without steps, just ramps. I guess that explains why everyone and their mother was able to make it to the top, this making it difficult to get a decent picture of the amazing view. After enjoying a decent lunch we made our way to the next destination.
Our final city was Granada and as history buffs may know, this was the final city conquered by Los Reyes Catalicos, Ferdinand and Isabel (effectively ending the Muslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula). Granada has a much more urban feel to it (a lot less horses) but soon afer our arrival we walked up through the city in order to accss a spectacular view of the Alhambra and the sun set. The Alhambra was the center compound during Muslim rule and what remains was also an amazing site. Of course, Carlos V knocked most of it down and built his own palace, but a lot remained. We also made it another cathedral, this time with bodies of Ferdinand and Isabel, which was pretty cool. We had made it to the Arab Quarter of the city and found ourselves some Kebab and relaxed until we got on the bus to head home.
***Alright, it's now Thursday, and I'm leaving for Tunisia in a couple of hours. Sorry for the weird time warp, but I needed to get it done. The week was still the same routine including going to El Escorial (where many of the kings are buried), looking for a place to get fingerprinted for my security clearance (including a three-hour fiasco with Carolina, my professor, and many police stations), and finding and keeping an apartment.
***It's actually Sunday (4/20) now because I didn't have enough time to post my note. So I might as well give y'all an update on this weekend.
Tunisia was definitely a chill weekend with little to no stress. Katie, Ana, and I stayed at a family friend of Ana's, Lee, who was more than gracious with letting us crash (fo' free) and providing us with what seemed to be an unlimited amount of wine. Tunis was the most cosmopolitan Arab city I've encountered during my journeys, which made it easier to weave in and out through the marketplace sans all the sand in your face. What was best about for most of the time we were there, we were by the water. Memorable moments include: Le Goullet (the suburb where Lee lived) Carthage, the Tunis marketplace, the American memorial commemorating those who fought in the North African theaters, pregaming at the bowling alley before heading to a club, and of course the beach.
Sigh, now it's time to get to work. Sigh.Hasta Luego,
Chris
