Spain 2007-2009

Working

2008-10-23T15:25:00.002+02:00

Well, that whole "I'm going to write every week" thing lasted all of... um... one week...
Anyhow, life is good in Granada!
The weather is starting to turn cool (cold, at night), and we've had a fair amount of rain lately, but it's still pretty nice during the day.As I write this, I'm sitting on the third-floor patio of my friend Jennifer's house... it has a direct view to the Alhambra (and is super close to the base of the fortress) - can't complain about that! At times it's unreal to me that I live here. I got a job giving guided visits through the Albaicin (the historically Muslim neighborhood of Granada) and I've been doing some research in preparation. It's fascinating to read something in a book like "the original wall around San Nicolas dates to the ninth century and is based upon a pre-existing Roman wall that may also have connections with the neolithic artifacts in the area" - and then realize that that's the wall you pass every morning on your way to the grocery store!
Lately I've been keeping pretty busy by giving private and small group classes in dulcimer, piano, and English. I have about 9 students right now, ages 3, 4, 4, 5, 9, 10, 10, 11, and 39-ish. The 3 year-old is by far the hardest. I'm supposed to "teach" her English, but she's pretty wiggly and usually doesn't want to pay any attention to me. Yesterday she told me "shut up and go away, Laura. You smell bad. Goodbye, ugly." so that's always awesome. The music groups are also still going on.
Wadih got a job playing every night at a flamenco tablao called "Los Tarantos" - it's pretty famous in Granada. So that's been exciting! It's also RIGHT next to our house (well, not RIGHT next door) so that's an added bonus, for sure.
I wish that the leaves were changing colors here, but they're not (and they're not going to). I'm excited for Halloween, though! Jennifer is having an ex-pat, American-style Halloween party next week, so that will be FABulous!
Happy Halloween!

Granada, Ramadan, and the end of summer

2008-09-11T14:30:00.003+02:00

So I made it back to Spain! Not that I thought that I wouldn´t...
Things here are going great (for the first week, anyhow). Already I feel much better about my time here - lots of people have said, "Oh, we missed you!" which is, of course, a great feeling.
After being back in the US for a month (the first time in an entire year), I´ve been able to really "feel" a lot of the differences between Granada and PA. Being back in Lancaster made me appreciate even more the beauty of the green, rolling farm lands - something that you don´t find in Andalucia. I was appalled/overwhelmed/surprised by the amount of SPACE there is, however. In the course of my one month in the US I was in Lancaster, California, Vermont, Washington D.C., and southern Virginia; in all of those places, only D.C. seemed to be not so overwhelmingly open. Living in Granada, I´ve begun to take for granted the fact that I can walk to the grocery store, visit a cafe until midnight, and live with the natural elements that surround us. Since most places don´t have airconditioning here, when it´s hot it´s hot and when it´s cold it´s cold. Here, you get to know the intimate details of your neighbors´lives and of those who pass by on the street. Nothing is private in a place where the buildings are impossibly close together, windows are open at all hours of the night and day, and daily activities frequently relocate to open-air public spaces. It´s not uncommon, for example, for a family to leave the house doors open (especially in the heat of summer) and engage in a fluid in-out-in-out of activity that overflows the house boundaries and spreads into the sidewalk, the street, or the local plaza. I felt disconnected from people in Pennsylvania; I had to drive to get anywhere, and since I didn´t have a car it was almost impossible to do things on my own (not that my parents wouldn´t have driven me if I had asked). Why does there need to be so much space between things? Is it because we Americans are so much private-oriented? Is it a geographical and climatological construct? Maybe, but San Diego is very much like Granada in terms of climate, and even there I was taken aback by the number of sprawling strip malls.
There were, of course, many things in the US that were a joy to return to. Beyond the obvious pleasure of seeing friends and family, I certainly enjoyed free refills, drinks with ice, grocery stores with actual selection, American coffee to go (not that I don´t love my cafe con leche!), un-dubbed movies, and lots and lots of green (nature-wise, that is).
But enough of that!
When I got back to Granada, Wadih threw me a surprise birthday dinner with a few friends, which was really lovely. I was pretty exhausted after my 33 hours of traveling, but we had a great time. For a gift, Wadih gave me a beautiful little bird (yes, it´s real!) that we´ve named Rainbow on account of her polychromatic appearance. She´s still a little frightened of humans, but the sweetest thing is that she sings whenever Wadih begins to play guitar or I play piano. A lovely birthday present :)
Since then, I´ve been trying to figure out the whole job situation. It seems that NObody has work here... there´s lots of talk about how people in the area are having a hard time getting even the most basic of jobs (like waitressing, cleaning, being a secretary, etc.). Still working on it!
I´ve been observing Ramadan with Wadih, which has been a new challenge for me. I don´t mind the lack of food during the day but it´s difficult to go without drinking at least a glass of water. Still, it makes me understand better what Wadih feels and goes through (last Ramadan I ate while he fasted and it actually caused a fair amount of stress between us... I didn´t get why he was so grumpy, and he didn´t want to be around if there was a lot of food being eaten). This time, we´re making an effort to not be grumpy and to thoroughly enjoy the food when it comes time for eating. The fast certainly does make you appreciate food even more! In fact, it makes you appreciate basic things... like the fact that you HAVE the option to walk out and get a drink of clean water or eat a snack whenever you want. Many people in the world live with this "fasting" as a regular course of daily life. If only everyone would take the time and the sacrifice to understand what it really feels like to go hungry and thirsty (and even then with the knowledge that a wonderful feast is awaiting at the day´s end!)

Address change

2008-08-28T00:20:00.002+02:00

In case anybody's interested, my new address in Spain (as of July 1, 2008) is:

Laura Smith
Cuesta del Chapiz 17, bajo-dcha
18010 Granada
SPAIN

I always love to get mail :)

P.S.

2008-08-27T06:38:00.004+02:00

I just realized that my earlier blogs (from January and February) left some loose threads, so I wanted to clean them up...
Unfortunately, the second little chihuahua pup I was raising didn't make it either. He died at 6 weeks of a massive ringworm infestation that he probably got through his mother. We gave Toby back because of his agression, but Ramsis is still with us and as chipper as ever!
I moved to a new apartment in July - it's still in Granada but in a much more convenient location (i.e. not on the highest hill in the entire city). For the month before I came back to the US I was working as an English conversation assistant through a Spanish scholarship program for Spanish college students. I spent a week in August with my college roommates in San Diego, and we had tons of fun hanging out and reliving crazy times.
My mom and dad are doing great with their second service dog puppy, Midge, and my brother just started his junior year at the University of Vermont.
That's the abridged version of the past few months :)

Back in gear

2008-08-27T03:02:00.008+02:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post, to say the least. If you're still reading, I'm impressed, honestly. This is why I last about two days when doing a diary... I never seem to follow through on my entries.
So I guess that this post is part promise and part explanation. The promise is that I will do my best to post on a weekly basis (ha, we'll see if I can actually do this!) and the explanation is to tell why I've decided to stay in Spain for a second year.
I went to Spain last September with the assumption that I would return saying, "That was the best year of my life." Well, it certainly wasn't the best year ever. In fact, there were times when I felt like saying that it was the worst year of my life. In terms of personal growth, on the other hand, it was a very good year. I look at the person I was at my college graduation and feel that I've grown immensely. Not only have I faced the "real world," but I've done it in a foreign language and in a foreign country. I've been able to put into perspective many of the wonderful attributes of the US as well as some of the ways in which the "American way" is not the way for me. Having visited the emergency room three times this year, for example, (only once was to actually be treated - i.e. when I put my finger in the blender and accidentally turned it on...) has really made me appreciate the Spanish medical system. Talk about universal healthcare! But I digress...
The beginning of my Fulbright experience was great but quickly went downhill. When I moved to Granada my project never truly recovered from the blow that it had taken in Toledo. Anyone who has spent significant time in Spain will understand why I say that mid-November is not a good time to try to re-energize an academic project! Although I tried to be very objective and professional in my earlier post explaining my move from Toledo, the fact of the matter is that I felt hurt and betrayed by people I had believed to be my friends. I haven't had the courage to return to Toledo since last October, and I'm not sure how long it will take me to be willing to go back. In the myopic lens of my memory, Toledo holds nothing but pain and disappointment. It's a shame, too, because it's a beautiful city, and I went with such high hopes and expectations.
For most of the winter, even after I had left Toledo, I was pretty depressed; I felt like I had no friends, and my self-confidence was low as I tried to sort out what I wanted to "do" with my life. After being a "somebody" at William and Mary, I felt like a "nobody" in Spain. I also felt guilty and sad about being so far from family. Financially-speaking, I didn't handle my year very well and was stretched and worried by the end of my stipend. Granada also has a way of swallowing you whole, of taking you away without letting you realize that you're gone. It's a funny city in that sense... I love it terribly but there have been times when I felt like I'd lost the real Laura Smith.
By the beginning of summer, however, things had gotten much better. I felt like I belonged, had friends, and knew some purpose and direction for my future.
I'm not sure exactly what changed... several things changed, I guess. I made friends, joined, groups, started practicing piano like I should have for years, decided to apply for a master's program for the fall of 2009, and got into a regular schedule that helped me organize my days. My brother came over for two weeks in May and we took a fabulous backpacking trip through the Pyrenees and across Mallorca (see the photos on my webshots site!). Being outdoors and feeling connected to the earth again was wonderful - my brother and I had the best time with each other that we've ever had in our entire lives.
Another huge factor has been the wonderful support of my boyfriend, Wadih. Throughout the year we have worked through the challenges and difficulties inherent in an inter-racial, inter-cultural, inter-linguistic (you'd be surprised at what an important factor that is!), and inter-religious relationship, but I have learned, in the process, so much about honesty, loyalty, values, and of course, love (cue cheesy Hallmark commercial music).
So to make a long story short, I'm going back.
I decided to spend another year in Spain because I didn't want my 2007-2008 year to be my only experience of Spain. Although I've had a great time, it hasn't been fabulous, and I want to come away from my time abroad feeling positive, productive, and confident. I started several projects - namely the recording of a CD - that I want to go back and complete in order to have something to show for my Fulbright experience. My three musical groups - Sin Fronteras, Gospel Molotov, and Hootenanny - are under way and doing well, and I want to see where they can take me this coming year. I want to be with Wadih, who has commitments in Spain for another year, and I want to continue to make friends and acquaintences. I'd like to keep working on my Spanish and maybe on my Arabic this time as well. I want the challenge of "making it work" in a foreign country, though a different culture, and with a different language. And I want to do it knowing who I am and trusting in that certainty.
My current plans, as of this posting, are to remain in Spain (or a combination of Spain and Morocco) until next summer, after which I'd like to return to the States for my master's degree. It's a pretty fluid situation, but we'll see how it goes :)
All right, well if you're still reading, you've suffered through my entire sappy, cheesy, over-emotional, and lengthy monologue. I don't say all of this to look for pity or to place myself on any sort of pedestal, but rather to say what's actually been going on in my life these past months. It's been hard being home and answering the inevitable, "so how's Spain?" question. Here's the answer in full. It hasn't always been good but it's getting better and I'm looking forward to going back.
Keep posted to see how this next year shapes up!
Thanks for sticking with me...

Rain in Spain

2008-02-24T19:12:00.002+01:00

The past few days have been rainy here in Granada, but considering that we haven't had precipitation in over a month, it's not so bad.
Some sad news: on Valentine's Day I woke up and found that one of the little puppies had died over night. Poor little guy - but at least he had a fighting chance. On the bright side, his brother - now dubbed Polo (short for Polaris, the north star, because he has a white "star" on his forehead. And because I'm a nerd like that) - is doing well and has even started to walk a little bit. He's been transferred from the oven to underneath the radiator, and so far so good :)
I had my first concert singing with "Gospel Molotov" on Thursday... lots of fun. The group is a strange mix of Americans, Brits, and Spaniards, but the music comes out pretty well. Wadih and I have been working hard on writing, arranging, and transcribing some of his songs; we're hoping to start recording some ideas for the CD this week.
Other than that, things are going well here. This morning the Granada Fulbrighters had a brunch at one of the women's house. It was great to see people and chat... even though we're all here together, we're rarely all in the same place at the same time. We'll all be heading to Valencia in a few weeks for our mid-year Fulbright reunion. Should be fun!

And Then There Were 6...

2008-02-11T22:08:00.000+01:00

The theme of 2008 is...
puppies.
I think I mentioned in my previous entries that we have a little black puppy named Ramsis. At the end of January we decided to adopt another puppy from the animal shelter as a playmate for Ramsis, and we ended up with Toby, who is a small brown 3 month-old mix. Only a few days later, I found two puppies in the trash can near my house... at the time they were only a day or two old. So now there are six of us - Me, Wadih, Ramsis, Toby, pup1 and pup2. The past week has been somewhat crazy since the little babies have to be fed "Puppy Replacement Milk" out of a bottle every couple of hours. Their eyes still haven't opened yet but I think that by tomorrow they might be!
But really... who throws newborn puppies in the trash???
I think the man at the animal shelter told me that there are around 150,000 cats and dogs living "on the street" in Granada
Unfortunately (or, perhaps, fortunately considering that we have a one bedroom apartment) I'll be giving the pups away as soon as they're old enough to eat solid food, and Toby may not end up staying with us due to some aggression issues.
My parents also have a new puppy for those of you who don't know -
Rossi is now their "pet" (although still trained as a demo dog) and Midge is the new baby in training.
What can I say - the Smiths are running zoos on two different continents!

I'll put pictures of the dogs up soon :)

Happy 2008!

2008-01-24T14:21:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone!
I know it's been ages since my last blog, but I assure you that I'm alive and doing well :)
My family was here from Dec. 29-Jan. 9th, and we had a fabulous time traveling around Andalucia. It was really wonderful to see them again and have good old family adventures (of which there are many stories that will survive the years, I'm sure)..
Since then I've been getting back into the swing of things, so to say. Wadih and I are writing/arranging music for our new band; I started singing in a "gospel" choir this week; I'm onto week 2 of flamenco dance classes and having a ton of fun with that.
Granada is very sunny and warm right now although I miss snow (and I thought that Williamsburg was bad... here we haven't even had a SINGLE flurry... sigh...)
I'm going to post a longer entry with more detailed updates, but for now Happy 2008!
Laura
P.S. I've also posted some photos - long overdue - from Toledo on webshots... check them out at http://community.webshots.com/user/lesmit

Mountains, puppies, and herds of goats

2007-11-27T14:05:00.000+01:00

I am convinced that i live in the most beautiful place in the world. Well, at least what I´ve seen of the world. I think that you have to be a certain type of person, think a certain way, or have a certain experience to think that Granada is a magical city. I´m sure that to most people it is a dirty, graffiti and hippy-filled city with a few pretty views, but perhaps some of you reading this will know what I mean. Despite all of the dirt, the city is at once breathtaking, enchanting, haunting, raw and yet refined, living and breathing town. Each part of Granada has its own color, its own smell and feel. It is new and ancient, decaying and vibrant.
I live - seriously - as high as you can possibly live in Granada (which, by the way, is not a fun 45 minute walk uphill at 3 in the morning in the winter or 3 in the afternoon in the summer). Right behind my house is a large undeveloped area with woods and vast open spaces. I went there the other day as the sun was setting... on one side I could see the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains; over my right shoulder was the Alhambra, framed by yellowing autumn trees that filtered the fading light; behind me stretched the entire city of Granada under the red clouds. Gorgeous beyond all reasoning.
And did I mention that I was there with my puppy? Oh yes, that´s right, I have a puppy. His name is Ramsis and he is a 9 week old furball of energy. The constant stream of pee that he seems to emit all over my floor is not so fun, but otherwise I love having him around (well, I guess I didn´t love him so much when he ate the power cord to my computer the other day). Dogs are everywhere in Granada, and it´s in general a pretty dog-friendly city. I took him into the supermarket the other day in my purse, and he´s already experienced bar life.
I took Ramsis outside the other day and - low and behold - there was an entire herd of goats (and some sheep) eating right outside the door of my apartment. No joke. And who knew that goats climb trees? I certainly didn´t. They were sitting up in the olive trees eating the branches. It´s not every day that you find goats in the trees in your backyard.
Things with my project continue to go slowly, but there is some progress. I was sick with the flu last week, which put a hold on plans to look for project-related information. I did, however, manage to cook a full Thanksgiving dinner (chicken -no way was I going to be able to find turkey-, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing (courtesy of my mom, who sent a package from the US), creamed spinach, honey-glazed carrots, corn, bread, and pumpkin pie with a crust made from scratch) for 5 people. Spaniards, at least in my experience, don´t really seem to get the pumpkin thing. Man do I miss pumpkin lattes!
Tonight I think I´m going to get a Christmas tree. I asked Wadih´s sister where I could get one:
Me: Where can I get a Christmas tree?
Rabia: From the store
Me: What store?
Rabia: From the store that is the giant pine forest right behind your house
Me: Uh, oh yeah...
It should be quite the adventure! Not only do I not know if anyone actually owns the woods (I kind of doubt it), but the only tools I have are a small hand trowel and a 2 euro serrated bread knife. We´ll see how that goes...
That´s all for now!
Until the next...

And now to Granada

2007-10-30T10:37:00.000+01:00

For all of those who were wondering, yes, I am still alive :) Thank you for your concern.
Things have been rather hectic lately, but they´re finally starting to slow down. Last week Leah, a friend from WM, came over on her fall break (she´s teaching in England) and we had a great time touring around Andalucia. When I came back I had a new apartment waiting for me, which is pretty exciting. Here´s my new address:

Laura Smith
c/ Aljarafe 5 - 3C
18010 Granada
SPAIN

One day I will actually post photos...
That´s it for now!

Se Alquila Apartamento

2007-10-12T18:24:00.000+02:00

Trying to rent my apartment in Toledo to somebody else has to be one of the most challenging things I’ve done in my life. I know it doesn’t seem like it – how hard can it be to sublet an apartment, right? I’ve only ever rented one other thing in my life, however, and that was a house that I rented with 6 other girls; I wasn’t even the one responsible for figuring out electricity and water and cable… I just paid my rent and that was that. Now I’m trying to do it completely on my own and in a foreign language. I HATE talking on the phone to strangers in Spanish. People talk so quickly that I end up asking them to slow down and repeat everything five times. It’s amazing how much more you understand when you can see a person and their mouth, facial expressions, and hand gestures. On the bright side, I suppose I’ve learned a lot from the experience: I’ve learned how to post a classified add in the Spanish newspaper, how to be an effective salesperson (for example, DON’T tell them that there’s no oven unless they specifically ask), how to convince a landlord that it’s ok to get out of the year-long contract you’ve signed, how to say words that there´s usually no need to know (such as drying rack, shutters, utilities), how to write an effective add to post around the town, how to…

I’ve also met some pretty interesting characters in this process. After a while, you can tell right away if they’re going to like the apartment or not. One woman wanted to rent it – practically sight unseen – and she told me to hurry up and start packing so that she could move her four children and all of their things in right away (keep in mind that I live in this apartment by myself). Most of the people have been very nice, though. It’s just frustrating to hear “well, we’ll call you later to let you know what we think,” which inevitably means that I won’t ever hear from them again.

One thing that I will never get used to, however, is the incredible racism that this challenge has shown me. I hope that I don’t offend anyone by saying this; I can only speak from my own experiences and of course cannot generalize to all people. From my point of view, though, Spaniards are living in an age of race that is perhaps comparable to the United States 60 years ago. It hurts me greatly when I find a very nice Romanian couple who wants to live in the apartment and I am essentially told that the landlord will not rent to Romanians. Period. I assume that the same goes for Chinese, Bulgarians, Somalis, and Moroccans. Never mind the fact that one of these Romanians has residency papers, that both of them have legal entrance into the country, that they’re registered students, and that they’re willing to pay their rent up to six months in advance. Several times I’ve had people call about the apartment and tell me that they can’t find anyone who will rent to Romanians/Bulgarians. I’ve had people that I respect as decent and kind individuals tell me things like “the Chinese are ruining the economy. We should kick them all out right now” or “all Bulgarians are dirty, lying thieves and you can’t trust any of them” or “all Moroccans are backstabbers. Don’t trust them; they’re all dishonest.” Even people who know that my boyfriend is Moroccan say things like that to me. A little tact, perhaps?

When I express my indignation, frustration, or repulsion with these racist mentalities, I am told, without fail, “well, perhaps things in America are different. You Americans are naïve, but this is the way the world works.” Is it the way the world works? And I’m not so sure that we are so easily labeled as naïve. Of course there is racism in the United States; we’ve had our own struggles in the past and we continue to have them today. I’ve heard anti-semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Latino statements from people around me, but I have never heard anyone… well, let me rephrase that: I have never heard an educated person (as are the people here who tell me these things) say “I would never rent to a black person” or “never trust a Mexican; they’re all dirty, lying, cheating, stealing, bums.” Call me sheltered if you’d like. I refuse to believe that this is the way the world SHOULD or MUST work. I don’t consider myself an overly-optimistic person (nor do I consider myself an overly-pessimistic person) but I have to believe that there is a better solution. As I told a 62 year old man here who was trying to convince me that all Muslims are terrible people, “perhaps when I’m your age I will be able to say that the world is intrinsically filled with evil, but what a shame it would be to think that at 22. I still have to believe in the inherent value and goodness of people, even though I know that there are those who are in fact evil. And I refuse to give in to such blatant and uncompromising stereotypes.” How can we, as a generation, expect to advance at all if we don’t fight against such racism and ignorance?

Big Changes

2007-10-06T15:31:00.001+02:00

Sometimes things don't go the way you've planned, and you just have to go with the flow, as they say.
So I'm moving to Granada.
Over the past several weeks it has become increasingly clear that my project cannot proceed as planned in Toledo. I came to Toledo specifically to work with one organization, but it turns out that there isn't as much work as I was originally told. My boss doesn't return my phone calls and doesn't seem to have enough time to guide my project. But these things happen.
I've been in touch with the Fulbright Commission and they support my change of location as a necessary step. They actually told me that this isn't all that rare; they frequently have students who change cities after they get to Spain.
The unfortunate thing about a change now is that I've already signed a year-long contract for my apartment, I've already opened a bank account in Toledo (although that shouldn't be a big problem) and I've already enrolled in and payed for an Arabic class. So now I'm responsible not only for finding someone to sublet my Toledo apartment but I also have to find a new apartment and a new project supervisor in Granada.
On the bright side, I have several contacts in Granada from the last time I was in Spain, including a qanun teacher! (how often do you find THAT just by walking down the street???)
I am somewhat sad about leaving Toledo - I've been thinking of it as my Spanish home for the past year or so, and it's hard now to adjust to a different frame of mind. I'm optimistic about the opportunities that await me in Andalucia, however, and if nothing else at least this will be a new adventure!
SO - if you were planning on sending me a letter or something, please wait and send it to my new address in Granada, which I'll post once I get it.
I'll be leaving as soon as I find someone to sublet my apartment - it could be tomorrow, it could be next week.
This is a test in flexibility and patience, but it's good to know that even though one door has shut, another one is now opening.

Fall in Toledo

2007-09-26T11:36:00.000+02:00

Fall has finally come to Castilla-La Mancha. I'm sitting in the main plaza of Toledo typing on my laptop and I'm actually rather chilly in my WM hooded sweatshirt (how very American. As if they couldn't tell from the computer... I don't think people here use laptops very much, and certainly not in public). But I am at last victorious over all of the security encoded wireless connections in my building. If I sit on one particular bench in the plaza I can get all of the free wireless that I want.
Last week in Granada was pretty good all in all; I love Granada and always will but after being in the more "refined," northern Toledo (where people actually speak intelligible Castillian, dreadlocks are rare, and weekday nightlife is usually over by midnight), it was a little bit of an adjustment being back. I saw my boyfriend, Wadih, after being apart for a year, which was also an adjustment, but things are good now.
Sunday I went to Robledo de (La?) Chavela, which is a beautiful town up in the mountains outside of Madrid. Dino, an Israeli cymbalom player (yes, this is my life) lives there, and he wanted to do a little bit more recording with the qanun. Unfortunately I couldn't get a ride back to Toledo, so I had to take public transportation - which included a bus, two metros, and a train - with my qanun and dulcimer. Not so fun.
As for this week, not a whole lot has been happening so far. I went back to the foreigners office, spoke with a different person (who informed me that I did NOT, in fact, need an appointment, and that I had been wasting two weeks trying to get one), and actually got to turn some papers in. However, I was missing the identification number of the organization I'm working with and my "boss" has yet to return my phone calls and give it to me, so I'm still waiting.
Other than that, I'm going to go to Portugal for a few days starting on Friday with a friend I met here. A little beach will be nice :)

Orientation and a wedding

2007-09-17T13:38:00.000+02:00

The past week has been so busy that it´s hard to believe that it´s only been one week!
Last Sunday all of the Spanish Fulbrighters arrived in Madrid for a 4-day orientation on program logistics, etc. The program itself wasn´t super useful since I had already gotten an apartment, a bank account, a cell phone... there were a lot of talks about how to understand the university system in Spain, but since I´m not working through a university, it wasn´t that applicable. On the other hand, it was really nice to meet other interested, intelligent, students from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of projects. My new Fulbright friends include people who are working on fluid mechanics (yeah, I still don´t really understand what that is) in Barcelona, forestry in Lugo, archival work on early Spanish colonialism of Mexico in Sevilla, and sociology studies in Granada.
I got back from Madrid Thursday afternoon and we had the first rain that I´ve seen since I´ve gotten here, and even that was maybe a few drizzles for about 5 minutes. Everything is so incredibly dry... Spain has a persistent drought problem during the summer, and it´s pretty easy to see why.
Friday was a day of adventures at the Office of Foreigners. Once I finally found the place I walked into the office only to find myself walking past dozens of staring faces - not one of them American, British, or even Western European. There were quite a few Moroccans, some people from Latin America, and a group of Romanians, plus assorted people from across different areas. Apparently you have to get a ticket and get in line if you want information, but there were no tickets to be had. So I waited. Finally the police officer came out of the information office and handed out a few. I got number 69; there are only 70 numbers per day. The police officer, meanwhile, did absolutely nothing, even when people asked him how to get a number or how to get an appointment - he merely gave them vague answers and wandered in and out of the building, smoking. I think that the Romanians were trying to bribe him by giving him cigarettes. It seems to have worked, too, because they got an appointment even though they didn´t have a number and I didn´t get an appointment even though I did.
By the time it was my turn to go to the information counter (not for an appointment, mind you, just for information on how to GET an appointment) an argument had broken out between some of the people who didn´t have numbers and the police officer. At the information counter they merely gave me a phone number to call in order to make an appointment. I have yet to be able to get through to that number despite numerous tries. Oh bureaucracy.
As much as I love Spain, things like that really bother me. I can´t imagine how difficult it would be to go through that process for people who don´t speak Spanish, who don´t have much education, who don´t have papers...
And while we´re on the subject, one other thing that bothers me here is the meat. It´s quite possible that I´ll be a vegetarian by the time I leave. I am not a picky eater but I am certainly a picky meat eater. I want my meat skinless, boneless, fatless, and well cooked. Pretty much everything I´ve had here has been with skin, with bones, with fat, and worst of all, WITH EYES. Man, I hate that. I got invited over to someone´s house for dinner the other night and when I arrived there was a plate of whole, fried fish waiting for me. Imagine my delight having to break their little heads off and chew the meat (and guts and scales and fins) off the spine. By the time I was finished I had a lovely little pile of heads staring up at me from the plate. At least I didn´t have to eat the heads. There´s my picky American stomach for you!
Yesterday was absolutely wonderful, however. Eva, Antonio - an excellent flautist - and I went to the town of Consuegra to play for a wedding. The wedding was in a medieval castle surrounded by those tipical Castilla - La Mancha windmills. Absolutely gorgeous. I have pictures that will eventually go up here as well once I get my act together. It was seriously like something out of a movie or a fairytale.
Well, I´m off to Granada for a few days... can´t wait!

Contact information

2007-09-10T11:04:00.000+02:00

Hello from Madrid!

I finally have an apartment and an address for all of you who have been asking for it.
If for some reason you want to get in touch (other than by email, of course), here´s how to do it:

Laura Smith
Plaza Montalbanes, Nº 2 - 3D
45001 Toledo
Spain

cell: (from US 011 + 34) 693.46.16.75

It´s pretty expensive to call a Spanish cell phone from the US, so don´t do it unless you really want to.
My apartment is wonderful - it´s in the old section of town in an attic loft.
I´m going to post photos as soon as I can!
Right now I´m in Fulbright orientation in Madrid. It´s been nice to meet interesting people who are doing research and teaching projects here. There is one other guy who will be living in Madrid but commuting to Toledo a couple of times a week. There´s also another Fulbrighter who is going to be working on recording North African/flamenco fusion and turning it into hip-hop (!!) so that´s pretty cool and fun.
I finally feel like my feet are more or less under me... I have a bank account, an apartment, a cell phone, some contacts... now all I really need is the student card so that they don´t kick me out in 3 months!
On a side note, I was walking in Toledo the other evening with Eva, talking in Spanish, and I heard a group of Americans behind me speaking English. I sort of turned around and smiled at them; when I turned back I heard one of them say, "Did you see that Spanish woman look at us? She´s probably thinking ´why are they speaking that ugly language?´" So I turned back around and was like "hey guys! What´s up? How´s it going?" We all got a good laugh out of it. Turns out there´s a study abroad program near where I´m living.
Anyhow, I think we have some sort of program coming up in a few minutes, so I´d better be heading out of the computer room.
More coming soon...

To the bank!

2007-09-06T17:16:00.000+02:00

Accomplishment #1: I now have a Spanish bank account

Next step: Housing

En España

2007-09-05T12:40:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone! I´m now in Spain! After so many months of waiting, planning, and preparing, it´s kind of hard to believe that it´s actually here!
Yesterday was a long day with all of the traveling, but it went way smoother than I was expecting (especially considering that I had to lug an over-sized Middle Eastern instrument through the airport and onto the plane). Nobody really blinked an eye at the qanun (although I did get quite a few stares from passers-by).
I don´t necessarily have anything to report about my project yet - technically my grant doesn´t start until the 15th. We have orientation in Madrid from the 9th to the 15th, but I came early to get settled and un-jet-lagged before the program.
So, to give you a taste of what I´m feeling/experiencing, I´ll excerpt a little bit from what I wrote in my journal after arriving yesterday:

"Well, I´m here - and it hardly seems real. That is, until I open the window in Amanda´s room, where I´m staying, and I can see the sunset over the mountains and hear dogs barking and look at tiled roofs and listen to various conversations... then it is the most real thing that´s ever been.
Today I had the strange realization that this is my home for the year - and yet it is not my home; Lancaster will always be more home than anywhere else - and yet it feels here like a home I´ve always known. I wonder if everyone feels that way, as if there is one particular country that is the true home of the soul (as cheesy as it sounds). I think it would be very sad to never find that.
This afternoon as I was sitting in the sun on the ancient stones of the murallas de Toledo, I felt so at peace. And I also felt nervous, and frustrated (I couldn´t even look at the little lizards running around in peace without getting asked out by a sketchy, parents-aged man who suggested that I should have two boyfriends when I told him that I already had one) and of course exhausted. But every time I come to Spain it gets a little easier, a little more natural.
Eva told me several times today that I have sangre mediterranea in my roots. The thinks - and, actually, most Spaniards with whom I talk reasonably extensively think - that I´m somewhat of an abnormality. Here I am, a 22 year old, blue-eyed American girl studying North African music in Spain and toting around my giant qanun and more manageable dulcimer. I can´t possibly be the self-absorbed, skimpy-clothes wearing (although frankly the Spaniards have no right to comment on THAT), loud, oblivious American that they know, so I must be something else. Perhaps I´m too quiet [and at this point, my college roommate is laughing. Quiet? Right...]. "You´re more Spaniard than American," they say. I´ve also been told that I have an Arab disposition, but I´m not quite sure that I get that one. It´s so funny, though: always, "You´re not like other girls, are you?" I guess my parents would say that they always knew I wasn´t quite normal :)
Another thing, too: they always say "oh, you speak Spanish pretty well. You must have been here before." Not as if there isn´t an entire CONTINENT of Spanish-speakers right below the US. I´m just going to hope that it means my accent is distinctively Castillian enough that they recognize that I didn´t learn my Spanish in Mexico.
I´ve felt pretty good about my Spanish today. Occasionally my tongue feels like it´s made of lead, but I´ve been understanding people and getting my points across (with a little work).
All in all, today has had an eerie, circular quality to it. I had an incredible sense of circularity when I was walking down to the old walls from Zocodover this afternoon. It was like completing the circle that I began one year ago by walking up those same, steep steps and into what would become a great new adventure.
Ok, it´s 2:00 now and I´ve been up for 39 hours (minus some naps). Here´s just a quick summary for the rest of the day:
Eva and I played some music; she´s very excited about the possibilities for dulcimer and medieval music.
I whittled (is that how you spell that?) a new bridge post for the qanun out of my dulcimer noter using a pocket knife... resourcefullness can be a virtue
Amanda, Eva´s 4 year old daughter, told me I was ugly and that she hated me when I first got here (apparently she´s very jealous of her mother´s attention) and even tried to slam the door in my face when I came into the house. Once I gave her the gift I had brought of sparkly stickers and coloring stuff, however, she was my best friend and cried when I went into the bathroom - without her - to shower.
Eva, her husband Adnane, and I went to a bar around 11:00 for dinner to get some tapas... spent way too long discussing what in the world a "cordero" is ("well, it´s like a small sheep." "so it´s a baby sheep - a lamb?" "no, it´s not a sheep." "so what is it?" "well, it´s like a baby sheep")
I love how our conversations are consistently quadrilingual (ok, well my contributions are really only bilingual, but I can usually understand what´s being said in the other two)
Ok, time to sleep!"

So that´s about it for now, I guess. I´m sorry that this post is super-long. I promise they won´t always be this long!
I miss all you guys and hope that everyone´s doing well!
Hasta luego,
Laura

In the beginning...

2007-08-06T03:03:00.000+02:00

Welcome! I'm pretty new to all of this, so bear with me. But you're here, which means that you must be at least a LITTLE bit interested in what I'm doing in Spain... so thanks!
I'm still in the United States for another month but I figured that I should get this up and running. I haven't bought my ticket yet but I'm planning to leave September 3rd. Updates should be more regular (and hopefully more exciting) after that. So stay tuned!
If you don't know what it is that I'm doing in Spain (why is she setting up this blog anyhow?), here's the short version:
From September 9th, 2007-June 15th, 2008 I will be in Toledo, Spain, working on research as part of a Fulbright Grant awarded through the Institute of International Education. Here's the official line about Fulbright scholarships:
"The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program is administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. The United States Department of State administers the program with the assistance of U.S. Embassies in 89 other countries, a number of cooperating agencies in the U.S. and binational educational Commissions and Foundations in 50 countries that have executive agreements with the United States for continuing educational programs" (from the 2007 U.S. Fulbright Fellows Handbook).
My project aims to examine the ways in which music can be used to encourage the social and cultural integration for minority and immigrant populations. Specifically, I will be looking at how cultural organizations and institutions in Spain use/don't use music as a tool for the integration of large numbers of North African immigrants currently residing in the country. The majority of my work will be with an organization called MESTIZARTE, whose goal is to provide educational cultural programming through the arts in order to aid in the diffusion and acceptance of minority groups.
What does this mean for me on a day-to-day basis? Right now, I'm not entirely sure, to be perfectly honest. I'll be bringing my qanun and fretted dulcimer to Spain, so hopefully I will be able to do some performing in addition to interviewing musicians, scheduling concerts, examining festival publicity, and attending lots of cultural events.
Although my work will be based in Toledo (that's where I'll be living, too), I'm hoping to travel to other cities in southern Spain (Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla) and possibly to Morocco as well.
Hopefully that makes sense!
Check back in September to see what actually happens...