Brendan Shea: La Arcada

Watercolor Class

2011-07-31T16:56:00.007-04:00

This Summer I took a watercolor course. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the course at the beginning because I don't really like painting too much. Something about how the brush goes against my nature I think. A brush is not easily controlled, paint is messy, and watercolor is not a very forgiving medium. As I typically emphasize craftsmanship and detail I knew I would have to make significant adjustments to my ideas, and learn to embrace the nature and strength of the medium. Since this was really my first continued attempt to learn painting, I think I made some solid headway into learning how to mix colors effectively and practice brush work. One of my main goals was to experiment with a looser style and I think I was making progress towards the end. I'll be taking acrylic in the Fall and hopefully continue my development and exploration over a longer 15 week class rather than the condensed 6 week summer course.

John's Desk

Teteria

The Bridge Jumpers

Rochesterville Renaissance

Assignment 6: Reportraits

2011-04-26T21:00:00.007-04:00

The last assignment for my Digital Photography class was to be a self-guided project. Since the same prof taught my undergrad film course and issued the same assignment for that class, I knew it was coming. From my memory, my previous attempt in 'aught 7' was pretty lame - something about high contrast texture samples that made you think I left my camera with 6 year old for the weekend. (It was the end of a long semester, Junioritis, etc. lets just leave it at that.) Since I regret not taking advantage of that opportunity and because I'm slowly turning into a hand-raising, overachieving adult learner, I kept a few ideas floating around for the last project of this class.

The timing of the class worked out that I would be at my fianceé's family's house the weekend before the due date I decided to go with a rephotography project using portraits. Related to my previous months-long rephotography project in Spain, this would be a spin-off using old family photos and reenacting the scenes with the same people and as many of the same objects as possible. Using my favorite inspiration tool 'StumbleUpon.com' I had collected a couple examples of the idea here and here. After studying the methods of these people and brainstorming with Cori's family, we sifted through their old photos and found some examples that we thought would work. Enjoy!

Assignment 5: Landscapes

2011-04-17T13:37:00.016-04:00

With this assignment I was looking forward to using a few techniques that I have learned about recently from various photo blogs and tutorial websites. The two techniques are High Dynamic Range (HDR) and "Tilt Shift" photography.

High Dynamic Range is technique that can really only be done with digital photography that allows you to blend multiple photos. The typical method for HDR is to take 3 photos, one with a standard exposure; one that is over exposed, and one that is under exposed. With the over exposed image you are able to see details from the dark/shadow areas that you not normally get, while he underexposed image gives you more detail from highlight areas, such as the sky. By merging the photos using the HDR function in photoshop, the program pulls the best information from all three photos to give you an ideal (though often unrealistic) exposure with a wide range of tones. Here are some examples, as well as the images I have included below.

Delaware Park, Buffalo

Cobbs Hill Reservoir

The second technique that I wanted to try is Tilt Shift photography. Though its a relatively simple technique to do, I still really don't understand how it works. The effectiveness depends on the subject matter and the angle of the shot, but when done well, the technique gives normal subjects look like miniatures. My interpretation is that tilt shift photography is a type of optical illusion that plays on our assumption that a photo shot at a downward angle with a short depth of field must have been taken of a small subject at close range.

From my understanding, to make a true tilt-shift photo you should buy an actual tilt-shift lens. Since most people won't be inclined to do that, the next best thing is to create the effect using a regular image in photoshop with a few short steps. The best candidates for tilt-shift are images taken from above of small scenes and objects with bright colors (think of the way you view a miniature train set). In photoshop, open the image and duplicate the background. Click Fliter>Blur>Lens blur. From there, take a soft eraser brush and erase a line from the blurred layer over the area you would like to be in focus (you may have to try it a few times to get the desired effect). It is best to have some of the blur remain in front and behind your subject. Here are some examples I found online, and my own examples are included below.

Dino BBQ from Court Street Garage, Rochester

Hot Dog vender on Court Street, Rochester

This image below is an additional landscape that I took in Delaware park at the former site of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. I had just recently learned of the significance of this event as the location of the assassination of President McKinley. I was inspired by the historical significance of this part of Buffalo and the irony that the seemingly extravagant buildings built for that event have now been replaced by a mundane residential neighborhood. I attempted to tell the story using landmark that remains and an overlap of the old and new.

Assignment 4: Self-Portrait

2011-03-23T18:44:00.006-04:00

Brendan Hemingshea

Assignment 3: Macro/Pano

2011-03-19T15:15:00.010-04:00

Portrait Assignment

2011-02-26T19:04:00.009-05:00

The second assignment for my Photography Class this semester was a portrait assignment. The project had many sub-exercises from photographing Naz Faculty/Staff, environmental, duality, traditional/antique, and extreme close ups.

Abstract Close-ups

Digital Photography Class: Assignment 1

2011-02-15T21:03:00.005-05:00

This Spring I'll be taking Digital Photography concepts at Nazareth, a course I've been looking forward to for a while. The course is taught by Paul Porell, the same professor I took Film Photography with as an undergrad about 4 years ago. I really enjoy photography, and have a great desire to be a proficient photographer so I want to take full advantage of the course. In the past I think I have made some good stuff and have the potential to be very good, but I certainly had regrets after taking film. It always seemed that after I had learned the techniques or went through a process I would then think 'what if I had done this...' but then ran out of time. I also have to admit I didn't want to take the course this semester because I didn't want to have to deal with snow on the ground and a busy schedule. What can you do. Anyway, I picked up a new Nikon D3100 in hopes of mastering all of the functions and features during the semester.

Our first assignment was an introductory lesson in acquainting ourselves with our cameras and their capabilities, and then trying a variety of shots in broad genres of photography.

Here is a selection of some of the first shots:

Lamberton Conservatory

Random Observations

Printmaking work

2010-07-21T13:10:00.004-04:00

This summer, I decided to take a Printmaking class as part of my ongoing struggle to finish my masters degree sometime before the age of 30. Having just freshly arrived back in the States from our year in Spain, my artwork was heavily influenced by our experiences there as well as the Spanish history and aesthetic. Throughout the year I documented many examples of objects and designs I found inspiring in a sketchbook. I kept many ideas for future works knowing that I did not have the material or studio space to execute much more than drawings and photography while in Spain. So for most of the year I really looked forward taking this printmaking course to fully flesh out the sketches, rubbings, clippings and sentence fragments that filled my sketchbook. Here are the finished products:

Granada Ventana

Fuente Dorada

Fuente Dorada [b&w]

Arcos de Cordoba

Segovia

The following prints are variations of a piece I call "Reconquistada" which means "re-conquered" in English. The work was inspired by various trips I took to Palaces through out Spain. What struck me most about Spanish history is that the country has been conquered so many times by so many different cultures over time. With this piece, I tried to represent each one of those major eras with a sample of their design style, taken from examples I found in palaces throughout the country, and then worked together in on flowing design.

Starting at the bottom and moving to the top, I incorporated designs from the Celts (Asturian table carving), the Romans (floor mosaic), the Visigoths (relief column), the Moors (relief wall of the Alhambra), the Christian Monarchs (gothic arch windows), Colonial Spain (Baroque doorway, Plateresque wall), and Modern Spain (Art Nuveau arch).

The name "reconquistada" is slightly modified from the word "Reconquista" - which the Spanish use to describe their own glorious re-conquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors of Africa. Throughout the country you may visit places where the locals will tell you a story of how the Catholic Spanish valiantly defeated the Muslim Moors, starting with ambush at Covadonga in 718 C.E. in the Northern Province Asturias, all the way to the expulsion of the final Nasrid Ruler from The Alhambra palace in 1492 C.E. With this story and the wealth of architectural and artistic evidence that remains throughout all of Spain, I was fascinated with the contrast between and variety of the empires that ruled the land over thousand of years. I believe the contributions they have all made to the history and culture are what make Spain such a unique wonderful country.

Reconquistada (brown)

reconquistada (embossed)

Reconquistada (multicolored roll)

Reconquistada (two plate color)

___

Arches

360 Panoramics

2010-05-09T10:26:00.018-04:00

Plaza Mayor - Valladolid

Plaza Universidad - Valladolid

Plaza Madrid - Valladolid

Plaza Zorrilla - Valladolid

Plaza Mayor - Salamanca

Djemaa el Fna - Marrakech

I discovered a new photography technique recently that I've had a chance to play around with, called a '360 Panoramic.' Similar to the digital 'photo-stitch' or 'photomerge' panoramic technique that I have been using for a while to create digital panoramic photos, this is made in a similar way. When successful, it comes out looking like a mini-planet, and I think its works as a cool way to represent an open space. The technique is a bit more advanced because you need to be more precise when you take the photos, and you need to have a more advanced version of Photoshop with the 'Polar Coordinates' feature, but give it a try!

Instructions:

Stand in one position and take photos in a circle to have a complete 360 degrees. This will take about 10-15 photos - make sure they overlap for best results.
Import the photos into your computer and merge them together in photoshop using 'photomerge' [File>Automate>Photomerge] This may take 10-20 minutes.
When the photos are merged and you are satisfied with the results, flatten the layers and crop the photo so there are no empty white parts on the canvas. VERY IMPORTANT: make sure that the ends of the photo align exactly. Do not have any repeating data (like the same light post on both the left and right side), the ends should blend seamlessly
Flip the canvas upside down [Image>Image Rotation>180]
Create the 360 image using Polar Coordinates [Filter>Distort>Polar coordinates] This may take another 10-20 minutes.
Resize the photo so that it is square shaped 1:1 and looks 'correct' (whatever that may mean)
You will probably have lots of empty space in the sky area (where you would expect when you try to fit a circle inside a square). To remedy this problem, select sections of the sky that do not have important information with the lasso tool and then use the warp tool [Edit>Transform>Warp] and stretch the section to fill the empty space. Patch and Clone stamp accordingly.

Tips:
When picking the site for the photo, it is best to have a place with nothing in the foreground (such as a large plaza or park).
You want to have a good amount of ground and sky, so if there isn't much distance between you and the objects you want(buildings, trees, etc.) you may have to take two sets of photos; above and below, and join them later.
A nice sunny day with few clouds is best, and will make it easier to edit the photo later in Photoshop

Related websites with some good examples and additional instructions:

Spanish Civil War Propaganda Art

2010-05-04T14:47:00.010-04:00

When my parents were here, we took the time to go to Riena Sofia, the modern art museum in Madrid. It is most famous for its collection of Picassos and Dalís, especially Guernica - Picasso's famous painting of the destruction of the Spanish Civil War. Aside from the most notable works, I really enjoyed a section they had about propaganda art during the Spanish Civil War. One of the artists that I liked best was Helios Gómez. He was on the side of the Republicans and made black and white prints that represented the views of the Communist/Anarchist faction of that party. I really liked the style, and the content and narratives were incredible. I've included some examples of his work below and you can read his biography here. I found a book of his work in the museum bookstore called "La Revolución Gráfica (pictured to the right) and there is another one called "Viva Octubre." I definitely plan on using him for classroom examples and inspiration for my own work in the future.

Other book entitled, "Viva Octubre"

2 months left

2010-05-01T09:10:00.005-04:00

Just as my parents caught their plane back to the States, it seems almost on queue that our time in Spain felt like it was entering the ‘final stretch.’ I had been looking forward to my parents coming to Spain for a while, and we had a really great time when they were here. The sad part is that they were unlucky enough to have all the same weather we’ve been having in Spain for the last 4-5 months; rain, wind, gray skies and moderate cold. Wouldn’t you know it though, that once I returned home from the airport, my city would be transformed back to the way it was when I arrived in September. Sunny skies, no jacket needed, tables and chairs out on all the sidewalks and people in the streets.

However, despite the positive change in the weather, it now feels like the clock is ticking until the end of June. As Cori and I have been saying all along, we have a lot of mixed feelings about being here. On the one hand its great to be experiencing a new culture, working at a Spanish high school, and soaking up the opportunities I've had to travel around Spain and get to know the country well. But on the other hand, we really miss our friends and family, and look forward to spending time with everyone and enjoying the summer. The good thing is, I feel like we have accomplished a lot here with all of our travels, and the great photos and stories that we have for memories. So I don’t feel like I will have any regrets when we leave. That said, there are still many things I want to get done before we fly home, and I don’t want to feel like I wasted a minute here.

For the next two months, we still have a few more exciting visits and trips ahead. Cori’s friend (and future bridesmaid) Rachael Rabb will be here in a few weeks, as well as my brother and his fiancée in another month – really looking forward to all of them getting here, should be fun! We also may head up to the north of Spain, to Santander, in June on the invite of Joaquin, one of the teachers at my school - very generous of him for sure!

I am also glad to report that I have submitted my rephotos to the newspaper Norte de Castilla, and they will let me know if/when they decided to publish them. Fingers crossed everyone! Beyond that art-related topic, I just plan to experiment with a few more photo/graphic design ideas in the time before we leave and do some drawing outside when the weather is nice.

Along with our imminent return to the U.S. comes the anxiety of job searching kicking into full gear and the sobering thought of all of my ‘real world’ responsibilities coming back, which I haven’t had to think about in months. It kind of takes the fun away from being abroad when you know that it makes job hunting and interviewing more difficult, but I am trying to remind myself not to worry and enjoy the time as much as possible because I have all my life to work and I’ll probably never have another opportunity like I do now. *STILL, if you know of any jobs in Art Ed, Graphic Design, or anything you think might be a good fit for me, please let me know* Thanks!

Recent Travels

2010-04-28T10:56:00.021-04:00

In looking at the dates and frequency of my posts on the blog, its safe to say I've been pretty lazy in 2010 so far. In my defense, I feel like I haven't had too many exciting things talk about in January, February, and March. Ever since we got back from our trip in the south of Spain, we've been in a routine of work and crappy weather ever since. However, April has been a pretty exciting month with two long back to back trips over the Spring break season.

The first was Morocco. To avoid redundancy I'll just give you the itinerary in outline form (with some extras) and direct you to my lovely fiancée's previous post for more poetic prose.

Tuesday - April 6, 2010

-Flight to Marrakech from Madrid

-Settle into hotel, overwhelmed

-Dinner in Djemaa el Fna

Wendesday - April 7

-Majorelle Gardens

-Stroll around the Souks

Thursday - April 8

-Supratour bus to Agadir

-Settle into town

Friday - April 9

-Beach (crappy weather)

-Souks

-Lost wandering

Saturday - April 10

-Climbed up to Kashbah ruins

-Camel Ride

Sunday - April 11

-Bus back to Marrakech

-Quick Souk Run

-Cafe du France Sunset

Monday - April 12

-Flight: Marrakech to Madrid

-Bus: Madrid to Salamanca

As if a week long jaunt through North Africa wasn't exciting enough, I had just three days to wash everything in my suitcase and pack up again to meet up with my parents to go on our trip though Castilla y Leon and Asturias.

Although we had a great time in Valladolid, Salamanca, and Madrid, I've written about all those places in depth before, so for simplicities sake I will focus just on our trip to Asturias.

In the months of planning for my parents visit, I decided to take them to Asturias (A region in Northern Spain) for a variety of reasons. Since we arrived in September, it seems we have always heard and seen signs of Asturias everywhere. My roommate lived there for a summer and told me all about how its the best part of Spain. In both Valladolid and Salamanca there "Asturian Bars" that give you an idea of the atmosphere, food and drink of that area. Also, almost as prevalent as Madrid and Barcelona Football Club paraphernalia are bumper-stickers and flags that people show off their pride for the region. Everyone seems to love Asturias.

To give you a brief description; Asturias is a region on the Northern coast of Spain on the Bay of Biscay. It has both snow capped mountains, and scenic beaches. They have a rich Celtic history and their own style of bagpipe music and traditional dress. It was the only region of Spain not to be conquered by the Moors, and was the site of the beginning of the Reconquista (the 700 year period when Christians fought to retake the Iberian Peninsula). They have a saying that "Asturias is Spain, the rest is just land of the Reconquista." The region is also probably best known for its potent variety of fermented apple cider that requires a very unusual and esoteric style of pouring (see below). In short, it's a place I thought my parents (who enjoy interesting alcoholic beverages and all things celtic) would appreciate.

To get there, we took a train from Valladolid to Oviedo, the capitol of the region, and a name you might be familiar with if you have seen the movie "Vicky Christina Barcelona." From the movie and our own pre-trip searching, it looked like a beautiful small-sized city and a good base for touring the region with the car we rented for the weekend.

The train ride up through the mountains was very impressive. When we arrived in town, we oriented ourselves with some maps, found the 'Cider Bar Street,' figured out how to get our car, and plotted out routes for the weekend.

A note on Asturian Cider: Everywhere you go, if you get Asturian cider, it is always poured like this. For more information, click here. The jist of it is; you hold the bottle as high as possible and the glass as low as possible. You then try to pour the cider into the glass without spilling any. Some pour in front of their body, others pour behind their back, regardless of the method, the seasoned pros never look at the bottle or the glass. Other than to be really cool, we've been told that the purpose for this is to improve the taste by mixing up the contents of the bottle and aerating the gas. Some bars also offer machines and other contraptions that do this process for you, but I recommend you try it yourself and/or hand it over to the pros. Finally, after the cider is poured, you have to drink all of it at once. You can try sipping, but as we quickly found out, you will get hassled.

The perfect pour

Parents like the cider

Day 1

We set out to explore the coast. With suggestions from some of the teachers I work with and the students in Cori's masters program, we had an idea of where we wanted to go. The first stop was Candás - a small town on the coast, on the way to Cabo de Peñas - the northern most point of Spain, which has a lighthouse and great views of the picturesque rocky coastline.

Lighthouse at Candás

Cabo de Peñas

From there we continued along the coast through Avilés, and stopped for lunch on Playa Salina. After lunch, we made our way to Cudillero, a small fishing community that one of the teachers at my school claimed was 'the most beautiful village in Asturias' - it didn't disappoint!

Port of Cudillero

Center of Cudillero

Day 2

Since it was Sunday, and most cities in Spain have an outdoor market on Sundays, we decided to check out the one in Oviedo. This one was right in the center of town and was probably the best one that I've seen outside of El Rastro in Madrid, so my mom took the opportunity to pick up some souvenirs.

negotiating a bargain

After the market, headed back to the hotel and were very pleasantly surprised to find bagpipes being played in one of the squares. We had asked the hotel clerk earlier about finding a place for authentic Asturian bagpipe music and she told us that "they only have them during weddings." Well, turns out they have them every Sunday at 12:30 in this square by the main park, so we sat for a bit and had a listen.

Only in Asturias: Castanets and Bagpipes

We couldn't stay long however, because we had to get out rental car out of the garage it was in, and head out to see Covadonga. Covadonga, another great suggestion from our Spanish friends, is a small sanctuary located in the mountains of Asturias, in what is now a national park called "Picos de Europa." The site is famous because for its large cathedral and nearby chapel that is carved into the cliffside, above a small cascade. It is also believed to be the site of the first battle with the Moors to retake the peninsula (see the quote above). Legend has it that the Christians pushed rocks down the cliffside onto a passing platoon of Moorish soldiers. We parked the car, walked around and had a great Fabada lunch (a typical Asturian dish made with beans and sausage).

Rainbow on the way to the lakes

Cliffside waterfall chapel

After our lunch, we decided to go a bit further, and explore the Lagos de Covadonga (Lakes of Covadonga) which were only 12 kilometers away. What we didn't know was that those 12km include a hair-raising journey on thin, inclined, winding roads through the mountains with steep drops at every turn. Although there is no one I would trust more than my dad to drive a stick-shift through those conditions, I really thought my mother was going to have a heart attack. We made it to the top and got a quick view of the lakes, but we didn't stay long so as to avoid the impending rain storm and driving at night. We made it back safe, turned in the car, and then headed out the next morning to Salamanca.

Bus ride to Salamanca through the mountains

Re-photography Completed!

2010-04-02T19:13:00.033-04:00

Progress! It has been months in the making, but finally I have had decent (enough) weather to complete my Rephotography project for Valladolid and Palencia! (Salamanca coming soon)

Check my earlier post on November 24, 2009 for more information about this project

Quick synopsis:

I found various sources (books, postcards) with photos from around 100 years ago and then recaptured the image from the same spot today. The photos are taken in the cities in my area of Castilla y León, Spain; Valladolid - where I live, Palencia - where I work, and Salamanca - where my fiancée lives and I visit frequently :).

Here are the results, you can click each one for an enlarged view.

Feel free to let me know what you think!

Valladolid

Calle Regalado

Universidad

Calle Santiago

Plaza Santa Cruz

Plaza de Toros

Plaza Mayor (notice the carousel)

Plaza Colon

Plaza Mayor

Train Station

Calle Duque de Victoria

Post Office

Catedral

Calle Miguel Iscar

Academia

Palencia

Post Office

Palomar (Pigeon House)

Plaza Mayor

Calle Antigua

Calle Mayor

Old School

Salamanca

_________

Very excited to have this done! It ended up being more work than I imagined in the beginning. After a few test runs in the winter, I discovered all of the nitpicky details that I would have to consider for the best results. Not only do you need to find the exact point of view of the original (knowledge of perspective is crucial) but the season, time of day, construction area, and surprise holidays all factor in. Also finding volunteer actors to play the extras in some of the photos was a big help. *Special thanks to my fiancée Cori and my roommate Mike*

I find it amazing all of the changes that you can see when you have the new and old photos side by side. Some places have really changed, and others very little. It's nice to have a few buildings in the picture that remain in tact to help you line up the shot, provide a scale and give you some comfort not all has been lost to modernity. As a lover of history as well, probably the most rewarding aspect of this project is how it has helped me connect to my temporary home here in Spain. I now have a much better understanding of the area where I am living and working for these 9 months, and I hope to do something similar someday when we return to the States.

Although many of the photos still aren't perfect but I think I have a good collection so far and I will tinker with some specific ones in the time I have left in Spain. Now begins the process of finding a way to display my results to the public. I'm working on cracking into the regional newspaper (talked to some reporters last week!) and hopefully getting some wall space at a local cafe if they can find a time slot for me. Exciting stuff, hope my work pays off!

Hard at work calibrating one of my shots

Bibliography:

Ansede, Cándido. Aquella Salamanca. Junta de Castilla y León. 2009.

Conceiro, Vicente Buzon. Palencia Imagenes Del Pasado: 1880-1960.

Díaz, Joaquín. Valladolid: Hace 100 Años. Castilla Tradicional Editorial. 2008.

Inglés

2010-03-18T11:40:00.021-04:00

I think its fair to say that the most dominant languages in the Western World are English and Spanish. Obviously this stems from the conquest of the new world and the success of England and Spain in that task. French and Portuguese have also made a significant impact, of course, but as I see it, despite their settlements in the Americas, those to belong more with the 'minor league' of western languages along with German and Italian.

That said, I have noticed a trend while being in Spain that the native speakers of both of these languages belong to their own kind of enclusive world and border-transcending culture based on the language they share. As obvious as that seems, I have never noticed the phenomenon first hand as often as I have here. For example, I think its common in Spain for people to see most native English speakers as being all the same. Certainly they make no distinction between British Isle countries like England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland; but even my Canadian roommate and me from the U.S. are still frequently lumped into the category of "Inglés" I think this quote from 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' by Ernest Hemingway (the book is 70 years old now, but still relevant) involving a Spanish partizan fighter and an American dynamiter sums up the thinking:

"Inglés?" he asked. "Not Ruso?"
"Americano."
"Few Americans here," he said.
"Now More."
"Less bad. North or South?"
"North."
"Same as Inglés. When blow bridge?"

A similar episode happens in the same book when of the Spanish characters repeatedly tries to insult the American protagonist by insisting that he wears a Scottish kilt at home and refers to the kilts as 'skirts' without any regard to the difference between Scots and Americans.

However, I know that English speakers (at least Americans anyway) do the same thing to people that speak Spanish. There are many terms to refer to different ethnicities; "Hispanic" "Latino" etc. and very few people know the difference. To be honest, I don't even know the difference, but I have heard for instance that Mexicans do not like to be called "Latinos." For an example of this in pop culture, I remember in the movie 'Mr. Deeds' when one of the characters refers to the butler as a Puerto Rican, the butler is offended and tells the man that he is actually from Spain. Also, over the summer, when I told one of the caddies that I work with that I was going to Spain to work for a year, he asked me, "Are you going to drive there?"

Beyond the incredible notion that wide varieties of people and cultures that are generalized into either one of these groups (English or Spanish) based on their language, I have noticed a particular kind of pecking order (or more often just harmless stereotypes) established amongst English speakers. Although I think all the countries get along very well, I have had the opportunity to get to know many people in Spain from almost every English speaking country in the world, and have been able to get an insight to everyones' perspective.

In Valladolid, and Salamanca especially, there are a great number of foreign students from all over the world, and the majority from inside the European Union through a program called "Erasmus." My roommate in particular, has gotten to know the Erasmus group in Valladolid really well and we have all gone out for drinks quite a few times or met up for pick-up soccer games on the weekends. In the group there is English, Scottish, Irish, Australian, and (including myself and my roommate Mike), American and Canadian. The only nations we've lacked are New Zealand, South Africa, and Belize.

Until we all hung out, I had never realized that almost every major English speaking country has a nickname and a set of stereo types. 'Yank' (American), 'Canuk' (Canadian), 'Limie' (English), 'Mick' (Irish), 'Scot' (Scottish), 'Aussie' (Australian), and 'Kiwi' (New Zealand). In general (not necessarily my opinion, but just my observations) the Americans are seen as ignorant and cocky; the canadians as polite, Irish as drunks, scottish as cheap, English as posh and condescending, and Australians as spacey surfer-types. There are also a lot of parallels between USA/Canada and Australia/New Zealand as far as the relationship between the countries. The stereotypes are never that serious, (we really do get along well) and they only used for poking fun at each other.

------------

Another thing that I have noticed, from working in the school and teaching English, are the many differences between American English and British English. Other than the United States, most every English speaking country uses British English. Also, since the British Isles are closer to Spain, most of the materials that we use in the classroom come from the UK and use British English. Although I knew there was a slight difference, I never realized just how many different words, spellings, and grammar, and phrases are different between the two. Before we came, I figured it was about the same as the difference between Spain-Spanish and South American-Spanish (pronounciation of certain letters, intonation, use of Vosotros) but from my experience, AmE and BrE (the abbreviations) are much more different.

This makes it difficult to teach the language, because you have to deal with the paradox of which is type of English is more important to teach. On the one hand, the language was invented in England, so that seems like an obvious choice, but on the other hand, America is the largest of all the countries and has the most dominant culture with its TV and movies. I obviously have a bias towards American English, but I know it is seen as less structured, more incorrect and less proper than British English. So what I have done all year is just casually add in the American version of a word or phrase alongside the British ones that are written in the book.

In the U.S. I think even WE tend to think of our English as less proper, and as BrE as more 'authoritative' (don't you just expect a serious documentary to have a British narrator?) What is interesting is that I am now starting to realize that American English is just as legitimate as British English, and that the teachers I work with prefer the American English for the reasons I stated above. What's important that I have noticed as well is that within the British Isles, the accents are extremely diverse and sometimes very difficult to understand. Although "The Queens English" from London and southern England sounds very nice, very few people have that nice crisp 'documentary style' British accent . Compared to the United States (aside from the southern states) most Americans whether they are from the Northeast, Southwest, Northwest or the Great Lakes region, pretty much have the same accent - which is very easy to understand for foreigners.

For fun, throughout the year I have been keeping note of the differences between British and American English in vocabulary, accents, phrases, etc. As an inside joke my roommate and I talk with the intrusive R, a phenomenon we have noticed in the audio lessons we have to listen to everyday in our classes. With this pronunciation, words that end in 'a' sound like 'er' and vice-versa - so saw sounds like 'sore,' and better sounds like 'bettah.' The best are countries/continents: AmericaR, and CanadaR, AsiaR, AfricaR, etc. My favorite is hearing a British person say Nicaragua (NicERaguAR).

Along with the BBC article about the 'intrusive R' (see above) they also wrote an article that dispells all the common misconceptions that British people apparently have about Americans destroying their language. They call them Americanisations - and there are a bunch of things I didn't even know we were on the hook for. The best part is that at the end they say that current British English is actually just a separate and equally different branch of the same language:

She's right that English originated in England, but it's not right to imply that other varieties of English are versions of 'our' language. Americans don't speak a different version of British English; English speakers in the UK and the USA speak modern dialects which have both evolved from 16th century English. Today's British English is no nearer that common ancestor than American English is!

how about that?

Esgrafiados

2010-03-18T11:40:00.012-04:00

Recently, I went on a trip to Segovia with Cori and our friend Courtney, who came to visit us for a week. Segovia is an incredible city, with just about everything that Spain has to offer. There is an old Roman aqueduct, mostly-intact medieval walls, an Alcazar (A moorish era palace/fort) that was one of the inspirations for the Walt Disney castle, a Versaille-style christian monarch palace outside the city and plenty of picturesque narrow pedestrian streets throughout the old city center.

However, perhaps the most interesting thing to me about Segovia, which I couldn't find anything about in any of the tour guides, were the intricate patterns carved into the outer walls of most buildings in the city, that the Spanish call "Esgrafiados." I was given a few explanations about their history and purpose. Some said that they were a Moorish inspiration, others said Jewish, and that the function was to protect the buildings from the harsh cold that they experience in this mountain city which is also the highest provincial capital in Spain.

Whatever the backstory, the designs and impressive work in bas-relief of the Esgrafiados instantly caught the eye of the printmaker in me. I took plenty of photos and bought a sample tile at an artisan shop for a souvenir, as I am sure I will incorporate the idea into lessons and my own work in the near future. When I did some more research later on, I found some information about them on this website. I also attached some of the sample photos I took. Enjoy!

Half Way Point

2010-02-20T08:46:00.002-05:00

With half of my experience here in Spain over, I feel it’s a good time to step back and make another evaluation. Perhaps it's because we're in February, and because the cold and rain is constantly looming, but I am noticing a change in my mood and the mood of everyone around me. Cori and I, and my roommate as well, all seem to be in a funk. Now that I feel I have adapted to all of the cultural and language barriers to the point where I don't even notice them anymore, most of the excitement of being here has worn off. Without many new exciting things going on, it's fair to say that I think we all miss our family, friends, and the convenience and comfort of the home in the United States. That’s not to say that I am unhappy at all (certainly the weather is just as bad if not more miserable in Upstate New York right now) but the most obvious example is that when I go to work now, it just feels like a regular job. Also, now that we have taken quite a few trips, Cori and I have seen most of Spain, and its starting to seems like we've gotten our fill of the country.

However, there are still plenty of adventures to be had and goals I want to accomplish. I have made big strides lately in my Re-photography project and I really want to finish that and try to get it published or displayed in some way. In many ways, that project will really make me feel like I have had a 'complete' experience and a sense of accomplishment. I also want to continue working on the language, because I don't feel like my Spanish is as good as it should be and I would really like to come home being able to speak relatively well. I'm doing lots of different audio lessons lately and trying to find as many conversation opportunities as possible.

Also, perhaps just in time, the weather should be improving soon in March and an influx of visitors should lift our spirits. Cori's friend Courtney will be here in two weeks, my parents will be coming in April, and my brother and LIzzy will be here in May. I think all of their visits will be fun and exciting and bring a fresh look to this experience. I'm really looking forward to it.

Aside from that, Cori and I are also trying to figure out all the extra details to finish out the year. We're trying to decide what places and things we want to do before we leave, and what we will do when we get back to the U.S. Right now we are planning out a couple more trips to do during spring break and long weekends, including northern Spain and Morocco - should be exciting. At the same time, we have been looking for jobs and possible housing for when we come back. The good news is, after much laboring, our resumes, cover letters, and application materials are all set and ready to go, we just need somebody to offer us jobs! So if you know of any openings for Spanish or Art teachers, let us know!

It’s not the home stretch yet, but it certainly feels like we’re rounding a corner. As much as I miss being able to run to the grocery store at 10pm on a Sunday, have reliable internet, or eat chicken wings and watch the super-bowl or 'cuse games or the Olympics, I know I probably wont want to leave in June and I will definitely miss Spain once we’ve been back for awhile. I guess it’s a state of mind and you just have to remember that can’t always have everything you want.

Mysterious Faces Around Valladolid

2010-02-18T21:26:00.006-05:00

I have been noticing lately in my neighborhood these faces appearing on various objects on the street. In contrast to the usual illegible tagging and anti-fascist/anti-communist spray paint nonsense, I thought these were actually pretty creative. Although I don't really condone marking up public spaces, I thought it would be a good inspiration for an art project some day - personifying an object, using its physical traits as a basis for a character from imagination. I think this is something the humans have always naturally done, and deserves more examination as an art form. Think about how we imagine clouds to be other things, or the way Tom Hanks makes his friend Wilson out of a volleyball in "Cast Away."

Mailbox

Construction site

Traffic light box

Glass recycling bin

Outside Looking In

2010-01-25T12:33:00.009-05:00

I feel the urge to write about what has been on my mind for quite some time lately but is difficult to explain. In talking with all sorts of people from home lately, I think its fair to say that my worldview has been changing during the months that we've been here. I don’t think my views have changed completely, but I feel that I am starting to gain a different understanding of the culture and people of the USA by experiencing the viewpoint of an outsider. I don’t often feel too passionate about most of the issues I’m about to discuss (I’m generally pretty content with the way things are, and I think that we have it pretty good compared to almost any other time in human history), but I wanted to get out these ideas while their in my head so I don’t forget how I felt while I was here.

What is unique about this year abroad from any other time I have left the country, is that I feel like I am truly immersed in a different culture and surrounded by completely different opinions. The only other American that I have daily contact with is Cori. Aside from her, my roommate is Canadian, my co-workers are Spanish, the owner of the café on my way work is Romanian, and the fellow classmates we know here are all mostly from various EU countries or countries in Asia. So the lengthy conversations about topics that we generally think of as "dinner table issues," I have with people who have no personal connection to America. As a result, I have begun to see the U.S. through a different lens. Now when I read news from the U.S. or continue with my American traditions (like Thanksgiving) while I'm here, I have to think about what these things mean to the people I talk with at length most every day, and who see America as a foreign place.

Now, before I go in to my various observations and analysis, I want to make it clear that I don't think any country is perfect. I don't think America is superior and I certainly don't think Europe as a whole or any other country is superior to any other. More than anything, what I think this year has helped me realize are the things that I don't like about America, and the things I really appreciate about America.

An obvious place to start: Politics. I think most people outside of the U.S. and especially Europeans, have a hard time understanding American politics. However, I have realized that Americans are incredibly moderate in their politics compared to most countries - we’re just slightly different. If the political debates of Spain or Italy were on display for the world to scrutinize (if their politics had the same impact as the U.S.) The world would have way more cause for concern.

Side note: I have now lived abroad during both the Bush administration and the Obama administration. I can tell you as a matter of fact that it is SIGNIFICANTLY better travel outside of the U.S. under the Obama administration. The difference is night and day. Rather than resentment and dirty looks, people are much more pleasant to deal with and friendly to you when they find out your American. In acknowledging this fact, I don't see why international diplomacy has to be a partisan issue. I have supported candidates from both parties in the past, but I don’t understand why both Democrats and Republicans can’t engage foreign countries with respect. Why does one party have to be anti-foreign everything and the other just simply is willing to speak to foreign countries with a common courtesy, and without coercive tactics? I don't think many other countries have to deal with this issue in their politics. Think of a country like Germany, did your opinion of them radically change when they has their last election? But perhaps this point is better for another time…

A few examples of the difference in the political conversations here: One of the most shocking things for me is that here in Spain, Fascism and Communism are alive and well. I see Pro-Fascist and Pro-Communist writings almost daily. Just a few weeks ago I saw on one of my student's pencil cases; a swastika and the words "white power" and "skinhead." Also, not long ago I went to a bar that was handing out Anti-fascist lighters and had flyers up about Communist party gatherings. I guess you have to consider that Spain was a under a fascist dictator until the 1970’s, but Democrats and Republicans look like practically the same party when you see the extremist views that are openly expressed here.

In contrast, even though these really extremist views (or at least their labels “fascist” “communist”) aren't taken seriously in the U.S. there are some things about our political culture that really don't make sense when you think about it…

Like probably most Americans, I have given more thought to Health Care in the last 6 months or so than I ever have in my life. Since I've been here, people have frequently asked me why we don't have universal health care. They read a lot of news from our country and they have a hard time understanding this debate, but when they ask me I am equally at a loss for words. As they see it, we are the wealthiest country on the planet so why do we not have universal health care? To them its something any stable economic power would have. An easily solved moral issue; no citizen should be allowed to suffer, die, or go into debt because they got sick and couldn’t afford care. After struggling to find a good answer, I have come to a harsh, but fair, realization that I think explains it: we prefer to pay private companies (and in doing so, make them very rich) rather than trusting the government we elect to run a service most people would agree we need as much roads, police, public schools, or any other commonly tax-dollar funded program. The premise of the U.S. system is sound: pay private companies instead of lazy bureaucrats because they will work harder when they have to compete for business and could fail if they operate poorly. But in practice it seems that you just have a greedy middleman with too much political clout getting between you and the health services you need. Case in point; why should someone like my friend Matt Lavine have to take on thousands and thousands of dollars in debt and be in danger of bankruptcy because he unfortunately got cancer? Why should someone other than the doctor or hospital make a profit off of his treatments?

With that in mind, I think it’s also fair to say that the health care bill everyone is upset about is not a good solution either. I think it’s good that Obama is trying on this issue, but so far I don’t think he has a good solution. From my point of view, the bill would only pay for more people to be a part of our ridiculously expensive system, and it’s understandable that people would be upset about it.

I think the issue at stake is that we are afraid that we will lose some sort of competitive edge if we allow the government to control health care. Maybe so, I really don't know. I’m not anywhere near an expert on this topic. But I doubt those who oppose reform in the government really believe that, and that all they really care about are the campaign donations they receive from the insurance companies. What I think it really boils down to is a cultural issue. We can insure everyone and pay less, but with the consequence of losing some perceived edge in innovation or efficiency. The default option is that we can continue with our ridiculously overpriced, but yet superior care, for a shrinking number of people who can afford it.

After being in Europe and seeing how they operate their health-care with relative success, or as my roommate explains the system in Canada, the main difference is that everyone receives the same type of care regardless of how much money they make. Basically at this moment in the U.S. the more money you have, the more valuable your life is because you can afford to protect it based on your financial means. I believe this thought process exists because most Americans, including myself, have been fortunate to come from enough affluence to never have had to worry about not having health care.

Aside from health care, I though I might as well point out some caricatures from the political landscape in America that are frankly, embarrassing for our country. #1 The ignorant bible thumpers who deny evolution and carry on about gays being the devil. As I said, I would vote Republican, but its pretty embarrassing when they have a debate and large number of them have to say that they don’t believe in evolution.That’s pathetic and inexcusable. Also, the people who dress in 18th century American apparel and then feel that they can say ridiculous things and be justified are equally embarrassing. The original tea party was about ‘no taxation, without representation.’ They weren’t against taxes all together, they just wanted to be able to have a say, ie. elected officials instead of a monarch. I don’t think anyone likes to pay taxes, but as Ben Franklin famously said, they’re as inevitable as death. It’s a part of modern society that sometime we have to work together to pay for things we all need.

Extra side note about ‘authentic’ Americans: I think the founding fathers would probably be very proud that America is thriving 200 plus years on, but they would most likely be ashamed of the way many proselytize Democracy and Christianity. I realize that Europe is more liberal in many ways and the other side of the argument is not without it’s own crop of wackos, but I have decided willful ignorance is far more aggravating than fanatical idealism.

That said, I think there are many virtues to American culture, that many people who criticize the United States fail to understand. There are many things I have experienced here that have made me very proud to be American. Some examples:

Our creative and energetic spirit. The U.S. is a cultural powerhouse and for anyone with big dreams, I would have to say that the U.S. is the place to be. Cori and I recently saw Avatar and we were blown away by the visual effects. I designed a unit on 3D for my drawing and painting classes last year, so I was already interested in the new developments in the technology, and I was not disappointed. As we were leaving the theater, I couldn’t help but notice everyone’s excitement about what they just saw and I got a very strong patriotic feeling knowing that it was made in the U.S. For all the hype about China, I don’t think there is anyway a movie like Avatar could ever be made there any time soon, or at least, not something people all over the world would want to see.

Aside from the omnipresence of Hollywood movies and American TV, I’ve noticed that our music (and not just the awful commercial pop) is very influential. Jazz as well as Blues and even some country is very popular in Spain. There are lots of Jazz themed bars and American musicians of all kinds are idolized in photos on the walls here for a simple reason, we have a lot of good music.

Another random realization: Cowboy hats are fun to wear, I don’t care who you are. Some could see them as political sign, but at heart I really think they are a unique part of our culture, right up there with apple pie. Sure some wear them more than others but anyone can try one on and enjoy it.

Finally, there are a few specific American viewpoints that differ from Europeans, and I genuinely identify with more. We tend to believe anything is possible, and we often root for the underdog. Although movies about hopeless sports teams winning championships can be corny, I appreciate the pride and can-do attitude and of most Americans when they are working towards something they believe in. One of the most common things I hear from Spanish people is how they envy our pride and optimism.

I also believe in the American ideal that hard work leads to success, while most Europeans believe success based on luck. I wholeheartedly believe that if you work hard at something, you may not get exactly what you set out for, but you will gain something in return. To believe efforts towards self-improvement are meaningless borders on being dangerously nihilistic.

Anyway, I am sure I will update this post a few more times as the year goes on, but for the time being I wanted to document the emotions and viewpoints I’ve being having while I’m here in Spain.

UPDATE:

Another major positive of the United States: our business hours and work ethic. I can't blame the Spanish for wanting more time off, but I have to say that I took for granted how America really is the land of convenience. Major grocery stores in the U.S. tend to be open 24 hours a day and most retail stores are open straight through the day with no break - not so in Spain. So many times Cori and I have been disappointed when we try to go buy something and they have closed already for the day, or we have come during the very ambiguous hours of the lunch break known as 'siesta' which could occur between the hours of 1pm to 5:30 and usually lasts about 2.5 - 3 hours. Not too mention the holidays, which there seems to be one every week. Nothing will be open, I mean nothing.

So you really have to plan ahead and be strategic about when you want to go grocery shopping or 'grab something quick at the store.' Another frustrating thing I have noticed lately as well is the amount of strikes that happen in Spain. In the past few weeks Renfe (the train company) and AvanzaBus (the bus company) have both had strikes that messed up travel plans that we have made. I know we have strikes in the U.S., not nearly as frequent or drastic as here.

Also just in general, the cultural difference in service and how business is done is a big change from the States. I know that the Spanish people are notoriously direct, but in business situations it can seem very rude to Americans accustomed to obsequious politeness. Let's just say "have it your way" would never work here. You literally say "Give me..." when you order and "Bill me" when you pay. No "I would like... , please" or "thank you very much!" And "the customer is always right" never applies either. If you have a request that is slightly out of the ordinary or requires a little bit of effort, the response can range from a strange look, to them flat out saying no or telling you to leave. Cori and I have quite a few examples of scenarios when we were really shocked by the behavior of a waitress or clerk, and we couldn't help but think that that would never have happened in an American store, cafe, or restaurant.

However, to look at it another way, perhaps it means they are just more honest, and when they seem satisfied or say 'thank you' that they really mean it. Let's be honest, most of the time the smiles and kind words from servers in the U.S. are really fake and they secretly despise you or can't wait for you to leave. If that's the case, than I guess I can appreciate the honesty, I'm just not used to it.

Cori Visits My School!

2010-01-25T07:14:00.005-05:00

Cori recently visited my school to present to the students and faculty about Rotary Club International. She has to do a series of presentations for her scholarship, and it worked out great for everyone to have her present at Virgen de la Calle. In a great symbiotic event, Cori was able to complete some speeches, the teachers didn't have plan anything, students got a break from their usual studies, and I only had to advance PowerPoint slides on the computer for the entire day!

What was also very nice was that the teachers I work with took us out to lunch at the small restaurant that is located in my school and operated by teachers and students in the Culinary Program. The food was delicious, and it was very nice for Cori to meet my co-workers and visa-versa. I really am lucky to work with such a fantastic group of people - I will certainly miss them when the year is over. Thankfully, Cori (always the good photographer) remembered to get some photos of the group! I attached them below:

From left to right: Pilar, Joaquín, Nieves, Encarna, Jesús, Me

...She also remembered to get a photo of Mike and Me with our landlord Saturino, when he came to pick up the rent, haha.

Southern Spain

2010-01-03T18:56:00.011-05:00

Cori and I recently finished our trip around Southern Spain, and had a great time visiting this very different part of the country. After we left Jumilla, where we were staying with Cori's friend's family, we headed out for an 8 day trip through Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla. If you weren't aware, Spanish culture is divided mostly into the North and South. The Northern areas include Castilla y Leon (where Cori and I live), Madrid, Cataluña (Barcelona), Cantabria (Santander), Basque Country (Bilbao), etc. While the South is mostly Andalucia (Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga) and Murcia. The North is generally seen as more wealthy and efficient, while the South is seen as more poor and lazy, but is also the home of many famous Spanish traditions like Flamenco Dancing and Tapas. Historically, the North is where the language and Catholic Monarch came from, while the south was occupied by the Muslim Moors for many centuries. Needless to say it was a very fun, interesting, and educational vacation.

Starting off in...

Granada:

We arrived in Granada on New Years Eve, and arranged to stay for 4 nights. We planned it this way because Cori had visited Granada before, loved it. So, we thought it would be a fun city to celebrate New Years and a good place to take our time visiting. We had some setbacks, but eventually we came to really enjoy it. In a series of frustrating incidents, we discovered that nothing owned by Spanish people was open on New Years Eve. The only places we could find to get food or drinks were Kebab places and Chinese restaurants. (We didn't know at the time that Spanish people do not go out for the actual midnight time change. They stay at home and eat their grapes, then go out later) To make matters worse, it started to get rainy and windy, and both of our shoes were quickly soaked. We ended up settling on a midnight dinner at a Chinese restaurant, eating our 12 grapes (I did it!) and calling it a night.

The next day - our first full day - we took the time to casually walk around the city, get our bearings, and scavenge for good tapas restaurants. We discovered that there is an extreme shortage of restaurants/bars/cafes in Granada, because every place we went into was packed no matter what time of day. We also found that with New Years, Three Kings Day, and another local holiday celebrating the capture of Granada from the Moors, nothing would be open for regular business hours during the next 4 days - very frustrating. So despite having to rub elbows for food and walk all day with wet shoes, we tried to make the best of it and take a relaxed approach. We also decided that the Moorish/Spanish style throughout Granada is really cool and that we needed to buy some cool stuff for our apartment when we return. So we walked through the markets and got quotes on the stuff we might want.

The third day was the best, because it was the day we went to the Alhambra. I had high expectations going in, and I was not disappointed. The Alhambra is a fortress/palace built in the 13th century by the Moors, and has some of the most unique and awe-inspiring architecture I've ever seen. Side note: It was actually brought back from historical obscurity by an American named Washington Irving in the 19th century, and is now the biggest tourist attraction in Spain. The intricate designs covering the walls are right up my ally and bear a strong resemblance to the celtic patterns found on high crosses and the book of Kells in Ireland. I could have spent days there. I maxed out the memory card in my camera for the first time, shooting 600 photos in 6 hours. Here are some samples.

What is also very cool is that the day we went to the Alhambra was the January 2nd - the day the Spanish Monarchs captured it from the Moors. So we just happened to be there on the one day of the year when you can ring the bell on the Fortress tower. Very cool.

Our last day in Granada, we went on a mission to scour through the Arab markets to find the best deals on all the things that will make up our future Arab tea room. Thankfully Cori is the master of bartering in Spanish and got us great deals on a table, teapot, cups, a tray, and tapestries - looking forward to using them. To close out the day, we took a very relaxing 2 hour session in the Arab baths, and it felt like we were transported to another time and place.

In General, I would highly recommend Granada to anyone visiting Spain. Even with the unfortunate circumstances of rain and every store being closed because of the holidays, we still managed to have a great time. It really is fascinating to the overlapping cultures on display in all of the art and architecture of the city, as well as the unique experience of the teterias (tea places) and the old arab neighborhoods.

Cordoba:

From Granada we headed to Cordoba, and the 2 days we spent there was just enough time to see everything we could have wanted to see. Cordoba is known for its famous mosque, the Mezquita, and for being the former capital of the Moorish empire in Spain. Although quieter now than Granada, Cordoba was very clean and beautiful. There was the same type of arab architecture everywhere, and many interesting things to see just walking around. We met up with an Australian girl named Imogen, who was staying in the same hostal as us, and explored the city in one day.

As an added bonus, we were able to witness a Three Kings Parade. Rather than than Christmas, Three Kings Day is the day that Spanish people give the majority of their gifts, and it is a very exciting day for children. In most every city in Spain, the night before Three Kings Day, there is a parade in the street with lots of floats and people throwing candy to the crowd. (I actually read recently that it is celebrated in Spanish Harlem as well) We followed the flow of people in the streets to find the parade route and were able to see the craziness that everyone has been talking about for so long.

Sevilla:

After Cordoba, our last stop was in Sevilla, the capitol of Andalucia. The city as a whole ended up being my favorite of the entire trip. Although Cordoba was a very nice city, and Granada has the Alhambra and the Arab markets, Sevilla was the most comfortable to walk around in and felt the most like "real Spain." If you are looking for Flamenco dancers, bull fighters, and tapas bars, Sevilla is the place to go. It had everything you think of when you think of Spain, and still retains a quiet, small city feel, free of skyscrapers and busy streets.

We stayed in Triana, the historic Gypsie neighborhood where Flamenco Dancing was invented. So on the one full day we had in Sevilla, we walked around the city through the historic neighborhoods, visited the Alcazar (which no one strongly recommended, but is actually very impressive and comparable to the Alhambra), and the Plaza España. Every major city usually has a "Plaza España" but this one was by far the most impressive.

At night, we went to a free Flamenco show at a bar near our hostal. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is not just a tradition that is kept up for the tourists. At least half the bar was filled with locals and they all sang and clapped along. At the end, the group of singers and dancers actually invited up people from their tables to join along. Even though they didn't have the skill of the professionals, I was still very impressed with the women's ability to dance and the men's ability to sing and clap along. This was clearly something they had grown up with and is still an important part of their culture.

In general, I really enjoyed Southern Spain. I hesitate to say it is better than Northern Spain, where we live, because there are pros and cons to every place. I could see evidence of a lot of the differences that we had heard about before leaving. I had to remind myself that a lot of the frustrations that we had were a direct result of the time we were visiting. The constant rain and unreliable business hours were a direct result of it being a sting of holidays in January. When we didn't have to deal with those issues, we had an incredible time. I would certainly go back and visit in the spring or summer if I had the time.

Feliz navidad!

2009-12-26T09:04:00.005-05:00

Although I definitely missed the being home for the holidays; seeing family and friends, eating the familiar cooking specialties of my mom and aunts and sampling the Saranac 12 beers of Christmas, I was lucky to have a very unique and enjoyable holiday season here in Spain.

After packing our bags and have a Skype gift opening conference with our families, (great gifts including high quality candy, travel mugs and and iPod touch (thanks everyone!)) Cori and I went to Valencia, Spain to stay with Cori's former host family from 2005-6. They were EXTREMELY generous in hosting us in the first place, but went on to feed us amazing meals and entertain us for the 5 days we were there. They are truly incredible people, and I wish we lived closer to them somehow. Luckily I think we convinced them to come to New York at some point in the next few years!

Here are some additional highlights:

In a great coincidence, my long time friend Jim Junglen, was in Valencia on a trip with his family, who were visiting his sister, who I am also friends with, who is doing the same thing

I introduced Spain to eggnog! Thanks to my brother, Kevin, I was able to bring a can of eggnog to Christmas eve dinner. We had a very interesting collection of different nationalities at dinner (friends and family of Cori's host family included; two British people, a German, an Argentinean, and us, the American couple!) and everyone at least tried it and some may have even liked it! We gave them the option of adding whiskey or no whiskey. Pictured above: Susanna (Cori's host mom) and Susanna's sister and brother-in-law (the German) pouring the eggnog. Thanks Kevin!

I found a golf course! Cori's host family took us out for coffee at the clubhouse of a golf course near Valencia. The name of the course is El Saler, and it is apparently one of the best golf courses in Spain. I discovered that the Golf culture in Spain is much different. In contrast to places like Oak Hill, El Saler is completely open to the public and affordable. You can walk around paths that go through the course, and food/drinks in the clubhouse have average prices. However, in general golf isn't very popular in Spain

After we left Valencia, we headed into Andalucia for a trip southern Spain, but first we made a stop in a town called Jumilla to stay a few days at the home of one of Cori's classmates' house named Maribel (pictured above). They were also very generous, showing us around and making us incredible home-made meals. I can't tell you how fortunate we feel to have such nice Spanish friends here. They really made the holidays very enjoyable.

3 Month Benchmark: Cultural Acclimation

2009-12-08T08:01:00.010-05:00

A couple small but significant events have happened recently that have shown me that I am for the most part acclimated to life in Spain:

Someone asked me for directions on the street. I told them. In Spanish. And most of it may have actually been correct.
My roommate and I are now ‘regulars’ at a café in Palencia on the way to work. We come in, and our English speaking, Romanian born barista gives us our coffees without having to ask us what we want.
I now know to expect my paycheck no sooner than 5 days late.
If you can’t find what you are looking for in a grocery store, its probably in a ‘farmacia’,‘papeleria’, or ‘El Corte Ingles.’

Although there are still plenty of surprises to be had, it is safe to say I have figured out the basic flow of Spanish life. I mostly understand the bus and train schedules that I need to take on a regular basis (to Palencia, Salamanca), the business hours of most stores, and what to expect in most common social situations like going to restaurants, cafes, bars, post office, etc.

I have a routine:

Tuesday: I tutor a group of teachers in Palencia for an hour and a half in the afternoon, and I have Spanish class from 8-10.
Wednesday: I work from 9-2 and do my grocery shopping/ errands in the afternoon.
Thursday: Work 9-2, class 8-10
Friday: I clean the apartment, pack, and then come to Salamanca.
Saturday and Sunday: Cori and I meet up with friends, various activities around town, chat with family/friends in the States, etc. I buy the Sunday edition of El Pais and get my Beatles souvenir (right now they are giving away coasters of each album!)
Monday: Return to Valladolid. Class 8-10.

Throughout the week I keep up on the news/current events from CNN and BBC.com, watch Colbert Report/Daily Show episodes, read, and try to stream live sports games with varying success. It is surprising how much content from the United States is blocked over here. The major networks don’t allow you to watch anything; no NBC, ABC, or even Hulu.

Side note: It’s important to stay connected because the Spanish and other Europeans here are always asking for my opinion about issues in the news that involve the United States. What do you think of health care? The Nobel peace prize? Etc. One French guy I have Spanish class with actually told me to call Obama and tell him to pass the climate change legislation. I am definitely starting to realize the enormous divide between how the world views the United States of America, and how Americans view America. (note how I carefully worded that statement)

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In some ways it may feel like the excitement is gone, or as my roommate put it, the ‘novelty’ of being in Spain. I still try to sometimes, but I no longer feel compelled to look up at old buildings, study the architecture, or make comments about the nature a street or building when I am walking around. I don’t take note of as many of the cultural differences. I buy room temperature milk, my tiny coffee cup feels normal now, lunch is my biggest meal, and laundry takes at least days to clean and dry. I have accepted these things.

Although it may be less exciting now, I have gained a more comfortable feeling about daily life here. There aren’t as many frustrations or awkward situations that I don’t understand. I am not saying I feel Spanish, or that I will adopt many of these practices when I return, but I have at least adapted to them for the time being.

My biggest major obstacle is still the language. I would say I am about a month or so away from being able to hold a conversation at regular pace. At the moment I can mostly follow what people are talking about but I miss out on the precise meaning. I have gotten the handle on vocabulary, but grammar is still the biggest problem.

Common interactions ordered from easiest to hardest:

Email (got it down)> Face-to-face conversation among friends (all sides understood, frequent but minor errors) > business transactions (hit or miss) > Phone conversations (near impossible)

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In other news, I am getting ready for winter here. I have bought some new warm cloths, gone Christmas shopping, and planned out some activities for December, January, February. Cori and I have planned out our trip through Southern Spain (Valencia, Murcia, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla). The trip will be during the 2.5 weeks or so that we have off for Christmas and New Years - more details on that are sure to come later. Also, I am planning out the ‘in-door’ things that I can do after the break, like visiting all the museums in the area, working on my graphic design projects, and starting my job searching for next year (whoa!). Altogether, it feels like we are entering a new phase in the adventure. Looking forward to it!

Giving Thanks

2009-12-02T14:35:00.006-05:00

This type of post has been on my mind for a while now, but I guess in the spirit of Thanksgiving I would like to write a little bit about how grateful I have been feeling lately for all that I have.

Shortly after Cori and I got engaged, I had a sudden epiphany about how incredibly lucky I am. I even started a page in my notebook here to list all of the positive things in my life. I came to the realization that beyond my 'basic needs' (food, shelter, clothing, etc.), all of my 'wants' have been met as well. Literally everything I could ever want, within reason, I have. I say that not to brag or boast, but rather, to show appreciation for all the good things in my life. I want to make sure I take the time to soak it all in so as not to to take everything for granted. In this way, if I start to complain or get worked up about something trivial that is happening, I now have documented proof of how fortunate I am to put everything in perspective. Here is a sampling of what I wrote:

Extremely supportive and caring family (future family in-law included!)
A loving, intelligent, and beautiful fiancé
Incredible friends that have made lasting impressions on my life
Youth and health
Enough money
The experience of a lifetime with a job I enjoy (which is more like a vacation)
The time and tools to pursue my artistic endeavors
Big dreams and the total freedom to follow them
Access to good music, books, movies, etc.
also, as Cori said, iChat, which allows us to keep in touch with everyone at home.

That list certainly doesn't include everything, just most of the important things. I certainly feel I've worked hard to get where I am, and I plan to continue challenging myself, but at the moment I feel very pleased. Life is never perfect (see my earlier post about my perpetually deteriorating apartment) but I would like to 'give thanks' for the overwhelming good fortune I have had lately. I hope everyone enjoyed their vacation and turkey. Additional thanks to everyone who sent food items for our expatriate Thanksgiving here in Spain. It was a great success!

Rephotography Breakthrough

2009-11-24T18:42:00.009-05:00

Aside from the drawing and panoramic photo projects I have been working on lately, another artistic endeavor I have been toiling with in Spain is something called "rephotography". I discovered this technique a few years ago when I interviewed RIT professor and photographer Willie Osterman for a project in one of my classes at Nazareth. The concept of rephotography is when you use an old photograph as a reference and retake the photo from the same vantage point as a way to compare the past to the present. Mr. Osterman introduced the idea to me and told me about how he won a grant to do a rephotography project in Bologna, Italy in the late 1990's. He researched old photo archives, recaptured the scenes, and published his work in a book. (Here are some other examples I have since found online: CNN , WildAmmo.com , Flickr )

At the time I had just finished a proposal for a Fulbright grant to Ireland, and I grieved that I had not met Mr. Osterman sooner and incorporated this idea into my proposal (there is no way to know how much it would have improved my chances, but I ended up not getting the grant anyway). Ever since that inspirational interview, I have been thinking of ways that I could do something similar. I love the notion of incorporating historical records, photography technique, and treasure hunt style fun to create a powerful visual experience in the end. With my free time in Spain, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to experiment.

My initial online search for photo archives in the Castilla y Leon area yielded no results. I had put the idea on the back-burner until I could make some more contacts in the area, but then I had an incredible stroke of luck. While walking around Valladolid one afternoon, I stumbled upon a international language book store and decided to walk in. I had asked about photography archive books in a few other larger book stores and got nothing but strange looks, so I wasn't expecting much in this place. I was more interested book about the Spanish Civil War in English, but I asked about 'libros con fotos antiguas de España' anyway - and they had this!

I couldn't have asked for anything better. The book has about 200 photos from the late 19th and early 20th century of Valladolid - most of them taken just a few blocks from my apartment! Here are some examples. At the moment I am picking out the best ones, and I plan on retaking them soon, whenever I have a free afternoon and good weather. I am not sure yet exactly what I will do with the photos when I am finished. I may make prints with the old and new photos side by side and try show them at a cafe or gallery space in town. If I get enough quality shots I could also try to publish them as well. I could also do similar research in Salamanca, where Cori lives. It is a more attractive city with more cultural weight, and that may be a better market eventually. Lots of possible options, but I need to get practice and make sure that I get permission to use the old photos first. Until then, I am just scoping out the areas and looking for the right people to contact. Regardless, I am very excited, and I will add an update on the blog when I make more progress!

Mahdreeth

2009-11-23T16:56:00.007-05:00

This past weekend my roommate and I were inspired to go to Madrid. It's not the cheapest or quickest of trips, but combined we had enough reasons to go - a nice celebration for getting paid (read earlier post). I wanted to see an Andrew Bird concert, and he had friends that would be in Madrid as well. Also, I came up with some less important, secondary reasons to go to Madrid. I had just finished reading a series of stories in my Hemingway short story book that centered around a bar in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. So, I looked up the name of the bar and it is still in existence, so that was one more item to add to the itinerary. Plus I wanted to stop into some pawn shops to look for old Spanish military stuff, which I was told I could only find in Madrid. So with those goals in mind we caught a train early Saturday morning for Chamartin station.

When we got to Madrid however, nothing seemed to be going right. First, when we got to our hostal and went to check in, we had to wait an hour and 15 minutes. There were groups ahead of us, and it took about 10 mintues per person to check in (for no apparent reason). To make matters worse, while we were waiting, a man was almost robbed right in front of us! A mature looking couple, probably in their 40's, came in to the lobby, glanced around and waited for a few minutes in the corner. Then when the time was right, they started to walk away with another man's backpack at their side, which he had set down and wasn't paying attention to. Luckily, the man quickly realized what was happening and grabbed his bag from them. The couple didn't look back at him as he wrenched it from their hands, and they continued walking towards the door. Unfortunately, they took off when they got outside, before the man and the concierge could chase them down. Very unsettling, but thankfully we were safe the rest of the time there. The hostal had cameras everywhere and decent lockers to put your bags. Just another reminder to always keep an eye out no matter how safe everything appears. As it turned out, the hostal worked well because it was in a good location for us and even with a decent balcony! Video below:

After the shenanigans at the hostal, we had trouble finding everything we were looking for. Wrong addresses, bad directions, you name it. We went to a tapas bar for lunch that my roommate had been to before and enjoyed, but when we got there it was absolutely packed and most of the patrons were obnoxious American tourists. Then we went to pick up our will call tickets at the concert venue and they weren't open. The directions on the website didn't say if we had to pick them up there or at a Ticketmaster place, so we went around downtown Madrid looking for the major department stores that might have a Ticketmaster booth - no luck. However, it worked out in the end because we were able to pick up the tickets at the venue just before the show (but the directions never told us that to avoid the unneeded stress).

A drawing on the wall in Chicote's that shows the typical crowd of the past

With our free time before the show, we weren't able to find any pawn shops and all the directions we were given were terrible. Luckily, just before the show we eventually found the Hemingway bar, ("Chicote's") but it was a major disappointment. The drinks were terrible, (I ordered a Manhattan and got it in a martini glass with an olive, and Mike didn't like his Gin and Tonic) and they played awful pop music like Beyonce. The day in general was very frustrating, but we decided that we had our expectations too high and needed to relax.

So after we left Chicote's and went the concert we had a great time. We met up with the people mike knew, and then went out for a bit afterwards. Yet, another reminder for traveling that it is better to go with the flow and enjoy. You shouldn't try to get too much done in one day because you will only feel rushed and/or disappointed. The next day we left Madrid, and I went to Salamanca to see Cori for just Sunday night and Monday morning. A little out of the way but totally worth it to see Cori : ) I miss her terribly when we're apart, but at least we get to spend Thanksgiving together next weekend!

Below is a video from part of the show: It was unlike anything I had seen before. Andrew Bird is increadibly talented but also a bit eccentric I discovered. He plays the violin, guitar, mandolin, and the glockenspeil. He also whistles a lot during his songs and has some sort of spinning double record player behind him on stage whenever he plays. He didn't have a band with him for this concert, but he did some pretty impressive looping. I would simply pick up an instrument, play a quick string of notes to playback, and then layer on another instrument. Very interesting to see, so here is a quick taste:

Some other thoughts on Madrid:

I decided that a county's biggest cities or its capitol city are not always the best to visit if you want a true impression of the country and its culture. Madrid is a great international city, but by no means is it a good representation of Spain. Although Madrid is the largest city in Spain and has great museums and other places to visit, it is certainly not my favorite. I saw my first KFC and Dunkin' Donuts (actually called Dunkin' Coffee to avoid confusion) in Spain while in Madrid. I think Madrid serves its purpose as the geographical and political center, and is fun to visit for a weekend, but I would much rather live elsewhere in Spain. It is only my personal opinion, but it is about the same relationship between New York City and the rest of the United States. If you visit New York City, your really just seeing New York City - which is great, but its not the same as the rest of the United States. I think a lot of the major international, cosmopolitan cities are like that; New York, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, etc. So I am giving myself a reminder when I visit any new country, to make sure I see some smaller, more authentic cities in addition to the major metropolitan areas.

Burocracia

2009-11-20T09:09:00.008-05:00

After an aggravating couple of weeks waiting for my paycheck to come in (it came two weeks after the scheduled payday), things have now returned to normal. My roommate and I had to get creative in stretching out our budgets to last until the big pay day; living off of eggs, PB/J's and soup. For a short while, Mike and I were contemplating what Bank ATM lobbies would be the most comfortable to sleep in, and where the nearest soup kitchens were for when we got kicked out of our apartment. Thankfully that scenario was avoided, but I will be sending my employer a 'friendly reminder' for next month to be sure it doesn't happen again. Just another example of the frustrations that go along with the fun of living in another country. I guess it serves me right for boasting about how little I have to work and how easy going everything is here - it's nice until you need something important done!

That said, things have really turned around since we got paid. It was a 'takin care of business' type of week this week with bills to pay off, projects to complete for my Spanish class and trips to plan. In the Spanish class that I am taking at the University of Valladolid, I had to submit a recipe and directions (in Spanish) for pancakes, and create a presentation about Spanish Art. It went quite well I think, although we wont get to make any of the recipes that people brought it, what a shame. For my job, I have started presenting powerpoints about Thanksgiving, and I am putting one together for Christmas as well. I am also planning a trip to Madrid for the weekend to see a concert*. Should be exciting. It feels so much better to have money and feel like a normal citizen again!

Although we never did find out the reason for the holdup, I couldn't help but think that although this scenario would be possible in the U.S., it is much more common and expected here. Rather than have direct deposit into our accounts on midnight of Thursday night (like normal people :P ), the gov't has to approve the transfer, and then the bank has to hold the deposit for 4 days (we all know what notorious check bouncers the Ministry of Education are). Apparently the person in charge of pressing the button that says, "Pay English Assistants" once every month, fell asleep at their desk. As my Spanish roommate Diego put it so well, "Typical espanish."

*more information soon.

Free Time Photoshop Fun

2009-11-08T15:09:00.008-05:00

In my free time lately, I've been able to sort through the enormous amount of photos that I've taken in the last two months. After picking out a few favorites, I decided to play around with them in photoshop.

Now one of my all time favorite techniques is called "photomerge". I have always loved panoramic photos and this option in photoshop allows you to stitch together multiple digital images to make a panoramic photo. Here are some examples:

Calderon Theatre - Seminci Film Festival, Valladolid

Murallas of Avila

Street of Salamanca (In Photo: Cori)

However, what I am even more excited about lately is the feature known as Actions. An action allows you to program a set of photoshop tasks to use multiple times. Imagine you wanted to turn 50 photos into black and white and increase the contrast. Instead of doing this individually, you program the tasks once, and then the Action feature allows you to do it automatically for all of them. I have known that this option existed for a while, but I never really utilized it. What I discovered recently is that you can download pre-made Actions online. (another one of those 'what would I do without the internet' moments) So grabbed a few that looked interesting and tried them out on some of my recent photos. Most of the ones I found have a 'retro look'

Pathway in Zamora

Park in Zamora

Palace in Zamora

Window in Salamanca

Window in Zamora

Estamos Prometidos!

2009-10-28T18:00:00.017-04:00

So it's been a while since my last post and I am trying to think of what has happened in that time... Hmm. Let's see I did some drawing, read some Hemingway short stories, planned a few lessons about American culture, what else... oh yes, I got engaged!!! Although the news has already lit up Facebook and the blogosphere (read my new Fiancé Cori's blog for more details and pictures) I thought I should tell the story of how this ring managed to land on Cori's finger and make us both so very happy : )

Last spring I realized it was about time I start ring shopping. Cori and I have been together for over 4 years, and I love her more everyday. At the time we were still in the process of planning the move to Spain together. I didn't think twice about going with her, but I realized that following her half way around the world was a pretty big step. Even though we are both relatively young, I decided there was no good reason to wait any longer. I didn't know when or where I should propose, but I knew I wanted to do it soon. So here is how it played out. (To save time and space on the blog, I'll give the rest of the details in short steps to make it easier to read:)

I bought the ring at Northfield Goldsmiths. I'm not big fan of most jewelry stores, so I was relieved when I heard about the place one day on my favorite independent radio station in Rochester. Up until that point, the only ring I had seen that I liked was this Ring Mug, which I thought was great but I new it would not make Cori too happy ;) The owner is a very friendly Swedish man named Goodman Olsen, and he runs the place out of the first floor of his home on Park Ave in Rochester.
I mentioned the place to Cori briefly in a conversation and she looked at the website all on her own and told me that she thought the designs were beautiful. So on a day we both had off from teaching, we decided to check out the store in person, just for fun. She fell in love with the place immediately and picked out some designs she liked ...for whenever we decided we were ready.
Over the next few months I worked to save up money for the ring. With concerns about student loans and travel and expenses, I had to be careful. However, when we got more details about Spain, I made a budget and drew up some plans with Goodman.
Before buying the ring, I thought I should ask Cori's Dad for permission. Thankfully, one day over the summer we were visiting her parents for a weekend and Cori went with her Mom to a wedding shower (of all things) so her Dad and I went out for lunch. I hadn't thought about it at first but it eventually occurred to me that this would be a great time to ask. However, by the time the topic came up, we were driving in the car. When I finally got the words out about my plans, John was making a turn onto a busy street. I think the topic kind of startled him (go figure) and we were lucky to not have gotten into an accident! Thankfully, he was able to stabilize the car, shook my hand, gave me the approval, and we had a good conversation about it the rest of the way back.
Over the rest of the Summer, Cori and I were very busy preparing for Spain. Plus, Cori's cousin was getting married just before we were set to fly out, so I decided to wait until we got to Spain to propose. Despite the issue of getting through security with the ring, I thought it would be worth the effort to find a nice romantic spot in Spain. My parents advised me to get insurance on the ring (great idea!) just in case, and for safe keeping my mom helped stitch the ring into the lining of my travel pocket where I kept my passport (thanks mom!).

Getting through Security: I had researched the restrictions and guidelines for metal objects before our flight, but I had no idea what was in store for me...

Rochester: When we flew out of Rochester (just a few days before September 11th) they informed us that they had just installed a new type of security system. These new machines take the equivalent of a CAT-Scan of your body, and your only supposed to have your basic layer of clothes. I was prepared to have them search me closer, and even propose in the terminal if they had me take out the ring, so I just kept it on me. I'm guessing that they saw the ring in the picture and decided not to say anything, even though they went through my bags for an extra screening. I thought i was home free, but as we were boarding, they informed us they would be doing random individual screenings - they picked Cori instead of me, phew!

Washington, DC: Washington was another big obstacle because we had a 7 hour layover. So we made plans to leave the security checkpoint to meet up with Cori's friends Rachael Raab, Ashley White and Ashley's boyfriend Tommy, who live in the Washington area. I figured if security busted me for the ring getting on to the plane there, it wouldn't be too bad because her best friends from high school would be there to share it with. At dinner, I let Rachael know about my plans on the way to the bathrooms. I think she nearly soiled herself with excitement, but she managed to stay calm when we got back with Cori. I got through security no problem. Straight ahead to Spain right? Wrong.
London: We had a 4 hour stop in London, and with Heathrow being so enormous, we actually had to take a shuttle to our connecting flight, so we had to go through security one more time. I set off the alarm and the guard patted me down. He asked me to take out the pouch, but luckily Cori was ahead of me in line and was busy picking up her things from the conveyor belt. I whispered to the guy that it was a surprise, he looked the ring over, nodded, and let me go.
The rest of the trip went fine, and we made it to Salamanca without any more surprises. Now I had to find a good place and time to give Cori the ring...

My plan for the proposal: The last time Cori and I were in Europe, she bought an old style lock for us to hang somewhere. This has become a tradition in Europe for couples to hang a lock in a romantic spot and then throw away the key. It is very popular to do this on bridges in places like Rome and Florence, and Cori and I loved the idea. So my plan was to bring this lock to Spain, find a romantic spot, lock the lock, and then propose there. While looking up information about Salamanca, I decided the old Roman bridge would be the perfect spot to do the lock and ring.

Mishaps: I didn't want to wait too long to do the proposal, and I officially apologize for everyone at home who knew about my plans and was left waiting in anticipation. However, we really didn't have any good opportunities the first few weekends here. After a couple weeks to get settled, I went ahead and pitched the idea of hanging the lock to Cori and we went out to explore Salamanca on a beautiful sunny day. We brought the lock, an old SLR film camera, and I had the ring in a pouch in my pocket. I had to drag Cori away from her work and she was just getting over a cold, so she wasn't too happy to begin with. Then when we finally got to the bridge, there was absolutely no place to hang the lock! We walked around the city a bit more to search for other places, but Cori eventually told me she felt tired and didn't want to look anymore - bummer.

So for a few more weekends I waited patiently for a good time to hang the lock again. It was difficult because Cori has been overloaded with work since we got here, and it never looked like it was going to let up. I decided it was more important for the both of us to be happy and stress free so that we could enjoy the moment rather than trying to force the proposal on a study break. Thankfully, she had a week off from school coming up in October.

Success! As you can read on Cori's blog in great detail, I was eventually given a great moment to propose. After one more day of searching for a place to hang the lock, (every picturesque spot we found was either loaded with tourists, punk teenagers, bums, or broken glass and urine - not very romantic) I decided I couldn't depend on that strategy any longer. As I told my parents that this particular weekend would probably be a good time to do it (because Cori had a week off from school), my mother was expecting a call with the good news very soon.

Unfortunately, Cori and I decided to demonstrate iChat for Cori's roommate that afternoon, and we called my mom. The first words out of my mom's mouth were "Hi Cori! Do I see something on your hand???" My silent reply, "Motheeeerrrrr!!!" (only in my head of course). I did my best to recover the awkward moment, but I thought for sure Cori got the hint about my plans. So afterwards Cori and I went out to dinner, and the entire time I was trying to think of how I could do the ring that night. I suggested that we not go to the movies with friends as we had planned, but rather, take a walk "on this beautiful fall night :)" The plan worked and I was able to coax her on to the old Roman bridge with the most beautiful view of, what is in my opinion, the most beautiful city in the world.

I gave Cori the ring on the bridge, and it ended up being the perfect timing. Shortly after, a friend from Cori's masters program walked by and was able to take pictures of us. Then we had the rest of the night free and an extra hour for daylight savings time to talk with friends and family on skype/ichat. The next day we left for an previously planned weekend trip to Avila - a very beautiful, preserved, walled in city about an hour away. Perfect.

Without blabbering on too much longer, I would just like to say that I am officially the luckiest man in the world! We are having a fantastic time here, but want to thank everyone that helped me along the way, and I look forward to seeing everyone when we get back to share the stories again and celebrate together!

Home Improvements

2009-10-18T07:55:00.005-04:00

What started out as a tough week has turned into an excellent one. Before last weekend, spirits were at an all time low in my apartment. Things have returned to normal now, and even improved a little, but it took some time and effort.

To start, appliances and basic fixtures seem to have a very short lifespan in Nicasio Perez, 24. It started with the washing machine. After the first few washes, it stopped spinning and just filled with water. With the washer decommissioned, we all eventually began to smell a little funny. Our landlord was conveniently out of town in Barcelona for a week, so we began washing our clothes in the tub. Naturally, the tub drain became clogged with lint and as a result we were showering in ankle deep water. Shortly after that the water heater went and we might as well not even bother trying to shower at all.

Then if that wasn't enough, the internet - the only thing keeping us sane - inexplicably died in the night. Now my roommate, who was already having significant setbacks of his own (sickness, bank account froze, mix ups with his job) was about ready to pack his bags and go back to Canada. I convinced him to stay at least one more week to wait things out, but my argument was admittedly weak.

Luckily, over the course of the week, things started to look up. Eventually our landlord had the washer fixed. The internet technician showed up, and although he couldn't get the wifi to work properly, we now have internet working as (well as?) before.

(On a side note: the internet is not like in the U.S. and I didn't realize how well we had it. the main company that we have in Spain is Telefonica, and since it is basically a monopoly, we are stuck with high rates and terrible service. We would switch, but there is no decent company to go to. As a result, Telefonica can give all their subscribers inferior routers and awful customer service. I now have a greater appreciation for Road Runner, I just fear that never become like Telefonica.)

After that the tub started to drain better again and we figured out how to hot-wire the water heater. However, once we got that fixed the shower head cracked in half (of course) but at least we can deal with that. Mike and I decided that we need to start breaking things in advance that we can deal with. Maybe sacrifice a chair or a light fixture, because it seems every time we fix one thing, another thing breaks.

Anyway...

Work is still great - I feel like one of the Beatles every time I walk in the building. I have to say it is great to go to work and have hundreds of adoring fans cheering your arrival. The younger students are the best - they literally jump out of their seats when I walk in the room. However, the best classes to teach are the Bachillarato courses (basically trade school or a associates program) because the students are more mature and speak better English. I got to present to a culinary class about the food and drink of America (BBQ, Pancakes, and Garbage Plates!) which was a lot of fun.

I signed up for Spanish classes at the Uni, and my first class is next week. I will also start tutoring English teachers after school in Palencia next week, which is great because I will start to earn some extra Euros - yeay!

The free El Pais Beatles mug this week is the White Album - sweet!

My roommate is also feeling a lot better because he has a new Spanish girlfriend. She's a student at the University of Valladolid and they have been hanging out a lot lately which is good. She is studying law and designs skateboards as a hobbie.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to visit Cori this weekend :( She had too much work and Rotary obligations, but next week I should be able to see her for 5 straight days!! In the meantime I have taken the opportunity to use my weekend and free time to do some artwork. I have been playing around the new Vitores font, editing photos and drawing parts of the city. (examples below)

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad!

I found Vitores!

2009-10-09T14:57:00.005-04:00

As many of you know, art is my livelihood. Much of the artwork that I do involves computers and graphic design, and I have a penchant for downloading fonts. Well, one of the most fascinating things that I have seen so far in Spain is the very unique font style that exists in the city of Salamanca. At first sight, I fell in love with this font and I had to have it. It appears on almost every Government or University building, as well as many stores. This font is one of the many reasons why I think Salamanca is one of the best cities in the world.

As soon as I got to the internet, I immediately searched for it on my favorite font websites (dafont.com, 1001fonts.com, etc. ) and found nothing. Eventually I got a tip that the font is called "Vitores" and has existed since the 15th century. The story goes that upon graduating from the University of Salamanca, the new alumni would write their initials on the walls of the school in bulls blood - pretty cool right? Well, good news, because after raking through all the fonts on the websites individually, I finally found it!!! (pretty close anyway) Here is the link with some additional information about the font. I was so happy, I decided to blog about it :) I have already put it to good use too... If you look at Cori's blog you can see that her photo header has the title of her blog in this new super cool font.

So that's about all. I am back in Salamanca for the weekend and happy to be spending time with Cori! While I have the free time to look up fonts, she has been very busy with school work (as usual). However, we hope to get out to see Zamora, a smaller city near Salamanca, at some point during the weekend!

Return from Madrid > Cori visits Valladolid

2009-10-04T15:23:00.006-04:00

Conference in Madrid

One of the more interesting experiences I have had as Language and Culture Assistant was the program orientation in Madrid. Originally I thought the orientation was only for American ambassadors and that it would include most everyone from all the provinces in Spain. However, when we got to the Hotel (Hotel Convencion) we discovered that it was all of the language assistants from about a half dozen Spanish provinces (inlcuding; Castilla y Leon, Asturias, Aragon, Murcia, and others). So out of the 780ish people there, there were only 180 Americans. The rest were Canadians, British (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), Australians, Germans, Belgians, French, Italy, China, and one kiwi from New Zealand.

Initially we all gathered in a large conference room and heard from a panel of Embassy representatives from each country. It was very entertaining to hear all of them try to speak Spanish at first, with varying degrees of success. The Canadian ambassador spoke Spanish the best (although we later discovered she has dual citizenship) and the British ambassador spoke the worst (with one of my favorite transitions ever "Ahora, me gustaria hablar Ingles"). (On a side note: I think it would be quite an awesome job to work for an American Embassy in a foreign country. Especially because one of the official titles that I heard was "Secretary of Food and Culture." Where do I sign up?) From there we split up into groups and listened to presentations about the program, duties of an ambassador, and strategies for assisting in the classroom. Interesting stuff most of the time, but I struggled to understand all of it in Spanish.

When the training was complete, we reconvened with our regional representatives, (mine being Castilla y Leon) and then our fellow compatriots to hear some words from our respective embassies. The U.S. embassy told us about safety precautions, the terror level in Spain, and what to do in certain scenarios (like when you loose your passport). They also told us to be cautious of pickpockets, scams, and also not to wear yankees hats, or sell/mule drugs. My roommate told me the Canadians got in a circle and played ice breaker games to get to know each other better. Then the orientation was finished.

Since we had one night left in the hotel and nothing to do the next day, we decided to go out in Madrid. It's an interesting city, but not like most capital cities. I went out with my roommate Mike, and my other friend, Laura - from Nazareth, who is also doing the program. We found some interesting bars and drank Asturian Cider and Sangria - fun time. 3 hour train ride back to Valladolid the next day - not as much fun.

Cori visits Valladolid!

On Saturday, Cori came to Valladolid from Salamanca. She got in around 2:30 and we did some shopping and had lunch. From there we went around the city to see the sites, take pictures, and watch a procession (crowds of people marching through the streets carrying religious statues and floats). Then we met up with a few Spanish friends of ours (Alvaro and his girlfriend, the who helped me find my apartment (read earlier post)) and went out for drinks. While we were out we got late night Calamari sandwiches and then went to a great Celtic bar called "el Tio Molonio" (Uncle Molonio) that gave you lottery tickets with each beer and a raffle at midnight.

The next day Cori and I met up for lunch with Ione (the girl that stayed with the Family Cori nannied for) and she took us to a place for Tortilla de Patatas - good stuff, only Cori and I had to scrap off about a cup of mayo that was slathered on top of it! From there we walked around different parts of the city and Ione pointed out notable things. Most interesting thing of the day - free outdoor gym next to the beach on the river, complete with ellipticals, stair steppers, chin-up bars, and a sit-up bench. After that we went back to my apartment for a bit, then walked to the Campo Grande, the Central Park of Valladolid, to read and grab a coffee. From there, we came back, chatted with Cori's family on skype, made dinner, and tried to make plans for future trips.

Cori left the next day (Monday) because she had class at 5 :( However, I will see her soon, because we have a long weekend coming up for Christopher Columbus' birthday. Here the holiday is called "Fiesta de la Hispanidad." Interesting thing to note; Columbus died in Valladolid and there is a Museum about his life just a few short blocks from my apartment! I have to go see it soon. Anyway, I will include some photos from this weekend. Enjoy!

End of September

2009-10-02T16:31:00.006-04:00

NOTE: I was not able to post this until I returned from Madrid because WiFi at the hotel we stayed at was 6.50 PER HOUR - So I opted to wait...

En Route to Conference

I am writing this while on a train to Madrid for the official orientation of my “Language Assistants” program. (Funny that I’ve had to work for two weeks and now I have an orientation. Strange isn’t it?) It’s a 3 hour ride so I have lots of time to write!

GENERAL UPDATE:

For the last 2 weeks I have spent the weekdays in Valladolid and Palencia, where I live and work, and then headed down to Salamanca for the weekend to visit Cori : ) It is safe to say that I like Salamanca much better than Valladolid, and not only because Cori is there! :) Valladolid is big but is more industrial and has kind of a cold feeling. Salamanca is actually a bit smaller, but is much more picturesque and culturally rich. The city bustling with people 24 hours a day and the buildings look like they haven’t changed in 800 years. I have equated Salamanca to Spain’s Florence with better weather and not all of the tourists and cars.

Most days in Salamanca, Cori and I have gone around exploring the city and then going out with Cori’s classmates from her graduate program. They are all very interesting people from all over the world. Last Friday we stayed out with the group until 5:30am! On Saturday, one of her classmates threw a surprise birthday party for another, and we went to that in the afternoon. I feel bad because while I only have to work 12 hours per, Cori has been completely swamped with school work. She has been very stressed with all of her graduate classes as well as her duties for the Rotary scholarship, and on top of that she has been sick for the last week : ( But I think things should improve for her after a while, I hope.

As exciting as it is to be in another country it can be very difficult to adjust to all of the changes. Things have worked out, but it has not been easy to figure out housing, paperwork, banks, or the bus schedules, and I only got Internet in my apartment a few days ago! We also got a new roommate in our flat this week. His name is Deigo and he is a 28 year old Spanish guy who has been living and studying in London for the last 6 years. He has come back to Valladolid to study art preservation at the University, and is now staying in our third room. So now we should be able to practice our Spanish with him and also have cheaper rent!

Here are a few more specific updates and comments...

SCHOOL:

I now have a steady schedule at my school and my first full week behind me. Things are going well at work. My schedule is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 9:15 to 1:15. So far, I really like my school and the faculty I work with. The English department has 5 teachers who are all very friendly and helpful people. Their names are Encarna, Juaquin, Jesus, Jesus, and Jesus. Up to this point I have been going into classes with all of the teachers to introduce myself and read from their texts. The students are all very interested in talking to me. When I walk around the halls I feel like a celebrity because students I haven't even met are all shouting "hello!" from every angle. In the classroom I have been introducing myself, talking about America, and fielding questions.

Some examples of common questions:

“What is your favorite Spanish food?”

“What is your favorite basketball team and who is your favorite player?” (they love American Basketball, and there are two Spanish players in the NBA)

“Do you like Barca or Madrid?” (Football teams, the equivalent of the Yankees and Red Sox)

“Who is your favorite F1 driver?”(F1 racing is very popular as a more affluent sport)

“What are schools like in the United states?”(Spanish schools start later, do not serve lunch, and no after-school sports)

“Do you know anyone famous?”

And of course; “Do you have a girlfriend?”

For most of the classes so far, I start off by telling them my name and explain that I live in New York State. At first their faces light up, and then I explain that I live 5-6 hours from New York City, closer to “Cataracas Niagara.” I usually draw a quick map of the United States on the chalk board and show them where all the major places are and how far it is between them. They are usually very impressed with the size of the United States, and I have been told by one of the teachers that it is 17 times larger than Spain (by area). I go on to tell them that the area here I live is very wet compared to this part of Spain (Castilla y Leon). They ask about my family and I tell them that my brother lives in Seattle, and that there are many towns and cities in the United States that are named after places in Europe (like where my parents live and I was raised - Verona, and Rome). After the inevitable girlfriend question, I explain that Cori is in Salamanca studying at the University.

For the rest of the year it appears that I will be reading to the students and working with them in small groups, as well as giving presentations about American culture that coincide with the units they are covering in class. It is a little difficult at times because the students and teachers are accustomed to British English and find some of the things I say strange. They have been practicing questions like “Have you got any brothers or sisters” and I tell them that we usually substitute the word “do” into our questions and say “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” instead. Although they say I speak very clearly and can understand me, I feel like my English is very poor and I am noticing many of the peculiar things I say when I am speaking. The English language programs in Spanish schools focus heavily on grammar and very little on listening and speaking.

OBSERVATIONS OF SPANISH CULTURE:

I have also discovered many things about Spain that I did not know about before. A few examples:

-Although the students are taught English from age 3 (the same as every other European country), hardly anyone can speak English outside of the English teachers in the school. I have gathered that this is the main reason why the Spanish government has created the program that I am participating in so that they can catch up to the rest of Europe.

-People are very blunt. This is both a good thing and bad thing because it shows that people are honest, but they are also not afraid to voice their prejudices. I am generally safe because Americans are easily accepted, but the Spanish in general do not like gypsies, immigrants, or the French.

- Old people can actually be very rude here. I have heard there is a large difference in attitude between the generations that lived under Franco and those that did not, and I have noticed their behaviors in public. I feel horrible saying it, but here are some examples... I have seen a number of older people take up the width of the side walk, walk slowly, then see you coming with a large bag or your hands are full, and not let you pass. Also, I have seen them push and shove their way out of elevators or doorways rather than wait two seconds for the people ahead of them to move. Very strange!

-Spanish culture as far as media is concerned is basically American culture. They follow our politics as closely as their own. People often want my opinion on the health care debate, or they ask me about other recent news topics from the U.S. The music, tv and movies are almost completely American and no one seems to make the distinction that they are any different from Spain. I have seen episodes of Family Guy, the Simpsons, and Friday Night Lights (all dubbed in Spanish, of course) on regular T.V. It sad to me because they seem to know all about the U.S. and most Americans probably can’t find Spain on a map.

-No Café Americano. You can get it everywhere else in Europe – usually for later in the day. They think the large cups of coffee like we have in America are foolish because is just more water. So instead I can only buy a “Café Cortado,” Café Solo,” or “Café con Leche,” which are just variations of what is basically a shot of straight motor oil.

CONFERENCE:

I am excited to be going to Madrid, but not so excited to be in meetings all day. Anyway, it should be good to get to know more about the program, because they haven’t told us much so yet! Most everything I have learned so far I have had to gather on my own by talking with other Assistants on Facebook and such. They will be teaching us about the Spanish school system and how to create activates for the classroom. It should be useful, either way I get a two nights stay and meals in Madrid included! Hopefully I will have some time to see the city.

It now seems like a routine will start forming from here on out. With most of the house-keeping out of the way, everything is starting to feel more settled. It is starting to feel like the vacation is over and now I really live here. After Madrid I will be working regular hours and trying to plan weekend trips with Cori as much as possible. I should also be able to keep in touch better now that I have Internet in my apartment! So I hope to be emailing, messaging, and ichatting with everyone on a regular basis from now on. Adios!

My Piso!

2009-09-22T10:27:00.004-04:00

So I thought I would post some pictures of my new piso (flat or apartment in spanish). I have to say, it's a pretty nice place - 3 bedrooms, living room, full bath, kitchen, washing machine, etc. We are located near the city center, and the bus stop to Palencia, where I work, is right around the corner. I live with my roommate Mike Scott, from Ottawa, Canada and hopefully a third spanish roommate, named Diego, by next week.

The address is:

Nicasio Perez 24, 1 B

47005 Valladolid, Spain

Map it!

My room - a bit messy (I just moved in!)

More to come soon!

Finally in Spain!!!!

2009-09-16T16:24:00.011-04:00

Hola everyone! I am finally in Spain now! Sorry it took me so long to post on here.... the first week has been very busy and muy interesante!

After our 30 HOUR voyage (with many layovers and very little sleep) we arrived safely in Salamanca, possibly the most beautiful city I have ever seen. Cori and I met with her incredible host Rotary Counselor Fernando, and his family (the Prados). We ate lunch with them the first day and familiarized ourselves with the city. Cori found an apartment and scheduled her classes. After two days, I reluctantly left for Valladolid, where I will be living for the next 9 months. However, I will see Cori soon!

When I arrived in Valladolid, I met with two fellow North American ambassadors. The first three days we worked together to get settled with all of our accommodations (Apartment, cell phone, bank, paperwork, etc.) They're names are Brooke Petersen (from Boston) and Mike Scott (from Ottawa, Canada). I have since found an apartment with Mike and we are getting along very well (despite frequently trading barbs about America and Canada - all in good fun, of course!).

Valladolid is a great city. About 300,000 people here and and there are plenty of things to do. The first weekend here was the end of their annual "Fiesta de San Lorenzo" and the streets were buzzing with activity. The second day here, Ione Duran, a girl who stayed with the family Cori nannied for this summer, took us around and showed us the city. There were many food vendors, street musicians, lots of jovial people and some not so jovial people. (Below is a video of some bullfighting protests during the fiesta)

After three days here we found the apartment with the help of many generous Spanish friends. Then on Monday, Fernando Prado (Cori's Rotary counselor) got us in touch with the son of a friend of his, Alvaro, and Alvaro's girlfriend's cousin, Roberto, who spoke better english (still with me?). We met up and they took us around in their car to find and visit pisos (apartments). We finally found one by the end of the day, and it is great! We have a very clean, spacious place located in the old University district. Here is the address. I think it is a pretty good spot - lots of interesting establishments nearby and within walking distance to most things in the city center.

Even though I am living in Valladolid, I will be working at IES Virgen de la Calle in the nearby smaller city of Palencia. I have come to find that getting there is not as simple as I originally thought. The first day I got there fine. I met a few of the members of the English Department on my way in and we went out for coffee. Then we came back to the school, talked for a while in the department lounge and got to know each other. However, the past two days, my bus has failed to arrive at the bus stop and I have struggled to catch buses and trains at other spots. So far, the school is very nice but I have only met with one class. The rest of the time I have been trying to take care of paperwork, getting the equivalent of a "Green Card" called an "NIE", and a bank account. There is lots of "burocracia" as my colleague, Jesus, would say. Hopefully I will have everything sorted out by next week and begin working in the classroom! More to come soon... especially with more reliable access to internet.

In the meantime, more pictures!

The old University building

Fountain in the Plaza Fuente Dorada

A wedding at the Catedral

Academia de Caballeria

The Plaza Mayor of Valladolid

Vamos a España!

2009-08-17T16:10:00.012-04:00

I am so excited because I will be leaving for Spain in less than a month! If I haven't had the chance to tell you in person, my girlfriend Cori and I will be spending the next school year in Spain while she takes master's classes at the University of Salamanca and I teach English at a high school in Palencia.

This idea all began in the summer of 2008, when Cori received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to pay for a year of graduate courses in Spain. I decided to come with her and this past spring I applied and was selected for, the Spanish Ministry of Education's North American Language and Culture Assistants program! So now after months of letters, emails, paper work and assorted red tape - we have our visas and plane tickets and we are ready to go! I couldn't be more excited. We leave September 8th and will return in late June 2010. As the year goes on I will try to keep updating this blog with my activities, thoughts, and observations.

Here is an article published on the Nazareth College website about my grant!

This map below shows the location of Palencia where I will be working. Cori will be studying in Salamanca, which is approximately 2 hours SW by train.

Here is a video from my visit to the Spanish Consulate in New York

Glenn

2009-07-28T09:50:00.004-04:00

A portrait of my girlfriend's grandfather; Glenn Zerfas. He was a very accomplished man and lived to the age of 96. During his lifetime, he served in World War II, worked on the Hoover Dam, and toiled as a carpenter. This painting was adapted from a photograph that shows him surveying the construction of his son's house.

Idols

2009-05-27T00:09:00.001-04:00

A quick digital drawing I completed recently. A flattering imitation of Milton Glaser's Bob Dylan poster.