Toledo, Spain

On Saturday, February 9th, API included a day trip to Toledo, Spain which is a small, historic town an easy hour drive south of Madrid. I wish that I had had more than a few hours because our walking tour took up the majority of our time leaving very little free time to wander about. At least its an easy trip that I can make again on any afternoon.

This was the first time that I was able to leave Madrid the first month that I had been here. I was too sick to leave previously, so I was more than excited. Even the drive was awesome because it was the first time that I had really seen the Spanish terrain outside of the city that wasn't a man-made park. Upon entering Toledo the terrain became rocky hills.

Entering Toledo

View from a neighboring hill of the town

Once a capital city within the Roman Empire, currently Toledo is the capital of the province of Castilla-La Mancha (Don Quijote anyone?) And historically Toledo is a town with great significance. For many hundreds of years Toledo experienced a period of La Conviviencia (the coexistance) when Jews, Muslims and Christians lived together under Arab rule. It was not until around the time of Christopher Columbus at the end of the 15th century that the Spanish Inquisition under Isabel and Ferdinand brought an end to this peaceful existence. At one point on our tour we came upon a traditionally Jewish temple that was built with Arab influence but later converted into a church during the Inquisition. A photo can be seen below:

The Toledo Cathedral is said to be most beautiful in Spain. In a Gothic style, it was built from 1226 until 1493. An interesting characteristic of this cathedral is that red hats will hang from the ceiling signifying that a cardinal is buried in a town directly underneath that location. Also, as most Spanish cathedrals, the choir room is in the center of the cathedral, blocking the view of those in the back. The most important object kept inside is The Great Monstrance of Arfe. "Made of the finest silver and gold and bejeweled with gems, it measures over ten feet tall. The monstrance is famous for being used in the annual feast of Corpus Christiof Toledo. Since 1595, it has been customary to carry the monstrance in the procession of the Corpus Christi, on a float made for this purpose with an adjustable leveling which is mechanically activated. In the procession, political and ecclesiastical dignitaries proceed ahead of the monstrance and behind it the cadets of the Infantry Academy. The monstrance comprises 5,600 different pieces held together by 12,500 bolts and decorated with 260 figurines. Eighteen kilograms of 18 karat gold and 183 kilograms of pure silver were used in its fabrication; it is said to contain the first gold brought by Columbus from the New World."

  

      

The cathedral can constantly be seen from the narrow streets

The famous painter, El Greco, lived in Toledo and so some of his work can still be found in the town. Also metal-working has historically been the economic basis of this country. The manufacture of swords goes back to Roman times, and the town has been a steel-working center since around 500 BCE. Another characteristic of Toledo is that small tiles with various images can be found in random locations around the city: in the street, on the walls of buildings, etc.

Like all of Spain, Toledo has La Plaza Mayor for merchants and gatherings which makes for a great place to spend time with friends on a sunny afternoon. Also, the food is traditional Spanish food and so Ronni and I grabbed some Spanish Omlette (Tortilla Espanola) that our host mom makes a lot (though her's is better). I absolutely adore this dish. Its called an omlette, but its basically potatoes mixed with a little bit of eggs. Regardless, its delicious.

    

 Plaza Mayor                                                             Tortilla Espanola

May 1st is the largest celebration of the year in Toledo called Romería de la Virgen del Valle. Throughout the morning there is a catholic procession that is supposedly like no other. Also, woman can ring the church bells with the tradition of getting married within the year. For study abroad students the idea of marrying a Spanish man is a common aspiration, so I believe that I should be back. So that my friends can ring the bell that is ;)

Roommates all together in Toledo

I would very much hope to return to Toledo sometime soon. The view in the city of the countryside is astounding, just like in every direction you look the city itself is beautiful. In medieval days, Toledo was situated in a very strategic location in that a river horse-shoes around the city making it essentially a peninsula. On top of this, the city rests on a large hill overlooking the rest of Spain.

Bridge to Toledo

Goodbye Toledo!

 

Back to the beautiful countryside of Castilla

February Freedom

After being so sick for so long, I was incredibly excited to roam Madrid once more in Early February. Even if I just had time to kill and no one with me, I would wander around. These times are when I made my best finds, actually. My favorite thing to do is get off at random metro stops or just hop on a bus to see where it takes me. By the time I leave Spain, I would love to have seen each metro stop within the city. Each one comes with its own surprises and good finds.

Walmart of Spain

Probably my favorite find so far has been Alcampo. This place is essentially the Walmart of Spain. They have literally everything you can imagine. They have produce, meat (ridiculous amounts of ham), fish (also absurd amounts), fresh breads but then they also have electronics, clothing, a pharmacy, you name it. Why is this place my favorite find? Because I can shop like an American. I can get everything I want in one store. Also, unlike the local markets, I can find a larger selection of foods and so I can find more American tastes, example: peanut butter. I'm still am lacking money for good food, so it looks like PB&J days will last at least another semester. What's awesome is that this place is located on my subway ride home AND its on the bus route I live on. Its all around convenient. Also, I've made some great candy-finds. Kinder bueno bards are amazing, and I even bought the kinder eggs (where some come with a spongebob surprise) as a recommendation from Kevin. So good.

Cookies n' Creme bar INSIDE a chocolate bar

Kinder chocolate just melts in your mouth...

Another great find of mine has been the mall at Principe Pio. My newest roommate, Ronni, and I wandered one day and we made a lot of good finds just by luck. When we got off at a random metro stop, we found an entire old train station that was converted into an indoor shopping mall. Its ginormous, and one of the coolest buildings I've ever entered. It also has just about every major clothing store you can find in Madrid...dangerous.

Part of the outside appearance

Inside the train station

Complete with the old-time clock

So you can still find McDonalds ("Mac-doe-nalds"), Burger King, KFC, and Starbucks in Madrid. I actually expected more American stores, but those are the most present. And they are no where near as present as you will find in the US. What's interesting is that they have the “McIberica” burger: two beef patties side-by-side with jamon iberico, Manchego cheese, olive oil, lettuce and tomato. Also, their McFlurries come with syrup (chocolate or caramel).

McDonalds!

In through Madrid runs the Manzanares River. I was fortunate to stumble upon this river during an exporation one day, and though it was beautiful, as is everything in Spain. You could even see the palace up on a hill from the river, so naturally I walked in that direction next. Back in the medieval ages, Madrid was a strategic location because the city was built on a large hill with the palace overlooking a cliff. 

The river!

Throughout my adventures, I always find interesting locations. May it be a giant Spanish flag in the middle of a plaza that I've never seen before, a gorgeous building, a breath-taking church, or the Arab influence contrasting the European influence of the city. Every single corner leads to the debate of which direction to walk next as every view displays another beauty.

One interesting location that I specifically set out to find one day is the Debod Temple. This is an ancient Egyptian building that was originally built over 2,200 year ago as a single-room chapel dedicated to the god Amun. It was later extended to become a temple. As I am a huge fan of the musical Aida, I was very excited to learn that it is from the region of Nubia. 

"In 1960, due to the construction of the Great Dam of Aswan and the consequent threat posed to several monuments and archaeological sites,UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy. As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968."

Sunset

But all in all, I'm back in action and ready to explore this city to its fullest!!

The Spanish Economic Crisis

Although, I may have spent a good deal of my first month in Spain in bed, I have still been here for going on two months and am constantly taking note of new cultural differences. First off, the economy.

Oh the economy... So the Spanish economy is not just bad, it is really bad. They call this time "la crisis" (the crisis) because the economy is plummeting. After a serious real estate crisis in 2008 when, much like the US, banks were granting mortgages to those who could not afford such homes, the situation has only gotten worse. Some banks have completely failed leading to the need for the EU to bail out Spanish banks last year. Many protests have been taking place since 2011, and even before, against bankers and politicians for their lack of representation of the people during this economic crisis.

Spanish public workers on strike: 2010

I love to talk to random people on the metro, in lines, or even most recently at a parade. The couple at the parade were very enthusiastic to speak to me about the economy of Spain because they loved hearing from an American an overview of the situation in America. I learned one heck of a lot from them. At the Carnival parade I went to this weekend there was a strike of people walking down the street, dressed as doctors to keep public health care. Below is a picture I took:

With a 26% overall unemployment rate and a 55% unemployment rate of young workers (those a few years out of college), times are hard. Last week, there was a three-day strike of university and high school students, the second three-day strike this year, protesting the budget cuts for education. Marta, my host sister, attends a public university and her classes were cancelled due to the protests. She could either actively participate in the protests or as she chose, stay home safely. The Spanish Students Union claims up to 80-90% of high school students participated in the strike.

Student strikes in Spain

The Popular Party is proposing an overthrow of the current system in order to emphasize math, science, and foreign languages. During the reign of Franco, not many Spaniards learned English, but now more than ever Spaniards are in serious need to learn other languages in order to obtain jobs. Spain spends 28% more per student on education than the average European country. This leads to some serious issues when Spain is investing so much money on students, who are then forced to take their skills and talents to other countries and contribute back to those countries instead of Spain. This is the fear that most people talk about with me on the streets. The Popular Party has issued a statement that they will offer incentives to companies for hiring people under 30 years old, but will it be enough to keep the youth in the country?

During my stay here in Spain, the metro workers have gone on strike and in several towns in Spain, the sanitation workers have gone on strike. These are people you do not want to upset. All around budget cuts are lowering wages and laying off more people. "The IMF predicts that Spanish unemployment will decrease slightly next year but will remain above 20 percent until 2017." I've witnessed a few protests in the Madrid's center, mostly against the banks. As someone not directly affected by the Spanish economic crisis, its fascinating to witness from the capital city.

Protests to keep public health care

My host-brother, Guillermo, has his master's degree in finance, spent the last 6 years working for a company in London managing their French affairs, and therefore speaks three languages. But now that his company laid off their workers, he is unemployed and unable to find a job. He is only 30 years old, has 6 years of work experience, master's degree, and speaks three languages. When someone of this level of criteria cannot find a job something is wrong. So he has returned to Madrid with his family, where he would like to stay. He told me that he is one of the few Spaniards coming back to Spain at this time, however, and may need to leave again himself should he remain unable to acquire a new job shortly.

Since I had been researching the Spanish economy, I decided to speak with him about the situation further (also because he, unlike others I've spoken with, can speak in English). I've learned some interesting things. Much like in the US, the banks lent out money for mortgages without restrictions for many years. This lead to a serious problem when the economy collapsed. But what makes the story worse is that many people here are having their homes foreclosed, but unlike in the US, this hasn't been cancelling their debt. Some banks have been taking people's homes and STILL requiring the people to pay back their immense mortgage on a home that is no longer worth anywhere close to how much they owe. People are mad. This is why I have witnessed so many protests outside of banks. That, and also, the people are mad that the government is giving so much money to these banks who are now benefiting from screwing over their clients. Now its near impossible to get any sort of loan because the banks don't trust anyone since no one has any money.

Even Spanish bank workers went on strike (The bank Bankia is a major contributor in the economic crisis)

Some other interesting information he told me is that the failing economy has made a lot of scandals come in to the light from the government. Unlike other parts of Europe where a politician will be fired for secretly keeping millions in Swiss Bank Accounts without paying taxes, Spanish politicians almost never receive any sort of repercussions. This angers the people greatly, especially at a time when they are hurting so badly already. The judges are part of the same political party and are therefore biased. Baltasar Garzón, the famous Spanish judge for issuing an international warrant for arrest against Pinochet of Chile, was found guilty of illegally recording conversations between lawyers. Although the conversations he recorded proved these people guilty of fraud, this was used against him to be stripped of his power and replaced with a hand-selected judge. This is another thing to greatly anger the people. Even the royal family has had some financial fraud come into light. The husband to the king's daughter was found guilty of pocketing a lot of money from a  non-profit. Not only is it a hard time economically, but its a hard time politically for Spain at this time.

Now that the Spanish government does not have a lot of money to invest to even save the economy, the government is trying to privatize health care and universities, much like what is found in the United States. But the problem is that the Spanish people are accustomed to these services. That, and their taxes are now higher than ever.

Another observation of mine has been that there are a LOT more men pushing baby strollers around town with the little kids than women. Almost every time I see a baby, there is a man holding the child. After talking to several people about this observation, I've come to realize that a lot of men are loosing their higher-end jobs, which would make it more likely that their wives may keep their jobs, which tend to be lower-income. This leaves Spanish men is a difficult position because they are not used to this role and are now confused by the reversal of roles. I've even been told that there has been an increase in domestic violence as men are unsure how to allow themselves in such a situation.

As one more side-note for anyone who may be interested. The Spanish government is allowing an American company to create a mini-Las Vegas outside of Madrid. Despite the drugs, prostitution, and alcoholism that this can bring to the area, the government of Spain is actually helping the foreigners make this happen. They are considering allowing smoking inside the casinos, just for this company, as well as allowing this company to pay lower taxes in return for coming. Maybe it'll create jobs, but these may not be high paying jobs for the Spaniards. Read more about it in the first link below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/08/eurovegas-gambling-complex-madrid

More interesting reads:
http://www.euronews.com/2011/06/19/spanish-protesters-rally-against-politicians-and-banks/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%932013_Spanish_protests
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2013/02/08/with-youth-unemployment-at-55-percent-spanish-students-take-to-the-streets/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/09/baltasar-garzon-guilty-wiretapping-spain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C3%B1aki_Urdangarin,_Duke_of_Palma_de_Mallorca
http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/money/story/us-firm-las-vegas-sands-confirms-madrid-mega-casino-project-20130208

El Rastro

The most popular open-air market in Spain, and supposedly Europe, is located in Madrid called "El Rastro." It takes place on Sundays and holidays from 9am-3pm, which is surprisingly difficult for study abroad students to wake up in order to attend. Traditionally one would find random knick-nacks that could not be found elsewhere, but now there is a mix
of new and used goods.

As a history note, wikipedia filled me in on the origin of the name: El Rastro means "the trail". The market probably owes its name to the tanneries that were once located in Ribera de Curtidores (Ribera de Curtidores means 'riverside of tanners'). Close by, on the banks of the Manzanares River, was an abattoir. Transporting the slaughtered cattle from the abattoir to the tannery left a trail (rastro) of blood along the street.[1] An alternative etymology suggests el Rastro once meant "outside", referring to the fact el Rastro was once outside the jurisdiction of the mayor's court.

This world-renowned flea market, which dates back to medieval times, stretches around Plaza de Cascorro and Ribera de Curtidores, between Calle Embajadores and the Ronda de Toledo (just south of La Latina metro station). And then it continues down side-streets, where treasures can be found, into an endless view of booths. Local antique furniture stores and restaurants along the street open during this time as well. The streets are PACKED. To the point where its almost too difficult to shop in some areas.

"Restaurante Friend Chicken"

Old news articles: "Franco has died!"

GERMAN SHEPARD PUPPY!!

Spain is just gorgeous everywhere you look

Every Spaniard I know warned us of the pick-pocketers that are found at El Rastro, so apparently it is a HUGE problem. In those kinds of crowds, I do not doubt it, especially because El Rastro attracts tourists just as it attracts locals. Going along with this, as my current purse is safe, its also bulky, so I found this gem at El Rastro. It has a flap over the zippered bag complete with a secret zipper area in the back which is perfect for a wallet.

          Brown= matches just about everything

Best place for a wallet

The popular Sunday afternoon in Madrid then consists of leaving El Rastro mid-afternoon, and going to a local bar for some drinks and tapas. (If you have some extra money...)

Typical Tapas Bar

Bed-rest

Upon my return from the hospital, I was placed on bed-rest for about a week. This was miserable for my very high-energy personality. The very first day, I failed. Kevin, being constantly wonderful, had sent me several letters and I wanted to send him a response that I had been working on throughout my hospital stay. So the first day back, while my host-mom was taking a nap, I decided to pick up my prescriptions and find the post-office. Turns out, the post office was further than I thought, and I spent over an hour going there and back, but I'm glad I went because my letter was too heavy and needed double stamps.

Then my next pharmacy adventure was that for one of my medicines the hospital sent me home with a plastic syringe to use, but when I went the pharmacist was asking me if I wanted the kind of that medicine that I injected into my arm. Apparently the prescription was not specific in which form the medicine came in. I eventually called my director to explain to her that I inject it into my nose, which is what he thought the doctor wanted as well, and that I already had the "apparatus" that she was asking about. Turns out, when I went home to Ana, that I needed to get a nebulizer, haha. So THAT would be the "apparatus" that I needed. Oh medical Spanish, how you throw me sometimes. Another reason why its great to have a host-family.

Me and my nebulizer

Upon returning to my building, my host-mom was walking out to walk the dog. And she was pretty surprised to see her child, straight out of the hospital, wandering around, when she thought I had been napping the whole time. Woops.

So I'll be honest, I was bored out of my mind during those bed-rest days. Facebook was my friend as was Skype. Granted, I did sleep a lot of them which is probably why the whole experience is only a vague memory. I got to watch Spanish television some. I watched the Little Mermaid in Spainish. Except I set the subtitles to "Espanol" (like in Latin America) and set the language to "Castellano" (like in Spain). Which led to some surprisingly very different subtitles compared to what they were actually singing. I still love those songs. One thing that's odd to me is that a lot of appliances are in English, like the DVD player and the microwave, but people here just know what the buttons do without speaking English.

The Little Mermaid

An advantage of being on bed-rest was spending time with my host-family that I probably would not have otherwise spent. My host-brother and sister were both home often (Guillermo and Marta), as was Ana. And they all were able to tell me things about Spain and the culture here that I would not have known otherwise. For example, Guillermo was watching sports one day and I joined him to watch the Handball World Cup. Apparently this sport is quite big in Europe, though I'm fairly certain I've never heard of it before. I always thought hand-ball was like what you play in raquet-ball courts. Apparently not. Its actually like on a soccer field, with soccer goals, and includes GIANT men running all over the place and jumping crazy high and throwing a ball. That's about the best description I can give as this point. BUT Spain won the World Cup, which is apparently a pretty big deal as the stadium was going nuts. And since Spain won the Soccer (futbol) World Cup 2010, I guess that Spain is doing alright in sports these days.

Spanish Handball Champions

At least I was productive in that I worked on around four scholarship applications and attempted to teach myself some of the schoolwork that I was missing. So I went to the first three classes, and then the last two classes of my month-long grammar/culture course. I have yet to make up all the work, but they seem pretty flexible with me. Technically I'm not even getting credit for the class anyways, other than elective credit, but seeing as I've already paid for the classes, I at least want to learn the grammar. I am here to learn Spanish, after all. When I returned from being sick, everyone at school was confused as to what ever happened to me for so long. At least I was not forgotten...

In terms of API, I missed out on the trip to Granada. I was most upset about this because it is very high on my list of travels, and because I had already paid for the trip. Unfortunately, I was in the hospital, so there was nothing I could do. The weekend of February 1st, I had a five-day weekend and my friends all went to Seville. As I was still technically on bed-rest I knew that I was unable to go with them, but I was so disappointed to stay back in Madrid...alone. But then I decided to make the best of it and explore and shop on my own. Heck, I'm in Madrid. I cannot be disappointed about things. This trip is whatever I make of it.

Medicine as viewed by an American

I've had an unfortunate time lately, but things are already looking up and the worst part is over! On Tuesday, January 15th, I caved and went to the doctor as I had been sleeping at least 14 hours a day and running a temperature of more than 38 degrees Celsius (so around 101-102 Fahrenheit). The doctor looked at my swollen lymph nodes and ordered a mono test. All I can say is that I do not like needles going into me and taking out blood. I especially don't like it when they sit me in the ER in a row of chairs of people getting their blood drawn. Turns out, YES I had mono. But that was not the concern. Apparently my blood platelets were around 72 (thousand) when the normal range is 150-450. So they took my blood again to make sure it wasn't a lab error. They had wanted to admit me right there, but decided that as I was a foreigner and stressed to the extreme at this point to let me go as long as I came back in two days for more tests.

Here's where things get sketchy. The doctor gave me two prescriptions for the pain in my head and throat. She then proceeded to tell me that I can pick whichever one I want and if it didn't work then to fill the other one. These were prescription pain pills. One I looked up online [the drug names here are not familiar], it is called Nolotil and has been banned in the US in 1977. So now that I have two boxes of the stuff looks like I'm making bank when I return home.

Please note my sarcasm, as I am kidding

So I randomly picked one of the prescriptions. I decided the Nolotil one sounded pretty interesting. As they have public health care here, there is no need for insurance information. They gave me the pills no questions asked (not even my name), and then proceeded to hand me back the PRESCRIPTION. I then looked at the prescription and realized that it was not dated. Either no one abuses prescriptions drugs here, or its like the easiest thing ever.

So I returned to the hospital again on Thursday and my blood platelets were low again and the Internal Dr. told me that my spleen (Note: "el pazo") was enlarged to the point of concern. So she ordered an ultrasound for the next day and that I remain as calm and inactive as possible.

Getting an ultrasound on my stomach was an experience I was hoping to put off for a few more years, but I will say it was interesting. I'm glad that it did not tickle as I am abnormally ticklish. Before I even got the ultrasound they told me that I'd be admitted for the weekend as I was too high risk, and after the ultrasound they determined that my spleen was dangerously large.

Random ultrasound picture (Mine didn't make sense either)

So that brings me to hospital life. I was admitted Friday afternoon (Jan. 18th) and stayed until Tuesday (the 22nd) only to be readmitted. Okay, its a surreal experience to be admitted to a foreign hospital, but at least I had the nicest, private hospital room that I have ever seen. I had a translator at times, but as she was not always with me, she would always miss the nurses and oftentimes miss the doctors. I had to pick up my Spanish skills STAT. Also, as the time went on, I think my translators assumed that since I could converse in Spanish that I didn't need them....which wasn't at all true. I had to be on my game as no one spoke English, but sometimes that's hard when you're drugged up, exhausted, and in a lot of pain.

My "fancy" wheelchair

Being admitted means IV. I wasn't really a fan, but what can you do? Fortunately, my host-mom and host-sister both came to visit me, especially at first. So it was very convenient to have a host-family. And then the API directors were constantly checking on me. I can honestly say that I have never been THAT sick before. And that its never been so difficult to ask for a blanket. And that I've never had no idea what kinds of medicines were being injected into me before.

View from my hospital window

So my mother flew over the Spain, given the severity of my illness and during her stay, I was released from the hospital and returned with her to the hotel. It was nice having someone to get me ice cream. I was craving ice cream so badly. That night with my mom, I was in incredibly pain in my throat, to the point where I couldn't possibly sleep, even with the pain pills. So I returned first thing in the morning to the hospital and they took me to the ENT who said I should have never been released if I was still in such pain, and he determined that I had a secondary infection in my throat causing the pain in my already swollen-from-mono throat. To determine this, they put me into a giant MRI machine. Being an American, the technician wanted to try and practice his English, but I would have actually preferred him use Spanish as I wanted to know exactly what was going on. So when he told me "We're going to inject you with some medicine and its going to make you feel hot," I took that as he was trying to express pain. Turns out, my lymph nodes legitimately were burning, like with a hot temperature. It was a bizarre sensation. A few days later, after being treated for that, I was finally feeling well and was able to go back to my apartment with Ana.

MRI machine