Why IES El Palo Really Is In the Sticks

The part of the city that I go to school in is called El Palo, and with good reason. The word "palo" in Spanish means "stick" in English, and my classmates take great pride in the fact that they know this translation, causing them to refer to El Palo as "the sticks" (plurals don't really go over so well when whoever's attempting to speak English doesn't understand that sticking an "s" on the end of words isn't just something we do to make it sound cooler). Needless to say, this makes me laugh- the irony that they don't know what exactly they're saying is just too funny.
Don't get me wrong, ladies and gentlemen- my high school isn't that bad. I've managed to make some friends who don't do the dangerous drugs and/or have multiple facial piercings, people have stopped throwing glass directly at me, and I don't even notice the graffitied penises on all the school artwork that much anymore. Not to mention the three layers of gates that lock us in all day have stopped being so scary and the fact that we don't have either a heating or cooling system isn't as bad as it used to be. But it is certainly a giant leap away from Summit High School, and here are some pictures to demonstrate my point.

Also: I'm very sorry I haven't updated in so long. I'm running out of ideas, so if anyone wants to know anything specific let me know...

African Child

Hello! I know I haven't been posting like at all in a very long time, but I've been busy celebrating my first real Christmas. Though it's not technically over until January 6th when the 3 Kings come and give us presents on their way to bless Jesus, I feel confident in saying that it has been a splendid time and a spectacular Christmas.
Another reason I haven't been posting very often is that I'm not entirely convinced that people actually read this blog. So, if you genuinely care about what you see here, I would love a note or something. Message me on Facebook, shoot me an email, write on a sticky note and give it to my family for them to send me in my next package. I've always been someone who needed a lot of love and it's really hard for me to get that here, so I would really appreciate something from back home. Just something to think about.
With that said, here are some pictures from the time I went to Melilla, the Spanish city in the very north of Africa, for Christmas.

 I stayed with the host family of my good friend, Jessica Latimer, and upon seeing this in their kitchen I nearly cried. Apparently their oldest son, Jose Luis, went on exchange to Medford and brought these back for his chef father. I adored the family- they were all so sweet, and encouraged us to speak English when we wanted to but also loved helping us out with our Spanish. Though it was weird not staying with my host family I got to experience life in another Spanish family and I found a sister in Jess.

 The view from northern Africa. The first full day I was there it was warm enough for us to go to the beach, so Jess and I did. The old part of the city overlooks the Mediterranean, and in the olden days they used cannons from this castle to shoot down ships attempting to invade Melilla.

 Though I love the shops here, the shops in Melilla were special because they had an African flair. I bought a flawless pair of classic white linen Moroccan pants, and am hoping to buy a pair of these awesome slippers when I return. The shops were also filled with glass pottery, products with Arabic labels, gorgeous veils, etc.

 The view of Melilla from the top of the castle.

 You could see Morocco from the top of the castle too!

 The fence separating Morocco from Melilla was very intimidating. It was several layers thick and complete with barbed wire and electric fencing so as to discourage illegal border crossing. Though I wanted more than anything to cross this fence to get to Morocco I wasn't allowed to, as being an American girl is a very dangerous thing in African countries.

 Morocco!

 Moroccan tea- practically the best thing I've ever had ever! It was minty but sweet and just splendid.

The nativity scene in Melilla is well known for one major detail- it's life-size! It's set up in the old part of the city and you can walk through it as if you were walking through the scene when it happened. It's complete with real animals and even real fruit vendors.

Traveling Whilst Traveling

I've had very nice opportunities to travel to different parts of southern Spain, and I'm going to have many more (Melilla for Christmas and Sevilla in the spring are positives!). I'm really very lucky:)

Granada

 To be honest, I don't really know very much of the story behind this cathedral. It's in the center of the town, and it's gorgeous. I went to Granada with a group of maybe 9ish other Rotary students, and for a couple hours in between meetings we explored the city. Luckily two were living with families there so they made sure we didn't get lost! It was really nice being surrounded by people who not only could I talk with in a language that I fully understand, but who are also going through many of the same things I'm going through. I love my exchange student friends because we help each other get through a lot. While I know it's important for me to have Spanish friends so as to learn the culture better, I've found that they don't always offer the friendship I need when I'm having homesick days or problems with some part of Spain. That's what the other exchangees are for:)

This is also something I don't know very much about, other than the fact that it's really pretty. My counselor lives in Granada and I'm hoping to visit her one weekend, and maybe she'll be able to explain things to me! That's one of the weirdest things I've gotten used to here, to be honest- not understanding anything. I've had to give up much of my stubbornness to just go along for the ride, because I just don't have enough knowledge of the language or of the place we are or of what people actually do here to try to take control. This is a bit different for me, but it's definitely good.

 Cordoba

 This is the courtyard of the cathedral. Cordoba is very well known for its mosque-turned-cathedral, which is both huge and gorgeous. Back when it was built it was traditional for cathedrals to have courtyards, and in Andalucia orange trees were always in the courtyards. There are dozens and dozens and dozens of orange trees in Cordoba, lining the streets and in this courtyard. Everything smells like oranges and it made me so happy!

 Another view of the courtyard, this time with the fountain that's in the center! It was really pretty, though I don't think there had been any coins thrown in. I really loved the courtyard, and didn't want to leave it to go inside the mosque!

 This was the mosque portion of the building. The mosque part was much darker, with less windows and red/black paint and marble pillars. I really liked it, and greatly admired the detail that had been put into the paintings around the doorways like this one. Also, I got told not to dance by a security guard in this very spot. He thought it was funny that I was doing pirouettes casually in the middle of a mosque.

 I stood in the middle of the cathedral part looking up at the ceiling, breathless, for a good 20 minutes. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I've been to cathedrals in many parts of the world before, but I think the light in this one just made it so incredible. I don't even know how to describe it!

On our way home from Cordoba we visited several museums dedicated to sculptures of famous Spanish things out of candy. This is Malaga constructed from chocolate, sugar, and frosting. I had a lot of fun seeing what parts of it I recognized, and also admiring the sheer detail of it.

Picture Update!

This is a picture of my dear friend Francesca and some juice. But this isn't just any juice- this is two liters of straight-up juice nectar for 85 cents at the Supersol down the street from our bus stop. Francesca and I recently started teaching an English class four days a week after school, and on the way home we always stop at the Supersol and get whatever juice is on sale and either crackers, fruit, or cookies. We have to eat lunch at school and we never seem to be full after (probably because our families eat at home and we just pack a sandwich for after school), so this is a good way to tide over our hunger until dinner at nine.

The classroom that serves as our English teaching room. It's in the beauty school right below our high school (literally right below- we have to walk by it on our way to gym), and the students that we teach go to the beauty school, too. Francesca and I teach two classes two days a week, one Mondays and Wednesdays and the other Tuesdays and Thursdays. So far it has been a source of stress as the students are very unpredictable about when they show up- if they show up at all. Half the time I end up going home at 4 instead of 5 because no one showed up. But hopefully we'll get a steady flow of students in the next month and everything will be easy and all that jazz.

Though we're not even a month from Christmas, one of my favorite Navidad treats is called Mantecado (pronnounced "mahn-tay-cow") and we went into a small town about an hour and a half from Malaga to go to this special shop just to buy mantecado. That may sound a bit ridiculous, but these things are so good it was totally worth it. I don't even know how to explain what Mantecado is. It's not like anything I'd ever tasted before. It also comes in different flavors, though my favorite is chocolate with these little chocolate chips that are so good! It's kind of like a cookie but more crumbly and it has the consistency of brown sugar I guess. Maybe I'll bring some home.

After we bought mantecado we went with my host family and Isabel's mom and brother and their families to a restaurant with all these awesome old artifacts. I made Ana pose with several of them and each time she chose a seated apparition and pretended to be asleep. She cracks me up every day and is so much fun! I'm so glad I have a host sister, especially one as funny as Ana. 

Francesca and I were very sad on Halloween because we realized that there was no such thing as an American Halloween in Spain. So, we decided to create our own! We bought all the different American kinds of candy at the Supersol and dressed up as Americans (which pretty much just meant carrying around a small American flag and singing American songs). Our friends found it super entertaining and couldn't stop laughing the entire night.

The eve of Halloween- this was in the Centro at probably 11 or 12 at night. The girl on the left is Inma and the girl on the right is Patri. They're both friends from school and some of the sweetest people I have ever met. We stayed out til 2 that night, which was surprising considering it was a Monday night but we had both Monday and Tuesday off for a holiday. We like to joke that Monday was to get us prepped for partying and Tuesday was to let us recover from the partying. Either way we got a four day weekend just for Halloween. I'm not arguing with why we got it.

See life through my eyes with my mind's commentary

 The Centro- Technically called "Centro de Ciudad" but everyone just calls it "El Centro" because it's just downtown. It's always crowded, especially this main road (where no cars are allowed to go) but the architecture is incredible and I can't stop going back! My new favorite after school activity is going to the Centro and exploring the side streets.

 The Centro again- still the main street. Shops line it (including an H&M!) but most are very expensive. I'm still looking for a cute thrift store or something where I can buy my clothes for cheap. I haven't bought anything yet but I'm sure I will in the next couple weeks.

 Me in front of the bull fighting ring- the most famous landmark in Malaga. Search the city up in Google and this is what you'll find. I have yet to actually visit it, though my host family tells me we'll be going to see a bull fight while I'm here. I've heard they're a bit gruesome, but I simply have to see ONE!

 The neighborhood my school is in- called El Palo, it used to be where the old fishermen live so it's notorious for being one of the most run down parts of Malaga. Luckily I'm only here during the day so it's not scary, but there's definitely lots of graffiti and litter everywhere. Even my school is kind of run down; it adds to the character, but what a change from Summit.

 Another view of the bullfighting ring with the city and the sea in the background. I feel so lucky to be one train away from walking along the Mediterranean Sea; I'm an ocean child and it feels so good to be back living so close to the crashing waves. Not that the waves here crash so much as they weakly slap the sand (or rocks depending on where you are) but it's good enough for me.

My school IES El Palo. It's rather large though this picture doesn't accurately depict it; there are 5 stories though only 4 at a time are accessible. That doesn't make any sense but that's how it is. There's also not a parking lot because no one can drive to school- those who can drive mopeds which are super popular (and freaking awesome!) here. I have 6 classes a day but 11 classes in total, and every day I have a different schedule. Confusing but at least they're all exactly an hour and I have them all with the same group of people so we just walk around in a herd except when I go to my bilingual classes.

 This is the beach within walking distance of my house! It would take about an hour to walk but with the bus it's only 20ish minutes. It's a rock beach which I like because it doesn't have any of that dirty imported sand. There's a prettier beach (reminds me more of the Oregon coast, to get to the one that reminds me of the California coast you have to walk west) if you walk east for a bit, but this one does just fine. The water is so calm- it's almost like a lake. I've also heard that on super clear, unsmoggy days you can see Africa in the horizon.

 This is facing the east. There's a nice row of sea-facing restaurants if you follow a sketchy path that takes you nearly through the water, but it's all worth it. I went there a couple of nights ago with some girlfriends and we ended up walking all the way to Playa Virginia, a mile or more away! It's nights like those that I'm so grateful for the bus system.

 The cathedral in the center is breathtaking. I've seen it both at night and during the day, and it's on my list of things to do here to go and tour it. It's huge and I'll probably have to dedicate an entire day to it but that's part of the fun! I took this picture on an outing with some friends that included a kebob wrap and being nice to hobos. I don't think my Spanish friends understood that concept but they were pretty cool about it. That's what I love most about Spain so far- the people are incredible! Making friends is so easy because everyone is so open.

 These two above photos are from a mini procession through the Centro one evening. These are very common especially during Easter week- which here is called Semana Santa- when day long religious marches happen. They wear those hats that, in America, are associated with the KKK but here are a symbol of faith in God and Spanish tradition. My host dad told me I might get to wear one which I think would be both an incredible experience and a funny thing to take pictures of.

 My current host family has a vacation home in Marbella, a tourist city on the outskirts of Malaga. It has both a beach and a pool in addition to the house itself which can sleep up to 10! The day I went here we stayed at the pool and barbequed, but I'm hoping to go back to go to the beach. It's different than the beaches in Malaga because the sand seems cleaner- most of the beaches here are man made so it's easy for the sand to end up as dirt.

 When we went to Marbella my host sister, Ana, was in charge of showing me around. This is the pool that we spent the day at- I fell asleep in the sun, but luckily my host mom, Isabel, covered me up with a towel to avoid getting sunburnt. Ana and I swam for a bit too, but the pool was very shallow. I could touch with my knees and still breathe the whole time! 

To be entirely honest, I don't know the name of this place. I do know, however, that it's on the way from the Centro to the train station. Here everything is judged by its distance from the Centro. Buses are either entering or exiting it. It's actually very close to the center, so it proves to be a very convenient reference site!