Its been an incredible last 18 months, my experience in Spain has surpassed all my expectations and is something which I will never forget. I’ve spent six months studying in Córdoba and one year working in the Corporate Procurement Department of NH Hotel Group in Madrid. Both experiences have been very different but equally as rewarding on both a personal and professional level.
When I heard about the opportunity of the John Speak Language Trust Scholarship, I jumped at the chance to participate. The scholarship has given me the financial ability to fully embrace the Spanish culture, something which can’t be replicated in a classroom. From big, well-known cities to villages in the middle of nowhere, I’ve discovered many amazing places that Spain has to offer. When I started my time abroad 18 months ago my objective was to improve my Spanish, I never expected to make so many memories, visit so many places, meet so many people and learn so much about myself. My experiences have made me fall in love with the country and when I finish university next year, I’ll have no hesitation in returning to start the next stage of my life.
One phrase which I will take from my time abroad is ‘No viajamos para escapar de la vida, viajamos para que la vida no nos escape.’ This translates to, ‘We don’t travel to escape life, we travel so that life doesn’t escape us.’ I’ve been really lucky to visit so many places in Spain and with thanks to some friends I met there, I’ve been able to visit other countries too. 18 months ago I never imagined that I’d have a trip planned to visit some friends who live on the other side of the world, in fact, I’d never even heard of the place where they live, Reunion Island!
bty
My advice to anyone who is thinking about a study period or work placement abroad is to go out there and throw yourself in at the deep end.
It is difficult at first, when I arrived in Córdoba, I was without a flat, living in a city I didn’t know and left to fend for myself for the first time. It wasn’t nice at all. However, you start to meet people, places become familiar and in a matter of weeks, this new place you didn’t know anything about feels like home. I’m really glad I took the opportunity of going abroad, and with the help of the John Speak Trust, I have been able to embrace the experience even more.
Julio 2016 es el comienzo de mis próximo paso en la vida, trabajando en Madrid un año entero. Antes de echar un vistazo hacia el futuro, me gustaría transmitir unos mensajes sobre mis experiencias en Córdoba en este reportaje y en los reportajes futuros.
Una introducción a Córdoba:
En 1994 Córdoba fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco. La cultura romana, árabe y cristiana se ve por toda la ciudad con puntos de referencia como el Puente Romano, la Judería y lo más famoso, la Mezquita. Durante el siglo diez Córdoba era la ciudad más poblada del mundo con un poder económico muy alto sin embargo, hoy en día tiene 300,000 habitantes y su industria principal es el turismo. A mí me encantó mi estancia allí, es una ciudad donde todo se encuentra muy cerca y si tenía una tarde libre era muy fácil dar un paseo por la ciudad para disfrutar todo lo que se ofrece.
Semana Santa:
Semana Santa sin duda fue la semana más espectacular de mi estancia en Córdoba y me dio un entendimiento verdadero sobre la significancia de la religión allí. Cada hermandad en la ciudad tiene su propia procesión durante la semana y empiezan en la parroquia de su pueblo. Los costaleros son las personas que llevan las estructuras religiosas (representan historias de la Biblia) y los siguen los nazarenos. Tuve mucha suerte ver una procesión en la Mezquita y fue muy especial, había todo el mundo allí en silencio mientras leyeron pasajes de la Biblia y cantaron himnos preciosos.
Gastronomía:
Para acostumbrarse completamente en un país, hay que probar toda la cocina local y la cocina de Córdoba está muy buena. El plato cordobés más famoso es el salmorejo y tiene tomate, ajo, jamón serrano, pan y como siempre en España, viene con mucho aceite de oliva. Aunque no es el plato más famoso, preferí el flamenquín que originó del pueblo Bujalance en la provincia de Córdoba. Es jamón serrano redondeado por cerdo con pan rallado y frito. Otros platos típicos incluyen el pastel cordobés, rabo de toro y naranjas picadas.
Datos interesantes de Córdoba:
• Manchester es su cuidad hermanada
• La ciudad más calurosa en Europa
• Hasta 1953 había solo una ruta a la ciudad (por el Puente Romano)
Aconsejo a todos que visitéis a Córdoba, una ciudad pequeña pero con una identidad especial. ¡Mi estancia allí fue increíble!
La Mezquita by Night
July 2016 marks the start of my next journey, working in Madrid for one year. Before looking forward to the future its important to reflect on what has happened over the past five months during my time in Córdoba and to share some of my experiences in this report and future ones.
Introduction to Córdoba
In 1994 Córdoba was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. It’s Roman, Moorish and Christian heritage is represented throughout the city’s iconic landmarks such as the Roman Bridge, the Jewish Quarter and the most famous of all, the Mezquita. During the 10th century Córdoba was the most populous city in the world with strong economic potential however nowadays it has just over 300,000 inhabitants and is focused on driving tourism. For me it was a great place to live, the best thing is that everything is close together so if I found myself with a free afternoon it was easy to go and enjoy some of the amazing monuments and scenery that Córdoba has to offer.
Semana Santa (Easter):
Semana Santa was without doubt the most spectacular week of my stay in Córdoba and a real insight into how the religious celebrations mean so much to people. Each hermandad (brotherhood) in the city has its own procesion throughout the week all originating from the parroquia (church) of their village. Costaleros carry heavy religious structures which represent certain events from the bible and are followed by nazarenos which dress in costumes similar to those of the Klu Klux Klan. I was lucky enough to watch a procesion in the Mezquita which was really special, all the spectators in silence whilst passages were being read and some truly incredible hymns being sung.
Gastronomy:
In order to fully immerse oneself culturally, getting used to the local cuisine is a must and in Córdoba it did not disappoint! The most famous dish is possibly salmorejo which is tomato-based and includes garlic, serrano ham, bread and as always in Spain, includes lots of olive oil. As famous as this dish is, it wasn’t my favourite, I much preferred flamenquin. This dish comes from Bujalance, a town in the region of Córdoba, and consists of slices of serrano ham wrapped in pork loin with a coating of breadcrumbs and fried. Other typical foods include Córdoba cake (pastel cordobés), bull’s tail (rabo de toro) and spicy oranges (naranjas picadas).
Other Interesting Facts:
• Twinned with Manchester
• Hottest city in Europe
• Up until 1953 the Roman Bridge was the only way in and out of Córdoba
I would fully recommend a visit to Córdoba, a small city but with an abundance of character which is replicated anywhere in the world. I can only describe my experience there as amazing!
Desde la última vez que escribí este blog también he estado muy ocupada. Terminaron las clases de la universidad y empezaron las vacaciones de Semana Santa. Aunque tengo mucho que hacer con el trabajo fin de máster quería ir a ver como se celebraba la semana santa en el sur de España porque las celebraciones son muy conocidas por sus ferias, fiestas y procesiones.
Estas procesiones suelen causar reacciones de miedo y confusión para la gente que no viene de países hispanos porque sus trajes se parecen a los que usaban el Klu Klux Klan en los estados unidos. Sin embargo, ¡la tradición en España vino primero! No se sabe realmente el origen de estas procesiones, pero se piensa que fueron empezadas por las cofradías que querían apoyarse mutuamente y experimentar la Penitencia. Es por esta razón que los participantes andar por las calles sujetando a cruces u otros objetos pesados al igual que lo hace Jesús en la biblia. A menudo lo hacen descalzo para “vivir el dolor de cristo”.
Así que con la esperanza de ver unas de las procesiones más grandes de España me dirigí a Malaga (las más grandes y más famosos tienen lugar en Sevilla pero desafortunadamente no quedaba alojamiento). También esperé ver un poco de sol sureño mientras estaba allí pero en vez de eso ¡llovía sin parar! En un viaje en coche compartir volviendo del sur aprendí que aunque en general la lluvia no es nada común en la región, es algo muy típico durante las vacaciones de semana santa e incluso me enseñaron una frase al respecto, “En abril aguas mil y todas en un barril”. Después de un poco de investigación aprendí que esta frase se refiere al hecho de que las regiones de Andalucía y Castilla la mancha son muy secas pero reciben casi toda su lluvia en abril. La frase se ve como algo positiva porque como os podéis imaginar ¡los granjeros de esta zona son muy felices cuando sus granjas y plantas por fin ven un poco de agua!
A central Malaga Beach
Al fin y al cabo las procesiones tenían que realizarse bajo un montón de lluvia y en mi opinión habrían sido mejor con buen tiempo, pero como soy de una isla me lo pasé muy bien volviendo a ver el mar!
La Mézquita-Catedral (Mosque-Cathedral) of Cordoba
En este viaje como nunca había ido a Córdoba decidí pasar un par de días allí también. La ciudad de Córdoba es famosa por sus fuertes conexiones con los musulmanes de cuando España se vio invadida por los moros, o de cuando los moros inhabitaban el sur de España (como quieras verlo). Los Moros vivieron en España durante 700-800 años antes de ser expulsados por lo que la cultura española es fuertemente influenciada por la cultura árabe. Por ejemplo, casi cualquier palabra que empieza por el prefijo “al” viene de una palabra árabe, tales como, “Almohada, alquiler e incluso Alcalá de Henares” donde vivo yo. En Córdoba se puede ver una anciana mezquita que fue convertido en un catedral cuando se expulsaron los moros. Era una experiencia muy extraña ver la mezcla de las dos religiones pero no podía parar de pensar en cómo debería seguir siendo una mezquita.
ENGLISH:
SPRING TIME
Since the last time I wrote this blog, I’ve also been very busy. University classes finished and technically the Easter Holidays began. Although I have a lot to do with my final dissertation, I also really wanted to travel down to the South of Spain to see how Easter is celebrated there as it is known to be a huge Christian festival with lots of parades or procesiones as they are known in Spanish.
These procesiones tend to look very strange to non-Spaniards’ as their costumes closely resemble those used by the Klu Klux Klan in the USA. However, Spain’s tradition came first! The origin of these processions is debated, but they are thought to have been formed by confraternities who wanted to support each other as well as experience “penance”. It is for this reason that the participants walk through the street with crosses and heavy objects just as Jesus does in the bible. They often do it barefooted in order to “live through the pain of Christ”
So in the hope of catching some of the biggest parades in Spain I headed to Malaga (the biggest and most famous are in Seville but unfortunately the accommodation was booked out). I also hoped to be greeted by some southerly sunshine whilst I was down there but instead was given rain by the bucketload! On a shared car journey back from Andalusia I later learnt that although rain was not common in this area, it was very typical during the Easter holidays and I even learnt a phrase to go with it, “En abril aguas mil y todas en un barril”. This roughly translates to, “A lot of water in April and all in one go”. This phrase exists because the South of Spain is very dry, however they seem to get all their water in April. This phrase is seen as something positive because, as you can well imagine the farmers in this largely agricultural area are extremely happy when they finally get some water for their crops!
La Mézquita-Catedral (Mosque-Cathedral) of Cordoba
In the end, the processions were a bit of a washout but being an island girl, I really enjoyed seeing the sea again!
On this trip, I also took the opportunity to visit Cordoba as I had never been. Cordoba is famous for having strong Muslim ties from back in the past when Spain was invaded or lived in by the Moors. The Moors lived in Spain for roughly 700-800 years before being expelled so Spanish culture is heavily influenced by Arabic culture. For example, any words in Spanish that begin with the prefix, “al” come from Arabic, such as “Almohada = pillow”, “Alquiler = rent” and even “Alcalá de Henares” where I live. In Cordoba you can see an old Mosque that was converted into a Cathedral when the Moors were expelled. It was a strange experience showing the mixing of two religions but I couldn’t help thinking how it should still be used as a Mosque today.
Here’s the sight that I saw every time I went out for the evening in Cordoba- all of the buildings of the old town, including the Mezquita, beautifully lit up. I took many pictures of this view, at daytime, in sunshine, in clouds, at night, but this is perhaps the most beautiful!
