Last Week

Hello all, I am now entering  my last week of my study abroad experience in Spain. I must say, the time has really flown by, it feels like it was yesterday I was rushing to get to the airport on time.  As they say, nothing lasts forever. During my stay here, I have had an absolute blast. I went to see the Roman theatre in Cartagena, went wind surfing in Mar Menor, saw how wine was made in Jumilla, visited the Alhambra, reconnected with an old friend in Barcelona while seeing Gaudi's masterpieces, I saw the mosque-cathedral of Cordoba, and the modern architecture of La Ciudad de las artes y las ciencias en Valencia. These memories will always be a part of me, especially the people I've met here- both other students who are studying abroad and the native Murcians. I feel like  have a home here in Murcia that I can come back to. It's almost a requirement for me to come back and visit  the friends I've come to know and even love. Well, I'm off to the U.S. this Saturday, so until then, 'Viva La Tierra de Conejos!'

Photos: Valencia, Barcelona, Cordoba, Granada, Paella en mar Menor (Murcia)

Murciano

So supposedly the region of Murcia is where they speak the "worst" Spanish. As an anthroplogy/ sociology major, I won't  create  hierarchies of "good" and "bad" Spanish. I must say, the accent in Murcia is quite rugget though (in my aesthetic point of view), but I like it. Here's a little lesson in how to speak "Murciano": speak very fast, loud, and passionately, remove all the S's, with words that end in 'r', remove all the R's, and insert curse words and more slang like:

 "Acho", "tio", "hombre"- friendly word for guy, friend.

"Pijo"- "stuck up"
Bonico- from bonito , which means beautiful
Perrete- from Perro/ perrito, which means puppy
Na'- from nada, which means nothing
Pa'lla- from "para alla", which means through/ over there
Chulo- "cool"
Muncho/ Munchisimo- comes from mucho/ muchisimo, which means "a lot"

  Well, I'm probably missing a lot of other interesting and funny words, but here are a few of links that talk more about the wonderful Murcian accent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC8Qh1lKFmQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKhDI9XlGFk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At1vSeL4SFU&feature=related

More than one Spain?

So what exactly is the "Spanish Identity"? Is it all flameco, paella, and toros, and people who look like Antonio Banderas? During my stay here in Espana (or the Land of Rabbits), the name given by the Fenicians, I've learned that there are a lot of deep-seeded conflicts that have dated back centuries and centuries ago. In Spain, there is a theory of "Las Dos Espanas" or, "The Two Spains", and idea that become concrete in the 18th century with the Borbon kings' (French monarchs, yet family with the Spanish monarchs) centralization of the Spanish government, language, and culture, and the rise of  the enlightement movement. "The Two Spains"  means that there is one 'type' of Spain in which many people want to keep the traditional, religious (maybe?), centralized Spain (with the toros and flamenco); and the other Spain in which people want a more liberal, "Europeanized" Spain the recognizes the multiculturalism of Spain. Many regions in Spain are autonomous regions, like Catalonia, Galicia, Basque Country, Valencia, and Andalucia. These regions, historically, and even now, have always been in conflict with the "traditional, centralized" Spain. The people who want a more diverse, liberal, and 'Europeanized' accuse the  more traditional, centralized way of thinking "Facist" and "Franquista" (during the time of Francisco Franco's Dictatorship). It has even been called into question, the independence of these regions. Some of the reasons include that the regions of Catalonia and Basque Country are the most wealthiest, industrialized, and technologically advanced regions in Spain, other reasons include cultural recognition. In Spain there are many different dialects, and even languages that are spoken. Really and truly, the Spanish that people speak in today's time, is really 'Castellano', the language/ dialect from the region of Castilla/ Castile (which spread through out Spain during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. This brings me too a  funny topic that I will post later- the Murcian  accent/ dialect.  Until then, who knows how long Spain will be in this  dispute. It has gone on for centuries and it looks like it will continue for more years to come.

Spanish Eating Schedule

Iḿ kind of getting used to the eating schedules and food portions here in Murcia.  My first few weeks in Spain, I was always starving.  As an American, I was used to eating earlier, with bigger breakfasts, somewhat medium lunches and dinners. Here is a visual aid to show the typical times and meal portions that the Spaniards, or, at least, Murcians, eat:

   -Morning- piece of toast and coffee (on the run)
   -Afternoon- ( around 2pm, siesta time) HUGE LUNCH!
   -Night- (Around 8pm)  medium dinner

This when I eat:
   -Morning- Medium to large breakfast (sitting down)
   -Afternoon- ( around 12 or 1) Small, quick lunch (on the run)
   -Night ( around 5 to 7) medium dinner

Interesting contrasts. :)

Independence for Catalnya from Spain?

On my trip to Barcelona, besides seeing La Sagrada Famlia and El Parque Guel (Gaudi's Architecture), I've learned that there is a strong desire for people in the region on Cataluna (or Catalunya in Catalan), to secede from the rest of Spain. To me, it's interesting and I will soon do more research on this topic. For Catalunya, it will be great for their economy, cultural/ national identity, etc., for the rest of Spain? a dire situation. Here are some articles about Cataluya's independence (by the way, they are in Spanish or Catalan so you  might want to copy and paste them in google translator):

es.globedia.com/consecuencias-independencia-catalana

http://blogs.publico.es/dominiopublico/53/dependencia-o-independencia-de-catalunya/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgetGqQe9co

Some Social Issues in Spain

Age of independence of children and unemployment:
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2003/02/feature/es0302106f.htm

Domestic Violence in Spain:
http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?pid=S0213-91112005000100006&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en

Conflicts over bullfighting:
http://gospain.about.com/od/spanishlife/i/Bullfightissue.htm