Friday, 11 June, 2010
Related to my Spanish classes, we continue to have in-depth discussions covering everything from the Catholic church, the right to choose (a.k.a. abortion), the current economic crisis across Europe, and politics in general. We scour the newspapers, which I have to say are much more detailed and educational in terms of economics and politics compared to the usual papers in the states. Of course I'm talking about El País, which they say is left leaning. But it may read more like the Wall Street Journal in parts... only in Spanish. Here are two useful nuances I've learned this week:
[geek moment] This first one is super useful. While in Madrid, you HAVE to go out. The bars and cafeterías in Spain can be a challenge for foreigners. The system, menus, and ways to engage the service are not easy to decipher and they are not foreigner user friendly. If you wish to fit in when you are out at a bar or cafetería, not a restaurant, you need to understand when to pay. If the bar is crowded, sometimes you´ll want to pay for your drinks and tapas up front. If it´s comfortably slow in the bar, no. But how you ask to pay is different in a bar. Here are a few ways to ask for your bill, to pay, or simply find out how much you owe and not sound like a dweeb:
- Cobrame cuatro (4) cañas. [After you've been drinking: Bill me for 4 beers, or however many you have drunk].
- ¿Me cobras? [Can you charge me? After you've been drinking, and perhaps you've lost count].
- Cobrame! [Bill me! Say this immediately after the bartender/camarero brings your drinks if you want to pay].
Of course, if you know Spanish already you know that "cobrar" is to cover - so it's a bit of a colloquial way to ask for the bill. They will still understand you if you ask for "la cuenta," but you will just stand out... considerably.
Second, this is really simple and it deals with writing mostly. The difference between allí and ahí. Many speakers pronounce these the same and many do not - it just so happens I do not. The "LL" is often pronounced with a "J" sound (i.e. Ayjee). So, in spoken Spanish if you do pronounce them differently, make note. If you write much, also note.
- "aquí" means "(en) este lugar": where the speaker is, or some nearby location.
- "ahí" means "(en) ese lugar": where the hearer is, or some location that is neither near nor far but somewhere in-between.
- "allí" means "(en) aquel lugar": where neither the speaker nor the hearer is, or some far away location.
Of course, there is acá and allá also, simply more regional, colloquial forms of aquí and allí and will definitely mark you with certain (non-Madrid) stereotypes (i.e. hick) - they do not use either here and always comment when I do.
Afterwards we probably went to at least 3 other bars. My only advice is, make sure you take a long nap before going out, and pace yourself at each locale - I'm talking about alcohol intake. I got home by about 4:30am and I think this was a bit early considering the noise on my street until 7am. I gave myself jet lag all over again.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Let's scratch Saturday altogether. I read my Spanish assignments and took myself out for a late lunch.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
I woke up early and raced to the train station and caught the 9am high speed AVE train (Alta Velocidad Española, and "ave" is also a bird in Spanish) from Atocha (one of Madrid's train stations) to Córdoba (also spelled Córdova). The train ride is about 2 hours and takes you through some beautiful countryside of central Spain. Córdoba is in the south in Andalucía. As a student here in Spain I studied the Cathedral or Great Mezquita of Córdoba in Art History and have always wanted to visit. The Cathedral is a converted mosque. It's HUGE. I love arabic architecture and I love the communal nature of mosques. This one, having been chopped up in some strange ways by the christians, is a bit confusing and disturbing. You need to make sure and spiral through it so you see everything. Most people seem to only go around the periphery or straight to the central nave. The overall area is at least 2 football/soccer fields. It's disturbing if you spend time looking at how the christians hacked the place up and superimposed an entirely different architectural style and worshipping tradition on this place. Architecturally 
speaking, the word "abomination" is the only one that comes to mind. I guess we are lucky they converted the place, I suppose they would have completely leveled it otherwise like they did many other non-christian places of worship. Any number of christian motifs have been plastered over the original Arab features -this one picture (right) of a christian component added to one of the hundreds of columns shows angels dragging the devil by his horns. Lovely, no?I have to say that I was able to cover most everything in the central city and have a nice, slow Spanish lunch in a beautiful court yard restaurant in about 5 hours. So I was able to change my return ticket to
Madrid and catch an earlier AVE back. It's a beautiful city, but I'm not sure I'd spend more than a day there. Put it on your must see list for Spain, however.
Madrid and catch an earlier AVE back. It's a beautiful city, but I'm not sure I'd spend more than a day there. Put it on your must see list for Spain, however.¡Hasta la próxima entrada!
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