Art, Architecture, Culture, etc.

Art, Architecture, Culture, etc. All factors present in Segovia. This is a simple fact of life. As much of a fact as the "Birds and the Bees". icant say that i was surprised to see the large quantity of art that is here because it is in one way or another prefaced to you in the process of enrollment, in the program, the pamphlets, and so on. The way we are learning all these things in class, such as the history of Spain the different regions the conflicts , things such as Fascism, national identity, regional identity, ow Nadal won that LONG F'ing match today (which was absolutely incredible by the way). These are all great things.  I was especially fond of the lesson i learned the other day from Sra. Rubio. She explained to the class the reason behind why the horses portrayed in commemorative statues built for generals, commanders, etc. have one leg up, two legs up, or no legs up. It goes like this: Two legs up = Died while in battle. One leg up = Died from Battle wounds. NO leg up = Died of natural causes. And in the case of Juan Bravo, no horse, because he was considered by the king who defeated him a traitor to his nation. Interesting eh?

Oh. check out my photo of the School of Modern Art and Something Or Other. Nice rrright?

La Conveniencia

The topic of Convenience is something that is of much importance to many people, and luckily on this trip, it is on my side. When i landed in Madrid and took the bus to Segovia (the wonderful city), i did not really know what to expect. would the Lady be nice?, where would i be in relation to the school?, would my room be far from the city?, thats is to say, off the beaten path (Even though im sure that everypath in Europe has been thoroughly beaten...more than once.)  All these questions were running through my head at fanatical pace. well, maybe not fanatical. They were there though. I got off the bus and was pleased to know that my host family was not a family, it was a single woman that was very nice and outspoken. as the trip into the city progressed, i was even more pleased to know that the place i was to be living for 3 months was littlerally across the street from THE Cathedral in Segovia. thus the photo, which was taken from  my front door. HOW CONVENIENT. I could throw a rock at the school if i felt so inclined (which i probably wont). It has been so nice to be centrally located in such a marvellous city. It IS nice, i must say...

The Cars!

Ive seen small cars but damn! these are something impressive. I have always noticed cars and their design, body lines, etc. So have my friends at home. This is why i decided to start a small album of the cars that are more on smaller side of things in order to take back to Nashville ( home of the Jacked-up pickup truck) to show my friends. ive sent one or two Photos already and have received some pretty interesting responses. Also, another thing that i noticed is the amount of models that are distributed and sold here that are different than those in America. Turns out it is some sort of regulation that has to do with emmisions and size... anyway. I saw a ford that looked like an Audi TT, and a honda that i had never seen before and really would rather not see again. horrendous. I would imagine one of the many reasons that these cars must be so compact is the size of some of the streets of the old cities such as this one. i mean some of those calls on the street when cars are passing (rather zooming) by are off by less than a hair. matter of the fact, i was walking on la Via Real the other day and was nearly decapitated (perhaps i am exaggerating for effect) by a huge Mercedes truck which was doing construction. Case in point, cars and their styles and habits here are different.

Primeros Dias En La Gran Ciudad

Los primeros dias en la gran ciudad han sido verdaderamente impresionantes. Este lugar es algo completamente surrealista. Se le nota la edad a la ciudad, y me parece maravilloso poder haber tenido la experincia con buenos compañeros y amplio tiempo para gozarla. Cada dia trae con el una aventura nueva y emocionante. Mi señora no puede ser mas amable, tiene buena conversacion y muy buena comida. Esto sera un Viaje para recordar!