I left off writing yesterday shortly before a much-needed siesta. I was able to sleep for an hour and left for film class feeling refreshed. It was pretty darn hot in our classroom, but we had an interesting class where we talked about a few distinct genres of Spanish film: the comedies of the 60's and 70's, as well as the Fantaterror (fantasy + terror) films of the 70's and 80's. We also watched a chilling clip of a short suspense film from 1972 called "La Cabina" ("The Phone Booth"). You can watch it in its entirety here, and there is almost no dialogue, so even non-Spanish speakers should get the gist. I won't give anything away, but let's just say that I've never been happier that phone booths are now pretty much obsolete. Attention Edlin parents: This is NOT a film for kiddos.
After film class, we walked downstairs to the building's courtyard to attend El Vino del Honor, which I mentioned in yesterdays blog post. Since our group and another group of American Spanish Teachers are participating in programs that will end before the summer semester officially ends, we will not have the chance to attend the celebration that marks the official closing ceremony. Therefore, the Cursos Internacionales portion of la Universidad de Salamanca threw us a little party as a thank you and farewell for being part of their family. Two of the directors made a very nice speech, and then we had the chance to drink wine and eat tapas. They had some of that same delicious tortilla that was served at the opening ceremony, and I'm sure that I ate about half of a tortilla all by myself. Sonia joined us as well, and in spite of the heat, we had a very nice time. This photo of our group is somewhat reminiscent of prom pictures that I have from 15 years ago:
Following El Vino, we decided to take advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures, and got a table at one of the restaurants in Plaza Mayor. We split a ración (a large plate meant for sharing) of jamón ibérico and I ordered my signature tinto de verano, and we sat and chatted while waiting for the Plaza Mayor to light up. Each night, between 10:00pm and 10:30pm, all of the lights in the plaza come on at once and everyone there cheers and applauds as if it is happening for the very first time. Sitting there surrounded by new friends and sparkling lights, with my tinto in one hand and my ham in the other, it was hard for me to do anything but smile.
Staying out late and then spending a decent amount of time Skyping with my family means that I got less sleep than I probably needed last night, but it was worth it. I'm a little tired, but I still had no problem functioning in class today. With Carmen, we continued reviewing the differences between the subjunctive and the indicative. It may sound dry, but Carmen always manages to keep us laughing and interested, and we've all learned a lot in the process.
In Sonia's class we talked about the difference between Flamenco and Sevillanas. I have taken Sevillana lessons on three different occasions, and I always thought that this dance was merely a type of Flamenco, but they are actually two very distinct genres. Flamenco is more serious, it typically narrates a sad story, and it is traditionally performed by people of gitano (gypsy) descent. It developed from improvisations that gitanas performed on their patios to formal shows in front of paying audiences. The Sevillana, on the other hand, is a dance in four parts that never changes, so everyone who dances it knows the exact same series of steps. It is performed at parties, celebrations, and weddings. This much I knew, but I was unaware of its narration. Each part tells a different piece of a romantic story. In the first section, a boy and girl meet for the first time; in the second, they fall in love; in the third, they fight; and in the fourth, they reconcile. Hearing this was a big AHA! moment for me, because now the different steps of the dance make so much more sense. Note that both dances hail from the southern Andalucía region of Spain, which is where I have spent most of my time on past trips. For a better understanding of the distinction between the two, feel free to watch these Flamenco and Sevillana videos.
In Enrique's class, we moved on from El Greco to Velázquez, King Felipe IV's official commissioned painter from the 17th century. He is most famous for Las Meninas, a painting that I have visited in El Prado on multiple occasions and have discussed with my students, but that really marked the extent of my knowledge of him. It was interesting to learn a little bit more about his early years and his formation as a painter. We will continue studying him tomorrow and will be talking all about Las Meninas, so I am looking forward to that.
After class, Katie took me to the outside of a local ham shop so that we could pose with this handsome fellow:
The presence of ham in our daily lives has become a bit of an inside joke with us, especially in the cafeteria. We often discover ham in dishes where we would not have expected to find it, such as various salads, soups, vegetable dishes, and even the occasional entrée that already features another meat. We have dubbed this phenomenon "jampresa" (a contraction of jamón/ham and sorpresa/surprise), and like to point it out to each other when it occurs. Case in point, notice the jampresa awaiting Katie amongst her garbanzos:
Everyone needs a hobby, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment