Kendra Mae

Just got back from my trip to Andalucia (Southern Spain) and have some great photos to share. Unfortunately I’m swamped with homework this week, so I’m going to let the photos do most of the talking. Sleepy-eyed but excited the thirty-something students in my program and I left Segovia on Thursday at 6:00 am. We drove through plains, mountains, and finally the huge stretches of olive groves that are so characteristic of Andalucia. Our first stop was the city of Córdoba, where we viewed the beautiful mezquita (mosque) that was converted into a Cathedral in 1236. This building expresses a long history of the fight between the Muslim and Catholic traditions in Southern Spain. Next we drove to Sevilla, which is the city that most exemplifies what people often imagine when thinking of Spain: whitewashed houses, ... read more

With every place I see in Spain I just keep falling more and more in love with the country. Two weekends ago I went to Barcelona with the students in my program for four days. This cosmopolitan coastal city, with its superb seaside views, incredible architecture, and cultural scene has been my favorite Spanish city to date. We were blessed with benign weather the entire weekend, and from our hotel on Las Ramblas, the famous promenade in the heart of the city, we were able to walk just about anywhere. We started the visit with a walk along the three parts of Las Ramblas: (1) Rambla dels Ocells (Boulevard of the Birds), which is filled with vendors of caged birds, (2) Rambla dels Flors (Boulevard of the Flowers), which is filled with bizarre street performers and, ... read more

Looks like I’m due for an update. Things have been pretty, well, relaxed as usual. It was nice to come back to my casita here in Segovia after a whirlwind trip to Greece. In Segovia I’ve just been going to school, and talking, talking, talking as much as I can. I’ve met a lot of Spaniards with whom I spend a lot of time chatting in cafés and going out to the bars. Of course I spend time with Iñigo when he comes here or I go to Madrid. At this point I feel like the language is really clicking: I’m using more complex structures, picking up vocabulary, and thinking in Spanish rather than translating. Last weekend I went to La Granja with my program. It’s a little town not far from Segovia that is renowned ... read more

Ay, ay, ay… am I ever tired. It’s hard to keep up with the Spanish on the weekends. I’m back in tranquil Segovia after a long and exhilarating weekend in Madrid. We went as group on Friday and did the tourist thing, catching glimpses of La Puerta del Sol (the shopping hub of Madrid), El Palacio Real, La Plaza Mayor, and El Parque del Retiro (Spain’s Central Park). At first glimpse, Madrid is really big and has lots of traffic like most large cities, but people walk at a much slower pace and everything seems a bit more relaxed. The buildings are all old and beautiful, and the Metro is absolutely spotless! After lunch in the park, we went to El Museo del Prado, one of the world’s greatest art museums with over 7,000 paintings. It ... read more