La Vida Toledana: Week 3
February 4, 2017
This trip has been full of new experiences and full of firsts. I’ve flown alone before, but never overseas. I took my first train ride this past weekend and loved it. I also helped fix a washing machine for the first time. Oh, Spain!
This past weekend was our program’s first trip out of town, to Madrid. A friend of mine has an amigo, Luis, there who was kind enough to let us stay the night with him, making it my first overnight in a legit big city. He was a gracious host and showed us around with the help of his roommate, Victor. That morning, with our OU group, we walked the main areas of downtown, passing by government buildings that were once the king’s residence, speeding through la Plaza Mayor and past myriad street performers and even witnessed a demonstration advocating for Spanish unity.
We had the incredible opportunity to visit el Museo del Prado, albeit a fraction of the time necessary to truly appreciate all the priceless paintings there. Walking through the galleries was genuinely overwhelming and frequently gave me chills. Many of the works were massive like Velasquez’ “Las Meninas,” which was probably 5 times larger than I had expected it to be. I spent a lot of time marveling at El Greco’s works, knowing much of his renowned work was painted in Toledo.
The most stunning piece that I saw in our limited time there was Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights” and could’ve spent an entire day with each panel of the intricate, surreal triptych that makes fantastical commentary on both religion and society. The cultural worth of the paintings in the Prado is palpable; the museum is a testament to the powerful effect art has had on the course of history and its value in society today. In all, it was a quite emotional day in Madrid and I can’t wait to return.
That said, there are still so many places to see here in Toledo. As a city whose control and culture has been baton-passed between Visigoths, Romans, Muslims, Catholics and Jews, there are many curious buildings and hidden sights. There are at least 5 museums here that I’m excited to check out soon, an El Greco gallery and Leonardo da Vinci exhibit among them; I’ve already gone to one that had early works from Andy Warhol. With our Civilization and Culture class, we walked through the historic section to see ancient Roman baths and the solitary remains of their aqueduct―and I still have yet to explore the local lore-filled Cuevas (caves) de Hércules!
Any steam that I had lost overcoming the language hump of my first couple weeks I’ve regained in the simplicity of the lifestyle I’m settled into now. I even feel useful around the house and spent a late night watching YouTube videos in Spanish to troubleshoot my host mother’s washing machine. We finally replaced the rubber door seal, after I removed the last necessary access panel using a crescent wrench and an extender in lieu of a traditional driver, which was broken. It was an exciting crash course in manual labor vocabulary and some quality time spent with Marisa.
Having classes has definitely helped me feel more at home here, too. I’m more busy and the more we learn and read about Spanish history and literature, the more comfortable I am speaking the language and navigating the streets and markets. While el Río Tajo remains my favorite place, una tetería (tea house) called Dar Al-Chai is a serious contender for second place. It’s endless menu of teas, infusions, coffees, tapas and cakes is definitely calling me back.
Other than that, I’ve got a long list in my journal of places I want to visit and photos I’ve yet to take. I’m so glad I decided to do a semester abroad rather than a shorter summer program or otherwise. Still, I can tell how precious my time here is and am trying to prioritize my days accordingly. But no matter what, I’ll always have time to take our dog, Rita, out for a walkie.
*some snapshots from this past week: