¡Hola!

Hello friends and family!  To begin, I have decided to start this blog for two reasons: 1) so that those of you interested in all that I am doing in Spain may read about it here, and 2) so that I have something to help me remember all I have done and seen, and have yet to do and see, in Spain.  With this in mind, please forgive me if not all I post is of interest to you, however I will try my hardest to write with my readers in mind.

Today is officially my fourth day in Spain.  We arrived in Santiago de Compostela on Thursday, and since then we have been doing our best to get to know this amazing city.  Yesterday was perhaps our most interesting day so far, with points of interest including the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, the Hostal dos Reis Católicos, an exhibit on Charlie Chaplin, a street performer who had gathered an audience of over one hundred, and another delicious dinner of tapas.

I will try to keep my own personal complaints to a minimum, but yesterday requires an explanation before I begin gushing about all I did and saw.  When I developed a crippling stomach ache late in the afternoon, I had a number of theories as to why I felt so bad.  The night before I had been eagerly following our monitores (recent university grads whose job it is to show us the city) from concert to bar to discoteca, etc. until 6am, and though I was able to monitor how much alcohol I drank, I certainly was not keeping an eye on how much water I was drinking, so Theory 1: hangover.  Also, due to my returning home so late, I slept through breakfast and lunch, so Theory 2: starvation.  Finally, I had not eaten any animal since I was last in Spain four years ago, but the night before at dinner, I happily, Pac-man style, chomped my way through pulpo (octopus), pescado (fish), and jamon (ham), so Theory 3: inability to digest this new food.

As all of my Theories had one aspect in common, my own fault, I refused to miss our afternoon excursion through the city, and a Dios gracias that I didn't because otherwise I would have missed all that I named above.  My determination to go on, however, did not make me feel any better physically, and as I was trudging behind the group up what otherwise would have been wonderful cobblestone streets, I was cursing myself in my head, and praying that I would not leave my own mark on these aged stones by getting sick on them.  Then, just like things like this always happen, when I finally could not take anymore, and I had just begun figuring out how to tell my monitor in Castillian that I was sick and I needed to go back, we turned a corner and I was in front of the most breathtaking church I had ever seen.  (Should we start a count as to on how many churches I bestow this title while I am in Europe this year?)

The Cathedral is truly a wonder.  I do not know how to begin to explain it, so I will leave that up to my pictures, but I will share that I was brought to tears to see it (okay, so I had been crying earlier because of my pain, but I am pretty sure that the Cathedral still would have had the same effect).  Later this week we are going to explore the inside of the church, but yesterday we were content to gaze in awe at the western facade, and the surrounding buildings.

I was also particularly moved by the building to the Cathedral's right, the Hostal dos Reis Católicos, which Isabel and Ferdinand built in 1499 as a hospital (Lonely Planet guide to Spain).  Today it still stands as a luxury hotel, and as a remembrance to the power of Los Reyes Católicos.

After losing and finding the group a number of times, we all made it to a smaller church not too far from the Cathedral in which there was an interesting exhibit on Charlie Chaplin, then we gathered outside para tomar algo (drink something) at a nearby cafe.  At this point Santiago de Compostela made it clear to us that it was no Madrid, and that my measly tee-shirt and shorts were not adequate for the city's weather.  We began to huddle together for warmth as the monitores reminded us that, although it was 9:00pm, we were not to eat yet, and that we were not wearing jackets.  (...thanks?  We were quite aware of the second fact)  At this point my stomach ache was back in full force and it was all I could do to not fall at my monitor's feet crying for mercy.

Eventually we began walking again, and I bought a scarf from a street vendor that, when wrapped around my insufficient clothing, made me look like a flasher.  Obviously I did not care.  We paused at a street performer who was entertaining what I would guess to be hundreds of people with jokes, juggling, and dancing, then, just when we thought we could take no more (I told you that's the way it always happens), we arrived at our restaurant for an early dinner.  (It was 10:00pm, and regardless of our knowledge of Spanish customs, we were starving.  Recall that I had slept through breakfast and lunch?)

I am sure dinner would have been delicious, but I had finally realized that I was truly sick (none of my Theories could explain a piercingly sore throat, and an annoying cough), so I got down as many tapas as I could, and shook my head at refill after refill of wine (one glass was MORE than enough with the lack of food in my stomach), and listened quietly to my peers as they regained their energy, and took advantage of the wine to start the night's buzz.

After dinner I explained to the monitores that I was sick and needed to go home (at first I think they thought I was somewhat of a wet blanket, until I reminded them that I had not eaten meat in years, at which point they became very sympathetic and helpful) and I made my way back to the university.  Due to my jet lag and illness, I heard my peers come in at around 4am, then leave again at 10am for the beach, but I have only ventured from my bed long enough to force down lunch.  Throughout all of this, however, I have continued to remind myself that, whatever the reason I am sick, it is good I am getting it out of the way now, and I truly believe this.

Hopefully my next post will have fewer complaints and more experiences about which to share!

Un beso