MuchaCHO en España: August 2009

España.

It's already been over a week since I arrived in Santiago de Compostela with the Vassar-Wesleyan in Madrid program. Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia, which is in the Northwestern part of Spain. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Santiago was, and still is, one of the most important sites for Christian pilgrimages. At the center of the city lies the tomb of the Apostle or Saint James

(Santiago in Spanish). After the discovery of his tomb, the Cathedral of Santiago was built around it.

한국을 떠난지 벌써 일주일 보다 더 됐내요? 스페인 마드리드에 공부할 계획이지만, orientation은 북서쪽에서 합니다. 갈리시아 주에있는 산티아고 데 콤포스텔라는 갈리시아 자치지방의 중심지에 유네스코 세계유산입니다. 산티아고에는 12사도중 야고보(스페인어로 산티아고)의 무덤이 있으니, 그곳에 대성당을 지어져있고, 9세기부터 지금까지 성 야고보의 길로 불리는 유명한 순례의 목적입니다.

The City & The Cathedral of Santiago

We went on numerous tours of the city and the cathedral, which is absolutely beautiful. It is the center of the city, which has 2 main parts: the old and the new. The old town (la zona vieja) surrounds the cathedral, and has many small side streets full of cafe-bars, smaller cathedrals or churches, and shops. I have yet to explore the new town (la zona nueva), but hopefully will tomorrow! Santiago is a Baroque (바로크 양식) city, but has architecture from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

산티아고에 관광을 많이하면서, 정말 너무나 아름답다고 느꼈습니다. 고대지역 이랑 새로운 지역으로 나눠있으며, 고대지역은 작은 골목길이랑 까페/바들이 많습니다. 산티아고는 바로크 양식의 역사/건축이 많지만, 16, 17, 18세기의 건축도 많습니다.

Here are some interesting facts about or relating to the Cathedral:

The Year of the Saint is when June 25th falls on a Sunday. In this year, a light is lit in the bell tower of the cathedral (pictured right), as a beacon(봉화) to the pilgrims seeking Santiago. (6/25이 일요일인 해를 "야고보의 해"라고 부르며, 대성당의 종탑에 순례자들을 위해 불을 킵니다.)
Europe was the most united during the 17th Century, through pilgrimages. As the pilgrims would travel through many different countries to follow the Way of St. James, they would bring with them new ideas and culture to share. This was especially necessary as this was the era in which the Muslim empire was expanding into Europe. (17세기에 이슬람교도 제국이 유럽으로도 넓혀지면서, 순례 여행 통해서 유럽이 더 합병해졌다.)
In the center of the cathedral, there is a large incense burner, which is swung throughout the air, as a pendulum. Because the pilgrims would sleep in the cathedral after walking for a very long period of time, they would smell quite terrible. Having a smelly sacred place of prayer and worship would not do, so they created this contraption.

My Life in Santiago

So far, we've been staying in the University of Santiago de Compostela. We each have our own rooms, which have bathrooms and showers in them. There are also cleaning ladies who come into our rooms everyday... This threw me off a little bit at first. We have had classes in Literary Analysis and History every day from 9:00AM-10:45AM and 11:15AM-1:00PM.

The professors are great and I can feel that my comprehension of Spanish has already improved.

산티아고의 대학교에 머무면서 아침엔 두가지의 수업(문학 + 역사)을 듣고, 낮에는 산티아고를 구경하면서 지냅니다. 한사람당 한 방이 있고, 방안엔 화장실/샤워가 있어서 편합니다. 매일 청소하는 아줌마들도 있는대...처음에는 좀 놀랐어요. 선생님들은 너무나 좋으시고, 벌써 스페인어 실력이 많이 늘은것 같습니다.

Food

The strangest part about being in Spain is the daily schedule, which revolves around FOOD! The program director, Antonio, mentioned to us that he believes the biggest differences and culture shocks between cultures definitely comes from food. I think he's right. In Spain, Breakfast is around 8 or 9AM, lunch is at 2PM, and dinner about 10PM. Because of this cultural and culinary difference, times of day are also different.

"문화들의 가장 차이가 큰 것은 음식이다." 저의 프로그램 회장이 하신 말인대, 정말 맞은 말인것같습니다. 스페인에는 하루의 스케줄이 완전히 달라요. 그것은 음식의 사실 입니다! 아침은 8시, 점심은 낮2시, 그리고 저녁을 밤9시나 10시에 먹습니다. 신기하죠?

"Buenos días," or "Good morning," until 2PM.
2PM is "mediodía" or the equivalent of 12PM or noon.
"Buenas tardes" or "Good afternoon" is used between 2PM and 9PM
"Buenas noches" or "Good evening" starts around 9PM.

The interesting thing is that the days seem so much longer here, because the sun sets at around 9:30. This may, however, just be applicable for the summer.

신기한 것은 스페인에 지내는 하루가 한국에서나 미국에서나 지내는 하루 보다 훨신 길어요. 하지만, 이 사실은 지금 여름이라서 그럴수도 있습니다... 그래도, 해가 밤9:30쯤에 진다니... 참 신기하지요?

Lunch is the biggest meal, breakfast is really nothing to write home about, and dinner is usually just tapas (small dishes to share or 안주) with wine. The food is delicious, although much more fried than I'd expected it to be. There is a lot of pork, and one of the national prides of Spain. In addition, seafood is a large part of the diet here.

스페인에서는 점심이 제일 큰 끼입니다. 아침은 정말로 간단한 continental breakfast (빵, 커피) 먹고, 저녁도 간단합니다. 저녁은 늦게 먹으니, 언제나 나가서 먹으면 와인이랑 같이 먹개됩니다. 스페인에는 돼지고기와 해산물이 재일 많아요. "하몬"이라는 돼지고기가 스페인에 특징+프라이드입니다.

Sleep

You probably already know about siestas. In Spain, there is a time of rest during the midafternoon! At around 3 or 4, all the shops in town close, and that is when I catch up on my sleep. Most of the students from our program have been tired all the time, as our schedule requires waking up early, and dinner is extremely late. However, apparently Spaniards are used to this, as I have heard that 6 hours of sleep is sufficient for them. ¡Es increíble!

스페인에 "시에스타"라고 낮에 쉬는 시간이있습니다. 이건 특히 남쪽에 더 자주/잘 합니다 (그쪽엔 해가 원악 쌔서). 3-4시쯤에 가계들은 다 닫아요. 이때 저는 잠이나 자는대, 요즘 스페인 사람들은 쉬지도 않아요. 어떻개 하는지 정말 상상이 안가요;;;

More Photos!