Desde España..
Hola desde España! Although we are practicing our Spanish 24/7 here in Córdoba, I think it’d be easier to write this blog in English.
It’s a crazy thought that the Loyola Chicago students have already been in Spain for a week! First I have to acknowledge the phenomenal staff and students at universidad Loyola de Andalucia who have been amazing in every way in helping us get situated with the city! The host families are truly some of the nicest people on earth and the apartments that are provided for us above and beyond a residence hall at Loyola. This is the first year that the faculty led trip to Spain has been in cordoba, mostly in part because of the amazing international relationship between both schools. This coming fall two more of their students will spend their year at LUC and we can’t wait to show them around like they have for us!
Córdoba is a beautiful city with more culture and history than many other cities. It is home to Mezquita which was the first mosque built and was then taken over by Christians and converted into a cathedral. Speaking of religion, cordoba has a church around almost every corner of the 10ish mile wide city. The roman bridge is also an amazing site to see for it has been around since 1st Century B.C. Although these are very touristy places to visit, the city remains humble and very true to its history and culture.
Food- oh my goodness. Spaniards know what good food is. Our meals consist of a big lunch at around 1:30 which we have after class at Loyola (Etea Business Campus) and then dinner at around 9/10pm. The food is in large part tapas style which are smaller portions and you order a variety of dishes. Some of my favorites thus far are sanmorejo (very popular in cordoba), fried eggplant (they look like French fries) and flamenquin that is very traditional. Patatas fritas or French fries are included in many different dishes as well as ham.
At first it seemed difficult to handle 4 hours of Spanish class Mondays through Thursday but it is completely different than sitting in mundelin and trying to imagine Spain. We are able to use our class time to explore places in the city and the three classes have less than 8 students in each with two professors/ TAs to help. With such a personalize course, we’ve been implementing what we learn in class with our conversations and interactions with the people of Córdoba whether at the super mercado or the bus.
It feels like we are living in a part of the world’s history here in cordoba. Til la semana que sigue!
