Days 8 and 9

Yesterday, after classes and lunch, a few of the girls from my classes and I went to a local park to study. It was fun talking and getting to know them better. Laura brought ice cream and cookies and we made ice cream sandwiches. Today we got the day off of school to go to Cordoba! We took a tour bus there (about an hour and a half away) and got to go to an archaeological excavation site near the city. There we got to see the work in progress and walk through what has already been excavated, while hearing the history of what the rooms were. From there we went to Cordoba....a beautiful city!!! The streets make me feel like I'm walking through a storybook. I will be adding pictures to facebook. Cobblestone streets, white houses (kind of Greek looking), yellow and red trim, flower baskets, iron gates...I loved it. But the most impressive part, the reason we went, was to see the Mosque and Cathedral from the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries (the califs kept adding onto it). It was so exciting because I have been learning about the architecture and history of the Mosque in my history and art classes, and we had been talking about this one in particular. So after seeing pictures in class it was so exciting to see it in person. Knowing the history and understanding the architecture...all that I learned and understood IN SPANISH...adds a richness and depth I can't describe. Our professor walked us through and elaborated on what we saw. It is so ornate and historic. Gosh I can't even do it justice. So we just got back from that, and after dinner, I"m going to go out with a group of friends here. Every day I cannot believe how blessed I feel to live in Spain.