El Valle de los Caídos:
My bark is much worse than my bite. I have the worst cough ever, and my host family seems terrified. I even went to a Spanish pharmacy for cold medicine, which would have been terrifyingly overwhelming if Carmen, a "mentor" who studies in the facultad de medicina, hadn't written me a "prescription" of what to ask for. I was concerned because I had *ahem* potential mono exposure, but the symptoms of mono usually take four to six weeks to manifest themselves so I should be safe.
Week two of classes is done. My 8:30 class was cancelled on Monday (rejoice!) in honor of Sunday's festivities. October 12 is the feast day of Saint Pilar, the patron of Spain, as well as the "Día de la Hispanidad." I do find it interesting that in Spain, where Columbus is seen in a very positive light, you only get the day off when it falls on a weekday, whereas the Monday nearest that date is a reliable holiday for schoolchildren and government employees in the U.S.
I met someone who is even more overwhelmed by Spanish than me! I turned to someone in one of my political science classes on Tuesday to ask a question in Spanish, and his response was, "Can we PLEASE just speak in English??" He is an Erasmus student from Romania who had just arrived in Spain two days earlier and furthermore has never studied Spanish, ever. I would be unbelievably unable to cope.
On Wednesday a small group visited the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial and el Valle de los Caídos. El Escorial is a royal monastery/palace constructed under el rey Felipe II, and it was cool except that we were unable to enter what are probably the best two parts. We couldn't enter el Panteón de los Reyes where all of the Hapsburg and Bourbon monarchs (and king-mothers) are buried because of some rule that you have to be on an official tour or purchase the audio guide to enter. I thought Ani, our program director, was going to be able to talk our way in, but alas she was not. The basilica was also closed because it was under construction.
In my opinion, the real highlight of the day was the visit to el Valle de los Caídos.
The Spanish Civil War lasted from 1936-1939, and the right-wing Fascists, led by Francisco Franco, were victorious over the left-wing Republicans. In 1940, Franco decided to build a monument to those who had died in the Spanish Civil War. Quite taken by Felipe II's Escorial, he chose a site nearby in the mountains on the outskirts of Madrid. The monument consists of a giant cross on the mountain and a large basilica underneath in the heart of the monument. It was constructed by the labor of political prisoners. Many Spaniards refuse to visit el Valle de los Caídos because of what it represents. Franco never released a list of who is buried in the two massive tombs. When he died in the 1970s, he was buried in the basilica.
Earlier in the day, it had been a gorgeous sunny day, but by the time we arrived at el Valle de los Caídos it was dark and cloudy, which seemed more than appropriate. It was a very powerful experience. Unfortunately photography is prohibited in the basilica so I can't show it to you. The atmosphere is very funereal. You have to walk through a very long tunnel before you arrive in the worship space, and it is very dark and all stone. Ani said that the last time she was there, a wedding was taking place. I can't imagine attending mass there, much less getting married!
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