The intensive period of study here in Seville has drawn to a close, and I must say I won't exactly miss it. Sitting in the same class four hours a day is not quite my cup of tea. Monday begins the continuation period, which will last until I leave Spain in May, and I'm rather excited. I have a slightly heavy class load, but with a few credits of pure fun, I think it will all go well. I'm taking International Business & The European Union, Psychology of Learning a Second Language, Cultural Realities of Spain, Advanced Speaking, Spanish-American Authors, and my personal favorites -- Sevillana Dancing and Spanish Cuisine. Fridays are completely-class free for all students at the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, which will be quite a blessing, seeing as I will be travelling for eight of my eleven remaining weekends in Spain.
Yesterday was field trip day again -- something I'll really miss during the continuation period. This week we went to Seville Cathedral, which is officially named the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Holy See. It is the world's largest Gothic church, built between 1402 and 1506, with additional work done due to the collapse of the central dome in 1511 and again in 1888, with the dome not completed until 1903. The structure is the largest cathedral in world, and the only two churches that dwarf it are basilicas, meaning there is no bishop seated there.
Its bell tower, called La Giralda, is one of the city's most recognizable symbols. It was constructed between 1184 and 1198 under Almohad rule, when parts of Spain were controlled by North African Muslims. When Spain was reconquered by the Christians in 1248, they converted the mosque into a church and the minaret became a bell tower, with an upper level in the Spanish Renaissance style added in 1568 to house more bells. The statue atop the tower, called Giraldillo, stands 13 feet tall and rotates with the changes in wind. La Giralda is 343 feet tall, and it can be climbed by using a series of 34 very steep ramps, and let me tell you, that is one heck of a workout for the calves. Each ramp has a rise of about 10 feet with a run of only 20-25 feet, which means that by the time we got to the 17th floor, we were all seriously wishing the Almohads had invented elevators. Around the 20th floor, a friendly Welsh man told us there were only 25 floors, which was quite a relief, although the appearance of 26th floor quickly shot that dream down. When we finally got some accurate information, it turned out there were 34 floors, and since each ramp was on a different side of the tower ascending in a spiral, each window gave us a different view of the city as we climbed higher and higher into the sapphire blue Spanish sky. I was just about dead by the time we reached floor number 34, and my hip joints were very upset with me when we found out that "There are 34 floors," meant "There are 34 ramps and then some stairs." So we struggle-bused it up those stairs into the bell tower, but as soon as we saw that view we knew it was worth it. La Giralda is definitely the best place to experience the beauty of the city.
Christopher Columbus is interred in Seville Cathedral along with his son Hernando. Columbus' body is in a sarcophagus held in the air by sculptures of the kings of Spain, while Hernando's body lies in the sculpture's marble base. My roommate and I took a selfie with it, which may have been a bit offensive, but probably not as offensive as the genocide Columbus was responsible for, so quite honestly I don't feel too bad. The cathedral also houses a large number of relics, including bones of various saints and the Holy Thorn believed to be from the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross. There are also many artworks depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of Spain's most important religious symbols. I bought my grandma a necklace depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I'm assuming she doesn't read this blog (seeing as she's 89 years old) so it will still be a surprise.
But mostly I'm quite excited to start my new classes and new less-stressful schedule this Monday. Cooking should be an absolute disaster and I'm bound to have some great stories about it, so stay tuned!