Around Segovia

This week I visited the inside of the Cathedral with my art class. This Cathedral stands next to my school in what is called the Plaza Mayor. My art teacher told us that it is not the biggest or the oldest Cathedral but it is considered one of the most beautiful in Spain. It was also the last Gothic Cathedral to be built in Spain. The inside of the Cathedral was gorgeous but I didn't remember much about the pictures I took other than the one which is posted below. It appears to look like I just took a picture of the floor but it is actually an area in the Cathedral with a circular depression. This depression was caused by many women who have stood on one foot and twirled on that spot. The legend goes that if you stand on that spot and twirl you will be married or get into a relationship within a year. ( I believe it was a year.) I do not believe anyone in our class even attempted to do it, ha ha, besides Courtney who has just recently gotten engaged (congrats!).In another of my classes we are working on cultural projects. My project is basically an analysis of the Super Markets (Wal-Mart back in the States and Eroski here) and small traditional stores here in Spain. According to information in our culture book, Culturas de Espana, nearly 8,000 small stores (perfume shops, pharmacies, fresh fish and fruit stores) closed in 1998 alone. I decided to ask my Senora to make a few comments about it and what she had to say about this topic interested me. She said for the most part she does her shopping close to her "barrio". In other words the small stores here in Segovia. Sol, my Senora, said they are more expensive but generally are of a much higher quality. Another advantage of the smaller stores is that she is able to have a personal relationship with the employees. They know what she likes and how much of it she wants. On the other hand the larger stores such as Eroski afford someone the opportunity to purchase all the groceries they need in one location at a very cheap price. Sol said, and I agree, that she hopes the small stores stay open but that it will be a struggle for them. Below is a picture of my Senora, Ashley and I after dinner. We had alot of food and that is when I decided to ask her a few questions!

This picture was taken the same night our French students arrived. There were three boys and each of them were about 15 or 16. One of the things that I love most about Europe is that everyone here is interested in speaking another language or has at least some sort of experience speaking it. In the United States being bi lingual, for the most part, is a rarity. Here it is common. When I was talking to the boys in Spanish they began talking a bit in English. They have actually been studying English since they were in 4th grade and are now beginning to learn Spanish. Their English was not perfect but I was impressed that they were each working on speaking three languages. According to our new set of French students that just moved in today, almost every school has a requirement to learn another language. I realize English is the language of business and trade but I feel that the school systems in the United States should have more language classes available at the elementry level in public school systems so more students have the opportunity to learn another language at a young age. Language barriers are a large problem of conflict in todays world and I believe alot of problems could be solved if we could understand each other...and the first step to doing that is being able to speak the same language. Below is the picture of the three French students, myself and Ashley discussing language over dinner.