No Sleep Till Spain: I'm Jewish, What's your Excuse? Touring (the Churches of) Madrid & Toledo.

These past few days have been such a whirlwind. I can't even remember what day I arrived in Madrid, but I was awake and delirious for a grueling 48 hours. I have seen so many churches, (of which I knew almost nothing about, i.e. where the priest sits, what a confessional looks like - hence the title of this post,) all of which were absolutely gorgeous. Fun fact: in Toledo we visited the oldest synagogue in Spain, which was actually built by a Muslim community for the Jews. Because of this, the synagogue looks much more like a mosque than a temple. Of course, during the Spanish Inquisition the temple became a church, so the building has been through all kinds of religious experiences. We have been staying in some teeny-tiny hotel rooms, with teeny-tiny elevators and very confusing lighting fixtures. It's safe to say maybe just a little bit of culture shock has set in. Yesterday our little group traveled to Valencia and now we are all settled in with our host families! I am staying in an apartment very close to the University of Valencia, which is great because this is where my classes are. I share a room with another member of the group, Jen, and we have decided that our little room looks like something straight out of Ikea. It's pretty neat. We are staying with a family of five (Five!!) comfortably (really, this apartment is amazing): a host maj, a host paj, a younger host brother of 16, and two younger host sisters of 10 & 13. The youngest daughter is very fond of host students, and she loves to make impromptu visits to our room. We've been surprised more than a few times in just the past two days, but hey it's all part of the experience right? Last night our host majpaj took us to a festival called "La Festival de la Virgen," the Festival of the Virgin. It was so cool! There was a parade with many people in traditional Valencian attire, a couple of different bands marching, and the President of Valencia even made an appearance. Today we met our professor from Valencia and had the opportunity to tour the city & get lost, but all in good fun. A couple of us have already booked a trip to Morocco for next weekend, myself included. I never even imagined being able to visit Africa this trip & I am more than a little excited! There's also a trip to France in the works, but nothing concrete just yet. Tomorrow starts classes &, of course, another tour.

La Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca - the Oldest Synagogue in Spain, Located in Toledo