MADRID -- consejos

New Movie about Goya

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:37:00 +0000

Milos Forman, cinematic historian
His first film in eight years centers artist Goya within a bigger
political framework, the Spanish Inquisition.
By Paul Cullum, Special to The L.A. Times July 15, 2007

The official portraitist of "Amadeus" and "The People vs. Larry
Flynt" will return to theaters Friday with "Goya's Ghosts," a costume
drama and controlled historical epic that marks his first film since
the Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon" in 1999. Yet rather than a
meta-portrait of the great court painter of Spanish royalty Francisco
Goya, "Goya's Ghosts" chronicles the long tail of the Spanish
Inquisition, the "liberation" of Spain at the hands of Napoleon and
the subsequent expulsion of the imported French Revolution by a
guerrilla uprising, in conjunction with the British Duke of
Wellington and the Catholic clergy.

The story is told through the eyes of the premier artist of the era,
or what art critic Robert Hughes, in his definitive biography "Goya,"
called "the first modern visual reporter on warfare." And as
structured by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, who collaborated
with Luis Buñuel, Louis Malle and Volker Schlöndorff, among others,
these rather dry historical events create a startling allegory for
modern geopolitical adventurism

AS "Goya's Ghosts" opens, clerics can be seen furtively studying
Goya's "Disasters of War" series of surreptitious etchings, published
only after the artist's death, and volubly lamenting, "This is how
the world sees us." Inquisitor Javier Bardem rejects Voltaire, and
with him all of Enlightenment thought, as "the dark prince of the
darkest principles" and labels talk of "atoms" and modern science
diabolical. Natalie Portman's character is "put to the question," the
church's palliative euphemism for interrogation and torture, and
imprisoned for 15 years because of a gross misunderstanding. And the
proto-American Randy Quaid, as Spain's King Carlos IV, takes to
hunting vultures (which are drawn to him by the carcass of a dead
sheep, no less). It doesn't take a great leap of imagination to find
Abu Ghraib, global warming, the detaining of terror suspects at
Guantanamo and elsewhere, in not too veiled subtext.

FORMAN says the idea for exploring the life of Goya on film
crystallized for him in 1984, when he and producer Saul Zaentz were
on a promotional tour for "Amadeus" and found themselves in Madrid,
across the street from the Prado.

Spain's national museum is home to the largest collection of works by
Goya as well as Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights,"
a virtual catalogue of the varieties of medieval torture (and briefly
featured in the film). It also, at that time, held Picasso's
"Guernica," probably the premier antiwar artifact of the 20th
century. ("Guernica" was relocated to the nearby Queen Sofia Museum
in 1992.)

"It seems impossible that the painter who paints these gorgeous,
brilliant, official portraits of royals and dukes and nobility can be
the same painter of the black paintings on the other wall," says
Forman. "One is the peak of 18th century style, and one is the
beginning of 20th century style. With 'Disasters of War,' Goya was
probably the most courageous coward, because he didn't do anything
that would put his work in jeopardy — it was published many years
after his death.

"He painted the Spanish royal family, Napoleon's brother [King]
Joseph, the Inquisitors; Goya painted anybody. We know nothing from
him about his political ideas. And I admire his attitude that he just
didn't want to get involved in politics — he wanted to be on good
terms with everybody. If he had stood up against the Inquisition, we
wouldn't have his paintings. They would have been destroyed."

"Napoleon went to Spain in the service of the French Revolution, to
plant the seeds of democracy. And the first thing he did was clamp
down on the church, confiscated their property and banished the
Inquisition. He deposed royalty, because they were squeezing the
population hard with taxes. Wonderful deeds, don't you think? But he
forgot one thing: Over one-fourth of the Spanish population lived on
charity, which was administered by the church. Suddenly, a fourth of
the population was starving, so they went into the streets and
started to loot. Then the killing starts, chaos starts, and here we
are. It's the same situation. I am fascinated by American politics.
When you follow American politics, you suddenly realize that anything
anybody says about America is true — the worst and the best."

He recalls a moment in the '50s when the Czech Communists relaxed
their ban on Western decadence to show a handful of American films
that presented capitalism in a critical light — most notably Sidney
Lumet's 1957 courtroom drama "12 Angry Men."

"So they screened these films, and they couldn't believe the
reactions," recalls Forman 50 years later. "We were not idealists. We
didn't think America was full of angels, that it was a paradigm. But
look at the freedom they had to talk about it! They could show it to
themselves and to the world that they knew about their injustices,
and they were trying to warn people about them. Something was
happening there. And suddenly America became the idol of freedom, a
country with hope. Nowhere is paradise, but we must have hope that we
can build it one day. Once you take away the hope, that's it."

Meeting Tuesday hour change

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:31:00 +0000

Madrileños,

We arrive Tuesday at about 5... the orientation will take place at 10 pm, not 8, as I had reported earlier. That should give us all time to get our things to our rooms. Remember that evening meal is served late, so keep that in mind when you are meal planning. And also keep in mind that cena, the last meal of they day, is very light.

Gracias.

la profe

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 05:41:00 +0000

75 años del Museo Sorolla

Horario ininterrumpido durante todos los miércoles del año de 9:30 a 18:00 h.

Del 14 de junio al 27 de septiembre el museo abre los jueves en horario nocturno de 21:00 a 23:30 h. además se podrá asistir a la proyección de la película "Cartas de Sorolla"

C/ General Martínez Campos, 37

28010 - Madrid

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 05:34:00 +0000

FORSPRO bulletin

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:50:00 +0000

Dear participants,

Everyone should have their eticket information. Some we have sent several times. If, for whatever reason, you dont have your eticket information with you at the time you got to the airport, give the Air France agent at the airport counter your passport and your flight number information. He will be able to give you your boarding pass. Your flight number is in your last statement.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Miami office. We will check our emails from Spain Saturday, Sunday and Monday. If you have a problem, send us an email at forspro@foreignstudy.com. If you have an emergency on the day of departure, remember to call Elvira Losa at the number on our web site.

Have a nice flight.

Roberto Fernandez

P.S. Have you visited our web site and read the section Prepare for Trip. If not, do so at www.foreignstudy.com

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:08:00 +0000

news about first week in Madrid

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:49:00 +0000

I just spoke with Dr. Favata from the University of Tampa. He will take us on an orientation of the area around the Colegio Mayor after the meeting at 8 pm, on Tuesday, the day we arrive. (We arrive around 5 in Madrid.)

The next day, Wednesday, we have this schedule:
09:00-9:45 Drop/Add
10:00 Faculty meeting
10:30 Morning class
11:45 Afternoon class
12:45 Staff meeting
16:00 City tour

Friday Dr. Favata is also taking his group on a walking tour of Madrid and some tascas, or pubs, on Friday night for tapas. It is optional for you to participate, and it will cost around $20, but we are invited to come along.

Veranos de la Villa 2007

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:06:00 +0000

Summer events in Madrid
http://www.esmadrid.com/veranosdelavilla/home.do

e-ticket info from FORSPRO

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:45:00 +0000

Dear Participants,

We have sent the etickets to every participant that FORSPRO is providing the international transportation. In the unlikely event you did not received an email from us with your eticket information, please let us know.

Remember to follow our instructions and to call Elvira Losa in the event you have a problem at the airport or miss your flight the day of departure. Please don’t call any other time nor for any other reason. She will not entertain your call.

Also, leave your parents/friends a copy of your itinerary and the phone numbers of the places you are staying in the event they want to contact you. This information is on our web site.

We will send an email Friday to let you know that our office in Coral Gables is closing and will not open until mid August. If anyone in your family needs to communicate with us, the best way is via electronic mail. We check our emails daily except Saturday and Sundays. Normally we reply by the next business day. However, we don’t have the time or the personnel to pass along messages. Therefore, we ask that you use the system prudently.

Most of our staff; our Academic Dean, Dean of Students, our Program Coordinator, and Spanish staff are in Spain preparing your arrival. We look forward to making this adventure as memorable as possible.

Cristina

Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:01:00 +0000

http://www.foreignstudy.com/mcalendar.htm

más informes

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:36:00 +0000

1. Promotional video for the 2012 Olympic Games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZObs5h3WF-s&mode=related&search= Who won the bid?

2. World´s Greatest Guitarist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oyhlad64-s&mode=related&search=

3. My favorite radio station: http://www.radioteletaxi.fm/reproductor.php#

4. Site with map of Madrid, web cams: http://www.traficomadrid.com/Camaras/index1.asp?mapa=PRINCIPAL

5. My favorite newspaper: http://www.elpais.com/

6. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping: http://www.elpais.com/videos/sociedad/rebajas/dan/pistoletazo/salida/tiendas/madrilenas/elpvid/20070621elpepusoc_2/Ves/

and el Rastro on Sunday... the flea market: http://www.notesfromspain.com/583/

7. Check out our blog! You´re ALL there, now....http://spsumadrid07

.blogspot.com/

noise, weather

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:36:00 +0000

1. I will never forget as long as I live, the admonition of an SPSU prof as we were leaving for Spain last year, "Don´t be loud Americans," said he, a lover of all things German and northern European. Well, the truth of the matter is, in Spain, all things that make noise are good. If they make MORE noise (or can be made to do so), they are better. People talk louder, scooters never seem to have mufflers, and car horns are part of a light´s turning green, aren´t they? See this blog post: http://www.notesfromspain.com/806/#more-806

2. Weather in Madrid for July: http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/monthly/SPXX0050?month=1
the average high is 90ºF, the average low is 61ºF

3. Weather in Paris for July:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/monthly/FRXX0076?month=1
the average high is 75ºF, the low 58ºF

computer security, SPAN3903

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:35:00 +0000

1. Here's a neat trick for your security while using public computers: http://lifehacker.com/software/privacy/keep-your-passwords-safe-at-public-computers-217008.php

2. REMINDER: here is the URL for your SPAN3903 blog: http://spsumadrid07.blogspot.com/ You are committed to 2 posts a week for 4 weeks with observations of Spanish culture accompanied by a reflective statement. My emails over the past weeks should help some. Feel free to disagree, but support your position appropriately.

más consejos e informes

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:32:00 +0000

1. By now you should have received the last notice from FORSPRO. Contact them if you haven´t yet gotten it. You should have gotten the luggage tags a while back.

2. REMINDER print out the directions about what we are supposed to do when we get to Paris, then to Madrid. See them for what to do when you arrive in Madrid for your transportation to the Colegio Mayor. (A Colegio Mayor, by the way, is a university dorm. "Colegio" in this context doesn´t mean school, but rather "college" in the British sense of the word.

3. Do you have the addresses of Colegio Mayor Mara and the hotel in Paris in your wallet?
MADRID
Colegio Mayor Mara
Juan XXIII, 15, Madrid 28040
Ph: 34-91-553-6603

PARIS
Hotel Novotel La defense
Address: 2 Boulevard de Neuilly,
La Défense 192081 PARIS
LA DEFENSE CEDEX, FRANCE
Tel : (+33)1/41452323

4. We are leaving in 2 weeks. You can practice listening comprehension online at http://www.notesinspanish.com/

5. Have you packed yet? Pack light (for carrying AND for heat). The weather in Madrid lately is like ours here--hot and humid. You might consider purchasing a fan for your room when you get there. There are limitations on what liquids you can carry on board. You are allowed only what fits into ONE zip top QUART size bag--and each bottle has to be a MAXIMUM of 3 oz. That´s not much.

6. If you need adapters (remember they are NOT converters! You will blow out your appliance if it is not dual wattage), they are available at Radio Shack and Target. They come in sets with adapters for other countries. Mori Luggage is supposed to have individual adapters so you don´t have to buy the whole set.

7. I suggest bringing a pocked SPAN-ENG dictionary.

8. FORSPRO advises that we arrive at the airport 3 hours before the scheduled flight time. However, the news has indicated that there are long lines at the airport in Atlanta created by the security checks. Remember you will have to take off your shoes, too. I suggest that you arrive even earlier. You cannot get your seat assignment until you get to the gate.

laptops, wifi, skype free international calls

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:30:00 +0000

1. If your are taking your laptop to Madrid (not really recommended), here is some information about connectivity:

http://www.spain-info.com/Living_in_Spain/wifi-Spain.htm
wifi connections in Madrid

http://madrid.angloinfo.com/af/501/madrid-wifi-hotspots-and-wireless-
access-points.html
more wifi connections in Madrid

2. You can call internationally for free from a computer to a computer through SKYPE. You will need a headset with a microphone. Here´s the URL for SKYPE: http://www.skype.com/

learn Spanish online

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:29:00 +0000

For those of you who ask about learning Spanish, you know that I used to recommend businessspanish.com. It´s still a good site. But now, I send my recommendations of notesinspanish.com to everyone. It´s a painless way to learn Spanish. It´s a podcast (actually 3, as of today) in three levels: beginners (today was the first broadcast of this level), intermediate, and advanced. These are done by a married couple living in Madrid--he´s a Brit, she´s a Madrileña, and they met on a language exchange--he taught her English, she taught him Spanish. Now they have started this little empire of podcasts, blogs (text and video), forums, etc. It´s a very rich source of audio and text that isn´t the least bit stuffy--it includes the latest slang in Spain. They have generated a lot of interest all over the world. See the blogs that individuals and Spanish classes have produced and posted. See also the section of Spanish cuisine. Yum. The whole venture is a lot of fun. Sometimes I wish we could teach L2s that way, but there are so many restrictions and demands of an academic L2 program.

Anyway, I have just purchased all the worksheets for Intermediate and Advanced to supplement the online listening practice for our students, which our assessment indicated was necessary.

Give it a try. Let me know if you need help.

correct URL for Zara

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:28:00 +0000

Here is correct URL for Zara stores:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_(clothing)

security issues

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:27:00 +0000

CARRY ON LUGGAGE--Liquids and gels are limited to a 3oz container. All toiletries must be in quart-size or smaller clear plastic bags. YOU MUST REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR BAGGAGE FOR SEPARATE SCREENING WHEN GOING THROUGH SECURITY. The same is true for your laptop. Containers larger in size will be confiscated.

You will have to remove your shoes when going through security--and we´re also going to go through security in Paris on our way to Madrid.

retail industry

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:26:00 +0000

1. Zara, a clothing chain begun in Spain, and also located in the US, is considered a success story. It´s comparable to the GAP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_(clothing) Here are some items from their summer line; http://www.zara.com/v07/index.html

2. Carrefour is a French company that is located all over the world. It pioneered the concept of the hypermarket, a department store and a supermarket under one roof. The prices are discounted. They have been very successful in places like Argentina, for example, where Wal-Mart was an abysmal failure due principally to lack of understanding the market. (Lesson: do your homework!) For an idea of retail prices in Spain: http://www.carrefour.es/index.html What percentage of the income of a family in Spain is spent on food?

3. El corte inglés is the largest department store chain in Spain. It was founded by a Cuban immigrant. The prices are comparable to or higher than department store prices in the US. You will see signs "Rebajas" in July. That means discounted prices, or items on sale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Corte_Ingl%C3%A9s

If you are pursuing the Certificate in Professional Spanish, these are retail companies that would be appropriate for your Service Learning requirement. Can you think of others?

study abroad movie, Erasmus, Bologna

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:25:00 +0000

1. My Netflix CDs for the week-end brought me a good movie that I recommend to prepare you for your experience. It´s L'Auberge espagnole, in French, Spanish, English, Catalán, and other languages, about European students on an Erasmus program in Spain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Auberge_espagnole
(What do you think about the Catalán professor insisting on speaking Catalán in class even though the Erasmus students request that he speak Castellano (Spanish)? What do you think of his response?)

2. What´s the Erasmus program?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERASMUS_programme
It´s a study abroad program among the countries in the EU (European Union) that facilitates student participation. Should the US join other countries in a similar program?

3. The Bologna process is also interesting:
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/EHEA2010/BolognaPedestrians_en.asp
It´s the standardization of university curricula across the EU whereby you can take university courses anywhere in the EU and the credit will be accepted by other universities in the EU.

As a student, what do you think of these two possibilities? Would it be beneficial to you for the US to participate? Do you think that the EU would extend that opportunity to include universities in the US? Why or why not?

costumbres europeas en los negocios

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:21:00 +0000

Here is an interesting podcast about business customs in Europe:
http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/radio_menu.htm

Saturday, June 2: European Business Customs

Rick explores how some of the little things travelers do, or neglect to do, affect the way Americans are perceived in Europe. Author Mary Murray Bosrock, a specialist in intercultural communication and behavior, joins Rick to examine what's considered appropriate behavior when conducting business in Europe, how formal travelers should be in different cultures, and which cheek to kiss (and when).

Please remember that these comments tend to be about northern Europe, but the generalizations are applicable to Mediterranean Europe as well.

elecciones, tu seguridad

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:20:00 +0000

!. Elecciones en Madrid-- aquí tienen los informes:
http://www.telemadrid.es/contenidos/html/elecciones07/elecciones07_principal.jsp

2. Haz una fotocopia de tu pasaporte, y lleva la copia contigo. Aquí tienes algunos consejos sobre tu seguridad en Madrid:
http://www.notesfrommadrid.com/category/safety-and-pickpockets/

radio por internet, dialectos

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:19:00 +0000

I finally got through to the live feed of Radio Tele-Taxi, after a long time waiting to connect again. Anyway, for Spanish music broadcast live from Spain (Cataluña, not Madrid) go here: http://www.radioteletaxi.fm/ then click on emisión en directo. You will have to pick a player, and I use Windows Media Player. The music is contemporary 100% in Spanish, some from America, and some from Spain, but NONE FROM THE US! Great listening comprehension practice, commercials, news, and talk. btw, the news is broadcast in catalán. Why?

If you listen locally to VIVA 105.7, compare the dialects used. (Dialect means accent.) Can you hear the difference?

The elections in Spain are Sunday. They are not national elections, but in the 17 autonomies and other local entities. How are you going to find out about the results?

hispanos vs. anglos

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:17:00 +0000

So, you´re going to Spain. Who are you going to find there? Are they Hispanics? Latinos?--maybe the first, but definitely NOT the second. How do they self-identify, then? Well, Spaniards are Hispanic because they speak Spanish. However, they identify themselves as Europeans, NOT LATINOS, whom they consider to be Americans. America, btw, is the entire Western Hemisphere--from Canada to Tierra del Fuego. The US is but one country in America.

That being said, one really has to say that Spaniards self-identify as coming from their patria chica, their little fatherland, or region of Spain. Two of my uncles who married two of my father´s sisters, always said that they were Catalán first, then Spanish. That is still true. The different regions of Spain have different cuisines, languages, psychologies. Catalanes, for example, are considered to be serious business people. Andalucía, is reputed to be a land of happy-go-lucky people who love to talk. Other regions have their own characteristics or stereotypes.

Keeping the concept of the stereotype in mind, let´s discuss the difference between Anglos and Hispanics. There are more differences than just linguistic ones. Hispanics are generous, family and people-centered, and cooperative. They view Anglos as stingy or money-hungry, self and thing-centered or individualistic, and competetive. There is no word for babysitter in Spanish, and a group eating out in a restaurant would never embarass themselves by splitting the check. They would simply be the host this time, and the guest the next. The "tab" isn´t kept in stone, however, as Anglos MUST have a complete balance of whose turn it is to pay. When my mother died, for another example, one of my Cuban uncles consoled me this way, "You behaved like a Cuban, not like an Anglo." By that he meant that, since I had been at my mother´s side through more than 40 days in the hospital, he thought that was something an Anglo would not have done. Their concept is that Anglo parents relinquish their children when the children marry. This is not the case among Latinos. Your responsibility toward your parents still remains, and your parents´ expect to be able to play a role in your life. Family always comes first.

There is another aspect of the difference between Anglos and Hispanics that I have observed. Anglos are particularly indirect in their address to others, and Hispanics are direct. Anglos wouldn´t dream of asking what someone´s salary is, while Hispanics would bat an eye over the question. The Anglo penchant for "tact" is seen as disingenuous. Hispanics speak their minds, and value others´ doing the same. In fact, not to do so, is offensive. At the same time, Anglos find Hispanics sometimes abrasive.

These are but a few differences that you will observe when you are in Spain. How are you going to handle them?

ETA, Euskera

noreply@blogger.com (la profe) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:16:00 +0000

All about ETA, the Basque separatist group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA

Why is there a separatist movement in Spain among the Basques? Don´t they speak Spanish (castellano)? Well, yes, BUT...castellano was imposed on them. They speak euskera, the Basque language. Isn´t euskera just another Romance language? No. Euskera is a linguistic anomaly. That is, there are NO OTHER LANGUAGES IN THE WORLD related to it. Here is a good presentation about euskera: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_language

For example, what do the Romance languages use for the English word for bread? In French, pain; in Italian, pane; in Portuguese, pan; and in Spanish, as you know, pan. But what is it in eurkera? ogi. How about the word for yes? In French, oui; in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, sí. But in Basque, it´s bai. No connection. Not even close.

So, if a language is emblemic of the people who speak it, then the Basque people are not related culturally to the rest of the inhabitants of Iberia. What´s more, there are Basques in France, another governmental entity. So here they are, a people with two major European governments ruling them, and their culture is not represented, much less understood.

Where else are there Basques? Well, guess what! In the US. And in Atlanta, too. In fact, the greatest contributor to SPSU´s endowment is of Basque origin. He is the late Roberto, Goizueta, the former Cuban-American CEO of Coca Cola. Here is a good overview of Basques in the US:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque-American