Last week was our midterm week. I cannot express how happy I am that I chose to take my classes in Spanish. Although sometimes it can be difficult writing essays, taking notes/exams, and most importantly learning everything in Spanish, it has made such a difference in both my oral and writing skills. My ability to understand a native speaker (which most of the times is the hardest part) has developed immensely. I am enjoying all of my classes but in particular, my History of Three Cultures class, has been an incredible learning experience. This class focuses on the history of Spain in regards to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian empires. Although I had a brief background of the influence of the Moors, I was unaware of the amount of influence the Islamic empires after had on the country. Still to this day in Sevilla and the rest of Andalucia, there is so much that exemplifies the power the Muslims had.

The other day, my professor told our class that the average Spaniard does not realize how much of Spanish culture today is rooted in the days of Islamic occupancy. Now that I have learned so much about the cultural and urban influences that developed in Spain, it seems impossible to not be able to see the similarities!

Some fun facts: any Castilian word that begins with ‘al’ is rooted in Arabic. For example, albóndigas (Spanish meatballs) was originally al-bóndiga. To this day in Sevilla alone, there are many streets that begin with ‘al’. Al-Andalus, is the original name for Andalucia (the south of Spain). Also called, la peninsula Iberica, this part of the country was given this name by the Moors. The Guadalquivir, the river that runs through Sevilla comes from the Arabic world meaning ‘great river.’ In addition, many parts of the city still resemble what one would imagine Sevilla once was when Muslims ruled Andalucia. My favorite street here Calle Alhóndiga, seems to have remained untouched. The Alhóndiga was the part of the local markets dedicated for foreigners that came to sell their goods. This part of Sevilla where calle Alhóndiga is located used to be the part of the Medina (enclosed area of the city) where these markets were held. Once I learned this information, it was easy to envision what these streets used to look like. To this day, this area is filled with windy small streets, tapas bars and small restaurants hidden on every side street. The ability to take what I have learned in my class and explore these parts of the city on my own has probably been my favorite part about studying in Sevilla.