Oct 2008

Saw:
"The Otherworld" as i termed it- the heart of old town Fes, a
place so utterly indescribable; it is probably the single most
personally signigicant place we have or will visit.

Did:
Our tuition includes two upper-scale group meals paid for by the
school. Our first was in Switzerland, our second here in Fes. And the
dirham is much more friendly than the franc. Our menu consisted of 9
plates of salad each served to be eaten with bread, lamb on the bone
with steamed potato, olives, celery, and two citrus plants i didnt
recognize, tangerines, grapes, apples, and bananas as after dinner
refreshment, and cocunut cookies and a sweet, heavily minted tea for
desert. and of course a coca-cola. it was all accompanied by live
dancers, muscicians, and magicians.

Learned:
Here as much as ever it was so difficult to put what i saw
into writing, to give some form to these whisps of memory. How then, i
wonder, can i ever move beyond merely describing all this, and begin to
look at it through the lens of an architect, a theologian, or even
simply a kid desperatly trying to live rightly before his God?

Saw:
The Strait of Gibralter, suprisingly narrow, but very cool with
huge mountains on both the Spanish and Moroccan sides.

Did:
Went out for authentic Spanish Tapas. Apparently there is a
tradition peculiar to Granada to serve free tapas every time you order
a beverage.

Learned:
In addition to architecture study, I made it my goal to read
through John Milton´s Paradise Lost. I just finished it on the train in
and it was very beneficial for me to see how much depth there really is
in poetry, and how poems can use the same words we use every day, but
say so much more and with such brevity than we almost ever do.

Saw:
an Andalusian sunrise while sitting on the ramparts of the ancient
town wall, and an Andalusian sun set from atop a 300 ft cliff. (Ronda
is an ancient moorish settlement perched on a plateau with cliffs on
almost all sides.)

Did:
Hiked down said 300ft cliff on an unmarked trail that wove its way through the ruins on an old hydro-electric plant.

Learned:
Over the past two weeks I have been reading through the life of Moses and his role of mediating between God and Israel. It has repeatedly if indirectly brought to mind wise words of Than Baylor and echoed by C.S. Lewis, how we can fixate on a single attribute, to the exclusion of others, and do so to our peril. The holiness of God untempered by mercy is desperatly fearful. The tenderness of God without truth and consequences leaves nothing more than a teddy-bear god. My addition to this is a realization of how the Person of Jesus Christ is the ultimate and perfect display of a 3-dimensional God. It is in fixating on this King who was dead but is no longer that sinful eyes can most accurately see God. (in case your wondering, yes, i am also learning a bit about architecture. but some things you learn in life make other things so much less importaant...)

Saw:
Palace Real Alcazar, an intricate and ornate mix of Moorish (aka geometric) and Christian (aka iconic) decoration built right on top of each other.

Did:
After getting turned away by rain from a bull fight 20 minutes before it was supposed to start, my friend and i instead took a day trip to Cadiz, an ancient port city on a peninsula with cliffs on all three sides. It houses a 2000 year old roman theatre right off the beach and was the departure point for Amerigo Vespucci.

Learned:
a tough go of it this time. one of the most difficult parts of this semester has been knowing how best to relate to and witness to the 9 classmates/peers/friends i am traveling with. I didnt do a very good job in this city and it taught me two lessons. 1) these 9 people are the only people i have to talk to in a foreign country, and witnessing to them is the most important reason why i am here. Thus, failing on that front proved remarkably discouraging. 2) God doesn´t wrap his arms around me, pat me on the back and say "there, there, its okay". rather, the lesson is that of Jeremiah, that he says Repent of your sin, get up, and fight again.

Saw:
El Escorial- to Spain what the Palace at Vrsailles is to France. But for Spain, with all its 16th century wealth, it was suprisingly austere in ornamentation.

Did:
Got to travel First Class on a bullet train, complete with first class lounge and enough freebies to satisfy even a Shaw.

Learned:
We visited the Prado (world-renowned collection of classical painting) and the Reina Sofia (world-renowned collection of modern painting, including Picaso´s "Guernica") in the same day. I came away with the surprising realization that i enjoy and respect modern art more than i ever have. I have to be careful here to not say it is all good art, or that it is as noteworthy in terms of craft and skill, but the diversity in it and the way it engages the viewer (at least me) i found most refreshing after seeing my 1000th "Madonna and Child". If nothing else, it reminded me that for thousands of years, art was, and still is, a very powerful, and very valid form of communication.