Reina Sofia and Class

This past Sunday I went to el museo de la Reina Sofia, Madrid’s modern art museum. They have a great collection of the most famous modern Spanish artists like Miró, Dalí, and Picasso, the star of their collection being "la Guernica". The Guernica, for those who don’t know, is Picasso’s masterpiece, representing a small city that was totally destroyed by Hitler’s army at the beginning of the Spanish Civil war. Basically, Hitler needed to test his knew planes and train his new pilots and Franco let him bomb a small city in northern Spain to show off his powerful friends and discourage the republic. Not only were heavy bombs dropped on the city but the civilians were also machine gunned down as they were running away down the streets and in the fields. Picasso’s painting is filled with the horror and pain of the two hour massacre. And no mater how many books I have read that sing it’s praises or how many professors tell you it is gorgeous seeing it for the first time in person is an unforgettable experience. It takes your breath away. I stood in front of Guernica for 15 minutes with tears in my eyes. It is really a must-see for anyone visiting Madrid.

My classes started on Tuesday and are all going well. Some of my classes are will all American students and a professor from the University Compultense Madrid but others are just like a regular lecture hall in Madison, except everyone is Spanish. I am taking a history of America class (the Spanish part of America, not USA), two literature classes, linguistics, and yoga :).