Italy Vs Belgium - the Cook-off

The other day Victor (Belgian), for one reason or another, decided it would be a good idea to set up a cooking competition between himself and Roberto (Italian). Lena (French), Benoit (French), Rebecca (German) and I (English! :-P) were asked to act as the impartial judges. Roberto, however, invited half the Italian nation over as his cooking team, forcing Victor to join forces with Benoit. The result was a rather exciting yet bizarre gastronomic journey. The Italians dazzled our tastebuds with fried aubergines, battered steaks and about 52 different sorts of pizzas. Meanwhile the Belgian-French alliance of Victor and Benoit presented us with an egg with tomato sauce starter, followed by a potato, pea and sausage hotpot.

We, as the judges each had to award points for the following categories:

1. Appearance
2. Smell
3. Taste

The Cook-off, with me presenting the results!

I can tell you that Italy won (93-81). The French want me to take them on sometime for an English-French cook-off.... I'm not so sure! As always, I'll keep you all posted!

My Flatmates

Here are some pictures of my housemate to give you an idea of who I live with! (I've put them in the order that I met them all).

Lena, the French lass:

Benoit, the French lad:

Victor (Vicky), the Belgian lad:

Rebecca, a German lass:


Greet (Greta), the Belgian lass:



Roberto (Robbi/Bobbi), the Italian lad:

Weird Weather

I thought the British weather was strange for its random and unexpected changes... but that's nothing in comparison to the weather we've had here in Córdoba this week! From Monday to Wednesday we had three days of practically constant rain, the temperature dropped to between 10 - 15 degrees and at night my room was like a block of ice. On Thursday morning, between about 6 and 8am, we had a huge storm which woke me up. It was practically impossible to see anything outside as the rain blurred everything in sight. However, by the time I'd had a shower and was ready to leave the storm had vanished, and, other than the odd puddle, no were no clue to imply that the storm had ever even existed! By midday the temperature had hit 30 degrees again (which was a bloody pain, as I had my jeans and a jacket on) and it has remained like that ever since. It's like summer again! Bizarre!

Autumn?! and my Timetable.

I think that Autumn has finally arrived in Códoba! Which basically means that before I leave the house at 8 in the morning I have to choose between wearing three-quarter length trousers or jeans. I have, until now, always gone for the former because by noon the temperture still manages to creep up to around 30ºC! Oh well, shouldn't complain! Luckily my department (La Facultad de Filosofía y Letras) tackles the heat heroically, and so the classrooms remain comfortably cool.

A photo of the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (my department)

Speaking of classes, I have FINALLY ( after three weeks of messing around) managed to organise my timetable. This semestre (until February) I'm taking;

1. Spanish Lexigraphy (the history of the art or practice of defining Spanish words)
   
2. Spanish Phonetics and Phonology (which is really interesting but, by Allah, it's solid!)


3. Theory and Practise of Spanish Language


4. Archeology


5. Specialized Translation (Spanish > English)

And next semestre (February - June);

1. Theory and Practise of Spanish Language


2. Specialized Translation (Spanish > English)


3. Dubbing and Subtitling


4. Literary Translation (English > Spanish)


5. Translation of Newspapers (English > Spanish)
   

Bit of a mouthful, but there you go. I'm fairly pleased with it, but I'm not looking forward to the exam period, I can tell you!

Some Photos

Sorry for not uploading photos soon and for not having written anything for a while, Internet is a real luxury at the moment for me, we still don't have it in our house!

Anyway, here are some photos I took on my first day in Córdoba;

This is the 'Puerta de Almodóvar' (the 'Almodóvar' door) which form the entrance to Córdoba's historic quarters, which is now a world heritage centre.

This is the 'Mezquita de Córdoba' (Córdoba's Mosque), the most famous building in Córdoba. I still haven't been inside during my time here... may take a visit tomorrow morning... My house is literally two minutes away from here by foot. I pass it everyday on my way to Uni.

Here's the hostal I stay in during those first few days. Nothing particually special, but was cheap and cheerful!

I'll upload some more when I have the time (the battery of my laptop is just about to die - I'm in an Internet cafe!).