What Causes Calluses?

About two weeks ago, (I know I'm still really behind) we visited the Royal Chapel and the Cathedral of Granada.

The Royal Chapel in Granada is where King and Queen Ferdinand and Isabella were buried, along with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. That was pretty darn cool considering their fame and influence, especially in Granada. I loved hearing about the symbols on their tombs, the significance of the differences, and what each monarch wad known for.

Warning: I'm about to explain a bunch of historical things that I found interesting. If you don't really like history or think you won't care, just skip this next paragraph.

Before we walked in, I was taking pictures of the beautiful architecture of the building next door (I'm always taking pictures here), which had a "Y" on it. I saw that the same design a few windows over had an "F" to replace the "Y". I didn't really know what it meant, but it was pretty. Then, we started to go inside the entrance before chapel, but I noticed a fountain and dragons on the building that I thought were interesting. We had learned that fountains and water in Muslim cultures signified hospitality and life. I saw dragons, too, which I hadn't seen before (which provoked my curiosity because most symbols have been repetitive), so I asked our guide what it meant. She said that the dragon was supposed to be protecting and watching over (like most fairytale castles, too, right?) and the fountain represented life (I assume from John 4:14 and/or John 7:38). Then we entered, and we saw a giant painting with a golden frame. The golden frame looked like it had a "Y", an "F", a bale of wheat, and some random string. She explained the significance and symbolism within the painting. She said it was a picture of the peaceful transfer of Granada from the last Moorish king,  Buabdilah (spelling is most likely incorrect), to King and Queen Ferdinand and Isabella. Buabdilah, Ferdinand, and Isabella are all on horses, but Isabella is on a white horse in front of Ferdinand to show that she was the protagonist. She was the one in charge and responsible for obtaining Granada, although it was a very peaceful transfer of power. But what was really cool was that that painting was the picture for the province of Granada that is displayed in La Plaza de España that I saw in Seville!! Then we went into the chapel where our guide explained that the "Y" stood for Isabella, yoke, and the unification of Spain when those the words all started with a Y in Spanish. The "F" that I saw stood for Ferdinand, fletchous, and flechas, which means arrows in Spanish. She also explained that the writing we saw along the top of the wall was a message in Gothic German written to the Catholic Monarchs which was inspired by the Arabic writing that the Moors used in their architecture, which I thought was cool (no surprise there) because I also loved the design of the writing on the walls in the Moorish castles. I saw the bundle of wheat that I saw on the painting near the entrance of the chapel and just as I asked my tour guide, I realized that the figure that I thought was random ribbon was actually a yoke, which would mean that what I thought was a bundle of wheat was actually a bundle of arrows!  Pretty cool stuff. Then when we got to the tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand (which is the order of the two names that is used more commonly in Granada) where we saw the saint of Aragon (where King Ferdinand was from) sleighing a dragon, but this dragon, explained by our tour guide, represented the devil which made more sense to me according to Revelation  12:9. Our guide also pointed out that the stone pillow from Isabella's tomb was evidently dented more/lower than Ferdinand's pillow because everyone thought that Isabella was much smarter and had a "heavier brain." She also pointed out that the tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand were different than their daughter/son-in-law's because the artist who started the sculptures ended up dying before he could finish. Although the original artist was Italian, his work was more appreciated because it respected the tradition at that time. The second artist, however, received a lot of criticism for trying to add his own twist. I found it interesting that the second artist was actually Spanish, but had studied in Italy under a very famous artist whose name escapes me right now. Anyways, sorry for the rant on all the details, but I thought some of you might appreciate it.

The Cathedral in Granada was giant. Because it took over 250 years to build, many artists contributed to the various styles that made up the Cathedral, which was interesting. However, it wasn't as incredible as the other places we have seen, but it was nice to learn more about it.

As much as I learned and loved about the royal chapel, I was not nearly excited as you might expect before the visit. And as beautiful as the Cathedral was, I wasn't as completely floored as I had been with other cathedrals. Sure, maybe they weren't the most beautiful. But I think there is something more than that that dulled my interest.

I think it was the fact that these were the 5th and 6th buildings of this kind that we had visited. I think it was the fact that we had been in Spain for 3 weeks. In my opinion, the best way to avoid homesickness is distraction. Out of sight, out of mind right? After 2-3 weeks of visiting a new place, homesickness usually starts to set in. So what's happening before homesickness? For those first few glorious weeks of study abroad, similar to the honey moon stage of a relationship and/or marriage, you love it all! You take it in, and sometimes, you even get overwhelmed. But then you move on to the next stage. You see it's flaws, you long for what you don't have, and you get bored!

I'm not saying I don't love Spain anymore. I'm not saying I'm tired of it. I'm saying that I think that it is human nature to get used to things, and then get bored. You get less excited. You stop appreciating it.  You get calloused! Maybe it's just my Northeastern American culture; go go go. Something new, something now. Time is money. We are always looking for and trying to come up with the next best thing. I wonder if the reason I have come to love Spanish culture and history is because I've gotten bored with America's. Maybe it's because I'm really experiencing and learning Spanish history hands-on here. I wonder if everyone who lives in Granada and Seville and Ronda don't get tired of their beauty and history. Moral of the story: let's keep appreciating and admiring what we have, even when we've had it for a long time. Let's start seeking those little designs in seemingly insignificant places. Let's ask those questions with answers that amaze us. And above all, let's thank God for it.