Hello from Sevilla.  We were in Cordoba yesterday, where we made everyone hate us- there was even an epic shouting match with a French tour group over whether or not we should continue to have access to the statue of Maimonides.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonides)  TA Josh got stuck at the Cordoba train station watching all of our bags before we all returned from the city and traveled to Sevilla.  Compared to Madrid, Sevilla is Paradise.  Gorgeous Muslim-influenced architecture, tiny medieval streets (taking a taxi here is both thrilling and traumatizing), and friendly people.  Oh, and the food!  The dinner I had last night was delicious- a huge change after the greasy food and negative service in Madrid.  

While we waited for the check, my mouth and lips started to go numb and then to burn.  I thought that maybe I had not applied enough chapstick and that was why.  Then my face started to go red, and I thought perhaps the wine was hitting me harder than I thought.  I felt my skin get hotter and hotter, and then finally I asked someone if my face was red.  Sammy said, "You look like you have a sunburn!" but we hadn't been in the sun much at all that day and I always had worn sunscreen.

On our way back, I started to feel itchy and my head was pounding.  I had only had a glass of sangria and a lot of water, so I couldn't figure out what was going on.  Then we got to the hostel, where people started to remark on my redness.  I removed my jacket and was shocked to see that my arms were red and blotchy!  Drew gave me Benadryl and Sammy made me tell Maria, the TA, and Maria and Katie and I hung out in my and Katie's room to wait for the Benadryl to work.  Meanwhile, my headache was worse, I was alternating between freezing and burning, and the rash was spreading.  When the rash continued to spread and to get redder and redder- by this point, it covered my shoulders, my head, and my neck- Maria, Katie (who is an EMT) and I decided the hospital might be the best option.  (It was more their idea than mine, since I decided it wasn't such a big deal, really.  I am a moron and was nearly a casualty of my own medical machismo.)  Maria and I got in a cab and went down to the hospital.  Rash status: splotches on my chest and some on my lower back.  Trouble breathing.  I am pretty sure the Benadryl started to work when we hit the hospital, because breathing wasn't a problem again and I got really loopy.

Let me just say this:  Everyone against socialized medicine tells me that it takes forever to be seen, the quality of care is lower than our standards, and that it is really a terrible idea.  I left for the hospital around 11:30, arrived at 11:45, was originally considered a level 2 issue, and was quickly elevated to level 1 (I was BRIGHT red, shaking, and obviously not all right, even though I was cracking jokes and, as everyone told me this morning, "being a trooper").  Once we convinced the doctor I did NOT have a sunburn- Maria assured her I was "white as paper" two hours before- she called in another medico, and, later yet another, more senior one I decided was Spain's answer to House.  They poked and prodded as per usual, but they didn't ask if I smoked or if I might be pregnant, which is standard in my ER experiences.  They also touched the rash which HURT.  They decided to give me an injection of cortisol and something for the itching and pain and keep me in the ER for 30 minutes.  t was decided that I probably reacted to something I ate, not the dogs who live in our hostel- either the tuna, mushrooms, bread, or sangria that made up my dinner.  (Benny, our professor, says "Over my dead body you will have mushrooms again!") We waited about 45 and then went back.  While we waited, several other patients made a point of telling me my color was much better now and I looked a lot better.  This sort of amuses me because I didn't realize they saw me when I came in and because I initially reacted poorly to the cortisol shot.  It HURT, they used the biggest needle I had ever seen, and I cried, but the first doctor held my hand and soothed me in Spanish.  I was trembling from panic and steroids, but it did help.  After that, we caught a cab and went home, arriving around 2:30.

Do you seen what I left out here?  It was totally free, since it's paid for by taxes, because Spain believes its travelers also have a right to medical care.  I'll spare you the sermon.   That said, since I don't pay taxes here, I am probably going to pick up some souvenir type stuff- I am not sure what else to do to repay Spain!

Today we went to the Juderia- the old Jewish quarter- and then the Catedral, one of the largest- if not THE largest- church in Europe.  I will be posting poor-quality photos of those places and of Cordoba later, but for now, I am going to share my laptop.