I found a place in Spain that's perfect for me - a place where everyone speaks English!
Over the weekend, I visited a little country in Spain called Gibraltar. I had no idea that Britain had its own country in Spain.
The territory is built on and around The Rock, a 1,396-foot mountain rising out of the Mediterranean Sea. This is one sought-after rock, and for a giant hunk of limestone, its history isn't too shabby.
Neanderthals occupied it first, and later Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans arrived. Next came the Moors from Africa, and in 1462, Spain conquered the territory. Finally, in 1704, England was enticed by the rock and captured it from Spain.
As you can imagine, the Spanish government is still not completely satisfied with this outcome. But for now, Gibraltar lives on with its delicious fish 'n chips that can be ordered in English and paid for in Gibraltar pounds.
Being an exotic location, Gibraltar is a hot spot for famous British weddings. John Lennon and Sean Connery got married here, but not to each other, as my tour guide pointed out.
The area is most well known, however, for the 300 monkeys that inhabit the nature preserve on the top half of the mountain. I got to feed a mother ape and her tiny baby.
All the monkeys seemed very personable to me, but they have been known to cause mischief from time to time.
Sometimes, the monkeys wander down the mountain to the expensive houses and apartments overlooking the sea. There are gorgeous views from these houses. On clear days, like the day I was there, the coast of Africa is visible.
But the monkeys aren't interested in the views; instead, they come searching for open windows and something tasty to eat. After being fed a couple hundred peanuts by tourists everyday, I would be doing the same.
When the homeowners come back to their fancy house and find a monkey siesta-ing on their couch, they usually react by screaming. This, unfortunately, startles the monkey and often causes it to attack them!
A funny story, but perhaps not so amusing to be assaulted by a monkey. I guess I don't want to find out.
-Merete Kenworthy is a sophomore studying journalism and writes from Granada, Spain. Send her an e-mail at mk369507@ohiou.edu.
3 Culture
Merete Kenworthy
