Today marks the fourth week since I landed in Spain, and wow does it seem like my time is flying by here! I'm sure there will be enough going on in the following weeks that they will be gone in the blink of an eye too. As much as I miss some things back in the states, I wish time would slow down because I feel the end is coming too fast. My time here thus far has been amazing, which is probably why it is going so quickly. I’m afraid many friends and families may be losing their loved ones to Spain because I don’t think any of us want to come home. I love the city I am in and the people I am with and everything about this experience has been positive.
I thought I'd take this time to say a little about what I've been up to with the group here. I am here with a group of almost 50 students from 6 different universities in the Northwest (Gonzaga, Pacific Lutheran, Seattle U, University of Portland, Puget Sound and Willamette) and we are studying at the University of Granada's Center for Modern Languages (Centro de Lenguas Modernas, or CLM). This first month, we have been taking an intensive language class (Intensivo) at the CLM that we have with students from other programs all over the US, and even around the world (there is a girl from Poland in my class). Intensivo is every week day for 4 hours so it’s a lot of sitting in uncomfortable and small desks. For my class, some days seem especially long because our room is on the third floor and our air conditioner doesn’t work well, so when it’s between 90 and 100 degrees outside, our small room starts feeling like an oven. To top it off, there has been construction going on right outside our window for the majority of the time, so between the noise and unbearable heat, concentrating can be a bit difficult some days. Luckily, I like both of my professors and they are very understanding of how miserable we feel sometimes. The weather has finally started to cool down a bit this last week and it wasn’t as miserable and class actually went by fairly quickly.
Besides our language class, we are also taking a culture class with our program. This class involves not only classroom time, but also group excursions to sites and neighborhoods within Granada and nearby cities. We toured the Albaysin, which is the neighborhood where the city of Granada started, and went up to one of the most popular viewing points for looking at La Alhambra. We went to the city of Ronda and toured some of the popular sites there, including the bullring which one of the oldest in Spain. My favorite excursion was in the city of Cordoba where not only did we get to tour a beautiful mosque that was turned into a cathedral when the Catholics conquered the city, but we got to go to a re-creation of an Arab bathhouse, or hammam. The hammam consists of three main rooms: the hot room (which includes a sauna and hot tub), the warm room (which has a warm pool), and the cold room (which has cold pools). We spent a couple of hours moving between the 3 different rooms, drinking some of the best tea I have ever had, and enjoying a brief – but much appreciated – massage. We all left the hammams in a dazed and happy state.
Of course, we haven’t just been studying and going to school. I’ve been to the beach twice where I got to swim in the Mediterranean and laze around in the sun. And we have of course been checking out the discotecas and the Spanish nightlife, which is much different from what we’re all used to back home. Whereas parties back home are usually ending around 2, the parties here are just getting good then. Most of the times we have gone out, we have checked the time only to be shocked that it is 5 (or later) in the morning and somehow we are still functioning. One of the big nights for going out for all the students studying abroad is Wednesday night because it is Ladies’ Night at one of the discotecas and all us girls get in for free and there are free drinks before midnight. It’s pretty crazy, and we have all been joking that we are going to get back to States and when everyone else wants to go to bed, we’re going to be just getting to the peak of our night and not ready to come back down for a few more hours.
That is about all I can think of to say for now. Sorry I have not been very good about keeping this updated. I’m going to try to write a post at least weekly so just give a little update on how I am. Intensivo ends in a week and we have a break and I am going to Italy so I am super excited about that. I fly into Rome and am going to spend a few days there, and then I’m going to visit my friend Gwen, who is studying in Ferrara. After the break, actual classes will start and I will only have 3 more months, and between classes, going to Madrid, going to Barcelona for a soccer game, and my mom coming to visit, I’m going to be sitting on the plane back to Portland before I know it. Could everyone just come to Spain? I don’t want to go home.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Settling in
The program I am on officially started on August 28th and that was the day I was able to move in with my family. Like I said in the last post, I had sent a message to some people who were also in Granada a little early about meeting up for breakfast, but of course I got lost on the way there but then it didn't matter because I don't think anyone got my message. I wandered back to my hotel to get breakfast at the same place I had the day before, but it was closed so I went to another cafe up the street. After breakfast, I packed up my things so I could check out at noon. I had asked the hotel about keeping my stuff there for a little bit until I went to my family (they weren't expecting me until 2) and they had said that was fine, so I put my stuff in a back room and went to wander the streets and maybe buy a watch today. The problem was, it was Sunday and everything is closed on Sundays. I walked around a bit more, but since there wasn't much to do I went back to the hotel and did some things on my computer until it was time to take a taxi to my host family.
When I got to the building where the house was, I rang the bell and a woman answered and said she would let me up. When I got up to the door, the woman was waiting in the hallway for me and she showed me to my room so I could put my stuff down. She said her name was Sacramento but that I could call her Sacra. She gave me a tour of the house, and then said she would prepare lunch and I could unpack my things and settle in a bit. Later that afternoon, my roommate, Renee, showed up and I went and watched TV with Sacra and talked while Renee settled in and then joined us. Our day didn't have much more to besides dinner and chit chatting about basic information about ourselves, but I could tell that I was going to like it where I was.
As for Renee, every day we spend together I think that they couldn't have put me with anyone better. We have very similar outlooks on how we want to spend our time here (for example, we want to go out and experience the Spanish nightlife, but we do not want to party and drink every night like other people on our program and appreciate sleep and taking it easy every so often) and we get along really well. I've been having a lot of fun bonding with her over tapas, or churros and chocolate, the silly things Sacra says to us, and of course our new favorite TV show, Consentidos, which is a Spanish Disney show that is usually on when we are eating dinner. We actually don't really know what is going on because, like almost every meal, the TV is just on in the background and we usually spend the time talking instead of watching the TV, but every once in awhile we tune in and laugh about something that is going on.
When I got to the building where the house was, I rang the bell and a woman answered and said she would let me up. When I got up to the door, the woman was waiting in the hallway for me and she showed me to my room so I could put my stuff down. She said her name was Sacramento but that I could call her Sacra. She gave me a tour of the house, and then said she would prepare lunch and I could unpack my things and settle in a bit. Later that afternoon, my roommate, Renee, showed up and I went and watched TV with Sacra and talked while Renee settled in and then joined us. Our day didn't have much more to besides dinner and chit chatting about basic information about ourselves, but I could tell that I was going to like it where I was.
It turns out like might even be to small of a word for how I feel. I am having a great time here and my living situation is definitely helping make this a very positive experience. Sacra is great and loves talking to us and explaining things, or just going on about random topics. She is also very opinionated and is not afraid to share her thoughts on topics, which is very interesting. We've had fairly deep conversations (or as much of a conversation as Renee and I could provide between Spanish being a second language and our mom not letting us get much of a word in edgewise) about religion and the catholic church, gay marriage, and drunk driving, as well as many other topics. She's told us tidbits about living during the dictatorship of Franco and told us she will tell us more about that later, so I'm excited for that conversation. It is even more interesting to me because she is very liberal from what I thought a Spanish woman her age would be like, although I have not talked with other women before. I am thoroughly enjoying my time with her though, and she truly seems to be doing everything she can to make us feel at home and part of the family, including telling us that we are.
Our new family also includes a host dad and 2 older sisters, but we don't know them as well. Our host dad, Rafael or Rafa, works in another town that is kind of far away I think so he gets home pretty late and then I'm not sure if he is sleeping in the morning or if he also leaves early. I am not sure what he does but I am hoping to figure it out someday. I wish he was able to spend more time with us because he seems super sweet and always has an adorable smile on his face when I have seen him. Rafa and Sacra's daughters, Elena and Marta, are both in their 30s and no longer live at home, but they stop by to visit every once in awhile. Marta is married and has a 7 month old daughter, Paula, who is super cute. Watching Sacra interact with her granddaughter is another fun experience because she obviously adores that little girl.
As for Renee, every day we spend together I think that they couldn't have put me with anyone better. We have very similar outlooks on how we want to spend our time here (for example, we want to go out and experience the Spanish nightlife, but we do not want to party and drink every night like other people on our program and appreciate sleep and taking it easy every so often) and we get along really well. I've been having a lot of fun bonding with her over tapas, or churros and chocolate, the silly things Sacra says to us, and of course our new favorite TV show, Consentidos, which is a Spanish Disney show that is usually on when we are eating dinner. We actually don't really know what is going on because, like almost every meal, the TV is just on in the background and we usually spend the time talking instead of watching the TV, but every once in awhile we tune in and laugh about something that is going on.
I feel like I got really lucky with my homestay situation and can't wait to spend the next 4 months here. Granada itself is also amazing and I have been having a lot of fun getting to know it's personality as well as my family's, and seeing what the city has to offer. Life is more in the streets here than what I'm used to and many meals and times with friends are spent outside of the house (although Sacra has made us all but one meal). I think it would be rare for someone to go a whole day without leaving their house at least once because it seems like people are always going out for something and there are always people in the streets. It is interesting to walk around at a time that seems to me like a time a lot of people would be home relaxing after works and to see sidewalks abuzz with people. Perhaps it is the free tapas or the great ice cream that keeps everyone living out. Whatever it is, I am enjoying the life here and feel I have pretty much fully adjusted. I'm hoping the little cold I seem to have gotten is my body's last way of completely settling in.
Feel free to leave comments or send me emails if you have any questions about anything. I am truly having an amazing time and would be happy to share any part of it with anyone. I will work on more blog posts about school and other tidbits of life here, but it is hard to sit down in front of my computer sometimes when there is so much to be done elsewhere. I will do my best to keep though.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The first couple days
¡Hola de España! I have now been in Spain for a week and it seems like the time has flown by. I'm going to break the week up into 2 or 3 posts though because, as some of you well know, I am very good at writing a lot, and since I don't want to spend a whole day writing, I'll just do a bit at a time.
In order to get here, I flew from Portland to Newark, where I luckily missed hurricane Irene, and from Newark to Barcelona, where I spent the day because I had a 10 and half hour layover. In Barcelona - after struggling a bit figuring out the baggage lockers - I took a bus to the city center I went on a walking tour that my Lonely Planet travel book had in it. It took me down one of the main streets in Barcelona, La Rambla, which was filled with all sorts of interesting sights and sounds, such as men selling these things that you put in your mouth that allowed you to make a kazoo type noise, and street performers often painted from head to toe and acting like statues until someone paid them and took a picture with them in which case they would come to life. From there I walked through a market selling all sorts of meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, spices, and candy. I grabbed some lunch in the market and then continued with the rest of the walk, which took me by sights such as the cathedral, Roman ruins, and the Picasso Museum. Unfortunately I didn't go in any places because I didn't know how long it would take and I didn't want to miss my plane, but I figured that just gives me an excuse to go back to Barcelona.
When I finished with the tour, I decided to go back to the beginning and venture back down La Rambla all the way to the water where there was a monument of Cristopher Columbus. After taking a few pictures, I went back up and stopped at an outdoor cafe/bar to get some water and celebrate my arrival to Spain with a sangria. I sat and people watched until I finished my sangria, and then decided to go catch the bus back to the airport. Barcelona had been hot and I had not slept on the plane ride from Newark to Barcelona so I was exhausted and found myself falling asleep on the bus, and then in the airport while I was waiting by the gate. At one point I opened my eyes to find that everyone who had been sitting around me was gone and in line at the gate, so I quickly hopped up, gathered my things, and boarded the plane for my final destination: Granada!
I slept pretty much the etirety of the plane ride there and only woke up for the last few minutes. We landed to a beautiful sunset at Federico Garcia Lorca airport, and from there I took the bus to my hotel. I had to walk a bit from the bus stop to the hotel, but my walk turned out to be an even longer journey than expected because I missed it and walked 10 minutes too far. By the time I got checked in and in my room, I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. My shower was one of the best I've ever had, and when I was done with that, I went and called home, and then went back up to my room and passed out.
The next morning, I woke up half expecting it to be 5 in the morning and was surprised to see that it was 11. I got up and got ready and then went and got some breakfast at the cafe next door to my hotel. From there I decided to explore the streets of the city in which I would be spending the next four months of my life. I browsed for a watch while I wandered because I forgot to bring one and was using my camera to tell time since I was without my cell phone. I walked down many winding streets without really knowing where I was and just trying to absorb everything around me. I ended up coming across some signs that pointed toward some tourist attractions such as La Alhambra (Granada's most famous attraction and Spain's most visited site) so I decided to follow them just to check things out. I ended up in the park which surrounds La Alhambra and followed random paths to see where they would take me.
The park was gorgeous and sort of reminded me of home. The paths I took led me to a clearing and some sort of structure with a view overlooking the city and some of La Alhambra. I stood enjoying the view for a bit and then began wandering back down through the park and to the streets to get some lunch. I stopped at a restaurant and was happy to sit under some misters while eating my lunch. When I was finished, I decided to go back to a store I had seen that had watches I had liked, but I soon discovered almost everything was closed for siesta, so I went back to my hotel.
After checking my email, I saw I had a message from another girl on the same program as me who was also in Granada a day early and she had sent a mesage about possibly meeting up. I responded with some places and times, and then set out to find where I had said I would be. I stopped to watch a concert that was happening across the street from my hotel where a bunch of older people were gathered and dancing salsa. I then went to find the school we were going to be attending, el Centro de Lenguas Modenrnas (the Center for Modern Languages or CLM for short) and wander that area for a bit before going to the bar I told the other girl to meet me at. I got completely lost trying to find the CLM and was not able to navigate the streets I needed, even with the map I had. Finally, as I walked down a random road I had turned down, I came across a building with a sign that read "Centro de Lenguas Modernas" and was able to see the school I would be going to. I then went to find the bar I had said I would be at. Unfortunately, all I had was the address and I had not been able to locate the street it was on on the map so I got pretty lost again. After walking around for a long time and seemingly passing the same things over and over again, I was hungry and gave up and went to a restaurant to get dinner.
While in the restaurant, some sort of big procession walked by with a float with some religious figures on it. I had seen a crowd of people outside the cathedral when I had somehow ended up there while searching for the CLM, and then had seen people dressed up in some sort of costumes walking around the area and even entering the restaurant I was in. I tried asking the man next to me what was going on, but he just said it was a procession and I figured he didn't want to talk since all he told me was the obvious and didn't even say what the procession was for. I came across the procession again on my way back to the hotel and got an even better view of what it was. There looked to be priests or something in the front carrying candles, and then a big float like I said but I could now see that it was being carried by people who were all underneath it. A band was walking behind the float and playing songs, and then behind the band there was a crowd of people following the procession. The procession stopped for a bit and I took pictures until it started back up and then I watched it until it disappeared around the corner. I then wakled back to my hotel, again stopping across the street to watch some more of the concert and dancing that was still going on. Then I went back to my hotel and sent an email to the other girls who were in Granada a little early about meeting for breakfast in the morning before going to our host families, and I went to bed excited for the big day ahead of me; our program was officially starting and I was going to be meeting my host family.
That's all I will post for now. I will try to get this all updated as soon as possible and maybe post some pictures also. For now if you want to see pictures, check out the album I put up on Facebook. I will say that Granda is a wonderful city and I am loving it here. My host family is great, my roommate is great, and I think I am going to have a hard time leaving this place at the end. Adios for now with un abrazo y un beso.
In order to get here, I flew from Portland to Newark, where I luckily missed hurricane Irene, and from Newark to Barcelona, where I spent the day because I had a 10 and half hour layover. In Barcelona - after struggling a bit figuring out the baggage lockers - I took a bus to the city center I went on a walking tour that my Lonely Planet travel book had in it. It took me down one of the main streets in Barcelona, La Rambla, which was filled with all sorts of interesting sights and sounds, such as men selling these things that you put in your mouth that allowed you to make a kazoo type noise, and street performers often painted from head to toe and acting like statues until someone paid them and took a picture with them in which case they would come to life. From there I walked through a market selling all sorts of meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, spices, and candy. I grabbed some lunch in the market and then continued with the rest of the walk, which took me by sights such as the cathedral, Roman ruins, and the Picasso Museum. Unfortunately I didn't go in any places because I didn't know how long it would take and I didn't want to miss my plane, but I figured that just gives me an excuse to go back to Barcelona.
When I finished with the tour, I decided to go back to the beginning and venture back down La Rambla all the way to the water where there was a monument of Cristopher Columbus. After taking a few pictures, I went back up and stopped at an outdoor cafe/bar to get some water and celebrate my arrival to Spain with a sangria. I sat and people watched until I finished my sangria, and then decided to go catch the bus back to the airport. Barcelona had been hot and I had not slept on the plane ride from Newark to Barcelona so I was exhausted and found myself falling asleep on the bus, and then in the airport while I was waiting by the gate. At one point I opened my eyes to find that everyone who had been sitting around me was gone and in line at the gate, so I quickly hopped up, gathered my things, and boarded the plane for my final destination: Granada!
I slept pretty much the etirety of the plane ride there and only woke up for the last few minutes. We landed to a beautiful sunset at Federico Garcia Lorca airport, and from there I took the bus to my hotel. I had to walk a bit from the bus stop to the hotel, but my walk turned out to be an even longer journey than expected because I missed it and walked 10 minutes too far. By the time I got checked in and in my room, I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. My shower was one of the best I've ever had, and when I was done with that, I went and called home, and then went back up to my room and passed out.
The next morning, I woke up half expecting it to be 5 in the morning and was surprised to see that it was 11. I got up and got ready and then went and got some breakfast at the cafe next door to my hotel. From there I decided to explore the streets of the city in which I would be spending the next four months of my life. I browsed for a watch while I wandered because I forgot to bring one and was using my camera to tell time since I was without my cell phone. I walked down many winding streets without really knowing where I was and just trying to absorb everything around me. I ended up coming across some signs that pointed toward some tourist attractions such as La Alhambra (Granada's most famous attraction and Spain's most visited site) so I decided to follow them just to check things out. I ended up in the park which surrounds La Alhambra and followed random paths to see where they would take me.
The park was gorgeous and sort of reminded me of home. The paths I took led me to a clearing and some sort of structure with a view overlooking the city and some of La Alhambra. I stood enjoying the view for a bit and then began wandering back down through the park and to the streets to get some lunch. I stopped at a restaurant and was happy to sit under some misters while eating my lunch. When I was finished, I decided to go back to a store I had seen that had watches I had liked, but I soon discovered almost everything was closed for siesta, so I went back to my hotel.
After checking my email, I saw I had a message from another girl on the same program as me who was also in Granada a day early and she had sent a mesage about possibly meeting up. I responded with some places and times, and then set out to find where I had said I would be. I stopped to watch a concert that was happening across the street from my hotel where a bunch of older people were gathered and dancing salsa. I then went to find the school we were going to be attending, el Centro de Lenguas Modenrnas (the Center for Modern Languages or CLM for short) and wander that area for a bit before going to the bar I told the other girl to meet me at. I got completely lost trying to find the CLM and was not able to navigate the streets I needed, even with the map I had. Finally, as I walked down a random road I had turned down, I came across a building with a sign that read "Centro de Lenguas Modernas" and was able to see the school I would be going to. I then went to find the bar I had said I would be at. Unfortunately, all I had was the address and I had not been able to locate the street it was on on the map so I got pretty lost again. After walking around for a long time and seemingly passing the same things over and over again, I was hungry and gave up and went to a restaurant to get dinner.
While in the restaurant, some sort of big procession walked by with a float with some religious figures on it. I had seen a crowd of people outside the cathedral when I had somehow ended up there while searching for the CLM, and then had seen people dressed up in some sort of costumes walking around the area and even entering the restaurant I was in. I tried asking the man next to me what was going on, but he just said it was a procession and I figured he didn't want to talk since all he told me was the obvious and didn't even say what the procession was for. I came across the procession again on my way back to the hotel and got an even better view of what it was. There looked to be priests or something in the front carrying candles, and then a big float like I said but I could now see that it was being carried by people who were all underneath it. A band was walking behind the float and playing songs, and then behind the band there was a crowd of people following the procession. The procession stopped for a bit and I took pictures until it started back up and then I watched it until it disappeared around the corner. I then wakled back to my hotel, again stopping across the street to watch some more of the concert and dancing that was still going on. Then I went back to my hotel and sent an email to the other girls who were in Granada a little early about meeting for breakfast in the morning before going to our host families, and I went to bed excited for the big day ahead of me; our program was officially starting and I was going to be meeting my host family.
That's all I will post for now. I will try to get this all updated as soon as possible and maybe post some pictures also. For now if you want to see pictures, check out the album I put up on Facebook. I will say that Granda is a wonderful city and I am loving it here. My host family is great, my roommate is great, and I think I am going to have a hard time leaving this place at the end. Adios for now with un abrazo y un beso.
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