Hola! My life has been pretty non-blog-worthy since I returned from Rome. I had class Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week....we skipped Monday for Rome. It ended up working out really nicely though, since 2 of my 3 classes got canceled on Monday! Here's another thing that's different about life in Spain--if a professor misses a class, the whole class has to make it up! We spent a solid 15 minutes in my art history class trying to find a day when we could have an extra 90 minute class since our professor was sick on Monday...this doesn't really happen at the College of Charleston! However, I am still liking my classes, and I think I'm learning a lot! I've even had some homework to do...I sometimes forget that I'm actually a student here! I've also met some cool people in my classes. There are American students in our classes who are studying in Granada through other programs, so it has been fun to meet new people and make new friends! This week went by really fast...before I knew it, I was sitting in my last class on Thursday! I think that time is about to start really flying since our traveling has started. The weeks here are very relaxing...Spainards are all about no stress and lots of sleep. I am not having a hard time getting used to this part of Spanish culture!!
Today was a great day off school. I got up and met Claire and we ran some errands--yay for being productive on our free days! We ended our errands with churros con chocolate, which is a good end to anything really. I also went to a Spanish cooking class that was led by my program! Maybe when I get home I'll be able to share some of my skills with everyone :)
We are off of school on Monday because it is the Dia de Andalucia. Andalucia is the region of Spain where Granada is located, and the Dia de Andalucia is basically the day that Andalucia decided to be its own province. Since we have a long weekend, I'm going to Seville with my friends Claire, Haley, and Sarah. Seville is a town much like Granada, about 3 hours away. Seville is a pretty popular study abroad location, and it is one that I looked at during my search. It has beautiful orange trees, much like Granada, and is known for cathedrals and other beautiful scenery. We're getting on a train at about 11:30 (I super love trains) and then heading to our hostel...I'm kind of excited for my first encounter with a European hostel! It should be fun. We will return Monday early evening, in time for dinner and homework...and sleep, because I'm sure we will be tired! Whenever we leave town, Nati packs us super cute lunches...two sandwiches (HUGE baguettes with turkey), fruit, dessert, and drinks! Alejandra, Allison, and I get so excited when she comes over with our little baggies of treats for our trips :)
Well I'm off to pack and sleep! Have a good weekend everyone, can't wait to update about my weekend! Love and miss you all!!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
When in Rome...
When in Rome...you get to use the phrase 'When in Rome' a lot. And I mean a LOT. Here are some more things to do 'when in Rome':
-Eat a lot. Pizza, pasta, lasagna, calzones, gelato, gelato, gelato, gelato. How can you not??
-BEWARE of crazy drivers, they will not stop for pedestrians. In fact, they will speed up. I still can't believe we all came home alive.
-Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain--it will ensure that you return to Rome!
-People watch and check out all the different languages. Rome is a HUGE tourist destination.
-And SO much more!
Ok, so needless to say I had an absolutely amazing weekend in Rome. We left Friday morning at 10:00 and took a 90 minute bus ride to Malaga. Granada has its own airport, but it's very hard to get many places from the Granada airport. Because of this, much of the flying I will be doing this semester will require a bus ride to Malaga, a more major airport. The flight from Malaga took about 3 hours. We landed in Rome and got on a bus to head into the city. As is the case in many European cities, the airport isn't really that close to the actual city...it took us about 30 minutes by bus to get to our hotel. After checking in at the hotel, we immediately started the hunt for the amazing Italian food we had been hearing so much about! We found an amazing little place where we ate outside. I ordered Carbonara pasta, which was unbelievable. We walked around the city after that, hitting the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon, which were both lit up so nicely! Saturday, our program had coordinated a panoramic bus tour of the city. We had an awesome tour guide who told us all about the sites in Rome. We stopped first at the Colosseum, which is simply amazing. Although half of it was destroyed by an earthquake, the part left standing is super cool. It is crazy how OLD it is! Thinking about all the history that took place in the Colosseum and the surrounding areas (the Roman Forum, Circus Maximus, and a bunch of other Roman ruins are around the Colosseum) will truly blow your mind. The next stop included a couple churches-one being the breathtaking St. John's, the oldest church in Rome. The other church was much smaller but included steps walked on by Jesus and a piece of the cross of crucifixion. The churches in Europe are so stunning. While on the bus, we saw the balcony where Mussolini gave his speeches, the palace where Napoleon's mom lived (that's right, he was actually Italian!), and the Roman City Hall (this was really impressive!). Our third and final stop on the bus tour was at the Vatican. After our tour guide had finished his information, we stopped at a pizzeria to grab pizza (delicious, of course) and decided to go inside the Vatican. We first entered the Vatican Museum, full of sculpture, tapestries, and amazing artwork. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful as well. There was so much to see in this country! We finished up at the museum and went to St. Peter's Basilica, which may have been my favorite church. There was even a mass going on while we were there! After a long day of touring, we went back to the hotel to rest and then went to get dinner...more pizza this time! We befriended a couple, Jessika and Thomas, from Ireland. They were super nice and it was cool to meet somebody from a different country!
Sunday, we slept in a little bit and headed out for more sight-seeing. We first hit the Spanish steps, which offer a unique and beautiful view of the city of Rome. From the steps, we headed back to the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. The Trevi Fountain is such a cool thing--so much water and stone! I could have sat on the steps for hours and watched it. We also went back to the Colosseum for a bit and stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe--there are some things you can't miss in any city! We ate our last meal at an extra-tasty pizza place that I would recommend to anybody! I had a calzone, and I really think I could have eaten about four of them. This morning, we left the hotel at 7:15 AM (kill me) to come back home to Granada. We were all glad to be back in our own places with our own beds...I am sure we will all sleep very well tonight!
I really cannot express how much I enjoyed my time in Rome. It was surprising how much English was spoken...I think nearly every Italian person I talked to could speak English as well as I could! The food was incredible, and let me say again how addicted I am to gelato. I rounded out the weekend with 6 (count em, SIX) servings of gelato, including one at about nine this morning in the airport. Breakfast, anyone? I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Rome. The history is amazing, and I still can't believe that I saw some of this stuff! I think it is safe to say that I left a part of my soul in Rome...I only hope that I will be able to retrieve it some day.
Special shout-out this post to my Nana! Happy Birthday Nana :)
Love and miss you all! Besos :)
-Eat a lot. Pizza, pasta, lasagna, calzones, gelato, gelato, gelato, gelato. How can you not??
-BEWARE of crazy drivers, they will not stop for pedestrians. In fact, they will speed up. I still can't believe we all came home alive.
-Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain--it will ensure that you return to Rome!
-People watch and check out all the different languages. Rome is a HUGE tourist destination.
-And SO much more!
Ok, so needless to say I had an absolutely amazing weekend in Rome. We left Friday morning at 10:00 and took a 90 minute bus ride to Malaga. Granada has its own airport, but it's very hard to get many places from the Granada airport. Because of this, much of the flying I will be doing this semester will require a bus ride to Malaga, a more major airport. The flight from Malaga took about 3 hours. We landed in Rome and got on a bus to head into the city. As is the case in many European cities, the airport isn't really that close to the actual city...it took us about 30 minutes by bus to get to our hotel. After checking in at the hotel, we immediately started the hunt for the amazing Italian food we had been hearing so much about! We found an amazing little place where we ate outside. I ordered Carbonara pasta, which was unbelievable. We walked around the city after that, hitting the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon, which were both lit up so nicely! Saturday, our program had coordinated a panoramic bus tour of the city. We had an awesome tour guide who told us all about the sites in Rome. We stopped first at the Colosseum, which is simply amazing. Although half of it was destroyed by an earthquake, the part left standing is super cool. It is crazy how OLD it is! Thinking about all the history that took place in the Colosseum and the surrounding areas (the Roman Forum, Circus Maximus, and a bunch of other Roman ruins are around the Colosseum) will truly blow your mind. The next stop included a couple churches-one being the breathtaking St. John's, the oldest church in Rome. The other church was much smaller but included steps walked on by Jesus and a piece of the cross of crucifixion. The churches in Europe are so stunning. While on the bus, we saw the balcony where Mussolini gave his speeches, the palace where Napoleon's mom lived (that's right, he was actually Italian!), and the Roman City Hall (this was really impressive!). Our third and final stop on the bus tour was at the Vatican. After our tour guide had finished his information, we stopped at a pizzeria to grab pizza (delicious, of course) and decided to go inside the Vatican. We first entered the Vatican Museum, full of sculpture, tapestries, and amazing artwork. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful as well. There was so much to see in this country! We finished up at the museum and went to St. Peter's Basilica, which may have been my favorite church. There was even a mass going on while we were there! After a long day of touring, we went back to the hotel to rest and then went to get dinner...more pizza this time! We befriended a couple, Jessika and Thomas, from Ireland. They were super nice and it was cool to meet somebody from a different country!
Sunday, we slept in a little bit and headed out for more sight-seeing. We first hit the Spanish steps, which offer a unique and beautiful view of the city of Rome. From the steps, we headed back to the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. The Trevi Fountain is such a cool thing--so much water and stone! I could have sat on the steps for hours and watched it. We also went back to the Colosseum for a bit and stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe--there are some things you can't miss in any city! We ate our last meal at an extra-tasty pizza place that I would recommend to anybody! I had a calzone, and I really think I could have eaten about four of them. This morning, we left the hotel at 7:15 AM (kill me) to come back home to Granada. We were all glad to be back in our own places with our own beds...I am sure we will all sleep very well tonight!
I really cannot express how much I enjoyed my time in Rome. It was surprising how much English was spoken...I think nearly every Italian person I talked to could speak English as well as I could! The food was incredible, and let me say again how addicted I am to gelato. I rounded out the weekend with 6 (count em, SIX) servings of gelato, including one at about nine this morning in the airport. Breakfast, anyone? I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Rome. The history is amazing, and I still can't believe that I saw some of this stuff! I think it is safe to say that I left a part of my soul in Rome...I only hope that I will be able to retrieve it some day.
Special shout-out this post to my Nana! Happy Birthday Nana :)
Love and miss you all! Besos :)
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| Carbonara pasta...nom nom nom |
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| Gelato number one... |
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| Gelato number two... |
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| Breakfast!! and BACON! |
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| The Vatican |
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| Colosseum! |
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| Lasagna, yummyyyyy |
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| Gelato number three.... |
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| Trevi Fountain |
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| Spanish steps |
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| Pantheon...this could be a Zara advertisement! |
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| Calzone |
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| Mussolini's Hangout |
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Dream On
Hello everybody! Sorry I have been slacking in the blogging department...during the week there's not really much to say! I have now finished my second week of classes. I am really enjoying them so much! I am learning all kinds of things that I don't think I would normally be able to learn. I can already tell that my Spanish is improving (though its nowhere near perfect...or even good!). I've also been finding the language barrier a little bit...well, funny this week. It's quite humorous the things that get mixed up in translation. For example, in my speaking and writing class, we each have to bring in a word once a week and share it with the class. This helps increase our vocabulary and helps us with speaking as well, since we have to define our word in Spanish (not nearly as easy as it sounds!). Anyways, yesterday my friend Alison brought in the word 'fustigar', which she thought meant 'to mix', like you would mix something you were cooking. Our profesora had a hilarious reaction to the word and explained to us that it meant 'to whip'....like, with a whip. The whole class laughed for literally ten minutes. Then today, we were discussing the weather with Nati, and Alejandra told her that its about 60 degrees in California (where Ale lives), and Nati freaked because that is so hot....because she's only used to Celsius! It's little things like this that make me chuckle a little bit and remind me of just how different it is over here!
Honestly, I feel like every single day I find something that's different, or I come up with another thing from America that I miss. I've been lucky enough to find some American things (mostly food, of course)--Chips Ahoy, Oreo's (crucial), Lay's potato chips, Diet Coke (or Coca-Cola Light, as they call it here), etc. etc. However, I also find tons of things every day that I miss...I would kill for a real hamburger! They have a Burger King here, but we've been warned to not eat their food...Spain has fewer regulations on their meat, so sometimes when they run out they substitute with...pigeon? Yeah, no thanks. I'll pass. I've also been craving a Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Chick-Fil-A but that's gonna have to wait until I'm back in America, too! Oh well, there are probably things here that I will miss when I return to America! Like the great amount of chocolate in this city! For now, I'm dealing with the culture shock, but I still find myself feeling a little homesick every day...but this is normal, I feel homesick for Alabama every day in Charleston!
So, here's the exciting news for this weekend...I'm going to ROME tomorrow!! AH! I'm so excited but it still hasn't hit me yet...and I have yet to start packing (of course, some things never change...). I can't believe that I will be in a totally new country tomorrow. Something tells me the language barrier is about to get even scarier! This is an excursion planned by my study abroad program, so flights and hotels are all taken care of--kind of a relief! We will arrive in Rome tomorrow evening around six thirty and return to Granada Monday at about three. I'll be without internet all weekend as it is very expensive at our hotel and I don't really want to worry about taking my computer with me on the plane! I promise to post an entry all about my adventures in Rome complete with lots of pictures of pizza and pasta and GELATO....oh and the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain and all that kind of stuff too!
I miss you all SO MUCH every day! Sorry this is a lame post with no pictures, I'll do better next time! We're headed out to the Irish pub for karaoke tonight, so I will be gracing Granada with my beautiful voice...yeah, right. I can't wait to sing my heart out!! Should be a fun time! Have a great weekend everybody!!
Besos :)
Honestly, I feel like every single day I find something that's different, or I come up with another thing from America that I miss. I've been lucky enough to find some American things (mostly food, of course)--Chips Ahoy, Oreo's (crucial), Lay's potato chips, Diet Coke (or Coca-Cola Light, as they call it here), etc. etc. However, I also find tons of things every day that I miss...I would kill for a real hamburger! They have a Burger King here, but we've been warned to not eat their food...Spain has fewer regulations on their meat, so sometimes when they run out they substitute with...pigeon? Yeah, no thanks. I'll pass. I've also been craving a Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Chick-Fil-A but that's gonna have to wait until I'm back in America, too! Oh well, there are probably things here that I will miss when I return to America! Like the great amount of chocolate in this city! For now, I'm dealing with the culture shock, but I still find myself feeling a little homesick every day...but this is normal, I feel homesick for Alabama every day in Charleston!
So, here's the exciting news for this weekend...I'm going to ROME tomorrow!! AH! I'm so excited but it still hasn't hit me yet...and I have yet to start packing (of course, some things never change...). I can't believe that I will be in a totally new country tomorrow. Something tells me the language barrier is about to get even scarier! This is an excursion planned by my study abroad program, so flights and hotels are all taken care of--kind of a relief! We will arrive in Rome tomorrow evening around six thirty and return to Granada Monday at about three. I'll be without internet all weekend as it is very expensive at our hotel and I don't really want to worry about taking my computer with me on the plane! I promise to post an entry all about my adventures in Rome complete with lots of pictures of pizza and pasta and GELATO....oh and the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain and all that kind of stuff too!
I miss you all SO MUCH every day! Sorry this is a lame post with no pictures, I'll do better next time! We're headed out to the Irish pub for karaoke tonight, so I will be gracing Granada with my beautiful voice...yeah, right. I can't wait to sing my heart out!! Should be a fun time! Have a great weekend everybody!!
Besos :)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Help me, Ronda
Hello everybody! The main focus of this post will be my exciting day trip yesterday, but we'll safe that for a minute! I finished up my first week of class here in Granada. Overall, I would say it went pretty well! I enjoy all of my teachers and my classes seem interesting and fun...and not too terribly difficult! Tuesday and Thursday I only have two classes (Spanish lit and Grammar) and am finished at one in the afternoon! This leaves a great amount of time for a little exploring (or...pastries) and lunch and siestas! Or something productive like exercising...but maybe not :) I have no classes on Friday, which I could definitely get used to! Although this Friday it wasn't super exciting as I had a stomach virus at the end of this week! After a few days of feeling pretty icky and bummed that Nati's amazing food was going to waste, I am happy to report that I'm back to feeling like my normal, (hungry...) self!
This weekend, my genius friend Alison from Michigan had the brilliant idea of doing a day trip! I loved the idea as soon as she mentioned it to me! There are several good day trip options around Granada, and most are easily accessible by bus or train. We decided to take the train to Ronda (no, I didn't misspell a Beach Boys song in my title), which is about 2.5 hours away by train. I left my apartment at 6:10 to catch a taxi to the train station, where I boarded a 7 AM train with six other girls. This early departure seemed like a good idea when we were making the plans, but obviously we were rather exhausted! We arrived in Ronda at about 9:30. The sun was shining and the weather was absolutely beautiful! Not a cloud in the sky. We walked out of the train station and realized....nobody had a map, we had no idea where in Ronda we were, and we didn't know how to get to anything we wanted to see! Definitely something that will only happen once! It actually wasn't that bad though, we followed some signs to the center of town and got a map! We stopped at a little cafe for, what else, pastries and some much-needed coffee. After munching for a bit, we ventured to the side of the mountain/cliff, where we saw the most gorgeous views ever. I think I could have stared off into that beautiful mountain range for days. Truly breath-taking. We took some pictures and then eventually moved on to find our way to some of the sights of the city.
First, we came upon a huge statue of a bull, which was outside the oldest bullfighting stadium in Spain! A man was standing by the bull statue, and he came up and started talking to us...in English! There were two other older men who would do this to us later on in the day...it seems that they were tour guides who knew English for their jobs. They were all super precious, and every single one of them told us the same thing--Did we know that Mrs. Obama had come to Ronda a couple years ago?? Seriously, they were kind of obsessed with her! Too funny. We then took a walk down to the Old Moorish King's House, a palace with a garden and water mine from the 14th century. The garden was beautiful and the water mine was very unique--we climbed down at least a billion scary and steep steps (in the dark) until we got to a body of water at the bottom! It was unlike anything I had ever seen...I cannot imagine the legs on the person who was assigned to carry the water up and down those crazy staircases everyday!! We were all hungry again (of course) after hanging out at the garden for a little bit, so we ducked into a cute little restaurant for some lunch. After eating and enjoying our especially cute Spanish waiter, we walked down some more steps to go to the Arab baths in Ronda. Again, a very enjoyable sight, especially in the fabulous weather! The baths offered beautiful views of the countryside as well as the town--I will never get tired of seeing a bunch of white house on a hill! We headed back toward town, stopping for some tinto de verano (my favorite drink in Spain by far) and a snack before catching our train back. We had a little bit of time to kill so we walked around a little bit and sat in a plaza near the train station. People kept stopping to talk to us...they were so friendly in Ronda! We left Ronda at about 5:30 and arrived back in Granada around 8...just in time for dinner! As you can imagine, I was beyond exhausted so I ate and just chilled for the rest of the night. Today I did a little homework (little being the key word...although I have kind of forgotten how to do school work!!) and did a little walking around the city. Since most things are closed on Sundays, it seems that Granada natives literally just walk around the city aimlessly! When the weather is nice, it's a custom that I don't mind!
Well, that's about all the exciting news for this update! I'll add some pictures below. I've been doing really well--I was feeling a little culture shocked this weekend though. It suddenly hit me how DIFFERENT everything here is! Not necessarily good or bad, just different. Even the simplest tasks require more effort and planning here. We don't know where to buy the simplest things, because there doesn't seem to be a Wal-Mart in Spain! The language barrier adds to this difficulty. When I was sick, I went to the pharmacy without knowing exactly how to tell the pharmacist what was wrong with me...stuff like this happens every day! I think I have officially ended what they call the 'honeymoon' period of study abroad and moved on to 'culture shock'. Adjusting to all the differences will take a little time, but I know it will be great after that. It's exciting and terrifying knowing that this will be my life for the next 3.5 months. There's even beauty in the scary part though. It's unbelievable that I get to have this experience, so even the hard parts are worth it :)
Special shoutout this post goes to my cousins Nicole and Abby, who turned 12 on Thursday! Happy Birthday, girls...I'll take you to Subway for a BLT when I see you in July (there's no bacon in Spain...I'll have a lot of catching up to do!!)
Love and miss you all so much!!
This weekend, my genius friend Alison from Michigan had the brilliant idea of doing a day trip! I loved the idea as soon as she mentioned it to me! There are several good day trip options around Granada, and most are easily accessible by bus or train. We decided to take the train to Ronda (no, I didn't misspell a Beach Boys song in my title), which is about 2.5 hours away by train. I left my apartment at 6:10 to catch a taxi to the train station, where I boarded a 7 AM train with six other girls. This early departure seemed like a good idea when we were making the plans, but obviously we were rather exhausted! We arrived in Ronda at about 9:30. The sun was shining and the weather was absolutely beautiful! Not a cloud in the sky. We walked out of the train station and realized....nobody had a map, we had no idea where in Ronda we were, and we didn't know how to get to anything we wanted to see! Definitely something that will only happen once! It actually wasn't that bad though, we followed some signs to the center of town and got a map! We stopped at a little cafe for, what else, pastries and some much-needed coffee. After munching for a bit, we ventured to the side of the mountain/cliff, where we saw the most gorgeous views ever. I think I could have stared off into that beautiful mountain range for days. Truly breath-taking. We took some pictures and then eventually moved on to find our way to some of the sights of the city.
First, we came upon a huge statue of a bull, which was outside the oldest bullfighting stadium in Spain! A man was standing by the bull statue, and he came up and started talking to us...in English! There were two other older men who would do this to us later on in the day...it seems that they were tour guides who knew English for their jobs. They were all super precious, and every single one of them told us the same thing--Did we know that Mrs. Obama had come to Ronda a couple years ago?? Seriously, they were kind of obsessed with her! Too funny. We then took a walk down to the Old Moorish King's House, a palace with a garden and water mine from the 14th century. The garden was beautiful and the water mine was very unique--we climbed down at least a billion scary and steep steps (in the dark) until we got to a body of water at the bottom! It was unlike anything I had ever seen...I cannot imagine the legs on the person who was assigned to carry the water up and down those crazy staircases everyday!! We were all hungry again (of course) after hanging out at the garden for a little bit, so we ducked into a cute little restaurant for some lunch. After eating and enjoying our especially cute Spanish waiter, we walked down some more steps to go to the Arab baths in Ronda. Again, a very enjoyable sight, especially in the fabulous weather! The baths offered beautiful views of the countryside as well as the town--I will never get tired of seeing a bunch of white house on a hill! We headed back toward town, stopping for some tinto de verano (my favorite drink in Spain by far) and a snack before catching our train back. We had a little bit of time to kill so we walked around a little bit and sat in a plaza near the train station. People kept stopping to talk to us...they were so friendly in Ronda! We left Ronda at about 5:30 and arrived back in Granada around 8...just in time for dinner! As you can imagine, I was beyond exhausted so I ate and just chilled for the rest of the night. Today I did a little homework (little being the key word...although I have kind of forgotten how to do school work!!) and did a little walking around the city. Since most things are closed on Sundays, it seems that Granada natives literally just walk around the city aimlessly! When the weather is nice, it's a custom that I don't mind!
Well, that's about all the exciting news for this update! I'll add some pictures below. I've been doing really well--I was feeling a little culture shocked this weekend though. It suddenly hit me how DIFFERENT everything here is! Not necessarily good or bad, just different. Even the simplest tasks require more effort and planning here. We don't know where to buy the simplest things, because there doesn't seem to be a Wal-Mart in Spain! The language barrier adds to this difficulty. When I was sick, I went to the pharmacy without knowing exactly how to tell the pharmacist what was wrong with me...stuff like this happens every day! I think I have officially ended what they call the 'honeymoon' period of study abroad and moved on to 'culture shock'. Adjusting to all the differences will take a little time, but I know it will be great after that. It's exciting and terrifying knowing that this will be my life for the next 3.5 months. There's even beauty in the scary part though. It's unbelievable that I get to have this experience, so even the hard parts are worth it :)
Special shoutout this post goes to my cousins Nicole and Abby, who turned 12 on Thursday! Happy Birthday, girls...I'll take you to Subway for a BLT when I see you in July (there's no bacon in Spain...I'll have a lot of catching up to do!!)
Love and miss you all so much!!
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| A little piece of South Carolina in Ronda |
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| Yes, we did stumble upon a random bird sanctuary...What's up peacocks? |
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| Solo shot with the beautiful scenery! |
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| The pictures don't do it justice. |
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| Bullfighting! |
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| Obsessed |
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| Keyhole nook in the King's Garden! |
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| Bottom of the longgggg climb to the water mine--worth it! |
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| Arab baths!! |
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Temporary Home
Hola! I just realized that it has been a week since my last entry...time really does fly! The end of last week was spent continuing to check out the city. We are finally at the point where we feel like we don't have to carry our maps with us everywhere, and we look less like tourists everyday! It has been kind of like starting freshman year all over again...new city, new people, new places to go, and a whole lot of uncertainty! This weekend we checked out a couple new tapas bars, and even picked out the one where we want to become regulars. It has delicious sangria and the best tapas we've found. It is called La Antigualla, and it's a medieval-themed bar that essentially serves you an entire meal with your drinks. We even got crab one night! We also went to one of the more popular discos in Granada, Granada Diez (Granada Ten, or even G10 for us Americans!). It's a pretty cool venue that I hope to visit again! Sunday was a day to relax and gear up for the start of classes on Monday. I was exhausted, and there's honestly not much to do around here on Sunday since everything is closed. You know how, in America, on Sundays you ALWAYS crave Chick-Fil-A but it's closed? Try that with everything!! Just another adjustment to make :) A definite highlight of Sunday was the Super Bowl. It didn't start until 12:30 AM here, and I hesitated to go out and watch it. I'm really glad I did, though! We met up at an Irish pub to watch the broadcast...which was on a British TV channel. So, I was sitting in an Irish pub, in Spain, watching American football, with British commentators and commercials. Quite the cultural moment! I came home at halftime (to be fair, it was 2 AM) since I had school the next day!
Monday morning came bright and early! I'm always a little nervous for the first day of school/classes, and this was no exception. However, I really enjoyed my three classes on Monday (History of Spanish Art, Spanish Speaking/Writing, and Islamic Culture in Spain). My professors were amazing and I think I'm going to be learning a lot! Today I had two classes, Spanish Grammar and Spanish Literature. My classes are all an hour and a half long (this is a huge struggle for me...that's a long time to sit still) and meet twice a week. I don't have class on Fridays, which is amazing! It will make it a lot easier to travel. Speaking of travel, I made plans for two more trips today! I booked a flight with my friend Claire to Barcelona for the last weekend of March. We'll fly out of Granada Thursday night after a week of midterms and return Sunday afternoon. We're already counting down the days! We also have a long weekend at the end of this month (no school Feb. 28th), and a bunch of us are going to hop on a bus and go to Seville. I'm running out of weekends for trips...it is amazing how quickly you can fill up four months!
Things here have been pretty great. I think I'm finally getting adjusted to the different aspects of Spanish culture. Now it seems normal (well...more normal) to eat lunch at 3 pm, hang dry my clothes, and watch the entire city shut down mid-afternoon. Today was the first day I took a real siesta and it felt fantastic. I also made my first purchase from Zara today...for those of you who haven't heard about it, it's like if Forever 21 and H&M combined. There are literally 3 stores on the same street in Granada! We have heard that all the sales end at the end of February, so we are buying the clothes we think we so desperately need! Hard to resist. Anyways, I am so glad to have started classes...does that statement make me lame? I'm loving having a routine and even a little (and I do mean little) amount of homework to do. The food has, of course, been amazing. Nati remains one of the most amazing cooks I have ever encountered. Today she made us homemade pizza again...and she also told us that I eat the "best". and by "best" she means "most"! Spainards get really concerned if you're not eating a whole lot! I've also had my share of pastries and churros...I'm trying to keep it in check, but every time I walk by a shop with yummy chocolately desserts in the window, it is so hard to resist!
Okay, well this post is getting a little long so I'll end with some pictures. I've been really terrible about taking pictures around Granada, but I promise to do a better job in the next few days! For now, here are some shots of my humble abode :) Love and miss you all so much!
Monday morning came bright and early! I'm always a little nervous for the first day of school/classes, and this was no exception. However, I really enjoyed my three classes on Monday (History of Spanish Art, Spanish Speaking/Writing, and Islamic Culture in Spain). My professors were amazing and I think I'm going to be learning a lot! Today I had two classes, Spanish Grammar and Spanish Literature. My classes are all an hour and a half long (this is a huge struggle for me...that's a long time to sit still) and meet twice a week. I don't have class on Fridays, which is amazing! It will make it a lot easier to travel. Speaking of travel, I made plans for two more trips today! I booked a flight with my friend Claire to Barcelona for the last weekend of March. We'll fly out of Granada Thursday night after a week of midterms and return Sunday afternoon. We're already counting down the days! We also have a long weekend at the end of this month (no school Feb. 28th), and a bunch of us are going to hop on a bus and go to Seville. I'm running out of weekends for trips...it is amazing how quickly you can fill up four months!
Things here have been pretty great. I think I'm finally getting adjusted to the different aspects of Spanish culture. Now it seems normal (well...more normal) to eat lunch at 3 pm, hang dry my clothes, and watch the entire city shut down mid-afternoon. Today was the first day I took a real siesta and it felt fantastic. I also made my first purchase from Zara today...for those of you who haven't heard about it, it's like if Forever 21 and H&M combined. There are literally 3 stores on the same street in Granada! We have heard that all the sales end at the end of February, so we are buying the clothes we think we so desperately need! Hard to resist. Anyways, I am so glad to have started classes...does that statement make me lame? I'm loving having a routine and even a little (and I do mean little) amount of homework to do. The food has, of course, been amazing. Nati remains one of the most amazing cooks I have ever encountered. Today she made us homemade pizza again...and she also told us that I eat the "best". and by "best" she means "most"! Spainards get really concerned if you're not eating a whole lot! I've also had my share of pastries and churros...I'm trying to keep it in check, but every time I walk by a shop with yummy chocolately desserts in the window, it is so hard to resist!
Okay, well this post is getting a little long so I'll end with some pictures. I've been really terrible about taking pictures around Granada, but I promise to do a better job in the next few days! For now, here are some shots of my humble abode :) Love and miss you all so much!
My room!
My room!
Kitchen/Laundry room
Where we eat all the delicious food!
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| Sitting area |
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| Centro de Lenguas Modernas-where one of my classes is held |
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| Centro de Lenguas Modernas-Kenya annex, where 4 of my classes are held |
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Enchanted
Hi everyone! I think I have seen a lot of Granada since I last posted. On Tuesday, our program took us to the Alhambra. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra). The Alhambra is probably the main 'tourist' attraction in Granada, and this is for good reason. It is a palace/fortress on top of a huge hill (it seems even bigger when you have to walk up it!) that was built in the 14th century by some Moorish rulers. This place is absolutely beautiful. There are several buildings as well as many outdoor components...fountains, gardens, and not to mention the most beautiful view of Granada. We were all in awe of this place! I cannot wait to go back...since most of it was outside, visiting the Alhambra will be even more enjoyable when the weather warms up. I can't imagine how colorful it will be when all the flowers are blooming! Most everything was dead since it has been so cold, but the orange trees (which Granada is known for) are still thriving! It was exciting to see the Alhambra, especially after all the amazing things I have heard about it! It is definitely a must-see for anyone in Spain.
Things have been pretty chill around here. Yesterday was a shopping day, mainly because all the stores are having massive sales right now. It is nearly impossible to walk by a store with a huge REBAJAS sign in the window! I've been pretty good though, I've only bought a pair of super-European boots and some house shoes. Everyone wears slippers of some kind in Spain, because walking around barefoot in a house is considered dirty and disrespectful. Now, the list of things I have seen that I want to buy....soooooo much longer. It will be tough to restrain myself. After all, I've got to get this all back to the states in a few months! And, of course, I've been eating....we discovered an amazing dessert place right next to the CLM. After going there for churros a couple days ago, we went back today and tried other items from the dessert menu. Needless to say, we may become regulars...dangerous. I also went to a really cool Middle Eastern tapas bar last night, where we were the only Americans and got to speak to some Spanish people, which was super cool. And I should mention, Nati really outdid herself tonight when she brought over home-made pizza made with home-made bread. It was delicious. At every meal, she puts a baguette on the table for us to eat, and even with the pizza this tradition continued. Carb loading, anyone?
Another exciting thing, I booked my Spring Break trip with a couple of friends today! We will be leaving on the 15th of April for Dublin, where we will stay until the 19th. On the 19th, we will go to Edinburugh to spend some time in Scotland. We will return to Granada on Thursday the 21st, which will give us a weekend to partake in the celebrations that go on here. The week of our Spring Break is the week around Easter, which is Semana Santa in Spain. Apparently there's some exciting stuff going on around here, so we didn't want to miss it all! I'm pumped to have some travel plans coming together....next I have to figure out when to go visit Colleen in London (check out her blog, http://www.colleencusick.blogspot.com/) and Hunter in Paris (check out his blog too, http://www.hunterbboone.blogspot.com/). I think the rest of my traveling will be within Spain...with the exception of Rome, where I will travel with my program in only a couple of weeks! Time is already flying!
A very small cultural thing today, but lately I have been noticing cell phone use in Spain. Or should I say, lack thereof. As students, we don't use our phones much...it's quite expensive and a little unreliable. However, I have noticed, in general, that Spanish people don't use their phones that often. Most people walking down the street are not talking on the phone. I've yet to see someone answer their phone in a store or a restaraunt. Not using mine as much as really made me stop and pay attention to the sights and sounds around me...something I hope to continue throughout this trip and even back in America!
Well, I think that's about it for now...I'll share my Alhambra pics below. Love and miss you all! And a special shout-out to my Aunt Carrie...Happy Birthday!! :)
Things have been pretty chill around here. Yesterday was a shopping day, mainly because all the stores are having massive sales right now. It is nearly impossible to walk by a store with a huge REBAJAS sign in the window! I've been pretty good though, I've only bought a pair of super-European boots and some house shoes. Everyone wears slippers of some kind in Spain, because walking around barefoot in a house is considered dirty and disrespectful. Now, the list of things I have seen that I want to buy....soooooo much longer. It will be tough to restrain myself. After all, I've got to get this all back to the states in a few months! And, of course, I've been eating....we discovered an amazing dessert place right next to the CLM. After going there for churros a couple days ago, we went back today and tried other items from the dessert menu. Needless to say, we may become regulars...dangerous. I also went to a really cool Middle Eastern tapas bar last night, where we were the only Americans and got to speak to some Spanish people, which was super cool. And I should mention, Nati really outdid herself tonight when she brought over home-made pizza made with home-made bread. It was delicious. At every meal, she puts a baguette on the table for us to eat, and even with the pizza this tradition continued. Carb loading, anyone?
Another exciting thing, I booked my Spring Break trip with a couple of friends today! We will be leaving on the 15th of April for Dublin, where we will stay until the 19th. On the 19th, we will go to Edinburugh to spend some time in Scotland. We will return to Granada on Thursday the 21st, which will give us a weekend to partake in the celebrations that go on here. The week of our Spring Break is the week around Easter, which is Semana Santa in Spain. Apparently there's some exciting stuff going on around here, so we didn't want to miss it all! I'm pumped to have some travel plans coming together....next I have to figure out when to go visit Colleen in London (check out her blog, http://www.colleencusick.blogspot.com/) and Hunter in Paris (check out his blog too, http://www.hunterbboone.blogspot.com/). I think the rest of my traveling will be within Spain...with the exception of Rome, where I will travel with my program in only a couple of weeks! Time is already flying!
A very small cultural thing today, but lately I have been noticing cell phone use in Spain. Or should I say, lack thereof. As students, we don't use our phones much...it's quite expensive and a little unreliable. However, I have noticed, in general, that Spanish people don't use their phones that often. Most people walking down the street are not talking on the phone. I've yet to see someone answer their phone in a store or a restaraunt. Not using mine as much as really made me stop and pay attention to the sights and sounds around me...something I hope to continue throughout this trip and even back in America!
Well, I think that's about it for now...I'll share my Alhambra pics below. Love and miss you all! And a special shout-out to my Aunt Carrie...Happy Birthday!! :)
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