End of the semester

My time in Granada is coming to an end. It will be sad to leave Granada and the friends I've made here, but I'm excited for the adventures I still have ahead of me. My old college roommate, Rachael, is coming to Granada on Wednesday. We're going to spend a couple of days here before heading off on a trip through eastern and northern Spain. We'll be going to Valencia, San Sebastián, Bilbao and Barcelona. I'm so excited to see Rachael and to have the opportunity to travel some more before coming home on June 2. I'll see you soon!

A walk through Granada

Courtney and I went on a walk through the Albaicín with our friend Camel. Camel is from Egypt and he knows a lot about the Arabic history of Granada. We spent the afternoon walking around and learning about the history that we're surrounded by everyday but aren't usually aware of. It was a great time.

Here's a link to more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2197974&id=27218371&l=1047977323

Parque de las Ciencias

Courtney and I went to an interactive science museum in Granada. We saw exhibits about light and sound, Antarctica, the human body, butterflies, and venomous animals. We also went to the top of a tower to get a better view of the city and the sierra mountains.

Here's a link to more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2197973&id=27218371&l=7cc8e9b908

Nerja

My study abroad program took everyone to a popular beach town called Nerja. It was a rainy day so instead of heading straight to the beach we stopped at the caves of Nerja. The caves of Nerja are the third most visited place in Spain after el Museo del Prado and the Alhambra. They were discovered in 1959. The caves are SO big and covered in stalagmites and stalactites. These pictures really don't do it justice.

After visiting the caves we went to the beach. We goofed around for about an hour and then had a big group lunch, paid for by our program.

The lunch was course after course of seafood. I'm not a big seafood fan, but I think this experience changed my mind. It was delicious. I don't think I've ever been so full in my life.

After lunch we walked around the town. Here are some pictures from the walk.

Nerja was absolutely beautiful, even on a rainy day. I had a really nice time.

Here's a link to more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196748&id=27218371&l=e6bbda7091

FC Barça, Día de la Cruz, Víznar y Alfacar

Courtney and I have been watching a lot of soccer this semester. We've been Barcelona fans from the very beginning and have had so much fun watching them rise to the top of every league they're in. Soccer is a big deal over here and I'll miss the atmosphere of watching soccer in a bar packed full of fans. Courtney and I have watched most of the games at an Irish pub in Granada. We usually watch them with our Egyptian friend named Camel. Yes, his name really is Camel!

Here's Courtney and I at a restaurant with our Barcelona socks celebrating the victory over Madrid, 6-2! 

This is a picture of one of the crosses that was decorated for el Día de la Cruz. The holiday commemorates Santa Elena's discovery of the cross of Jesus' crucifixion, however the celebration has lost much of its religious significance. On el Día de la Cruz there are many cross displays like this one and women and girls dress in traditional flamenco dresses. People used to spend the day walking from cross to cross drinking alcohol, but it has since been prohibited. Nowadays the celebration is more subdued.

My Spanish politics class took a field trip to learn more about Spain's law of historical memory. The law calls for an investigation into historical events in order to better understand what happened in Spain's past. The law is largely aimed at uncovering information about events that occurred under Franco's regime. The purpose of the law is not to bring retribution against those who committed crimes, but rather to find out information that will provide a better understanding of a time when much was kept hidden.

We took a bus to the nearby town of Víznar to visit a site where thousands were executed during the Spanish Civil War. García Lorca was among those who were executed there. It is estimated that there are more than 1,000 bodies under the piece of land. Our professor was very knowledgeable about the site and shared with us what he learned from conversations he's had with people from Víznar who were there during the war. It's not easy to get people from Víznar to discuss what happened. Many would like to forget. The whole experience was very interesting and moving. It is one of my most memorable experiences in Spain. There's a lot more I could share about this experience. If you're interested in knowing more please tell me and I will be happy to share more with you.

A group picture on our walk from Víznar to Alfacar.

This is the tree where many of the locals believe García Lorca was killed. It is located halfway between the prison outside of Alfacar and the execution ground outside of Víznar.

In Alfacar there is a park dedicated to García Lorca. It's a beautiful courtyard that displays plaques with passages from García Lorca's writing.

Alfacar is known for its delicious bread and after our long walk we were ready for some lunch. The road signs even pointed us toward the bread.

This man was really cute. He explained that he's baked bread his whole life just like his father and his grandfather. He was so friendly and happy to talk to us.

Here's a link to more pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196748&id=27218371&l=e6bbda7091

Birthday, Flamenco and Hiking

Last week I turned 22! I had a nice day full of lots of good wishes from friends and family. Since my birthday was on a Monday I had class, but spent the rest of the day shopping, walking around the city with friends, and having a birthday dinner at a Mexican restaurant. 

I went back to García Lorca's house to tour the inside (Huerta de San Vicente). They didn't allow photography so I'll just have to tell you about what I learned and saw. The García Lorca family used la Huerta de San Vicente as a summer house from 1926-1936. It was in this house that García Lorca wrote some of his most famous works, such as Así que pasen cinco años, Bodas de sangre, Yerma, and Diván del Tamarit. García Lorca was arrested and executed in 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, in a small town outside of Granada. He lived in this house the days right before he was killed. In 1933, García Lorca wrote:

"Then we can spend all summer together, as I must work hard and it is there, in my Huerta de San Vicente, where I can write my plays with the greatest serenity."

The house is now a museum that runs various programs, activities, presentations, lectures, readings, etc. throughout the year. The house is open for public tours. I toured the entry hall, piano room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom of García Lorca. All of the furniture, decorations, utensils, etc. are the originals. To me, the most impressive and humbling part of the house to see was García Lorca's desk. Having read some of his works, it was cool to see where García Lorca wrote them and to be in the environment where he felt most at ease and inspired. In the house there was artwork by Dalí and other well-known artists, as well as correspondence between García Lorca and his contemporaries. It was neat to see his handwritten letters, and to see photographs of García Lorca in the house. I'm really glad I got to experience this.

My study abroad program took us to a flamenco show in Sacromonte. We walked up to Sacromonte to see the show right as the sun was starting to go down and the Alhambra looked beautiful.

Here are some of my friends and I waiting for the show to start.

Seeing a flamenco show in a cave was neat because the atmosphere was fun and the dancers were just inches away from the audience. We had to tuck our feet under our chairs so we wouldn't get stomped on. There were some close calls!

Some friends and I went back to Guejar Sierra to do another hike. It's such a pretty area that we wanted to see it again before leaving. Our goal was to make it to this one ridge in order to see what was on the other side. We ended up losing the trail like we did last time, and spent a long time forging our own trail. We didn't make it to the top, but were happy to have made it as far as we did.

Here's Courtney doing a bit of rock climbing in search of a trail.

This picture is a good example of what we were hiking on. It was easy to think something was a trail when it wasn't because sometimes the vegetation lined up perfectly, leaving a dirt path in between. A lot of the shrubs were prickly and we all had bloody legs by the end of the hike.

As we were coming down the mountain we stopped to take pictures on this rock that jets out over a big cliff. As I sat down on the rock, a large piece of it came off in my hand. The rest of the rock felt pretty sturdy, but that piece coming off was not very reassuring. We got the pictures quickly and headed down to town to have paella.

Here's a link to more pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2194841&id=27218371&l=8fd816041f