Sierra Nevada

Many of the students in my study abroad program go to a local evangelical church. They told me about the church's youth group and all of the activities they do. The youth group has been a great way for me to meet people here. Last weekend I went sledding in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with the group.

The trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains has been one of the most fun things I've done so far in Spain. We all traveled together in a bus to a ski resort. When we got there we had the option of hiking to the sledding area (we were told it would take about an hour) or paying 2 euro for a bus ride. I went with the hiking group. There were 12 of us - five Americans, three Colombians, and four Germans. The hike took three hours instead of one but none of us were complaining because the views were absolutely incredible. It was also surprisingly warm. I was hiking in just a t-shirt and I was still hot. Along the way we ate our packed lunches and had many snowball fights.

We finally made it to the sledding area, rented sleds, and took turns going down the hill. It was a big hill. It wasn't very steep but it was really long. All of the sleds had break systems because by the time you were at the bottom of the hill you were traveling so fast that you could easily fly over the snow bank and into the parking lot.

We also attempted to hike down the mountain but we were only halfway down at the time we were supposed to meet the group at the bottom. We ended up catching a bus to take us the rest of the way.

I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to go to the mountains. It was an unbelievably beautiful place to visit.

Here's a link to more pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2179941&id=27218371&I=9d2bb

 

School and Volunteer Work

Just a quick note to tell you about the classes I'm taking and some of the activities I'm doing in my free time.

All of my classes are in Spanish with students from other European countries and from the U.S. I'm taking a class on society and politics in Spain and another class on the political system of the European Union. The professors of both classes are great, and I'm really enjoying learning about the political systems of other countries. I'm also taking a class on Latin American culture. To be honest, it's very boring. The professor is an old guy who likes to throw out random facts about the Aztecs and the Inca and isn't very good at putting the whole picture together. It's a shame because I think the class could be very interesting if it were taught differently. My other two classes focus on Spanish grammar, writing, speaking, and listening. I really like the speaking and listening class because it's a friendly group of students and we have a lot of fun joking around with the professor.

Once a week I volunteer at an elementary school. The school is trying to become bilingual (Spanish/English) and holds English classes for its teachers in the evening. There are about 8 teachers in the class I help with. They're beginners so I get to use a lot of Spanish while I'm there. They've been so welcoming and I can tell they're happy to have me there. Last week their homework was to write me recommendations on places to visit in Granada. Tonight they read them to me. It was cute because they took it very seriously and gave me detailed instructions on where to go, what time, how to get there, etc. One of the teachers cooked me a Spanish tortilla to share with my roommate for dinner. She is known for her good cooking and she is always the first one in class to come up to me to tell me something in English. The teachers have also invited me to a big lunch party next week to celebrate the region of Andalucía. I'm really looking forward to it. Another activity I'll hopefully be doing at the school (my class schedule permitting) is planting trees with the students as part of an ecology project they've been working on.

One of the teachers, Encarnita, asked me if I could tutor her in English. She just started working on a degree in English and wants some extra help outside of class. Originally she was going to pay me, but I suggested we do an exchange instead where we talk in English half of the time and Spanish for the other half. We've been doing that and it has been working out great. Since her level of English is very low, I get to use a lot of Spanish because she often needs things explained. We meet at her apartment where she lives with her mom. She puts out milk and cookies while we study and always asks a lot of questions about my family and the United States. I showed her pictures of my friends and family and she also shared photos of her family with me. It felt good to finally share those kinds of things with someone. My host mom hasn't really shown an interest, so Encarnita was the first person in Spain who I have talked about my family with. She's a very generous and caring person and I'm so glad to have a friendship with her. It's something I haven't been able to get out of my home stay experience, and something I was really needing. I'm also planning on helping one of her nephews study for the English portion of his college entrance exam.

Working at the school and with Encarnita has been great in so many ways, and it has really forced me to speak Spanish. When I go to the school, or when I go to Encarnita's apartment, I'm the only American there and nobody has a conversational level of English (except the English teacher of course). I love the feeling of independence I have gained by interacting with Spaniards on my own. Simple things like mailing a letter at the post office, calling Encarnita to reschedule a lesson, talking to the secretary at the school when I arrive...are all things I would have been nervous to do before, but now I do them automatically and without hesitation. There have been so many things I have had to ask for, buy, explain, etc. that the timidness has washed away. It's great to feel like I can handle taking care of anything I need to in another language. I know it's going to get even easier as time goes on and that's really exciting.

Córdoba

Courtney and I took a trip to Córdoba on our own. It was nice to get away from the city, see some countryside, and escape from the American scene that we always seem to get trapped into in Granada.

We bought our bus tickets online and were happy to discover that traveling by bus is easy and inexpensive. We got to the bus station with only 5 minutes to spare...our trip could have easily been over before it even began. Basically our commute to the bus station involved an urban bus strike, a very confusing taxi service, a bus ride after all, and almost not getting off at the right stop...I can't tell you how relieved I was to finally be on the bus to Córdoba.

We visited La Mezquita - a mosque built in the 8th century. The structure is a beautiful, elaborate mixture of Islamic and Catholic heritage. This tower was originally the mosque's minaret but was later turned into a bell tower.

Many of the arches and pillars were originally part of Roman and Visigoth buildings but were taken and used by the Moors to construct the mosque. There are more than 850 columns in La Mezquita.

The Mihrab is a small cutout in the wall that used to hold a copy of the Koran and was used for prayer.

La Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) is the main cathedral (there are many throughout the building). It was built right in the middle of the mosque during the reconquest.

Courtney and I also walked across La Puente Romana - a bridge built by the Romans over the Guadalquivir river.

We found a rope jungle gym and spent a good chunk of the afternoon climbing it and later just sitting in it reading a book. It was the biggest jungle gym I've ever seen - probably 20 feet tall. If I wrote my own guidebook the jungle gym would be second best to La Mezquita. 

Here's a link to more pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2179336&id=27218371&I=85499

La Alhambra, Albaicín, Sacromonte

My study abroad group visited La Alhambra (it's within walking distance from my house!). One of the professors from our school met us there and gave us a guided tour. He explained that La Alhambra is not a palace as it is often described, but is really a city in and of itself. Construction of La Alhambra began in the 13th century under the Nasrid dynasty. The Moors used light, water, and space in unique ways in order to create their own paradise on Earth.

This patio is one of the most well-known and impressive places within La Alhambra.

The Generalife served as a relaxing getaway place for the Nasrid royalty. It is full of beautiful gardens and fountains.

We also went on a tour of el Albaicín and Sacromonte. El Albaicín is an area of Granada with very narrow streets that are arranged in confusing patterns. For that reason, we've been told again and again to only go there with groups of three or more people because it can sometimes be dangerous. From el Albaicín you can see breathtaking views of La Alhambra and the city. There are many bars with patios where you can relax in the evening and take in the view of La Alhambra glowing in the night. Sacromonte is an adjacent area of town that is known for its caves and flamenco shows. The hill that it sits upon is covered with little white houses, almost looking like a Greek village. It also offers amazing views of the city.

Here's a link to more pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2178274&id=27218371&I=1b732

Life in Granada

After the tour of Toledo we headed to Granada to meet our host families. We arrived in the late evening and all of the families were already waiting at the meeting point. It was kind of a mess with 90 American students (each with their suitcases) crowding the sidewalk and about 45 families waiting to hear their name called to meet their students. It took awhile to get sorted out but my roommate, Courtney, and I finally met our host mom, Mari, and took a taxi to her apartment.

Mari showed us around the apartment, told us some of the rules, and welcomed us into her home. The apartment is on the top floor of the building (7th floor) and has a beautiful view of the neighborhood and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As soon as you leave the apartment building you're surrounded by stores, bars, and cafés. Courtney and I share a bedroom and there is one bathroom in the apartment. Courtney and I get along great and are really glad we were paired as roommates. This picture was taken from the terrace of the apartment.

There is a lot to adjust to when it comes to the living situation. Since Courtney and I are expected home for every meal, setting mealtimes takes a lot of planning with our host mom and doesn't allow for much spontaneity when it comes to going out with friends. She plans meals days in advance so canceling a meal or even adjusting the time can turn into a major deal. Luckily it's getting easier to communicate and to find solutions that work for all of us. Another difficulty is that Mari hasn't been in good health lately and sleeps most of the day. It's hard not to feel like an imposition when she talks about how much she is suffering.

Aside from those things, Mari is a fun person to be around. Courtney and I love watching TV game shows with her, and she always has advice for us on places to visit in Granada and in nearby towns. I still don't know a lot about Mari's life when she was younger, but I know she used to write news articles. She loves books and literature. The apartment is full of great books and she said we can read them anytime we want. I have really enjoyed talking about literature with her, and was excited to discover that we share the same favorite author.

To give you an idea of some of the things I've been adjusting to...

It's been cold and raining ever since we got here and there's no heat in the apartment. I can literally see my breath in the apartment. I always look forward to getting into bed to go to sleep because my bed has an electric heated blanket.

Almost everyone smokes and everything smells like smoke.

Laundry isn't an option right now because of the rain. Most people don't have dryers in their homes so everything is hung outside to dry. I will never again consider something dirty that has been worn only once.

Breakfast is toast and tea (always). Lunch is a giant meal served around 2:30pm. Mari has finally started serving me less food because I was making myself sick by trying to be kind and finish everything on my plate. The food is much different than what I'm used to...lots of meat and just hearty meals in general. There isn't really dessert here...just fruit. Courtney and I have already stocked our dresser drawers with junk food from the supermarket. Dinner is a smaller meal than lunch and is served around 10pm.

I wear house shoes. I take incredibly short showers. We use daylight to light the house, not lights. There's no internet at the apartment. Internet can be hard to come by. Military time. Celsius. All the stores close from about 2pm to 5pm. Meeting Spaniards my age is hard (they're in final exams right now). Inappropriate things can appear on the TV screen with absolutely no warning. I walk everywhere. The dogs can be scary. Last night an unleashed, muddy Great Dane nearly tackled me. Mopeds are everywhere...and I rode on the back of one!!

Some of the things I'm really enjoying...

walking all the time, mopeds, arabic shops, tea shops, chocolate crepes, mountains, beautiful graffiti, rebajas (big sales in January/February).

These pictures were taken on my walk to school.

My friends and I went shopping on a street by the Alhambra that has many Arabic shops. This guy let us play dress up for a long time and even joined in himself. It was a lot of fun.

Courtney and I went to the Granada Cathedral. It was very impressive.

We went to a small flamenco show at a café. It was great because it was a small show and we were able to talk with the performers and see the show up close. I plan to go to a lot of flamenco shows while I'm here.

I've been in Granada for a little over two weeks and classes still haven't started. So far we've just had Spanish language review classes for 3 hours each day to prepare us to take the placement exam. The review was really helpful because the professor taught us a lot of colloquial vocabulary and really had a talent for identifying the common mistakes that international students make when speaking Spanish. The class was very different than any other grammar class I've taken. The professor was also just a hilariously funny guy, which made the class fun to go to. I'm looking forward to starting my real classes tomorrow and getting into more of a routine here.

Once a week I will be volunteering at an elementary school. The school is trying to become bilingual (Spanish/English) and is conducting night classes for its teachers to learn English. I will be helping out with these classes and working with the teachers to find ways to integrate English into the classroom.

Speaking and understanding Spanish has been going well. Courtney and I are both in the advanced program and are able to communicate with our host mom, storeowners, waiters, etc. Even though we're able to communicate when we want/need to, hearing young people speak Spanish on the street reminds us how far we still have to go before we will really have mastered the language. Since we still don't have Spanish friends and we're always with Americans, we've been speaking a lot of English. We know it would be better to always speak in Spanish but it's really hard not to give into the temptation to speak English. I'm hoping Spanish will become the norm once we get more settled in and start to make friends here.

Here's a link to more pictures:  

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2177699&id=27218371&I=cd8ab

Madrid and Toledo

I finally made it to Madrid after about 30 hours of traveling. In Frankfurt there was too much fog to land so the plane flew to Cologne, Germany and waited on the ground for almost three hours for the fog to clear before returning to Frankfurt. By then I had missed my connecting flight to Madrid and had to reschedule it. When I arrived in Madrid my study abroad program had already stopped their airport pick-up service so I took a taxi to the hotel. I negotiated a price with the driver before leaving so that I wouldn't get ripped off. I was a little wary of taking a taxi but it turned out great since the ride quickly turned into a guided tour of Madrid. The driver pointed out all the important sites to me and told me about places I should visit while in Madrid. He was so eager to show me the city that when I asked how far La Plaza de Los Toros (the bullfighting ring) was from the city center, he said he would take me there free of charge. I was really lucky to find such a nice driver.

The hotel the group stayed at was very nice and it was only a short walk from La Plaza Mayor where many historic ceremonies, festivals, and even executions have taken place. The first night in Madrid we had a group dinner that included 10 different appetizer dishes to be shared among groups of about four people (these plates are called raciones). We didn't know what a lot of the food was, but had fun trying different things like squid and octopus. We went to many restaurants in Madrid. At times it was difficult to know what to order. For example, one night a couple of friends and I went out to eat and ordered some raciones, one of which turned out to be something very VERY different than what we expected. When the waiter brought it to us we all gave it a try. The others ate a piece but I couldn't bring myself to swallow it. We didn't learn what it was until a few days later. We were disgusted to discover that what we had ordered was a cow's stomach lining!! The food in the picture is called paella - a typical Spanish dish that tastes very good and does not involve stomach lining.

We visited El Museo del Prado where we saw paintings by Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, El Bosco and many other artists. The most impressive paintings to me were "El jardin de las delicias" by El Bosco and "Las meninas" by Velázquez. We also visited Parque del Retiro (Retiro park) - a popular place to go for a walk. It has beautiful pathways and a lake.

Another day we took a bus to El Escorial, the palace of King Felipe II. The drive was absolutely beautiful - lots of mountains and great architecture. El Escorial is very impressive. Besides having great architectural beauty, it contains many important artworks, a large library, and the tombs of nearly all of the Spanish monarchs.


In our free time, some friends and I visited Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. There I saw works by Dalí, Miró, and Picasso. The piece that I will always remember seeing is "Guernica" by Picasso. It is a very large painting that was inspired by the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War. As the museum brochure says "Guernica has become the universal icon, an accusation of every warlike catastrophe." The great size and intensity of the painting made it difficult to pull myself away. I could have stayed looking at it for hours.

El Palacio Real (Royal Palace) was another site we visited as a group. Many royal families have occupied the palace, but today it is only used for state functions. I enjoyed seeing the throne room that houses the King and Queen's red velvet and gold thrones. The Plaza de Armas was also a highlight - a large square by the main entrance that opens up to a great view of the city. The plaza connects the royal armory, the palace, and the cathedral.

After checking out of the hotel in Madrid we took a bus to Toledo - a city where Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived together peacefully for years before the Catholic reconquest. We toured many religious sites and saw how the different cultures each had a part in the formation of the city. We went to El Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes and La Iglesia de Santo Tomé, where we saw El Greco's painting, "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz." The central part of Toledo is surrounded by a river on three sides. From one viewpoint the city looks like a big island.

I had a great time on my tours of Madrid and Toledo and wish I could have spent more time exploring the museums and other sites. I can't get over how much history I'm continually surrounded by in Spain...it's everywhere! What's more, Spain is simply a beautiful place to be.

Here's a link to more pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176898&l=aabc8&id=27218371