What a relief it was when Friday came and we didn't have class! After the Semana Santa and puente that I had it was hard to concentrate for obvious reasons:) There were of course a lot of stories to tell and pictures to share as I have already said. Thank you Facebook and CLM, you are two great instruments for us to update one another on our whereabouts and the changes of our lives. Despite the fact that it would be a rainy weekend in Granada, it would good to be back, good to be home. To have something to do to in the rain, we found the perfect opportunity to go to the movies. We saw the movie Battleship because our beloved Rihanna, singer, was playing in it. The movie and storyline wasn't what we expected but it was full of action and was of course in Spanish which will always increase the appeal.
As we leapt into April, everything seemed to be flying full-speed ahead. I believe it was about the feat week of April, during Semana Santa or just after the Portuguese Paradise was when I finally accepted, and I mean truly accepted the fact that I would be returning to the states. Obviously I would have to return because my return flight had been booked since before I even left for Spain. That didn't matter to me. (It wasn't until 2 weeks or so ago, at the end of April that I was even sure of when that return date was, simply because I refused to look. This also has a lot to do with my neglecting of posting my posts online on this blog! I've had part of my spring break blog post written for weeks now...but then that makes the passing of time so much more real. When I finally realized this week of May when my parents and aunt were visiting me, and that I have LOYAL followers, I realized the big mistake that was. So here I am, catching you up on everything you've missed [and everything I insist on never forgetting!] and I apologize for keeping my adventure secret for the month of April!)
As I was saying, not only were the weeks after the break of Semana Santa seeming like they were flying because of program activities but also because I felt like I had a lot on my plate. In addition to classes, program meetings, and assignments (for literature classes as well as an essay I wrote for a debate on humanitarian intervention, and more), English classes with my student Alberto, I had a lot to plan for the arrival of my family! The "easiest" or better said, most organized thing I knew to construct? A list, of course. If anyone knows me and sees my daily whereabouts they know that I live for constructing and reconstructing lists. This one took slightly a different form of a day by day tentative calendar. But BEFORE their arrival my program had scheduled many activities to keep my mind busy. For the weekend prior, on Friday I had scheduled a classical wind instrument concert after my hair appointment in Barrio Zaidin at Peluqueria Rachelle. This time I went by myself and felt the magnetic force of Avenida de Dilar where it is located. Such an amazing place to shop! So I know already that I'll have to trek my way over again to that area, y todavía tengo que recortar mi pelo. In the concert a program friend, Lyanne, would be playing with a group of university students. She plays the cielo and it was an amazing show! First their were solo artists playing the violins accompanied by a pianist. It was funny because the show was supposed to begin at 8 but because we are on a different time schedule here...Lyanne's set begin a lot later than expected and many of us were very late for dinner with our familias, pero no pasa nada. I had dinner waiting for me. This was also the night that Lyanne, Tayler, Megan, and I (&Colin for part of the way) tried to locate a typical Spanish pub...to no avail. Thanks to Google and the address I was given I brought us through the center, past the center, to the outskirts along the river. I hope I'll make my way to Granero some time soon because me queda poco tiempo..
The first spring break stop outside of the country was Lisboa, the capital of Portugal, one of my must-sees this semester. We had to catch an 11 hour bus ride from the Granada station to get there. The bus waiting for us to our surprise when we arrived early for our spring break chariot was not what we imagined at all. Sitting in the number 16 park space was not a luxurious, immense charter bus but instead an oddly shaped conjunction of a minivan an minibus. After 2 hours in our solemn but still comfortable ride through the sunset and eventual darkness, just AM, Fatima, myself, and another passenger, we stopped in a gas station. Unknown to us yet, we would be switching buses to the large, and luxurious one we had originally been hoping for. Unfortunately since it was already late we wouldn't be able to talk to people and make new Portguese/travel friends. With the change of scenery I was amped although we were in the midst of darkness. When we first arrived on the bus they were playing the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie in Portguese so although I wouldn't necessarily see this movie on my own will, I was obviously intrigued because of the language! And I was interested to see what I could pick up and decipher. The next movie to my surprise was a little more intense for obvious reasons in ratings, Little Man. And luckily for me in my lack of ability/desire to sleep it was played in English with Portguese subtitles, so I read instead of watched the entire duration of the movie. Later on I would find that this would prove extremely beneficial for us on our many adventures. I'll admit that beside booking our hostel at Jardim Santos in the historical center of town, I didn't do any other homework than that than I would have normally done. Por ejemplo, how to get from the bus station to virtually...anywhere else at 6am in the morning when we were to arrive. I wouldn't say we were lost or stranded BUT for a short amount of time it may have felt like it. The pieces of information that I did have with me..the address of our hostel and a picture taken from my phone of the map of the city. Unable to communicate..well, comprehend the lone bus station attendant with my broken and basic Portuguese with him spitting rapid fire responses, I had to find us some other options. I was able to locate the other passenger that had accompanied us on the two hour bus ride into Sevilla to change buses. She helped as much as she could because she didn't know the specific area of Lisboa too well. When we had one of our early morning bathroom stops, I got out to have some fresh air and in the entrance of the rest stop building had one of those awkward encounters with this younger guy about who would come out of the door first. Although it was a quick encounter I remembered that as we passed one another he said, "Sorry". In our time of need at the bus station this occurrence came to mind and I immediately went to search for this English-speaking boy. Turns out that Bruno, the first Bruno that we would meet on the trip, is Portuguese and knows his stuff. He recognized where we were headed. Even with his two suitcases he physically walked us inside of the train station and helped us find and buy the less than 2 euro train ticket. We had to wait an hour or so to catch this train but that was the least of our worries, besides the cold temperature inside of the station. Words can't describe the luck we found with finding Bruno #1! The stop of our train station, another lucky thing for us, was just a short taxi ride from our hostel. We made it, although a little worn out, in time for breakfast. Our room that felt like a large loft, comfy like no other hostel I've ever stayed in before, with a Mexican family currently living and studying in Spain. I sat and ate breakfast with them in the cozy kitchen chatting in Spanish about their family, myself, and all of our travels. It was a great way to turnaround the adventure in Lisboa. After breakfast I worked with a member of the hostel staff to book online/on telephone our bus tickets to Lagos the next day. If it weren't for her it would have been much more difficult to book the tickets through the Portguese website, although definitely not impossible. After a long nap we all accepted the fact that we needed to get out and enjoy the day, weather, and city! We spent hours walking, first following a map to find the 'yellow bus' route that climb up/down the city. I thought those were the tran vias at first, with the rails on the streets and cables in the air. . And then of course from historical site to the next beautiful view. By the time we made it to the central center we realized how late it was. This was the point again where I needed to use my basic knowledge of Portguese with my map to find out "Onde estamos agora?" in relation to our hostel. Another lucky quick taxi ride and we were back. Our task before that was to find a local supermarket to buy the food of our choice, pasta! We had limited time to cook, eat, shower, and get ready because when we got back to the hostel we started talking to two Spanish girls from Extremadura, Ines y Cristina, two great girls. One studies the English language and the other has a lot of knowledge of the Portuguese language after having studied in this neighboring country. They introduced us the Barrio Alto of Lisboa, known for it's nightlife. There we met other Portuguese crowds of people, many who spoke English too. In particular a Portuguese boy named Bruno (#2) studying to be a chef, with the most beautiful eyes and presence... :) I hope somehow to be able to meet up with them all again! The most beautiful part of Lagos was...everything. From the beach that we simply had to climb down a set of stairs to access, to our amazingly perfect (all around) tour guides, to the great breakfast in the hotel and other food options, the majestic views, all the way to the company I was able to surround myself with, new faces and old. The best way to describe the trip would be to go minute by minute/excursion by excursion but I won't bore you with all of those details:) We hardly slept the night before Lagos because of staying out all night with Ines and Christina. The bus to Lagos was only a four hour trip I was very exhausted from staying up the night before, which is not generally the way to start spring break vacation but we had no other choice and were not going to stop there! The only negative about the trip I would say is the lack of Spanish and the overuse of English. All of the tour guides that we had and fell in love with are required to speak over 4 different languages to work for the DiscoverSevilla program, and all currently reside in Sevilla, and therefore all speak the Spanish language (and Portugese!) extremely well. I'll include the schedule here too but most of the trip included beach trips, mini boat cruises, sand sports, sangria, sleep, sunsets, beach workouts, bus rides, long nights and early mornings. Definitely the relaxing/crazy/exciting combination of spring break that I was looking forward to. On Sunday after another relaxing day on the beach I came to the realization that I had fallen in love with another part of Europe and didn't want to leave. I almost considered booking one of the next rounds of the trips back to Lagos with the same group, DiscoverSevilla just because I felt like I was entitled to having another great weekend like that while abroad here since I wouldn't be doing any other major/out of country traveling in this chapter. We arrived in Granada after 1 AM and then had to walk home from the bus area. Feeling fairly alive in the darkness we made the 20 minute walk home dreading having to go to classes the next morning. I skipped my 1030 French class because I had plans to get a lot done the next day before my 2 other classes and championship game for the volleyball inter mural league. (We ended up losing BUT in 3 by 1 point or so! Unofficial rules/no rules essentially hahah but it was fun!) ------ Lagos, Portugal Trip • April 6th – 8thTrip Itinerary:*Lagos is one hour behind Spain and the itinerary below is listed in local time (Spain & Lagos). All times and locations are subject to change.Friday, April 6th06:00 AM – Please meet up with us on Meson Gregorio in front of Puente de los Basilios, Granada (Click on the link to see where on Google Maps)06:30 AM – Bus departs from Granada09:45 AM – Bus arrives in Sevilla at the Consulado de Portugal, which is located in front of the Jardines del Prado de San Sebastián on Avenida De El Cid, Sevilla(CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE)10:00 AM - Bus departs for Lagos-Portugal, please be on time, as we CANNOT WAIT FOR LATE ARRIVALS!**Sign up for the Optional Activities on the bus ride to Lagos**
12:30 PM - Arrive at Hotel in Lagos, check into rooms *Now in Portuguese Time*
1:00 PM - Meet in Hotel lobby for 1st Sangria Sailboat Cruises1:30 PM to 3:30 PM - 1st Sangria Sailboat Cruises + Grotto Tour 3:00 PM - Meet in Hotel lobby for 2nd Sangria Sailboat Cruise
3:30 PM to 5:30 PM - 2nd Sangria Sailboat Cruise + Grotto Tour **Free time after the Sailboat Cruises**
7:30 PM - Meet in Hotel lobby to walk down to the center of town for dinner recommendations. 11:00 PM - KICKOFF PARTY at Stevie Rays with DJ TOBY ONE!! (1 beer & 1 mix drink included).Saturday, April 7th08:00 AM to 10:00 AM - Breakfast (included)11:00 AM - Meet in Hotel lobby for Bus Ride to Ponta da Piedade to check out the Cliffs.** After the Cliffs we will be going straight to Meia Praia Beach, therefore you should bring everything you will need for the day at the beach including some extra cash for lunch & Watersports! (Optional)**12:00 PM to 4:20 PM - Beach Day at Meia Praia
4:30 PM - Bus picks everyone up at the drop off point in Meia Praia Car Park to depart back to Hotel. 6:00 PM - Meet in Hotel Lobby for Bus Excursion to Cabo Sao Vicente aka End of the World to watch Sunset!! Please be on time and come ready to go out (bring jacket in case it gets cold)
**After the sunset we will return to the Hotel and walk down to the Center of Town for dinner recommendations.**11:00 PM - DG Party round two!! Sunday, April 8th 08:00 AM to 10:00 AM – Breakfast (included)10:00 AM - Surfers & West coast beach-goers meet in hotel lobby and MUST check out and put luggage in hotel luggage room. 12:00 PM - People that don’t come surfing or to the beach on the west coast MUST check out and put luggage in hotel luggage room. 4:30 PM - Surfers arrive back to the Hotel from the beach. People that did not go to the surfing beach have to be in the lobby ready to leave at 5:00 PM5:30 PM - Bus departs from Portugal to Sevilla 9:30 PM - Bus arrives in Sevilla 9:45 PM - Bus departs from Sevilla to Granada 1:30 AM - Bus arrives in Granada at the same spot where we will pick you up on Friday ( Puente de los Basilios) **Bus from Granada:Price: 30€ for a private round trip bus from Granada, which will be paid upon boarding. A DiscoverGranada representative will be waiting for you at the meeting point. If you plan on meeting up with us in Sevilla, and catching the bus back to Granada from Portugal, then the price is 20€, which will be paid upon boarding the bus in Sevilla. Hotel Information: Praia Dona Ana, Apartado 338600-500 Lagos – Portugal
Tel. +351 828 762 026 In addition to the extensive knowledge I was able to quickly pick up during the playing of the American movies, DiscoverSevilla also provided us with this nifty little tool: Helpful Phrases in PortugueseYes / Sim No / Nao Hello / Olá How are you / Como estásGood day, Good afternoon, Good night / Bom dia, Boa tarde, Boa noitePlease / Se Faz Favor Thank you / Men say: Obrigado and Women say:Obrigada You’re welcome / De nada Excuse me / Desculpe Goodbye / TchauDo you speak English? / Falas Ingles? Where is the bathroom? Where is the hotel? Where is the beach? / Onde está a casa de banho? Onde está o hotel? Onde está a Praia?How much does it cost? / Quanto custa? The Bill Please / A conta se faz favor!Help! My pants are on fire! / Socorro! As Minhas calças pegaram fogo!
(Thank you for not eating me alive for the lack of blog activity, followers.) Date changed to reflect proper timing in Spain:)
A lot of stories are being exchanged within the last 2 weeks and reexchanged now that we're all back from our spring break adventures and excursions. There were people in our group literally traveling all over Europe. Norway. France. Portugal. Brussels. Germany. England. And other cities in Spain too (Ibiza, Barcelona). Some of us relocated to some colder areas of Europe but what was I looking for to make the PERFECT spring break abroad in Spain? The beach!
I've told my adventurous spring break story numerous times this week too and have been itching to write this blog post about it..but I don't know if it will do it justice for 2 reasons. In this current moment I don't feel like typing a novel and second reason being because some things we can only share again and again with those that were there:)
For probably a month and a half now or so we had our beach getaway booked with DiscoverGranada/DiscoverSevilla in Lagos, Portugal. Since our spring break fell on Semana Santa (we had a spring break of almost a week and a half with classes cancelled because of the #huelageneral #generalstrike in all of Spain). The Lagos trip fell on the very last weekend so I would have the entire week to be free in my beloved city of Granada and enjoy the processions of the holidays and spend time with my family abroad here. It was a very quiet weekend and I spent it mostly with my friend Anna Marie since the majority of our friends were already traveling. The weekend passed tranquilly. The weather started to change in Granada, as it does every year in Semana Santa, as if it's tradition! The processions started on Sunday evening and throughout the week if it's too wet or it's raining they have to cancel the processions otherwise the statues and giant floats can get destroyed because they carry ancient figurines and sculptures of biblical times. Mainly they depict Jesus on/suffering on the cross and the Virgen Mary distraught over her son. The details of the floats are magnificently constructed with the tiniest, distinct shapes, swirls, and curves and the colors are so well preserved. The processions are a great sight to stand among the crowd to see. Every day there's a specific schedule of time where the specific "brotherhood" will be starting, with a specific starting point and destination and time table; it's very organized! Each day the schedule seems to get better and better, namely starting on Thursday. With the processions that start in the gypsy pueblo or the completely silent procession at night.. Imagine hearing only the footsteps of a crowd.
We missed both of those because for Wednesday night at 8 pm we had bought tickets for a night bus to travel to Lisboa, Portugal. On Monday just in time for the atardecer, Anna Marie and I found our way to the Mirador de San Nicolas in Albaicyn to watch the sun fall at the top of our city. Since it was an overcast day like all the rest during Semana Santa, it really wasn't too much of a site to see, unfortunately. BUT there was a reporter and small camera crew interviewing people at this spot and Anna Marie and myself were interviewed. Later on that night while I was eating dinner at home alone I saw Anna Marie's interview on TV!
On Tuesday during the day Anna Marie and I finally made our way to the Sierra Nevada! It wasn't ideal weather but it was what I expected because Marisa, my host mother here, had sent me off with a list of things I should bring with me as well as a handful of warm/wet weather articles of clothing of hers and also my little sisters. I wear a size 37/38 or so size shoe here and she gave me her size 40 hiking/trekking shoes for the trip and I'm very grateful that she had! It cost us only 10 euros Ida y vuelta to travel there to the main ski lodge and we packed sandwiches for lunch and hot chocolate for a snack later. I went with an ear scarf, a hat, a scarf, gloves, my leather/impermeable hooded jacket, an extra warm zip jacket, long sleeves shirt with shirt underneath, extra socks, umbrella, and my athletic puma capris. After hearing that the chances were high that it would probably snow in addition to the rain we'd be experiencing all week, I knew I had to make the executive decision to not bring my Digital Rebel XTi with me. Anna Marie was a little less prepared AND is allergic to the cold, so it worked out in our favor that we had all of the clothing that I brought; we utilized all of them. All in all the trip in the Sierra Nevada was genial although it was cold, snowy, rainy, and we felt stranded at moments. It was a great gateway to spring us into BEACH MODE.
Wednesday night we were scheduled to ‘leave the country’ to our next country of choice at 8pm. We arrived at the station with ample time to await our luxurious trip to our first stop, Lisboa.
It goes on?? I’ve been having more ups and downs in my time here but this isn’t the focus of my blog update! I've been trying to be a productive as possible; within the past week I've applied for 5 internships and positions this summer. Thankfully I'm on spring break so I have more time on my hands and need to take full advantage of this free time that I never seem to have otherwise. Some parts of Granada seem like they're quieter than ever; but that's really just a result of all of the people in my program that have already left the city to to travel. The sea of people celebrating Holy Week, or Semana Santa, remind me of Carnaval in Cádiz, and cannot remotely be described as quiet. The street vendors are selling all of the right things to appeal to children and adults alike, toy drums and noisemakers, nuts of all shapes and colors, and baked potatoes. The only, obvious difference are the processions, which consist of religious floats, and heavenly, solemn music, literally inching by. It's a sight to see --one that should not be missed. Hence my reasoning to stay in Granada for the first weekend of my spring break: to relax in my hometown to get things done and enjoy life in addition to getting to celebrate/witness/ and partake in this huge tradition. To welcome Semana Santa Marisa Madre, mi abuela, made torrijas! A traditional Spanish dessert made and sold specifically during this religious holiday. Last week on Thursday the major occurrence was the general strike happening all over Spain! Because of it the majority of us students in the CLM had classes cancelled all on Thursday because our professors were going to be participating in the strike. There were so many different reasons why people were doing the strike so the underlying reason for the protests changed depending on who you were discussing them with. After a long, tiring weekend in Madrid it was nice to only have 3 days of classes to lead us right into Spring break! Last week also was a defining moment for me because I have found my first student for English classes. His name is Alberto and is 22 years old, attending UGR. We’ve had two meetings and will start up again after my spring break trip in Portugal. This weekend was solely an Anna Marie and I weekend, meaning a lot of Spanish, relaxing, sun, parking it up, working out, exploring/walking, planning our Portugal Paradise, and also new friends. Saturday night we went out with and spent a lot of time with two African soccer players. We have formed an intercambio relationship with our two expertise languages. We hope we get the chance to see them play soon for the Granada club soccer teams that they play for! Tomorrow, if all goes well, we will be off to the Sierra Nevada for a quick day trip and the purchase of our bus tickets to the capital of Portugal. Unfortunately, I will only be there for one day but I can’t complain; I’ll be in my desired country of choice finally and… it’s STILL SPRING BREAK! We’ve relaxed (and worked hard this week!) I’m ready for some fun and the beach :) Typical spring break desires.
I hope to return back to Madrid this semester.. and I made the promise to myself that I have to return back to Spain/Europe within the next year.. I wonder what that could mean jobwise, and what I will do to make it
Elections are coming up here in Spain. 2 weeks ago the construction all over Granada started up after being halted 2 years. As American students, we didn´t really understand why the geometrics of our walks, runs, and ¨marchas¨throughout the streets of our city were being changed. There are now more roadblocks appearing than we´ve ever seen as well as the increased presence of machines of all shapes and sizes that make the mornings a little more vibrant with their roaring velocities. The presence of more workers (men...) in their highliger yellow vests and uniforms. When we first all arrived here in our respective homes we were told, ¨The streets and construction will not be fixed because there is not enough money to do so.¨ For example, with the Metro project. These 2 weeks of construction projects means that more people are being paid to work with the exasperating number of Spaniards out of work.
My mother here, Marisa, shared with me just yesterday that she hopes that this isn´t just a political stunt/instrument of the political parties since the elections are this weekend. She worries that as soon as votes are in, construction will halt once again. She then began to tell me how elegant and marvelous our neighboring plaza used to look before all of the changes started. Wish I could see Granada BEFORE all of the changes somehow!
My parents have traveled to some nearby city, whether to do a beach trip with the kids, or what have you, every weekend since after my first weekend that I spent at home with my new family. This weekend they will stay in house because they wouldn´t dare miss the elections. I was about to make the conclusion that in general all Spaniards vote but then I found out that one of my professors to this date still doesn´t know if she´s going to be voting this weekend. She feels that it´s not an issue of politics, but a large issue of the economy; that the PP or the PSOE still cannot fix the problem. Is there as large of a democratic defecit here in the EU as there is in the EEUU?
Makes me think of that clever picture of what seems like a less fortunate person on the streets. Instead of asking for money their sign reads this:
Keep your coins, I want CHANGE.
Especially when I'm writing in Spanish I still find that I'm translating exactly word for word to what the English translation would be. That is all. I may be a globe trotter but I am still a student of this wonderful language, learning more every day! Enjoy;
Manaña mi programa y yo viajamos a Madrid por autobus! Estoy tan emocionada. Primero vamos a parar por un rato en la ciudad de Toledo y despues, a mi querida ciudad de Madrid. Estaba pensando casi un año para mi regreso. Yo sé que Madrid problemente ahora siente los mismos sentimientos que yo.
Mucho ha sucedido desde mi ultima entrada. Pero, todo me ha pasado bien, honestamente. Los ultimas dias antes del llegado de Rachelle fue un poco intenso pero con mi horario loco de clases. Porque tengo un horario tan mezclado o enrollado con mañanas y tardes y NOCHES, ya no puedo participar en mi practica al sitio de Faisem. Aunque, voy a tratar de visitar unas veces más cuando tengo un poco tiempo libre.
Traté de mostrar, compartir, y enseñar la más posible a Rachelle cuando ella estaba visitandome. Fue un poco difícil con todas mis clases pero tuvimos mucho divertido. Pienso que la más divertido fue saliendo por tapas con mis padres adoptivas! Antonio y Marisa, Rachelle y yo, Pepe *el hermano de Antonio y su mujer, Ana, salimos por las calles como toros!! Jajaja broma, pero tuvimos mucho divertido! Especialmente porque mis padres saben todos los mejores lugares y saben la ciudad MUY, MUY bien. Este rato fue mi único desde mi llegado donde he salido de la casa con mis padres, y espero que tengamos más oportunidades como esa. Un día Rachelle, yo, Fatima, y Anna Marie hemos almorzadas encima del barrio Albaicyn, en el sitio que se llama el mirador de San Nicolas. Le enseñé unos de mis parques favoritos, el nombrado del escitor y poeta famoso, Federico Garcia Lorca. El jueves por la noche nos alquilamos un apartimiento con algunos amigos. Fue muy divertido porque por solo una noche, tuvimos propio lugar para pasar el rato y relejar, con nuevos amigos! El viernes fuimos a la playa por Autobus, en una ciudad preciosa, Almuñecar, después de desayunar, panqueques, en nuestra cocina. En la playa hacía sol pero hacía mucho viento también unfortunadamente, pero no pasa nada.
El sábado Rachelle tuvo la oportunidad para visitar a las cuevas del Sacromonte con mi programa. Fue una gran experiencia para aprender más de la historia de la gente que compone España, y también la antigua historia de la Alhambra y la seperación del Río Darro. Depués tuvimos tiempo para explorar, ir de compras y comer churros con chocolate *o en mi caso, churros con leche condensado YUM. La noche del Sábado nos conocimos mucha nueva gente en unos de mis sitios favoritos, ya sabes... El Camborio. Y esa noche es mi primera donde no he dormido toda la noche! Porque por la madrugada Rachelle tuvo que tomar el autobus al aeropuerto muy temprano. Mucho español, mucho explorando, caminando, bailando, comiendo, riendo... Espero que ella nunca se olivide esta experiencia.
Claro, después de su viaje es mi semana de examanes parciales. Tengo suerte porque de mis 8 clases, solamente tuve 2 examenes y solamente uno yo considero un examen real, de verdad. Entonches el martes tuve mi primero por la madrugada para mi clase de Civilización y Cultura. Recibimos un artículo y tuvimos que formar un opinión. El tema? El aborto. Por eso tu comentario podría ser tan sujetivo como quieras. Mi segundo examen fue para mi clase de Literatura Española y este semestre desde el principio hemos cubrido mucha información, desde el siglo XVII hasta el siglo XIX, con el barroco, el Renacimiento, la Ilustración con el teatro Ilustrado y la poesía ilustrado, el Neoclasicismo, el Romanticismo, y nos hemos prestado atención a otras partes de Europa, por ejemplo, con la revolución francesa y esas tipas de influencia en la vida y la historia de España, hasta personas fundamentales en todos de estes temas, los elementos básicos de la literatura y la diferencia entre prosa y verso.
Hoy en mi clase de Civilización y Cultura hemos comenzados nuestra segunda película, Alma Gitana, y la me interesa muchísimo.
Espero que pronto pueda visitar y subir la Sierra Nevada.
He encontrado más maneras para obtener más intercambios.
Este semana vi mi primera película en el cine! Fue un película americana pero claro, en español, tan graciosa!
Tengo que cometer y dedicar más tiempo con el lenguaje! A veces los fines de semana incluyen demasiado español. Quiero cambiarlo. Y también necesito encontar alguien que quiera clases de inglés!
Madrid, cariño, vengo mañana!
ps. I don't think I ever wrote about this but about the 2nd day of March I went with half of my program to see the Alhambra. Pictures are up on Facebook and when my parents come, I'm thinking I'll probably go back?
As the title says, this post is for updates on new matters of business!
Mi profe de mi clase de civilizacion y cultura aka one of the 2 male professors that I have out of 6 here at the CLM, got a hair hair..looking sharp!
All of my classes that were rollos before are getting a little bit more exciting, and if not that, at least a little more interesting and bearable ha, very exciting stuff! Of my 8 courses only one I have to turn in assignments for regularly. (I have 5 core classes like what I would have with a typical schedule back in the states.) How the grading scale works is a rating from 1 to 10. Lower than a 5 is not passing. For my Literatura hispanoamericana class I have to write an essay (yes, of course, in Spanish) everyday, and if not every day, every other day. She passes them back one by one; althoug hshe doesnçt read everyone´s grades outloud, the bright red market she uses can be seen at least a span of a few desks to the left and a few desks to the right. Her system also includes arrows to give better insight on where yuor particular essay fell in regards to the rest of the class. For example an 8 with an arrow down, which is the lowest score I hope to get this year. (That was also what I received on my very first assignment here, it is a good mark! And I´ve only gone up from there and hope to maintain this.)
This week I had scheduled a full week of classes which I wasn´t too excited to jump into when the sun was setting on Sunday and the weekend finally came to a close. But we made it, it´s Thursday! After a very relaxing weekend, watching Crazy Stupid Love in my empty house on Friday then went out for a little bit with some friends. Saturday evening was a little more active and we started at the very beloved Botellon with what seemed like thousands of other Granadinos, although the evening lacked significant interaction with Spaniards as I was saying in my last entry. That´s the plan for tonight if we can swing it right!
My class for this evening, which was supposed to be starting right now, got cancelled;) Tonight was also supposed to be our program´s cultural visit to the Cata de Vino! We had a Granada Seminar class (this is just an hour class that I have weekly strictly to enhance my knowledge on the culture of Spain and Granada) devoted solely to the process of making vine, the hitsorical origin, the various different tpyes of wine, and how to identify them. There was a lot of information but after this meeting on Monday with all of my newfound knowledge, I was very excited! Yesterday we received an email from our program director that it was cancelled and not necessarily postponed so unfortunately there´s a possibility that we don´t do it at all. But my mom, Marisa me ha aconsejado un bar con buenos vinos en muchos variades para tratar. That´s one thing that I´m going to save for when my parents are here, and I´m hoping that we can all do it together like one huge family. :)
That´s one thing that I´ve been trying to do in my free time: plan the visits of my sister in less than a week and at the end of April of my parents. It´s exciting but also a lot of other things as well, hehe, because I have to make sure that they see verything that they need to to really experience Granada, in full effect! And it´s equally important that they see the reasons why I love it here so much. Rachelle literally just 20 minutes ago asked to see schedule I had planned for her... I have no intention of disappointing! :) Or sleeping ;) For Rachelle the trip will be a little more difficult because although she´s on spring break, I still have a full week of classes, lucking out with having class on FRIDAY too that week, ugh. But when my parents are here the entire country will be on break celebrating, as will I.
Intercambios to help people with their English language in pursuit and changes to be made soon with my internship.
Un beso,
Nos vemos
I've just been itching to blog, so here I am:) For an update on the week and other random thoughts that have been circling around in my mind.
Segunda Rebajas are finally over! Which is hard to fathom..mostly because I which when Rachelle and my parents come they could find the good "deals" I found heheh. I did do a decent amount of shopping I admitted to myself on Monday when Anna Marie, Fatima, and I went to go take advantage of the last day sales. But don't worry, all of it hasn't been for me. There are gifts in there that I can't wait to share:)
Tuesday was our official last day of Puente and it officially is named the "Fiesta de Andalucia". SInce the weather's finally changing, day by day, we knew that we would want to take this first opportunity to enjoy the beach! Upon recommendation we chose the beach Salobrena, only a 45 minute bus ride away (11 euros ida y vuelta). I went with Rob, Fatima, and Anna Marie. The city was beautiful nonetheless with the overcast weather and the sun hiding behind the clouds almost the entire time we were there... We saw more people riding horseback in the streets than I have anywhere in Spain thus far. I was dying to watch the sunset on the beach but we returned before 19h so our friend Rob could get home early. One thing we weren't expecting was the "sand" on the beach, to be all tiny rocks. We probably will return again now that we know how cheap it is and how GREAT it could be given the perfect weather. When I returned to school the next day (we only had 2 days of classes! - Miercoles y Jueves) I heard word of the other beaches people traveled to and the magnificent weather they had... trial and error, I suppose :)
Speaking again specifically of gifts and branching into new beginnings, MARCH is finally here. It's something I'm a little weary to admit because we all prefer that we have more time here and as soon as people start counting down the days and reminding us of the specifics, we get a little antsy. But that's not what I wanted to discuss, yesterday not only marked the beginning of a new chapter BUT my older sister's birthday! Since we're all always away at school I don't usually have the chance to see her on her birthday, because I would normally have practice every day and then other activities throughout the week or competitions on the weekend. This time is very different since we're literally miles and oceans apart. Although we live in a overly tech-crazy world, I'm glad I have some type of instrument to try to express and send my love to her on her special day!
March also apparently means the inter mural sports are starting. Naturally, I signed up for volleyball and formed a team with other people in my CCA program. Only one other girl plays volleyball at the collegiate level, at CC which is DIII, and the rest are just some of our friends:) so it should be fun/interesting! Either way, I just need to finally touch a volleyball again. I honestly haven't even SEEN a volleyball since I've been here. And my plans for the beginning of the summer beg me to reacquaint myself with the sport. (Rachelle and I will be competing in Holland, from invitation, to join the USA Athletes International team for a relatively quick tour.) Jumping to another sport related topic, I don't have details and need to confirm and ask my sister again (Paloma, 9 years old), at dinner the other night, she asked me if I would participate at her school in a carerra. It's a 5k race that they hold annually, some date in April, and she always participates in. Although she says she doesn't finish, she always starts and always tries her best! I'm not sure if it's for a charity or just something to keep the kids active yet and if a lot of other people will be participating too but I of course said that I would do it. It's really interesting though for me because I'm not the "racer" in the family, in regards to literally signing up to do 5k, 10k, triathlons, and all of the above. I run on my own either in the mornings or the afternoons every day that I can, because that's my only option (gym membership fees are too expensive!) in addition to doing other exercises etc. That being said, I don't know if I could say that I would be getting in line to sign up for a race this semester, summer, year/otherwise, so it's cool that I have this to motivate me.
So again, like I said... it's MARCH: I still desire for more opportunities to meet, converse, and exchange with more espanolas y granadinas. I'm seeking more intercambios! I thought I would have done a better job with this by now? Too much english is being spoken in free time, although I am learning and have learned and have improved A LOT; I know I have more to give.
I have a lot of random topics that I want to discuss but this is all for now, It's finally Friday, we have (had) a 3 day weekend and I'm relaxing at home. The forecast called for rain but I'm desperately hoping for otherwise.. at 3:30 I'm meeting with half of my program to FINALLY explore and visit the Alhambra. I can't wait! Expect tons of AMAZING pictures ;P I really pray the rain does not put a damper on this trip, literally. Our last city excursion my group, Group 1, had bad luck and had to do the entire tour in the rain, while the following day, Group 2 had sunshine. La vida es asi.
Bendicion
Nos vemos,
The Globe Trotter
:)
This weekend’s our first “PUENTE” or BREAK and tomorrow is the officially a day dubbed La Fiesta de Andalucia. A break much needed to have some time to explore our home town! Since I typically don’t have class on Fridays this has been more than an extended weekend for me. Thursday evening-Sunday free is a typical weekend but because of Puente we were given 2 more full days to disfrutar! Classes resume on Wednesday and continue through Thursday, and Friday, like most weeks we have classes off again:) To fully take advantage ( aprovechar) the time we’ve been given 6 of us made plans to attend Carnaval 2012 in the Andalusian city of Cadiz, por supuesto. Our bus was scheduled to leave Granada at 11:30h in the afternoon at a nearby hotspot for young Spaniards, called the Botellon, and arrive approximately 4 hours later in Cadiz after a 30 minute rest stop half way through the trip. On Sunday our bus was scheduled to leave Cadiz at 6h exactamente por la madrugada to return to Granada, ida y vuelta por solamente 17 euros. And yes, you are thinking logically now that you’re asking yourself, so…when do you sleep? It is exactly what you’re thinking. You don’t! If you choose to rent a room in a hostel or hotel for the evening you’re making a mistake in more ways than one. 1) You’re wasting your money. 2) You’ll be missing the party! Hundreds of buses are organized for each weekend of the Carnaval festival to bring people to enjoy the day and into the early morning hours. The masses are literally outside all day long and all night long! The party does not stop and if you’re not prepared for it, it’s a little hard to keep it! Let’s just say, Carnaval was an experience! For many it’s an experience already forgotten, but for me one it’s definitely the opposite. So much transpired that it’s hard to literally document every single detail, a task that I am not trying to take on today. I have decided instead to go the route where I give you some educational and historical background on the event, very beneficial to know the origin and understand WHY this happens annually! Basically every PARTY in Spain has a purpose, which always make the get together all the more fun. I knew that I would literally want to document every moment of an experience like this but unfortunately about a week and a half ago my Coolpix handheld camera dropped off of the table while I was eating lunch at home and is suffering an irreparable lens error. -_-. Entonces, when I wanted to take a picture and capture a sight in the city, I took complete control of my friend Anna Marie's camera. Lucky for me, I was in charge of it and I held onto it virtually the netire time. Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself if I don't have a camera in hand! CARNAVAL:
Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life.
Carnival is a festival traditionally held in Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Orthodox societies.
Andalusia
In Cádiz the costumes worn are often related to recent news, such as the bird flu epidemic in 2006, during which many people were disguised as chickens. The feeling of this Carnival is the sharp criticism, the funny play on words and the imagination in the costumes, more than the glamorous dressings. It is traditional to paint the face with lipstick as a humble substitute of a mask.
The most famous groups are the chirigotas, choirs and comparsas. The chirigotas are well known witty, satiric popular groups who sing about politics, new times and household topics, wearing the same costume, which they train for the whole year. The Choirs (coros) are wider groups that go on open carts through the streets singing with a little orchestra of guitars and lutes. Their characteristic composition is the "Carnival Tango", and they alternate comical and serious repertory. The comparsas are the serious counterpart of the chirigota in Cádiz, and the poetical lyrics and the criticism are their main ingredients. They have a more elaborated polyphony, being easily recognizable by the typical countertenorvoice.----THANK YOU WIKIPEDIA, FOR MAKING THAT SO EASY ;P Honest, ours/everyones costumes say a lot! If there was one word that I would without a doubt use to describe this festival it would be CREATIVITY. What surprised me the most was the creativity of the Spaniards and of course the Europeans, Americans, and people from all over the world too. There were elaborate costumes in every corner. People with disfraces of American series and television shows that I haven’t even seen costumes of in the United States at costume parties! (Chris aka Spiderman, not pictured! And with Tracey a new friend from France also studying in Granada.)
 The people are all incredibly friendly and since everyone’s congregated in general areas to fully experience the masses of Carnaval, typically Plaza San Antonio y the Plaza with the enormous Catedral. I have been informed that Cadiz is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. Because of all of the chaos and mischievenous that takes place during this week long celebration of Carnaval, I was advised not to go, so as to not have to see the streets of Cadiz in this state! In hindsight one thing that I don’t understand is why people would party and essentially trash the area surrounding and leading into a Catedral. There were so many people around and there was so much constantly going on. Once we found the center of the Carnaval party, we were most content! (Me pictured facing the cathedral. Not even 1/3 of the madness in this specific location in front of the Catedral OR 1/8 or 10th possibly of the madness that is Carnaval!)
I also located a Ceverceria 100 Montaditos, conveniently located at the corner of the plaza of the Catedral. When I saw it out of the corner of my eye I was so ecstatic. My pointer finger practically shot out of my arm pointing in the direction of the restaurant as I shouted the name outloud! I’ve been looking to reunite with one of these amazingly cheap and delicious restaurants since returning to Spain! (There are none in Granada and I only happened to see one in passing in Sevilla.) In the end, Carnaval really wasn’t what I expected it to be. It started off nowhere near desirable for the activities we wanted to engage in. Since we had to take care of some people right when we got there it did put a little damper on things to start but I’ll admit it did get better. Fortunately, we got to meet, converse, laugh, dance, take pictures with, take as much advantage of the night and day as we could possibly handle, and be crazy with many Spaniards from all over, Americans, and some French people too! A great portion of the viaje borato a Cadiz, was the view of the beach in the moonlight. The stars were spread across the sky. We made a point to get as close to the water as possible and feel the sand on our shoes and toes; some people waded in! By the end of the trip we had made many friends with more students studying abroad in Granada, some Erasmus students, and others local Granadinas. This means now we have more connections in this beautiful city!
My rating or final thoughts on Carnaval 2012 in Cadiz? Longest. Night. Ever. (We may or may not have been counting down the hours…and we started as soon as we arrived in the coastal city. When we got back onto the bus we were pretty exhausted, cold, and sleepy!)
Literalmente, cada fin de semana es una aventura nueva.LITERALLY, Every weekend a new adventure! Te interesa oir mas? Escuchame:) To conclude my second month living abroad here in Granada every weekend has been jam-packed with adventure after adventure, opportunity after opportunity. If you had a chance to read or skim my last post you'll see that I have a pretty demanding schedule. Despite this, I opted to participate in a service learning program, of my choosing, so I can volunteer some of my free time while at the same having the chance to speak with native Spanish speakers, and ADULTS (which I feel is where and when I struggle with in communicating the language the most!). FAISEM, was my center of choice, which stands for FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF THE PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS and they have these all throughout the country, to my understanding. Many others are volunteering their time to receive credit for their universities, but as a senior with 2 degrees in pursuit, I really don't need the extra hours. Viernes - el dia 17 de febreroMy first experience there to really enjoy the presence of this crazy in a fun out of this world kind of way group was Friday the 17th of February. In a nearby city named Cadiz, also located in Andalucia (the southern community of Spain where Granada is also located), every year around this time there is a week long Carnaval festival, where people wear disfraces and spend entire nights and mornings out and about in the central parts of the city, drinking and eating the night away.. all to celebrate the time before Lent, so closely linked to religious practices and ideals. That Friday I was invited to the Carnaval celebration at FAISEM. And since this is my internship project, or the site where donde estoy haciendo "practica" this was my first assignment. We simply listened to music and had our own celebration. The creativity in the room was amazing and the music non-stop! So we danced for hours, enjoying one another's company while we danced, sang, and shared some snacks. I left feeling refreshed and honestly just great. I've been told that a great way to engage yourself in a large part of the culture as well as simply get a chance to really communicate with others in the Spanish language, one simply has to take a step outside of the main doors of whatever location you're at. By simply joining the people taking a cigarette break every now and then you get a lesson in itself. Here is a little background information of where I am working and with what type of people. http://www.faisem.es/pagina.asp?id=120 So far my experience there has been great and I cannot wait to spend some more time though. Despite the fact that when I do finally get there for the evening/day it's typically after long days. Sabado - el dia 18 de febreroSaturday was the program trip to Sevilla! One of the sites I've been waiting to see the most! Sevilla, Spain, also a province in the autonomous community of Andalucia, was my #1 choice for studying abroad. Everything happens a reason though I fortunately had the opportunity to travel there for the day with my new friends. So after a 3 hour bus trip to the breath taking city, we spent the day marveling at the heavily Baroque architecture and beautiful people. In addition to some guided tours of the city, we had a little bit of free time to do some soul searching in Sevilla on our own. -The Catedral y la Giralda, which the lines were enormous for both. & in retrospect, I wish I would have climed la Giralda. Maybe next time! -When we walked through the center and plazas around the Cathedral there was actually a protest/parading rally going on through the streets which was interesting to watch. My mom warned me prior to leaving for Spain that if I saw anything like this I should NOT participate. I didn't participate, Mom --but I couldn't resist photographing a bit of the event from the sidelines! Sorry Mom <3 lol -We walked all along the Guadalquivir river and were able to find the Torre de Oro (pictured below). -We saw other areas of town with beautiful structures, architectures, fountains, the works!  I´m a little bummed that it was only a day trip! As soon as we got off the bus and had the opportunity to start walking around I immediately saw the cleanliness of the city and how it seemed that every part of the city was radiating light, even the people. I saw the families and the children going about their daily lives and enjoying themselves in the streets and I immediately had an inkling that someday I would want to take my family here and that this really would be a great place to raise a family!
Sunday - el dia 19 de febrero
Another program led excursion we experienced was a Granada F.C. vs. Real Sociedad FUTBOL game! Never in our lives would we imagine ourselves watching the professional team of our very city. Naturally, we took full advantage of this sunny day to literally sport our love for Granada and the professionals in a sport that is a very important part of the Spanish culture. Granada won the game, ending with a 4-1 score, each goal was more exciting than the last. And we thoroughly enjoyed hearing the obscenities belted out by the granadinas and surrounding espanolas. It was an excitingly warm day, we didn't know we would be so lucky! The crowd was very intense and rowdy. What made it all that much more of a rewarding and cool experience was that we could participate in the craziness of the crowd. From doing the wave numerous times to attempting to join in on the chants (after dechipering them, of course), it´s a day we wish we could repeat..every weekend. And conveniently for us the game was within walking distance of our homestays. So after the game was over we all left a little tanner, happy, and even more proud and excited that we had chosen Granada to live in this semester. Anna Marie and I naturally had every intention to attend the match painted! Unaware of the weather we would have we limited it to our faces. At a local chino we found face paint for 1.50 euro and each bought our own package. (It would prove to be useful in more ways than one and on more days than just this cultural experience, which that in itself is always a beautiful thing.) We saved the artistry until we had successfully arrived at the venue for the game. And what a site to see it was:) many people were standing around and watching us as we painted one another's faces half red, and half white, with some black warrior paint for Anna Marie. I've literally ALWAYS wanted to paint myself for a sporting match. It was never exactly deemed appropriate for Bradley soccer games, especially with match conflicts and a lack of good weather to go all out and paint our bodies. And since Bradley doesn't have a football team, that obviously wasn't an option.
 What better than Spain for a first time experience like this??
(Pictured here with Jose, nuestro profe de tutorias, Granada Seminar, y fonetica, Anna Marie (a fellow Bradley student and great friend!), me, and Veronica, la directora de nuestro programa de Central College Abroad.
Honestly, what better place than Spain for aventuras nuevas!
Don't tell anyone, but I never want to leave :)
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