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| Not a bad spot to stop and eat lunch :) |
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| If you really squink... you can see mi casa from here ;) |
Monday, August 30, 2010
La Alhambra
Yesterday we took a tour of La Alhambra – Moorish palace and fortress on top of the mountain overlooking the city of Granada. When the “Los Reyes Católicos” took over in 1492, many of the mosques were turned into churches, but some still remain today. Our director told us that only 8000 people were able to buy tickets and enter the buildings of La Alhambra each day so that we needed to buy tickets very far in advance. It was a long 6-hour walking tour with about an hour for lunch but the view from the top of the military fortress was indescribable. The most changeling part of the day was not allowing myself to jump over the many barriers set up for the public and into the hundreds of ponds, pools and fountains. Again, it was over 100 degrees yesterday just like it has been everyday! When I finally made it home around 4:30pm I told my Señora I was exhausted and took a 2.5-hour siesta!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Las Aventuras en Granada
Wow! So much has happened since I got to Granada. Where to start?!
Our first day here was exhausting. A few girls and I wondered around the city looking for a place to eat. There were many to choose from but we settled on one where we could all get pizza (Bilbalfarax Café Restaurante). I know, probably not the most exciting meal to get for our first night but we were happy to see something familiar. We made friends with the bartender/waiter who gave us free shots after our meal was over. Still haven’t figured out if that’s customary or we were just really cute Americans. :) Miguel Ángel, our program director told us not to go to bed until at like 9pm so that we would be on Granada time when we woke up. I barely made it past 7pm!
After a full 12 hours of sleep, I woke up to take our placement tests and have academic orientation for our school (CEGRI). Our morning activities did not take too long and then we were free for the whole afternoon. Lunches are the biggest meals here and they are typically followed by siestas (naps). I have learned not to sleep longer than 30-45 minutes though because then it is nearly impossible to wake up. We met at the school again later that night to go over “survival tips.” Later that night we (Elise, Claire, Niki and myself) decided to get tapas for dinner. We asked the front desk at our Hostel for directions to a place we had heard was great from previous students. I am not sure if we asked the question is Spanish wrong, heard the answer wrong or just got a little lost along the way but we could not find the restaurant we were looking for. Lucky for us that the streets are filled with hundreds of restaurants, cafes and pubs. We finally settled on a place nearby (Central), ordered some sangria and tapas and enjoyed a great night. The funniest part of the night was when a couple of Spanish boys at the table next to us started passing us notes (like in the 5th grade) asking us how we were enjoying Granada so far. I guess they could tell that we were new here. A bunch of us ended up going to an Irish Karaoke bar where we received free shots every time we sang. Not a bad deal!
Friday morning consisted of more orientation. Mostly we were getting ready for the big day (now today), moving in with our host families. During the afternoon we had another long break for lunch and siesta. The girls and I woke up a little late from our siesta and forgot that the meeting place had changed for our tour at night. We sprinted to the fountain a few blocks away, in the 100F weather, to meet our group and start the tour. We walked uphill on winding paths through the Albayzín. The area contains many places from Moorish history in Granada that were later converted into churches by Ferdinand and Isabella. That night we had a big group “Welcome Dinner” at a restaurant called Sevilla. We had traditional Spanish courses including gazpacho, a cold vegetable soup. Afterward a bunch of us from the group bought 40s at a store nearby and hung out in the park talking about how much we loved Granada so far and our travel plans for the semester. It was the first time we had such a big group out together. It was great getting to know everybody. We went to a pub afterward but didn’t stay too late (2:30am, late is 7am for Spaniards) because we wanted to be well rested to meet our host families in the morning!
This is quite a long post but I am finally getting to the best part! Saturday, the day we meet our families. I woke up with a stomach full of butterflies, because I was so nervous to meet my family. All 27 students in the program live near and around the school in different host families. I knew a little about mine because we had received information during the summer but the only time I called was an epic fail because I could not understand her Spanish! I met Rosa Maria Molina Delgado (mi Señora) around 11:30am and she helped me get all my bags on the bus and to her apartment. There I received keys, my own room with decorations and a closet, and a warm welcome from her boyfriend Pedro. I went shopping with Rosa and had time to unpack all my things before she served the most amazing and filling lunch! Afterwards they announced “siesta” and I headed to my room. However, I was too excited to sleep. I have been waiting for this day for soooooo long and its finally here. My family is so great and they are trying very hard to help me speak Spanish, which I love! The good news is that I have Internet so I have spent the last couple hours skyping, gchatting and blogging to catch up with everyone! Too excited to sit anymore! I think I’ll go explore!
Our first day here was exhausting. A few girls and I wondered around the city looking for a place to eat. There were many to choose from but we settled on one where we could all get pizza (Bilbalfarax Café Restaurante). I know, probably not the most exciting meal to get for our first night but we were happy to see something familiar. We made friends with the bartender/waiter who gave us free shots after our meal was over. Still haven’t figured out if that’s customary or we were just really cute Americans. :) Miguel Ángel, our program director told us not to go to bed until at like 9pm so that we would be on Granada time when we woke up. I barely made it past 7pm!
 |
| Claire, Niki, Elise and I in front of our hostel. Obviously my eyes are closed. ;) |
After a full 12 hours of sleep, I woke up to take our placement tests and have academic orientation for our school (CEGRI). Our morning activities did not take too long and then we were free for the whole afternoon. Lunches are the biggest meals here and they are typically followed by siestas (naps). I have learned not to sleep longer than 30-45 minutes though because then it is nearly impossible to wake up. We met at the school again later that night to go over “survival tips.” Later that night we (Elise, Claire, Niki and myself) decided to get tapas for dinner. We asked the front desk at our Hostel for directions to a place we had heard was great from previous students. I am not sure if we asked the question is Spanish wrong, heard the answer wrong or just got a little lost along the way but we could not find the restaurant we were looking for. Lucky for us that the streets are filled with hundreds of restaurants, cafes and pubs. We finally settled on a place nearby (Central), ordered some sangria and tapas and enjoyed a great night. The funniest part of the night was when a couple of Spanish boys at the table next to us started passing us notes (like in the 5th grade) asking us how we were enjoying Granada so far. I guess they could tell that we were new here. A bunch of us ended up going to an Irish Karaoke bar where we received free shots every time we sang. Not a bad deal!
 |
| Our night Karaoke-ing with Gabriel, Jose and Fran |
Friday morning consisted of more orientation. Mostly we were getting ready for the big day (now today), moving in with our host families. During the afternoon we had another long break for lunch and siesta. The girls and I woke up a little late from our siesta and forgot that the meeting place had changed for our tour at night. We sprinted to the fountain a few blocks away, in the 100F weather, to meet our group and start the tour. We walked uphill on winding paths through the Albayzín. The area contains many places from Moorish history in Granada that were later converted into churches by Ferdinand and Isabella. That night we had a big group “Welcome Dinner” at a restaurant called Sevilla. We had traditional Spanish courses including gazpacho, a cold vegetable soup. Afterward a bunch of us from the group bought 40s at a store nearby and hung out in the park talking about how much we loved Granada so far and our travel plans for the semester. It was the first time we had such a big group out together. It was great getting to know everybody. We went to a pub afterward but didn’t stay too late (2:30am, late is 7am for Spaniards) because we wanted to be well rested to meet our host families in the morning!
 |
| Trying to stay hydrated in the hot Granada weather |
This is quite a long post but I am finally getting to the best part! Saturday, the day we meet our families. I woke up with a stomach full of butterflies, because I was so nervous to meet my family. All 27 students in the program live near and around the school in different host families. I knew a little about mine because we had received information during the summer but the only time I called was an epic fail because I could not understand her Spanish! I met Rosa Maria Molina Delgado (mi Señora) around 11:30am and she helped me get all my bags on the bus and to her apartment. There I received keys, my own room with decorations and a closet, and a warm welcome from her boyfriend Pedro. I went shopping with Rosa and had time to unpack all my things before she served the most amazing and filling lunch! Afterwards they announced “siesta” and I headed to my room. However, I was too excited to sleep. I have been waiting for this day for soooooo long and its finally here. My family is so great and they are trying very hard to help me speak Spanish, which I love! The good news is that I have Internet so I have spent the last couple hours skyping, gchatting and blogging to catch up with everyone! Too excited to sit anymore! I think I’ll go explore!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
El Primer Día :)
I am finally here! :) 1-8 hour flight from O'Hare to Madrid, 1-4 hour lay over in Madrid, and 1-1 hour flight to Granada later and here I am! To say I was excited for this moment would be an understatement! I was actually cleaning my room this summer when I can across a list of "Things to do in Life." Judging from the notebook I found this list in and a faint memory of actually writing it, I wrote this list in the 7th or 8th grade. And oddly enough, the first thing on that list was "study in Spain." Finally realizing this goal after 7 or 8 years! Hard to describe the feeling...
Not a lot to report yet. I am in a Hostel for 3 days while we have orientation. We'll take a placement test, visit all the essential places in town - bank, post office, drug store, and most get acclimated before meeting our host families on Saturday. Lots to do! My roommate an I are both blogging right now and resting up from the long trip but a few more minutes and we are off to explore Granada! :)
Oh and one more thing... I should probably start speaking Spanish! Yikes :)
Not a lot to report yet. I am in a Hostel for 3 days while we have orientation. We'll take a placement test, visit all the essential places in town - bank, post office, drug store, and most get acclimated before meeting our host families on Saturday. Lots to do! My roommate an I are both blogging right now and resting up from the long trip but a few more minutes and we are off to explore Granada! :)
Oh and one more thing... I should probably start speaking Spanish! Yikes :)
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