Hola,
As the days and weeks seem to be getting shorter, I am finding less and less free time in my days which means my blogging time in nearly non-existent. However, I have finally found some time so here's goes nothing. The weekend after Morocco my friends from Grinnell, who are studying in Denmark and London, came to visit! We had a great time. They arrived on Thursday and they discovered the heavenly kebabs we love here in Granada (I think they each had about five during the weekend) and had a fairly calm night. The next day we visited the Alhambra and explored the city. Saturday we went to a Flamenco show up in the Albayzin (the old, windy part of town) which had an amazing view of the Alhambra all light up. Then we headed back down to town and had a wonderful evening. Then in the morning we woke up and had one of Granada's many delights: Churros con chocolate. Just a perfect way to end off their trip. It was great to see them and they all loved Granada.
It was not long before I saw them again, however, because the next weekend I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit Meg and Eric and go to Sensation, which is what some have labeled the largest rave in Europe. But before my friends and I got to Denmark we had a 9 hour layover in London, well actually an hour outside of London. The fact that our layover happened to be from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. did not stop us from traveling into to London to see Big Ben, Buckingham palace, and various other parts of the city. My friends, Matt and Chris that visited me the previous week, live in London and we were lucky enough to have our very own tour guides. It was London in about 3 hours, after factoring in bus rides and getting to the airport early for our flight, but it was great and I can now stay I have visited London.
Before we knew it we were on another flight and off to Copenhagen. (Side note: both these cities are quite cold and made me very grateful that I live in southern Spain were it is much warmer.) We met Eric at the airport and our adventure began. After dropping our stuff off at Eric's dorm, we did a little tour of the city. We saw the city center with all the government buildings, the area in Copenhagen with all the different colored buildings by the water (this is a pretty famous area and is on many postcards, travel guides, etc. of Copenhagen), saw Eric's school, and went to Christiana which is an autonomous neighborhood in Copenhagen which follows a special law that appeared to actually be no law. It was a crazy place. That night we just hung out at Eric's and took part in some Copenhagen nightlife.
The next day we headed out to Meg's apartment, which is an hour outside of the city. Poor girl. But her apartment is really nice and the town she lives in is very quaint and cozy. We relaxed for awhile then headed back into the city for SENSATION!!! Huge stadium and tons of people and bright lights basically sums up Sensation. It was a great time. The next morning we woke up, hopped on a plane, and began an entire day of traveling. We arrived home around 11:30 p.m. and then I crashed. Great weekend! Tomorrow my program and I head to Cádiz and Jerez for a couple days. It should be a good time.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Back to real life, kind of.
Hola,
Life got extremely busy these last couple of weeks. Since I last wrote, I visited Córdoba, had a bunch of examenes parciales (mid-term exams), and visited Africa! It's been a blast. Here's a short but hopefully sweet recap.
In Córdoba we visited Madinat al-Zahra, which are the ruins of the royal city and palace of the Umayyads outside of Córdoba. The ruins were previously completely covered in mud and the royal city was actually thought to be a myth until the 20th century when it was found and excavation began. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but they have recovered a lot of beautiful art and architecture that by some grace of God wasn't ruined by the pillaging that occurred for several years after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and the natural causes that covered that city in mud. A lot of columns and arches essentially fell straight to the ground and could be reassembled fairly easily. After Madinat al-Zahra, we went into the city of Córdoba and saw the Mosque of Cordoba there, which is amazing. The most beautiful arches and quibla wall you have ever seen. The most interesting thing, however, is that when the Spaniards conquered Spain and this Mosque they turned it into a cathedral. They did not tear the hole thing down but rather just added a cathedral in the middle. So you have a ton of Islamic art everywhere and then you just walk to the next room and you are standing in a Spanish cathedral. It's like stepping into a whole different world. It's really bizarre. Another interesting thing is that with the addition of the Spanish cathedral, which include very high, vaulted ceilings, came some structural problems, i.e. there is now a row of columns that are tilting causing the outer wall to bend. This isn't a huge problem now but very well may be in the future.
The next week I had midterms. Boy was that a busy week. All I have to say about that is I'm glad it is over.
Then this past Thursday we left for Morocco! The first night we actually spent in southern Spain right off the Straight of Gibraltar. We visited Gibraltar that day, which is a English colony in Spain. It is a very interesting place. They speak English English and run on the English system of government, schooling, currency, etc. However, Gibraltarians also learn Spanish in their schools so most of them can speak both Spanish and English. The city is a very interesting mix of British culture and Spanish culture, a fascinating city. We also got to hike up the Rock of Gibraltar. It was quite the hike but definitely worth it. The view was amazing and you can see Africa on the skyline (I believe Africa is about 14 miles away). Plus, they have monkeys on the rock of Gibraltar, which come really close and of which we took a bunch of pictures! It was great. That night we headed down the rock for some good 'ol English fish and chips.
The next morning we took a ferry to Africa! We got off in Tánger and went to a women's house there that provides education to illiterate women and job training to women who don't have any job skills. It was really interesting and we got to speak with some women about the gender inequality, what the government is doing to combat this, and about freedom of speech (or lack there of, at least pertaining to the government and the king). It was really interesting to hear their take on things and hear how passionate they are about increasing literacy rates among women and women's rights in general. It's a concept that is basically unknown to us, at least in that scope, and such a contrast from American women's rights but at the same time they are making great strides and the government is helping as well. One interesting fact is that starting I believe next year, the government has passed some initiative or law saying that their parliament will consist of 50% women. They are very progressive in that sense but very behind in others, i.e. literacy and education.
After the talk with the women and lunch at the center, we headed to Rabat. On the way we stopped for a camel ride! It was so much fun but kind of scary we the camel's stood up. After that we visited the city nearby. Took a little paseo (walk) through the city, there is a bunch of cool street art painted on the walls, had a snack and hit the road again. When we got to Rabat my friend and I met our house family and went to their house for dinner. My host family consisted of a women and her two children. Her husband, who I believe is an American, but am a bit unsure because our host mom only spoke a little bit of English and Spanish (mostly we spoke in hand movements), was away on business so it was just the three of them. We were obsessed with the little girl! She was 7 years old, absolutely adorable and spoke Arabic, French and some English. The was the smartest, cutest little thing ever! We told her we could stuff her in our bag and take her home with us to the states to see a Miley Cyrus concert, she loves Miley Cyrus!, and she said "bye bye Mama," cutest thing ever. The little boy, I think maybe 9, couldn't speak any English, his third language is German, plus he is very shy so we did not talk much to him. The mother was amazing! She treated us as her own and made the most amazing food! The first night at their house I wasn't feeling well so she made us a simple dinner of rice, chicken, and I believe squash soup with an apple, banana, and carrot smoothie juice and tea. It was delicious. After dinner, my friend and I passed out.
The next day we woke to a breakfast of breads, jam, cheese, and tea. Boy do they love their tea in Morocco! It's a very, very sweet green tea. I like it but I don't think I could handle drinking it as much as they do, too sweet. After breakfast we headed off to a education center, where they help youth struggling in school, kids who drop out of school and want to re-enter (something that is pretty unheard of in Morocco), and kids and young adults that need job training to enter the workforce. We talked a lot about stereotypes, of the West, the U.S., and Morocco, with the directors of this organizations. They first asked us what is means to be an American and then they told us what it meant to them to be Moroccans. It was really interesting to hear them say democracy, happiness, religion, tradition. It was really an eyeopener for me because I guess all I could think about of Morocco before were things like inequality, unhappiness, and lack of freedom (of speech). This, however, is not how many Moroccans think of their country, but rather are very happy with where and how they live. They value tradition and religion and care less about what Americans may value more greatly. Just because it is different, doesn't necessarily make it wrong. It was very interesting. After this talk we visited the ruins of Challah, right outside the city, the Mausoleum of Hassan the II and the ruins of the Mosque there. Then it was off to lunch with our family where we had a delicious crepe like mix with lentils and chicken. Delicioso! Then we met up with some Moroccan students who could speak English and walked through the Kasbah (fortress), to the beach and through the main market in Rabat. It was a really cool experience to talk to Moroccan students and the market was huge! It went on for what seemed like miles and was packed with people. After that we went to the Hammam, which are the Arab baths. What an experience. The Hammam consists of three rooms, each increasingly hotter, where you exfoliate (scrub) yourself like you never have before. We left that place cleaner than we ever have been and much closer than we were before. Then we got henna. It was so cool! The girls that did it for us did the henna in literally like 30 seconds, they were so fast and it was beautiful. Then we headed home for dinner with our families (tonight was a pasta dish with ground meat and cheese, absolutely fabulous) and then passed out again.
The next day we traveled to the Rif Mountains and visited a village. First we stopped in the village for tea and snacks and then headed up into the mountains to visit a family and their small farm. We toured their land, which consisted of about every vegetable and fruit plant you could think of, and then had lunch, tea, and chatted with the family. They could only speak Arabic so we had everything translated to us but it was very interesting to hear how Moroccans live in the villages and the countryside. This couple said they leave their farm for the village about once a year. They live on self-sustaining land and eat from what they grow. They said they love their life and enjoy the peaceful life of the country. We spoke about many things but interesting one thing that came up was their views of the United States. They said that the U.S. needs to be more just, referring to the U.S. waging wars on innocent Arabs and pretending to be friends with Morocco and other Arab countries. It was really interesting to hear their take and realize that U.S. foreign policy affects so many people, even those living in a remote village in the mountains of Africa. After this visit, we jumped back on the bus for Chefchaouen, a larger mountain town, and snuck in some shopping before dinner and bed.
The next morning we walked through the city to a beautiful look out point of the city. After that we had breakfast and a short time to shop before heading to the border. Everything in Morocco is extremely cheap and I purchased a few Christmas presents at great prices. After a 2 and half hour bus ride we made it to the border of Ceuta, a Spanish colony in Morocco. After that we caught a ferry and were in Spain again an hour later. What a relief it was to be able to understand and communicate with people again. Although we all still need to work on our Spanish, we realized just how much we do know when posed with a language of which we knew absolutely nothing. What a relief. After that we had another 4 hour or so bus ride back to Granada. It was a wonderful 5 days but it was certainly nice to be home and have a second to breath. Now it's back to real life, well kind of.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Life got extremely busy these last couple of weeks. Since I last wrote, I visited Córdoba, had a bunch of examenes parciales (mid-term exams), and visited Africa! It's been a blast. Here's a short but hopefully sweet recap.
In Córdoba we visited Madinat al-Zahra, which are the ruins of the royal city and palace of the Umayyads outside of Córdoba. The ruins were previously completely covered in mud and the royal city was actually thought to be a myth until the 20th century when it was found and excavation began. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but they have recovered a lot of beautiful art and architecture that by some grace of God wasn't ruined by the pillaging that occurred for several years after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and the natural causes that covered that city in mud. A lot of columns and arches essentially fell straight to the ground and could be reassembled fairly easily. After Madinat al-Zahra, we went into the city of Córdoba and saw the Mosque of Cordoba there, which is amazing. The most beautiful arches and quibla wall you have ever seen. The most interesting thing, however, is that when the Spaniards conquered Spain and this Mosque they turned it into a cathedral. They did not tear the hole thing down but rather just added a cathedral in the middle. So you have a ton of Islamic art everywhere and then you just walk to the next room and you are standing in a Spanish cathedral. It's like stepping into a whole different world. It's really bizarre. Another interesting thing is that with the addition of the Spanish cathedral, which include very high, vaulted ceilings, came some structural problems, i.e. there is now a row of columns that are tilting causing the outer wall to bend. This isn't a huge problem now but very well may be in the future.
The next week I had midterms. Boy was that a busy week. All I have to say about that is I'm glad it is over.
Then this past Thursday we left for Morocco! The first night we actually spent in southern Spain right off the Straight of Gibraltar. We visited Gibraltar that day, which is a English colony in Spain. It is a very interesting place. They speak English English and run on the English system of government, schooling, currency, etc. However, Gibraltarians also learn Spanish in their schools so most of them can speak both Spanish and English. The city is a very interesting mix of British culture and Spanish culture, a fascinating city. We also got to hike up the Rock of Gibraltar. It was quite the hike but definitely worth it. The view was amazing and you can see Africa on the skyline (I believe Africa is about 14 miles away). Plus, they have monkeys on the rock of Gibraltar, which come really close and of which we took a bunch of pictures! It was great. That night we headed down the rock for some good 'ol English fish and chips.
The next morning we took a ferry to Africa! We got off in Tánger and went to a women's house there that provides education to illiterate women and job training to women who don't have any job skills. It was really interesting and we got to speak with some women about the gender inequality, what the government is doing to combat this, and about freedom of speech (or lack there of, at least pertaining to the government and the king). It was really interesting to hear their take on things and hear how passionate they are about increasing literacy rates among women and women's rights in general. It's a concept that is basically unknown to us, at least in that scope, and such a contrast from American women's rights but at the same time they are making great strides and the government is helping as well. One interesting fact is that starting I believe next year, the government has passed some initiative or law saying that their parliament will consist of 50% women. They are very progressive in that sense but very behind in others, i.e. literacy and education.
After the talk with the women and lunch at the center, we headed to Rabat. On the way we stopped for a camel ride! It was so much fun but kind of scary we the camel's stood up. After that we visited the city nearby. Took a little paseo (walk) through the city, there is a bunch of cool street art painted on the walls, had a snack and hit the road again. When we got to Rabat my friend and I met our house family and went to their house for dinner. My host family consisted of a women and her two children. Her husband, who I believe is an American, but am a bit unsure because our host mom only spoke a little bit of English and Spanish (mostly we spoke in hand movements), was away on business so it was just the three of them. We were obsessed with the little girl! She was 7 years old, absolutely adorable and spoke Arabic, French and some English. The was the smartest, cutest little thing ever! We told her we could stuff her in our bag and take her home with us to the states to see a Miley Cyrus concert, she loves Miley Cyrus!, and she said "bye bye Mama," cutest thing ever. The little boy, I think maybe 9, couldn't speak any English, his third language is German, plus he is very shy so we did not talk much to him. The mother was amazing! She treated us as her own and made the most amazing food! The first night at their house I wasn't feeling well so she made us a simple dinner of rice, chicken, and I believe squash soup with an apple, banana, and carrot smoothie juice and tea. It was delicious. After dinner, my friend and I passed out.
The next day we woke to a breakfast of breads, jam, cheese, and tea. Boy do they love their tea in Morocco! It's a very, very sweet green tea. I like it but I don't think I could handle drinking it as much as they do, too sweet. After breakfast we headed off to a education center, where they help youth struggling in school, kids who drop out of school and want to re-enter (something that is pretty unheard of in Morocco), and kids and young adults that need job training to enter the workforce. We talked a lot about stereotypes, of the West, the U.S., and Morocco, with the directors of this organizations. They first asked us what is means to be an American and then they told us what it meant to them to be Moroccans. It was really interesting to hear them say democracy, happiness, religion, tradition. It was really an eyeopener for me because I guess all I could think about of Morocco before were things like inequality, unhappiness, and lack of freedom (of speech). This, however, is not how many Moroccans think of their country, but rather are very happy with where and how they live. They value tradition and religion and care less about what Americans may value more greatly. Just because it is different, doesn't necessarily make it wrong. It was very interesting. After this talk we visited the ruins of Challah, right outside the city, the Mausoleum of Hassan the II and the ruins of the Mosque there. Then it was off to lunch with our family where we had a delicious crepe like mix with lentils and chicken. Delicioso! Then we met up with some Moroccan students who could speak English and walked through the Kasbah (fortress), to the beach and through the main market in Rabat. It was a really cool experience to talk to Moroccan students and the market was huge! It went on for what seemed like miles and was packed with people. After that we went to the Hammam, which are the Arab baths. What an experience. The Hammam consists of three rooms, each increasingly hotter, where you exfoliate (scrub) yourself like you never have before. We left that place cleaner than we ever have been and much closer than we were before. Then we got henna. It was so cool! The girls that did it for us did the henna in literally like 30 seconds, they were so fast and it was beautiful. Then we headed home for dinner with our families (tonight was a pasta dish with ground meat and cheese, absolutely fabulous) and then passed out again.
The next day we traveled to the Rif Mountains and visited a village. First we stopped in the village for tea and snacks and then headed up into the mountains to visit a family and their small farm. We toured their land, which consisted of about every vegetable and fruit plant you could think of, and then had lunch, tea, and chatted with the family. They could only speak Arabic so we had everything translated to us but it was very interesting to hear how Moroccans live in the villages and the countryside. This couple said they leave their farm for the village about once a year. They live on self-sustaining land and eat from what they grow. They said they love their life and enjoy the peaceful life of the country. We spoke about many things but interesting one thing that came up was their views of the United States. They said that the U.S. needs to be more just, referring to the U.S. waging wars on innocent Arabs and pretending to be friends with Morocco and other Arab countries. It was really interesting to hear their take and realize that U.S. foreign policy affects so many people, even those living in a remote village in the mountains of Africa. After this visit, we jumped back on the bus for Chefchaouen, a larger mountain town, and snuck in some shopping before dinner and bed.
The next morning we walked through the city to a beautiful look out point of the city. After that we had breakfast and a short time to shop before heading to the border. Everything in Morocco is extremely cheap and I purchased a few Christmas presents at great prices. After a 2 and half hour bus ride we made it to the border of Ceuta, a Spanish colony in Morocco. After that we caught a ferry and were in Spain again an hour later. What a relief it was to be able to understand and communicate with people again. Although we all still need to work on our Spanish, we realized just how much we do know when posed with a language of which we knew absolutely nothing. What a relief. After that we had another 4 hour or so bus ride back to Granada. It was a wonderful 5 days but it was certainly nice to be home and have a second to breath. Now it's back to real life, well kind of.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Madrid y Barcelona
Hola,
Long time, no talk. Boy has it been a busy weekend/week. Well, last Thursday my friends and I took a bus to Málaga and hopped a plane to Madrid. We got in around 11 and headed to my friend's friend's apartment to do some serious itinerizing (don't know if that is a word) before heading to bed. We got up bright and early the next morning and headed on a power-packed walking tour. First, we headed to the Temple de Debad, the ruins of an Egyptian temple close to my friend's friend's apartment. Outside there was a beautiful pond and arches and inside you could see traces of hieroglyphics. Pretty cool. After that we went to Palacio Real, which are the former royal palaces of the Spanish royal family (they currently have more "humble" palaces outside of the city). We saw something something like 30 of the 2,000 rooms in the palace. They were pretty elaborate and beautiful. After that we did a bit of a walking tour through the city, hitting most of the popular plazas-- Plaza de España, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and several others. Then we went to the Parque del Buen Retiro. This park is beautiful. It has amazing gardens at the entrance with the coolest trees that there leaves are shaved into individual little clumps (I thought it was really cool!) and a beautiful pond/lake you can take paddle boats out on. My friends and I took this time to pass out in the park for a much needed siesta. After our siesta, we headed over to the Museo Nacional del Prado, essentially the most famous museum in Spain and, some might say, in the world (all-ranking.com ranks the Prado the best museum in the world). I'm not an art buff by any means, but this museum is fabulous. It has tons of pieces by El Bosco, Velásquez, Goya and more. I really enjoyed it and left with with a greater appreciation of art. I want to learn more of these great artists. Another great thing about the Prado is that there are historic explanation and reasoning behind each piece, which you often don't find at other art museums. After that we went to one of the best tapas bars I have ever been to, el tigre. We ended the night with, according to my lonely planet guide book to Spain, the second of the top 25 experiences in Spain-- Madrid's nightlife. I think I would have to agree with lonely planet. It was a fun night.
The next day we slept in a little later and then went to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the modern alternative to the Prado. It was great as well. By this point, we were getting a bit arted out (not sure if that is a work either) and didn't stay too long. After this, it was raining and we desperately wanted churros con chocolate (similar to Mexican churros, essentially minus the sugar and cinnamon on the outide, and dipped in chocolate), a delicious and popular treat in Spain. We finally found an excellent churro place and chowed down. It was raining this whole day so warm churros con chocolate were perfect! After this we had to head back to our friends apartment to get our stuff together and head for the plane.
We arrived in Barcelona around 11 and checked into Hello BCN, an interesting but fun hostel. Community style rooms and bathrooms and a lobby that never sleeps. It ended up being great but definitely interesting. That night was pretty calm. The next day we embarked on our many planned activities. To say we loved itineraries, would be an understatement. The itinerary for this day included a walking tour of "Guadí's eccentric life and...his most magical building around the city" (walking tour brochure). We visited his first piece of work, a lamppost, and several of his houses, Casa Mila and Casa Batjllo, finishing the tour with La Sagrada Familía (lonely planet's number one top experience in Spain). All were amazing. Casa Batjllo looks like Disney land and a mermaid all at the same time. Casa Mila is more simple on the outside (apparently it was greatly disliked at the time it was built, many called it ugly and many mothers, the story is told, made their young children look away when they passed it) but apparently very elaborate on the inside and has an amazing terrace with a bunch of really cool sculptures (one of which apparently inspired the design for the storm troopers in Star Wars). La Sagrada Familia was absolutely amazing. There are three facades (Nativity, Passion, Glory). The most elaborate of the three is the Nativity facade, which depicts the birth of Christ. It's the most intricate, detailed thing I have ever seen. If you haven't seen a picture of La Sagrada Familia, you need to google it and the Nativity facade as well. My attempt at a description wouldn't do it justice. All I can say it that it blew my mind. One fun fact about this facade, they babies on this facade are mold of stillborns that Guadí got ahold of from a local hospital. A little creepy but interesting. I could talk all day about this but this should give you an idea. After a long day of site seeing, we had lunch and attempted to shop but everything was closed because it was a Sunday. We later had dinner and enjoyed some of Barcelona's nightlife.
On Monday, we took a gondola (cable car type thing) up to the Castella de Montejuc, which is at the top of a big hill. On the way up we could see the whole city from the gondola. It was really beautiful. After visiting the castle we walked around the Olympic complex nearby that housed the 1992 Olympics and is still used today for concerts and events. After that we had lunch and went to Park Guell, another one of Guadí's projects. This project was actually suppose to be a city park and a upscale housing site. The venture eventually failed and was left unfinished. However, there is a beautiful courtyard area, gardens, stairs, and two ginger bread looking houses that still stand there. After this, the girls and I did some shopping (who would we be if we didn't shop a little bit in Barcelona, but don't worry mom and dad, I was very frugal!). We also went to the best Chinese buffet I ever been to in my life for dinner. This sounds sketchy I know, but the food was delicious and I was a great end to our trip. Well, that is before we experienced one last night of Barcelona nightlife.
The next morning we caught a 8 a.m. flight back to Barcelona. A day of homework, ending with some great food at the renaissance type festival by my house completed my Tuesday. I had classes as usual yesterday and today and now it's the weekend again. Got to love those four-day weeks (two-day this week)!
The weather is starting to cool down here. It still gets pretty warm in the afternoon but is cool in the mornings and very cool in the evenings. It's is very difficult to dress for an entire day and I often change several times. It's a bit annoying but what can you do.
We are going to Cordoba tomorrow for a day trip. It should by fun!
hasta!
Ashley
Long time, no talk. Boy has it been a busy weekend/week. Well, last Thursday my friends and I took a bus to Málaga and hopped a plane to Madrid. We got in around 11 and headed to my friend's friend's apartment to do some serious itinerizing (don't know if that is a word) before heading to bed. We got up bright and early the next morning and headed on a power-packed walking tour. First, we headed to the Temple de Debad, the ruins of an Egyptian temple close to my friend's friend's apartment. Outside there was a beautiful pond and arches and inside you could see traces of hieroglyphics. Pretty cool. After that we went to Palacio Real, which are the former royal palaces of the Spanish royal family (they currently have more "humble" palaces outside of the city). We saw something something like 30 of the 2,000 rooms in the palace. They were pretty elaborate and beautiful. After that we did a bit of a walking tour through the city, hitting most of the popular plazas-- Plaza de España, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and several others. Then we went to the Parque del Buen Retiro. This park is beautiful. It has amazing gardens at the entrance with the coolest trees that there leaves are shaved into individual little clumps (I thought it was really cool!) and a beautiful pond/lake you can take paddle boats out on. My friends and I took this time to pass out in the park for a much needed siesta. After our siesta, we headed over to the Museo Nacional del Prado, essentially the most famous museum in Spain and, some might say, in the world (all-ranking.com ranks the Prado the best museum in the world). I'm not an art buff by any means, but this museum is fabulous. It has tons of pieces by El Bosco, Velásquez, Goya and more. I really enjoyed it and left with with a greater appreciation of art. I want to learn more of these great artists. Another great thing about the Prado is that there are historic explanation and reasoning behind each piece, which you often don't find at other art museums. After that we went to one of the best tapas bars I have ever been to, el tigre. We ended the night with, according to my lonely planet guide book to Spain, the second of the top 25 experiences in Spain-- Madrid's nightlife. I think I would have to agree with lonely planet. It was a fun night.
The next day we slept in a little later and then went to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the modern alternative to the Prado. It was great as well. By this point, we were getting a bit arted out (not sure if that is a work either) and didn't stay too long. After this, it was raining and we desperately wanted churros con chocolate (similar to Mexican churros, essentially minus the sugar and cinnamon on the outide, and dipped in chocolate), a delicious and popular treat in Spain. We finally found an excellent churro place and chowed down. It was raining this whole day so warm churros con chocolate were perfect! After this we had to head back to our friends apartment to get our stuff together and head for the plane.
We arrived in Barcelona around 11 and checked into Hello BCN, an interesting but fun hostel. Community style rooms and bathrooms and a lobby that never sleeps. It ended up being great but definitely interesting. That night was pretty calm. The next day we embarked on our many planned activities. To say we loved itineraries, would be an understatement. The itinerary for this day included a walking tour of "Guadí's eccentric life and...his most magical building around the city" (walking tour brochure). We visited his first piece of work, a lamppost, and several of his houses, Casa Mila and Casa Batjllo, finishing the tour with La Sagrada Familía (lonely planet's number one top experience in Spain). All were amazing. Casa Batjllo looks like Disney land and a mermaid all at the same time. Casa Mila is more simple on the outside (apparently it was greatly disliked at the time it was built, many called it ugly and many mothers, the story is told, made their young children look away when they passed it) but apparently very elaborate on the inside and has an amazing terrace with a bunch of really cool sculptures (one of which apparently inspired the design for the storm troopers in Star Wars). La Sagrada Familia was absolutely amazing. There are three facades (Nativity, Passion, Glory). The most elaborate of the three is the Nativity facade, which depicts the birth of Christ. It's the most intricate, detailed thing I have ever seen. If you haven't seen a picture of La Sagrada Familia, you need to google it and the Nativity facade as well. My attempt at a description wouldn't do it justice. All I can say it that it blew my mind. One fun fact about this facade, they babies on this facade are mold of stillborns that Guadí got ahold of from a local hospital. A little creepy but interesting. I could talk all day about this but this should give you an idea. After a long day of site seeing, we had lunch and attempted to shop but everything was closed because it was a Sunday. We later had dinner and enjoyed some of Barcelona's nightlife.
On Monday, we took a gondola (cable car type thing) up to the Castella de Montejuc, which is at the top of a big hill. On the way up we could see the whole city from the gondola. It was really beautiful. After visiting the castle we walked around the Olympic complex nearby that housed the 1992 Olympics and is still used today for concerts and events. After that we had lunch and went to Park Guell, another one of Guadí's projects. This project was actually suppose to be a city park and a upscale housing site. The venture eventually failed and was left unfinished. However, there is a beautiful courtyard area, gardens, stairs, and two ginger bread looking houses that still stand there. After this, the girls and I did some shopping (who would we be if we didn't shop a little bit in Barcelona, but don't worry mom and dad, I was very frugal!). We also went to the best Chinese buffet I ever been to in my life for dinner. This sounds sketchy I know, but the food was delicious and I was a great end to our trip. Well, that is before we experienced one last night of Barcelona nightlife.
The next morning we caught a 8 a.m. flight back to Barcelona. A day of homework, ending with some great food at the renaissance type festival by my house completed my Tuesday. I had classes as usual yesterday and today and now it's the weekend again. Got to love those four-day weeks (two-day this week)!
The weather is starting to cool down here. It still gets pretty warm in the afternoon but is cool in the mornings and very cool in the evenings. It's is very difficult to dress for an entire day and I often change several times. It's a bit annoying but what can you do.
We are going to Cordoba tomorrow for a day trip. It should by fun!
hasta!
Ashley
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Martes
Hola,
For the most part, it was a calm Martes, or Tuesday, in Granada. I had basketball last night. The only thing was it was at a different place than my last practice, much further away. I was simple told to go to the University's main campus, La Cartuja, and ask someone were the gym was. Turns out La Cartuja is enormous and I wound my way to the top of the "mountain" of La Cartuja (actually only a large hill, but large does not begin to describe it) where not many buses run and had to wander for awhile, hop on another bus, and ask many Spaniards how to get to the gym. I finally found it edventually but it was quite an adventure to say the least and I was a little late. Good thing the Spaniards are friendly.
Hasta!
Ashley
For the most part, it was a calm Martes, or Tuesday, in Granada. I had basketball last night. The only thing was it was at a different place than my last practice, much further away. I was simple told to go to the University's main campus, La Cartuja, and ask someone were the gym was. Turns out La Cartuja is enormous and I wound my way to the top of the "mountain" of La Cartuja (actually only a large hill, but large does not begin to describe it) where not many buses run and had to wander for awhile, hop on another bus, and ask many Spaniards how to get to the gym. I finally found it edventually but it was quite an adventure to say the least and I was a little late. Good thing the Spaniards are friendly.
Hasta!
Ashley
Monday, October 4, 2010
Baloncesto, Pampineira y paella!
Hola,
Long time, not talk. I have so many things to share. Thursday was a pretty calm day. I did find out that the activities director at my school hooked me up with the University of Granada's Women's Club basketball team, our first practice scheduled for Friday. That was exciting. Also, my friends and I went to an intercambio night at one of the tapas bars by our house. Pretty fun. We met a lady from the U.S. that had lived in Spain for 6 years and only goes back to the states about once a year. That is crazy to me but I think it is awesome as well. Her life is completely and totally rooted in Spain and she is fully immersed in the culture. I can't really conceive that because I always have in the back of my mind that I will eventually be going back, that my home is in the states. Very cool, nonetheless.
Friday I had basketball practice at 2 o'clock way across town so I took a bus to get there. Boy was my mind blown by this experience. First off, all the girls and coaches speak only Spanish. I was scared out of my mind when I first got there. I was completely and totally on my toes for about 2 and a half hours. They all came up and gave me dos besos, two kisses, on the cheek when they first got there and introduced themselves. Then they taught me their plays and a bunch of drills, entirely in Spanish. It as great. I am definitely on their level, in terms of my basketball skills, and I think it will be a great opportunity to stay in basketball shape and practice my Spanish. It was really interesting, however, how different their play was from the way we play basketball back in the states. For one, they do not shoot the outside shot much which means there offense consists mainly of driving to the basket. That then effects how they play defense and other parts of the game. Moreover, the lane is a trapezoid rather than a rectangle and the European ball is different from the ball we use in the states. It was very much a learning experience for me. When I first walked in I had a flashback to the first time my friend Tolu, a girl on the Grinnell basketball team from Nigeria, played basketball with us. I'm sure she experienced the differences in play and the adjustment to a fairly foreign situation. I think I somewhat know how she must have felt. I think scared is probably the best way to sum it up but great at the same time.
On Saturday, a couple of my friends and I decided to take a bus to this little village, Pampiniera, in the Sierra Nevada. It was beautiful! It had cute little shops and restaurants, windy old streets with whitewash carmens and beautiful Spanish doors. I was in heaven. We also hiked maybe a mile or two to the next little village, Bublion. It was a beautiful hike. We were very high in the mountains and the view was just breathtaking. We also stumbled by a fig tree and picked fresh figs, which thrilled my friend and I who are OBSESSED with figs! They are amazing. Fig Newtons most certainly do not do them justice, to say the very least. Once we finally got back to Granada we met up with some friends and later went to a cave discoteca, or club, up in the Sacromonte, which is the old, windy part of town where the gypsies live and there are a bunch of cave restaurants, bars, and clubs that are tucked away into the caves. This particular club consisted of caves on the main floor and a terrace on the second floor. It was really cool.
On Sunday, I did homework and hung out with my roommate and her mom who is visiting from the states. My Senora made us all paella (so delicious!) and we had the longest lunch I have ever had in my life, consisting of tortilla de patatas (basically an egg and potato bake), cheese and peppers, salad, paella, fruit and sweets with champagne and desert liquor (basically shots, not my cup of tea). It was great. Then later in the evening I went over to my roommate's mom's apartment she is renting and had a lovely dinner before grabbing ice cream (word on the streets is that the ice cream parlors will be closing soon because it will start getting cold, my solution: get as much ice cream right now as possible!) and headed home.
Today was a fairly typical and busy Monday. I had one class canceled which was nice. Also, my friends and I decided we are going to go to Madrid and Barcelona this weekend since we have next Tuesday off from school and intend on missing our classes on Monday to make it a five day tour of Northern Spain. We are really excited! We leave Thursday night. Happy Monday!
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Long time, not talk. I have so many things to share. Thursday was a pretty calm day. I did find out that the activities director at my school hooked me up with the University of Granada's Women's Club basketball team, our first practice scheduled for Friday. That was exciting. Also, my friends and I went to an intercambio night at one of the tapas bars by our house. Pretty fun. We met a lady from the U.S. that had lived in Spain for 6 years and only goes back to the states about once a year. That is crazy to me but I think it is awesome as well. Her life is completely and totally rooted in Spain and she is fully immersed in the culture. I can't really conceive that because I always have in the back of my mind that I will eventually be going back, that my home is in the states. Very cool, nonetheless.
Friday I had basketball practice at 2 o'clock way across town so I took a bus to get there. Boy was my mind blown by this experience. First off, all the girls and coaches speak only Spanish. I was scared out of my mind when I first got there. I was completely and totally on my toes for about 2 and a half hours. They all came up and gave me dos besos, two kisses, on the cheek when they first got there and introduced themselves. Then they taught me their plays and a bunch of drills, entirely in Spanish. It as great. I am definitely on their level, in terms of my basketball skills, and I think it will be a great opportunity to stay in basketball shape and practice my Spanish. It was really interesting, however, how different their play was from the way we play basketball back in the states. For one, they do not shoot the outside shot much which means there offense consists mainly of driving to the basket. That then effects how they play defense and other parts of the game. Moreover, the lane is a trapezoid rather than a rectangle and the European ball is different from the ball we use in the states. It was very much a learning experience for me. When I first walked in I had a flashback to the first time my friend Tolu, a girl on the Grinnell basketball team from Nigeria, played basketball with us. I'm sure she experienced the differences in play and the adjustment to a fairly foreign situation. I think I somewhat know how she must have felt. I think scared is probably the best way to sum it up but great at the same time.
On Saturday, a couple of my friends and I decided to take a bus to this little village, Pampiniera, in the Sierra Nevada. It was beautiful! It had cute little shops and restaurants, windy old streets with whitewash carmens and beautiful Spanish doors. I was in heaven. We also hiked maybe a mile or two to the next little village, Bublion. It was a beautiful hike. We were very high in the mountains and the view was just breathtaking. We also stumbled by a fig tree and picked fresh figs, which thrilled my friend and I who are OBSESSED with figs! They are amazing. Fig Newtons most certainly do not do them justice, to say the very least. Once we finally got back to Granada we met up with some friends and later went to a cave discoteca, or club, up in the Sacromonte, which is the old, windy part of town where the gypsies live and there are a bunch of cave restaurants, bars, and clubs that are tucked away into the caves. This particular club consisted of caves on the main floor and a terrace on the second floor. It was really cool.
On Sunday, I did homework and hung out with my roommate and her mom who is visiting from the states. My Senora made us all paella (so delicious!) and we had the longest lunch I have ever had in my life, consisting of tortilla de patatas (basically an egg and potato bake), cheese and peppers, salad, paella, fruit and sweets with champagne and desert liquor (basically shots, not my cup of tea). It was great. Then later in the evening I went over to my roommate's mom's apartment she is renting and had a lovely dinner before grabbing ice cream (word on the streets is that the ice cream parlors will be closing soon because it will start getting cold, my solution: get as much ice cream right now as possible!) and headed home.
Today was a fairly typical and busy Monday. I had one class canceled which was nice. Also, my friends and I decided we are going to go to Madrid and Barcelona this weekend since we have next Tuesday off from school and intend on missing our classes on Monday to make it a five day tour of Northern Spain. We are really excited! We leave Thursday night. Happy Monday!
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Thursday, September 30, 2010
La huelga
Hola,
Yesterday was the Huelga General, in other words, the laborers strike across Spain. Although I didn't encounter anything picketing, there apparently were protesters all of Granada and Spain. I did, however, see "HUELGA GENERAL yo voy!!" signs and stickers all over the city. I also heard that many store windows were busted in because they opened their shops and that a bunch of picketers attached the Burger King in the middle of the city around lunch time because it was still open. Supposedly the buses were on a limited schedule and the grocery stores were full of picketers but I didn't notice much out of the ordinary. Also, there apparently were huge riots in other cities in Spain with picketing and even cars lit on fire. Pretty crazy. However, most of the shops that did not open during the day opened in the evening, like a half strike. Besides that it was just class as usual.
Hasta!
Ashley
Yesterday was the Huelga General, in other words, the laborers strike across Spain. Although I didn't encounter anything picketing, there apparently were protesters all of Granada and Spain. I did, however, see "HUELGA GENERAL yo voy!!" signs and stickers all over the city. I also heard that many store windows were busted in because they opened their shops and that a bunch of picketers attached the Burger King in the middle of the city around lunch time because it was still open. Supposedly the buses were on a limited schedule and the grocery stores were full of picketers but I didn't notice much out of the ordinary. Also, there apparently were huge riots in other cities in Spain with picketing and even cars lit on fire. Pretty crazy. However, most of the shops that did not open during the day opened in the evening, like a half strike. Besides that it was just class as usual.
Hasta!
Ashley
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Baby It's Cold Outside
Hola,
Another Tuesday had come and gone. Basketball got canceled due to the non-functioning lights at the outdoor court we play at. That was a little sad but that left my evening wide open, which is currently very rare in my life. I took advantage of this spare time and hit up El Corte Ingles, which is essentially the Super Wal-Mart of department stores in Spain. They have EVERYTHING! Clothes, cosmetics, shoes, books, every day Wal-mart items, and groceries! I'm sure I am missing somethings but the basic gist is that if you need something, it's probably at El Corte Ingles for you to buy. Yesterday I was interested in their groceries. Grocery stores here are actually really great and pretty cheap. They have great produce, good meat, and delicious, freshly baked bread. They do not, however, have much of a snack section. They have tons of chocolate, fatty snacks (which are tasty but not what I should be spending my precious euros on) and then they have, in my opinion, weird diet cookies. Not much in between. El Corte Ingles, on the other hand, has a little bit of the in between. I found myself some nice little galletas (or cookies) from their fresh baked pastry section that I sort of love and I don't think are actually that bad for you because they are pan integral (or wheat bread) cookies but nonetheless very tasty.
After El Corte Ingles, I headed home to watch a movie for my Arab World and the West homework. The six part youtube video was titled: The Power of Nightmares "Baby It's Cold Outside." To all you conspiracy theorists and history buffs, I most certainly recommend this video. It talks about American politicians, and politicians in general, need to create myths of common enemies and threats to unite the the people. The video calls these myths "necessary illusions" that everyone can believe in, when in reality, they are often completely fallacious. This video specifically is referring to how the fear of terrorism/terrorist groups, nations, etc. have been used to inspire the neoconservative moment and Islamic radicals to use common myths to lead their nations. Very interesting.
After watching the movie I had sushi, very yummy, and headed home for bed.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Another Tuesday had come and gone. Basketball got canceled due to the non-functioning lights at the outdoor court we play at. That was a little sad but that left my evening wide open, which is currently very rare in my life. I took advantage of this spare time and hit up El Corte Ingles, which is essentially the Super Wal-Mart of department stores in Spain. They have EVERYTHING! Clothes, cosmetics, shoes, books, every day Wal-mart items, and groceries! I'm sure I am missing somethings but the basic gist is that if you need something, it's probably at El Corte Ingles for you to buy. Yesterday I was interested in their groceries. Grocery stores here are actually really great and pretty cheap. They have great produce, good meat, and delicious, freshly baked bread. They do not, however, have much of a snack section. They have tons of chocolate, fatty snacks (which are tasty but not what I should be spending my precious euros on) and then they have, in my opinion, weird diet cookies. Not much in between. El Corte Ingles, on the other hand, has a little bit of the in between. I found myself some nice little galletas (or cookies) from their fresh baked pastry section that I sort of love and I don't think are actually that bad for you because they are pan integral (or wheat bread) cookies but nonetheless very tasty.
After El Corte Ingles, I headed home to watch a movie for my Arab World and the West homework. The six part youtube video was titled: The Power of Nightmares "Baby It's Cold Outside." To all you conspiracy theorists and history buffs, I most certainly recommend this video. It talks about American politicians, and politicians in general, need to create myths of common enemies and threats to unite the the people. The video calls these myths "necessary illusions" that everyone can believe in, when in reality, they are often completely fallacious. This video specifically is referring to how the fear of terrorism/terrorist groups, nations, etc. have been used to inspire the neoconservative moment and Islamic radicals to use common myths to lead their nations. Very interesting.
After watching the movie I had sushi, very yummy, and headed home for bed.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Arab World and the West
Hola,
Another busy Monday has come and gone. In my Arab World and the West class we discussed the economic situation of the Arab world and how poor and mistreated many of its people are. We also watched many videos about this. We watched one video of a very popular Arab television show, basically an Arab news station, that encouraged men to beat their wives because the Koran instructs them to do so. Furthermore, because of these instructions and the assumption that women are disobedient and spiteful, if a women is beaten, it is assumed that she, in ALL cases, did something to deserve it. This is only a small piece of what we watched but it blew my mind. We also watched a video of another news show where two men were debating the mistreatment of Arabs by their authoritarian governments, specifically Saddam Hussein. At one point in the video, the man supporting Hussein said something to the effect of "this man did kill my brother, my uncle, etc. but the way he died makes him a great man, he was a great man." It just blew my mind that such attitudes do actually exist and the are not just casual attitudes or slight feelings but passionate beliefs, passionate beliefs that wife beating is morally acceptable and someone who killed your own family members is a great man. I felt so ignorant because I could not conceive someone that any person, furthermore a huge group of people, could think this way. Although not all of Arabs that think this way are bad people (and not all Arabs necessarily think this way), they nonetheless adamantly believe these things. What is scarier is that they are brought up knowing only these ways and having no reason not to believe this is the correct way to live. What if I was brought up that way? Would I accept these beliefs to be correct and moral as well? It´s is very scary. Just youtube any of the topics I have just discussed and you will find a plethora of videos with mind-boggling speeches, debates, and views very different from your own. I´m interested to learn more about the Arab world but I would be lying if I said I´m not bit terrified of what I am going to find.
Well that´s my rant of the day.
Hasta!
Ashley
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sevilla y Ronda
Hola,
Boy did I have a full weekend. Here's the short version. Woke up about 6:30 am to make to the bus by 7:45. We arrived in Sevilla around 11:30 and walked to los Reales Alcázares, which are the royal places and gardens in Sevilla. The gardens and grounds a los Reales Alcázares are open to the public except when the royal family is in town. Whenever the royal family is in town they shut down the place and house them in the fancy rooms at the palace, which are always shut off to the public. This luxury is available to any member of the royal family or a friend of the royal family, i.e. a diplomat or even an American president. The gardens and grounds were beautiful. It was really interesting to see the mix of art and architecture on the grounds because it was not just catholic art. Although the royalty that built and designed this palace, as well as the royalty still in power, were catholic, there are heavy influences of Islamic art (there are many horseshoe arches), as well as, some Jewish art (there are crosses of David sprinkles throughout the palace). You would think those who lead the Reconquista to rid the Iberian peninsula of the Muslims, and Jews for that matter, would not want any trace of Islam or Judaism in their lives, but that is not so. After the los Reales Alcázares, we went to el Barrio de Santa Cruz, which is where the Catedral de Santa Cruz is housed. Many fun facts about this cathedral. One, it is the third largest cathedral in the world. Two, the tower attached to the cathedral is actually a Islamic tower which previously was attached to the Mosque that later was torn down and made into the cathedral. Three, Sevilla and Kansas City are sister cities. Finally, four, there is a replica Santa Cruz tower on the Plaza in Kansas City. After our tour of the cathedral we had some free time. My friends and I decided to go to the world fair that was in town for dinner. At the fair there were tents from a bunch of different countries with the traditional food from each. We decided to go to the Argentina tent and bought delicious sausages. Then we hit up the France tent and got chocolate crepes. It was all delicious. After that we went to a Flamenco show, which was amazing, and then hit the town for awhile.
On Saturday, we left the hotel around 11 and headed to Ronda. In Ronda we toured the Plaza de toros and Ronda's bullring. We got to see where they keep the bull before the fight and what they do to the bull to rile him up. In the back of the stadium there are tunnels that lead the bull towards the ring with doors that close behind the bull ever so often so he can't retreat. While this is going on, there are guys above taunted and poking the bull with poles, trying to get the bull mad. The idea is, once the bull is finally released, he is so flustered at this point that he will just shoot into the ring at full speed. Pretty cool to see up close. After the tour of the bullring, we went on a tour of the city, which is tucked up on a mountain overlooking a beautiful valley, and saw the remnants of the cities Arab baths. The concept of the Arab baths is really interesting. Back in the day, when people did not have private baths, they would travel to their cities bathhouses and spend hours, at least 5 hours, steaming, scrubbing, bathing, etc. This outing was seen, not only as a needed cleansing of the body, but also a social gathering. Men would finish business deals, women would gossip and try to find suitors for their daughters. It was quite an event. Furthermore, bathhouses were often by mosques and the revenue from the bathhouses were typically used to fund the mosques. Very interesting. After the town tour, we hopped back on the buses and headed back for Granada. We I got home I went out for dinner and hung out with some Spaniards before retiring home for the evening.
On Sunday, I slept late and did homework most of the day. At lunch I had my first pomegranate. Pomegranate are the fruit of Granada and here are simply called Granadas. It was delicious. In the evening, I headed out to explore the festival of the Virgin that was taking place in Granada. All weekend there have been food tents, vendors, rides, music, etc. all over the city. And yesterday evening there was a big parade. It was a huge procession of priests and church people (I'm not entirely sure who they were) carrying a huge, golden statue of the Virgin and holding candles and crosses. People piled into every tiny corner of the city. There were so many people. My Senora told us that many people from the villages travel to Granada for this weekend. She was not exaggerating because there were more people in the city than I have ever seen. Also, they have this pastry that is traditional to this festival. It basically looks like a huge pizza but is just a huge pastry with cinnamon filling in the middle and sugar on the top. It was delicious. We were told there are other kinds, possible chocolate, but I didn't see any. After the procession, I grabbed a delicious schwarma and stopped by the English bar that has football (norteamericano) before heading home.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Boy did I have a full weekend. Here's the short version. Woke up about 6:30 am to make to the bus by 7:45. We arrived in Sevilla around 11:30 and walked to los Reales Alcázares, which are the royal places and gardens in Sevilla. The gardens and grounds a los Reales Alcázares are open to the public except when the royal family is in town. Whenever the royal family is in town they shut down the place and house them in the fancy rooms at the palace, which are always shut off to the public. This luxury is available to any member of the royal family or a friend of the royal family, i.e. a diplomat or even an American president. The gardens and grounds were beautiful. It was really interesting to see the mix of art and architecture on the grounds because it was not just catholic art. Although the royalty that built and designed this palace, as well as the royalty still in power, were catholic, there are heavy influences of Islamic art (there are many horseshoe arches), as well as, some Jewish art (there are crosses of David sprinkles throughout the palace). You would think those who lead the Reconquista to rid the Iberian peninsula of the Muslims, and Jews for that matter, would not want any trace of Islam or Judaism in their lives, but that is not so. After the los Reales Alcázares, we went to el Barrio de Santa Cruz, which is where the Catedral de Santa Cruz is housed. Many fun facts about this cathedral. One, it is the third largest cathedral in the world. Two, the tower attached to the cathedral is actually a Islamic tower which previously was attached to the Mosque that later was torn down and made into the cathedral. Three, Sevilla and Kansas City are sister cities. Finally, four, there is a replica Santa Cruz tower on the Plaza in Kansas City. After our tour of the cathedral we had some free time. My friends and I decided to go to the world fair that was in town for dinner. At the fair there were tents from a bunch of different countries with the traditional food from each. We decided to go to the Argentina tent and bought delicious sausages. Then we hit up the France tent and got chocolate crepes. It was all delicious. After that we went to a Flamenco show, which was amazing, and then hit the town for awhile.
On Saturday, we left the hotel around 11 and headed to Ronda. In Ronda we toured the Plaza de toros and Ronda's bullring. We got to see where they keep the bull before the fight and what they do to the bull to rile him up. In the back of the stadium there are tunnels that lead the bull towards the ring with doors that close behind the bull ever so often so he can't retreat. While this is going on, there are guys above taunted and poking the bull with poles, trying to get the bull mad. The idea is, once the bull is finally released, he is so flustered at this point that he will just shoot into the ring at full speed. Pretty cool to see up close. After the tour of the bullring, we went on a tour of the city, which is tucked up on a mountain overlooking a beautiful valley, and saw the remnants of the cities Arab baths. The concept of the Arab baths is really interesting. Back in the day, when people did not have private baths, they would travel to their cities bathhouses and spend hours, at least 5 hours, steaming, scrubbing, bathing, etc. This outing was seen, not only as a needed cleansing of the body, but also a social gathering. Men would finish business deals, women would gossip and try to find suitors for their daughters. It was quite an event. Furthermore, bathhouses were often by mosques and the revenue from the bathhouses were typically used to fund the mosques. Very interesting. After the town tour, we hopped back on the buses and headed back for Granada. We I got home I went out for dinner and hung out with some Spaniards before retiring home for the evening.
On Sunday, I slept late and did homework most of the day. At lunch I had my first pomegranate. Pomegranate are the fruit of Granada and here are simply called Granadas. It was delicious. In the evening, I headed out to explore the festival of the Virgin that was taking place in Granada. All weekend there have been food tents, vendors, rides, music, etc. all over the city. And yesterday evening there was a big parade. It was a huge procession of priests and church people (I'm not entirely sure who they were) carrying a huge, golden statue of the Virgin and holding candles and crosses. People piled into every tiny corner of the city. There were so many people. My Senora told us that many people from the villages travel to Granada for this weekend. She was not exaggerating because there were more people in the city than I have ever seen. Also, they have this pastry that is traditional to this festival. It basically looks like a huge pizza but is just a huge pastry with cinnamon filling in the middle and sugar on the top. It was delicious. We were told there are other kinds, possible chocolate, but I didn't see any. After the procession, I grabbed a delicious schwarma and stopped by the English bar that has football (norteamericano) before heading home.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Flamenco!
Hola,
¡Buenos días! Not much to write about today. Just had a busy day of classes yesterday and a little too late of a night on the town. The only really interesting thing I did was shake my booty at Flamenco class. Class by class we are all beginning to show some signs of knowing what we are doing. We are finally starting to learn routines. It's very exciting! Another exciting fact, since we don't have classes on Fridays, today is basically Friday. Woo! We leave for Sevilla tomorrow and then travel to Ronda on Saturday. We have a weekend packet-full of tours, shows, and visits. It should be fun. I will certainly write of my adventures when I return.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
¡Buenos días! Not much to write about today. Just had a busy day of classes yesterday and a little too late of a night on the town. The only really interesting thing I did was shake my booty at Flamenco class. Class by class we are all beginning to show some signs of knowing what we are doing. We are finally starting to learn routines. It's very exciting! Another exciting fact, since we don't have classes on Fridays, today is basically Friday. Woo! We leave for Sevilla tomorrow and then travel to Ronda on Saturday. We have a weekend packet-full of tours, shows, and visits. It should be fun. I will certainly write of my adventures when I return.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
El primer partido de baloncesto
Hola,
Yesterday was yet another busy day in Granada. To think my day would have been anything short of busy is just silly. I had my typical day of class, work out, lunch, siesta, class, then I had my first basketball game, if you could call it that. I walked over 45 minutes to get to the meeting spot (I think I will take the bus next time, although, I have absolutely no idea how the buses work here) where we then walked another 10 or so minutes to the University of Granada´s outdoor sports complex. The have a track, soccer courts and fields, tennis courts, a volleyball gym (but not a basketball gym, no hoops), and an outdoor basketball court. Apparently basketball is not as popular in Spain, or at least Granada, as I thought it was. Like I said, the gym was only set up for volleyball and did not have basketball hoops or basketball lines, that I know of. They do have the outdoor court which, interestingly, is made of bricks. I think that the University of Granada has a basketball team but I have learned that any other basketball clubs are few and far between in this city. Furthermore, for those few teams, it doesn´t sound like basketball starts for them until November or October. A bit depressing but I am going to continue to inquire about this. I think I can go back to the outdoor court whenever I want but I need to round up a ball. The IES, my program, kids just played each other last night as the Spanish students have yet to return to Granada for school. I think the plan is to play Spanish teams next week when they are all back in town. Nevertheless, it was fun. After a long day of walking and exercising, I finally made it home. After chatting with my madre and sharing a delicious fruit which I did not know the name of, I hit the sack, exhausted from a full day in this wonderful city.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
El lunes
Hola,
Yesterday was another busy Monday (lunes). My day went something like this, class, class, workout, lunch, short siesta, class, class, flamenco, its 10:30 at this point, walk home, dinner, homework, bed. Although there are short breaks in my day, I spend those times making the long trek to and from school and around the city. It makes for a long day. I did, however, take a trip to the Alhambra yesterday afternoon for my Islamic Art and Architecture class. We visited King Charles V´s Chapel, which is a beautiful two-story building that was added after the Christians conquered the Alhambra. It is has a huge, circular courtyard in the middle and rooms all along the sides, with a chapel in one of the corners of the building. We were going to visit the Alambra´s museum but it isn´t open on Mondays. Interesting fact: a lot of things are closed on Mondays here. Well, I´m off to a hopefully less busy Tuesday!
Adios,
Ashley
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Nerja
Hola,
What a busy weekend. Here's the a catch up from Wednesday. Thursday was fairly calm. I just had two classes in the morning, lunch, siesta, a killer spinning class, then a night out on the town. Friday I didn't have class and slept in, then rushed to the gym and back home to eat and pack for the Nerja and its lovely beaches. It was pouring rain in Granada, something that rarely happens in the desert-like terrain of southern Spain, and we hopped on a 4 o'clock bus to paradise. It was sunny and warm in the beautiful city of Nerja, just about 2 hours from Granada. About 30 of my closest IES friends and I hopped off the bus and wandered to our quaint little hostel. Different from what the horror-film Hostel portrays, our hostel was nice, clean, and perfect for what we needed. We grabbed some quick food and spent the night at one of our friends hostels that was basically an apartment.
On Saturday, we got up fairly early and walked to la playa burriana. At this beautiful beach we went sea kayaking! It was amazing. We each got our own kayak and paddled out along the rocks along the coast of Nerja. It was so beautiful and actually a great workout. I found out that my upbringing in the center of the United States, a bit detached from any large body of water, has not prepared me well for kayaking, furthermore, kayaking at sea. It would be an understatement to say I need practice. Nevertheless, it was absolutely beautiful and really fun. The water was the perfect temperature, cool but not too cold, and the weather was perfect as well. After sea kayaking we went to an all-you-can-eat paella restaurant on the beach. (Paella is a delicious Spanish dish prepared by simmering together chicken, seafood, rice, vegetables, and saffron and other seasonings.) The owner of this restaurant is a genius. There were about five guys making insane amounts of paella in bulk on the biggest pan I have ever seen and then just shoveling it onto each persons plate. It was 6 euros and you could eat as much paella as you wanted. It was fantastic! After paella we lounged on the beach for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to our hostel for a calm night on our personal rooftop terrace.
Today, we woke up early, hit the beach for a couple of hours, then caught the 2:30 bus home. Two hours later, I made it back the la casa de María Carmen and plan on having a relaxing Sunday night. Perhaps a picnic dinner and ice cream later.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
What a busy weekend. Here's the a catch up from Wednesday. Thursday was fairly calm. I just had two classes in the morning, lunch, siesta, a killer spinning class, then a night out on the town. Friday I didn't have class and slept in, then rushed to the gym and back home to eat and pack for the Nerja and its lovely beaches. It was pouring rain in Granada, something that rarely happens in the desert-like terrain of southern Spain, and we hopped on a 4 o'clock bus to paradise. It was sunny and warm in the beautiful city of Nerja, just about 2 hours from Granada. About 30 of my closest IES friends and I hopped off the bus and wandered to our quaint little hostel. Different from what the horror-film Hostel portrays, our hostel was nice, clean, and perfect for what we needed. We grabbed some quick food and spent the night at one of our friends hostels that was basically an apartment.
On Saturday, we got up fairly early and walked to la playa burriana. At this beautiful beach we went sea kayaking! It was amazing. We each got our own kayak and paddled out along the rocks along the coast of Nerja. It was so beautiful and actually a great workout. I found out that my upbringing in the center of the United States, a bit detached from any large body of water, has not prepared me well for kayaking, furthermore, kayaking at sea. It would be an understatement to say I need practice. Nevertheless, it was absolutely beautiful and really fun. The water was the perfect temperature, cool but not too cold, and the weather was perfect as well. After sea kayaking we went to an all-you-can-eat paella restaurant on the beach. (Paella is a delicious Spanish dish prepared by simmering together chicken, seafood, rice, vegetables, and saffron and other seasonings.) The owner of this restaurant is a genius. There were about five guys making insane amounts of paella in bulk on the biggest pan I have ever seen and then just shoveling it onto each persons plate. It was 6 euros and you could eat as much paella as you wanted. It was fantastic! After paella we lounged on the beach for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to our hostel for a calm night on our personal rooftop terrace.
Today, we woke up early, hit the beach for a couple of hours, then caught the 2:30 bus home. Two hours later, I made it back the la casa de María Carmen and plan on having a relaxing Sunday night. Perhaps a picnic dinner and ice cream later.
Hasta luego!
Ashley
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Danza del vientre
hola,
Today was another fun-filled day in Granada. I had one class in the morning before heading to the gym for a belly dancing class! (Called Danza del vientre in Españal.) It was actually really hard and I need a lot of practice. Shakira makes it look easy, but don´t let her fool you, it´s definitely not. After that class and lifting, I headed home for la short lunch and siesta. After that, I had my first visit for my Islamic Art and Architecture class. For the first day we just toured the city and discussed Islamic rimnents we saw in the cities center and others that were previously there but had been torn down. It was really interesting to see how much of a Muslin influence in Granada there still is today and realize how much of it was torn down or reconstructed when the Christians took over. This city has certainly been transformed over the years. For example, the river that runs through the city used to be completely open-air and had several bridges passing over it. Now, that river is covered by a road and runs underground. After that, I had one more class and then Flamenco class. Boy do I love that class. I am really bad right now but it´s so much fun. I´m pretty sure part of my final exam is to perform a dance. I´m so excited. After that, we hit the town for a little while. This is the city that never sleeps. Now it´s time for bed.
Hasta!
Ashley
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Ciclo Indoor
Hola,
Yesterday (Tuesday) was a bit more calm but busy nonetheless. I had Spanish class in the morning then I went to a Spinning, or ciclo indoor, class at my gym. It was so hard! I definitely will have to go to another one. Then lunch and a short siesta and I headed back to IES for my second class, Regional Development in the EU. The professor for this class a nice, old Spanish professor from the University of Granada. He speaks very clearly and slow so we can understand. I think this class may be able to give me an much wanted insight on why Grandinos and Spaniards do the things they do, like spend all their money on clothes and tapas and save very little, or, why they don´t use air conditioning. Interesting topics. After that, I got the books and photocopies I needed (many of our books for these classes are sent to the fotocopia for printing, then we just buy the copied version of the book for 5-10 euros. Not sure how those copyrights laws apply to this but its good for us.), I hung out at a tapas bar with some friends and headed home. Not too crazy.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Monday, September 13, 2010
Centro Wellness Neptuna
Hola,
It has been a busy couple of days. On Sunday, my roommate and I went to our wonderful gym, Centro Wellness Neptuna, for the very first time. Like I previously said, our gym has just about everything! One thing it does not have, however, are the weights measured in pounds. This minute detail took me about 20 minutes into my lift to figure out. Twenty minutes of wonder why the Spaniards used such light weights (the highest weight said 20, whereas, we have 45s in the states) and if they really lifted at all here. There I was totally thinking I was putting on 25 lbs. to each side of the bar, when in reality I was loading 25 kilograms to each side, which is over twice that amount (1 kg=2.2lbs). Having no idea of this fact at the time, I kind of had to guess my way through the lift. After working out, my roommate and I wanted to try to find this flee market up in the Albaicin, which is in the Arabic, gypsy part of town, that we had heard about. We ended up just wandering around in the steep winding streets of the Albaicin for awhile, to no avail. After a long morning of walking and working out, we retired to our apartment for lunch and a very long and relaxing afternoon. That evening we partook in Spain´s version of McDonalds, schwarmas, which are sandwich-like wraps of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a mixture thereof. They are delicious. Afterwards we had some amazing tea and then headed home.
Yesterday (Monday), was much busier. It was the first day of real classes, of which I had five. My day went something like this. Wake up at 7:15, eat breakfast, walk to school (a 30 minute walk when we are speed walking, easily a 40-45 wake at a regular pace), class, class, go to the gym to work out, lunch, walk back to school, class, class, class, tapas dinner, and then it was midnight and exhaustion ensued. Mondays are going to be quite busy but I like it that way. I really enjoy all my classes, particularly my Arab World and the West class, which, already on the first day, charged into a heated debate about the building of the Mosque in New York near Ground Zero and the intentions of the Islamic community. I loved it. Also, my last class of the day, Flamenco, was amazing. For Flamenco, we have dance class on Mondays and Wednesdays and lecture on Thursdays. So last night we had dance class at a tiny little dance studio off the beaten path and it was so much fun! We all were horrible but I already know I am going to love it. The teacher is this tiny Spanish woman with a lot of energy that is great to work with. It´s going to be great.
Off to more classes today. Only two though, which wil be nice. Hasta luego!
Ashley
Saturday, September 11, 2010
El fin de semana
Hola,
The last couple of days have been quite busy. Thursday we had class in the morning again and then our written exam in the evening. After our exams we all decided to grab some tapas and hit the town with our new found sense of freedom. A good solid day. Friday morning we had class again but only for half the time and it was on the rooftop terrace of the IES Center where we have class. It has the most amazing view of the beautiful white Carmens. The Center is a beautiful building in general. From the outside, it looks a little rundown, old, and not anything special. On the inside, however, it is beautiful and has so much character. You walk into a small, very serene courtyard with a fountain. There are three more floors above it and the walkout terrace on top. There is beautiful old tiling everywhere and amazing french doors. It is ancient but beautiful. Anyways, it was nice to have class up there and it went by fast. After class we had a reception with our new professors, which my roommate and I didn't stay at for long. That afternoon I had my oral exam, which was easy and went fairly well I think. After my exam I did a little shopping, my first since I have been there, and loved every minute of it. I have distinctly observed two things the Spaniards do often: eat out and shop. The streets are always full of shoppers and Spaniards are always eating out. Furthermore, they love their zapatos, or shoes. I'm pretty sure there are more shoe stores in this city than clothes stores, and, believe me, there are many clothes stores here. It's crazy. After some shopping we went out for tapas and went to a rock festival that was near my apartment. It was a very interesting scene. It was basically a big punk rockish concert with crazy moshing and a carnival on the side. Right by the concert there were a bunch of kiddy rides and food/drink stands set up everywhere. A little bit random but fun. We hung out fairly late then went home.
Today we attempted to explore the Alhambra, the Moorish palace and fortress in Granada, but realized you have to pay to get into the main part. My art class I am taking will visit the Alhambra many times this semester, so we decided not to pay. It was still fun and we did a little more perusing and shopping after our exploration. My roommate and I decided to stop at the grocery store on the way home to buy some groceries. The grocery stores in Spain are much different from the grocery stores in the states. For one, they close pretty early-- 9 o'clock. Not only is that a little early for me, given that many grocery stores in the states stay open later than that, plus, you have wal-mart that stays open all the time, it is actually really early in Spain. Although restaurants and stores stay open extremely late, grocery stores in Spain close pretty early. This being said, there was a mad rush at about 830 when we got there. It was absolutely packed with people running around like crazy animals. I have never seen anything like it. Also, there were two floors, one with fresh produce, meat, and fish, and one with everything else. Another difference is the kinds of food they sell. The fruit in Spain is great but, aside from that, the selection at the grocery store was very slim. They have their basic fruits, vegetables, meat, and bread, but after that they have very little else, hardly any snacky foods. I guess I never really understood how spoiled we are in the states with all our variety and options. This lack of snacky, processed food is probably another reason the Spaniards are so slim. Needless to say, it was a really fun experience and Danielle and I were inspired to stay home and eat our newly purchased food. I really love the, I guess, cured ham that is popular here, it looks raw but it's not. I love it and plan on having ham sandwiches like every night.
We are having an early night tonight because we are going to work out at our wonderful new gym we just joined. It is the nicest gym I have every seen. Not only do they have your basic weights and elipticals, but they have two pools, a bunch of workout rooms, trainers, and the offer like every class you can think of (spinning, salsa, flamenco, cardio, yoga, pilates, etc.). We are so excited! Funny that my early nights here end at like 1 or 2 a.m. It's definitely going to need some getting used to.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
The last couple of days have been quite busy. Thursday we had class in the morning again and then our written exam in the evening. After our exams we all decided to grab some tapas and hit the town with our new found sense of freedom. A good solid day. Friday morning we had class again but only for half the time and it was on the rooftop terrace of the IES Center where we have class. It has the most amazing view of the beautiful white Carmens. The Center is a beautiful building in general. From the outside, it looks a little rundown, old, and not anything special. On the inside, however, it is beautiful and has so much character. You walk into a small, very serene courtyard with a fountain. There are three more floors above it and the walkout terrace on top. There is beautiful old tiling everywhere and amazing french doors. It is ancient but beautiful. Anyways, it was nice to have class up there and it went by fast. After class we had a reception with our new professors, which my roommate and I didn't stay at for long. That afternoon I had my oral exam, which was easy and went fairly well I think. After my exam I did a little shopping, my first since I have been there, and loved every minute of it. I have distinctly observed two things the Spaniards do often: eat out and shop. The streets are always full of shoppers and Spaniards are always eating out. Furthermore, they love their zapatos, or shoes. I'm pretty sure there are more shoe stores in this city than clothes stores, and, believe me, there are many clothes stores here. It's crazy. After some shopping we went out for tapas and went to a rock festival that was near my apartment. It was a very interesting scene. It was basically a big punk rockish concert with crazy moshing and a carnival on the side. Right by the concert there were a bunch of kiddy rides and food/drink stands set up everywhere. A little bit random but fun. We hung out fairly late then went home.
Today we attempted to explore the Alhambra, the Moorish palace and fortress in Granada, but realized you have to pay to get into the main part. My art class I am taking will visit the Alhambra many times this semester, so we decided not to pay. It was still fun and we did a little more perusing and shopping after our exploration. My roommate and I decided to stop at the grocery store on the way home to buy some groceries. The grocery stores in Spain are much different from the grocery stores in the states. For one, they close pretty early-- 9 o'clock. Not only is that a little early for me, given that many grocery stores in the states stay open later than that, plus, you have wal-mart that stays open all the time, it is actually really early in Spain. Although restaurants and stores stay open extremely late, grocery stores in Spain close pretty early. This being said, there was a mad rush at about 830 when we got there. It was absolutely packed with people running around like crazy animals. I have never seen anything like it. Also, there were two floors, one with fresh produce, meat, and fish, and one with everything else. Another difference is the kinds of food they sell. The fruit in Spain is great but, aside from that, the selection at the grocery store was very slim. They have their basic fruits, vegetables, meat, and bread, but after that they have very little else, hardly any snacky foods. I guess I never really understood how spoiled we are in the states with all our variety and options. This lack of snacky, processed food is probably another reason the Spaniards are so slim. Needless to say, it was a really fun experience and Danielle and I were inspired to stay home and eat our newly purchased food. I really love the, I guess, cured ham that is popular here, it looks raw but it's not. I love it and plan on having ham sandwiches like every night.
We are having an early night tonight because we are going to work out at our wonderful new gym we just joined. It is the nicest gym I have every seen. Not only do they have your basic weights and elipticals, but they have two pools, a bunch of workout rooms, trainers, and the offer like every class you can think of (spinning, salsa, flamenco, cardio, yoga, pilates, etc.). We are so excited! Funny that my early nights here end at like 1 or 2 a.m. It's definitely going to need some getting used to.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Luna de miel
Hola,
Today was another fairly calm day in Granada, as calm as the Granadinos get that is. I learned today Spain is the second loudest city in the world, after Japan. If you walked the streets or stepped into an apartment you would not doubt this fun fact. They never stop talking or walking or just being active. It is fun, I suppose, but a bit overwhelming at times as well. I don't think quiet time is much of a concept here. No one goes to a restaurante to just sit and drink coffee alone or read a book. They always go in at least pairs but funny enough rarely go in groups larger than about five. Large groups here point out the Americans. This is bad for mis amigos y yo because we all like each other so much and don't want to split up when we go out for daily tapas and dinner, however, we really should start doing that. Another fun fact is that Spaniards don't value their manners much. That really is not true but it is true that manners in Spain have a much different meaning than manners in America. Here, when you ask for something you don't say please and when you receive something you don't say thank you. These phrases again mark us Americanos out as foreigners. They just don't say these things. When they ask for a sandwich at a restaurant the say "Dame un bocadillo," meaning "Give me a sandwich." In English this would sound rude but this is culturally acceptable and the norm in Spain. Furthermore, when a Spaniard bumps into someone on the street or needs to pass someone, the don't say excuse me, they simply pass on or push through without saying a word. This is going to be a little difficult to get used to.
Anywho, back to my day. We again had class from 9-2 and then returned home after for our lunch and siesta. Today we had a yummy I think beef and vegetable soup accompanied by gazpacho, a Spanish specialty that is kind of like a cold tomato soup and is quite popular in España. The soup was delicious but I was a little unsure of the gazpacho. It was a bit strong and I'm not quite a fan of cold soup but I tried it like a champ and will continue to be adventurous when it comes to Spanish food. A short siesta later and I was back at school to meet with our program director to figure out my schedule and attend a culture shock info. meeting with a psychologist. My schedule is going to be great. Flamenco, Regional Development in the EU, The Arab World and the West, Islamic Art and Architecture, and a Spanish language class. I'm very excited. Next I went to the culture shock meeting and learned that there are four stages of culture shock: excitement, withdrawal, adjustment, and enthusiasm. They are relatively self-explanatory but I am most certainly in the excitement, or honeymoon (luna de miel in Spanish), stage where everything is great, I love everyone and can't remember why I was ever nervous to come here in the first place. The downside is that the withdrawal stage, where the honeymoon wears off and fear, frustration, homesickness, etc. come raining down, will inevitably come at some point. Let's hope that passes fast, like the psychiatrist said it can, and I move right in to adjusting to the new culture and hop straight to the enthusiasm stage where I love my new living situation and have adjusted accordingly. We'll see.
After the culture shock meeting, we went on another paseo, or walk/tour, of the city. This time we went up into the area where the gitanos, or gypsies, live and where there are also many carmens winding up the roads. This area is up in the hilly, mountainous area at the edge of the city where gypsies live in caves. It was very interesting. Also, we learned that gypsies in Granada are a completely different ethnicity than the Granadinos. Gypsies not only live a different lifestyle but they actually look differently and come from different blood than the other Spaniards in the city. They are not just simply poor Granadinos that decided to go up into the mountains and live this unconventional lifestyle, as we all thought before. A weird characteristic of the gypsies is that they come up to you on the streets and try to force you to take something from them and then they make you pay it. They won't touch you but they will get in your personal space and get about as close to you as they can, trying to get you to instinctively take their flowers, bracelets, etc. So if you are ever in Spain, beware of the gypsies! There are also many fun looking cave bars that are built into the hilly roads beneath the carmens. They have flamenco in them some nights and look really fun but we learned that it would not be safe to go to them without Spaniards with you. Increasing our demand for Spanish friends. After our walk through the gypsy area we strolled down the hills to have tapas and ice cream before we walked home. Another fun fact, the ice cream store we went to, called Los italianos, has recently become famous due to a visit made by Michelle Obama this summer. Kind of cool, I suppose.
That's all I have tonight. Cross your fingers that I stay in my luna de miel for as long as I can.
¡Salud!
Ashley
Today was another fairly calm day in Granada, as calm as the Granadinos get that is. I learned today Spain is the second loudest city in the world, after Japan. If you walked the streets or stepped into an apartment you would not doubt this fun fact. They never stop talking or walking or just being active. It is fun, I suppose, but a bit overwhelming at times as well. I don't think quiet time is much of a concept here. No one goes to a restaurante to just sit and drink coffee alone or read a book. They always go in at least pairs but funny enough rarely go in groups larger than about five. Large groups here point out the Americans. This is bad for mis amigos y yo because we all like each other so much and don't want to split up when we go out for daily tapas and dinner, however, we really should start doing that. Another fun fact is that Spaniards don't value their manners much. That really is not true but it is true that manners in Spain have a much different meaning than manners in America. Here, when you ask for something you don't say please and when you receive something you don't say thank you. These phrases again mark us Americanos out as foreigners. They just don't say these things. When they ask for a sandwich at a restaurant the say "Dame un bocadillo," meaning "Give me a sandwich." In English this would sound rude but this is culturally acceptable and the norm in Spain. Furthermore, when a Spaniard bumps into someone on the street or needs to pass someone, the don't say excuse me, they simply pass on or push through without saying a word. This is going to be a little difficult to get used to.
Anywho, back to my day. We again had class from 9-2 and then returned home after for our lunch and siesta. Today we had a yummy I think beef and vegetable soup accompanied by gazpacho, a Spanish specialty that is kind of like a cold tomato soup and is quite popular in España. The soup was delicious but I was a little unsure of the gazpacho. It was a bit strong and I'm not quite a fan of cold soup but I tried it like a champ and will continue to be adventurous when it comes to Spanish food. A short siesta later and I was back at school to meet with our program director to figure out my schedule and attend a culture shock info. meeting with a psychologist. My schedule is going to be great. Flamenco, Regional Development in the EU, The Arab World and the West, Islamic Art and Architecture, and a Spanish language class. I'm very excited. Next I went to the culture shock meeting and learned that there are four stages of culture shock: excitement, withdrawal, adjustment, and enthusiasm. They are relatively self-explanatory but I am most certainly in the excitement, or honeymoon (luna de miel in Spanish), stage where everything is great, I love everyone and can't remember why I was ever nervous to come here in the first place. The downside is that the withdrawal stage, where the honeymoon wears off and fear, frustration, homesickness, etc. come raining down, will inevitably come at some point. Let's hope that passes fast, like the psychiatrist said it can, and I move right in to adjusting to the new culture and hop straight to the enthusiasm stage where I love my new living situation and have adjusted accordingly. We'll see.
After the culture shock meeting, we went on another paseo, or walk/tour, of the city. This time we went up into the area where the gitanos, or gypsies, live and where there are also many carmens winding up the roads. This area is up in the hilly, mountainous area at the edge of the city where gypsies live in caves. It was very interesting. Also, we learned that gypsies in Granada are a completely different ethnicity than the Granadinos. Gypsies not only live a different lifestyle but they actually look differently and come from different blood than the other Spaniards in the city. They are not just simply poor Granadinos that decided to go up into the mountains and live this unconventional lifestyle, as we all thought before. A weird characteristic of the gypsies is that they come up to you on the streets and try to force you to take something from them and then they make you pay it. They won't touch you but they will get in your personal space and get about as close to you as they can, trying to get you to instinctively take their flowers, bracelets, etc. So if you are ever in Spain, beware of the gypsies! There are also many fun looking cave bars that are built into the hilly roads beneath the carmens. They have flamenco in them some nights and look really fun but we learned that it would not be safe to go to them without Spaniards with you. Increasing our demand for Spanish friends. After our walk through the gypsy area we strolled down the hills to have tapas and ice cream before we walked home. Another fun fact, the ice cream store we went to, called Los italianos, has recently become famous due to a visit made by Michelle Obama this summer. Kind of cool, I suppose.
That's all I have tonight. Cross your fingers that I stay in my luna de miel for as long as I can.
¡Salud!
Ashley
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Cabo de Gata
Hola chicos,
The last couple days have been kind of a whirlwind and have resulted in my lack of blogging, but I'll try to catch you up. We didn't do much Sunday. Given that my head did not hit the pillow until at least 5 a.m., maybe later, I did not wake up very early. Only a couple hours until la comida, or lunch, I stayed cooped up in my room. After that, my roommate and I were ambitious and decided to go on an adventure and explore Granada. It was about 3:30 and during the siesta but we didn't care. We were ready to explore. Our Senora warned that it would be very hot but we went anyways. Boy was she right. 95 degrees does not feel so good when there is no shade anywhere and nothing is open since we embarked in our journey right in the smack dab of the siesta. Furthermore, it was a Sunday and the Spaniards, quite unlike Americans, actually do rest on this day. The typically don't even leave the house. After about an hour and a half we gave up and retreated back to our shaded, although not air-conditioned, apartamento. We then found out we have a pool in our apartment complex, however, the water was very cold and at about 5 in the afternoon it was completely covered in shade. After a short hang out at our pool we decided to finally take our siesta. The thing is, 6 o'clock in the evening is really a horrible time to take a nap and resulted in a very tough time falling asleep after our cena, or dinner, that evening. But we made it work and made it through our first domingo (Sunday) in Granada.
Yesterday (Monday) was quite a day. We were told we were going to "hike along the coast of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, stopping at beaches along the way...a long walk, but not extremely difficult." I suppose a Spaniards idea of a nice easy walk is different than lazy Americans who drive five minutes down the road, but I don't think I am out of line in saying that this was a bit of a false pretense. This being said, we took about a two hour bus ride to Cabo de Gata and were driven part of the way up some rolling hills/mountains and dropped off. From there we hiked, up mostly, for awhile. At one point we literally hiked straight up for at least a half mile, probably more. You should know also, that this part of the hike was not trails but a road and a very narrow, winding road at that. Imagine about 75 kids on a very steep, narrow, winding road. Kind of a funny thought. Anways, after walking up the hill/mountain for what seemed like a very long time, we began to descend to our first beach. It was beautiful! It was at least in the 90s, I'm sure, and hiking made us all very hot, so we were more than ready to jump in the beautiful, clear, warm Mediterranean Sea. It as amazing, just cool enough to cool off our very hot bodies but not too cold that it wasn't absolutely pleasant. Several beach goers did not have all of there swim suits and trunks on. You could say it was a new experience. After about an hour and a half we put our tennis shoes back on and began to hike again. This part of the hike involved climbing through sandy desert-like terrain and literally scaling the side of a mountain. We were on the side of a cliff and most certainly rock climbing at this point as our only other option was to risk slipping off the side of the cliff.
After making it down the side of the mountain, we stopped at an all nude beach. If we weren't exposed to the Spaniards before, we were then. This beach, however, was more secluded and absolutely just as wonderful as the first. we stayed for a little while longer and hiked up some more straight up mountains through some more sand. At this point we were all extremely thirsty, very hungry and tired, and most weren't extremely burnt. After passing one more beach and climbing some more winding roads to a small town with many beautiful white carmens, we stopped at a little pizzeria. Next came the never-ending dinner. First we had appetizers: salad, vegetable plate, two kinds of lasagna. Then three different kinds of pizzas: vegetable, sardine, then ham and egg. Lastly, we had what I later heard was lamb but I thought was chicken and potatoes. This all for a table of six people. You could say we were all stuffed. A two-hour bus ride and a good shower later and I was ready for bed. Fun fact: Spaniards take fast showers due to their never-ending drought, which means you rinse to get yourself wet then turn off the shower. Shampoo and lather, then you rinse and turn off the shower again. Condition and rinse, etc., etc. You get the point. It's going to need some getting used to.
Today was fairly uneventful. We had class from 9-2 then our comida and siesta, which consisted of a delicious paella (a very popular Spanish rice dish) with lamb and a much need 30-minute nap. After that we had class from 5-8 and just went to dinner directly after and came home. On the way home we grabbed some helado, or ice cream, which is absolutely delicious here. They have so many unique flavors we do not have in the states, the chocolate is even better. We are determined to have every flavor while we are here but are a bit concerned since we have recently learned that Spaniards stop selling ice cream after September. We are very sad. After ice cream we decided we would indulge our somewhat lonely Senora and paint our nails in the salón, or living room, with her. While we were in there we watched a Spanish version of a cross between Jerry Springer and The View, called Enimigos intimos. It was crazy, hilarious, and very entertaining. I can't say I didn't like it. All I know is that poor Isabela Pantoja has recently been very wronged.
Now it is time for bed after another lovely day in this lovely city.
Buenas suertes,
Ashley
The last couple days have been kind of a whirlwind and have resulted in my lack of blogging, but I'll try to catch you up. We didn't do much Sunday. Given that my head did not hit the pillow until at least 5 a.m., maybe later, I did not wake up very early. Only a couple hours until la comida, or lunch, I stayed cooped up in my room. After that, my roommate and I were ambitious and decided to go on an adventure and explore Granada. It was about 3:30 and during the siesta but we didn't care. We were ready to explore. Our Senora warned that it would be very hot but we went anyways. Boy was she right. 95 degrees does not feel so good when there is no shade anywhere and nothing is open since we embarked in our journey right in the smack dab of the siesta. Furthermore, it was a Sunday and the Spaniards, quite unlike Americans, actually do rest on this day. The typically don't even leave the house. After about an hour and a half we gave up and retreated back to our shaded, although not air-conditioned, apartamento. We then found out we have a pool in our apartment complex, however, the water was very cold and at about 5 in the afternoon it was completely covered in shade. After a short hang out at our pool we decided to finally take our siesta. The thing is, 6 o'clock in the evening is really a horrible time to take a nap and resulted in a very tough time falling asleep after our cena, or dinner, that evening. But we made it work and made it through our first domingo (Sunday) in Granada.
Yesterday (Monday) was quite a day. We were told we were going to "hike along the coast of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, stopping at beaches along the way...a long walk, but not extremely difficult." I suppose a Spaniards idea of a nice easy walk is different than lazy Americans who drive five minutes down the road, but I don't think I am out of line in saying that this was a bit of a false pretense. This being said, we took about a two hour bus ride to Cabo de Gata and were driven part of the way up some rolling hills/mountains and dropped off. From there we hiked, up mostly, for awhile. At one point we literally hiked straight up for at least a half mile, probably more. You should know also, that this part of the hike was not trails but a road and a very narrow, winding road at that. Imagine about 75 kids on a very steep, narrow, winding road. Kind of a funny thought. Anways, after walking up the hill/mountain for what seemed like a very long time, we began to descend to our first beach. It was beautiful! It was at least in the 90s, I'm sure, and hiking made us all very hot, so we were more than ready to jump in the beautiful, clear, warm Mediterranean Sea. It as amazing, just cool enough to cool off our very hot bodies but not too cold that it wasn't absolutely pleasant. Several beach goers did not have all of there swim suits and trunks on. You could say it was a new experience. After about an hour and a half we put our tennis shoes back on and began to hike again. This part of the hike involved climbing through sandy desert-like terrain and literally scaling the side of a mountain. We were on the side of a cliff and most certainly rock climbing at this point as our only other option was to risk slipping off the side of the cliff.
After making it down the side of the mountain, we stopped at an all nude beach. If we weren't exposed to the Spaniards before, we were then. This beach, however, was more secluded and absolutely just as wonderful as the first. we stayed for a little while longer and hiked up some more straight up mountains through some more sand. At this point we were all extremely thirsty, very hungry and tired, and most weren't extremely burnt. After passing one more beach and climbing some more winding roads to a small town with many beautiful white carmens, we stopped at a little pizzeria. Next came the never-ending dinner. First we had appetizers: salad, vegetable plate, two kinds of lasagna. Then three different kinds of pizzas: vegetable, sardine, then ham and egg. Lastly, we had what I later heard was lamb but I thought was chicken and potatoes. This all for a table of six people. You could say we were all stuffed. A two-hour bus ride and a good shower later and I was ready for bed. Fun fact: Spaniards take fast showers due to their never-ending drought, which means you rinse to get yourself wet then turn off the shower. Shampoo and lather, then you rinse and turn off the shower again. Condition and rinse, etc., etc. You get the point. It's going to need some getting used to.
Today was fairly uneventful. We had class from 9-2 then our comida and siesta, which consisted of a delicious paella (a very popular Spanish rice dish) with lamb and a much need 30-minute nap. After that we had class from 5-8 and just went to dinner directly after and came home. On the way home we grabbed some helado, or ice cream, which is absolutely delicious here. They have so many unique flavors we do not have in the states, the chocolate is even better. We are determined to have every flavor while we are here but are a bit concerned since we have recently learned that Spaniards stop selling ice cream after September. We are very sad. After ice cream we decided we would indulge our somewhat lonely Senora and paint our nails in the salón, or living room, with her. While we were in there we watched a Spanish version of a cross between Jerry Springer and The View, called Enimigos intimos. It was crazy, hilarious, and very entertaining. I can't say I didn't like it. All I know is that poor Isabela Pantoja has recently been very wronged.
Now it is time for bed after another lovely day in this lovely city.
Buenas suertes,
Ashley
Sunday, September 5, 2010
En Granada, todo es posible.
Hola,
Yesterday was our first full day in Granada. Boy was my mind blown. First off everyone walks everywhere here, which explains why there are very few overweight individuals. Our day started at eight o'clock with my Senora rushes us through breakfast and out the door, telling us to walk fast, very fast. She is wonderful, in a full of energy, never stops talking kind of way. Although I don't understand everything she has to say, it really is not a problem because with a simple head nod or a "Sí, sí" she is on to her next long explanation or tangent. It's great. At some point I am determined to end her long dialogues and turn them in to conversations. I'm confident my roommate and I can do it, but it certainly will take some time and getting used to. So after we were whisked out of the apartment, María Carmen (my Senora's name), walked us to school like little first graders on their first day of school. It was precious. I loved every minute of it. We met up with four other girls in our program on the way to the IES Center who coincidentally live in our apartment as well. I also found out later that one of the boys from Grinnell lives right down the hallway also. Crazy! Following our walk to school, we spent the day in Spanish class, working on the basics and simple survival tactics in Granada, as well as touring the IES Center, which is gorgeous and had the most amazing view from the rooftop terrace.
At 2 our classes ended and we headed home for our lunch prepared my María Carmen. It was a yummy creamy soup, chicken, salad, and fruit. We eat so much fruit! It is amazing. Apart from the typical apples, pears, bananas, oranges, we eat fresh figs (which beat fig newtons any day!) these small yellow plum things (not sure what they are called), and several other interesting and fresh fruits that grow here in Granada. After lunch we happily engaged in our first siesta! Boy do the Spaniards have is right. Not only are naps in the afternoon socially acceptable, but they are the social norm and everyone takes them. How wonderful! After our siesta, my roommate and I hit the streets of Granada. She needed a computer charger, so we set out to find one. Our first true test of navigating the city all on our own, with no idea where we were going. We successfully found the Mac story, with some help from some employees at El Corte Ingles and a map of course, only to find it closed because we were on the tail end of the daily seista when most stores are closed. Go figure. Such a different and interesting concept. After our adventure came to a halt we navigated the streets back to the IES Center. where we were to meet for our tour with our Professora. We toured the area by the Center. which is an Arab community in which many gypsies live as well. This was my favorite part of the day. It was beautiful. This area is a steep winding labyrinth of gorgeous white houses, or Carmens as they call them here, with amazing wooden front doors and beautiful courtyards. They are absolutely amazing and I would love nothing more than to live in one someday. At the top of the labyrinth was the most beautiful view of the city and of the Alhambra, which is a humongous Moorish palace and fortress. Breathtaking is all that can be said to describe this view and tour.
After our amazing tour, we traveled back down the winding streets and headed off for some tapas, such a great concept. Here in Spain, if you buy a drink, say a beer, wine, or even coke, you get a free tapa, which is kind of like a little appetizer of some sort. I got two drinks and two tapas for 4 euro last night. Granted, this doesn't quite fill you up, but it is very cheap and a nice way to spend your evening. After tapas, which I would like to add, typically range from about 9 to midnight in Spain, we headed home to get ready for our night which started at midnight. The crazy thing is midnight is actually an early night to go out in Spain. I have heard some clubs don't even open until 2 or 3. A handful of hours later we ended a wonderful day.
All I can say is that, as the Granadadinos say, "En Granada, todo es posible." I couldn't agree more!
xoxo,
Ashley
Yesterday was our first full day in Granada. Boy was my mind blown. First off everyone walks everywhere here, which explains why there are very few overweight individuals. Our day started at eight o'clock with my Senora rushes us through breakfast and out the door, telling us to walk fast, very fast. She is wonderful, in a full of energy, never stops talking kind of way. Although I don't understand everything she has to say, it really is not a problem because with a simple head nod or a "Sí, sí" she is on to her next long explanation or tangent. It's great. At some point I am determined to end her long dialogues and turn them in to conversations. I'm confident my roommate and I can do it, but it certainly will take some time and getting used to. So after we were whisked out of the apartment, María Carmen (my Senora's name), walked us to school like little first graders on their first day of school. It was precious. I loved every minute of it. We met up with four other girls in our program on the way to the IES Center who coincidentally live in our apartment as well. I also found out later that one of the boys from Grinnell lives right down the hallway also. Crazy! Following our walk to school, we spent the day in Spanish class, working on the basics and simple survival tactics in Granada, as well as touring the IES Center, which is gorgeous and had the most amazing view from the rooftop terrace.
At 2 our classes ended and we headed home for our lunch prepared my María Carmen. It was a yummy creamy soup, chicken, salad, and fruit. We eat so much fruit! It is amazing. Apart from the typical apples, pears, bananas, oranges, we eat fresh figs (which beat fig newtons any day!) these small yellow plum things (not sure what they are called), and several other interesting and fresh fruits that grow here in Granada. After lunch we happily engaged in our first siesta! Boy do the Spaniards have is right. Not only are naps in the afternoon socially acceptable, but they are the social norm and everyone takes them. How wonderful! After our siesta, my roommate and I hit the streets of Granada. She needed a computer charger, so we set out to find one. Our first true test of navigating the city all on our own, with no idea where we were going. We successfully found the Mac story, with some help from some employees at El Corte Ingles and a map of course, only to find it closed because we were on the tail end of the daily seista when most stores are closed. Go figure. Such a different and interesting concept. After our adventure came to a halt we navigated the streets back to the IES Center. where we were to meet for our tour with our Professora. We toured the area by the Center. which is an Arab community in which many gypsies live as well. This was my favorite part of the day. It was beautiful. This area is a steep winding labyrinth of gorgeous white houses, or Carmens as they call them here, with amazing wooden front doors and beautiful courtyards. They are absolutely amazing and I would love nothing more than to live in one someday. At the top of the labyrinth was the most beautiful view of the city and of the Alhambra, which is a humongous Moorish palace and fortress. Breathtaking is all that can be said to describe this view and tour.
After our amazing tour, we traveled back down the winding streets and headed off for some tapas, such a great concept. Here in Spain, if you buy a drink, say a beer, wine, or even coke, you get a free tapa, which is kind of like a little appetizer of some sort. I got two drinks and two tapas for 4 euro last night. Granted, this doesn't quite fill you up, but it is very cheap and a nice way to spend your evening. After tapas, which I would like to add, typically range from about 9 to midnight in Spain, we headed home to get ready for our night which started at midnight. The crazy thing is midnight is actually an early night to go out in Spain. I have heard some clubs don't even open until 2 or 3. A handful of hours later we ended a wonderful day.
All I can say is that, as the Granadadinos say, "En Granada, todo es posible." I couldn't agree more!
xoxo,
Ashley
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Mi senora
Mi Senora
Hola,
I met my Senora (house mom) today. She is a lovely lady, who speaks often and quickly. Right now my roommate and I are doing our best to pretend we understand every word that comes out of her mouth. That is, however, quite far from the truth. I understand about half and at this point am more concerned with understanding what she says than making many worthwhile comments. I will try to talk to her more tomorrow, I suppose. The apartment I am living in is small but very nice. I have my own room with a desk and plenty of space. Having no air-conditioning will take some getting used to but I don't think it will be too bad. I learned today that Spaniards sometimes have two breakfasts, one early and another a couple hours later. Boy did I pick a good place to study. Everyone I have met is so nice. Like I said, I met like ten or so kids at the Madrid airport before we even got to Malaga (where we stayed last night before traveling by bus to Granada), and everyone else I have met are great too. I haven't met anyone on my program I don't like and my roommate is awesome as well, Danielle. Tomorrow we start orientation here in Granada and will travel to the IES center for the first time. I can't wait to explore Granada!
xoxo
Ashley
Hola,
I met my Senora (house mom) today. She is a lovely lady, who speaks often and quickly. Right now my roommate and I are doing our best to pretend we understand every word that comes out of her mouth. That is, however, quite far from the truth. I understand about half and at this point am more concerned with understanding what she says than making many worthwhile comments. I will try to talk to her more tomorrow, I suppose. The apartment I am living in is small but very nice. I have my own room with a desk and plenty of space. Having no air-conditioning will take some getting used to but I don't think it will be too bad. I learned today that Spaniards sometimes have two breakfasts, one early and another a couple hours later. Boy did I pick a good place to study. Everyone I have met is so nice. Like I said, I met like ten or so kids at the Madrid airport before we even got to Malaga (where we stayed last night before traveling by bus to Granada), and everyone else I have met are great too. I haven't met anyone on my program I don't like and my roommate is awesome as well, Danielle. Tomorrow we start orientation here in Granada and will travel to the IES center for the first time. I can't wait to explore Granada!
xoxo
Ashley
Friday, September 3, 2010
La primera día
Just arrived. It's scary and exciting all at the same time. I made like ten new friends at the airport. Everyone is so nice. I love it here. It hasn't hit me I am in Spain, maybe tomorrow.
Love ya,
Ash
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)