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