This morning I woke up to an unexpected surprise.... Snow! While everyone in my household is admiring the beauty and I can hear the children on the streets shouting in excitement, I am probably one of the few sitting here unimpressed. Ohio has jaded me when it comes to snowfall. It couldn't have happened though at a better time because today and tomorrow are a holiday for all of Andalusia, don't ask me why (Spaniards can find many excuses to take holidays and just relax) and actually most people here admit it's just an excuse to not go to work. So I do not have to trek up my hill to school and seeing as how I brought no shoes suited for snow, I may not be venturing out until it's melted. Actually I lucked out because today I was planning on visiting distant relatives in Sanlucar de Baromedas but after having an exhausting week I decided last minute (last night) not to go in the hopes of sleeping and being a typical Spaniard for my long weekend. Good thing too since all the stations are closed! I'm also glad to stay here because I have come to love this city more each day that it actually made me sad to think of leaving, even for the weekend.
Well it's been quite an exciting week for me socially and I have spent too many nights out late and up early. So this morning it felt incredibly good to get a needed 10 hours of sleep! I will try to spare some typical details of a young person's life in Spain, but our professors say "our group is very nocturnal" so we never lack an inlet into some party with a group of Spaniards or "Erasmus" students (students from other European countries studying here). Friday our group met up with local intercambios (University students who want to practice their English with students wanting to practice their Spanish) and one of our Professors and went for Tapas in the hopes of actually learning about the culture of Tapas instead of mindlessly eating them like we have every night since. After three drinks (and food), we were able to get the courage and ask random people at the bars about different drinks, tapas and the local culture of eating and drinking in Granada. Needless to say, there were many stupid questions asked and our professor enjoyed poking fun at us in our "relaxed" state of mind. He of course discussed the difference between American and Spanish culture and I realized that asking "what is your favorite bar, or pastry shop etc..." is a very American thing. Our professor said that the way Americans "measure" the quality of food, places and experiences is very unique to us and Spaniards don't care about the reputation of a place or how good it is, they look at many things as an experiment and enjoy it even if it wasn't that great. After Tapas (which are free with each drink you get) our Professor took us to a Reggae club and after that it's history. Our group ended up partying until 4 am and our last stop was a Salsa bar where one of the locals in our group taught me how to Salsa! I enjoyed that immensely! Saturday night, I yet again enjoyed Tapas only this time with a Law Student studying here at the University, I met him through mutual friends and found we had many common interests. Unfortunately he leaves this week to return to Norway to complete his masters in Law upon which he will begin practicing in Norway. It was a pleasant night and I learned quite a bit about the politics, social setting and views of Norwegians (it's amazing the people you meet here!) Sunday night was yet again another late, but enjoyable night at a farewell party for an Erasmus student and while it was a lot of fun, Monday morning at 9 am I was sort of regretting my decision to stay out so late. Needless to say it has been a very social week and it seems here that the party truly never ends.
Yesterday our group had a tour of the Alhambra with a professor of Art from the University of Granada (along with her very attractive son who she was trying to set up with some of the girls in the group). I must say to follow, there seems to be a rather playful and unique relationship between mother's and their sons here, it's not the "mom you embarrass me" like in the U.S., but rather they seem to be more genuinely friends and the mother seems to take the liberty of trying to set her son up with a girl she knows (most likely because they want to get their sons out of their houses, since kids here can live with their parents until they're 30!) The Alhambra was beautiful but rather cold. The outside is absolutely exquisite and perhaps it's just my impression, but the outside was prettier than the inside. The arcs and ceilings of the Moorish architecture is quite intricate and beautiful, however I enjoyed the views from the "city" itself and the vast gardens more than the Royal Palace. Like any other sight seeing day it was a rewarding, but exhausting from being on our feet for five hours and it would have been more enjoyable had it not been so cold. Each time we entered a room, we all huddled together and tried to keep moving so as not to freeze and as soon as Professor Marissa quite talking we would all rush out into the sunlight. It was a wonderful day though and the whole time I couldn't believe that it I wasn't having a quick tour of this place, I can come back whenever I want to because I live here! I think that's what surprises me everyday, the realization that I'm not just visiting but actually living here for the next three months. I can tell it's going to be very hard going back to America, not because I don't want to see my family and friends, but because life here is so captivating and charming that you don't have time to be homesick. It makes me want to spend the rest of my life seeing the world and continue having so many more wonderful adventures with diverse people. The social culture here is unique because there are so many students that in one night you can meet someone from Italy, Norway and Barcelona and find that you have many things in common with them.
La Alhambra as seen from Mirador de San Nicolas (right near my school)
Cecilia and I at Manuel de Falla Auditorium for an Independent Music Festival
A view from one of the towers of the Alhambra
Sierra Nevadas from La Alhambra
Granada: I've become so proud of this city and living here!
It has been a truly wonderful week, although I desperately need to catch up on my sleep. I have been incredibly tempted to fly to Rome one of these weekends since I find myself in the ideal part of the world while all this change in the Church is taking place. Perhaps in a couple of weeks I will look for a cheap flight and see if I can make it over there for the conclave. It's mind boggling to think so many people from Spain are able to just get on a plane and hop over to Rome! Well I hope whoever reads this is still enjoying hearing about Spain and maybe I can convince you to come visit at some point in your life, it's a wonderful country (even if I don't agree with the culture of not working much) and offers so many learning experiences.
In my previous post I talked about my friends here in Granada, the music professors, and how they found me several choirs to sing in. Well one they found for me is rehearses literally down the street from me tonight was the first rehearsal. I must admit I was super nervous, I hate walking into rooms full of people that I don't know, and of course here it is ten times more intimidating because you don't know what they're saying. The thing that gave me the most courage tonight was the fact that music is its own language, it's not bias to any one area of the world and anyone can enjoy and interpret it in the way they chose. So, I thought I knew where the building was but after fifteen minutes of wondering the streets, a walk that should have only taken 5, I started to get a little discouraged. I have yet to have a panic attack here or any sort of breakdown, and as I was walking I kept thinking, "Oh God, this might be my day". I was exhausted from five hours today of orientation for my new community service project and stupidly went to bed way too late last night to function normally today. Tiredness and being lost are not a good mix for my mental health. Did I also mention I hate being late? Being late is bad enough, but walking in late to a room full of strangers in another country takes it to a whole new level for me. Luckily after asking many students, I found the place. My saving grace for any embarrassment of being half an our late was the Spanish culture of being so relaxed that hardly anything starts on time. So while I thought I was late, it turned out I was just on time.
After meeting the director, and three other girls who happened to join tonight (from Germany), I sat next to a Spanish Soprano and the rehearsal began surprisingly with an English piece by Eric Whitacre, which luckily I knew. Fortunately several of the first few songs I'm familiar with, so it wasn't as rough a beginning as I thought. The highlight of the evening was the attempt at the song "chili con carne" which don't ask me where it comes from, but the sound of a bunch of Spaniards trying to sing some silly American song was priceless. The best part came at the end of the verse where you have to sing/say "aha that's good!" Oh my, what they must think of Americans! And there I was sitting, cracking up at their debate over how to pronounce "flavor" and "sunshine" wondering if they had any clue I was from America. I think what puzzled them most was the description of the "chili" which they don't exactly have over here. Hearing these big Spanish bases trying to say "aha that's right!" was especially humorous, they were actually embarrassed to sing the song in the light way it's supposed to be sung, so all the women were making fun of them and out right laughing at them and not with them. It was an incredibly entertaining scene to watch and hear. Despite not being able to completely understand their jokes, I inferred the from the tone and laughter of the women that they were simply participating in the universal enjoyment of most women to pick on the men when they can. Needless to say after their fun with the silly American song, the men made a comeback and began singing a song about mazapan, tortillas, huevos rotos and other Spanish food. I thought it was some Spanish, patriotic song about food, but then all he women joined in and the whole choir went into this rather difficult rhythm of Spanish music. Even thought I realized it was a legitimate song for their concert, all I could do was watch this entertaining theater because some how I didn't feel correct joining in on their exclamations of Spanish Comida Patriotism. (However I now know I need to get on to practicing and learning this piece since we have to know all the music in two weeks!)
After the practice, the director had us do a short music quiz to see how our intonation was and how well we read music. Fortunately I passed :) I got an email today saying I was "accepted" into the choir and now have about 10 pieces of music to learn in two weeks! I'm a little worried about it since it's much more professional a choir than I realized when I agreed to try it, but like I've described, the people are wonderful and it will be good for my Spanish. I figure how often can you join a foreign choir? I now realize that it is a choir of mostly Science professors and students (actually very impressive since half of them are professors of astrophysics and molecular biology), but it's a great mix of older and younger folks which makes it an entertaining dynamic of members. This is a link to he choir's website if you're curious : http://www.ugr.es/~corociencias/
Well that's all for now. TGIF! I am trying to go to another classical music concert tomorrow and the Manuel de Falla auditorio, and I think I'll try to get some other young people to go with me ;)
And here are some pictures of Granada in case you don't have facebook.
Anyone who knows me is aware that I enjoy being around old people, but I must say today I never felt closer to them, literally. I think this evening was the most amusing experience so far in Spain. God has a cute sense of humor and would only put me in this evenings situation.
My comical tale begins with a lovely lunch with my new Spanish friends here in Granada. The grandparents in Wooster who have adopted me gave me the contact of one of their friends here in Granada who is a professor of music, along with his wife and prodigy nine year old son. I had lunch with them on Friday and felt like I have known them for years, they made me feel so welcome and luckily Felix speaks English and helped me when I wasn´t sure what his wife was saying. They are the kindest people and so incredibly generous with only just meeting me. Well they became aware of my interest in singing through the Wooster grandparents and have graciously found three choirs for me to choose from this semester. Not only did they go to the trouble of finding me a choir, they gave me a ticket to a concert this evening to see the choir that Anni, the wife, sings with. And so began my humorous evening....
I left the house today rather early since I knew there were only two buses that went to the Manuel de Falla Auditorium up in the Alhambra but I wasn´t quite sure which one. When I arrived at the bus stop I wondered why there were masses of people over 70 on the street and after asking about which bus to take, realized we were all going to the same place. Taking a bus with a bunch of older people made me feel better about traveling at night, what's the worst that can happen with a bunch of retirees? We arrived with ease, although I must say I didn't think these viejos weren't as "grandparently" as they looked, they did a lot of pushing and shoving to get on and off the bus, not that it made the process any faster. I was easily the youngest person in the auditorium, well not including those under ten with their parents. I must say I didn't feel at all awkward going solo because I feel like couples and groups are much more popular here than in the United States, so perhaps I stick out, but who cares! Yesterday I went to the Alhambra alone and the first thing I consistently noticed was the large amount of couples, young and old, and the public displays of affection are much more pronounced here as well! Ay Ay Ay. Despite being the only person on my own, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and was so pleased to see Anni sing a solo to Mozart's Ave Verum. I certainly hope to have more evenings as this one!
So, the amusing part came upon leaving. I followed the mass of "wise" people to the bus stop and after much pushing and shoving the majority of them were forced to wait for another bus like me. (It's no use competing with older people, they always trump) So I waited outside in the chilly weather with a bunch of ladies in fur coats, I however was in a light little trench coat and they were the ones saying how cold it was (I must say I love the amount of style this generation has here) and the tardiness of our bus. What I had tried to avoid all evening came when a woman began talking to me about the whole situation. Most of the evening all I did was smile and pretend to understand when they spoke in a general tone and included me, but no one had actually addressed me. When this little woman headed for me, obviously the talkative one since she simply went down the line of people waiting, she began to fuss at me about who knows what in very fast Spanish. For a while I got away with just nodding and saying "si", but she unveiled my act in the form of a question. I did my best to answer but ended up staring and began to say I was from the United States, but before I said "Los Estados" she had moved to completing her story to the couple next to me. When we were finally able to catch a bus, a very small one too, we crammed about thirty people into a bus fit for about fifteen. I was easily the youngest by a miniscule sixty years, not to mention the tallest too (and I'm not a tall person). Picture very narrow, windy and steep streets back to town with thirty people trying not to fall down, and me not wanting to step on any of them. Several women fell into me as the handles were very limited, so being young and sturdy I suppose, I became their brace for each stop and left hand turn. Several of them after stepping on me laughed and muttered something in Spanish and all I could say was "esta bien" without cracking up. however they did not mind using me as a spring, since the whole bus ride down they were laughing and having a merry time. Needless to say I had tears from trying to silence my laughter from such a rare bonding opportunity.
When our bus finally dropped us in front of the Cathedral I released my pent up need for laughter. I must say the whole ten minute walk home I thought of how I was going to document this evening. So now that I will forever be able to re-live this evening in my own words, I feel I can go to bed. There is not only so much musical and art culture in this beautiful city, but I would say its people are the true windows into its culture.
Monday began my first full week of school and I can officially say I am out of vacation mode and hit study/school mode, but we all knew this would happen. Life as a student here in Spain is still exciting and I am learning knew things everyday about this city and especially about the Spanish culture, but I'm definitely back to wishing I could stay in bed another hour instead of heading off for three hours of Spanish class (after more than two months of fun, getting back to school is hard). My school is in the neighborhood of the Albaicin which is about a 20 minute walk up what I call a small mountain, and has a direct view of the Alhambra (it's the prettiest view in Granada!). Our school is more like a large house and the small rooms upstairs are where we have class and gather in the "living room" near the fire for our other classes. While my walk is a pleasant one, Granada is much colder than I thought and Spanish homes do not have heating, so I feel constantly cold, needless to say I cannot wait till we have 70 or 80 degree weather. I think of summers in Texas to comfort and warm me on the days I cannot get out of bed. My walk to school warms me up since after climbing a small mountain one tends to sweat quite a lot, (note: I am the only one arriving out of breath). Also I have noticed I'm usually the only person walking up the street to the Albaicin, people seem to know only fools walk up and say they want the exercise, or dumb Americans like me :). My reward once reaching the top is the charming plaza with a fruit market and of course a pastry shop, so on the days I leave early I grab coffee and tostada (the waitress remembers what I order because the first time I went in I asked what everyone was eating, turned out to be toasted bread, should have been obvious = strike three for being an obvious foreigner). However I think my favorite part of walking to school is passing the house with a rooster who welcomes me to the neighborhood every morning, it takes me back to my time at my grandma and grandpa's farm (The Ranch) and waking up to their rooster in the morning. However this one seems to be rather lazy since its almost 9 when I get to school.
Spanish class is split into three sections, beginners, intermediate and advanced. After 7 years of Spanish, unfortunately I am still an intermediate, but hopefully this semester will do the trick and I'll actually move past this level. The other two hours at school right now are orientation, and later will consist of our political and cultural class of Spain. The professors are wonderful and my Spanish professor is very entertaining since he knows very little English mixing with our basic vocabulary, each day class consists of comical charades. We spend little time doing worksheets but rather talk together and integrate the vocabulary learned into practical elements of life. I think the huge difference between this Spanish class and every other I've taken is it isn't boring, somehow he keeps our attention and the three hours fly by. I don't think I could take three hours of college SPanish. In a few weeks we begin our community service element of the program and will spend two days a week in whatever field we are placed into. They have yet to tell us our placement but I am hoping to do governmental or NGO field work.
After school I walk back to town or take the bus, depending on how tired I am, and have lunch with my host family. I feel like I have finally begun to get used to their eating schedules and don't mind it as much as I thought I would. Breakfast is usually an egg, yogurt and toast and then fruit at noon to hold me over till lunch when we eat our biggest meal. Today I had spaghetti (of course with lots of meat in it), a goat cheese, tomato salad and of course bread, with pineapple for dessert. Dinner is very light and my host family usually prepares a sandwich or ham and cheese. Of course by the time 9 pm roles around, I find I'm too tired to feel like eating much and just have something small. Surprisingly my pants are rather loose, I hope I can attribute that to all the walking instead of the fact that I haven't been able to dry them after washing (Spaniards line dry their clothes). I'm usually the first to go to bed at 10:30 or 11 and while I feel like that might be rude, I'm having a hard time assimilating into the Spanish sleeping habits during the week, obviously not on the weekends ;).
I am learning a lot about Spanish culture from our Academic Director (Antonia) who has been wonderful about telling us what to expect and explaining some of the cultural oddities and glories. Frankly I'm usually surprised about how honest she is about her culture, but I applaud her for it (probably something American's can learn from). Some interesting things I've learned: Spaniards tend to spoil their kids and cradle them until their almost 30! Antonia has a humorous way of explaining the behavior of the kids here and feels strongly about change in the area of child rearing. However, she reminds us that the spoiling comes from many years under Franco with a sudden transition to Democracy, creating the idea that everyone is equal, meaning 8 year olds can tell their parents to "go to hell". Another thing is the culture of "touchy feely," not only in the greeting but all other parts of life. I think this has been the hardest for us to embrace and I remember my first day with this family feeling awkward about it. When I was introduced to their friends, naturally I held out my hand instead of going for the kiss on the cheek and quickly realized my faux pas (one of many). Antonia said Spaniards view this as an insult and think you are an insincere person, but I'm sure they quickly know I'm not from here. So great first impression I made. Spaniards are also very informal, and we learned that instead of saying "Thank You" for the food or other things, they would rather you said how much you enjoyed this or that etc... Another area I feel bad about since my whole time here I've said thank you after everything. But I am American, so hopefully they understand. They are a wonderful culture and offer so many new perspectives, politically (although most people hate Spanish politics and admit it is very corrupt), socially and internally (if I can understand them). Half of my time at their house I sit with the grandmother just nodding at what she says because I'm completely clueless. Another funny thing, you can see beautiful things one moment and then very strange things a second later. Today when I came out of the Cathedral there was a man doing the Chicken Dance outside, he was dressed as a chicken too. Well I thought it was funny.
Feeling a little nostalgic today since it is Mardi Gras and people don't really celebrate here, also tomorrow is one of my most favorite Masses of the year and while it is amazing to go to mass and see all the churches here, it's hard since I cannot follow the priest or prayers. I intend to go to mass tomorrow at the Basilica since I was told they have really good choirs that come for the "special" days of the year. I am looking forward to Lent here and although Spain is not nearly as Catholic as it used to be, they still have all the Lenten Devotions and I hope to experience those as best I can. Today I went to the Basilica de San Juan de Dios and was awestruck at the interior, there is so much to see and everything is covered with gold (well what looks like it at least).
A side note: today when I asked the person working at the Basilica about their choir, he asked me where I was from and when I told him the United States he said he was surprised and said I didn't sound like an American. He actually thought I was from the United Kingdom! I think I will take that as a complement.
Although I think this is my most exciting adventure, I am starting to miss some things American. I'm finding myself craving American food actually, mostly vegetables which aren't a staple here like bread and there certainly isn't a health trend like in America. Also they don't drink water like advised in America, water is never free and they mostly drink beer or wine with their meals. I'm finding myself missing little parts of American culture too. I know I'm unusual, but I like our fast paced way of life and promptness. Everything here moves much slower and any culture who takes 3 hours for Siesta is obviously more relaxed than our nine hour work days. (Although I may regret saying that this summer at my internship) I have a hard time sleeping during the day, so I have yet to take a real Siesta. I've also realized how many commodities I take for granted back home: our semi-unlimited amount of water, keeping the lights on at night (they conserve electricity like crazy here), gyms near every neighborhood and of course central heating. I must saying living in another country, no matter how wonderful, makes you appreciate home like you didn't before.
Well that's all the reflections I have for now. These will be my reflections for tomorrow and I'll be thinking of my beloved St. Austin's tomorrow as they celebrate one of their most beautiful masses.
Remember: "You were made from dust and to dust you shall return" Genesis 3:19
I hope I don't make too many grammatical errors in this blog post because my hands are actually asleep from being literally frozen in mass this morning. Of course it's not warm enough outside to actually thaw out on the walk back home, so I'm sitting right now with my feet as close to the table heater as possible. Well it was quite a weekend over here and I am pleased to say I feel like I completed the "initiation" into the Spanish culture this weekend, by that I mean I partied all night like spaniards do. And what's more, I even got up this morning to go to mass (and freeze), completing the culture. A good spaniard and catholic on the same weekend!
Yesterday I did my first bit of European shopping, I do wish I had only brought half of what i did because I can tell I will return to the United States with more than i brought here. I did good though, only bought one thing for 9 euros. I still can't get over how fashionable the spaniards are. It's all about the shoes and jackets. Most of the older women wear long fur coats in the winter and the younger people wear mostly leather. Unlike in the United States where people wear big down jackets and frumpy sweaters, these spaniards make sure they still look guapa by wearing high heeled boots, beautiful coats and seem to sacrifice warmth for fashion. I stick out as an American because I'm the only young girl on the streets wearing my little red flats.
Last night was quite an experience for me! In these last three years of college I have never had as much fun going out as I did last night. I've never even stayed out as late as last night either, but it's so easy to do here because clubs don't begin to get crowded until 2:30 at least ( am!) last night my friends and I partied the Spanish way by getting together in someone's apartment before going to the club to dance. Honestly hanging out on the weekends with other young Spaniards is one of the best ways to learn Spanish, you don't feel self conscious if you know that they are not all " together" . After heading to the club at 130 , we immediately jumped in to the disco life. A very long story short, we ended up leaving at 3:30 and after feeling very cheated by the cab driver who seemed to take the long way home, I was successfully in bed at 4, which is still considered early on a saturday. Clubs don't close until 7 or 8 the next morning. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the disco played Spanish music as well as American and one of our Spanish friends said she would teach us a little bit of flamenco next weekend. While spaniards listen to quite a lot of American music, we stood out as the Americans because our group new all the words to every American song playing, and we weren't shy about it:) needless to say the music was so energetic I found myself " break dancing" at one point at my friends' request, showing the girls the " coffee grinder" which is a dance move I learned as an eight year old in jazz class, Thanks for those dance classes mom!
This morning I continued my weekend of new experiences by attending the cathedral for mass. Actually I attended two masses. I walked in and was a little disappointed by the grandeur of the cathedral, it was dark and smaller than I imagined from the outside. Mass was all in Spanish of course and the little old priest mumbled so I couldn't even make out the Our Father prayer. Well it wasn't what I expected and walked out a little disappointed by my effort to go to THE CATHEDRAL. When I left I noticed one of the multiple doors of this massive edifice was open and so decided to go in, I realized my mistake when I saw the massive ceiling and size of this space. I guess the first mass was just a chapel mass and this second entrance was THE cathedral space. It is impressive with its gold siding, beautiful murals on the altar and multiple gated chapels inside. I was surprised there weren't that many people at mass, I think St.Austins back home has more people regularly, however it was impressive and even though I sat there freezing I was glad I stayed. They have a choir at that particular mass which I was very impressed with, however it was young students, so the sound was a little weaker and younger than i like, but the pieces they sung were very nice. I even went up to the director after mass and asked him if it was okay for me to join for this semester. He gave me his email and told me that I am welcome to sing with them! So if I do, that will be an adventure, I'm rather scared seeing as how they are high schoolers and here I am knowing only enough Spanish to make me look and sound like a fool. What fun right? But I will investigate some more and hopefully sing with them, I know it would be a good experience and help build up my Spanish. Needless to Say the morning was a success, although I have not thawed out from mass, 2hrs later! That's one thing about Spain, it's so cold but no one has central heat or air, so everyone in mass was in their fur coats and down jackets and I'm sitting there like a naive American in a pea coat, skirt with tights, no gloves and flats, hands in my pockets, shivering and probably a purple face. You think I stuck out? I would bet money on it.
Well we just finished lunch, my " mother" made paella, tuna/ tomato and lettuce salad and of course some bread. I can't get over how much bread and olive oil they consume. How are they not obese??? Well Siesta hour calls and tonight I am meeting a friend of a friend in America who is a professor here at the university. So I'm looking forward to meeting some more Spaniards!
Our trip to Granada was quite an adventure,especially with all the luggage. It was not lacking in drama, but every inconvenience here seems to add to this adventure.
The bus that took us from our hostel to the bus stop was big, but the poor bus driver had a hard time getting our luggage into the bus and was quite out of breath when we finally took off. When I carried one of the bags into the bus he looked at me, out of breath and sweating, and said "you a strong woman!" The poor guy, I told him Americans don't travel light. After changing busses and driving for an hour our bus was hit by a car, ripping off the front light and part of the body of the bus. It was quite a coincidence because just the previous day I was saying to a friend that I was surprised there weren't more accidents due to the crazy driving. No one was hurt and luckily we were close to a restaurant and pulled into the drive to wait for another bus to come pick us up and take us the rest of the way. So needless to say it was a along trip to Granada!
Madrid is rather flat and barren compared to Granada but the drive here was beautiful as the mountains became visible about two hours outside of Madrid. I must say when we arrived at the bus station, I was full of nerves about meeting my new family. I was one of the last to get picked up by my mother and we quickly began conversing, she speaks absolutely no English! But I was surprised at how I was able to understand her and she hosts students quite a bit, so she knows she has to talk slower in order for me to understand. Her name is Inmaculda and she lives very close to the center of the city. Her daughter Paula, who is my age lives here as we'll as her nephew and mother. Paula is a comfort because she knows some words in English, so those that I have to "act out" she can usually guess what I'm trying to say. I can tell there is going to be a lot of charades these first few weeks. The apartment is simple and very clean, but has enough rooms for everyone to have their own. Upon arriving they made me feel right at home! Inma works during the day and sometimes at night, and her daughter goes to the university and studies criminology. Last night for dinner we got Tapas at two different bars. In Granada when you order a drink the tapas are free and are a good size, so I think it's a pretty good system. It's so much better being in a house because they eat early compared to most people depending on the day, well 9 is still late, but early compared to most spanish families. However spaniards are Very food oriented, so even when you tell them you are full, they offer you more and more, and it's very hard to say no when they are trying so hard to make you feel at home. Most homes don't have central heating, so last night was rather cold and I wore long underwear, a sweater and my robe to bed. However they eat in the same room where they watch tv and under the dining table is A heater, so most of the time is spent in the living room with your feet under the table. But I'm still looking forward to warmer weather!
Today the nephew, Julio, walked me to school, it's about a 30 minute walk, but the last 10 minutes are straight up hill into the neighborhood of the Albaicin which has a direct view of the Alhambra. Its absolutely breath taking! After arriving to the university out of breath and rather sweaty, I reunited with the 15other students of the program which was so nice! After spending the whole trip so far With them, it was a little nerve racking to be with total strangers last night, on top of not knowing half of what your family tells you. Traveling alone to another country, you create strong bonds with other Americans fast! Our professors are wonderful and insist we speak in Spanish at school, at home, to our parents if we can and more importantly with each other. It's a challenge, but already I can tell my confidence is stronger because I have no other option than to make mistakes in Spanish and learn.
After an oral exam for Spanish placement I returned home, on my own mind you, to have lunch with my family. Oh, I don't think there is any way I won't gain weight here, we had pasta carbonara, with bread, wine and salad smothered in olive oil. Ohhhh was it good! The cousin is a cook at a tapas bar, so he does most of the cooking. Every meal involves bread, I don't even remember this much bread when I visited Italy! But I will be walking everywhere, so maybe it will cancel out some of this bread. Ya right!
Well tonight I return to school for a tour of the city and then dinner with my family. Tomorrow we begin Spanish class and being Friday, I imagine I will tag along with my sister to the bars. The night life for young people is very popular here!
Despite the fact that my feet hurt and are fairly swollen from walking 6+ miles today, I am officially on a Spanish high right now and have been this way since the moment I arrived. I can honestly say I am in heaven here, even the octopus on a tomato bread, not eating dinner till 10pm and walking everyday until your feet hurt, I cannot think of anything I have not enjoyed. Today was definitely the highlight of my time here. After arriving, I quickly made up my mind that Madrid was most likely going to be my favorite place because the city is bustling with energy, food, smells, sounds and culture; but after my adventure today, I concluded that I will not have a favorite place because every place has its own wonder and awe. Toledo though was my favorite ;)
For those that have been to Assisi Italy, it was very similar. Small town vibe (although nothing like an American small town), with old cobblestone streets and Medieval buildings (it used to be Spain's capital until 1561) and sword shops with Medieval artifacts and souvenirs on every corner. I went to sleep last night rather worried about this "assignment," which was vague. My academic director told us to pick three cities, Toledo, Segovia or Alcala de Heneras and figure out transportation there and back and go sight seeing, but not just visiting, she asked us to really take in the smells, the local customs and culture and compare it to our experience in Madrid. So last night it hit me that I have never in my life taken a metro, never had to rely on a bus to get from point A to B nor have I been in this country for a week, and she was telling me to go to another city on my own??? Needless to say I woke up a little anxious and headed out the door after breakfast with my roommate. Between the two of us we were able to find the Metro Station en La Plaza del Sol and take two trains to La Plaza Eliptica (about 30 minutes of running around) and then catch the bus to Toledo with only two minutes to spare. I was surprised how well we fit in with the flow of the morning work rush, actually the whole trip was exhilarating and if you're tired in the morning, a trip from home to the metro and then another walk to the bus will wake you up on a crisp morning. I could not believe that we actually made the bus to Toledo without any mess ups or disasters, we did almost get on the metro going the opposite way we wanted, but caught our mistake before it was too late.
One thing about Spain is the people are who define the meaning of Spain, they are so friendly and often times they will stop and actually walk with you to show you where you need to go. There was a little vieja lindo at the station who took me by the arm and showed me where the bus was that would take us up to el Ciudad del Centro and then walked over to us before we left to make sure we actually got on the bus and smiled. There isn't much than can describe Toledo, the whole time Cecilia and I were walking through the streets we squealed like school girls at the charm and beauty of the city. It's just like being in a book, the city is a complete time transport into Spain's Medieval days. Our first stop was the Catedral del Toledo where we took an audio tour of the church and I of course was in heaven! The architecture is amazing, it's a beautiful mix of Gothic as well as Moorish influence. I'm sure if you want more info on the Cathedral you'll look it up, so I'll spare the details. Our next stop was to obtain Mazapan de Toledo from a convent where the nuns make sweets to sell in order to support themselves. All I can say is they're good and loaded with sugar! I am still recovering (they're just an almond flour pastry with tons of sugar!) After more walking and lunch, another three course meal (very typical for lunch and its actually cheaper to get a fixed three course menu + a drink than to actually order off the regular menu) we ran into the other highlight of the day "El Entierro del Senor Orgaz de el Greco." To be in a church, that was not anything magnificent like the cathedral, but to just walk in and see this painting was incredible. You wouldn't believe the detail of the painting from just looking at pictures on the internet. It's a masterpiece of expression, faith, humanity and art.
All I can conclude with is: the day to Toledo was the highlight for me so far and that's saying a lot since I am in Spain and everything is a highlight. Yesterday we went to El Prado and saw many other famous pieces of art by El Greco, Goya and many others. These few days in Madrid have truly been an eye opening experience into what the world outside my little Wooster and Austin bubble have to offer.
Tomorrow we head down to Granada and meet our families, I will stay with a woman and her young cousin who is my age. I am so excited to meet her and she supposedly lives quite close to the center of Granada. I am about a mile from school so I will walk everyday, up hill mind you, and will spend three hours a day in class and then twice a week several more hours doing my community service project (to be determined).
I'm sure there is so much else I am forgetting to say, I'm rather tired now, but it has been a truly graced day and I feel so lucky and blessed to be here! Sorry mom and dad, I'm not the slightest bit homesick ;) How can one be in a place like this when your mind is constantly awe struck?
