Some fun/random pictures

Jenn and I drinking tinto de verano. Basically it is red wine and carbonated lemonade mixed together. DELICIOUS!
Chocolate y churros... also delicious!
There are tons of huge fountains here, and they are gorgeous at night when they are all lit up. This one is near the center of town.
The sunset from the bridge that I cross every day on my way to and from school.
I've said before that olive oil is basically the main ingredient in every dish here... well now you can see for yourself. An entire aisle in a grocery store devoted to aceite de oliva. Amazing!
We were really excited to have found grass. There is almost NO grass here in the city, just dirt. We'll definitely be going back to that park!
If you look closely you can see that we are point to the hail on the ground. We got caught out in a hailstorm!
Bree and I posing in the hail.

intensivo ha terminado!!

We are finally done with our intensivo and DELE classes, and it is SUCH a relief!! My exams were on Wednesday and our last classes were on Thursday, and I was very pleased to find out that I passed! Now the pressure is off and I am eligible to take all the advanced classes that I signed up for. Even though I will be taking four classes for the semester, and all of them are going to be completely in Spanish, it seems like it is going to be so much less work than the intensivo. I mean, I am only going to have 12 hours of class a week! It's going to be amazing. And another great thing is that the semester doesn't start until February 11, so we have a break to rest up and prep ourselves to jump back into the grind. And boy are we all taking advantage of that break! My program is taking us to the Alhambra this weekend, something that I am extremely excited about. I have wanted to see the Alhambra for a really long time now because I've read and learned so much about it and the fascinating history that is so embedded into every corner. I'm totally a history nerd, so that kind of thing is right up my alley! Our program has also planned a five day excursion to Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo that will take place next week. It is going to be pretty great to go to other places in Spain and to get to see what life is like outside of Granada. Plus, on Friday when our excursion is over, they are setting us free to do whatever we want for the next four days! I have friends who are going everywhere from Scotland to France to Portugal to Italy. I, however, am taking advantage of being in the central region of Spain and I'm going to visit the town of Cuenca with my friend Claire from home. Once again, small world! Claire is the girl I took piano lessons with forever back in Bremerton, and she is currently living in a small pueblo near Toledo and teaching English for the year. I'm hoping that we will be able to do a lot more traveling together. It would be great to have a travel buddy, and since she's already been here since September, she knows her way around a bit better and can even be my guide in some places! =) I'm just so spoiled! Anyway, it is going to be a very busy week and a half for me, and I am completely looking forward to it. The only cloud is that I've been kind of sick lately with a really nasty cold/sinus infection. I'm hoping it will start to clear up on its own soon because I really don't want to have to deal with going to the doctor in a foreign country! Plus I just want to be healthy so I can get the most out of my travel opportunites. We'll see how it goes, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get better soon and that my trips are amazing!

it's a small world after all!

This last Tuesday I got to do something really exciting... I got to hang out with my cousin in Granada! =) Julie and Joe Roach (aka Julie DeBord!) were vacationing in Spain and happened to stop in Granada for a few days. Thanks to the wonders of email, we were able to meet up and go out for chocolate y churros and take a walk around the city. So fun! It was so great to see a familiar face so far from home, and I can't help but find it a little bit ironic that I barely ever see Julie in the US, but we got to have a lunch date in Spain! Disney certainly was right when he said "it's a small world!" Even though I've been here for a month I haven't had a ton of time to get to know the city, so it was an adventure for all of us. We got to walk around some areas I hadn't visited yet, and I showed them "my" part of town and the river which is close to my apartment. I even felt kind of worldly when I was able to recommend some fun ideas for their afternoon and some good shopping areas to buy authentic "Spanish" gifts. =) Sadly, I forgot to grab my camera that morning, so I don't have any pictures of our afternoon, but I know that Julie and Joe took some, so hopefully I can steal them from them eventually! And I got more than just wonderful company from the afternoon... Julie and Joe brought me some American candy! YUM! Red Vines, Mike&Ikes, Twix, and best of all, PEANUT BUTTER CUPS! I let my professor for my evening class that day try one of the peanut butter cups, and she claimed it was just too sweet. I beg to differ! Spanish candy can be way different than ours, and I think that IT is way too sweet... I guess you just learn to love what you are used to!

Another funny thing happened on Tuesday... I was sitting in the CLM (Centro de Lenguas Modernas- my school) waiting for my class to start and finishing up some homework when this Spanish man came over to my bench and sat down. He tried to strike up a conversation by asking what I was doing, and then he offered to help correct my homework! Of course, all the while he was hinting that we should go out for tapas, asking where I lived (don't worry, I didn't tell!), trying to make me guess his age (30!!!), and it was actually pretty amusing if not a little awkward! When it was finally time to go to my class I thanked him for his help and escaped without committing myself to anything, but my friends and I (and my professor) had a good laugh when I told them that I had been hit on by a 30 year old Spaniard. At least I got to use some Spanish, and hey! I did really well on my homework that day! ;)

Visiting the supermercados... a culinary adventure!

One day this week on our way home from school we decided to stop in a few of the grocery stores to see what kind of stuff they had and to buy some snacks. Of course there were a lot of things that were quite similar to products in the US, and we got really excited any time we saw an American brand (example: "Oh my gosh, look! They have OREOS here! REAL oreos!!" or "Peanut butter!!! I thought I was never going find it here!"). I never realized going to the grocery store could be such an exciting experience! However, there were some things that were DEFINITELY Spanish, through and through. For example, here in Spain there is a favorite snack called jamon. Jamon translates to ham, and that doesn't sound too bad, right? Well this kind of jamon comes still attached to the pig. As in, you buy an entire pig leg, hoof, skin, and all, and take it home and slice it up to snack on. The good thing is that it lasts for a long time (well, it is a good thing if you like it). Bree and I, however, are NOT big fans. The meat has huge pieces of fat still attached, and it is really just not appetizing. And they eat it with melon here! YUCK! So yes, we have a giant pig leg stored out on our balcony (because it is so cold and there isn't room in the kitchen), and there is a whole section at the grocery store dedicated to pig legs. YUM.

Some other fun delicacies that we've discovered are jamon flavored chips (like I said, the Spanish REALLY love their jamon!), ketchup flavored cheetoes (yes, really), and entire aisles dedicated solely to aceite de oliva (olive oil... it is used to cook absolutely EVERYTHING here. We haven't had a single meal yet that hasn't featured olive oil in at least one of the dishes). Pretty interesting! I wonder what kind of things we have in the US that the Spanish would find weird or downright revolting?

Obamartes!

As I am sure everyone is extremely aware, this past Tuesday was a pretty important day for the US. However, you probably aren't as aware of the fact that the rest of the world was pretty freaking excited too! Practially every Spaniard I've talked to in the last few days has brought up the inauguration and asked how I feel about Obama and Bush and the current state of affairs in the US. It has been so interesting! On Tuesday our evening class was rescheduled so we could all go watch the inauguration live, and I have to say that it was a pretty surreal experience. There was an Irish pub that is really close to our school that was hosting a inauguration-watching celebration, and nearly every student in our program showed up, plus a ton of other American students, other Americans, some people from the UK and Ireland, and a few Spanish people. We were all just excited because we got to watch the event in English! =) The event was called Obamartes, which is pretty comical because it is a play on Obama's name and the Spanish word for Tuesday, which is martes. Obama + martes = Obamartes. Clever! The pub was absolutely PACKED with people... we got there just before Obama was going to take the oath, and we had to stand by the door because we couldn't get any further into the pub. Definitely standing room only! After the speech we all joined in singing the National Anthem with the Navy choir, and the atmosphere in the pub was so excited and hopeful, it was just contagious! Then the best part of it all happened... an old Irish man pulled out his guitar and started playing "This Land Is Your Land" and the ENTIRE crowd started singing along. It was so much fun!!! But as I said before, it was a completely surreal experience... I was in Spain, at an Irish pub, watching the US Presidential Inauguration, and singing "This Land Is Your Land" with an old Irish man and a bunch of expat Americans, Spaniards, and British people. CRAZY DAY! I certainly won't be forgetting that day any time soon!

Discovering Granada

It is starting to get harder to remember what I've been up to each week. Every day seems like it is blurring into the next! I'm happy that we are nearly done with our intensivo and DELE classes. It been kind of rough to have so much class every day plus all the homework that we are assigned. It is especially hard considering we feel like we are in class 24 hours a day here because we constantly have to be thinking about what is being said to us and what we are going to say in response. It is tiring! But hopefully it is helping us improve (not that it really feels like we are improving much!).

This week I went out with some friends to explore our side of the city. We live really close to the ceter of the city and have spent most of our time so far exploring that area and the streets between our houses and school. We didn't have any idea that there was so much more to the city on the opposite side of our apartment! We found a bunch of cafes and a salon that does manicures for 2 euros... We are definitely planning on making a stop there soon! =) We also finally found a Vodafone that had the phone I needed, so I finally have a cell phone here. Very exciting! We ended up going to a little restaurant that served these HUGE bocadillos (basically they are sandwiches) with fries and a drink for only 6 euro. We are all pretty convinced that we lucked out with our location, and our side of the city is an undiscovered gem! It is definitely a lot less touristy. No one speaks any English. At one cafe we didn't know how to say something, and the owner brought out his teenage son to try to translate! The poor buy looked mortified, but we thought it was pretty hilarious.

We spent most of the day today searching around our barrio (neighborhood) for a non-existent market. Our mama told us that the market on Saturdays is near the Palacio de Deportes, but we walked basically all morning and never found it! It was pretty fun though to just wander around and discover all the little hole-in-the-wall shops and cafes all over the place. We found this great bookstore near our street and of course I could have spent the entire day there... I can't wait to go back! =) It is fun discovering the city, and even though we didn't ever find what we were looking for at the outset, I still feel like it was a very successful day!

YAY! Tengo una iglesia!

I just got home from going to mass, and I am in such a great mood!! Last week I went to mass at this big old church pretty close to my house that is called la Iglesia de la Virgen de Anguistia or something like that, and it is this huge elaborately decorated cathedral type church, and honestly, I hated it! I think I was the only congregation member under the age of 60, the priest was extremely difficult to understand (and what I did understand was very dry and boring), and worst of all, there was NO MUSIC! I almost died... I was so worried that I was going to hate going to mass in Spain. However, one of the girls in my program from UP told me that her host mom said there was a mass at a different church nearby that was more geared toward younger people, and that they had music! Obviously, I jumped at the offer to go with their family this Sunday. It was SO MUCH BETTER! The choir was small but pretty good and accompanied by 3 guitars. I really liked the music, and the only drawback is that there aren't any music books, so you can only sing if you already know the songs. It shouldn't take too long to learn the mass parts, but the other songs might be a bit of a problem. But still, even just being able to listen to the music is way better than the other church! Also the priest was a lot more engaging and interesting, plus he was way easier to understand. And I have a church-going buddy in my friend Jen (and her family) so I don't have to go alone every week. Overall, I am feeling really good right now. It is kind of funny because I didn't really know I was that upset about the church situation until I went today and the first song started... I almost cried I was so happy! It felt way more like home.

Fuentevaqueros

Yesterday my friend Jen and I went on an excursion with a group from our school to the birthplace of famous Spanish poet and author Federico Garcia Lorca. He was born in a little town about 15 km outside of Granada called Fuentevaqueros, and it was really nice to get out of the city for a little while. It was kind of funny because Jen and I were the only people in the entire group from our program, and the rest of the students were all part of a program from Vassar/Wesleyan and were only spending 2 weeks in Granada before they go to Madrid to study there for the semester. It was interesting to see the different level of committment to learning Spanish that their group has... they all spoke English the ENTIRE time, and when Jen and I would respond to them in Spanish they kind of looked at us as if we were crazy. I mean, I totally admit that I speak English probably a little more than I should here, but I definitely try to speak Spanish whenever I can! Lorca's house was pretty cool... there were some really funny quirks that were quite entertaining, like a tiny little passageway between the kitchen and the living room that was only about 3 feet tall. We all had to bend completely double to walk through it! I wish I could have taken pictures, but we weren't allowed to inside the house. Below are the pictures I was able to take of the little courtyard part of the house and some other thing in the town of Fuentevaqueros.

Gorgeous sunset on the way home... the photo doesn't do it justice!
A granada (pomegranate) bush!
Pretty building across the street from Lorca's house.
The courtyard between the house and the barn. There is even a real well!
Fountain in main plaza of Fuentevaqueros.

Well, the honeymoon is over!

Ok, so the honeymoon isn't really over... things aren't bad at all, but I am finally running into some of those cultural conflicts that people always tell you so much about when you are prepping to study abroad. I had this long conversation tonight with my host mom about a bunch of things that we should/shouldn't be doing in the house. For example, we have to wear shoes or slippers in the house ALL the time. It is considered really rude to be barefoot in the house, plus there is no such thing as carpet here, so it would be pretty cold to be barefoot on the marble floors. But when it gets hot it is going to make me so sad because I LOVE being barefoot. I basically don't ever wear shoes unless I have to when I am home. But oh well, it is a pretty insignificant issue really. Also, it is really rude to put your feet on the couch, for example, if you curl one leg up under you and you are sitting on your foot, it is considered very "maleducada" (translation: rude!). I have to consciously remind myself not to sit this way! =) Our mom also told me that she doesn't want us to do our homework in the living room because the living room is for socializing, watching TV, eating, etc., and if we are studying out there then people feel like they can't make noise. I was kind of suprised at that because I had been sitting out there in an attempt to be sort of part of the family when I was studying instead of staying holed up in my room all day... the noise didn't bother me, but apparently I'm going to be in my room a lot. Also, I am pretty sure that she told me that I wasn't allowed to flush any toilet paper but rather I need to throw it in the garbage... WEIRD! The hardest part about all of this isn't changing my behavior... thats no problem really, but my host parents have an extremely thick accent and so it is a lot harder to understand them than it is many other people, so a lot of the time I'm not even sure I understand what she is telling me. I really hope that I got the gist of everything and don't continue unknowingly doing something that she considers rude! It is pretty hard to not be able to communicate very well. I can't really tell if she is scolding us or just informing us, and I'm not usually even sure of exactly what she is saying, so I just hope for the best! It sometimes seems that she gets frustrated when we don't understand, but I guess that is just part of cross-cultural interaction! I just am looking forward to the time when I finally reach a high enough level of Spanish that I can actually communicate and say what I want to. And understand what is being said to me!!! I'm partway there, I mean I understand nearly everything that is said during all of my classes, I just have to get used to the Andalucian accent in order to understand my family! Well, we'll see how it goes, and hopefully I improve quickly!

Fotos de los paseos

So far we have gone on two paseos (walks) with our group around different parts of the city. The first was the Realejo, which is where our school is located, and today we toured el Albaycin, which is the oldest part of the city (more than 2700 years old!). Here are some pictures from the tours!


Paseo Realejo

Looking out over Granada... if you look closely, you can see my apartment building. It is in the row of apartments buildings a little in the distance on the left side of the picture.
Another view of Granada from above.
The contrast between old and new is present all over the city.
Steep, narrow, windy streets... think how hard it would be to move in!
More pics of the ancient streets.



















Paseo del Albaicin

Example of the architecture of the houses in el Albaicin

Ancient defenses on the hill leading up to the Alhambra
The streets are so narrow and steep! It would be a workout to live up here!
One of the first churches in Granada. Converted from a mosque into a church. The tower is all that remains of the original mosque.
The Alhambra.
People in my group resting after our hike up the hill!
At the Mirador de San Nicolas (one of the most famous lookout points in Granada).
Another picture of the Alhambra
Looking out over the city of Granada

La comida y la prueba de nivel

So Thursday morning we had our prueba de nivel (placement test) for the intensivo course that we will be taking for the next three weeks. I'm pretty sure I did well on my written and grammer part, but then I kind of biffed the oral section, so I ended up in level 3A, which is the lower advanced level. I'm probably higher than that with my actual knowledge and stuff, but my practical usage part really needs work (actually talking!) so I think I am right where I need to be. Plus I think that I am going to improve SO MUCH during these three weeks. I have class for 4 hours every day from 10-2 that is basically intensive grammar, writing, and speaking, and then in the afternoon (I'm not sure yet what time the class is going to start, but probably either @ 4:30 or 5:30) we have classes to prepare us for the DELE exam that we have to take in May. It is basically a competence exam that if we pass certifies us as competent Spanish speakers. It is similar to the TOEFL test in the US. I think I am going to like my teachers for the intensivo--we had our first class on Friday and the time flew by. It didn't really feel like we were learning (but we were), which is the best kind of learning in my opinion! Hopefully it continues like that!

I finally got to try a few famously Spanish foods: tapas, tinto de verano, paella, and churros con chocolate. We went out for tapas on Thursday at a few different bars, and it was fun to explore the city at night. Tapas are basically little appetizer type foods that you get for free when you order a drink--great deal! We all ordered tinto de verano, which is pretty much red wine mixed with a carbonated lemonade. It is so good! The tapas were good too... at the first place we got little breaded fried fish, almost like fish sticks, and at the second bar we got little sandwiches (YUMMY!) called bocadillos, and these weird tasting kabob-type things. It was an adventure for the palate! On Saturday Bri and I went out to a famous cafe near our school called Cafe Futbol to get churros y chocolate. Oh. My. Gosh. It was probably one of the richest things I've ever eaten... basically the chocolate was like a mix between Hershey's syrup and hot fudge, and you dipped your churros in it. DELICIOUS. I'm pretty sure that churros y chocolate is going to be one of my absolute favorite treats here! For lunch today we had the traditional Spanish dish called paella (pai-eh-yuh) which is a rice dish with a bunch of stuff mixed in an all cooked together. It actually kind of reminded me of Rice-a-roni, which I am sure is basically sacrilidge to say! It had mushrooms and chicken and green beans and some other veggies in it, and it was really good. It seems that I've lucked out this weekend in the food department!

Día de los reyes magos, cumpleaños de Papá, y otras cosas

El dia de los reyes magos (Tuesday) was crazy! In the morning we went to our school for un paseo (a walk or tour) through the Realejo, which is one of the oldest parts of Granada and which is where our school is located. The streets here are so different from at home... they are super narrow and there is really no sidewalk so you have to be careful of the cars. In el barrio del Realejo the streets are exactly the same as they were in the medieval times, which means that they are VERY narrow (like about as wide as two or three people standing shoulder to shoulder) and in places they are also really steep. This means that the people who live up there can't drive up to their houses, so they have quite a hike, especially if they are carrying anything! I can imagine that moving in or out would be a total nightmare. When we arrived home a lot of the family had already arrived to celebrate the day, so the house was very full and very loud. And very Spanish! =) Bri and I didn't understand a whole lot that day, but everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and I completely enjoyed myself even though I was confused! It was actually similar to our family gatherings at home... lots of people, lots of noise, and lots of food! I felt right at home. =) I tried a little bit of everything at the meal, and I honestly am not sure what I was eating, and I'm not sure I really want to know. However, I do know that one of the dishes was lamb or mutton or something, because one of mama's sons baaa-ed at us when we didn't know the word! Very entertaining! Bri and I even received gifts from "los reyes" (a.k.a. our mama). We each got a scarf and jewelry with a pomegranate on it. Granada means pomegranate in English, and Mama says that they are tokens so we can always remember our time here. I got a necklace, and Bri got a bracelet. Also, el dia de los reyes magos was the 70th birthday of our papa, so we were asked to sing happy birthday in English, to the delight of the whole family. We even harmonized, which really impressed them!

Since Tuesday we have just been doing orientations at school and hanging out around the house. We had to do a scavenger hunt type thing for our homework yesterday, so we are also getting to know the city better. Granada is so nice because it is so easy to walk everywhere. Well, at least everywhere that we are going to need to go! Last night we tried to go out for tapas with some other girls from the program, but none of the tapas bars were open. Apparently we are still in the American mindset... the bars don't even open until 8, and we were out at 6:30/7ish. And tapas are supposed to be like an afternoon snack!! Que loco! We ended up just wandering around which was fun because we got to see some new parts of the city. Again, every minute is an adventure here!

Fotos de mi casa

The amazing view from our room. We have a sliding glass door that opens out onto a small balcony overlooking a monastery. Que bonita!
More of our awesome view.
Our bedroom... very small, but totally sufficient!
Our room from the other side.
My half of the room.
My roommate Brianna from Oregon.
Our halls are covered in these beautiful paintings- it all feels very rich!
Our TINY kitchen. We eat breakfast in here, but lunch and dinner are out in the living room/dining room.
The bathroom that Bri and I share. The toilet has a pull chain to flush, and the shower is TINY!
Living room.
Dining room part of living room.
Did I mention that we have pets? The bird is named Pavoratti because he sings so much, and we have a tiny dog named Lluvia, which means rain in Spanish.
El perrito Lluvia (prounounced You-vee-uh).

Fotos de los reyes magos y Rodica y Nicki

They celebrate McDonalds... even in Spain! Que raro!




Rodica's fiancee Nicki
Rodica and I... such a wonderful host!

Estoy aqui!

Well, I made it! It certainly was an experience traveling completely solo internationally and attempting to find my way around using only spanish! Per si fue un examen, me aprobe! (If it was a test, I passed!). I arrived in Malaga on Saturday and almost immediately had a luggage scare... my bags didn't show up at the baggage claim for my flight, and I was a little nervous! But I eventually noticed a seperate section of the baggage claim area that was marked off with glass walls, and I happened to see one of my bags going by! GRACIAS A DIOS! They apparently were put in that area because I hadn't done customs in Madrid and needed to do so. After that I had to try to find my way to the place I was staying for the night, and this was yet another adventure! I think I wandered aimlessly around this tiny area for more than half an hour looking for a seemingly non-existant bus stop. One lady tried to help me, but she was a tourist from Japan (I think) and her spanish was completely incomprehesible. I eventually found the stop and got to the place I needed to be (though even that was confusing because the bus was re-routed due to a parade for Epiphany). My hosts for the night were awesome and I slept like a rock since I'd been traveling for almost 30 hours by then.

On Sunday I took the bus to Granada and found my homestay house. I'm living with una mama y papa y una hermana (who is 26). My "parents" also have 4 other children, two of whom are married and have kids. Everyone lives close by in Granada, so I think that we will be seeing a lot of the whole family. I also have an American roommate from Oregon named Brianna. My family seems very nice and their apartment is beautiful (but small) with an amazing view. Brianna and I even have a balcony that looks out over this old nunnery that is still in use. Pretty cool!

We are lucky to have arrived at this time of year because tomorrow (the 6th) is an extremely important day in Spain- el dia de los reyes magos, which is Epiphany to us english speakers. The holiday celebrates the coming of the three kings (los reyes magos) to visit the baby Jesus and to bring him their gifts. In Spain, los reyes are basically the Spanish version of Santa... they don't do gifts at Christmas, but rather on Jan. 6, so tomorrow is a big day for the children of Spain! =)Briana and I just got back from this huge parade that they have in every city and town in Spain where they celebrate the three kings and throw thousands and thousands of caramelos (candy) into the crowds. Practically the entire city turns out for this celebration so the streets were PACKED with people, and candy was flying everywhere. What an experience!

I'm sure there is so much more that I am forgetting to mention right now that I've seen and done already, but there will be many more updates! Love you and miss you all!