For a 3 day weekend I visited Madrid which is the capital of Spain. First we visited El Prado art museum. During the first hour we were there I would walk and stand by each individual painting for a few minutes, read the blurb about each one and try to come up with an opinion about each painting. Once my eyes started glazing over, I realized there were 2 floors of paintings and sculptures to see and I had only covered 5 of the bajillion galleries of art. I told myself “forget it, I’ve got to see all of it”. I proceeded to see the rest of the museum walking at a brisk pace turning my head to the side to see the paintings. If I liked one I’d stop.
One of the days Natalie, Michael and I toured Burnabaum stadium where the Real Madrid soccer team plays. I’m not so into soccer but I figured it’s something the majority of my friends would appreciate hearing about back home. Although the stadium was empty, except for small groups of tourists, you could still feel the energy of the stadium and imagine what it’s like having hundreds of thousands of people filling the stands clapping and cheering for their favorite players. Natalie and I practically met Christiano Rodolfo. I mean we got to take a picture (of a picture) of him and saw his cleats on display. We had fun imagining what we would say to the talented and super guapo Christiano Rodolfo if we knew him. “Oh hey Christiano. You want to take me on a date tonight? Gosh, sorry I already have plans but maybe next week when I’m not so busy.” Or “sorry I didn’t text you back sooner, David Beckham called me and we talked for like an hour.” I think if we actually did meet him our minds would go blank and we would start drooling.
The highlight of the trip to Madrid for me was seeing a “corrida de torros” or bull fight. I went into the experience unsure of how I would feel about watching men torture and kill a bull. It would never fly in the US. I decided to look at it from an artistic and cultural standpoint and absolutely loved it. One thing I found interesting is that bulls are actually color blind. So the the movement of the red cape is what makes the bull charge, not the color red itself. The cape is traditionally red to camouflage the blood stains as the bull passes under the cape.
Through my ballroom dance training I’ve learned how to do paso doble. Paso Doble is a style of dance that imitates bullfighting where the lead is the matador and the follow can represent the cape, matadors shadow, or the bull. I prefer trying to imitate the first two; in fact I don’t know many girls who want to be referred to as a bull. While watching the bull fight I really enjoyed looking for the similarities and where the dance stems from. Watching the bull fight made me want to dance and channel the same energy present in the plaza de torros. In watching the matadors I noticed that the footwork, posture, shaping, intensity, and passion are the same. I watched the bull and was not reminded of a female dancer, unless girls weigh 1,000 pounds, have sharp horns on their head, and run towards men with swords and daggers.
On our last day in Madrid we visited a modern art museum called Reina Sophia. Inside are works from famous Spanish artists including Picasso and Salvador Dali. My favorite painting was Guernica by Picasso. Although I really like modern art, I was extremely exhausted from staying out late the night before and I could hardly keep my eyes open. We were there for about an hour and a half so in 30 minutes I made sure to see the most famous paintings in the 4 story museum. I used the other hour to sit on the concrete floor outside one of the galleries to sleep while my friends continued looking around. Yes, I literally fell asleep in an art museum.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
What to Expect When You're Expecting- Host Sisters
Before I left for Madrid for the weekend I was surprised when my host mom told me that two girls from Tennessee would be staying with us. They would be arriving the day I got back from Madrid. Pump the breaks! I was not prepared for this. My head filled with questions and concerns. “I’ll have to share the bathroom. What if they’re better at Spanish than me? I’ll have to share time with my host mom. What if my host mom likes them better? What if my host brothers hang out with them more than me? ” This must be how first born children feel when they meet their new sibling for the first time. I now feel sorry for our cat Ruby who probably felt the same things when I was born.
When my new host sisters Leslie and Sharyce got here lots of my concerns and anxieties were relieved and replaced with new anxieties. My host mom introduced me to them and gave me a look of “thank god you’re here.” The girls only had one year of college level Spanish and could hardly communicate or understand Lourdes. Lourdes asked me to translate things for them like rules for the house, what time we’ll eat, when they’re going to school, etc.
In that moment I was able to reflect back on where I started in my language abilities and how much I’ve learned and how far I’ve come. I was in their shoes not too long ago struggling to communicate and now my host mom needs me to be a translator. Wow, I’m really proud of myself! At dinner Lourdes complemented me in front of the girls saying how good my Spanish is, how well mannered I am, how easy I am to get along with, and how I sometimes have funny things to say. It was nice to hear, but too bad the girls didn’t understand a word of it.
I could see how overwhelmed the girls were feeling just by the looks on their faces. I was able to give them tips and tricks from places to explore in Santander, what busses to take to get places, and even about how to unlock the gate without having to climb the fence.
Living with them hasn’t been easy. I don't like having to share my host mom because I feel like I have fewer opportunities to practice my Spanish. The girls want to talk to me in English during dinner which takes away from learning Spanish. They don’t even try to speak Spanish; they prefer to rely on me to translate or our host brother Oscar. Sharice hardly knows any Spanish and always asks me how to say complicated things in Spanish so she can participate in conversations too. I try my best to give her the correct phrases but she gets mad at me when she says it and Lourdes doesn't understand. Her pronunciation and grammar needs work. Then she looks at me and says "I said exactly what you told me to" like it's my fault she can't communicate.
Living with these girls has made me realize why Americans get such a bad reputation. They have big personalities and want to do everything their way without respecting the Spanish culture. They’re self centered and expect everyone to speak English to them. Hello, we’re in Spain! For example, the other day at dinner they took food off the counter which was for the other family members without asking. Also, when they went to the Mercado (which is a restaurant) they brought their own glasses and bottles of wine. That’s so tacky. It makes me embarrassed to be an American!
When my new host sisters Leslie and Sharyce got here lots of my concerns and anxieties were relieved and replaced with new anxieties. My host mom introduced me to them and gave me a look of “thank god you’re here.” The girls only had one year of college level Spanish and could hardly communicate or understand Lourdes. Lourdes asked me to translate things for them like rules for the house, what time we’ll eat, when they’re going to school, etc.
In that moment I was able to reflect back on where I started in my language abilities and how much I’ve learned and how far I’ve come. I was in their shoes not too long ago struggling to communicate and now my host mom needs me to be a translator. Wow, I’m really proud of myself! At dinner Lourdes complemented me in front of the girls saying how good my Spanish is, how well mannered I am, how easy I am to get along with, and how I sometimes have funny things to say. It was nice to hear, but too bad the girls didn’t understand a word of it.
I could see how overwhelmed the girls were feeling just by the looks on their faces. I was able to give them tips and tricks from places to explore in Santander, what busses to take to get places, and even about how to unlock the gate without having to climb the fence.
Living with them hasn’t been easy. I don't like having to share my host mom because I feel like I have fewer opportunities to practice my Spanish. The girls want to talk to me in English during dinner which takes away from learning Spanish. They don’t even try to speak Spanish; they prefer to rely on me to translate or our host brother Oscar. Sharice hardly knows any Spanish and always asks me how to say complicated things in Spanish so she can participate in conversations too. I try my best to give her the correct phrases but she gets mad at me when she says it and Lourdes doesn't understand. Her pronunciation and grammar needs work. Then she looks at me and says "I said exactly what you told me to" like it's my fault she can't communicate.
Living with these girls has made me realize why Americans get such a bad reputation. They have big personalities and want to do everything their way without respecting the Spanish culture. They’re self centered and expect everyone to speak English to them. Hello, we’re in Spain! For example, the other day at dinner they took food off the counter which was for the other family members without asking. Also, when they went to the Mercado (which is a restaurant) they brought their own glasses and bottles of wine. That’s so tacky. It makes me embarrassed to be an American!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Salamanca y Leon
We went on an excursion last weekend to Leon and Salamanca to fulfill parts of our culture credits. It was nice to have an entire weekend of travel, food and lodging planned for us by our program coordinator. In Leon we saw the Santa María de León Cathedral, Casa Bonites, and Basilica of San Isidoro. We’ve been learning about the history and architecture of all these historical monuments in our art history class and I love being able to see it with my own eyes.
On Saturday morning we traveled to Salamanca which is a few hours away from the city of Leon. Salamanca is bigger than Leon and there’s a large university with about 22,000 students. Leon was calm and quiet in comparison to Salamanca which was full of young people, lots of bachelor and bachelorette parties, and lots of monuments to see. Because the city was full of students it was easy to make friends. There were even a couple of times that before I could even introduce myself, Spanish students would ask to take a picture with me because I’m American. I should have offered to sign autographs too.
By midday in Salamanca we were all tired, hot, and hungry. We went to a restaurant in the city center that would host 17 people for lunch and it was chaos trying to order food. There were 4 choices for the first plate and 4 choices for the second plate plus desserts and drinks. It took forever for the waiter to explain each dish, for our coordinator to translate, for the picky eaters to ask questions about each dish, and everyone to get exactly what they wanted. Everyone was on edge and frustrated with one another. I don’t really like traveling in large groups for that reason. At the table I was sitting near a few people who were beginning to annoy me as they talked loudly about stupid topics and would complain about the food. When they began to sing the popular YouTube video song “Harry Potter Puppet Pals- The mysterious ticking noise” I lost my patience and snapped. I turned to them and with a stern voice said “I’m tired, hungry, and it’s hot out so I’m feeling on edge. You’re being so annoying and if you don’t stop singing that stupid song right now I’m going to punch someone. Please stop it.”
Their eyes opened with surprise and they stopped immediately. They sympathetically responded with “ok, ok, ok, we’ll stop and be quiet.” I’ve learned that because I’m not usually an outspoken person, when I am assertive people respond fairly quickly. I also noticed that they scooted away from me as much as possible, in case I decided to throw a punch.
After lunch we got to see Plaza Mayor, New Cathedral, Old Cathedral, and University of Salamanca. After two full days of seeing monuments I felt bad for our tour guide in Salamanca. All of our eyes glazed over and we were more interested in taking pictures instead of listening to her. Do we really have to talk about another sculpture of Jesus? It looks just like the last 50 sculptures we saw.
On Saturday morning we traveled to Salamanca which is a few hours away from the city of Leon. Salamanca is bigger than Leon and there’s a large university with about 22,000 students. Leon was calm and quiet in comparison to Salamanca which was full of young people, lots of bachelor and bachelorette parties, and lots of monuments to see. Because the city was full of students it was easy to make friends. There were even a couple of times that before I could even introduce myself, Spanish students would ask to take a picture with me because I’m American. I should have offered to sign autographs too.
By midday in Salamanca we were all tired, hot, and hungry. We went to a restaurant in the city center that would host 17 people for lunch and it was chaos trying to order food. There were 4 choices for the first plate and 4 choices for the second plate plus desserts and drinks. It took forever for the waiter to explain each dish, for our coordinator to translate, for the picky eaters to ask questions about each dish, and everyone to get exactly what they wanted. Everyone was on edge and frustrated with one another. I don’t really like traveling in large groups for that reason. At the table I was sitting near a few people who were beginning to annoy me as they talked loudly about stupid topics and would complain about the food. When they began to sing the popular YouTube video song “Harry Potter Puppet Pals- The mysterious ticking noise” I lost my patience and snapped. I turned to them and with a stern voice said “I’m tired, hungry, and it’s hot out so I’m feeling on edge. You’re being so annoying and if you don’t stop singing that stupid song right now I’m going to punch someone. Please stop it.”
Their eyes opened with surprise and they stopped immediately. They sympathetically responded with “ok, ok, ok, we’ll stop and be quiet.” I’ve learned that because I’m not usually an outspoken person, when I am assertive people respond fairly quickly. I also noticed that they scooted away from me as much as possible, in case I decided to throw a punch.
After lunch we got to see Plaza Mayor, New Cathedral, Old Cathedral, and University of Salamanca. After two full days of seeing monuments I felt bad for our tour guide in Salamanca. All of our eyes glazed over and we were more interested in taking pictures instead of listening to her. Do we really have to talk about another sculpture of Jesus? It looks just like the last 50 sculptures we saw.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
YOLO, Carpe Diem, Disfruta al Momento
May 3
When I got back from my 5 day weekend I was so happy to be home. Being in Santander felt like my home away from home. My host mom made me paella and tortilla atún which are my two favorite Spanish dishes. That feeling of being connected to a place that was once foreign but is now home, being with people who were strangers but now know you well, and feeling successful have made me fall in love with Spain more and more each day.
On May 2, I came home for siesta to find a package from Land and Dad. They sent me a sweatshirt, peanut M&M's (anyone who knows me well knows those are my favorite study snack), and other candies. Although I love Spain, it was nice to have a little taste of home. After siesta I met up with Erika, Geoff, and Natalie to go shopping. I was on the hunt for a watch but came back with a belt, leather jacket, sun glasses, and a tank top. I must have been sick because it's unlike me to buy that much in one shopping trip. I practically gave myself a heart attack. It must have been all the sun and feeling refreshed after my trip.
In grammar class this week we read an article about an elderly couple reflecting back on their life and what advice they have for others to live a fulfilling life. They talked about how we come up with excuses like “I would only be happy if…” and “my life would be better if...” that keep us from being happy. Life is full of “laters” but it’s time to take advantage of the great things you have sitting in front of you. Turn “tomorrows” into today. Take the time to stop and smell the roses. Carpe diem. Disfruta al momento. A modern day translation would be “YOLO” which stands for “you only live once.” Reading it hit home and accurately described how I’m feeling about this experience. I'm having the time of my life in Spain and trying my best to soak up every moment and take advantage of every opportunity I have. It was also just what I needed to hear to confirm my decision of buying a leather jacket.
Here's the quote from the article:
"Nos convencernos a nosotros mismos de que la vida será mejor después... Después de terminar la carrera, después de conseguir trabajo, después de casarnos, después de tener un hijo y después de tener otro. Luego decidimos que nuestra vida será completa cuando a nuestro esposo o esposa le vaya mejor, cuando tengamos un coche mejor, cuando nos podamos ir de vacaciones, cuando consigamos el ascenso, cuando nos retiremos.
La verdad es que no hay mejor momento para ser feliz que ahora mismo. Si no es ahora ¿cuándo? La vida siempre estará llena de "luegos," de retos. Es mejor admitirlo y decidir ser felices ahora de todas formas. No hay un luego, ni un camino para la felicidad, la felicidad es el camino y es ahora. Atesora cada momento que vives."
Today Natalie and I met up with another conversation partner to practice Spanish. Her name is Ana, she’s 22, and studying history. We met her for coffee and talked about our adventures in Spain, what we like to do on the weekends, about our families, differences in culture, and she gave us ideas of things to do in Santander. In meeting Ana I realized how much I’m improving at my Spanish because I could understand almost everything she said, and she was not speaking slowly. In conversation I used all the different verb tenses I know (not sure how accurately, but I tried) and we had a real conversation. It’s neat to realize how many doors I’ve opened since learning Spanish. I’m getting to know people that I woudn’t have the opportunity to meet because of my language abilities.
Disfruta la vida! Love your life!
When I got back from my 5 day weekend I was so happy to be home. Being in Santander felt like my home away from home. My host mom made me paella and tortilla atún which are my two favorite Spanish dishes. That feeling of being connected to a place that was once foreign but is now home, being with people who were strangers but now know you well, and feeling successful have made me fall in love with Spain more and more each day.
On May 2, I came home for siesta to find a package from Land and Dad. They sent me a sweatshirt, peanut M&M's (anyone who knows me well knows those are my favorite study snack), and other candies. Although I love Spain, it was nice to have a little taste of home. After siesta I met up with Erika, Geoff, and Natalie to go shopping. I was on the hunt for a watch but came back with a belt, leather jacket, sun glasses, and a tank top. I must have been sick because it's unlike me to buy that much in one shopping trip. I practically gave myself a heart attack. It must have been all the sun and feeling refreshed after my trip.
In grammar class this week we read an article about an elderly couple reflecting back on their life and what advice they have for others to live a fulfilling life. They talked about how we come up with excuses like “I would only be happy if…” and “my life would be better if...” that keep us from being happy. Life is full of “laters” but it’s time to take advantage of the great things you have sitting in front of you. Turn “tomorrows” into today. Take the time to stop and smell the roses. Carpe diem. Disfruta al momento. A modern day translation would be “YOLO” which stands for “you only live once.” Reading it hit home and accurately described how I’m feeling about this experience. I'm having the time of my life in Spain and trying my best to soak up every moment and take advantage of every opportunity I have. It was also just what I needed to hear to confirm my decision of buying a leather jacket.
Here's the quote from the article:
"Nos convencernos a nosotros mismos de que la vida será mejor después... Después de terminar la carrera, después de conseguir trabajo, después de casarnos, después de tener un hijo y después de tener otro. Luego decidimos que nuestra vida será completa cuando a nuestro esposo o esposa le vaya mejor, cuando tengamos un coche mejor, cuando nos podamos ir de vacaciones, cuando consigamos el ascenso, cuando nos retiremos.
La verdad es que no hay mejor momento para ser feliz que ahora mismo. Si no es ahora ¿cuándo? La vida siempre estará llena de "luegos," de retos. Es mejor admitirlo y decidir ser felices ahora de todas formas. No hay un luego, ni un camino para la felicidad, la felicidad es el camino y es ahora. Atesora cada momento que vives."
Today Natalie and I met up with another conversation partner to practice Spanish. Her name is Ana, she’s 22, and studying history. We met her for coffee and talked about our adventures in Spain, what we like to do on the weekends, about our families, differences in culture, and she gave us ideas of things to do in Santander. In meeting Ana I realized how much I’m improving at my Spanish because I could understand almost everything she said, and she was not speaking slowly. In conversation I used all the different verb tenses I know (not sure how accurately, but I tried) and we had a real conversation. It’s neat to realize how many doors I’ve opened since learning Spanish. I’m getting to know people that I woudn’t have the opportunity to meet because of my language abilities.
Disfruta la vida! Love your life!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Remember when we got written up by cops in Spain?
Cinco de Mayo
A few weekends ago some friends and I went to Rio de la Pila in Santander . It was a warm Friday night so we sat on a set of stairs overlooking the rio while drinking a beer. All of a sudden cop car parks in front of us and the officer locked eyes with us. My heart dropped and images of a cold jail cell, packed bags, airplanes, and paying expensive fines crossed my mind. The two officers got out of their car, puffed up their chests, and tightened their belts. They asked for our ID’s and we handed them over quickly. They asked where we lived so we each gave our Santander addresses with confidence. They looked at each one of our passports and started scribbling on his tablet. We sat in silence for a minute until I built up the confidence to politely ask what the problem was. Drinking isn’t allowed in public (even though everyone does it) . We were exploited because we are foreign while the groups of Spaniards across the street and groups sitting above us were left alone.
I asked what will happen now, what they were writing down and how much the ticket would be. He replied in a casual tone of voice, “nada.” He explained in spanglish that we don’t have to pay anything since we’re foreigners, and nothing was going to happen to us except we have a “record.” He explained that for us, the record doesn’t actually mean anything unless we commit a horrible crime like murder. By this point it just felt like a joke because even the officers were rolling their eyes and making jokes as they wrote us up. After he finished scribbling, he handed us our passports back, and told us to enjoy the rest of our stay in Spain. They didn’t make us move, dump out our drink, or do anything. It’s our new running joke, “remember that one time we got written up by the cops in Spain?”
A few weekends ago some friends and I went to Rio de la Pila in Santander . It was a warm Friday night so we sat on a set of stairs overlooking the rio while drinking a beer. All of a sudden cop car parks in front of us and the officer locked eyes with us. My heart dropped and images of a cold jail cell, packed bags, airplanes, and paying expensive fines crossed my mind. The two officers got out of their car, puffed up their chests, and tightened their belts. They asked for our ID’s and we handed them over quickly. They asked where we lived so we each gave our Santander addresses with confidence. They looked at each one of our passports and started scribbling on his tablet. We sat in silence for a minute until I built up the confidence to politely ask what the problem was. Drinking isn’t allowed in public (even though everyone does it) . We were exploited because we are foreign while the groups of Spaniards across the street and groups sitting above us were left alone.
I asked what will happen now, what they were writing down and how much the ticket would be. He replied in a casual tone of voice, “nada.” He explained in spanglish that we don’t have to pay anything since we’re foreigners, and nothing was going to happen to us except we have a “record.” He explained that for us, the record doesn’t actually mean anything unless we commit a horrible crime like murder. By this point it just felt like a joke because even the officers were rolling their eyes and making jokes as they wrote us up. After he finished scribbling, he handed us our passports back, and told us to enjoy the rest of our stay in Spain. They didn’t make us move, dump out our drink, or do anything. It’s our new running joke, “remember that one time we got written up by the cops in Spain?”
Malaga
May 1, 2012
Last night in Malaga we stayed in a hostel called “The Melting Pot” which has been rated as one of the top ten hostels in the world. It had a laid back, fun, and comfortable vibe. It had a great view of the ocean, an outdoor patio hangout area, and lots of fun employees to chat with. We stayed in a dorm style room and shared it with 4 other people. I felt like I was at summer camp again sleeping in bunk beds. We had pizza for dinner which was an excellent break from my travelers’ diet- cheese, crackers, bread, and nutella.
Today is Marisol’s birthday so we celebrated by joining a pub crawl with a group from our hostel. My favorite places we went to were the discotecas because they played good dance music. One place played American hip hop/ rap music (which is rare) and then saved the best discoteca for last where they played lots of salsa and Latin music. I checked another goal off the list- I salsa danced while speaking Spanish in Spain.
Over the course of the night I clicked with one of the guys from our hostel named Will. He is from Australia but is studying in Sweden for a year, and traveled to Spain for the week. We were either wearing sweaters (or jumpers as the Aussies call it) that were cramping our style on the dance floor. We draped them over our shoulders and tied them around our neck like some of the Spaniards do. We felt like dorks, but we turned it into our running joke for the night. It was functional and fashionable.
Last night in Malaga we stayed in a hostel called “The Melting Pot” which has been rated as one of the top ten hostels in the world. It had a laid back, fun, and comfortable vibe. It had a great view of the ocean, an outdoor patio hangout area, and lots of fun employees to chat with. We stayed in a dorm style room and shared it with 4 other people. I felt like I was at summer camp again sleeping in bunk beds. We had pizza for dinner which was an excellent break from my travelers’ diet- cheese, crackers, bread, and nutella.
The view of the beach from the hostel
Today is Marisol’s birthday so we celebrated by joining a pub crawl with a group from our hostel. My favorite places we went to were the discotecas because they played good dance music. One place played American hip hop/ rap music (which is rare) and then saved the best discoteca for last where they played lots of salsa and Latin music. I checked another goal off the list- I salsa danced while speaking Spanish in Spain.
Over the course of the night I clicked with one of the guys from our hostel named Will. He is from Australia but is studying in Sweden for a year, and traveled to Spain for the week. We were either wearing sweaters (or jumpers as the Aussies call it) that were cramping our style on the dance floor. We draped them over our shoulders and tied them around our neck like some of the Spaniards do. We felt like dorks, but we turned it into our running joke for the night. It was functional and fashionable.
Oresta, Alex, Michael, Will, me, Natalie
This time with the birthday girl, Marisol!
La Alhambra en Granada
April 29, 2012
Happy Spanish montheversary! I can’t believe I’ve been in Spain for a whole month. Where did the time go?
We added Granada to our list of places to travel because we had been learning about La Alhambra in our art history class and the most famous Muslim palaces in Spain. When we woke up in the morning it was pouring down rain. We couldn’t believe it because all the weather reports said it was supposed to be sunny before we left and we had only packed warm weather clothes. We busted out our umbrellas and hiked to the top of the hill to see it anyways. Because we’re young, naïve college students we didn’t think that we would need to get tickets ahead of time to get in. We got to see the outskirts of Alhambra but it wasn't anything impressive. We were devastated that we traveled all this way and were so close to seeing it, yet so far away.
Our original plans were to leave later that evening for Malaga because that’s where we booked a hostel. It was important to me to see the Alhambra and I figured that in the context of my life I could handle paying a little extra for two hostels in one night (we were too late to cancel our reservation) and that seeing this monument would be more important than laying on the beach in Malaga. It was a tough decision to make because half the group wanted to stay and half the group wanted to leave. In that moment I had to think for myself and do what was best for me.
I was so pleased I made the decision to stay, and in the end the others were too. We had a chance to stay in an amazing hostel that just opened up, relax and sleep (not on a bus for once), and see more of the town. It was just what I needed to relax my poor feet, aching body and get a chance to dry out the puddles I collected in my shoes. We met a group of Australian guys and British girls in the hostel common room that we went out with in the evening for tapas. Whenever you order a drink they give you free tapas. One of the waiters loved us and kept on bringing more and more and more food so there must have been at least 10 different tapas to try.
My favorite part of Alhambra was the view from the tower overlooking all of Granada. I probably took a million pictures of that alone. I had fun putting my photography skills to good use snapping pictures of everything I saw and trying to shoot from different perspectives, using different light, and compositions. It was cool to have learned about Alhambra in class and then have the opportunity to see it with my own eyes. Although I tried, pictures can’t possibly reveal all its beauty.
When we got back to the hostel to gather our things we met an American girl named Megan who has been living in Madrid for a year. She an aupair and nannies for a family in Madrid and teaches the children English. She told me all about her experience and how much she loves her job because she works, travels, and gets to learn more Spanish. Talking with her inspired me and got me to start thinking about what I want to do after I graduate. She opened my eyes to the idea of coming back to Spain. I have the rest of my life to have a “real” job, whatever that means. Maybe becoming an aupair or teaching English in Spain will be in my future.
Happy Spanish montheversary! I can’t believe I’ve been in Spain for a whole month. Where did the time go?
We added Granada to our list of places to travel because we had been learning about La Alhambra in our art history class and the most famous Muslim palaces in Spain. When we woke up in the morning it was pouring down rain. We couldn’t believe it because all the weather reports said it was supposed to be sunny before we left and we had only packed warm weather clothes. We busted out our umbrellas and hiked to the top of the hill to see it anyways. Because we’re young, naïve college students we didn’t think that we would need to get tickets ahead of time to get in. We got to see the outskirts of Alhambra but it wasn't anything impressive. We were devastated that we traveled all this way and were so close to seeing it, yet so far away.
Our original plans were to leave later that evening for Malaga because that’s where we booked a hostel. It was important to me to see the Alhambra and I figured that in the context of my life I could handle paying a little extra for two hostels in one night (we were too late to cancel our reservation) and that seeing this monument would be more important than laying on the beach in Malaga. It was a tough decision to make because half the group wanted to stay and half the group wanted to leave. In that moment I had to think for myself and do what was best for me.
A man playing flamenco on the walk to Alhambra.
Paraguas- Umbrellas
This picture accurately described the day- Sad and wet
Oresta and Marisol warming up at Alhambra cafe
Cafe y leche con Alex, Me, Natalie
Cool staircase
Me in the "free" part of Alhambra.
That may or may not be a fake smile
My poor wet feet
I was so pleased I made the decision to stay, and in the end the others were too. We had a chance to stay in an amazing hostel that just opened up, relax and sleep (not on a bus for once), and see more of the town. It was just what I needed to relax my poor feet, aching body and get a chance to dry out the puddles I collected in my shoes. We met a group of Australian guys and British girls in the hostel common room that we went out with in the evening for tapas. Whenever you order a drink they give you free tapas. One of the waiters loved us and kept on bringing more and more and more food so there must have been at least 10 different tapas to try.
The brand new hostel we stayed in. I felt like a princess
Me, Natalie, and Alex out for tapas in Granada
On day two of Granada we woke up at 6 am to hike back to Alhambra to try and have better luck at getting tickets. Waking up early paid off because we made it in time! The second we stepped into the first garden I knew I made the right choice to spend extra time in Granada. I loved every minute of it. My favorite part of Alhambra was the view from the tower overlooking all of Granada. I probably took a million pictures of that alone. I had fun putting my photography skills to good use snapping pictures of everything I saw and trying to shoot from different perspectives, using different light, and compositions. It was cool to have learned about Alhambra in class and then have the opportunity to see it with my own eyes. Although I tried, pictures can’t possibly reveal all its beauty.
When we got back to the hostel to gather our things we met an American girl named Megan who has been living in Madrid for a year. She an aupair and nannies for a family in Madrid and teaches the children English. She told me all about her experience and how much she loves her job because she works, travels, and gets to learn more Spanish. Talking with her inspired me and got me to start thinking about what I want to do after I graduate. She opened my eyes to the idea of coming back to Spain. I have the rest of my life to have a “real” job, whatever that means. Maybe becoming an aupair or teaching English in Spain will be in my future.
Natalies "Gnome Away from Home" named Hector Maurricio
This was my favorite view!
Oresta, Natalie, Alex, y yo
Natalie, Alex, and Oresta making sad faces because El Plaza de Leon behind them was under construction. It's one of the main icons for Alhambra
El Techo
Natalie and I in the gardens
Gato en el sol
Me, Oresta, Alex, Natalie
We're happy as clams after seeing all of La Alhambra. It was toatly worth it!
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