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What I'll Miss About Spain... & What I Probably Won't

21 de mayo, 2012

cosas que voy a extrañar de España...

relaxed/laid-back lifestyle.

tapas!

my host family & friends.

free nights out.

speaking English in order for no one to understand me.

flamenco.

la costa del sol.

palm trees & snow covered mountains all at once.

discotecas.

the food. (especially paella, tortilla española, patatas a lo pobre, churros y chocolate, olive oil on everything)

being able to walk everywhere I need to go.

city streets are cleaned at least 2-3 times a day.

siesta time!

Moroccan/Spanish/gypsy mixed culture in Granada

tinto de verano.

straightforwardness.

not having to calculate tips at restaurants.

travelling cheaply & easily. (public transportation, etc.)

es probable que yo no extrañe estas cosas...

second-hand smoke / cigarettes everywhere.

the old men. (and how it's acceptable to yell things at girls constantly... 'guapa'; spitting on the ground; walking slowly; being all-around creepy.)

needing to go to a bar/cafe in order to hang out.

constant language barrier.

almost getting hit and killed by a moto every day.

little to no customer service.

la crisis.

no heat in the wintertime/no fans or AC in the summertime.

the euro. (exchange rates + ATM fees + being forced to use cash in most places).

the coffee.

meal times.

abnormal amounts of PDA in the parks/streets.

everything closing on Sundays + every day during siesta.

watching the uncensored, bloody, extremely biased news channels on TV over lunch time.

accidentally saying inappropriate things due to my lack of actually knowing the Spanish language (...might end up missing this one, though... always has ended up being more funny than embarrassing).

the food. (never knowing exactly what I was eating, room temperature milk, fried food, lack of control over what I was eating...)

feeling forced to dress up every time I leave the apartment.

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10 things I currently miss most about the US:

1. my family and friends.

2. the Sox.

3. zumba / access to a gym!

4. cooking and baking.

5. the English language: understanding what is going on around me at most times; being able to fully communicate with other people...

6. driving.

7. the mall.

8. Panera & Dunkins.

9. bathrooms. (with basic needs like toilet paper & water....)

10. Boston.

#granada #study abroad #united states #home

Sólo queda una semana!

May 20, 2012: One week left!

So much to do, so little time. Unfortunately, most of my last week in Granada will be spent studying and taking four final exams. I feel unbelievably lucky that the study aspect of study abroad has gotten to be pushed aside for the most part. I feel like I've learned significantly more about Spain outside of the classroom than I have in class, but nevertheless, it's finals week. I have exams in grammar, traditional song/flamenco, oral & written work, and Islamic culture. This may come as a surprise, but grammar turned out to be my favorite course this semester. I have a great professor who explains higher level Spanish grammar in a relatively easy way. I've learned the most (Spanish language wise) in that class.

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Today I started to get out my big suitcase and start organizing... mainly because I really need to know ahead of time how much space I have to work with and what I will need to toss before being ready to pack and head home. Francisca saw me 'packing' and got all upset asking why I was already packing all my stuff... oh Francisca. Had to explain myself and then she was totally fine once again.

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Random side note: Yesterday we had a mini flood in our apartment! Some valve or something in the bathroom popped off and water started flowing into the house like a fire hydrant. Dioni and I were the only ones home at the time. He cut off the water supply and cleaned it all up, but that took hours and hours. I felt so bad that he was cleaning it all by himself, but he would not let me help at all so I just stayed in my room until he told me the coast was clear haha... he was definitely pretty mad at the time, obviously, but I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous situation later on.

Cali & El Dandee - Yo Te Esperaré

Definitely one of the most popular songs in Spain right now... can't go anywhere without hearing it & it gets so stuck in your head...

Pues... aquí estamos.

May 17, 2012.

Today has been a long, sad day... and it's only 12. Dioni and I woke up at 4:30 to walk Holly to the bus stop nearby and help with her luggage. As fun as we tried to make these last few days, we all knew the "goodbyes" would come all too soon. Holly was the first one to leave Granada and it was definitely not easy to say adiós.

Last night a bunch of our friends went to Café Fútbol one last time as a whole group. We got drinks, desserts, tapas, whatever we wanted-- Holly even got a bowl of ice cream on the house in honor of her last night in Granada (for now!).

If you had asked me 5 months ago about what I thought the end of this semester would be life, I don't think I would've said anything remotely close to what I feel like right now. The sad/excited ratio is definitely top-heavy.

With these first groups of students leaving come the most emotional goodbyes I've had to say in my life. Saying goodbye to my friends before college was sad, but we all knew we'd see each other again within months. Now, I'm saying bye to these people I have considered to be my friends and family since January knowing that realistically I may never see them again.

As Dioni and I walked back to the apartment with Holly on her way to the aeropuerto, I asked him if saying goodbye to the students is always this sad. He said, honestly, that his family has been doing this for so many years that he's somewhat used to it-- but it really depends on the students. He sincerely told me that he would miss me and Holly after we are both gone. At this point, the mood of the day was going from sad/emotional to even more emotional. To switch up the sadness, Dioni quickly brings up a story about the girls from last semester. He said he was so happy to see them go that he celebrated and said "see ya later bitches" as they walked out the door. His knowledge of the English language is entertaining and hilarious to say the least. I will definitely miss him and the ridiculous family dinners we have when I'm home in the US.

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It's becoming too real that in a week or two I will have to pick up and leave my life here to return to the United States. I'm planning on using the same tactic as I did before I moved here: try to not form expectations about anything. I know assimilating back into my "home life" in Massachusetts is not going to be as ideal as I might picture it and it's also not going to be as sad as I'm picturing it. Life back home has changed over the past 5 months as well. I've started talking to my friends who have studied abroad in the past to hear about their experiences going back home and I think it's best for me to just take it one day at a time.

Even though this blog may be a little more depressing than typical, I am still happy to be here. I will enjoy the next week and a half left here with my host family and friends. I will continue to explore Granada and meet new people. I will keep struggling with my Spanish, while improving and understanding more each day. I'm looking forward to being home, don't get me wrong. I think I am finally getting ready and coming to terms with the fact that this semester has to end. Here's to being back en los EEUU and 01803 soon! Hasta luego, mis amigos.

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Holly---

Acabo de leer la carta. Estoy feliz que la carta no sea tan triste como yo pensaba jaja... ya te echo mucho de menos. Gracias por todo este semestre, has sido la mejor compañera de cuarto. Los viajes y las conversaciones que hemos tenido son las cosas que nunca olvidaré. Que tengas un verano maravilloso. Nos vemos pronto :)

-- Esperanza

#granada #study abroad

Holly and I in Granada on her last full day in the city!

#granada #study abroad

May 13, 2012. A little bit of the celebration in Granada after Granada CF (club fútbol) earned a spot in the primera liga next year.

#somos de primera #granada #granada cf #futbol

May 13, 2012

Holly and I made dinner for Francisca and Dioni tonight. Mexican food! Enchilada/burrito type meal with chicken, peppers, onions, and seasoning. We also had guacamole and chips on the side. Yuuummmmm:)

May 10, 2012

After the Cena de Despedida - goodbye dinner. Central's abroad program had this last dinner a week before the first group of students head back to the US. Knowing that we still had some time together, it was a happy night full of great food, drink, and friends!

Short videos I took from the grotto tour in Lagos, Portugal.

#lagos #portugal

LAGOS!!

4-6 de mayo 2012

Friday morning I headed to Lagos, Portugal on the DiscoverGranada excursions trip. It's hard to name exactly who I went with because the Granada group of students filled two charter buses-- most of the people being from my school and around 15 just from Central's program. Before I left I'd heard great things about the trip from people who had gone on past weekend so I was really excited (despite the 6+ hour bus ride).

Holly, Sara, and I shared a hotel room-- we all stayed at Carvi Hotel, located right on Praia Dona Ana which has been internationally recognized as one of Europe's most beautiful beaches. Needless to say, the entire weekend was based on relaxing and having a good time. It was the perfect balance between me not having to plan out where to go and when while still having some activities planned out for me.

We opted to go on the all-you-can-drink sangria boat cruise on Saturday. The Portuguese coast is by far the home to the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen-- yes, even topping Nerja. With sangria in hand, we sailed around in a 30-something person boar. Throughout the 2-hour trip, six people at a time went out on a smaller boat to cruise around the smaller grotto areas. I honestly felt at the time like I was living in some sort of tropical postcard-worthy picture. I've been lucky enough to travel throughout Europe over the past few months, but the boat cruise and Lagos in general gave me the time to soak in just how amazing my experiences have truly been.

Although I was nervous about not speaking a word of Portuguese, Lagos was a touristy enough town to have English-speaking employees in every restaurant and shop. Even with Spain's proximity, the second language of choice was definitely English.

On Friday and Saturday we went out to eat in town. There were a surprising number of "American" restaurants and we ended up having good, familiar food pretty cheaply.

Satuday night we all took a bus ride to "The End of the World" to watch the sunset. It's called this because at one point it was the most western point in Europe and before North American was founded, it was the end of the world. Having never been to the west coast of the US, I realized it was my first true sunset over an ocean that I'd ever seen... and it was beautiful!

Sunday was our last day and we spend it on the beach.. claaaaro. The weather was perfect all weekend which was a nice surprise based on what the forecast had predicted the entire week before. It was hot enough to swim in the Atlantic, even if the water was a bit numbing. Once again I found myself standing at the Atlantic-- hard to believe that the New England coastline was just across the pond...

1 de mayo 2012: La Corrida de Toros

Because we were all prepped on exactly what we would be seeing and how a Spanish bullfight actually works, the event was not as horrifying as it otherwise would have been. Bullfighting has been a part of Spanish culture for a long time, but is still very controversial. Some parts of Spain have already banned the event, while others feel that bullfighting is an important art form that has the right to continue. This bullfight happened to be a charity event -- the money went to an organization that helps children with Down Syndrome. There were six bullfighters, some famous, others just starting out.

I am definitely glad I went to the bullfight. It's a form of entertainment that you either appreciate or you don't. From the majority of the Spaniards I've talked to it about, none of them are too happy about bullfighting still existing, but yet the plaza de toros was nearly sold out on this day. I spent half my time at the bullfight just watching other people in the stands.... and feeling really American. As the crowd shouted cheers or boos at the bull/bullfighter, all I could do was just sit there and wonder who all these people are and how different this part of Spanish culture is from my culture at home.

Balcón de Europa

Julianne and I in Nerja!

#nerja #spain #costa del sol

Nerja con Julianne

April 26-28

What a great long weekend in Nerja. Julianne flew into Spain and we got to reunite once again -- this time in "my" country. It was actually her very last weekend abroad (crazy!). When I got to the hostel on Thursday, I was talking to the woman at the front desk in Spanish when she nonchalantly asked if I'd like to stay in an apartment instead of a hostel room. "Hostal Abril" also owns apartments right across the street and since it is pre-tourist season, we got to stay in one for the same price. The place was beautiful. There was a new kitchen and bathoom, a bedroom, and a living room. We had a balcony where you could see the mountains in one direction and the Mediterranean in the other.

Although the weather cooled down Saturday and Sunday, we spend Friday on Playa Burriana, one of Nerja's biggest and most famous beaches. Had some Spanish food and drinks at a restaurant on the beach and took in as much sun as possible. Both of us were constantly saying, "I can't believe this is real"... Nerja is picture perfect. Palm trees, mountains, cliffs, brights blue water... needless to say many pictures were taken.

On Saturday we took a bus ride across the city to see Nerja's famous natural caves. The caves were really impressive. When I was walking through them I kept feeling like I was on a fake movie set or something. It was hard to believe these huge caves had formed naturally over thousands and thousands of years.

Saturday night we saw a little flamenco show in a restaurant back in town. This was my 3rd espectáculo in less than two weeks. What a life!

Sunday meant it was already time to head back to Granada. The weekend was definitely relaxing and a nice close-by vacation for me for a couple of days. Having the chance to hang out with one of my best friends from home in one of the most tropical locations in Europe was so fun and surreal. I can already picture myself looking back on this time and just thinking 'wow'.

While Julianne went back to enjoy her last couple of days in London, I happened to have Monday and Tuesday off from classes which gave me some much-needed organization time in Granada.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S ALMOST MAY. AHHH.

#nerja

Carlos Baute con Marta Sanchez - Colgando en Tus Manos

#NowPlaying

#nowplaying #colgando en tus manos

Durante la cata de aceite

Olive Oil, Wine, Flamenco.

April 2012

There have been a lot of exciting program events in the past few weeks. First we had the chance to go to a cata de aceite, an olive oil tasting. This event totally exceeded my expectations. Within two hours, we had taste-tested almost every food product even somewhat related to olive oil. We started out dipping bread before moving on to avocados, cheese, meat, and lettuce. Each was eaten with different types of oils from different parts of Spain. Considering olive oil is one of my favorite things, I wasn't very picky and had a hard time actually distinguishing the oil from Granada vs. that of Huelva or Sevilla... every one tasted fine to me! The types o oil I didn't like as much were those infused with other flavors like pepper or lemon. After those 6 or so courses of food, we moved on to taste gaspacho, pastries, and even dark chocolate ice cream with olive oil.

The tasting took place in a little shop right in Granada. It is typically just a store, but the owner (who lives, eats, and breaths olive oil) opened it up at night with tables and chairs for the cata. He was the one who guided us through each oil tasting and his enthusiasm and love for what he does for work really showed. It made the tasting not only delicious, but also informative!

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Another night, we all got to take part in a wine tasting. There were four different wines made from different types of grapes and produced in various areas throughout Spain. Dos rojos, un rosado, y un blanco. My favorite ended up being the white wine. Unlike the olive oil tasting, each wine had its own very unique taste. One was completely different from any wine I'd had in the past - you could still smell and taste the wood from the barrel where the wine fermented. It wasn't bad, but it tasted almost like I imagine a Christmas tree to taste...

The restaurant where the tasting took place gave us tapas with each round of drinks which was a nice surprise. We learned the proper way to hold a glass, smell the wine, and take that first crucial sip. As the sun went down and we all sipped our wines while sitting outdoors at a cafe, life once again felt surreal. I'm happy I decided to start this blog, otherwise 6 months from now I may not believe that all of these amazing experiences actually happened... feeling especially lucky right now.

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The next "free" program activity was a trip to the Alhambra theatre in the Realejo neighborhood near school to see a flamenco show-- un espectáculo de flamenco. Being in a theatre, the show felt more like a theatre production than what I think of being real flamenco. I am by no means an expert on anything flamenco related, but from taking a semester-long class dedicated to this unique aspect of Andalucian gypsy culture, I feel like I at least have some background knowledge. I also acknowledged that there isn't really anything that is real flamenco... it's an art form that is subjective and to be enjoyed by all. One thing I've loved about learning about flamenco is its spontaneity. Walking through a plaza in Granada, it is not uncommon to see a group of 4 or 5 friends improvising; clapping, singing, and dancing according to whatever the mood of the moment may be. Nevertheless, the show was still great and the dancing especially impressive. The male dancers' movements were similar to tap which reminded me a lot of when I used to dance. Loved this slight connection to home during such a uniquely foreign cultural experience.

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Our next activity is on May 1st -- La Corrida de Toros -- a bullfight. We'll see how that goes... not sure how much I'm going to enjoy it, but being such an important part of Spanish culture, I am excited to be able to go.

Vamos a ver, vamos a ver

Mi hermano y yo at Hannigan's.

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