España

Soy Estefania. Travel. Study Abroad. UCSB. 3rd Year. Córdoba. Granada. 2013-2014. Gilman Scholarship.

[wordsthat-speak]

But luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.

The Lover (Daphne du Maurier)

[insaneforspain]

Monday, October 6, 2014

Mis clases ya han empezado. Hoy, he ido a mi clase de Español 100. El profe habla español. Tuve que escuchar en español una porción de la class. It really made me miss Spain. Like to the point where I almost embarrassingly enough had an awkward moment to myself where I thought I was going to cry. Oh, how sometimes I wish I could take myself back to that world. It feels so distant right now. Como un sueño. 

[insaneforspain]

Hola chicos y chicas,

I just wanted to throw out there that if any of you have any questions about study abroad...anything at all...housing, places to visit, questions about my past experience, tips for writing essays, the gilman scholarship, grasping the language...etc...whatever it is, I just want to let you know that I'm still here and listening. :)

I know that classes must be starting soon for fall. Buena suerte, amigos!

[insaneforspain]

miércoles el 27 de agosto 2014

chicas unidas (alumnas de córdoba)

Karolina y Whit y yo

[insaneforspain]

throwback sunday to spain. yeah, i really don't care that it's not thursday. i think occasionally i would like to just pick random pictures from my experience abroad and write a little about it, about the event, the people there. 

above is my friend through my flatmate, Amelie. This is Henrike; she's German. I think Henrike is one of the prettiest people I've met abroad. She just has like this perfect fucking face. Like, the most beautiful smile, perfect skin, brows, eyes....I loved her accent too. Even though her Spanish is really good, you could tell something was slightly off. Amelie helped me identify it later when she told me that Henrike can't roll her Spanish r's. Instead, she kind of has the French throat r. (Something that I will never master). 

As beautiful as I think Henrike is, she doesn't feel quite the same. I remember abroad that she has had a rough time in Granada. Constantly stressed, anxiety attacks about school. I hope she gets better soon. I didn't get to know her very well, but I like to imagine what a fun gorgeous girl she is when she is actually happy. She was always nice to me, despite how silly I always was around her. 

Anyway, this picture is from Amelie's graduation. We were snapping photos outside, or rather, I was. 

Here's another from the same day. it's of me and Whit. She bought new heels for this event, since it was a little dressy. See the dress I'm wearing? It's actually Amelie's. She let me borrow it, and lucky me, later, it turned out that it is too short for her now. She let me take it home with me to the States. I still have yet to wear it. Maybe tomorrow, when my parents come down to have lunch with me. 

I don't see Whit half as much as I used to. But it's because one, she doesn't even live in Isla Vista yet. And two, we're both pretty busy with work. i expect to see her more when school starts. I went to Sasha's birthday party with her the other night. It was fun to hang out with her and drink a bit, along with going downtown for a little Wild Cat canoodling. 

Also, sorry about my lack of grammar. I'm kinda in this phase of writing in under case letters all the time....but then if I start writing too much, I start writing properly again....

[insaneforspain]

I'm lucky that two of my flatmates this year can speak Spanish, as well as my new co-workers. Though, it makes me miss Spain, where I could speak Spanish with everyone. 

[insaneforspain]

gracias por skype

I skyped Amelie, my flatmate from Spain! (well, actually she is from germany). 

Sometimes I forget that even though I'm back in the States, I can still contact them and see them. It was really nice to talk to her. I miss being able to just hang out with her. Oh, how quickly time passes.

Can you believe that I still can't believe I'm not in Spain anymore?

[insaneforspain]

Thursday, August 7, 2014

There are constantly little things that remind me of Spain. Last weekend we went to an event in downtown SB called "Fiesta". There were many ladies walking around in flamenco dresses. This definitely flared memories of Spain, for it was so often that there would be some new fiesta and an excuse for all the Spanish families to walk the streets all decked out in polka dots and ruffles. We saw a lady dancing too for a crowd while we were downtown. She was good, but I've seen better. It was a bittersweet feeling, watching all the Flamenco. I had a longing to go back. 

Anyway, here in this photo is Brendy, Frankie, Paty, and me. Brendy, on the far left if from Paris, France. We met her through Couchsurfing during our winter travels. Brendy was lucky enough to be able to visit us this summer for two whole weeks! Tomorrow, I'm taking her to San Francisco where we will stay with my sister. Tomorrow night, my sister's flatmate is throwing a house party, and on Saturday, we are supposed to take Brendy to a club so she can release her pent up dance moves and maybe dance with a cute American boy. ;P I really just want her to have a good time in Californian. I mean, she came all this way to visit us, so I want to keep her entertained! 

[insaneforspain]

This is my baby niece, Audrey. 

She is one of the few reasons I came back.

[insaneforspain]

Back in California

Monday, August 4, 2014

Hi everyone.

I'm officially back in Cali. It's almost been 2 whole weeks. Since then I have visited my family, gone to Arizona for a wedding, and moved in to my apartment in Isla Vista, the neighborhood adjacent to my campus, UCSB. 

The feel good and comfort of being home-home has definitivamente faded.

Right now I've been looking for jobs in the local area: Camino Marketplace, IV and Campus. I'm hoping to snag at least one. 

Until then, days are slightly slow. It's nice to be back with my flatmates. I forgot how easy it is to get along with them. I can just pile on their beds and  we'll laugh about stupid things and google outrageous photos and videos. Almost like I wasn't gone for a year.

Except I was. 

My nightmares have returned. It's odd because they are normally stressed induced. But considering I have no classes, no job, and two months of summer, I should be relaxed right? 

Wrong. Maybe this is the result of reverse culture shock. The sinking reality that although much has changed, nothing at all has altered one bit. 

I really hope I get a job soon. So far I'm stuck with sleepless nights and a mind full of ancient dramas. 

Wish me luck guys. 

Un beso,

Estefania

[insaneforspain]

Hola chicos! (y chicas :) )

Oficialmente, estoy en los Estados Unidos, desde el martes. No he tenido el tiempo para relajarme mucho. Los días pasados han sido ocupado mas o menos entre mi familia y yo. Ahora mismo, no estoy en California, pero en   Arizona por una boda de mi primo. Luego, os diré más; sólo querría deciros  ciao y que espero que todo vaya bien. Un besito

Estefania

[insaneforspain]

Happy 4th of July guys! It's not exactly a holiday Europeans celebrate..but hey! I'm in Italy! Sorry if my posts are few! I'm on vacation!!! ;)

[insaneforspain]

would you count yourself as fluent in spanish now? and if so what was your level before? i feel like at the moment entiendo mas que puedo hablar and its so annoying!! like i feel like getting past the speaking barrier when/if i do come to granada would just be sooo difficult!

Andalusia has been an interesting place to practice the language because everyone speaks in somewhat of a slang. Most people don't enunciate every letter, so it makes it difficult to understand. For example, "He vivido en Granada muchos años" might come out like "he vivio en grana' mucho año". You get used to it though, and you start speaking like that too. So, that's great that you already feel comfortable with listening skills! 

No, I wouldn't count myself as fluent. I would say maybe, high-intermediate. Before I was, hmm. I'm not sure. Maybe high-basic? In the states, I didn't really utilize my language skills outside of class to see how effective I was. If you compare me to my German flatmate who has lived here for 5 years, my Spanish sucks. Compare me to my American friends here, then yes, I am fluent haha. 

Now, about speaking. As long as you are trying to speak Spanish, most will help you out. If you really want to improve your oral skills, I highly recommend being careful with who you live and surround yourself with. If you choose to live with English speaking flatmates, you are not going to practice. If you spend with majority of your time with them, you will not improve your skills quickly at all. I recommend finding flatmates who are either Spanish or foreigners who already know the language well. Spend time with them. Make them part of your normal social circle. Don't think, oh, I'll hang out with my English-speaking friends, and we'll just speak Spanish everyday. Trust me. You won't. 

Don't stress about it. You will be fine! Being in Spain alone will be great for practice. Just hang out and live with people from here, and you'll break that barrier!

Buena suerte!!! :)

[insaneforspain]

ahhhh i dont want you to go back to america!! i love reading your blog! im from the uk and ive got family in granada and im hoping to come to granada for my gap year before i go to uni and your blog is the only one ive ever seen of a foreign person in granada and its just so useful and interesting!!! :( lo extrano!! :(

Thank you so much! This just made my day. It makes me so happy to know that some people are finding my blog useful! you should definitely come to granada! you would love it! If you ever have any doubts about studying abroad or visiting the city, and you need any help or suggestions, or whatever, just shoot me a message! I would love to help! And even though I'm going back to the States, I think I'm going to try to keep blogging here just to keep the memories alive. :) So no worries, I'm still here. <3

[insaneforspain]

fiestaaaaaa

going to the club tonight!!! I'm going to get smashed and dance the night away!!! sb girl at heart. woooooooo.....

Just kidding guys. Calm down. 

I am going to the discoteca. It's called Mae West. Pretty popular here in Granada, but ironically, I've never been. I think I've just mostly come to the terms that I'm not a clubbing person. Yes, I drink. I socialize. But not in that atmosphere. At least, not every weekend, ya feel me? Sabes que te digo? 

Anyway, I'm going with Whitney and Amelie to listen to this comedy show called monologos that happens there every week. And then we'll stay for a bit to check out the scene and take it all in, just so I can say I went while living abroad. ;)

[insaneforspain]

domingo 22 de junio 2014

Hola chicos y chicas. Tengo unos 10 días en España antes de ir a Italia y Grecia. Hoy, he ido al mercadillo con mis compañeros de piso, Amelie y Pedro, pero estaba cerrado por la feria. Hemos caminado no sé..dos horas ida y vuelta? Me llevaba mis botas...me dolían los pies. No estoy seguro de lo que quiero hacer con el resto del día. Justo acabo de almorzar. A lo mejor, voy a tomar una siesta un ratillo. Todavía no puedo creer que mi estancia aquí va a terminar de repente. No estoy lista para nada. 

Cuando vuelva a los Estados Unidos, supongo que voy a vivir la mayoría de mi verano en Isla Vista. Intentaré a encontrar un trabajo para aliviar la pena del alquiler y todo. No me apetece tanto pasar todo el verano allí, pero, será tranquilo como antes, cuando tenía clases durante el verano. Espero que habra algunos amigos allí para pasar el tiempo. Ya veremos. De todas formas, hay muchos cambio en mi familia, y tampoco me apetece a pasar todo el verano en el norte. 

Tengo miedo de empacar mis cosas. Espero que todo vaya a caber. :o

Voy a acostarme un rato ahora. Hasta luego. Vengaaaa

[insaneforspain]

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Went to la feria en Granada hoy con Whitney, Ameli, Manolo, and two other girls. First, we drove to Santa Fe to watch España get kicked out of the World Cup by Chile. 4 more years haha. Then we had a fun time dancing the night away drinking tinto de veranos! My feet got tired at one point with the heels...but, I had a good time! It's such a nice feeling, to not have any school responsibilities. Just pure freedom. 

Early today, Whit, Ameli and I went to Parque Garcia Lorca off on Camino de Ronda. I brought my guitar and I was singing for them while we ate candy, drank wine and tinto, and...while being subjected to a live porn session by a young couple nearby in the grass. It was kinda disturbing because we were in such a public area...and the fact that we were only like 15 feet away...

It just goes to show that sexual frustration is nothing new across borders haha. And no, I will not be posting photos, nor do I have any. Get your mind out of the gutter. And please...get a room.

It's late. I should sleep. Buenas noches! :)