Flamenco at the Alhambra!!

I just got back from a flamenco show in the Jardines del Generalife at the Alhambra!  That’s probably one of the cooler things I’m going to be able to say in my life, so I felt the need to get it out there.  The Generalife is a beautiful palace constructed in the 14th century as the summer home for the kings of Granada, and the gardens that surround it are incredible.  There are lots of pools and little secluded pathways, and it felt so crazy to be walking in the footsteps of ancient Arab kings.  Our visit was especially cool because we went there at night, which meant the gardens were lit up and we had an amazing view of the city of Granada.  Since it was pretty dark, I never got a good sense of the layout of the area, but I almost think it was better this way.  It was too dark to read the informational plaques if there were any, so we just got to wander around and enjoy the landscape.  We’re also going to tour the inside of the Alhambra in a few weeks, so then I’ll learn about its history.  

That was definitely the coolest thing I’ve done so far.  This morning I went to orientation, where I met some other students, got a tour of the Centro de Lenguas Modernas, and heard scary stories about why not to be out at night in the Albayzín, the historic Muslim quarter of Granada.  After that, Andrea and I had lunch with our host mom, and I got my first taste of a Spanish siesta.  Pretty much everything really does close down.  Stores here have unusual hours, like 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and even the center of the city, where I live, is pretty quiet.  Although right now I’m too jetlagged to fully enjoy the siesta, I think I’ll grow to like it.  It allows people to make the most of the cooler nights (which they definitely do—when we walked home from los Jardines around 12:30 a.m., the streets were more crowded than I’ve ever seen them, and even little kids were out) and sleep through the sweltering afternoons.

I’m pretty stoked about improving my Spanish while I’m here.  Mark Bennet, the program coordinator, reiterated how important it is that we speak Spanish all the time, and it seems like most of the students are taking him pretty seriously.  We all talked pretty much exclusively in Spanish on the way to and from the Generalife, and even though it makes it hard to have deeper conversations, I think we’ll get there eventually.

Well, I wrote most of this last night and now I have a lot more to say, but it’ll have to wait for another time.  ¡Un abrazo! 

I'm here!

After two days of traveling, I finally made it to Granada.  I can’t decide if this feels like the longest day of my life or the shortest two days—I left my house early yesterday morning, but because of the time difference it kind of feels like last night never happened.  

My flights were long but not too bad.  I had something like a 5 hour layover in Madrid (I’ve had only the vaguest grasp of time all day), so Kimberly and I got to spend a lot of time checking out the airport and practicing some Spanish.  Most of the airport employees seemed to speak English, but I tried talking in Spanish a few times anyway.  Unfortunately, this usually meant that I didn’t fully understand their answers to my questions, but we made it through customs and onto our last flight okay.

After we arrived at the Frederico Garcia Lorca airport, Kimberly and I shared a taxi to take us to our hosts’ homes.  The city is really pretty.  It’s surrounded by mountains, and there are lots fields and little groves of what I think are olive trees around the outskirts.  We got to catch a glimpse of the Alhambra on the way in—which I’m super excited about visiting—and the taxi driver pointed out various neighborhoods and talked about the city. 

I got to my host parents’ house around 6.  They’re a middle aged couple, and they’re both really nice.  I can tell that living with them is going to help me improve my Spanish maybe more than anything else.  Neither speaks any English, but they’re both really friendly, and, since they’ve hosted students before, they’re used to speaking slowly and repeating themselves.  I imagine this must get annoying for them, but I certainly appreciate it! 

I took a nap after talking to my host mom for awhile, and when I woke up I couldn’t tell if it was early morning or evening.  The time difference is definitely going to take some getting used to.  After that, I ate dinner with Maria, my host mom, and Andrea, the other Centro de Lenguas Modernas student who’s staying here.  Maria said our dinner was a very typical Spanish meal—we had a Spanish tortilla (which is very different from Latin American tortillas—it’s made out of eggs and potatoes and onions and some other ingredients that I didn’t understand the names of), tomatoes in olive oil, bread, fruit, and chicken skewers.  We just finished a couple hours ago—the mealtimes are different here, and I guess dinner is usually around 9 or 10. 

Tomorrow morning Maria is going to take us to our first orientation session.  I’m not sure what else is planned, but I’m hoping to have a chance to explore the city a bit.  Also, I have internet here, which I didn’t expect, so I hope to skype some of you soon!

One more day!

Hi, friends and family!  I can’t believe I leave for Granada tomorrow.  I’m finally packed and ready to go, and now I’m just biding my time and trying to focus on things besides moving 5000 miles away.  It’s a weird experience packing pretty much everything I’m going to need for a semester into just one big bag and two little carry-ons…. I’m coming to the not-so-novel conclusion that I could easily get by on far less than the van-load of stuff I usually take with me to school.  Anyway, I don’t know what my internet access will be like when I get to Spain, but I hope to update this blog soon after I arrive.  ¡Voy a echaros de menos!

Me and all my stuff