Últimos Días en Granada

I cannot believe that I have been in Spain for 4 months now. It seems like only yesterday that I arrived here and was unpacking all of my suitcases, and now, as I write this (well actually I am taking a little break) I am repacking all of my stuff + a lot of more stuff into my suitcases. Yet as they say, it also seems like forever ago that I arrived in Spain and began my gap year.

This week was pretty much the most packed week of the entire semester. I had several finals, papers (Yes, I do applaud myself for now having written three 6 page papers in Spanish in the past two weeks. You are welcome to take a moment to applaud yourself ;) ), and also a presentation. But of course, since this was also the last week here for the majority of my friends, we were also all busy doing last minute touristy things, going to tapas, having goodbye/navidad parties, etc.

Yesterday (Thursday) was Liz's last day here in Granada. It's too bad that that was also the last day of finals, because that means we were all busy right up until the end. I would say that almost all of the CLM left for home today, but a there is also a group leaving tomorrow, then I am leaving Sunday, and anyone who hasn't left by then is staying the whole year. I got up this morning at 6:40ish to help take her stuff to the bus stop since it's an unbearably long walk if you have 4 pieces of luggage and only two hands. I will be taking that same bus Sunday, and after one of the most uncomfortable and terribly awkward lunches of my life, Rafael agreed to help me carry my luggage to the bus stop (though not because he has to/it's his obligation, but because he's a nice person...........). But that's a whole other story that I can tell all you readers personally haha.

Anyway, it was really sad to say goodbye to Liz because we have become really good friends over the past 4 months and I'm so glad that she was the one to move in here with me. I know that we will see each other again and keep in touch, but it's weird to not know or even have an idea of when that might be. Morgan and I had our last Smooy tonight because she leaves at 3 am on a bus to Madrid and then back home for Christmas break tomorrow morning. That goodbye was also weird. Last night a group of us went out for tapas and then back to one girls apartment just so that we could make the last night last a little longer. We were all talking about how we are all terrible with goodbyes, and the question came up, is anyone really "good" with goodbyes? No. That could go in the "stuff no one says" youtube video.

I have now pretty much finished packing my suitcases! Crazy. Tomorrow I'm going to the post office as soon as it opens to mail a package, then I have my last flute lesson, then I will get a few last minute gift items, and hopefully later make one last visit to part of the Alhambra. Though I am essentially done with the shopping having bought my friends, family, and myself pretty much an entire extra suitcase full of regalos. I figured since I won't be getting many christmas presents this year, I was allowed to buy myself some. In one store the salesperson asked if what I was buying was a gift and if I would like it wrapped. Naturally I said yes. Now I will have a few things to open on christmas day ;)

Luna will absolutely miss me when I'm gone, since our level of friendship has really risen in the last few weeks. Tortuga, on the other hand, probably won't notice that I am gone, because he is still in turtle hibernation. As promised:

The next time I post will probably be from Germany! As I might have said before, it's weird to be leaving Spain, but I'm not really sad to be getting out of this apartment and since most of my friends have gone/are leaving, it does feel a little bit more right. I'm also extremely excited to go to Germany and to see Anna and her family and later be joined by Abby! This year has already and I'm sure will continue to be a year of fond memories for a lifetime. Life as I have come to know it in this past semester has pretty much come to a close, which is a very surreal thing. It's hard for me to believe that I have about 30 hours before I get on a bus and make my way to the Airport. Time is such a strange thing.
Speaking of time, the world hasn't ended yet and here it's already technically the 22nd, so I think it's safe to assume that we can all rest assured tonight. Buenas noches!

Last week of classes?

This past weekend Liz went to Morocco. This past weekend I went and saw the new Twilight movie in Spanish. That's right, we can play the "my weekend was better than your weekend" game. Just kidding. I actually had a really awesome long weekend (there was a Spanish holiday last Thursday, so no work or school! and I never have classes Fridays).

Anyway, I kicked off by finally going to the Frederica Garcia Lorca park for the free wednesday tour of his house. I wouldn't go to Granada specifically to see his family's summer house, but it was still cool! The christmas lights throughout Granada also all turned on Wednesday evening, so the walk home from the park was beautiful. The Christmas markets also opened, so I browsed and bought some dulces de la navidad.

Plaza bib-rambla

Where I live!

But what I'm sure you really want to hear about is the new Twilight movie. It was pretty good, especially because my friend Morgan and I had mostly forgotten what happens in the book so the surprise at the end was actually a surprise. It was also kind of a nice test of how good our Spanish is because there weren't subtitles or anything. The movie was also without a doubt more enjoyable in Spanish. Even though I don't usually like watching dubbed movies (in any language) because it's kind of weird, the whole art of dubbing is pretty cool. I mean, they really have work hard to get a translation that also matches with the lips. So I applaud the producers on that. The twilight movie actors and actresses also kind of have a deserved reputation of not being very good. Let me tell you, Spanish Bella has quite a bit more emotion in her voice. There were also a lot of funny to us parts because Spanish is just kind of a funny language sometimes.

Then on Sunday I went to the Sierra Nevada with Morgan and some of our other Erasmus friends (the European study abroad program) and their friends. It was so much fun. We took the morning bus up and spent the first half hour just walking around the ski village (the tourist office was closed, sup spain sundays) but there were lots of skiers and we eventually found someone who could tell us where the hiking paths were and what else we could do besides ski. For those of you who don't have facebook, here's a little anecdote from the bus ride:

On the bus to the Sierra Nevada, making the obligatory i'm-sitting-next-to-you small talk:
Me: "Sí, voy a hacer senderismo."
German guy on the bus: "....uhh no entiendo."
Me: "hacer senderismo.... como caminar por las montañas"
German: "oh sí sí estoy aqui hasta miércoles."

Translation:
Me: "Yeah I'm going hiking"
German: "uhhh... i don't understand"Me: "going hiking... like walking along the mountains"German: "oh yes yes, I'm here until wednesday"


What?

We first went on this giant slide thing, kind of reminiscent of the Alpine slides in the west of the US, but elevated on a track several feet above ground. This was pretty cool because the first part is automatic, so the little cart thing takes you up the mountain (one part straight up) and then you get to the top and can control the speed going down. I held back a little this summer on the Colorado alpine slide, but this time I had a seatbelt so therefore no inhibitions. We then found a nice long trail and went on a hike. Unfortunately what looked like it should be snow was actually ice. So that was fun. Especially for the girl who wore boots with a heel. Fortunately, none of us took any great falls, and we found this giant rock on the edge with a great view and took a break and I got a group photo with the handy dandy self timer.

We kind of look like some reality tv show commercial "a lot of blondes + one brunette meet wild"

Now that's a view, folks.

It's also very weird to think that this is my last week of classes, then finals, and then I leave for Germany! One of my friends leaves this coming Wednesday, and then about 90% of the CLM, including Liz, leaves the 21st (friday) and I leave the 23rd! Tomorrow is my last day at my internship, but yesterday I had my last classes with 4 of groups I help in (and then I will have my last classes with two different groups tomorrow). I got a photo of one of my favorite group of 12 year olds yesterday, and again when I entered their class they all cheered and screamed "WE LOVE YOU" in their funny little heavy spanish accents.

This class was pretty much in complete chaos all the time, but also a fun and mostly sweet group to work with.

This morning I turned in a 6 page paper (1.5 spaced. Who assigns 1.5 space. To me, that's worse than single spaced.) about symbols Salvador Dalí used during his surrealist phase. Probably not the absolute best paper I have ever written, but hey, it's hard enough to write that much in English. I spent way too much time on it and went to bed way to late last night working on it (as you can see, my Uni High paper writing methods have stuck with me), but I got it done. This morning there were literally 40 of us trying to print at least 5 pages each on a broken printer. Note to world: for being so 'technologically advanced,' printers could use a lot of improvement. A lot of button pushing and messing with the paper trays and turning off and back on again finally got it going, so I was able to hand in a hard copy. Yippee. Another note to world: they say that in tough situations, people bond the most. Very true. All 40 of us were friends by the time we left the computer lab.

And now for a brief Luna and Tortuga update. Luna has met her match. Q-tips. I swear she is more fascinated by these little cotton swabs than she would be by a live animal. And tortuga is in fact still hibernating behind the couch. Here's some photographic evidence of Luna, and for my next post I will get a picture of Tortuga.

Finally, life in the telenovela has been renewed for another season, but I'm happy to say that two of the main characters will not be coming back. Okay, so I'm not actually happy to be leaving Spain. In fact it's weird to me and I'm not quite ready to go (but I'm very excited to be going to Germany!), so basically this weekend will be jam packed with doing everything we still want to do and also some studying (though probably more of the former than the latter). I am not, however, sad in the slightest to be leaving my 'host family.' I feel bad for Silvia because her sickness really is awful, but she's also crazy. And Rafael has more moments of niceness than we give him credit for, but he also does some weird and inconsiderate things and is definitely just in it for the money. Basically I've come to the conclusion that they may both be good and nice people deep down, but I personally don't really enjoy either of their company and therefore will not be sad to leave the set of nuestra telenovela. Doing the host family was definitely a good experience, and had I not, I would never have met Liz but I think that if I had known what it would be like when I got here, I would have opted for living in an apartment with Spanish flatmates. 

Anyway, I'm off to get tapas at an internet cafe whilst working on some final presentations and enjoying the 11 remaining days that I have here in Granada. But fear not, I will surely be returning to this giant pomegranate (for those who don't know, granada is the spanish word for pomegranate).

Time flies by

Wow, it has been nearly a month since I last blogged. Qué horrible! I apologize to all of my loyal blog readers that I have left in the dark. I will now try to summarize/recap the past month starting with Córdoba, where I left off.

Córdoba was very fun. A beautiful city, and the famous salmorejo was as good as everyone promised (so therefore very good). We had a very successful day, and got to see the Mezquita as well as a palace of the reyes catolicos (Isabel and Ferdinand). It was especially nice because there weren't many tourists, so basically we got to have that feeling of being a little kid exploring a castle and discovering secret passageways and such (because no one was around to remind us that it is actually a present day tourist attraction). I believe we had intended to go to Córdoba on a Friday, but went on a Saturday instead, and it worked out in our favor because the weather was beautiful. Then that following Tuesday, Gloria moved out. She told us Sunday (or maybe it was Monday...) during lunch that she would be moving, and then basically packed up all of her stuff and left. It was definitely hard for her to tell us about it, and she had to work hard not to cry, so we made her chocolate chip cookies that night as a final "farewell."
Liz and I haven't seen her since then, but will probably stop by her shop before we leave to say goodbye and feliz navidad.

Then the next week, 90% of my blog readers came and visited me! It was great to see some of my family and share part of Granada with everyone (my grandparents, mom, and two younger sisters). The first full day they were here, my mom's wallet was stolen which was quite the fiasco. However, there just so happened to be an undercover cop in the alley outside of the shoe store where they were shopping, so after several hours (of canceling credit cards, trying to talk to police officers, and going back to the stores they had been to that day) I arrived from class and saved the day. Just kidding, the police contacted the hotel, and we were able to get the wallet back with nothing missing! Liz and I were pleasantly surprised to find out that the Granada police actually do something other than stand around.

We also rented a car and went to Málaga and Gibraltar while they were here. Málaga was fun because it is a big and nice Andaluz city (similar to Granada but bigger and on the costa del sol). I personally enjoyed seeing the Picasso museum, and maybe my grandparents perception of Picasso was changed a little in going there ;)

Gibraltar was also pretty cool and interesting, but a very weird place. So weird in fact, that I was inspired to do my final presentation for my oral and writing class about Gibraltar the following week. Now I feel like I understand the strangeness quite a bit more (after researching to talk for 20 minutes in spanish about it, I would hope that I have a better understanding...). For those of you who know nothing about Gibraltar, it is an English territory located on the southernmost tip of Spain. From the Rock of Gibraltar, you can see Morocco! This is also the only place in all of Europe that has monkeys in the wild.
The political situation is odd though because basically, Spain wants Gibraltar for Spain, England wants to keep Gibraltar, and the Gibraltarians (who do not consider themselves Spanish nor English) are happy staying an english territory and do not want to join Spain. There is much more to its history, so maybe at some point if I'm feeling like it I will translate my presentation for you all to read here.
Here are several pictures from our Thanksgiving week!

Feeling the Mediterranean

Tasting the Mediterranean

Enjoying the Mediterranean

Sun setting over the Mediterranean (in Málaga)

La Alhambra!

what a beautiful vista

Gibraltar monos

Group photo on the Rock of Gibraltar!

So odd.

The rock!

It was weird saying goodbye to my family again because although I don't have much time left in Spain, I won't actually be back in the states until mid February. Anyway, the following week was good but busy with makeup work from the classes that I didn't go to the previous week. And thennnnn that leads me to my trip to Barcelona!!!

First of all, Barcelona is a fantastic city. I didn't get to spend an enormous amount of time in either Madrid or Barcelona, but if I had to choose, I think I might choose Barcelona. There is so much to see and do in Barcelona, and for only being there for two nights and two days, we did a lot! Everything worked out perfectly because I got to stay with Emma in her flat which was really fun and it was great to be with someone who lives there and knows their way around. I had wanted to go to the Dalí museum, but as it turns out, this museum is quite a ways away outside of Barcelona, so we didn't end up going. We did get to go to the Sagrada Familia though (Gaudí's most impressive and well known work) and we went in it and up in one of the towers. This cathedral was spectacular and well worth the pricey price. We also went to Parque Güell and saw two of Gaudís famous houses. The next day, we met up with my cousin Cara and one of Cara's friends and went to a giant flea market, the gothic area of the city, a giant fruit market (with some amazing juices), a giant plaza with an old palace that is now an art museum, and more. I also met one of Emma's friends who plays on the FCBarcelona woman's soccer team. Cool or cool? So basically, I had a really great time in Barcelona, and here are some pictures to illustrate it. :)

Also, a brief Barcelona background in the context of the rest of Spain. Barcelona is part of the Catalunya region of spain (these regions are kind of like states, I am in the region of Andalucía, but each very much has their own feel) where they speak Catalan. Pretty much everyone in Catalunya speaks both Catalan and Spanish, but the Catalunyan pride is very strong, and has a slightly snobbish reputation in the rest of spain. There is also quite a bit of tension because Catalunya wants to separate from Spain (will this actually happen? probably not, but still). The culture is also quite strong because during the Spanish dictatorship of Franco, it was illegal to speak Catalan and many traditions were forced to be repressed. So basically this is all still a very sensitive matter and only contributes to the poor state that Spain is in right now. Catalunya is one of the regions that is doing the best in this economic crisis, but that means that they pay the most taxes and get back the least, so many of the people there are also mad about that. Sorry if that explanation was not a very good one.

And now for a final home update: Since Gloria is gone, Luna has been missing her and is settling to hang out with me. She even lets me pick her up with some frequency now. Tortuga is currently hibernating behind the couch. Who knew that turtles hibernate... they do though, I promise we will not have another dead turtle while I'm here.

Next week will be pretty busy because I have a few papers and such due and it is the last week of my internship. Bittersweet. It has been really interesting working in the school here, and fun too! Tuesday was the first time I was late, but my alarm clock didn't go off... or if it did I turned it off in my sleep... Anyway, I was a half an hour late, but walked in hurriedly apologizing and I bet you can guess what the teacher said. "No pasa nada!" The class cheered as I entered, I was asked out by a twelve year old boy, later another little boy made me a paper dragon plane, one drew me a picture, and in one of the classes we just sang english Christmas songs for most of the class.
Then the following week we have finals and it is our last weekend and then basically everyone leaves the 21st and I leave the 23rd!
So weird. I know I will return at some point, but it's odd not knowing when. It's also odd knowing that I won't be returning to the same people. Regardless, I will miss Granada and I think it will always be my second home.