BARCELONA!!!!

Scary living statues!!

Entrance to the market

Fruit stand

Levitating Statue

Allison and I by the port 

Cathedral 

Overlooking Barcelona from the top of the cathedral 

Entrance of Park Guell

Sagrada Familia

Last weekend I went to Barcelona. The trip started off a bit rough when my flight was delayed an hour. After finally boarding the plane and getting ready for take-off, the little girl behind me started getting sick. Once I landed in Barcelona, I hurried off the plane to meet my friend Allison. She was suppose to get in just a few minutes after me, so I waited excitedly at the arrival area. After about 20 minutes I began to get impatient and checked the board to see if maybe her flight had been delayed. Nope, it had arrived over 30 minutes ago. Finally after waiting another half hour, I finally saw her. We did not realize that there were 2 terminals, so we were each waiting for the other at the wrong terminal oops. Luckily Allison realized the mistake and came to find me. We took a taxi to our hostel and then woke up the next morning ready to sightsee. During the next two days we went to the cathedral, Las Ramblas, a huge open-air market, the Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell. My favorite part was Las Ramblas. It is a large sidewalk with little shops along the sides as well as living statues. There were flower shops, souvenir shops, and also pet shops. You could buy bunnies, chicks, ducklings, birds, and little turtles, which was a bit odd to me. You can give the living statues money and then take pictures with them. There was quite a variety, scary ones that would jump out when you gave them money and fairies that would grant you wishes. The cathedral and the Sagrada Familia were still both under construction and Allison and I went up to the top of the cathedral, where we could see a 360 degree view of Barcelona. During our time in Barcelona we met quite a few people from different European countries. I absolutely loved Barcelona, it is a very unique city and I hope to go back someday!!

~Elizabeth~

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry it is a day late. Yesterday for lunch, my host mom made us flan in the shape of a heart, surrounded with strawberries and whip cream. It was delicious. She also hung balloons from the ceiling. Whenever we have lunch, she always prepares it so beautifully. The other day we had pasta salad with orange slices around the salad making it look like the sun. She told Megan and I that she use to decorate the plate with fruit, so her youngest daughter would eat the fruit because it looked pretty :)

Yesterday in class I learned an interesting fact. Apparently in Spain and Europe in general, they only acknowledge 5 continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and America (there is no separation between North and South). They also do not considered Antarctica a continent. So Grandma, I guess you only needed to visit 5 continents ;) I was quite surprised by this fact and thought I would share it with everyone. I have also learned that whenever we are asked our nationality, we need to say that we are from the United States and not American. The Spanish are very confused when they hear you are American because they associate that with both North and South America.

I am off to Barcelona this weekend, so I will make sure to post pictures and blog about my time as soon as I get back. I will also be going to my first Spanish play on Sunday for my theater class.

Muchos besos,

~Elizabeth~

First week of classes and the Alhambra

Last week was my first week of classes. So far, I really like all of my classes and I am excited because I can actually understand a majority of what my professors are saying! I only have classes from Monday to Thursday, which is quite nice. I am currently taking a grammar class, a theater class, a class about traditional Andalucian (region in southern Spain, where Granada is located) literature, Arab world in the West, and biology. All of my classes incorporate Granada and I will be going on many field trips. In my theater class, we will be going to a few plays during the semester. In my biology class we will visit areas around Granada and explore the different ecosystems. I am looking forward to all of my classes!

On Saturday I went on a paseo with some of my friends up to the Alhambra. We walked around the gardens and went into the church, where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were originally buried. They we later moved to the cathedral in the center of Granada. I plan to go back and actually go inside the Alhambra next time I am there.

I am still having a great time and will be going to Barcelona next weekend!!!

~Elizabeth~

Sevilla and Ronda

This past weekend, I went on a field trip to Sevilla and Ronda. We had to be at the bus stop at 7:45 am, which is exactly where I wanted to be on Friday morning. Needless to say the bus was 45 minutes late :) Then we drove to Sevilla. We spent the day touring the cathedral and an Arabic palace. Pictures below. Then I took a nice 20 minute hot shower (definitely the best part of the entire trip!!!). Megan, Alex, and I then went to a cafe nearby and people watched. It is definitely a different culture. There are children all over the place and they stay out fairly late. Most of the kids were playing in street, while the parents enjoyed their dinner. Parents here seem to be much calmer and less concerned about safety. At 10 we went to a Flamenco show, which was absolutely amazing. At first I couldn't see the dancers' feet and the top half of their bodies didn't even seem to be moving, but I could hear their feet. However, when I stood up, I could see how quickly they were moving. Flamenco is similar to tap dancing paired with interpretive dancing. They also have one person who played an instrument that resembled a guitar and a person who sang/chanted. Then the next morning we got up and of course I took another long, wonderful shower! We then boarded the buses and headed to Ronda. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The town is on top of a cliff and overlooks mountains and lush green fields. The town is separated by a narrow, but very deep valley. Therefore during Roman time, they built a bridge to connect the city. We spent some time exploring Ronda and the views from the entire city are absolutely breath-taking. I just kept thinking that it was so gorgeous that it was almost unreal. Then we went to a bull fighting stadium and learned a little about the spectacle (it is not considered a sport by the Spanish, but rather an event similar to going to the theater). Afterwards we walked down to the Arab baths. The created a system where a horse would walk in a circle and pull water up from the river. Then the water would stream down into the baths. They had a fire going to heat the water up and then had three different baths. The first was a hot bath (hot tub), the second was a steam room where people would receive massages or just sit in the steam, and then the third was a cold bath. It was interesting to see how advanced they were so long ago. Afterwards we headed back to Granada. On Saturday night I went out with a few friends (including a few Spaniards) and we went to a salsa bar. I did learn how to salsa!!! I am absolutely terrible, but it was a lot of fun.

Hasta Luego

Gardens outside of the Palace.

Part of the outer wall of the palace.

Second floor is for the women and is covered to protect their privacy. The third floor is for the men. 

One of the main rooms in the palace.

 

Cathedral

View from the top of the cathedral.

View of Sevilla from the cathedral. 

Ronda

Mis amigos y yo in Ronda.

Bridge connecting the city. There is a waterfall below the bridge. 

Outside the Arab baths.

Steam room in the Arab baths. 

~Elizabeth~

The difference between Granada and the United States

During the first week in Granada, I have begun to notice a few differences between American and Spain. I thought I would start an ongoing blog about the differences that I have noticed or experienced.

1. The first thing is Spain's level of eco-friendliness.
    A. Showers are expected to be less than 3 minutes and Navy showers are encouraged. For those of you who don't know what a Navy shower is, don't worry because I didn't either and trust me I would prefer to be in the dark about this particular subject. A Navy shower is when you get your hair wet, turn off the shower to shampoo, turn the water back on to rinse, and then ta-da you are finished! Not really on par with my idea of a nice relaxing shower ;)
    B. Heat is used very in Spanish homes is used very sparingly. Usually our house is between 50-60 degrees. Quite frigid if you ask me.
    C. All of the cars here are the size of a smart car and there are tons of motorcycles. However, most people walk to and from work and also walk when doing errands. It is not unusual for hoards of people to be walking around after 10 p.m. here.

2. Food-The meals times and portions are much different than in the United States.
    A. Breakfast is served right when you wake up and is usually a piece of toast with coffee. Then at about 11 or 12 you have a second breakfast. Usually a piece of fruit and a small piece of bread (usually sweet).
    B. Lunch is the largest meal of the day by far. It is usually served between 2-3. My senora prepares our plates and usually puts enough food to feed about three people. I usually try to eat half, which is still challenging because it is so much more than I am use to. My host mom tells me on a daily basis that she is worried I am not eating enough. I have tried to explain that in America, lunch is quite a bit smaller, so it is difficult to get use to eating so much in the middle of the day. I have no idea how people here are so skinny based on the portions they eat. However they do walk quite a bit. I average 3-4 hours of walking a day.
    C. Dinner is between 9-11 and is quite small. Most people just go out for tapas in Granada. Here if you order any drink, you get free tapas. Quite a good bargain. I have been surprised by how much I like the food here. I have become more adventurous and I have even eaten zucchini soup.
  
I will post more differences as I see them.

Muchos besos,

~Elizabeth~

Paseos

Hola! In Spain, it is very common to take a paseo, which is a casual walk. Since my orientation class is so long, we take a paseo everyday. My teacher incorporates it into our lesson. For instance, we were learning about directions, so she gave each group a place and we had to ask Spanish people for directions in order to find our destination. Yesterday we took a paseo to a fish and meat market. It was inside of a large warehouse with little vendors set up selling whole fish and meat. It was quite an interesting experience. Lets just say you don't want to eat meat anytime soon after being able to identify exactly what animal is being sold. The smell was absolutely repulsive, but most of the people we talked to were very helpful. We had to ask for recipes for common Spanish dishes. I have noticed that I am able to comprehend Spanish fairly well, however, when I have to speak it, it is a different story.

After our time at the market, we walked by the cathedral. It is absolutely amazing with intricate details on every wall. Vendors sell tea leaves and spices from tables, which was a welcomed smell after the fish and meat market. Women also try to hand you rosemary, which you think is free, but then you have to buy it. One of the girls in my class took it by accident and then the woman was refusing to take it back. Thankfully our teacher stepped in, but after living in Chicago, I have learned to just ignore the people who are trying to give you things on the street. We then wound our way through small streets stopping to window shop. Most of the shops were definitely influenced by the Islamic culture. It is really interesting to see how the Catholic, Jewish, and Islamic mix together to create the culture of Granada.

This weekend I will be taking a trip to Ronda and Sevilla with IES. I am really excited and my host mom says that Sevilla is absolutely beautiful. After the hike in the mountains, I am ready for a more relaxed weekend.

Hasta Luego,

~Elizabeth~