Life in the fast lane

It has reached the midpoint of my semester which means with traveling and midterms this week I have never felt more busy and exhausted. Sabrina always makes fun of me saying that I have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) because I want to do everything while I’m here. I want to leave with no regrets…I can rest when I’m home—I have to make the most of my time abroad!

Two weekends ago my program took all of us on a trip to Sevilla. We left Friday afternoon and on the way made a pit stop to check out this crazy cool place called El Torcal de Antequera. El Torcal is a small mountain range but due to natural erosion the rock formations are insane. We thought they resembled layers of pancakes but that might just be a side effect of our withdrawals from American breakfasts.

The next morning we took a bike tour of Sevilla. I can’t remember the last time I have ridden a bike so it was interesting but bikes were definitely a fun and efficient way to tour the city. During the bike tour we stopped at Plaza de España. It was so beautiful and along the buildings were mosaics for all of the provinces of Spain so obviously I had to take a picture of Granada’s.

After we had a tour of the Catedral de Sevilla. This is the largest cathedral in Spain and the third largest in the world after St. Peter’s in Vatican City and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil. Here is also where the body of Christopher Columbus is. The bell tower of the cathedral is called Giralda. We climbed to the top and were able to see the entire city of Sevilla. While we were here also it was the anniversary of a certain saint and we were able to witness the procession into the Cathedral. Men carry a huge statue of the saint throughout the streets to celebrate. These men though can't see where they are going though so they move very slowly not to drop the saint and listen for directions of when and where to move from special men in black suits. 

Giralda

The procession

On Sunday before heading home we had one final tour of los Reales Alcázares de Sevilla. This is the oldest royal residence of Spain. I was nervous coming to Sevilla because I was scared I would love it too much and wish I had studied there instead. Fortunately however Sevilla made me appreciate Granada more. Sevilla was a huge city and I wish I could have stayed longer and explored it more but I was very happy to come back to Granada. I love that I can walk everywhere in Granada and that it feels like home.

In Granada there have been many protests, or huelgas, by students because of tuition increases. Talking to people here many people have different opinions about it. The protests haven’t effected me in the Centro de Lenguas Modernas but other students in my residencia who attend the Universidad de Granada have told me they don’t like when the students protest and strike because then they can’t go to their classes. One of the nights in Sevilla we ran into a demonstration of students parading and protesting the increase in tuition. The huelga here quickly escalated because the police showed up and set up a blockade and we weren’t allowed to pass through. It was very intimidating. I don’t know enough information to have a stance on the subject but I do admire the protesting students’ passion because sometimes I feel majority of students in the US are too dormant to do anything to make a difference when there’s something they don’t agree with.  

Monday night I went to an olive oil class at the CLM. Olive oil is such a huge part of Spain. We got to try so many different types—all delicious. 60% of Spain’s olive oil is made in Andalucia, and 20% of the world’s olive oil. 

Tuesday I got in the Halloween spirit by carving pumpkins, at the CLM too. Halloween is an American holiday which year after year is slowly becoming adopted by Spain. People have mixed feelings about it mostly because of the negative connotations towards death and its proximity to All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day which are holidays celebrated here to commemorate the dead.

Last week I also took Salsa dancing classes. I have missed dance so much and was so happy to finally find some classes. The first two were free but I think that my friend Stephanie and I are going to pay to continue taking the classes. Salsa is nothing like any other type of dance I have done, especially because you are dancing with a partner. I really like it though and there are some bars here that have salsa dancing that I’m looking forward to going to now!

And finally, this past weekend I spent in Barcelona! We left on Thursday night at midnight. Thankfully I slept majority of the 11 hour bus ride. This was also my first experience staying in a hostel. We had a small room with four bunk beds for 8 girls. Rooming with my three friends and I were a group of 4 girls form Granada as well. Three of them were from England and one was from Scotland. They are in Spain teaching English for a year. They were super cool and had the most awesome accents! Once we settled in we first visited Parque Güell which was designed by Antoni Gaudí.

Friday night I attended a fútbol game at Estadio Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe! And our seats were amazing and so close to the field! It was a huge game too because it was a derby between the two Barcelona teams: FC Barcelona and Espanyol. I decided I am a Bacelona fan, mainly because that’s the team Messi is on. And obviously Barça won the game!

The next day we got a tour of the city and visited La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia was also created by Gaudí and was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. Gaudí was such a visionary. The basilica is so modern and unique there is nothing that can compare to it. I’m so happy I was actually able to see it in person. It began construction in 1882 and is still not completed. It’s expected to be finished in 2030 which I’ll use as an excuse to come back to visit Barcelona.

That night some of went back the park to watch the sunset over Barcelona.

On Sunday we visited the Cathedral of Barcelona before heading home. The doors were open and we were able to enter for free during the Sunday mass.

Barcelona was an amazing city. An interesting thing about Barcelona though is that it is in Cataluña and has two official languages: Castellano (Spain’s español) and Catalan. It was really odd for me to see all the signs written both in Spanish and Catalan (which I think is more similar to French). I could see getting confused and frustrated if I was trying to study Spanish in Barcelona. However it was a lot easier to understand people speaking Spanish there because they did not have the thick Anadlusian accent that the people in Granada have. While I had so much fun in Barcelona, nothing is like being back in Granada.

Like I mentioned before I am super busy. On top of everything else I’m busy being a trip planner because on Thursday mom and Daniel are going to be here! I can’t wait to see them and have them experience Spain! Three more days!!!

Abrazos y besos,

Kylie

Livin' la vida loca

Last weekend I visited the most beautiful place I have ever been to…Portugal. We left at 7 in the morning on Friday and 6 hours later we arrived in Albufeira, Portugal. Me and some of my friends signed up for the trip through a program called We  Love Spain which was awesome because they booked our hotels and planned all of our activities for us. All of our hotel rooms were mini apartments with full kitchens and living rooms. It was so nice. The first day there we went on a speed boat tour along the coast. The views were absolutely breathtaking. I did not feel like real life. The speed boat then brought us to a pirate ship in the water which we got to jump off of into the ocean. Because it is October the water is starting to get cold, but not cold enough to prevent me from going in!

That night instead of going out to eat we all took a trip to the supermarket and contributed to a big family meal. We had so much food and it was so nice hanging out all together. We met a lot of people who was on the trip, mostly students from America, France and the Netherlands who are studying in Sevilla, Spain. We became good friends with Gonzalo who was one of the trip advisors for We Love Spain and a couple from the United States who are on a month long vacation to Spain. That night we went on a bar crawl through the town. One of the bars had bartenders who would stand on top of the bar and do crazy awesome tricks throwing and juggling bottles. Another had a mechanical bull which I couldn’t resist. Fortunately along with Portuguese people also speak English in Portugal. You would think this was a nice break but being in a Spanish mindset we often still tried to speak Spanish to people and not realize our mistake until people looked at us confused because they don't speak Spanish.

The next day we had to wake up early to take a bus to Cabo Sao Vicente also referred to as “the end of the world” because before Christopher Columbus discovered America, Europeans thought this was where the world ended. This was pretty cool especially since the day we were there was the anniversary of when Columbus found the new world.

After we spent the rest of the day in Lagos and then another night out on the town.

Sunday we spent the morning at yet another beach before heading back to Granada. We didn’t get back until 1 in the morning on Monday and then I had to be up for an 8:30 class. I was beyond exhausted but it was completely worth it because the weekend I spent in Portugal was probably the most fun weekend I have ever had.

Wednesday and Thursday afternoons I volunteer at El Colegio Caja Granada. Last week when I went it was kind of just an introduction so this week was when I really got to start working with the students. I’m there as a native English speaker to help them learn the language, specifically with pronunciation. On Wednesdays I’m in a 5^th grade science class. The teacher asked me to read the notes on the board (written in English) out loud to the class so they can hear how it is suppose to sound. After I finished reading the board all the students clapped like it was the coolest thing they have ever heard. It is funny and I can relate to them learning English because I’m doing the same thing working on Spanish. On Thursdays I am in a 2^nd grade class. These little kids are the cutest things I have ever seen! I would say different colors and shapes out loud and it was so adorable listening to them try to pronounce them. Even though I’m helping with English, volunteering I am still improving my Spanish talking to the teachers and students.

On Friday night my friends and I trekked up the Albaicín to go to a discoteca called Camborio. This wasn’t an authentic Spanish club where the locals go but is a popular place for international students. It was awesome because the club is built into the caves of the mountain side like all of the houses in the Albaicín. From the outside patio of the club you get the most breathtaking view of the Alhambra lit up at night.

Saturday night there was a festival called Noche en Blanco. This is a festival which began in Paris in 2002 as a cultural initiative. This was the first year that Granada participated. It was so cool to experience. Starting at 9 at night there were musical performances, dances and other forms of art taking place all over the city until 4 in the morning. Restaurants, bars and stores were open all night and entrance into monuments and museums were either free or reduced. We even discovered a man with a typewriter set up at the end of one of the bridges who was giving away free poems. This night made me fall in love with Granada all over again!

"Life is dodging the steps to death."

After being out for the festival last night I had low expectations for my my first 5K. The race was a Carrera Contra el Hambre, a race against hunger. I half expected to walk the 3.1 miles but completely surprised myself when I ran the entire thing in 33 minutes and 20 seconds! I would have been happy finishing in 40 minutes! I did so much better than I expected considering I probably only ran 2 times here and it was my first race ever. Now when I get back home I can start running again and signing up for more 5Ks to improve my time!

I’m so happy that I’m getting to travel to so many places while I am here but it is bittersweet because that means the less time I get to spend in Granada. I wish I could stay here forever but skyping my family and my Westfield friends today reminded me how much I miss home. I officially have passed the one month mark which means I only have about 2 months left. It is crazy how quickly time is passing—I hate it!

Abrazos y besos,

Kylie

Siestas y tapas

Some of my favorite things about Granada, Spain are siestas and tapas! Siestas are a must here. Between 2 and 5 in the afternoon practically the whole city shuts down except for cafes. All the stores are closed and it is really too hot to be outside at this time….which leaves the perfect opportunity for a siesta (my favorite thing to do)! It will be a hard to transition when I go back to the states. But another major reason for the siesta are because in Spain everyone goes out so late! Bars and clubs don’t start to get busy until after 2am and if you are home before 3 it is an early night. For example, some of the students who live in my residencia will stay out all night and go to class the next morning without ever going to bed! Then they sleep during siesta…and this is completely normal and common! It again is all related to the weather. This tradition was started because Spain is such a dry and hot country that you wouldn’t leave the house until it was cooler at dusk. It’s probably going to take me the entire semester to get use to this (the staying out late part, not the napping part)!

And tapas! Granada is the only place in Spain where you still get free tapas! Tapas are like little appetizers that you receive when you order a drink at a café. My friends and I will go out and each order a glass of wine for about 2 euros and receive enough food between all of us to get full! And if you order a second drink the next tapa is even better than the first! This is such a great idea and I think that the US should implement it immediately! Tapas are the best thing especially for a student on a budget just trying to get something to eat. I surprisingly love all the food here which is a huge relief. I will definitely miss the Mediterranean cuisine when I go home.

I finally met up with Jenna, one of my best friends from home who is also studying abroad in Granada. We hadn’t been able to see each other because I was in Madrid for awhile and then she was traveling to Paris, but last Monday night we went out to get tapas together. While eating our tapas and discussing our experiences so far in Granada we began talking about the differences between American and Spanish culture. Our waiter ended up joining our conversation which turned into an impromptu intercambio.  It is a nice taste of home seeing Jenna in between classes and we are both going to Portugal this weekend and Barcelona the first weekend of November!

Last Tuesday was my first day of school in the Centro de Lenguas Modernas at the Universidad de Granada. The one thing I do not like about school are that classes are 2 hours long…I originally had three classes back to back on Monday/Wednesdays which is longer than having 6 Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes back to back except they are all in Spanish! I changed my schedule around though so that I now I only have 2 classes in a row a day and I get them all done with in the morning. When I went to my one class in English my professor scolded me and 2 other students in the class who placed high enough to take the class in Spanish but chose to take it in English. She recommended we switched to take the class in Spanish which was a huge confident boost on my Spanish abilities. After much deliberation the other students and I decided to stay in the English class (2 hour classes in Spanish is exhausting and we figured we could use the break for English). But I love the school and all of my professors. One of my classes is in the Kenia building which is a 10 minute walk from the main building where the rest of my classes are. The main building is about a 10 minute walk from my residencia. Classes here are very different so far than classes at home. There is not much homework but when there is it’s not checked or graded but is just to prepare us for the next class. Most of my grade is based on my midterm and final, and when I say most I mean 80%! Very intimidating. Also none of my professors speak English, besides my one class taught in English (and it is English with an extremely thick Spanish accent). Most of the students in my classes are from the United States but there are also a lot of students from China, Japan, Germany and other countries. Because of these reasons we have to rely on our Spanish to communicate and I have to ask a LOT of clarifying questions! But my Spanish is improving so much and I’m learning a lot and its only been two weeks.

Main building

Kenia building

On Saturday Sabrina and I took the initiative to plan a trip to the beach. I usually hate planning things because I never want to be responsible if anything goes wrong but I have to admit that I was extremely impressed with myself figuring out bus tickets and times and the entire thing went smoothly! We went to Salobreña which was about 45 minutes away. The beach was beautiful as expected. In my last post I said that the Monochil water falls was my new greatest life experience….now I’m changing it to cliff jumping into the Mediteranean in Salobreña! Ah it was so awesome! From the shore we climbed up the cliff and before I knew it everyone was counting down from 10 for me to jump. It took two countdowns because the first time I chickened out. I have never felt more butterflies in my stomach but I had to just not think about it and jump. Once in the water I couldn’t stop saying “Oh my god I cant believe I just did that!” probably for the next 10 minutes. It was incredible and I was so proud that I actually did it. Fortunately my friend Emily who did not want to jump accompanied us to the cliff to document all of us leaping into the sea.

I signed up to run a 5K in Granada on October 20th. And now that it is published on the internet I can’t back out! So I have started running after class to prepare. Sabrina and I went on a run together the other day ended with a spontaneous hike up another mountain! I love that we can just on the spot decide to climb a mountain here because we are surrounded by Sierra Nevada mountains. It makes all of the landscapes look like paintings, and once it becomes colder and it starts to snow in the mountains they will be even more beautiful!

Sabrina and I also now have a map of Granada in our room and we are marking off every street we’ve walked on so that by the end of the semester the entire map will be marked up! Good luck mom and Daniel because I don’t think you realize how much walking you guys are going to be doing when you come to visit!

Tuesday night me and some friends got ice cream and walked up to the Albaicin to watch the sunset. It was gorgeous and is supposedly the second best sunset after the Grand Canyon. We have to do some more exploring to find a spot where we can see it set over the Alhambra which I won’t mind because I could watch the sun set over Granada every night and never get sick of it.

Yesterday was my first day volunteering at El Colegio de Caja Granada. I was in a class of 10 year olds and I’m going to be helping them with their English. I’m so happy that API offers this volunteer option because I miss being in the classroom and with kids. The students were so cute and I loved hearing them try to speak English. They were also surprised that I could speak Spanish which I found funny. I look forward to getting to know all the kids in the class and working with them.

I’m getting ready to go to an intercambio tonight which is pretty much when a group of people learning different languages get together to hang out. So there I can practice my Spanish talking to Spaniards who are going to be practicing their English talking to me. It’s also a nice way to meet new people.

Even though I’m having a great time here I still miss everyone from home and send my love! Xoxo

Abrazos y besos,

Kylie