Me he puesto como una sopa

Well...we can't win them all! In case you haven't heard, Spain has seen some of its rainiest weather & the city of Cádiz was no exception. We arrived with high hopes, silly costumes, and enough snacks (gummies to be exact) to last us through the night. Our plan was to arrive around 5 pm and stay partying, wandering the city, and enjoying the festivities (music and fashion shows) until our bus left again at 7 am. It is safe to say that this was the longest, wettest night of my life. The streets were packed, festive, and lively until about 1 am when it started to POUR. People always ask me how I can go to college in rainy Washington...well in that moment, I would have given anything to be standing in a Tacoma drizzle, rather than an Andalucían downpour. Our group spent the next 4 hours moving from stoop to stoop trying to find dry shelter. Eventually, we found our way down into a parking garage where we discovered about forty other wet carnival-goers seeking refuge. We all huddled together warmed by the exhaust from the cars of the lucky few who didn't have to wait for buses.

At about 5 am, we were kicked out of our underground shelter and headed back to the bus with high hopes that it would be open. Luckily, the rain was so bad that the police forced all the bus drivers to open their doors earlier than planned. After a shameless change of clothes on the bus, i was finally dry....ish. I can't say that knowing what I know now I would do it again, but I am glad got to experience the infamous "carnival"...even if it was more like a shower than a party!

Below here are a few images(all pre-downpour!)






Since Carnival, I have been doing a lot... I'm finally settled into a routine, our program took a trip to Madrid, Toledo, and Segovia, and I am looking forward to a break from classes! I promise to attempt to write more often, but the sun has just started to come out in Granada. The past couple days it has seemed like a different world and I can't wait to explore it!

Hasta pronto amigos.

32 ºC = 89.6 ºF

Yes. You read correctly... 89.6 DEGREES!

As I mentioned, from Sevillia, my two friends (Janelle & Molly) and I left the group and took a short bus ride to Málaga. Once we arrived in the late afternoon, we were exhausted and decided to just head straight to our hostel and then wander around the area nearby. Our hostel was called "Picasso's Corner" because it was located literally across the street from where Pablo Picasso was born! It was also painted with bright colors and had some really funky stuff in it...(For example, the showers looked somewhat like little rocket ships! Picture a cylindrical shower standing on it's own with a little seat where the water came at you from literally every angle!)

We found our hostel with ease (navigating the bus system and windy streets) and went out to explore right away. About a three minute walk from our hostel was shopping heaven, so we spent some time absorbing local culture! ;) We found a cute restaurant and had an amazing dinner (complete with free tapas of bread, cheese, & sweet caramelized onions from our waiter, who found our Spanish impressive...or funny, we couldn't tell).

After that, it was straight back to the hostel and into sweats for us! We wandered downstairs to look at the games and found Monopoly (Spain style). The properties were all located in Spain, and we'd even been to a few of them over the past few weeks. We played with a funny Latvian man who seemed to think he knew the rules way better than we did and took the game very seriously. When the three of us were too tired to pass Go and collect our 200 Euros one more time, we let him win, and he was at least content with that.

The next day our adventure continued with a few tourist activities. We went into the Málaga Cathedral, which, I hate to say, was what I would call a rip-off. It was 4 euros to enter (no student discount, which is practically unheard of here), and it was pretty much just like every other church I've seen over the past month.

The coolest part, however, was a photo exhibit set up within the cathedral. It was a collection of pictures taken around the world by an organization called Manos Unidas (United Hands). It is a campaign to end world hunger and poverty, and to promote women's rights and education. The photos and descriptions (in Spanish!) were extremely moving and I spent most of my time in the church looking at the exhibition.

Next, we went to the Picasso museum. Since, as I mentioned, Pablo (yes, now we're on a first name basis) was born in Málaga, the museum had over 155 of his works. They were all donated by his relatives and were some of his lesser known works. It was exciting to see the different styles that Picasso painted in, and learn a little more about why his art developed the way it did. It was not only an awesome collection, but an incredible building with an array of Roman ruins below it too!




I bought a print of the painting you see above. While I bought this particular one because I love the painting itself, it will also forever remind me of the museum, and that is what i really love about it. We took a tour from a spunky Spanish woman who insisted that we speak almost as much as she did. She would ask us what we saw in the colors and brushstrokes and what we thought all the details meant. At first I was nervous to speak, but after a few tartamudea (stutters), it was actually fun to participate. (If I haven't already mentioned this, Spaniards LOVE to talk...and talk loudly. Imagine My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets an Italian dinner table.. in Spainish. Of course when there are Americans around they all want to hear US talk (or try to), so I'm usually able to get a couple words in).

Next, we decided to explore the waterfront and went to rent some bicycles at a nearby shop. On the way, we stopped back at our hostel to ask for a recommendation for a cheap lunch. We were directed to a little shop that looked sort of like a super mini 7-11. There was a 8.5x11 piece of paper with about 4 choices for sandwiches on it.
BOCADILLOS:
tortilla
jamón
jámon y queseo
chorizo

In Spain, there must be some law against putting more than two ingredients on a Sandwich (for those of you reading from the Bay Area..I will be patronizing Domenico's Deli about the moment I get home). Anyways, if you ever find yourself choosing from a menu like this, the jámon y queso is a solid choice, but I'd recommend the tortilla. Spanish tortillas are very different from Mexican tortillas, so don't picture a Mexican tortilla in between two slices of bread! (more on this in my food post, which I swear will come eventually!)

The bike trip was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The combination of the weather, the good company, and the blue water made for quite the afternoon. Here are a few of a my favorite pictures from this day and the next!







Later that night, again, too tired to venture out into the city, we stayed in the hostel and made some friends...and some Paella! (Again with the food, I know). This was a really cool experience: an Argentinian and a German teaching 3 Americans how to make an authentic Spanish dish!



(As you can see, we are quite the chefs...sorry there isn't a finished product picture, but we were a little too hungry to stop and snap a shot!)

The next and last day was also an adventure. Mostly exploring the city and beach some more, as well as a long trek up to one of the highest point in Málaga: the Alcazabar and Castille de Gibralfaro. It was wonderful to see the beautiful Mediterranean Sea from up high and to spend time with some really great people. My one regret is that I never touched the water! Oh well, I guess I will have to go back! Any takers....?



I'm off to Cádiz this weekend for Carnival! Can't wait to tell you all about it!

¡Besos!

.Viaje Numero Uno.

The past few weeks, the thought echoing in my head has consistently been
"how is this real life?"

I've been a little MIA from the world of cyberspace because I was off exploring Andalucía! Now that I've returned, it's time to recap!

The trip began in Cordoba, moved on to Sevilla, and ended in beautiful Malaga (which I will be giving its own post).

CÓRDOBA




When we arrived in this city, we immediately crossed the Puente Romano. On the other side, I explored the Gardens of the Alcázar, noting the beautiful architecture of the attached building as well as the views of the quaint city.




After that, a couple friends and I wandered through the narrow windy streets to the historical Jewish neighborhood. There, I entered one of the only three synagogues in Spain that pre-date the Reconquista (1492) when the Jews were expelled from the country. It was built 1315 and is still beautifully preserved.



The next part of my day was one of those surreal moments where I can't believe my life here is reality. We went to the Arab Baths in Córdoba.

Imagine you are living in Medieval Spain. There, the Arab Baths, or Hammams, are the focus of social life. Bathing is not a daily task, but rather a ritualistic, spiritual, & social activity. There are multiple pools, each a different temperature, a steam room, and a warm cup of mint tea waiting each time you experience this full body purification.

Now...snap back to 2010, but put yourself right in those baths again. We spent a couple hours relaxing in these pools, and even finished our visit with a quick (well I thought it was too quick) massage. Here is a photo from the website to make you even more jealous!




After two hours of feeling like a princessa, the last thing I wanted to do was go on a tour of other old building. Fortunately, I didn't really have a choice and got to explore one of the most amazing structures I've ever seen. La Mezquita de Córdoba is a vast mosque with a Gothic cathedral smack in the center of it. It was converted to a church after the Reconquista, but all of the Moorish influences are still visible.




This photo is just the Moorish part of the architecture, but I assure you, the cathedral inside is also breathtaking. After the tour of the mosque, we filed back onto the bus and inched our way to Sevilla.

SEVILLA

Being Americans, we had all eaten the sandwiches our "Madres" had made for us by about 11 am. Upon arrival in Sevilla at about 9:30 pm, I'm pretty sure that the only thing anyone could think of was la cena (dinner). Our group of about 40 Northwesterners filled this tiny, authentic restaurant, and as the smells of the meal we were about to enjoy wafted into the dining area, you could almost feel the excitement in the room! (I will be dedicating an entire post to food later, because the Spanish sure do know how to cook!)

In Sevilla, I explored the Reales Alcázares, the Cathedral, the Italica archaeological site, and and Plaza de España.

Reales Alcázares
was a pretty cool place, but I was too tired, cold, cranky, and hungry to really enjoy another Mudejar castle. My favorite part of the palace was the Garden, which seemed to stretch for miles, and I would have liked to stay there wandering for hours on end.




The Cathedral in Sevilla
was pretty, but two coolest parts were 1. a 20 some-odd story walk up a tower to see a beautiful panoramic view of the city and 2. the world's only DNA confirmed tomb of Christopher Columbus!




The Italica archaeological site
also had its unique characteristics. This array of Roman ruins included the 2nd largest uncovered Roman amphitheater in the world! It was interesting to learn about the past functions of all the different ruins and to contrast that with what still stands today.



The Plaza de España
is a beautiful, surprisingly devoid of tourists, semicircular plaza where each city in Andalucía and each Spanish province has its own ceramic alcove. A mote runs around the inside of the plaza and has numerous bridges that lead to a majestic fountain!









My favorite thing that happened in Sevilla, however, was a result of pure, unplanned luck (which is also why I don't have any pictures of it). A few friends and I went out to experience a little bit of Sevilla nightlife. After our unsuccessful attempts to find a cool place to go, we ended up just grabbing dinner and slowly wandering back to our hotel. Right before we walked in, we noticed a small building that looked sort of like a bar with the door just barely open. Lupita, Janelle, and I apprehensively wandered in. It felt a little like one of those movies where a stranger walks into a local dive bar and everyone stares at the outsiders. As we took a minute to soak in the environment of the bar, we noticed that all the chairs and tables had been pushed into an oval. A few older men (who could have only been regulars) were sitting at the front of this circle holding guitars. Once they started playing, we couldn't help but sit down and join the ring of Spaniards. I had never heard live Flamenco music, but it was completely unique. After a couple songs, two older women sitting next to us got up and began dancing with each other. I felt like a fly on the wall, getting a private show of this beautiful musical culture. I could have stayed there all night watching the twists and turns of the two women's writs, listening to the interesting melodies, and attempting to understand the interesting ad lib lyrics. At that moment, I thought to myself: THIS IS WHY I AM HERE! Earlier in the night, we wandered in to some bar that was basically built for American tourists. It had flags from different Universities in the States, the menus were in English and everyone inside was from the US. I actually just feel bad for the students who hang out at those types of places. I had a really cool, random immersion experience, and I think that everyone that studies abroad should get to absorb the culture in this way too!


Until next time.

Hasta Luego ♥

¡Senderismo!

Hello again!

I’m sorry for not writing more often, but it’s quite a daunting task to sit down and attempt to explain this continuous adventure that is my life here.

I’ve decided that instead of biting off way more than I can chew, I will just focus on one thing at a time! That being said, last Saturday, I had quite the day. It all began at roughly 7 AM when Maria and I boarded the bus across the street to meet up with other students from the CLM (remember, this is the school I attend here). We were heading up to the Cahorros mountains for a day of Senderismo (hiking)!! As you, my avid readers, know, everything starts and ends later here. This is why when my groggy roommate and I got on the bus we were completely shocked to see that it was packed. We quickly realized that these people were not early birds out catching their worms, but rather the night owls returning to their nests after a lonnnnng fiesta. People were smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol this cold Saturday morning as if it were still 11 pm the night before. As fashion is extremely important here, and we were sporting some great athletic gear, we got many strange looks from these stylish young partiers. After getting off the bus at the wrong stop, asking for directions three separate times, & a short sprint, we finally met up with the other young explorers. Our brave and fearless leader, Paco, took us to a nearby bus stop and we continued our adventure. While on the little bus that took us all the way up to the base of the Cahhoros mountains (not to be confused with the “palabrota,” curse-word, “cojones”), we stopped for gas (something I’ve always been curious to see a public bus do) and rang up a grand total of 122.56 Euros (or about 177 USD)!


As we were about to start hiking, the town welcoming committee strolled by (jokejoke)....




Really though, this hike was quite incredible. I’ve included some pictures, one of which probably needs some explaining. Paco took us to what is called “Paseo de Clave,” literally meaning “cleavage walk.” This is because the basic set up of the trail, if you can even call it that, is a narrow concrete path that runs along a river about 4.5 feet below. There are boulders/tall rocks on the other side of the concrete path, and at times the rock protrudes out, making it nearly impossible to stand on the path. We had to cling to the rocks for dear life while shimmying down, and at certain parts even crawl. The name ”Paseo de Clave” comes from the parts where girls have to lean over and crawl, revealing their cleavage! (Sometimes Spaniards are funny people..)





All in all, the walk was beautiful, intense, and completely worthwhile. We walked over incredible suspension bridges, saw majestic views, and even saw a great waterfall.




Later that day, I went downtown to meet up with my “intercambio.” The CLM set me up with a Spanish woman, Elena, who is 28. She is an English teacher who is studying to take a National exam to teach in the public school system here in Granada. The point of the intercambio is that we meet at least once a week and speak in English half the time, and Spanish half the time. She is wonderful (see picture-Elena is in the middle, and her sister is on the left!) and her English is just about perfect! We’ll see if I actually end up helping her! I sure know she’ll help me though!




I spent a little time with Elena again last night and really can’t wait to get to know her better! I’ve decided that since I’m here to learn Spanish, the best idea is to meet Spanish people! This being the case, the other day, I created a “Tuenti” account. This is basically Spanish facebook! So far I have 6 friends(¡Que popular soy! Jajaja), and a few outstanding friend requests! It’s really fun to use and I can’t wait until I have more Spanish friends

I hope you enjoyed this longer post (my attempt to make up for lost time) and stay tuned for more!

¡Dos besos para cada uno de vosotros!

Las diferencias

Here are a few differences I've noticed over the past week between España and los Estados Unidos:

>Siestas really do exist
Every day, the streets of Granada slowly get quieter as cashiers and salesclerks lock up their shops and head home for a few hours. Around 2 pm, the city becomes practically a ghost town. In Spain, the most important meal of the day is lunch, and so families gather, overeat, nap, and then head back to work.

>Everyone smokes
Walk into a bar, discoteca, restaurant, or a cafe, and guarenteed you will walk out smelling like you rolled around in a giant ash tray. It's gross, unavoidable, and everyone ignores the huge stickers on each pack that say "fumar mata" (smoking kills).

>People are kind of cranky
Don't get me wrong...I love all of the Spainards I've met so far, but the culture here is very different. They call it "malafollar," which basically describes the general bad mood of people in Granada. I think that saying "sorry," "please," and "thank you" are the main things that mark me as an American! Here people just walk right into you without so much as making eye contact, workers say "díme" when you enter their store. This literally means "tell me" and this is all you get...not a "hello, how are you? Welcome, what can I get for you??" None of that! Maybe that's why no one tips here...

>Everything happens later (except of course, my morning classes)
Lunch at 2:30
Dinner comes around 9 pm
The time to go to the bars or for tapas is about 10 pm
Discotecas are almost empty until 2 am
And people return and sleep at 5 or 6 am!

(note to parents...this is just a cultural explaination..not my daily schedule!

>You can spend 200 Euros on a pair of shoes in a grocery store!
The SuperCore across the street from our apartment sells everything from fresh fish, to makeup, to prom dresses. And believe me, even though no one wants to say they bought their formal wear at a grocery store, it's NOT as cheap as you'd think!!

>There is a complete lack of censorship on TV
Since the tradgedy in Haiti, I've seen images that wouldn't be fit for R-rated war movies broadcasted on the 8 pm news. There is swearing and nudity, and it doesn't phase anyone! I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, it's just an interesting difference!

>Not everyone, everywhere speaks english!
Thank goodness! I'm actually getting to speak spanish the entire time I'm here! Even though Granada is somewhat of a tourist destination, 99% of the Spainards I've interacted with knew about as much English as most Americans know Spanish!

>Wine is cheaper than water
Maria and I made a quality purchase of a 33 cent box wine on her 21st birthday...we have yet to drink it, but I'll let you all know...

I could go on for hours about how the taxis are all Mercedes or Audis or how loudly the Spainards talk or how there is a bakery on literally every corner, but I will have to save these things for later.

As for me, now....It's 3:20 pm here. We just finished lunch, and as you've learned in this post..It's time to ¡echar la siesta!

La Vida Española

¿Que tal amigos?

Now that I've been here a few days (and gotten used to a few new things), I thought it would be a good idea to describe a typical day...but don't worry, I won't include too many details.

I took my "prueba de nivel" (placement test) and I am in level 6 (which is the lowest advanced group-the possibilities were 1-9). This means that for the first month or so that I am here, I will be taking Spanish class (grammar & oral expression you could call it) four hours a day. After a month, we will switch to "normal" classes; the options include everything from business to Moorish art (all taught in Spanish). We also have a Spanish Culture class that will last the whole semester. It is two days per week for another two hours. Today I was in class for 6 hours! I haven't had that much class in one day since middle school! Whoever said studying abroad was a complete breeze obviously went somewhere else!

Each weekday morning, Maria (my roommate from the University of Portland) and I wake up, get ready and by 8:10 am leave our little apartment. We live here with Manuela (our angel of a host mother) and Carlos and Conchi (Manuela's niece and nephew who are both in their twenties). The trade-off of having a great family is that we live extremely far from the school where we study. We need about 40 minutes to walk all the way across the city each day (it's about 2 miles). I've really been enjoying the walk, but today i caved and bought a bus pass (the weather has been extremely precipitous)! Lunch is the most important meal of the day in Spain, and so we have to come home each day to eat after class. Then, it's the custom to take a little nap (one of my favorite traditions here). After the siesta, most days, we end up walking back towards town to meet up with friends, do homework, go to culture class, have a drink, tapear (eat tapas/small plates-more on this later), or go out. This makes 8 miles in walking just for the commute! Believe me, my feet are feeling the pain!

Manuela says we will get used to it, but for now, I will just keep wearing different shoes each day!

Sorry for the somewhat mundane post, I will think of more interesting things to say, I promise! :)

For now, I will just say that the city is beautiful, my living situation is almost ideal (minus the marathon commute), & I'm very happy here!


hasta pronto.

Leeth
(that's how spanish people say Liz!)

Hola Europa

Dearest friends and family,

Welcome to my blog! Although I'm not familiar with the cyberspace protocol, I wanted to post before I embarked and to make note of my initial feelings and expectations.. Unfortunately, i had planned to do this from the airport where I expected to find free wi-fi. When I discovered that it wasn’t free, I decided to save my euros for more important things (like visiting friends in other parts of Europe!)…So here I am, already in Granada communicating with those of you back at home. As you may or may not know, I am beginning my adventures a few days late, and before I dive into this, I want to take a moment to explain my delayed departure. My grandfather, Milt Reiterman, passed away late evening December 29th and I decided to stay in the bay area for his funeral. He was a truly remarkable man, (evident in the hundreds of people whose lives he touched that were able to attend his funeral rosary and mass). I will never forget his warm laugh, passion for social justice, and big heart. He was the most generous person I know and has always been an inspiration. He would want me to leave on this adventure with an open and willing mind, ready for anything. He believed that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing well and BIG. I can only hope to accomplish half as much and touch close to as many lives as he did.

Now, my plan was to update you all on my day's adventures, but i am just way too tired. Instead, I will just write some random thoughts!

Things I learned on Lufthansa flight 455:
1. (Most) Americans must have something programmed in our DNA to dislike bubbly water because everyone else seems to prefer it.
2. If you sleep through peanuts, you can't have them later
3. yes they actually weigh your carry on!
4. and even though it's a 10 hour flight and they turn off all the lights, it's still impossible to sleep.

...post flight, I discovered that it's quite easy to avoid customs (but don't worry I would have passed through with flying colors had they stopped me) & that my spanish is way better than I thought it would be!! In my jet lag daze, however, I realized that the first person to speak Spanish to me was a janitor who politely laughed and told me that I was walking into the men's restroom...

Hopefully things will get easier with sleep. Which is what I am about to do!

¡¡Hasta pronto!!