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Well, I have now been home for a week and a half, so I guess I should write one final, summation post about my Spanish adventures! I tried writing this post the last day that I was in Granada, but I got super sad, so I had to stop. And since then, I've just been lazy, I guess :)
The last few weeks in Granada were crazy--a balancing act of trying to cram in everything I wanted to do and see with studying and exams. I think the best way to summarize this time would be a list (even though I'm never brief, but I'll try)
- On my "last weekend out" with my friends, we hit the Chupiteria, where I earned enough shot tokens to get a t-shirt! Unfortunately, they were out of tshirts that night, but I didn't mind. We also went to the Mirador de San Nicolas (gorgeous nighttime views of the Alhambra) and, for one last time, el Camborio. Even though I didn't mean to stay out late, I was out until 6! It was crazy, but SO much fun!
- Later on in that weekend, I had my (our) flamenco performance! We had a rehearsal on Saturday, and then on Sunday we all gathered at a nearby youth center to perform for our entire program (basically). As always, I got nervous, but it was super fun to show off what we had learned! I felt so accomplished, because as most of you know, I can't dance to save my life. Even my host mother was there--it was awesome!
- The next week was finals--on Monday I had my two toughest: Poli and Econ. I had studied really hard for both, so here's hoping they went well!
- On Tuesday, I didn't have any finals, so I went to the Alhambra in the morning to see the Palacio Carlos V. They had a cool exhibit on Washington Irving (who stayed at the Alhambra and wrote a collection of stories about it). I also wandered around the woods surrounding the Alhambra complex--it was so peaceful and beautiful! Definitely one of the best experiences of the semester
- On Wednesday, we had the inevitably awful conclusion of our internship seminar (which concluded with our professor ONCE AGAIN reminding us that our attitudes sucked). But afterwards, I went out for tapas with Kaitlyn and Madeline, the two girls I worked with at UIM. It was such a nice conclusion to the whole internship process!
- On Friday, we had our end of term dinner, which was SO bittersweet. I almost cried when the program directors gave us little magnets that said "IES Granada" on a ceramic sign that looks just like all the street signs in Granada. There was also an amazing photo slideshow which really summed up the experience and showed me just how far we've all come. And of course, we had to say goodbye to our professors, which was almost heartbreaking.
- Even though it was raining cats and dogs, we made our way to Hannigans and sat for a while, just talking and enjoying each other's company. Still heartbreaking because some of the girls I wasn't going to see again :(
- The next day, after lots of packing, we all got together for one last tapas night. It was such a nice end to everything, but again, so completely heartbreaking
- And then...it was time to leave. The next morning, after saying goodbye to Keely (that was terrible), eating breakfast, and getting to the bus station, I met Madeline and Caroline and we got on the bus to Malaga
- We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express near the Malaga airport, but caught the bus to the centro and shopped (well, browsed, really) and admired Malaga's amazing Christmas decorations. We got stiffed by the cabbie on the way back to the hotel, but at that point, we just didn't care
- And then my amazing journey home began: at 3:45 in the morning, we got up, packed up, and went to the airport. Luckily my bags were underweight (well, actually, exactly the weight limit, so I was literally praying the whole time I was in line to check in). Got to Madrid on time, navigated between terminals, checked in and then...waited. My flight was delayed an hour, but I got to Newark and then I just ran. I barely made my Newark-Houston flight, but luckily I found the Houston-Austin gate right next door to the arrival gate of my previous flight. And, just like that, at 11 pm on December 21st, I walked back through the door of my house and my Spanish adventure was over.
Being back home has been crazy. I was really jetlagged for the first couple of days, but since then my Mom and I have just been hanging out and having a good time. I got my guacamole that I'd been craving for months, as well as Thundercloud Subs and tons of other Austin wonderfulness. I miss Spain and talk about it constantly, but I still think that the experience is too recent for me to write any meaningful retrospectives on the experience.
Just in case anyone needed a final reminder as to why I loved studying abroad, here's something I stumbled upon in my wanderings near the Alhambra:
Consider the following: this gate (it's the Puerta de Bib Rambla, just in case you were wondering) was constructed, used, and probably to some degree abandoned 200 years BEFORE the first European colony in North America was founded.
Anyways, thanks for reading about my semester abroad! Hopefully I'll be making another long trip somewhere at some point in the near future, so I might repurpose this blog for that. Hasta luego everyone! It's been so much fun.
The Alpujarras:
They are mountains (part of the Sierra Nevadas) which are literally right next to Granada. My host mom has a house there, so we spent part of the weekend just relaxing in the sun on her patio (did I mention I have another 5 day weekend? Thanks Constitution Day and Día de la Concepción Inmaculada!). We stayed in the village of Bubion, one of three "white towns" which are lined up through a river gorge. When viewed from the road, you can see all of them in a row! But I was sleeping on the way up, so I missed that. It was a quiet weekend, we saw 2 out of the 3 towns and watched movies. No internet, so I actually was a little productive and did some work. Cool thing at the house: this table which has a heater underneath it! The house was pretty cold, so at night we would all sit at the table and our feet/legs would be super warm.
Unfortunately, and probably due to global warming, there's a severe drought in the mountains. It's only snowed once there, and there was no rain in the fall, so instead of being green, the hills were brown and dead looking. But still gorgeous! From my host mom's patio, you could see the ocean! We had the afternoon sun, but as soon as the sun went behind another mountain, the temperature would drop like 10 degrees, so we would go inside. It was a really nice break from being in Granada and doing homework. Except now that's what I have to do. Just 3 days of classes, a weekend, 5 days of exams, packing, and then I'm home! Sadly, it would appear that I actually picked a difficult study abroad program which not only has me doing a paper for every class BUT ALSO an exam. Some of the exams are cumulative. So guess who's not really going to get out much the next 13 days? But that's OK because I'm sure I'll find little bits of time to get in those last vital moments of sightseeing....
On the way home, we passed a wind farm. I think Don Quixote would get decapitated if he tried to tilt at these...
Hello! I know the title has a weird air of finality to it, but never fear, I'm still in Spain for another 5 weeks and therefore have time for lots more adventures. However, what seemed like it was so far away just a few months ago has taken place: the last IES-coordinated trip! I remember looking at the calendar back in September and thinking "wow there are SO MANY trips on this list!" And, from my numerous posts, I think we can all agree that this is true. A part of me is really glad to be done with traveling though--first because I haven't really done sightseeing around Granada enough and second because I am absolutely bogged down with work (I'm only writing this as a reward for finishing a paper).
Now on to my trip! This past weekend, my program took us to Cádiz and Jerez, two more cities in Southern Spain. On the way to Cádiz, we stopped at a natural park called Torcal de Antequera, which was basically like a giant rock formation. As my knee was bothering me before we started, I opted for the "easy hike", which mainly stayed on a very lightly marked trail across said rocks. It was gorgeous! Here's an example:
As many of you know, I have a slight/moderate fear of heights, which usually manifests itself when I have to cross over deep gaps in rocks or jump off low walls etc. Well, Torcal, being sculpted by the wind and erosion, was full of these gaps, which in turn were full of thorns. I almost panicked a couple times, but eventually crossed the divides, even though I bruised my knee pretty bad as I was trying to be cautious.
After watching the cheesy video at the visitor's center and eating a lunch packed by my senora (spinach omlette sandwich, anyone?), we got back on the bus and headed for Cádiz. We arrived there (as always) late, and had to rush to "dar a paseo por el ciudad". I opted to be in the (much smaller) group which walked along the beach and kind of ignored the city center. I do not regret that choice. Because first, I love the ocean, and second, I saw probably the second most beautiful sunset of my life (sorry Spain, Hawaii still wins on this count). It was nice to walk in cold sand. It got dark, I had dinner with friends (which, as per usual, means sitting for 2 hours at a table and just talking--eating consumes very little of "dinner time"). I then went and had ice cream (because it was only 9 pm!) and we returned to the hotel.
Our intention was to "salir de marcha" (or, go out clubbing), but upon consultation of my guidebook, I discovered the absolute lack of clubs, or even active bars, near our present location. Most of us were pretty tired by this point, because (in my case) all the travelling and going out was really catching up to me. So, we gathered in my friend Audra's hotel room and watched...MTV, of course. Except oddly, MTV was in German. It didn't matter--it was brainless enough that we all found it amusing.
After a solid 8 hours of sleep in our very nice hotel, I proceeded down to get breakfast, then decided to look for a store that sold postcards so I could get a souvenier of my time in Cádiz. However, no stores were open! So, afrer 20 minutes of fruitless searching, I came back and had more food from the buffet. I also had the misfortune to witness an American tourist (and his wife) with the biggest anger management problems I had ever seen. 2 friends of mine had sat at an empty table which had untouched silverware, but a jacket slung over one of the seats. Thinking someone had just forgotten their jacket, they proceeded to sit down and commence eating. The next thing we knew, a man just started yelling "this is OUR table" and threw my friend's room key on the floor! It was so appalling. I mean, such a big reaction to such a small problem! But, that aside, breakfast was lovely.
We got back on the bus and headed to la Yeguada de la Cartuja, home to the famous "cartujano" breed of horses. This is mainly a center used for breeding, but after a tour (I saw a newborn horse! So adorable!) we got to see their "espectaculo", or horse show. It was pretty lame. There were a couple of horses who pranced around, some groups of horses that ran in a pack (and stopped on command), and carriages that made an expo. All of this set to very cheesy music...and combined with our general tiredness, it was just dull. But, we got a free glass of sherry at the end! At that point, I thought I liked sherry...
So from there, we made our way to the most anticipated spot on this trip: the Bodega de Vino de Jerez. Sherry, by the way, is the anglocized way to say Jerez, so it's pretty obvious what the main product of the region is. In fact, it's the only region in the world which can grow grapes and call them sherry. Our "bodega" of choice was a winery called Tío Pepe. We were all starving when we got there (amazing how dependent I am on the merienda (second breakfast)), but there was no time for food. We were whisked away on a tour of the winery (another ridiculous video), which lasted an hour, and then FINALLY were led to a tent with tables stocked with various finger foods--which we promptly devoured.
In terms of "sherry tasting", there was a small bottle of dry sherry on the table, and then we were given a small glass of sweet sherry to go with lunch. The problem is that 1. I don't really like how sherry tastes but 2. I forgot to drink water. So, though I wasn't drunk by any means, I fell asleep on the bus back and woke up with the worst headache. It didn't help that we were driving through mountains at the time. At the rest stop, I chugged my water bottle and bought some bread (it was actually more like a gingerbread muffin) and just slept the rest of the way back to Granada. I was not alone in my discomfort--most of the people in my program will now cringe when you mention "Tío Pepe".
And, that's it! It's kind of ridiculous to think I only have 5 more weeks here...I registered for classes yesterday, which was surreal. It's weird because I have just gotten accustomed to living here, but I really do miss certain things about the USA (efficiency, for example). So it's like...I'm simultaneously sad and happy to leave. Oh well, no more sentimentalizing. I need to get back to work!
Hola, todos! Well, my time in Spain has passed the halfway mark by a week or so, and I have another trip to update y'all on! I have been crazy busy since my return from Morocco--apparently, I chose a study abroad program that actually has a challenging curriculum that requires us to write papers and make presentations. I have found the worst possible format for evaluation in a class: the group paper. I have to write one for 2 of my classes, and it's driving me a little crazy. As many of you know, I write papers (by myself) for basically all my classes at home, and have my own special work ethic for doing so. Depending on other people to write things, which then have to be checked over and stylized the same is really stressing me out. I know it's supposed to make writing the papers less burdensome, but it doesn't really.
ANYWAYS, that's my rant on that topic. I'll talk about my trip to Madrid now, which took place the weekend after I got back from Morocco. After our 5 day weekend, we had another 4 day weekend (thanks, All Souls Day!), and my housemate Keely and I took advantage of this and flew to Spain's capital. Now, I know I usually write a long and detailed analysis of my trip, but I figure it will be much more reader friendly (and less time consuming on my part) to make a couple lists which describe the trip.
Éxitos! (Successes)
- Picking a hostal (which, I have learned, is different from a hostel--hostal with an "a" designates a place that's more like a small, 2 star hotel) which happened to be in the middle of a very busy shopping district and ridiculously close to the main plaza, Plaza Mayor. Also, it was really clean and the people at the front desk were super nice and helpful
- Successfully navigating the Madrid metro system and not getting lost once.
- Going to the Prado!!! And seeing Las Meninas and other amazing works by Velasquez, Goya and Caravaggio (among others)
- They have guidebook dispensing machines in the important galleries of the Prado. Put in a euro, and it spits out this handy little book that will describe the works more in depth. I got one. It was awesome!
- Also, the Prado has a highlights tour. Very helpful.
- Seeing the Parque de Buen Retiro--so peaceful!
- Not getting pickpocketed
- Finally viewing "Guernica" at the Museo de Reina Sofia. I liked that gallery, which also featured paintings by Miró and Dalí. The bottom floor of the museum, however, was filled with modern art which I didn't like as much
- Not spending too much money on food/souveniers/anything in general. Discounted entry into the museums helped a lot
- Actually getting up in time to catch our 6:30 AM flight out of Madrid
- Art museum gift shops= super win
- THAI FOOD at a restaurant near our hostal. SO DELICIOUS. I have never eaten fried rice that fast in my life.
- Randomly seeing a CD signing/release party outside of a Corté Inglés. Also, visiting lots of bookstores.
- Madrid is a very pretty city, in general. I'm very glad I visited.
Cosas Desafortunadas (Unfortunate Things)
- Big cities are tiring. We really didn't have the energy to go out much at night, though we did go to a couple bars. Also, clubs in big cities are expensive and the one near our hostal looked kind of exclusive
- I had compiled a list of places recommended by the NYT to see, which included some out of the way plazas with cute stores. Though we tried, and found the place on maps, we just couldn't find the streets that would lead us there. This was depressing. Madrid is confusing and our map was bad.
- Plaza Mayor is SO TOURISTY. In fact, all of Madrid is. No one would speak to us in Spanish. It was kind of frustrating.
- The metro doesn't start running until 6 AM. We had to be at the airport before that. Cue waking up at 3:30 to catch a cab at 4 to get back to Barajas. Actually, we had to get up really early to catch our flight to Madrid, too. But they were cheap so...
- Eating cheese sandwiches a lot because vegetarian options are not so varied at the tapas places/restaurants in Madrid
- Halloween is kind of lame in Spain. People just dressed up and went about their usual Friday night. We walked down Gran Vía and found lots of people our age drinking in a public square, but it was getting a little scary.
- I wanted to buy a Real Madrid jersey, but they were all RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I should have bought one in Morocco. Now I'll just buy one in Granada, I guess.
- So. Much. Walking. I think my feet were going to secede by the end of this trip.
Actually, that's it for the bad things. Like I said, this was a pretty easy and good visit, though I would love to go back another time and explore the things we missed (and find Plaza de la Paja...seriously...). I have a nice Spain guidebook, but it's heavy so I usually leave it behind. I wish I hadn't, because it would have been nice to have a general list of clubs, restaurants, sights, etc. But oh well! It was a good trip, and I had another day to relax before we had to go back to school (well, I spent most of it sleeping...)
Other things that have happened since my last post: KRISTINA CAME TO VISIT. She came in the day after we got back from Madrid, and therefore I haven't really had much time to rest/do homework, so that makes me stressed. BUT I had such a good time with Kristina and her friends that I don't really care! We went to lots of tapas bars and a tetería (tea lounge), a couple clubs, karaoke, and shopping. She and I bought the most ridiculous pairs of harem pants I've ever seen, but they're so comfortable! I was really sad to see her go, but I'm so happy that she could come visit. You have no idea how good it was to see a familiar face and talk about Rice stuff!
This Friday we have our last IES-sponsored trip to Cádiz and Jérez. I can't believe that time is going by so fast! Now back to homework...hasta luego!
Hello everyone! We're almost at the 2 month mark of my stay here in Spain. I'm not exactly sure where time has gone--but this realization is no different from what I have every semester at school! I cannot believe that it's almost November! I feel like I've gotten the hang of living in Spain now and that my life has settled into a routine. That being said, it's time for me to recount the trip I took this past weekend, which involved me leaving the country...twice!
The trip began on Thursday morning (not too early, thankfully). I, along with 30 other people from my program, got on a bus and began the trip from Granada to Gibraltar. It was really nice traveling with a smaller group...when you go with 80 other people, you feel like you're part of an endless mob. 30 people made the trip a lot quieter, and also a lot less cumbersome.
So, GIBRALTAR. As some of you may know, it is actually a British enclave on the edge of Spain. Therefore, after we checked into our hotel and had lunch (still in Spain) we walked for about 15 minutes and just crossed the border into the UK! It was pretty cool to see signs/menus/everything in English again. The people in Gibraltar speak a mix of English and Spanish, but our guide mainly stuck to English, due to everyone's varying levels of Spanish skill. My absolute adoration of everything British meant that I was basically giddy at everything during this little trip. Here's a picture of the Rock of Gibraltar,to give you an idea about how small the area actually is:
Anyways, after a tour around the island, we stopped at a place called St. Michael's Cave. The guide mainly talked about the monkeys who live near the cave (more about them in a minute), but didn't mention that the cave was this amazing natural wonder. It was kind of like Natural Bridge Caverns in Texas...not very touristy but there was a random stage set in the middle of one of the caverns. Very impressive and so gorgeous!
Now, about the monkeys--Gibraltar has this random population of apes (they're not actually monkeys because they don't have tails) which live on the "Upper Rock" nature preserve. They're really cute and totally not afraid of humans--one nearly jumped into our bus while we were driving to St. Michael's Cave. The guides feed them to entice them into posing with us, but even if you don't, they often just use the tourists for climbing poles without prior notice. Example: A guide got a monkey to pose with me. This monkey then moved off of me to another person. Just as I was standing up again, another monkey jumped on my head! I had about a heart attack, but it was cool nonetheless.
After viewing the gorgeous view of the Strait of Gibraltar, we had a free night. However, there was a slight problem: everything (aka tourist souvenier stores) closed at like 7 pm! Very different from Granada, where these things are open until 10 or later. But we found a place to have fish and chips (when in Britain, do as the British do...), walked around a bit, watched an amazing sunset, and had ice cream at a pub. We then proceeded back to our hotel.
Very early the next morning we got on the bus and drove to the port of Algeciras. From there, we divided into 2 groups, and met our guides for the Moroccan part of our voyage. Our guide's name was Sarah and she was so cool! She had been in the Peace Corps in the rural Atlas Mountains, had gotten engaged to another Peace Corps volunteer, and was staying in Morocco working until she goes to nursing school back in the States next spring.
Anyways, in order to get to Morocco you have to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, which means we got to take a ferry (Cue "I'm on a Boat" references here). The voyage was a little shaky, and I'm very glad I don't get seasick. But, since it was so early, we were able to see the sun rise over the rock of Gibraltar. So stunning! After crossing the Strait, we had to sit in the port in Tangier for about 30 minutes due to traffic, then got to disembark.
Morocco is...kind of beyond definition. It definitely wasn't what I expected. If you've been to India, it's very similar, but a little cleaner and all Muslim. Islamic culture really defines Morocco--everything stops 5 times a day when the call to prayer is sounded. Also, most women wear headscarves. The fact that religion is such a large part of life makes the idea of secular government really difficult, but that doesn't mean the government isn't trying. Apparently, women who wear the hijab are banned from holding positions in the tourism industry, and are severely discriminated against in government positions or teaching.
We went from the port to a nearby women's center, where women who are divorced or illiterate or want a career can go to learn some basic skills to help them survive independently. We had two student guides who then sat down and talked to us about Moroccan life and culture in general, which was really cool. We also had AMAZING tea (this is going to be a pattern over the next few days), followed by a really delicious lunch in the center's restaurant (finally! food with flavor! I was so happy). And then we were off again, this time to Rabat, the capital city. It was a long bus ride, punctuated with tea breaks, and a random stop for us to ride CAMELS (for like 5 minutes each), but we finally arrived and met our host families. I stayed with two other girls from my group in a room that would not have been out of place in my mental conception of an medieval Asian palace.
Our host family was wonderful and welcoming--but the language barrier was so painfully present that it kind of made things difficult. At first, the only person in the household who spoke English was a 13 year old girl...and while she understood the basics, our introductory walk through the Medina (old city) was filled with lots of awkward attempts at explanations. Luckily, one of the girls from IES spoke basic French, so that made communicating with the house mom at least possible (I don't know any Arabic, and the little I had learned from our phrase guide vanished from my head almost immediately). We had dinner, and were so exhausted that we almost fell asleep at the dinner table. Oddly, after flipping channels, our host mom decided to watch a Coldplay concert on MTV Arabia. It's amazing how American culture permeates everywhere. And then we went to sleep
The next day, we got up to a delicious breakfast (more tea! And Moroccan style pancakes! So good!) cooked by our host mom, then headed out for another long day of cultural immersion (sort of). We began by visiting the IES Rabat center, which just opened, and having more tea and cookies with the students who are studying there. That was pretty nice. Then, we visited an ancient (ruined) mosque that's kept as a historical monument in the middle of the city, followed by Roman ruins on the outskirts. Those ruins were super cool--there was a pond there where women go to wish for fertility. They do this by throwing a hard boiled egg to the eels who live in the pond. If the eel eats the egg, congratulations! For those who aren't really looking to pursue that goal, there's a submerged disc in the pond. If you throw a coin and it hits the disc, you will meet many beautiful people of whichever gender you prefer. My nickel landed firmly on it, so bring on the beautiful men!
After this, we returned to our house to eat lunch with the family. This was fun because the elder daughter (who was 18) was home at this time, and also spoke english so we could talk to someone new. While we were eating, I looked over at the television and she was watching Zee TV Arabia! For those of you who don't know, that's a very popular Indian satellite channel. I was therefore able to talk about Bollywood with her, and that was so cool! After lunch, we took a much-needed siesta, then proceeded back to the meeting point for our next activity: meeting with Moroccan students.
Now, I was excited about this because I thought it would be fun to go shopping with said students and just have a nice relaxing afternoon. However, the problem is that all of the students who showed up to guide us around were guys. Cue one of the most awkward afternoons of my life. There were 4 of us (all girls) with three guys, all of whom I think were students (some groups had people who weren't students). They didn't really want to go shopping. They took us around to lots of pretty views, and then reluctantly took us to the marketplace. But the marketplace was crowded and kind of stressful, and our guides were obviously not into it at all. They kind of rotated around, talking to all of us, so I'd like to equate it to 3 weird first dates at once. We were exhausted, so we convinced them to stop and get tea. After that, we returned to the meeting point and said goodbye. Our guides weren't nearly as bad/sketchy as other groups, but it was just weird not having ANY girls and the setup was just kind of strange in general.
We quickly returned to our homestays and got ready to go to the hammam, or Arab baths. This was an...interesting experience. In my mind, I pictured an Arab bath like those we had learned about: 3 rooms (one for cold water, one warm, one hot), with people getting massages and manicures etc. However, most of these type of bathhouses are only open to women during the day (only one gender is allowed inside, obviously), so the one we went to was very small and basic. It was a good "bath", but there were so many of us that it was also crowded and a little clausterphobic. I had a good time, but most people were relieved to leave at the end. And then it was time for henna! Everyone got a simple design on the back of their hands. We were then beyond exhausted, so we proceeded back to our homestay, had a late dinner, and crashed again.
Btw, the reason there aren't a lot of pictures is that 1. My camera was dying at the time and 2. I really didn't want to make myself look like any more of a tourist than I already did. We didn't really see much during this day, so don't worry!
Day 3 was just as busy as the rest. We got up early (again), said goodbye to our host family (this was actually kind of sad--they were SO NICE and so welcoming!), and got on the bus to leave Rabat. Unfortunately, some of the people in our group had a bad reaction to the tuna from dinner the night before, so they looked pretty ill. And the road was not very hospitable to ill people--very windy, lots of hills. Even I got a little carsick. We ended up at a small village in rural Morocco, where we ate lunch at a farm with a Moroccan family. They were such gracious hosts--they had no qualms talking to us about their lives and sharing their food. Their farm was gorgeous and their kids were adorable!
After lunch, we proceeded to Chefchaouen, which literally means "look at the peaks". Here's a picture of the sunset we saw on the way there:
This city was far more touristy than Rabat, but so adorable! It's built into the mountain, so it's a little difficult to get around, but in general, I really liked it. What I didn't enjoy was the people openly gawking at us and saying obnoxious things in Arabic that we couldn't understand. Actually, sometimes they said them in English too. We had a couple hours to go shopping, so we did--but I'm not the biggest fan of bartering so I had a really tough time. I got a ring, a present for my sister, and a wallet. We then had dinner at a nice restaurant that served us traditional Moroccan food (mine was kind of like a vegetable pie. It was SO GOOD! And then pomegranate with honey for dessert). Our group practically took up our entire hostel, so we returned there, and had a rooftop reflection session about the trip. Then sleep again.
Yesterday was just a travelling day. We made our way from Chefchaouen to Ceuta, one of two Spanish enclaves on the North Coast of Africa. Crossing the border was really interesting. See, it's really hard for Moroccan people to get visas to cross into Spain (similar to the Mexico/US situation), so at the border, there were lots of sketchy people around. Furthermore, much like India, the concept of "orderly line" hasn't really developed. We didn't have to stand in line, but people with Moroccan passports did and it was chaos. The guards were only letting in 15 people at a time, but when they opened the gate, everyone surged forward. They then actually beat people back (with a belt/whip) to close the gate again. It was pretty shocking to see.
We then proceeded to literally walk into Spain, then go back to the ferry terminal. We had a final farewell drink with our wonderful guide, got on the boat, and made a (much shorter and smoother) crossing back to mainland Spain. Then back on a bus for a long journey back to Granada.
This trip was just surreal. It is impossible for me to comprehend that yesterday I was in AFRICA and today everything is just back to normal. I've seen and experienced so many things that I never thought I would/could do in my life, and it was just beyond amazing. I can't describe it, but I feel like I've changed as a result of this trip. It's weird.
Alright, well stay tuned because in 3 days I'm going to Madrid for another long weekend (yes, I do have class occasionally, they just give us lots of days off)!
If you haven't gotten a postcard from me yet (and are expecting one), one major obstacle in my sending it to you has disappeared. The Alhambra Palace is Granada's most notable landmark, and therefore is featured in about 80% of postcards sold in the city. I felt severely guilty sending postcards which featured something I hadn't visited yet, but all of that changed today because I WENT TO THE ALHAMBRA AND IT WAS AWESOME!!! 
Palacio Carlos V, not part of the original structure
- The highest tower is called the Torre de Homenaje (Tower of Homage). It features a small palace where the Sultan lived while he was constructing the rest of the palace
- There are three walls which surround the complex, which is built on top of a mountain. It's basically impossible to attack successfully, and if you want to starve out the inhabitants, good luck. There are fields and huge water reservoirs within the Alhambra that will sustain the city for (according to the guide) hundreds of years.
- The previously mentioned Camino de Ronda runs between the first and second walls. If an army successfully scaled the first wall, they would be stuck because the second wall curves and they would be fired upon from all directions
- It's very well laid out: there's even a stable for people to check in their horses (this was one of the restricted areas: literally no one ever goes there...except us). There are also passageways within towers so that if you're guarding the first wall, and it falls, you can easily move to the second wall (this never happened).
- There are palaces in several of the towers. This was weird because on the outside, the towers look like completely defensive structures. But they were gorgeous! A lot of these were restricted as well, because some of them feature THE ORIGINAL ART FROM THE 1300s. Some parts have been restored, and some defaced by previous generations of tourists but it was unreal to see them.
So I've already hinted a little as to what the restricted tour meant. Basically, we got followed around by a docent who unlocked areas that regular tourists cannot get into. This included a couple of the towers (where we always got to go to the very top), one of those passageways which connected the outer wall to the tower, the "exit road" from the Alhambra, and the Camino de Ronda. I cannot stress enough how amazing this was, so I'll just put up pictures now. 
Those look like bricks, yes? Actually, they're paintings of bricks. See, the sultan who built the Alhambra was poor and couldn't afford bricks of uniform size. To save face, he painted the irregular bricks white, then painted a brick design on top. This is original paint!!!
ORIGINAL PAINT FTW
One of the prettiest roses I've ever seen
Not the best picture, but taken from the second floor of the Torre de las Infantas (Tower of the Princesses). There's a cute story here. So, there was a Sultan who married a Christian princess (she was a captive who was kept in a different tower before finally deciding to marry the Sultan). They had 3 daughters, and the Sultan was afraid that his girls would fall in love with random, unworthy men. So, when they reached their preteen years, he locked them in this tower. It's gorgeous, so they didn't suffer too much, I don't think. Anyways, they ended up falling in love with 3 Christian princes who happened to be prisoners (and slaves) at the Alhambra. They decided to run off with said princes, but at the last minute, the youngest decided to stay behind and not leave their father (she was his favorite daughter, I think). Anyways, this was one of the restricted areas, so the docent unlocked the door to let us in, then locked us in so that other tourists didn't follow us. When it was time to get out, however, she could not unlock the door again. So we were all standing in this dark hallway for about 15 minutes. I really wanted to send a text that was like "Hi I'm trapped in an Alhambra tower, no joke" but the only US phone numbers in my phone are my parent's, and I don't think they would have been amused.
This weekend, I took my first real trip without adult guidance and went, with a group of 3 other girls, to Barcelona. As many of you know, I only have classes Monday-Thursday every week, giving me Friday to travel. Furthermore, today is a national holiday (thanks, Christopher Columbus!), so that gave me a 4 day weekend. Made for vacation? Yes, absolutely.
So here's how it went. On Thursday, in the late afternoon, we caught the bus which goes from the Granada city center to the airport. I really REALLY wish that Houston had a similar bus (I know, there's one that goes to Bush, but it costs wayyy more than this one does), but I know it's pretty much impossible because Houston does not have a "city center". This bus has several stops along the major thoroughfares of Granada, and at the main bus station here, and it only took about 40 minutes to get to the airport--all for 3 euro. It was awesome! Anyways, got to the airport and caught our RyanAir flight to Girona, a town about an hour outside of Barcelona. From there, we got on a bus for an hour-long journey to Barcelona, then caught a cab to our hostel. I was a little nervous about staying in a hostel, but it worked out really well. We booked a little too late to have a private room for the four of us, so Audra and I stayed in a room with 4 other people (all really nice--it was kind of like a sleepover most nights), while Caroline and Madeline stayed in a room with 8 other people. They provided sheets and breakfast, and since they were a "non-partying" hostel, it was always pretty quiet.
Barcelona is a much bigger city than Granada (I'm sure everyone already knew that). Upside? A METRO SYSTEM that goes everywhere. Downside? Much more confusing once you're on the street. More on that later. The first morning, we cheerily made our way to the nearest Metro station and disembarked at Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's ultimate architectural masterpiece that has been under construction since the 1830s. That's right--it's still not finished (and will not be finished until 2030-ish). But have a look at a picture and you will immediately understand why it's not finished:
To say that it is a complicated design is a HUGE understatement. This place was ridiculous! So many intricate details...when it is finished, it will have a tower for each of the Apostles, one for Mary and a GINORMOUS (but as of yet unconstructed) tower for Jesus, of course. I could go on and on forever about how amazing this place was and how awestruck I was by it, but instead I'll just put up a picture of the epic stained glass windows and tell you to get yourself to Barcelona ASAP so that you can see this. I'll be going back in 2030, if anyone wants to reserve a seat on that trip preemptively ;)
We decided to also knock out the other major Gaudí landmark of Barcelona, Parc Güell. Originally, it was designed by Gaudí for a friend who wanted to make the area into a residential neighborhood. But, that idea was never completed (thank goodness), so it's just a huge, quirky park filled with all sorts of interesting architecture and landscaping. Here's a spot ANTM fans might recognize:
Ring a bell? No? Well then try and imagine Caridee and Melrose running through it in wedding dresses. That's right people: Tyra Banks was here. So was the ANTM finale fashion show. It was hard to imagine lots of people sitting around in this area for that sort of thing, but it was cool nonetheless. We also saw the world's longest continuous bench (too big to take a picture, sorry), houses that looked like they were from Hansel & Gretel, and obnoxious British schoolchildren. After all that, we were very tired, so we went back to the hostel and had a siesta.
And then...we meant to go out and have a night on the town, but I messed up. The guy at the hostel gave us directions, but they weren't very clear. Once we got off the Metro, I got myself oriented in the completely wrong direction...and after discovering a correct crosstreet, led my group valiently in this direction for about 40 minutes. Then we had to go back to starting position, and walk further to the recommended restaurant. After that, and a brief visit to a shot bar (where they set LOTS of shots on fire), we were exhausted. We returned to the hostel and slept.
The next morning, Audra and I got up and took the Funicular (best word ever) de Montjüic to the Fundació Juan Miró. I'm usually not one for abstract art, but my Mom loves Miró, and I've gotten pretty fond of him over the years, so I had to go check it out. It was an awesome museum--really nicely designed with a great variety of his works. Well, that was to be expected considering that it is THE Miró museum (he made works especially for it, like a really big tapestry). Though I wasn't the biggest fan of some of his pieces, I enjoyed the temporary exhibit, which focused on his friendship with the poet Jacques Dupin. Dupin would write a poem, print it on canvas, and then Miró would illustrate it. I wish I could have been able to understand the poems (they were all in French), but the concept behind the art was really cool nonetheless.
Then, we went to La Rambla, Barcelona's biggest (and most touristy) street to meet the other two girls. I had happily discovered Barcelona's Little India (suprisingly, there are A LOT of Indian people living in Barcelona) the night before, so I bought some samosas and devoured them. It was nice having spices in my food for once. Anyways, we went to a restaurant because not everyone was satisfied with the prospect of Indian street food, and promptly got ripped off. The waiter made us all order drinks--which turned out to be about half a liter each. We then found out (due to the horrified exclamation from an American family nearby) that these drinks were going to cost us 11 euro. Most expensive Coke of my life, but whatever, you live and learn. We went shopping on another nearby street, which featured another house designed by Gaudí (seriously, Gaudí is the man). I got pajama pants that have illustrations from The Little Prince on them! But after shopping for several hours, we were all exhausted. Again, we made an attempt to go out, but ended up watching Slumdog Millionaire in the hostel lounge. We met some fellow travellers though, so that was cool.
Sunday, Audra and I got up a little early and went walking to the beach. It was gorgeous, and I wish I had been able to spend lots of time (i.e. a full day) there, but unfortunately we had other places to go so I could only take some pictures:
After this, we decided to go the Gothic Quarter, which was a really gorgeous old neighborhood. It had a cathedral AND a castle, but it took a really long time to walk there from the beach. By the time we got there, we had only enough time to dash around quickly and look at a few things before almost running back to the hostel. Our flight was at 6, but again we had to catch the bus to Girona, so we had to leave Barcelona at 3:30. I really wish we had had more time (like 2 days), but we definitely packed a lot into a short time so I have no regrets.
In general, I just think I'm not a fan of big cities. They have their benefits (better variety of stores, more stuff to do, easier mass transit system, etc.) but also their downsides (more touristy, way more expensive, harder to navigate). I was really glad to get back to Granada! We were rewarded on the tarmac by a gorgeous sunset:
I'm pretty proud of myself. I've never travelled with absolutely zero adult guidance, and it definitely made me feel very grown up to do so. Walking around a foreign city with no one telling you what to do or where to go is quite liberating. I'm definitely looking forward to my Madrid trip in a couple of weeks!
Actually, there's a lot I'm looking forward to. I'm going to Morocco with my program in 2 weeks, followed by Madrid, followed by KRISTINA coming to visit me (!!!), followed by 2 nights in Cádiz with IES. I am going to be dead by November, but that's OK, because travelling is an important part of the study abroad experience (or at least, that's how I'm justifying it to myself). I still haven't been to the Alhambra, but hopefully that's going to happen soon!
I'll update again soon. Hasta luego!
P.S. If you're reading this, Happy Birthday Kelsey! P.P.S Also, if you're wondering why the title isn't in Spanish, it's because they speak Catalán, a weird mixture of Spanish and French, in Barcelona (and all of it's surrounding province, Cataluña). I didn't learn any, but that's just one more reason why Barcelona is super cool.
Consider the following: this gate (it's the Puerta de Bib Rambla, just in case you were wondering) was constructed, used, and probably to some degree abandoned 200 years BEFORE the first European colony in North America was founded. 
