Time Flies...

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!

Mi viaje a Madrid

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)

1. 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
2. Successfully navigating the Madrid metro system and not getting lost once.
3. Going to the Prado!!! And seeing Las Meninas and other amazing works by Velasquez, Goya and Caravaggio (among others)
4. 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!
5. Also, the Prado has a highlights tour. Very helpful.
6. Seeing the Parque de Buen Retiro--so peaceful!
7. Not getting pickpocketed
8. 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
9. Not spending too much money on food/souveniers/anything in general. Discounted entry into the museums helped a lot
10. Actually getting up in time to catch our 6:30 AM flight out of Madrid
11. Art museum gift shops= super win
12. THAI FOOD at a restaurant near our hostal. SO DELICIOUS. I have never eaten fried rice that fast in my life.
13. Randomly seeing a CD signing/release party outside of a Corté Inglés. Also, visiting lots of bookstores.
    
14. Madrid is a very pretty city, in general. I'm very glad I visited.

Cosas Desafortunadas (Unfortunate Things)

1. 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
2. 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.
   
3. Plaza Mayor is SO TOURISTY. In fact, all of Madrid is. No one would speak to us in Spanish. It was kind of frustrating.
   
4. 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...
5. Eating cheese sandwiches a lot because vegetarian options are not so varied at the tapas places/restaurants in Madrid
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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!