Un fin de semana en Granada

¿Qué tal?  ¡He pasado casi tres meses aquí en España y todavía tengo más viajes y actividades para realizar!  (Casi uno cada fin de semana)  También mi español es mejor que antes... ¡Qué bueno!

This week has been so busy!  I had two exams, two papers, and a creative assignment due.  (I still have one more paper to write...so not much has changed with my study habits)  I had to write down everything I did last weekend however otherwise I wouldn't have had time because in less than 24 hours I will be traveling to Italy! (Rome and Venice).

So this weekend Victoria and I went on a night tour of the Alhambra.  It was fun to hear the legends and learn a bit more about the gardens surrounding it.  It wasn't exactly what we were expecting however.  A lot of it was like a biology lesson and it got a little weird when the tour guide sat us down and played flamenco music from a boom box he happened to have in his backpack...hmmm  But it was worth the experience!

The next day (Friday) Victoria and I traveled to Nerja, a small beach town about 2hrs from Granada.  We spent the day laying on the beach, walking around the town, climbing over rocks, and visiting the Balcony of Europe (one of the best views of the Mediterranean) with our friends Casey and Shannon.   It was great to get to spend a day relaxing and taking in the beautiful weather in Spain.

On Saturday we were very busy!  It started with making paella with our host mom for lunch.  She taught us all of her secrets and it was awesome to spend some time with her.  We wrote down all of the steps to make sure we got it right...if some of you are lucky you might get to try my homemade paella this summer :)  After that we went out for coffee and dessert with our host mom and dad because it was our host mom's birthday.  It is always so interesting to spend time with them.  Obviously Maria tried to make us eat about three desserts, take one to go, have a coffee and a chocolate milkshake.  We successfully avoided being uncomfortable full by tell her her we were participating in the well know Spanish "Operación Bikini".  That is what all the girls here call diet and exercise right before bathing suit season!  It was fun to hear all about Semana Santa from them and also here their opinions about gypsies, Africans, etc.  Let me just tell you...the Spanish are very blunt!  Next we went to a flamenco show in Granada.  It was amazing! Not quite as awesome as the first show I saw but it still gave me the chills.  The best part was that the stage had a glass background and you could see the Alhambra at night!  Finally, we went out for tapas and bar hopping after the show at the Plaza de Toros.  It was a lot of fun...so much fun in fact that we didn't get home until 5am!  Ooops!  I guess we really are adjusting to the Spanish lifestyle :)

Well, that is all for now, sorry no pictures this time!  Can't wait to tell you all about Italia!

LAS FALLAS!!! (Un viaje a otro mundo)

¡Hola todos! ¿Qué pasa? ¿Pasasteis bien este fin de semana? Me habeis dicho que hace bueno tiempo en Nueva Hampshire.  ¡El fin de semana pasado yo fui a Valencia para la fiesta de Las Fallas y fue increible!

We spent 3 nights in Valencia, Spain for Las Fallas.  What is Las Fallas you ask?  Well, it is only the single most surreal experience I have ever had in my entire life!

We stayed right outside of the city in a town called Gandía.  Here we were able to spend time at the beach, swim in the Mediterranean, and eat a huge paella lunch as a group!  Every night we took the train into Valencia to walk around and see las fallas.  That is, all of the HUGE statues around the city.  The city was literally shut down for a week so that all of the statues could be built, celebrated, and parades could occur.  Overall, there were about 700 fallas ranging in size from the size of a car to as tall at city buildings!  Now that isn't even the crazy part...the crazy thing is that THEY SET THEM ALL ON FIRE IN ONE NIGHT!!!! The city literally burned on Monday night...we were covered in ash and could feel the heat from at least a street away.  Not to mention that everywhere you walked you had to watch out for children setting things on fire or setting off fireworks.  Literally everyone had explosives and the explosions/party never stopped... not even when you wanted to go to bed.  It was quite an experience to say the least, but it was also just a fun atmosphere overall.  The people were really friendly and walking around we were able to make so many friends.  (People from Valencia are much more friendly than in Granada.  Granadinos actually have a reputation for being more serious, etc...kind of like New England!)  I mean I guess it helped that everyone in Valencia was drunk for the entire week...soooo needless to say they were willing to talk!  But anyway, here are a few pictures to try and describe the experience to you all in a bit more detail:

Here is Brenna and me in front of one of the first fallas we saw.  It was one of the ones that was as tall as the buildings surrounding it.  Now just try to imagine the size of the flames!

Here is part of one of the traditional parades.  All ages and genders participated.  Every single person in Valencia participates in some way.  It is almost like two different fiestas...one private one that all of the residents participate in and another for those who just watch, but can never participate.  (This all started to honor Joseph, the father of Jesus because they used to burn their extra wood, you know Joseph the carpenter, but since then it has just turned into a crazy event...both religious and blasphemous!)

Everyone just hanging out in the streets after a night of seeing las fallas.  We met a bunch of Spanish kids our age and they invited us to go see the fireworks with them...unfortunately we had to catch a train, but it was fun getting to talk with them!

La calle de las luces with Melanie, Bev, and Victoria...it was unbelievable when the did a light show!

One of my favorite fallas that I got to see burn! (Many times the statues were of politicians or people in pop culture.  A lot of it was criticism on society, but we couldn't understand it because it was all written about in Valencian which is a dialect of Catalan)

My favorite falla! I was able to see this one burn as well...UNREAL  It was literally like being in a different world for the weekend.

Another gorgeous falla!

Okay well you get a double picture because I tried deleting this twice and had to start my blog over again...twice (I really am terrible at technology)

The coolest/weirdest/scariest parade I have ever witnesses!  People were dressed up as bats and devils, people were on stilts, and all of them were shooting fire at you!

My favorite falla burning!  Before they would actually burn they light explosives that set off fireworks, etc.  That is how you knew where to go to watch the fallas burn, although you couldn't miss it because there was literally one down every single street!

This was the Cremá, that is to say the finale!  The entire night ended with a huge fireworks display and burning of the biggest falla.  It was something out of a comic book...I mean look at the photo!  There is no way that that was real life!  Complete and utter controlled chaos...Spain got it right!

So we had a very full weekend.  We even managed to fit in one of the best aquariums in the world! It was really a great experience!  We didn't get back until Tuesday morning at 10am however...so much for Monday classes or my 8:30 am midterm on Tuesday... luckily since it was my professor's fault that we missed class (he got the dates wrong) I can make up my test!

Final thought: We got to go to beach, see the world burn, and on the way home we drove through Narnia (aka a blizzard).  I have no idea how I managed to experience all of those things, but it was worth it and I would do it again in a heart a beat!  ONLY IN SPAIN!

Sevilla y Córdoba

Alright, so last weekend I went to Sevilla and Córdoba with my group from UNH.  You are all pretty lucky that you even get to hear about it because I have all of a sudden become incredibly busy! (with stuff like homework...what is that? I don't even remember how to do it anymore!)  But anyway, since I never procrastinate doing my work or anything I have completed all of it so that I can tell you what I have been up to. (That is a complete lie...obviously I am doing this instead of writing papers and studying for tests)

Anyway, it was a really busy weekend because we did two cities in two days.  Our first stop was Sevilla.  The first place we visited was Plaza de España.  It was pretty much a public gathering place with a moat you could paddle boats in, a fountain in the center, horses, and some amazing architecture.  Many famous movies have actually been filmed there which is pretty cool.  All along the walls there are different mosaics dedicated to each province within Andalucía and each of the 4 bridges represent the first 4 kingdoms that united to form modern Spain: Aragon, Castille, León, y Navarra.

Next we moved on the Alcazar.  This is basically just a castle and military fortification.  It was AMAZING!  Everything had an Arab as well as Christian influence.  We got to tour the inside of it and the gardens.  It is still in use as a palace, and the upper rooms remain prepared for the arrival of the royal family at any moment!  We then took a break for lunch and sangria...yum! We got to eat outside by one of the main monuments and listen to Spanish guitar music...it really doesn't get any better than that, especially with the extremely good weather we have been having (but I hear you have great weather at home home too).  After lunch we went to the Cathedral of Sevilla.  This was a very cool experience because I learned about that exact cathedral in my art class, and I actually got to see it in person!  My favorite part was climbing the bell tower.  It is called the Giralda because in Spanish the verb girar means to turn and it has a weather vane on the top of it that turns...so hence the name Giralda.  It was a great view of Sevilla from the top!  Here are a few photos:

The inside of the Alcazar...the patio actually. I have more pictures of the inside, but this was one of my favorite parts.

Gardens of the Alcazar! Awesome to walk through

The pond in the Alcazar with Brenna, Sarah, and Melanie!

La Giralda...we climbed that tower in the Catedral de Sevilla :)

Oh right...did I mention that in the Cathedral we got to see the tomb of Christopher Columbus?  So cool.

We made it up the bell tower!!

Below: The view from the top!

Plaza de España!!!

 You can see some of the brides, the moat, and fountain.

Us on the Puente de León! (look at all the mosaic!)

That night we went to see a play called "El perro de hortelano"...it was a comedy and actually pretty funny!  Much easier to understand this time because we read the play in class before actually going to see it!



The next day we went to Córdoba, my favorite stop of the trip.  First up was the ruins of Medina al-Zahra.  Although that is in Arabic, it translates into The City of Sarah.  The legend of this city is that the Arab king of the time married a girl from Granada named Sarah, but she was always sad because she did not see the snow or landscape of the Sierra Nevadas.  In one night, in order to cheer her up the king built this new city to resemble Granada and planted thousands of cherry trees to blossom white and resemble the Sierra Nevadas...que romántico!  In reality however, it was the strongest and most strategic point in the kingdom of Córdoba.  Since I am a history major...it was one of the coolest things ever! I wish we had gotten more time to spend there, but we had much more to see!

When we actually arrived in Córdoba, we visited the old Jewish neighborhood.  There is a long history of Jewish/Arab/Christian conflict in Córdoba and it remains a big influence on the city today.  You can literally see the evidence of each culture.  We saw some of the old markets and the synagogue.  After that, we had free time until our tour of the catedal/mezquita.  During this time my wonderful and amazing friends told a random group of singers on the street that it was my birthday...thank you.  They then sang to me, made me dance with all of them, and wear a cape!  It was quite embarrassing, but at the same time so much fun! That is Spain for you I suppose...

After that we got to enter the cathedral/mosque.  It had to have been the single most breathtaking building I have ever seen.  I have photos, but they won't do it justice.  The blending of cultures and styles is mind blowing.  You can see the remnants of old Roman streets, the architecture of the Arabs, and then structures from both the Gothic and Renaissance periods according to Christians.  If any of you have a chance to go to Spain this is a MUST see.  Here are some pictures of this city:

Bev with the ruins of Medina al-Zahra behind her

Allie just climbing up the ruins...I am not quite sure if that was allowed.

Arcs in Medina al-Zahra...everything in Spain has arcs!

Jewish market place...live Spanish guitar music was playing while we were here.  The music is everywhere in the streets...I am going to miss it when I have to come home!

Inside the cathedral/mosque...this part is the mosque.  The arcs were endless and incredible to see in person.

This part of the building began the transformation into the cathedral...here is part of the Gothic stage.  The Christians actually elevated every single part that they rebuilt because they believed they were the better religion.

The lighting inside was very dim, but it only added to the experience.

I like this picture because you can see the transformation of the mosque into the cathedral.

The cathedral...Renaissance portion and main alter

This is the Guadalquivir River that runs through both Sevilla and Córdoba.  Fun Fact: it is supposed to be the river that Hercules moved during his labours to clean out the Stables of Augean in a single day!

Finally, here is me dancing with the street performers in Córdoba...two more joined in later.  So much fun!

Last fun fact: When we drove home we passed 3 more castles/churches...each of which was a fortilization of the Reyes Catolicos during the Reconquista.  I wish we could have stopped because on the building was a Catholic church built on a mosque,  built on a visigothic church, built on a Roman temple, built on an Iberian temple... HOW COOL IS THAT???  Just try to imagine how many people lived there, walked there, worshipped there, and it is still standing today!

La vida granadina

¡Hola todos!

So I have had a pretty busy week/weekend in Granada. I have had a few inquiries about daily life here in Spain, so I will start with that before talking about my adventures (but when I think about it, every single day is an adventure!)

First, THE FOOD! It is all delicious! I keep forgetting to take any pictures of it, but there is always meat of some kind, soup, lots of fish, bread, etc. Our host mom makes something different almost every single day! I have no idea how she has that many recipes. But here are the basic food groups in Spain (if you ever visit you will discover them very quickly)

1. Bread 2. Olive Oil 3. Fish 4. Wine 5. Ham 6. Cheese 7. Ham 8. Ham 9. Cheese 10. Ham 11. Ham 12. Cheese 13. Ham 14. Cheese 15. Ham & Cheese

(Not to mention they have an endless number of delicious pastries that I just can't stop eating)

Second, you may not think so, but I actually do go to classes! SURPRISE! I'm taking La historia de España, La historia de arte en España, Literatura española, Cultura de paz, and one other course with our professor from UNH (I don't really know what to call that one)  But so far they have all been pretty easy.  Interesting, but easy...I guess they don't really cover as much content when you are trying to learn everything in a different language.  I'm not complaining though because just living in Spain is enough of a learning experience.  I also have an intercambio partner named Cristina.  She is 25 and trying to learn English, so when we meet up she speaks only in English and I speak only in Spanish.  It is actually really fun and I learn a lot this way!

As for daily activities, we usually walk into the center of the city hang out, grab a coffee, or sometimes shop.  We also like to go lay in Federico García Lorca park because the weather is so nice.  Every Thursday we play fútbol, and most days between classes we go the the same cafe.  I love the walk into the city/to school.  It is beautiful and always makes be appreciate how lucky I am to have an opportunity like this!  Here are some photos of outside of my building to try and show you what my part of Granada is like:

This is outside of my apartment...note all of the clothes hanging out the window: that is exactly how half of my clean clothes ended up covered in bird poop -__-

This is right as you walk out the door of our apartment building.  Across the street is a cute little cafe that Victoria and I like to go to.  Where we live it is mostly apartments we have to walk a bit to get to the busy part of town.

Okay, so now that I have gotten all of that out of the way, let me tell you about the fabulous weekend I had in Granada!

On Saturday I went PARAGLIDING in the Sierra Nevadas...a once in a lifetime experience!  If I had to describe it, it was like we were just blowing away with the wind!  The only scary part: running off the side of a mountain with a man who didn't speak English and said "we just need to wait for the right amount of wind...oh wait..GO!"  So much fun however!  We did all kinds of tricks in the air which made it even better... here is a video of all of us who went...pretty cool.

So after that, we felt like we needed to relax a bit so we went to the Arab Baths in Granada. It was so relaxing and an amazing experience because they are just like they were thousands of years ago! They were the same thing as the Arab Baths in Ronda that we walked around as ruins! It was dimly light, Arab music was playing, and the sound of running water was everywhere. There was a cold pool, a hot pool, and a warm pool. When you were in the main pool (the warm one) there were literally columns surrounding you. There was a tea area and massage area as well. It was the first time in my life that I had ever been to anything like a spa and this was just 10 times more amazing because it was like I was living in history! I wish you all could have experienced it because I cannot possible do it justice by description and we were not allowed to take pictures. Later that day we went to a Granada fútbol game! It was so much fun because the crowd was so into it and cheered (or yelled) at every moment. I think I learned the majority of my Spanish swear words that day... unfortunately they lost to Valencia, but I am so glad I got to experience it! Here are a few photos of the stadium:

Yay Granada!

A great show of support to start off the game!

The field once it got dark!

So many people!

Oh! I almost forgot...the weekend before this one was Día de Andalucía (well Monday and Tuesday were) But for those days we didn't have class or anything so we spent it wandering around Granada.  Victoria and I went to the Parque de las ciencias, saw an anarchist demonstration in the centro, and walked to the Albaicín at night to see the Alhambra!  Más fotos para su entretenimiento:

The butterfly house in the science park!

lost in the labyrinth??

The cool water sculptures!

So many children everywhere since admission was free for Día de Andalucía.  It was really cool that the whole park was outside.

Protests in Granada...with drumming, singing, and dancing

Protests outside of the city hall

Center of the city at night!

Statue dedicated to Los Reyes Catolicos

This is my walk to school...there was a film festival in Granada so it was turned into a red carpet...So much fun!

The Alhambra at night...

So I think that pretty much covers everything!  This weekend I'm heading to Sevilla and Córdoba so I am sure I will have more to share with you all after that! Hasta luego.