It's Granada, Baby

Hola todos,

How many times in this blog have I said that I’m head over heels in love with Spain? I’m beginning to feel like a Sevillana- like I can tell who the tourists are, but I’m not one of them. A few days ago, a SPANIARD asked me for directions! Me, with my blond hair, big backpack and all! And I was able to tell him where to go! Check off my list of to-dos in Spain! Yes, this country just keeps getting better. Believe me, there’s no place like it.

Take Granada, for example. If you haven’t seen the Alhambra lit up at night with massive snow-capped peaks towering beyond, you’re missing a wonder of the world. Last weekend my program offered a two-day tour of Granada. We had to wake up early Saturday morning to catch the bus, but we knew we were in for a splendid weekend as we watched the sun rise over the lovely city of Sevilla from the bridge we traverse to class everyday. It was like an omen that the sheets of rain we’d been drowning in would give it a rest just for the weekend. And it (almost entirely) did!

We drove in two large buses to Granada and split into two groups to tour the city. My friends Abby, Rozina and Maya and I picked one group because its schedule directed us the Alhambra the first day, which promised NO rain. Most of our friends were in the other group, but I’m glad we did the Alhambra the first day for the sun.

The Alhambra is stunning. Massive. A fascinating architectural fusion of Moorish and Catholic influences. It’s set upon a mountain, so it both gives gorgeous views of Granada and it makes for a beautiful scene when viewed from anywhere else in the city. There’s one plaza that’s perfectly round and when you stand in the very center, any noise you make echoes only in your ears, but it sounds normal to anyone else, even a foot away- it’s really funky. We spent three hours touring the Alhambra and Generalife (not pronounced in the very American English way it looks- sounds like an insurance company, right?). Generalife are the gardens and terraces across from the Alhambra that give a great view of the palace and the city.

After the Alhambra, all 130-some people in our CIEE group went to a renowned téteria (tea place) downtown for some sweet tea and Arabic desserts. I tried to get myself to like the tea, but it’s really not my thing- even with about four spoonfuls of sugar. The Arabic desserts, however…well I had no problem with those. YUM. After tea we had time to wander around el centro and do some shopping. Abby, Maya and I ran into some of our friends who were walking up to a church they heard had a great view of the Alhambra at sunset, so we went with them. We were too late for the sunset, but the view was unreal! We kept taking more and more pictures of the beautiful scenery as the light changed. Then a group of us grabbed a beer before attempting to find our way back to the hotel. A splendid first day in Granada, I’d say.

Despite our exhaustion, everyone wanted to go out Saturday night. We were in a different city and had to enjoy the nightlife! We botellón-ed (like pre-gaming, traditionally done by Sevillans outside in a plaza or by the river) a bit and then went to a discoteca. It was fun, but we were beat so a group of us went home early. Then I woke up in the morning in the dark and got myself ready for Sunday: teeth brushed, face washed, makeup on, contacts in- the works. I went out into the room and asked my friend if she wanted me to keep the light on for her, to which she replied, “NO! It’s 4 a.m.! Go back to bed!” Um, hmmm. Don’t know how I did that- I went to bed entirely sober. I just got back into bed and woke up again five hours later to actually start the day.

Day 2: After breakfast at the hotel, I rejoined my group and we bussed up to the hillside neighborhoods and had a little walking tour there. The guide pointed out architecture and monuments of Arabic influence all over the city. Then we ended up at the church that holds the bodies of Ferdinand and Isabella. We couldn’t take pictures inside, but it was magnificent! There’s a GIANT marble tomb for them, but the bodies aren’t inside. They’re in a room below in simple wooden caskets that we can go downstairs and see! A bunch of people were freaked out, but I thought it was really cool!

After the tour we had more free time. Abby, Maya, Rozina and I shopped some more and went to a de-freaking-licious kebab place for some shawarma. Ohhhhh I’d walk back to Granada just for another one of those babies. There are kebab places everywhere in Granada! I guess it’s safer for me to live in Sevilla, farther from temptation. I also decided to try jamon-flavored chips. That would be HAM-flavored chips- they’re hugely popular in Spain… they love ham THAT much. So how could I come here and not try them? They’re not bad, really. A little bit of a BBQ-y aftertaste. But they really do taste like ham- and I really do not know how to explain that any better.

I’ve spent the rest of the week in part sunny, part terribly windy and rainy Sevilla. But tomorrow I’m continuing my exploration of this fine nation and…I’m going to MADRID!!! Hasta la vista baby!

The Rain in Spain

The Rain in Spain- oh how I've been waiting to use that title! Well the weather here has been ROTTEN. Weather.com says only two partly cloudy days in the next ten. The rest are 60% or more chance of rain. RAIN RAIN RAIN! Sevillanos all say this is NOT Sevilla. Let’s hope the clouds just get it all out of their system and give me beautiful days the rest of the semester! Actually we’re lucky here in Sevilla because most of the rest of Spain is getting snow! And let’s not even mention the good ol’ US of A.

Yet despite the constant downpours, Spain is wonderful. I can’t think of a cohesive way to string together all the interesting things that have happened in the last week, so I’ll just talk about them individually. This town continues to astound me.

First— I found it. I found the beautiful, secret Sevillan locale that I’ve been looking for. On the first sunny day Sevilla has seen in weeks, I ventured out for a walk around Triana before lunch, dying for some sun, and decided to stroll along the river. There I found an open gate next to this swanky riverside venue and I casually ambled down the stairs to the most gorgeous view I’ve had yet of this stunning city. I had my own private boardwalk! I felt so refreshed standing there in the SUN in my own little haven. It’ll be so nice to have that spot on gorgeous days like these when the rest of the riverside is packed! Too bad I didn’t have my camera.


Next, last weekend was Carnaval. Carnaval is celebrated throughout Spain in February, a little different in each town. The coastal towns are notoriously exciting. My friends and I all bought bus tickets to Cadiz, a town about an hour and a half away on the Mediterranean, to share in the merriment. AND you have to dress up! It’s like Halloween – spookiness and candy + way more alcohol and foreigners. I dressed as Peter Pan, and my friends were Wendy and Captain Hook. I fought a lot of people with my sword (flashback to being Zorro at Halloween…what IS it about swords?!) WHAT a fun night! My friend Abby and I got separated from pretty much everyone we knew and phones weren’t working, so we just wandered through the crowds and met Spaniards and had a phenomenal night. Some people were incredibly hammered, which sucks for them because it was definitely a night to remember. By the end, though, we were suuuuper cold and exhausted and so ready to go home. We got back at 7 a.m. Didn’t do much the next day.

New story: CIEE offers interest groups- clubs that gather every few weeks to learn more about something pertaining to Sevilla and finishing with a trip in April. My group is the Four Cultures of Sevilla (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Gypsy). We met a few days ago to talk about the Gitano (Gypsy) culture. I didn’t really know what to expect, and what I learned was strange. Gitanos are of Indian descent, and live among Spaniards as a recognizably different race. I’ll try to explain this better… Virginia, who runs the interest group, brought a Gitana woman to the meeting and asked her to tell us about her life and customs, etc. Her name was Spanish. She spoke Spanish- with an Andalucian accent. She dressed, looked, SEEMED Spanish. Yet, for some reason she was made out to be this “other.” After the woman (I forget her name) spoke, Virginia asked us if we had any questions. I asked how you could possibly tell if someone was Gitano. She tried to explain that they had different skin tones and eye shapes and that they spoke differently (ummm, no way would I be able to tell different accents WITHIN Sevilla). It all seemed pretty weird to me. The woman did talk about different customs, though, which was fascinating. Apparently it’s still common today for Gitanos to marry one another at age 13 or 14. Of course this isn’t recognized by Spanish law, but Gitanos have their own rules. Their societies are highly patriarchal, and families make significant decisions, such as arranged marriages, by allowing the oldest males in each family to discuss and decide what everyone should do. YIKES. And I won’t go into detail, but the women have to be virgins when they marry, and there is a type of test they undergo to determine if they are. So it’s certainly true that Gitanos have distinct cultural practices, but I still wouldn’t be able to pick out a Gitano from a Spaniard walking down the street.

Well, other stories I have can be pretty condensed for this blog. I have to go to sleep soon anyway because I’m getting up early to go to Granada tomorrow! But I couldn’t write this blog entry without telling about the CAT that was in my lecture. Yep, a cat. I’ve had the occasional mouse or even bird, but never a little feline friend. The whole class we kept hearing mewing and mewing and eventually found the poor terrified thing in the back of the lecture hall, presumably in hiding from the torrential downpours of the great outdoors. So that was pretty funny and weird.

Other than that, I saw a trash can on fire and watched the bomberos (firemen) come in on their mini-truck (seriously, they’ve got to have bigger ones otherwise Sevilla could be in big trouble) and put it out. I ate the best tapas I’ve ever laid eyes on. I booked tickets to other trips for the semester. I’ve gotten to skype with lots of people (if that is NOT you, add me alyssa_connolly). So all is well. I love Spain.
More on Granada soon!

Besos besos besos!!! (And a belated Happy Valentine’s Day!!)
Lyss

No Spain, No Gain

It has definitely set in now that this is not a semester-long vacation. I was lucky that the first few weeks were beautiful and warm and I didn’t have any school! But now daily life is a little different. It’s been raining a lot. And I have class. And a cold. So although I’m living in a gorgeous, historic, European city, reality goes on.

This week I started regular session classes:
Publicity and Propaganda in the Society of Masses: Jolly old professor who talks about interesting things, but it can be hard to keep paying attention for two hours of lecture in Spanish. One cool thing he told us today: ET is based on the life of Jesus Christ! Seriously- it kind of works! ET heals people with his touch. A bunch of scientists want to get their hands on him. He connects with children. He “phones home” (like praying to God/Heaven). He makes bicycles fly (instead of walking on water, my prof said). He dies and is resurrected. He ascends into the sky (Heaven). Whaddya think?
Mass Communication in Spain: The profesora is very sweet. She’s very young and current in the realm of journalism. She worked as a paparazzo for a while and told us of one time when she followed Antonio Banderas (who has a house in Malaga) to the airport and he and another guy stopped their car, got out and started attacking her cameraman! Needless to say her paparazzo days were over and she started working as a producer at a radio station in Sevilla. A step up, I’d say.
Spanish Music of the 20th Century: What I’ve gathered from the first week is that we’re going to spend the semester listening to songs, trying to guess what era they’re from, and discussing their significance in Spanish history. There are only about 10 people in the class, but the profesora is nice and it seems pretty chill!
Contemporary Spanish Cinema: We watch movies. We talk about movies. Watch. Talk. Sounds lazy, but since everything is in Spanish, I’ve got to be on my toes.

ALL of my classes are in Spanish, and while I certainly came here to gain fluency in the language, it’s not easy to get used to. When I speak with my senora, it’s not for two hours at a time on one subject. Add the Spanish lectures to the fact that I haven’t had real school for about six weeks and I’ve got a bit of a shock. Although I am liking the fact that there isn’t much homework…so far.

Other than school, I’ve been having tons of fun getting to know this city better (not clinging to my map anymore!) and getting to know Spaniards! Last Thursday I went to Cine Club and saw a Spanish movie! There were Spanish subtitles, so that helped, but I understood it all! Yay! Afterwards I went out for a tinto de verano (red wine with lemon soda, mmm) with some friends and we got to chatting with a group of Spanish guys. They knew a little English, so we were able to do help them and they helped us!

Oh, and of course- the Super Bowl! Highlight of my year. I went to a bar that was packed with Americans where we were charged obscene amounts for drinks (those Spanish bartenders really know when they can take an American for a ride) and stayed up until 4:30 watching the game! That was the Sunday before classes started. Annnd, Monday I was a tad wiped. All in the name of football!

The past couple of days I’ve been lying low with a cold and classes in between. However, today my mass comm class called me far out of downtown Sevilla to visit the radio station my prof works at. So I adorned myself in a raincoat and umbrella, found the station on Google maps, and set out. It was raining and my feet got soaked through my boots. It got dark on the way. I walked down crowded streets during rush hour and then deserted roads after. ONE HOUR and several calls to my smart friend who had taken the bus later, I finally found the station. I didn’t want my class to all think I was a late angry brat, so I smiled and apologized for being the last one there while in my head I was thinking (Damn Google for telling me the street was on the other side of the river and what the hell is the professor thinking making us find this place in the dark and for our second class?!) I sucked it up. And I’m glad I did because the tour of the station was really cool! We got to play radio interview and read actual news scripts and speak into their microphones. So it turned out fine when I got over my self-pity. And I took the bus home.

And now I’m finishing up the week of classes. It’s supposed to pour tomorrow so I may not get to wander around Sevilla like I’d been planning. On Saturday, though, we’re heading to Cadiz (a city about an hour south on the coast) for Carnaval!! Not sure what I’m dressing as yet, but my friends and I are thinking cast of Peter Pan? Perhaps, perhaps.

Well, off to dinner and then Cine Club again for a horror movie! I hate them in English enough, so I’m slightly dreading this. But I figure, when will I get the chance to watch a scary movie in Spanish ever again?

Until next time!

Un abrazo fuerte,
Lyss

Getting the swing of things

“Conejo, conejo, conejo!”—That’s “Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!” for those of you interested in getting a little extra Spanish luck on the first day of February! I told my Senora Julia about this tradition at lunch today and she said rabbit feet are good luck in Spain too! We’re getting to a point of merging cultures now.

I just sat for a second thinking, “How do I say ‘Getting the swing of things’ in Spanish?” before remembering I’m writing my blog in English! The past week or so when I’ve been talking with friends or family from home, I think first in Spanish! Yesss! I’m getting somewhere! Little by little (poco a poco) this culture is starting to sink in and become natural to me. I’m making fewer mistakes in both speaking and manners. I’m starting to recognize the patterns on the blankets covering me when I first wake up in the morning. I’ve been going to more local Spanish restaurants and bars. I’ve even joined a gym. I figure I’m going to be in Europe for four more months, so I might as well get comfortable!

Still, I feel like I don’t really know what the semester has in store for me quite yet. I start regular semester classes next week, so I haven’t even begun the somewhat terrifying adventure of trying to understand a professor discuss the history of mass communication in Spain entirely in Spanish. Yikes. Last week and this week we’ve been taking an intensive two-week Spanish course to remind ourselves of the past seven or eight years of Spanish we’ve taken. As daunting as that sounds, it’s been pretty easy. My professor Carmen is very patient and we spend much of the class chatting about cool things to do around Sevilla. Last week she suggested her favorite tapas restaurant and my friends Abby, Kayla and I went there on Friday. Carmen was so right! Best tapas I’ve ever had- and really cheap! I love the feel of dining here. You just order however much you want at a time, and you can sit around and have a long meal and order more as you go. No rushing away of the plates. No slamming of a check on the table. Yes, I can get used to the Spanish way of life.

I want to explore the ways of life while visiting other Spanish cities as well. My program, CIEE, organizes four free trips for us. Last week we went to Italica, which is basically a much smaller Roman forum and Colosseum left over from the era of Roman rule over 2000 years ago. Very cool. (Oh and cool=guay) And Saturday we took a day trip to Cordoba, which many people describe as a smaller Sevilla because it is also situated along Rio Guadalquivir and reveals the influences of Catholicism, Islam and Judaism. We toured the castle where Ferdinand and Isabella lived for eight years and where Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon) knocked on the door asking for a few ships for a tiny insignificant voyage to India that opened the entire New World to Spanish/European colonization. No big deal. The castle was fascinating, but the gardens behind it were stunning! I’m always the one lagging behind the tour with my camera, so after a little while, Abby, Kayla and I decided to just hang back and do our own little tour! It’s so much better when you can just wander and figure things out on your own than walking with a tour guide, stopping to listen to rapid Spanish, walking to a new spot, listening again, walking, listening…get the picture? It’s so much more fun to explore…and maybe even get a little lost like Cristobal Colon!

So Cordoba was tons of fun, and then the rest of my time here I’ve just been getting to know the city. My friend and I explored el Mercado de Triana (Triana is my neighborhood, mi barrio), checked out the various stands for fruit, meat, fish, bread, sweets, etc. and only got slightly freaked out by the massive buckets of still-moving sea creatures amidst fish heads and octopus tentacles (pulpos). Quite fragrant. Yesterday I took a long walk on my own around neighborhoods farther from el centro and sauntered down the Rio Guadalquivir. You just get to see how varied the neighborhoods (barrios) in one city can be and that not every European city is all castles with turrets and ramparts but that people live there and it’s not a tourist attraction for them. I feel like the more I get to know these parts of the city, the more I’ll feel like a Sevillana. And that’s another one of my goals for the semester. Feel (speak/act/dress/be mistaken for) a Sevillana. I’ll let you know how that’s going next time!

Muchos besos!!
Lyss

P.S. If anyone wants to suggest wonderful places to visit in Europe, my friends and I are planning our trips soon, so I’d love some advice! Gracias!

P.P.S. Some pics!
Here we have my friend Zenith and me at the Colosseum in Italica, el Mercado de Triana and my room!