new spanish vocab of the day: hacer footing = to run, jog
It's funny how they take little 'snippits' here and there from English and mold it to their language...anyway, I've finally had time enough to go out and explore places to run!!! I live about 2 blocks away from a park, el Parque de Federico Garcia Lorca, which is a beautiful park, but the parks here are definitely different from the typical 'park' in the States...when I think of a park, I immediately think of Zilker, with Barton Springs, open fields for playing soccer, football, frisbee,brugby, lo que sea, open spaces, some jungle gyms, etc...here, parks are some of the rare places where you can actually find grass, and trees, and plants, and thus they want to preserve all these things, aka, you can't sit on the grass without risking getting yelled at by the police...but anyway, this park is really pretty, and it has benches and a loop of about 1 kilometer to walk/run on, but man, after running that loop over and over again several times in a row, you just want to quit and go home...it's so boring! and people give you weird looks! especially if you're a girl! SOOOO I obviously decided to find an alternative...turns out that just right behind the park, there is a paved bike path that goes in 2 directions, so one day i went one way, and the next i went the other, and this is what i found: the first day, i followed the path that took me along what seemed to be an important, busy road, across a bridge, and then brought me to another 'parkish' type place...basically just some more gravel loops (bigger and more options than 1 km) and then the paved bike path kept going along the highway till it dead-ended somewhere businessy....
the other way was cooler...it takes you along the road, in a pretty, tree-line path, takes you across the highway under the cross-over, along some more roads, and then leads you out to some off-road running...as in, along corn fields or whatever they grow here...and the best news about any of this that i was afraid of: there were TONS of people running and biking in BOTH directions! so i felt safe!!! yes!!! so now, once classes start and my schedule gets to normal, i have places to run...which, as i knew before as theory but as my experience proves to be more than entirely correct, i need to run. literally. or i get anal and uptight and lose perspective. thank god for running.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
la vida espanola
If you’re looking to perfect the art of window shopping, or be continually impressed by seeing women of all ages dressed to impress in their short skirts and high-heeled boots mount a motorcycle, and still seem glamorous, come to Spain; perhaps all of Europe is like this, but Spain is all I know so far, so that’s that. But back to the shopping: basically it’s one of the facets of the ‘culture’ (if you could call it that) that I am exposed to, day in and day out, without fail. I mean, I suppose it’d be impossible to not be exposed to it considering all the streets are just lined with stores of all kinds (I’d say the shoe industry takes the cake here, though) but man, even MEN here do it! Yes, for all you men out there, men here shop everyday…dragged by their woman, but still…
And the motorcycles! They’re everywhere! While in Chile the micros dominated the streets, here it’s the moto’s as they’re referred to. People of all ages drive them (the other day I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself when I saw a couple of approximately 70 yrs old put on their helmets and climb on a moto), and they just weave in and out of the cars on the streets, making driving here a bit more scary than usual, I’m sure…
Anyway, let’s pull a Hank Snow here and move on…let’s see…what else have I done recently? Oh yah, one of my host sister’s, Maria, 20, took Lara and I out for a day in the ‘country’ with her boyfriend and a small group of friends. Her boyfriend, Jose Miguel (JoséMi, for short) came and picked us up last Sunday morning, and we walked down, to see a nice, shiny Mercedes waiting for us. Now, I’m not judging, I was just surprised…as was Lara, I discovered by her glances in my direction…we went to his house real fast to get in his OTHER, older car to take out to the country, and to pick up the other guys. The other guys were Alfonso, Jose’s younger brother, and 2 friends, Fran (Francisco), and Antonio…together, these three guys were basically the three musketeers, and the entertainment (albeit incredibly immature and astonishing at their comments) for the afternoon. All the guys were really nice, and finally after the ice broke between the americanas and the Spaniards during lunch, we were able to be more a part of the mainstream conversation…We went outside of Granada to a place called Los Cahorros, which I think is, or is part of, a national park, where there were hanging bridges, great views, and trails to hike on…it was really fun. On our way back to the car, we passed a pseudo-bullfight…well, I mean there was one bull in a small ring, and a group of people (mainly young men) standing outside, taking turns jumping in the ring to taunt the bull and jump out again before getting killed….reminded me that I want to go see a real bull fight sometime.
Basically I keep a pretty routine schedule here so far, with my one, four-hour class everyday, only then to return home, eat lunch, take a siesta or do nothing while the Spanish world takes a 4-hr. midday break until about 5, and then I either have little outings with the group or friends, or meetings trying to figure out classes that will officially start Feb. 7, or at the University, Feb. 18. The program here is different than the one in Chile, but from what I gather from a year-long student here about the university here in Granada, it’s ok. Meaning, classes here are hard, and well, I’d be in spain like all summer were I to take numerous classes and thus making me wait till july to take exams. gag. So this is what I’m doing for classes: taking 4 classes at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas, and one class at the University. I asked the professor from the University who was guiding us in choosing our courses, and she, too recommended that I only take one course at the university…so what’s done is done. I’ll be taking the following courses at the Centro: Image of women in Literature, Socio-political issues in current-day Spain, Political System of the European Union, History of Spain from Franco to today; and at the University, I’ll be taking either Antropologia de la etnicidad, or history of women…don’t know yet which one…either at 8 at night, or 8 in the morning…wooh!
Once this ‘intensive’ Spanish class ends next Tuesday, my program is taking a 4 day trip up to Toledo, Madrid, and Segovia, and then we have 4-5 days free until classes start for real, so a friend and I are taking advantage of that time and going to Portugal! We’ll be leaving immediately from Madrid to go to Lisboa (Lisbon) for 3 days…should be fun!
AND, I have also committed myself to a trip to Morocco. It’ll be safe, and it seems extremely eye-opening and culturally-rewarding. While it’s kinda expensive, whatev. Morocco! I felt like I owed it to myself to see firsthand the culture that has influenced the city where I’m living for 5-6 months, and also to learn more about the Moroccan people and their culture, the Islamic religion, etc. I’ll be doing a 4-day trip at the end of February, so I’ll be sure to let you know how it went.
And just to end on a super positive note (hah), my stomach doesn’t seem to be agreeing with something over here…not sure if it’s the food, the water, the….??? No sé! I don’t know! But anyway, my stomach has been bothering me lately, I slept 14 hrs last night (day?), and the day before Lara was sick all day, other people have been out…so not really sure what’s up, but mannnn I hope it passes soon!
And the motorcycles! They’re everywhere! While in Chile the micros dominated the streets, here it’s the moto’s as they’re referred to. People of all ages drive them (the other day I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself when I saw a couple of approximately 70 yrs old put on their helmets and climb on a moto), and they just weave in and out of the cars on the streets, making driving here a bit more scary than usual, I’m sure…
Anyway, let’s pull a Hank Snow here and move on…let’s see…what else have I done recently? Oh yah, one of my host sister’s, Maria, 20, took Lara and I out for a day in the ‘country’ with her boyfriend and a small group of friends. Her boyfriend, Jose Miguel (JoséMi, for short) came and picked us up last Sunday morning, and we walked down, to see a nice, shiny Mercedes waiting for us. Now, I’m not judging, I was just surprised…as was Lara, I discovered by her glances in my direction…we went to his house real fast to get in his OTHER, older car to take out to the country, and to pick up the other guys. The other guys were Alfonso, Jose’s younger brother, and 2 friends, Fran (Francisco), and Antonio…together, these three guys were basically the three musketeers, and the entertainment (albeit incredibly immature and astonishing at their comments) for the afternoon. All the guys were really nice, and finally after the ice broke between the americanas and the Spaniards during lunch, we were able to be more a part of the mainstream conversation…We went outside of Granada to a place called Los Cahorros, which I think is, or is part of, a national park, where there were hanging bridges, great views, and trails to hike on…it was really fun. On our way back to the car, we passed a pseudo-bullfight…well, I mean there was one bull in a small ring, and a group of people (mainly young men) standing outside, taking turns jumping in the ring to taunt the bull and jump out again before getting killed….reminded me that I want to go see a real bull fight sometime.
Basically I keep a pretty routine schedule here so far, with my one, four-hour class everyday, only then to return home, eat lunch, take a siesta or do nothing while the Spanish world takes a 4-hr. midday break until about 5, and then I either have little outings with the group or friends, or meetings trying to figure out classes that will officially start Feb. 7, or at the University, Feb. 18. The program here is different than the one in Chile, but from what I gather from a year-long student here about the university here in Granada, it’s ok. Meaning, classes here are hard, and well, I’d be in spain like all summer were I to take numerous classes and thus making me wait till july to take exams. gag. So this is what I’m doing for classes: taking 4 classes at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas, and one class at the University. I asked the professor from the University who was guiding us in choosing our courses, and she, too recommended that I only take one course at the university…so what’s done is done. I’ll be taking the following courses at the Centro: Image of women in Literature, Socio-political issues in current-day Spain, Political System of the European Union, History of Spain from Franco to today; and at the University, I’ll be taking either Antropologia de la etnicidad, or history of women…don’t know yet which one…either at 8 at night, or 8 in the morning…wooh!
Once this ‘intensive’ Spanish class ends next Tuesday, my program is taking a 4 day trip up to Toledo, Madrid, and Segovia, and then we have 4-5 days free until classes start for real, so a friend and I are taking advantage of that time and going to Portugal! We’ll be leaving immediately from Madrid to go to Lisboa (Lisbon) for 3 days…should be fun!
AND, I have also committed myself to a trip to Morocco. It’ll be safe, and it seems extremely eye-opening and culturally-rewarding. While it’s kinda expensive, whatev. Morocco! I felt like I owed it to myself to see firsthand the culture that has influenced the city where I’m living for 5-6 months, and also to learn more about the Moroccan people and their culture, the Islamic religion, etc. I’ll be doing a 4-day trip at the end of February, so I’ll be sure to let you know how it went.
And just to end on a super positive note (hah), my stomach doesn’t seem to be agreeing with something over here…not sure if it’s the food, the water, the….??? No sé! I don’t know! But anyway, my stomach has been bothering me lately, I slept 14 hrs last night (day?), and the day before Lara was sick all day, other people have been out…so not really sure what’s up, but mannnn I hope it passes soon!
Monday, January 14, 2008
tenemos un dia de perros
...meaning it's raining today. bummer. Well, today on the way to class I learned that basically it's not socially acceptable to walk around with a rainjacket (especially if it's bright green) with the hood on, but rather you should use an umbrella instead...especially if you're female. That's just too bad, because i'm wearing my rainjacket...Also, I am quickly picking up (after being told by my professors and experiencing it firsthand) that Spaniards, and especially Granadinos, are snotty, stuck up, difficult to approach, and even harder to avoid being run into by one of them on the sidewalk, because they OWN the sidewalk. And when you combine people who won't move out of your way, with people carrying umbrellas, you get pushed off the sidewalk, and/or nearly poked in the eye with the umbrella numerous times. fun.
Aside from snotty Spaniards, we went to the Albaicin a few days ago, and to the Alhambra yesterday on guided tours. The Albaicin is the old Muslim community from back in the time when Muslims ruled Granada, up through los reyes catolicos, and beyond. Basically, it's a large, expansive neighborhood, full of houses of old and beautiful architecture, white houses, tiny, windy, cobblestone roads, and beautiful views out over other parts of Granada. From one point in the Albaicin, in a plaza that seemed to be a pretty popular hippy hangout spot, we got an amazing view of the Alhambra, which leads me into the visit we had yesterday. To begin, the Alhambra is the big, old Muslim fortress that the Muslims used, and which served as a city for a period of time for the Muslims in Granada when the Christians were invading. Before going to the Alhambra, I knew it was big, but mannnnn, it's HUGE!!! It's divided into different sections...the ones I remember are: the Alcazaba (i think...), which is the military part of it, consisting of underground prisoner cells, and a tall torre for looking out to the entrance and exit of the city to keep an eye out for Christians or any other invader; los palacios, which was where we spent the majority of our time, and just mesmerized me...there are 3 palacios in the Alhambra, and they're all meticulously built and decorated on the inside with beautiful Arabic art and words and designs just completely covering the walls, poles, ceilings, etc., which is really cool because on the exterior, Muslim buildings are plain and simple, and lacking in any sort of decoration, but on the inside it is completely the opposite, and you feel like you're in an entirely different country/world/etc...; and the last part is called the Generalife, which is basically the gardens. We only spent a little bit of time in the garden, as it was cold and people wanted to leave, but the little i saw was cool. I definitely plan on returning in the spring/summer at least once more to see all the trees, plants, and flowers blooming in the gardens outside, and to see the rest of the gardens, etc. We were also going to see the special Palacio Carlos V, but unfortunately the Prime Minister of Turkey was visiting (cool!) so of course the security was tight and they wouldn't let us into certain sections where he'd be...bummer.
Aside from all that, pretty 'normal' here, I suppose...as normal as could be. I get to take the typical 'spanish shower' whenever i want to shower, which means my hygiene is kind of lacking...Spain is in the middle of a really bad drought, so basically no one can take a normal shower, literally, there's just not enough water. my typical shower consists of (well, we have no shower curtain which complicates things) me crouching under the faucet to wet my hair, turning off the water, shampooing my hair, rinsing it out, turn off water, clean body and conditioner, turn off water, all the while trying not to convulse from freezing. I can't wait till warm weather. and a normal "shower."
Aside from snotty Spaniards, we went to the Albaicin a few days ago, and to the Alhambra yesterday on guided tours. The Albaicin is the old Muslim community from back in the time when Muslims ruled Granada, up through los reyes catolicos, and beyond. Basically, it's a large, expansive neighborhood, full of houses of old and beautiful architecture, white houses, tiny, windy, cobblestone roads, and beautiful views out over other parts of Granada. From one point in the Albaicin, in a plaza that seemed to be a pretty popular hippy hangout spot, we got an amazing view of the Alhambra, which leads me into the visit we had yesterday. To begin, the Alhambra is the big, old Muslim fortress that the Muslims used, and which served as a city for a period of time for the Muslims in Granada when the Christians were invading. Before going to the Alhambra, I knew it was big, but mannnnn, it's HUGE!!! It's divided into different sections...the ones I remember are: the Alcazaba (i think...), which is the military part of it, consisting of underground prisoner cells, and a tall torre for looking out to the entrance and exit of the city to keep an eye out for Christians or any other invader; los palacios, which was where we spent the majority of our time, and just mesmerized me...there are 3 palacios in the Alhambra, and they're all meticulously built and decorated on the inside with beautiful Arabic art and words and designs just completely covering the walls, poles, ceilings, etc., which is really cool because on the exterior, Muslim buildings are plain and simple, and lacking in any sort of decoration, but on the inside it is completely the opposite, and you feel like you're in an entirely different country/world/etc...; and the last part is called the Generalife, which is basically the gardens. We only spent a little bit of time in the garden, as it was cold and people wanted to leave, but the little i saw was cool. I definitely plan on returning in the spring/summer at least once more to see all the trees, plants, and flowers blooming in the gardens outside, and to see the rest of the gardens, etc. We were also going to see the special Palacio Carlos V, but unfortunately the Prime Minister of Turkey was visiting (cool!) so of course the security was tight and they wouldn't let us into certain sections where he'd be...bummer.
Aside from all that, pretty 'normal' here, I suppose...as normal as could be. I get to take the typical 'spanish shower' whenever i want to shower, which means my hygiene is kind of lacking...Spain is in the middle of a really bad drought, so basically no one can take a normal shower, literally, there's just not enough water. my typical shower consists of (well, we have no shower curtain which complicates things) me crouching under the faucet to wet my hair, turning off the water, shampooing my hair, rinsing it out, turn off water, clean body and conditioner, turn off water, all the while trying not to convulse from freezing. I can't wait till warm weather. and a normal "shower."
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
no pasa nada
"no pasa nada" is the typical phrase of all Spaniards...everyone from professors to my host sisters to program directors say it allll the time. and well, i guess it's true from time to time. Yesterday me and two other girls had a funny encounter; we decided to stop at a little cafe on our way home, where there were two genuine hippies chillin playing their guitarras y drinking coffee. They asked us to sit down with them at their table, we obliged expecting them to actually talking to us...wellll were we wrong! we sit down, and they both immediately start singing and playing their guitars as if we weren't even there. So obviously i'm sitting there half cracking up and avoiding eye contact with the other girls because it was just such an awkward situation and we didn't know what to do...We order, drink up rather fast, and just chuckle at this guy who is so obviously high stare into space and sing some lyrics, with his other friend repeating, "ole, ole, ole!" yah, that was fun.
Today was the first day of my "intensive" Spanish class that i have for three weeks...it's four hrs long. but we have some interesting people in the class: a woman from Brasil, an older man from Italy, a guy from Germany, a girl from Mexico and us Americans, and our professors (we switch profs halfway during the class) are cool and funny and energetic. On our way back home after class, we took a different route that brought us through some hills just chalk full of apartments and buildings with tiny roads going up and down, and this part of the city, even though it was cleaner and not quite as colorful as Valparaiso, reminded me of the cerros of Valpo...ooohhh Chile. I miss it.
Today was the first day of my "intensive" Spanish class that i have for three weeks...it's four hrs long. but we have some interesting people in the class: a woman from Brasil, an older man from Italy, a guy from Germany, a girl from Mexico and us Americans, and our professors (we switch profs halfway during the class) are cool and funny and energetic. On our way back home after class, we took a different route that brought us through some hills just chalk full of apartments and buildings with tiny roads going up and down, and this part of the city, even though it was cleaner and not quite as colorful as Valparaiso, reminded me of the cerros of Valpo...ooohhh Chile. I miss it.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
ESPAÑA
pues, estoy aquí en la gran españa por fin, después de muchos años de soñar de esta experiencia...ok, inglés ahora. well, this is my first time with internet (in a lovely internet cafe...) since i got to spain on sunday...i wrote down what´s happpened in the past few days, so im going to recap it all right here, right now, to catch you up, all you faithful followers...:
SUNDAY:
The trip here was overwhelming and exhausting, but i finally arrived. After a stupid misshap on my part in the NY airport causing me to have to go through security twice in a row after stupidly leaving what happened to be the correct terminal to go to the wrong one, re-entering security with my nalgene full of water, and finally successfully passing through without another problem, i ended up at my gate (thank goodness for my 4 hr. layover...) where in a short 1-2 hrs about 50 or so other students would arrive to travel to spain, only setting me into a state of displeasing anxiety. Ever since leaving my house and austin that day, i had the mentality that i was just going on another fun, little (¿big?) adventure, and i had just placed my fears and worries aside. I mean, anxiety is only for first-timers, right?! wrong. These students were loud and obnoxious, didn´t understand the lady who spoke on the intercom thing in Spanish, and they just freaked me out. Luckily, i didnt sit anywhere near the group on the flight to madrid...Once landing and going through intl. customs, i went to buscar mi equipaje to check it onto my last flight to Granada. Well, after being one of the final people waiting at baggage claim and not seeing my luggage, i finally asked a lady and got a WONDERFUL first impression of the Spanish people when she responded to my inquiries with shouting at me to get out my "bag tags," and when i told her i had no idea what a bag tag is but handed over all my paperwork to her, she found these ´tags´ and was like, "well, what do you think THESE are?" woah. well, anyway, apparently my bags went all the way to granada...so next i go up to find the counter to get my boarding pass on the other airline, couldnt´find it because i was in the wrong terminal ( apparently i have a problem with airport terminals...?) and so i took a long shuttle ride to get there, almost stood in a mile-long line to get my ticket until i saw a kiosk to get it instantly,s o i cut in front of some people, printed it out, and ran to find my gate...my plane was leaving soon...so i get there as they´re boarding, and then we end up sitting in a barely half-filled plane on the runway for a good half hour before taking off. phew. then we land in granada, where the weather was fairly comparable to that of texas with clear, blue skies, and the snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada inthe distance...But the adventure doesnt end there! Once again i´m the last one waiting for my bags that were never going to come, until i hear the fateful words, "no hay más" (no more!) PUCHA! So i found the program directors at teh airport, go to declare my baggage, find out theyre not even in the sistema, and well...whatev...but despite all the trouble in the airport, i got to re-polish my rusty spanish with Christina, the lady with me, who´s Spanish, and we had a nice, flowing conversation! i can say for a fact i wouldn´t have been able to do that at teh beginnign of last semester in chile, that´s for sure. I felt much more confident, and didn´t really think about what i was saying, it simply just happened! Now, i assure you i don´t mean for this to sound like i´m full of myself, as there is most definitely room for improvement, but i have improved, no doubt. And i only assume that that is expected of me anyway...so yah.
After napping and waiting for the other people to arrive, we all meet eachother and then take a quick stroll through Granada to see the exquisite Christmas lights and decorations, since it was the very last night they´d be up for the year. We then went to a restaurant for dinner, andthen finally i was able to sleeeeep.
MONDAY:
We woke up, had a group orientation meeting (yawn) for a couple fo hours, adn then ventured out as a group to see the major plazas (and there are tons!) and see the city in daylight por fin. Sunday was actually a holiday, but our director told us that since teh holiday fell on a Sunday, a day that people already have off from work, they just move the day off work to Monday...since i mean, what´s the point of a holiday if you dont get a day off work, right?! Today was also the day that everything, and i mean everything, goes on sale for a good 2 months...there are loads and loads of ´rebajas´ (discounts), and so the streets were just packed with people carrying their loads of bags. Granada is absolutely charming: the old, ancient architecture lines all the streets, and nearly everything down to the sidewalks and lamp poles are pretty with intricate details. Already from the get-go, i´m just amazed (not surprised, just amazed) at teh striking differences between granada, and valpo/vina where one can distinguish between the different social classes from teh sectors of the city that people live in, all the way down to how people carry themselves, talk, dress, etc. But here, i havent noticed--or asked anyone for that matter--anything pertaining to different classes...but perhaps because Chile is known to be--and any chilean will openly admit this without any shame--a very, very classist society, and i´m not yet sure about spain/granada.
Anway, so we went and saw several plazas, had a brief introduction to the old original Jewish neighborhood, the sección más arabe de la ciudad, which is the Albaicin i think, where it is not uncommon to hear lots of arabic beign spoken and see lots of people from northern africa. I´m still completely disoriented as far as directions and streets go, but whatev, i´ll figure it out eventually, right?
TUESDAY:
Today we took a placement test for our level of spanish, and then came back to the hotel to meet our host family!!! This semester the living conditions are a bit different: i live with a senora, Beatriz, adn her two daughters, Maria (20), and Gabriela (19). I also live with another girl from my program, which is kind of weird, but ok...her name is Lara, and she´s really nice, and it is actually nice to have her company. We only speak in spanish to eachother, which i´m really grateful for, because i was afraid that living with another gringa would hamper my spanish speaking time, but so far so good. We live ina small apartment, but i have my own room, as does Lara, and it´s just simple and easy living. The girls are both pretty shy and quiet, but as we continue asking them questions, i have no doubt they´ll open up to us...or maybe im being too hopeful? So tomorrow we begin our 3-wk intensive spanish class...it´s five days a week, four hours a day. GAG. oh well.
más luego. ciao, y keep in touch!
SUNDAY:
The trip here was overwhelming and exhausting, but i finally arrived. After a stupid misshap on my part in the NY airport causing me to have to go through security twice in a row after stupidly leaving what happened to be the correct terminal to go to the wrong one, re-entering security with my nalgene full of water, and finally successfully passing through without another problem, i ended up at my gate (thank goodness for my 4 hr. layover...) where in a short 1-2 hrs about 50 or so other students would arrive to travel to spain, only setting me into a state of displeasing anxiety. Ever since leaving my house and austin that day, i had the mentality that i was just going on another fun, little (¿big?) adventure, and i had just placed my fears and worries aside. I mean, anxiety is only for first-timers, right?! wrong. These students were loud and obnoxious, didn´t understand the lady who spoke on the intercom thing in Spanish, and they just freaked me out. Luckily, i didnt sit anywhere near the group on the flight to madrid...Once landing and going through intl. customs, i went to buscar mi equipaje to check it onto my last flight to Granada. Well, after being one of the final people waiting at baggage claim and not seeing my luggage, i finally asked a lady and got a WONDERFUL first impression of the Spanish people when she responded to my inquiries with shouting at me to get out my "bag tags," and when i told her i had no idea what a bag tag is but handed over all my paperwork to her, she found these ´tags´ and was like, "well, what do you think THESE are?" woah. well, anyway, apparently my bags went all the way to granada...so next i go up to find the counter to get my boarding pass on the other airline, couldnt´find it because i was in the wrong terminal ( apparently i have a problem with airport terminals...?) and so i took a long shuttle ride to get there, almost stood in a mile-long line to get my ticket until i saw a kiosk to get it instantly,s o i cut in front of some people, printed it out, and ran to find my gate...my plane was leaving soon...so i get there as they´re boarding, and then we end up sitting in a barely half-filled plane on the runway for a good half hour before taking off. phew. then we land in granada, where the weather was fairly comparable to that of texas with clear, blue skies, and the snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada inthe distance...But the adventure doesnt end there! Once again i´m the last one waiting for my bags that were never going to come, until i hear the fateful words, "no hay más" (no more!) PUCHA! So i found the program directors at teh airport, go to declare my baggage, find out theyre not even in the sistema, and well...whatev...but despite all the trouble in the airport, i got to re-polish my rusty spanish with Christina, the lady with me, who´s Spanish, and we had a nice, flowing conversation! i can say for a fact i wouldn´t have been able to do that at teh beginnign of last semester in chile, that´s for sure. I felt much more confident, and didn´t really think about what i was saying, it simply just happened! Now, i assure you i don´t mean for this to sound like i´m full of myself, as there is most definitely room for improvement, but i have improved, no doubt. And i only assume that that is expected of me anyway...so yah.
After napping and waiting for the other people to arrive, we all meet eachother and then take a quick stroll through Granada to see the exquisite Christmas lights and decorations, since it was the very last night they´d be up for the year. We then went to a restaurant for dinner, andthen finally i was able to sleeeeep.
MONDAY:
We woke up, had a group orientation meeting (yawn) for a couple fo hours, adn then ventured out as a group to see the major plazas (and there are tons!) and see the city in daylight por fin. Sunday was actually a holiday, but our director told us that since teh holiday fell on a Sunday, a day that people already have off from work, they just move the day off work to Monday...since i mean, what´s the point of a holiday if you dont get a day off work, right?! Today was also the day that everything, and i mean everything, goes on sale for a good 2 months...there are loads and loads of ´rebajas´ (discounts), and so the streets were just packed with people carrying their loads of bags. Granada is absolutely charming: the old, ancient architecture lines all the streets, and nearly everything down to the sidewalks and lamp poles are pretty with intricate details. Already from the get-go, i´m just amazed (not surprised, just amazed) at teh striking differences between granada, and valpo/vina where one can distinguish between the different social classes from teh sectors of the city that people live in, all the way down to how people carry themselves, talk, dress, etc. But here, i havent noticed--or asked anyone for that matter--anything pertaining to different classes...but perhaps because Chile is known to be--and any chilean will openly admit this without any shame--a very, very classist society, and i´m not yet sure about spain/granada.
Anway, so we went and saw several plazas, had a brief introduction to the old original Jewish neighborhood, the sección más arabe de la ciudad, which is the Albaicin i think, where it is not uncommon to hear lots of arabic beign spoken and see lots of people from northern africa. I´m still completely disoriented as far as directions and streets go, but whatev, i´ll figure it out eventually, right?
TUESDAY:
Today we took a placement test for our level of spanish, and then came back to the hotel to meet our host family!!! This semester the living conditions are a bit different: i live with a senora, Beatriz, adn her two daughters, Maria (20), and Gabriela (19). I also live with another girl from my program, which is kind of weird, but ok...her name is Lara, and she´s really nice, and it is actually nice to have her company. We only speak in spanish to eachother, which i´m really grateful for, because i was afraid that living with another gringa would hamper my spanish speaking time, but so far so good. We live ina small apartment, but i have my own room, as does Lara, and it´s just simple and easy living. The girls are both pretty shy and quiet, but as we continue asking them questions, i have no doubt they´ll open up to us...or maybe im being too hopeful? So tomorrow we begin our 3-wk intensive spanish class...it´s five days a week, four hours a day. GAG. oh well.
más luego. ciao, y keep in touch!
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