Southern Spain: Granada, Cordoba, y Sevilla

Last weekend, we had our biggest excursion for the program which involved the most horrendous bus ride followed by hours upon hours of touring mosques and cathedrals. However, it was an amazing experience. 

Day 1: Granada

Actually started with the 12-hour bus ride from Gijón to Sevilla that we started at 9 o'clock at night (arriving around 9 or 10 in the morning). We all tried to sleep but anyone who did only got a couple hours. I got none.

Here's one of our sketchier bathroom stops:

Anyone ever tried to pee in a glass stall? That's an experience.

They don't sell feminine hygiene products in the dispensers.... but no worries if

you have one of these particular emergencies!

As soon as we arrived in Granada, we toured the Alhambra - a Muslim palace. It was beautiful and HUGE. We walked around it for about 3 or 4 hours and the view from one of the corridors of Granada was amazing. The gardens were especially beautiful and lush. The tour was extra exhausting since we hadn't slept or eaten in a long time. We rushed to a bar for some tapas as soon as we got checked into the hostel. 

We were told that we would be staying in a 2 star hostel but, after the one we stayed in in Madrid, this hostel looked amazing. They had a full shower even (my host family has a small one that consists of a small square platform and a shower-head on a cord, I'll have to take a picture sometime). We only had a short while to enjoy the hostel before we had to go to another tour. 

I didn't take any pictures of the hostel itself but here's our lovely view.

Next, we toured the old cathedral where, it turns out, Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand V (?) (the King and Queen who supported Columbus) are buried. Seeing their tomb was probably my favorite part. I don't know if that makes me morbid... 

A group of gypsies were hanging out around the cathedral waiting to jump people with their rosemary. They would come after us saying it was a gift but as soon as it's in your hand, you own it and have to pay them. That or they'll grab your hand and try to read your palm. Some of us had to get pretty creative about avoiding them. I got overwhelmed coming out of the cathedral when a man posing as a statue started making noises at me and then a gypsy came towards me with rosemary. I ended up swerving away from the man and ducking under her arm at a full run. 

There were a lot of vendors selling tea and spices too and it all smelled fantastic. I guess saffron is a big deal down South. 

After that, me, Crystal, and Alex went back to our hostel room and passed out. 

Day 2: Cordoba

Back on the bus. Our new home. 

Cordoba was a beautiful city with a mix of Roman, Muslim, and Gothic architecture. We passed some Roman ruins on our way in and then toured the Mosque. 

Actually, that bridge was reconstructed but, if you squint, you can

see the real ruins in the background.

The Mosque was really interesting because it had started out as a Muslim Mosque and then been re-conquered by the Christians who converted it into a cathedral. When you first walk in, you just see the usual pillars and elaborate designs of the Muslims but as you go further, you'll see crucifixes and biblical paintings mixed in. 

Afterwards, we took a short tour of the city before taking a break. I joined a few of the other students at this point for some lunch at a restaurant. We didn't get to finish though because the bus was leaving. On the way back, I stopped for some coconut sorbet (best thing ever) and had to book it for the bus. On the way, Isabel had the bus driver stop by a vendor on the side of the road and bought a bunch of cherries for us to snack on. Oh my gosh, they tasted amazing!

We made one stop on our way back to Granada when our professor, Isabel, spotted what looked like an old castle. It turned out being the ruins of an old fortress and we all hiked up to check it out. That was probably one of the coolest things we saw. We could see the marks on the walls from the weapons and the little notches where archers would shoot their arrows. And the view was fantastic!

THAT NIGHT:

Some of us decided to visit the Gypsy caves in Granada (where we were still spending the night). It was a bit of a walk but well worth it. On our way, we could see the Alhambra from the outside and stopped to get a good look at it. 

We stopped by a few of the caves to peak in at the Flamenco dancers. The caves are really interested because they look like a normal shop on the outside but as you walk further in, it delves into the cliff wall. They're not your typical caves full of stalagmites but perfectly carved tunnels that have been painted. 

We hiked up the mountain a ways and hung out for a while before walking back down to catch a Flamenco show. 

Flamenco was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. The music and dancing was beautiful in a very exotic way. The dancers would come out in rotations with the band and take turns dancing to the music. The music was really unique. The singer would chime in now and then with a few verses sung in a slow and rugged voice. The dancers would clap along and build a rhythm along with the drum before jumping to their feet to prepare for their number. The guitarist was crazy to watch because his fingers would fly across the strings in a blur. 

When they danced, the whole room could feel this amazing passion. They didn't put on any fake smiles or make a big production out of it so it all seemed very natural. I guess I didn't know that much about Flamenco before watching but the stomping, clapping, and abrupt movements seemed to portray a lot of intense emotions. It was really fascinating. And we sat in a circle around the dancers so we felt like part of the action. Each dancer had a very distinct style. One danced really rapidly, another used clappers, one of the men snapped his fingers, and one woman danced slowly and sang. 

We went to bed late but it was worth the sleep deprivation. 

Day 3: Sevilla

Another long bus ride. 

We arrived in Sevilla and went straight for the tour. We walked the streets for a while and the guide pointed out some of the more significant spots. Such as a street called "Banderas" where a scene from the opera, Carmen, takes place. 

Um... that is honestly the only picture I took on that tour. 

I am slightly embarrassed. 

Then we toured the Giralda - another palace with Muslim architecture. This tour was a bit of a blur because, to be honest, I was burnt out on tours. But it was beautiful and had it's own cool little elements. Such as Queen Isabel's bedroom and the only still-functioning Hyrdo-powered organ. 

The organ. It played this medieval-sounding song. Pretty sweet.

Next, we were given the rest of the day to do as we pleased. Me, Alex, Crystal, and a couple of the guys decided to check out the cathedral. It is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world and, if I heard right, the world's largest Gothic cathedral. It held a lot of amazing artwork by Goya and some old relics but I was most excited about the tower and Christopher Columbus' tomb. 

Oh hey, Señor Columbus. (He's being carried by the four

kings of Spain).

According to the sign, these actually hold body parts

from some of the saints. You can actually see a bone

on the left. 

We were lucky when we got up to the top of the tower because a few minutes later, the bells rang. Kind of cool to be right there. 

After dinner, we wandered around with a few of the other students to see the bridge and the Torre de Oro (Gold Tower). We eventually found a plaza to sit in and hung out for an hour or so before heading back to the hostel. On the way, we spotted an artisan market going on in the street and checked out some of their goods. 

The plaza... or palace... I don't even remember what it was called.

But this is where we hung out for most of the night, just talking and

soaking in the view.

The next day, we had another 12 hour bus ride back to Gijón. On the way, we stopped in Salamanca to see ANOTHER cathedral and visit some shops. I bought Maite some orange marmalade from the monastery shop. 

A wedding procession possibly? They came marching through as soon as we arrived

in Salamanca.

After all the heat and exhaustion we'd experienced in Southern Spain, it was really nice to roll into our rainy little city again. I ate dinner with Maite and Ines, gave Maite her Marmalade (which I found out had rum in it after I told her it tasted funny) and then I slept like a rock. 

That's it for Souther Spain. I promise I'll eventually get a hang of this blogging thing so I don't ramble on and plaster a bajillion photos every time. 

Rainy days in Gijón

I swear I'm going to post about our trip down South but I want to get some pictures on my computer first and I don't have a camera cord handy (Alex...?)

So, instead, I thought I'd talk a bit about a typical day in Gijón (which really doesn't exist). So, every morning I wake up at 7:20 and shower. Maite and Ines are usually off to school and work before I leave so I help myself for breakfast. I usually have a bowl of Muesli with soy yogurt, oats, and honey. I'm thinking I'll keep up the tradition when I get to the States because it's fabulous. We usually have fresh squeezed Orange juice too. I'm definitely gonna miss that. I don't suppose anyone wants to buy me a juicer?

 Then I make myself a snack (usually a bocadillo/small sandwich) for school and head off for the bus stop.

Each class is two hours long and incredibly difficult to stay awake through and even harder to follow sometimes. One of the teachers hasn't really grasped that we're not native speakers and, even if we were, we wouldn't be able to follow her wavy diagrams that wander all over the board.

During the break, we gather in the café downstairs and eat our snacks. The staff gets mad at us for loitering and we (meaning I) usually end up ordering some cola cao (closes thing to hot chocolate you can find here, it's kind of like hot nesquick).

After classes are over, we all scatter to our houses for the two-hour siesta (I am loving this aspect of Spanish culture. Why don't we have a required naptime in the states?? Dumb!). I usually spend mine trying to catch up on e-mails before Ines gets home, because after that I'm not allowed to do anything without her involvement. We end up watching a lot of Michael Jackson music videos mixed in with some of her favorite disney channel/Spanish singers.

Mealtimes are weird here and I still struggle with getting used to it. They eat breakfast in the morning and it's usually something REALLY small. Like coffee and crackers or a piece of toast. Then lunch isn't until 2 or 3 and dinner is usually around 10 PM with a dessert of fruit or cheese after. It's weird to eat dinner and go straight to bed. And even the little kids stay up past 11 every night.

Today was a little different because, for one thing, Ines wasn't home for the siesta and it was really quiet. After siesta, a series of things happened:

- First off, it started pouring rain like crazy and I started considering spending a day in the house.

-Maite got concerned that I was being a recluse and would be bored all night so I headed for the beach.

- Got to the beach and played a couple hours of Ultimate Frisbee with the other kids (we were supposed to play soccer against the Oviedo students but they didn't show because of the rain...wimps)

- After playing, we wanted to cool off so, of course, we jumped in the ocean. In the rain.

- I walked to the bus stop, still dripping, and got a lot of stares. It was cold too and I'm pretty sure I looked pathetic.

- I slipped off the plastic chair on the bus and caused a scene.

- Came home, got yelled at by Maite to take a shower

- Took a shower

- Came upstairs, got yelled at by Maite to dry my hair. Or no dinner. (I'm remembering what it was like to live with my Padres...good to know she cares.)

Dinner was great and I was ravenous. Maite made some mixed veggies with fried eggs but, since I don't eat eggs, I got a blob of fried cheese. It was almost like an egg. Ines and her friend, Ines (that caused some confusion) talked to me rapidly through the entire meal and now I'm extra exhausted. Goodnight, Neverland!

Previously on Study Abroad....

So, I've been in Spain for about 3 weeks or so and am on the tail end of my Study Abroad program. As usual, I'm pretty late in trying to document this stuff but I'm going to try anyway. So, here's a recap  of the past 3 or so weeks (up to our trip over the weekend, I'll post another recap for that one.)

RECAP: 

Day 1: Got to Madrid, met some girls in my program who were total strangers, checked-in to a sketchy hostel, and wandered the city in an attempt to fight jet-lag.

MADRID:

We spent 2 days and 3 nights in Madrid and basically ate at a TON of little cafes. The weather was great, the ambience was even better. We strolled through the Reina Sofia and Prado Museum (the highlight being that we got to see the real "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso) and stumbled across a little cathedral.

This park:

was beautiful and something else that we just happened to be walking by. In the center of it is a man-made lake and we didn't even hesitate to jump in a couple of row boats and drift around for more than an hour.

Wednesday morning, we jumped on a train and enjoyed a very scenic ride up to Northern Spain where we would be starting our program.

GIJÓN:

I think when we first got to Gijón, we were a little disappointed. We'd passed some beautiful little Pueblos on the way that were nestled into the mountains and were hoping it would look something like they did but the train station was kind of... ugly. However, when the Taxi took us to our Institute to meet our host families, we felt a little better about it. The institute looks a little bit like Hogwarts when you first walk in and it is literally a block away from the beach.

The beach is what we really fell in love with:

That night, we were all paired up with our host families. It was a little sad to see the other girls go after we'd all gotten so close but I was still excited to see my new home. One by one, the students all met their families and went home. Eventually, it was just me standing awkwardly with our professors and feeling a little like I'd been picked last for kickball. The professor promised to call my host mom and twenty-minutes later, a woman ran in looking really flustered. I saw a paper clutched in her hand with the word "Wenie" written on it. That would be me. I greeted her and told her that I just needed to get my bag. On the way to the house, my host-mom, Maite (short for Maria-Theresa), pointed out all the sights of the city and gave me a bit of background as well as fun things to do. Her Spanish was really rapid and hard to follow at times but we managed to communicate.

When we got to the house, I met her housekeeper and her daughter, Ines who quickly became my shadow. Ines is 8 years old and has a lot more energy than me. After I broke the ice with her, I discovered that is rare for Ines to pass by you without talking your ear off or wanting to show you something (which reminded me a little of a certain sister in the States....). I'm pretty sure I get the best practice by talking to Ines and our conversations are always hilarious. She is sweet and always tells me that I'm one of her best friends.

This was after she stole one of my shirts. And then my computer.

The next day, we started classes and had our first excursion. I, of course, got lost trying to find the meeting point and had the biggest adventure/car chase of my life. Somehow, I had misunderstood the bus schedule and didn't catch a bus in time to get to the Plaza Mayor. So, I ended up taking a bus that went several stops too far and wandered aimlessly looking for a pay-phone before a woman pointed out where to get a taxi. I took the taxi to the meeting point but realized I was too late to get on the double-decker for our tour. I spotted the double-decker and yelled at the taxi to follow. We lost it after a while and I asked him to drop me at the beach instead where I'd seen a pay-phone. He told me not to worry about paying since I seemed so frazzled and to worry about finding my group instead. I called on the payphone and, rather than telling me where to find them, the professor told me my homework was to talk to some locals and get directions on my own. So I did and waited on the steps of the plaza for my group to walk by. I talked a bit with some locals before I spotted some of the other students and ran to catch up. They were all surprised I'd found them. Something I love about having a small group here is that we all watch out for each other and people are rarely left behind (aside from me that first day).

After that, the program has been a bit of a blur. Classes are intense but I'm definitely understanding more and more every day. I've seen enough cathedrals and mosques to last a lifetime and played a TON of beach soccer, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED:


*When you ask a Spaniard to slow down when they talk to you, they talk just as rapidly. They do start waving their hands around though, as if that's going to make Spanish suddenly make sense.

*I know nothing about European history, especially Spain. But I'm more fascinated with it than I thought I'd be.

*Kristen Stewart does a much better performance when she's dubbed.

*The further North you go, the friendlier the people are. And the gents in Gijón are tops. I've had multiple taxistas and elderly people pat me on the shoulder or knee when I'm lost before giving me excellent directions.

*Sometimes when you're talking to someone in Gijón they are actually speaking Bablé or a mix of Bablé and Spanish. This made me a little insecure about my Spanish on more than one occasion when I couldn't understand a word people were saying at church.

CRAP I'VE EATEN:


*Octopus (it wasn't too bad, but definitely looked gross).

*Spanish Tortilla (it's actually more like an omelet with potatoes, even though I avoid eggs, I had to try a bite of it - according to my host mom)

*Blood Pudding (this was a pastry looking thing that I ate without knowing what it was. It tasted a little funny so I only ate half of one. Then I found out what it was. Unless it was fish blood, I've failed at being a vegetarian/pescatarian/whatever).

*Chocolate con Churros - best dessert ever! If you ask for hot chocolate here, you get the first half of this dish which has the same consistency as pudding. It's SUPER thick.

That's it for now, I'll try to put up more pictures, etc. later.

Here are a few:

In Gijón during our tour of the city.

The cathedral at Covadonga. It's said that the virgin appeared here.

This is a tiny sanctuary inside a cave at Covadonga.

I think this is the tomb of Rey Paleyo but I'm not positive. The writing on it is in a really old dialect.

Sidra - one of the drinks we see a lot in Asturias. And, yes, it's supposed to be poured like that.