Happy Birthday 21st Pam!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Huelga won’t get us down!
¡Queridos amigos! I’m terribly sorry that I have not been able to write to you in quite a few days, but I have to admit that I was enjoying myself. Thursday we had class as usual and then went to Karaoke at Hannigans’ at night, but we did not stay very long as the real fun was to begin very early the next morning. At 7:00 am we were scheduled to meet Teresa, Amalia, and the other students at the Plaza Real where we would board a bus set for the destination of Madrid, Spain. Quite excited, yet less than thrilled to be waking so early, we prepared all of our necessities the night before so that our journey could commence quite easily. However, I cannot even remember how, but Pam and I ended up running late! Living in a city, we have become particularly skilled at speed walking and we made it there with four minutes to spare, but once there it took quite a few minutes for us to catch our breath. Five hours, and a viciously uncomfortable nap later (it was like I was doing bus yoga) we arrived in Madrid.
What an interesting city Madrid is! First of all, it’s rather large and has over six million inhabitants, but what really got me was the architecture of the city. You cannot escape the history or the vibrant Spanish culture. We stayed right in the center of Madrid in a beautiful hotel called the Hotel Regina. As we arrived around noon, we were free to have an early lunch- one we had brought from home- and to take a quick siesta. After this short break, Amalia brought us on a little walking tour of the city. Apparently, all of the highways in Spain stem out from Madrid so that, on a map, Spain appears to be a big wheel with Madrid at the nation’s center (does that make Madrid the hub?). We walked through the Plaza del Sol, named such as it is shaped like a rising or setting sun. It is here where much of the shopping is, many of the tourists wander, a number of the street performers practice their arts (a debatable term), and many people tend to lose their belongings to others. Our tour continued on to the Plaza Mayor and eventually to the Cathedral of Madrid. By this point in my life, I have visited my fair share of cathedrals. Anyone who has visited more than three cathedrals (and is not an expert on them, or perhaps is more intelligent than I) will tell you that they start to all seem like the same ridiculously ornate building after a while. I have to say that I was not impressed by the Catedral de la Almudena de Madrid, but it was not only due to grandeur exhaustion. The Cathedral was only completed in 1993 and I felt that it lacked serious historical charm and meaning. When you sit in a pew at Notre Dame, you are amazed to realize that Napolean Bonaparte had sat in the same church and had seized his own crown, but the cathedral in Madrid was too shiny, too clean, and was almost a sad attempt to reclaim the glory of a time now passed.
In a more positive light, I was completely delighted with the Royal Palace which we explored next. I was slightly reminded of Versaille, although the décor and glamour were not quite as excessive (but really what is as excessive as Versaille?) and pleased with the waves of information and history that Amalia washed upon us about the building. When we finished this little tour, Almalia released us to Madrid and we did some shopping (what else is new?). Later on, Pam and I went out to dinner with our friends Mark and John (everyone else went for Sushi- not my thing). We went to this busy little sandwich shop and ate fried calamari sandwiches with potatoes brava. Daddy, you would love this dish! The calamari was delicious and the brava sauce is brilliantly spicy yet delectably tasty. After our dinner, we returned to the hotel to meet up with our other friends and to grab an ice cream cone. As Ms. Badylak-Reals would say, the ice cream was “yum-a-lums!” Finally getting in touch with my friend Tessa, who is studying in Madrid this semester, I arranged to meet her outside my hotel. It was so cool! We really did not do anything, but it was so great to see her and to hear about her semester thus far.
The next morning, we arose for a nice complimentary breakfast buffet at the hotel, with hot breakfast foods! Pam and I were in heaven. Every single day we eat cereal for breakfast as it is not considered a very important meal in Spain, but both of us agreed that we’ve desperately missed Stonehill’s brunch, and I explained that I missed my daddy’s omelets (I want a tomato and American as soon as I get home please, thanks). After breakfast, our tour of the city continued on, ending at the Prado museum, the most visited museum in Spain and a Spanish art-lover’s dream! It was so cool to see paintings that I have only ever read about or seen photographs of including Las Meninas, La Maja Vestida/Desnuda, El tres de Mayo de 1808, and El caballero de la mano en el pecho. After our tour of the Prado, we returned to our bus and began our short trip to Toledo.
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing about Toledo. Of course I had heard of it, and could remember that it had some sort of connection to El Greco, but besides that I had no idea what to expect. That is why my jaw dropped to the floor when the bus literally rolled into a medieval castle nestled into a grassy hill. We ate lunch in a little restaurant that overlooked the river and the city itself. The meal began with a delicious assortment of tapas, and then when we felt as though we could not possibly eat any more, we were served a huge plate of fried chicken and french fries which was then followed by a little cup of fruit and ice cream. Needless to say, when we finished, we rolled out of the restaurant and began our tour of the medieval city. We visited the cathedral which hosts more of El Greco’s work and then to a museum that is made of the ruins of an ancient synagogue. So fascinating!
On the bus ride home, Pam and I realized something very interesting. Remember how I said that we bought tickets to go to London this Wednesday? There is also a national huelga on Wednesday, or a national strike. This means that there will be no flying, bus transportation, or even school in the country of Spain because all of the Spaniards will be on strike. As you can imagine, Pam and I immediately panicked. Amalia assured us that we would probably lose all of the money that we had used to pay for the bus tickets and probably for the flight too and that we would have to do some serious arguing to get what we wanted. However, all was not lost! Thankfully, Ryanair (the company through which we bought our plane tickets) recognized that this is slightly inconvenient and offered us a free change of flight time for no charge. I was deeply surprised by this as Ryanair has a terrible reputation for customer service and really everything else (but it’s cheap!). Sunday, Pam and I went to the Granada bus station where we were also allowed to change our tickets free of charge. Huelga won’t get us down! Now, we will be traveling on Thursday instead.
After we figured everything out on Sunday, we attended yet another procession through Granada. This time, however, the whole family went (except Carlos) and we met Ana’s cousin and her daughter there. After the procession Pam and I went with the kids to get frozen yogurt (pronounced “jo-gurt” with a nice glottal hack, it’s really rather humorous) and then we went with Ana and her cousin to get a drink. It was interesting talking to the women and a lot of fun as Ana’s cousin is hilarious!
This morning we took another placement test. It was long, grueling and we did not do anything else all day. Well, I did write this ridiculously long blog post! Hope you enjoyed, now I’m off to eat dinner and then pub quiz at Hannigans. It really is a hard life for the social butterfly.
PS I love you.
What an interesting city Madrid is! First of all, it’s rather large and has over six million inhabitants, but what really got me was the architecture of the city. You cannot escape the history or the vibrant Spanish culture. We stayed right in the center of Madrid in a beautiful hotel called the Hotel Regina. As we arrived around noon, we were free to have an early lunch- one we had brought from home- and to take a quick siesta. After this short break, Amalia brought us on a little walking tour of the city. Apparently, all of the highways in Spain stem out from Madrid so that, on a map, Spain appears to be a big wheel with Madrid at the nation’s center (does that make Madrid the hub?). We walked through the Plaza del Sol, named such as it is shaped like a rising or setting sun. It is here where much of the shopping is, many of the tourists wander, a number of the street performers practice their arts (a debatable term), and many people tend to lose their belongings to others. Our tour continued on to the Plaza Mayor and eventually to the Cathedral of Madrid. By this point in my life, I have visited my fair share of cathedrals. Anyone who has visited more than three cathedrals (and is not an expert on them, or perhaps is more intelligent than I) will tell you that they start to all seem like the same ridiculously ornate building after a while. I have to say that I was not impressed by the Catedral de la Almudena de Madrid, but it was not only due to grandeur exhaustion. The Cathedral was only completed in 1993 and I felt that it lacked serious historical charm and meaning. When you sit in a pew at Notre Dame, you are amazed to realize that Napolean Bonaparte had sat in the same church and had seized his own crown, but the cathedral in Madrid was too shiny, too clean, and was almost a sad attempt to reclaim the glory of a time now passed.In a more positive light, I was completely delighted with the Royal Palace which we explored next. I was slightly reminded of Versaille, although the décor and glamour were not quite as excessive (but really what is as excessive as Versaille?) and pleased with the waves of information and history that Amalia washed upon us about the building. When we finished this little tour, Almalia released us to Madrid and we did some shopping (what else is new?). Later on, Pam and I went out to dinner with our friends Mark and John (everyone else went for Sushi- not my thing). We went to this busy little sandwich shop and ate fried calamari sandwiches with potatoes brava. Daddy, you would love this dish! The calamari was delicious and the brava sauce is brilliantly spicy yet delectably tasty. After our dinner, we returned to the hotel to meet up with our other friends and to grab an ice cream cone. As Ms. Badylak-Reals would say, the ice cream was “yum-a-lums!” Finally getting in touch with my friend Tessa, who is studying in Madrid this semester, I arranged to meet her outside my hotel. It was so cool! We really did not do anything, but it was so great to see her and to hear about her semester thus far.
The next morning, we arose for a nice complimentary breakfast buffet at the hotel, with hot breakfast foods! Pam and I were in heaven. Every single day we eat cereal for breakfast as it is not considered a very important meal in Spain, but both of us agreed that we’ve desperately missed Stonehill’s brunch, and I explained that I missed my daddy’s omelets (I want a tomato and American as soon as I get home please, thanks). After breakfast, our tour of the city continued on, ending at the Prado museum, the most visited museum in Spain and a Spanish art-lover’s dream! It was so cool to see paintings that I have only ever read about or seen photographs of including Las Meninas, La Maja Vestida/Desnuda, El tres de Mayo de 1808, and El caballero de la mano en el pecho. After our tour of the Prado, we returned to our bus and began our short trip to Toledo.
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing about Toledo. Of course I had heard of it, and could remember that it had some sort of connection to El Greco, but besides that I had no idea what to expect. That is why my jaw dropped to the floor when the bus literally rolled into a medieval castle nestled into a grassy hill. We ate lunch in a little restaurant that overlooked the river and the city itself. The meal began with a delicious assortment of tapas, and then when we felt as though we could not possibly eat any more, we were served a huge plate of fried chicken and french fries which was then followed by a little cup of fruit and ice cream. Needless to say, when we finished, we rolled out of the restaurant and began our tour of the medieval city. We visited the cathedral which hosts more of El Greco’s work and then to a museum that is made of the ruins of an ancient synagogue. So fascinating!
On the bus ride home, Pam and I realized something very interesting. Remember how I said that we bought tickets to go to London this Wednesday? There is also a national huelga on Wednesday, or a national strike. This means that there will be no flying, bus transportation, or even school in the country of Spain because all of the Spaniards will be on strike. As you can imagine, Pam and I immediately panicked. Amalia assured us that we would probably lose all of the money that we had used to pay for the bus tickets and probably for the flight too and that we would have to do some serious arguing to get what we wanted. However, all was not lost! Thankfully, Ryanair (the company through which we bought our plane tickets) recognized that this is slightly inconvenient and offered us a free change of flight time for no charge. I was deeply surprised by this as Ryanair has a terrible reputation for customer service and really everything else (but it’s cheap!). Sunday, Pam and I went to the Granada bus station where we were also allowed to change our tickets free of charge. Huelga won’t get us down! Now, we will be traveling on Thursday instead.
After we figured everything out on Sunday, we attended yet another procession through Granada. This time, however, the whole family went (except Carlos) and we met Ana’s cousin and her daughter there. After the procession Pam and I went with the kids to get frozen yogurt (pronounced “jo-gurt” with a nice glottal hack, it’s really rather humorous) and then we went with Ana and her cousin to get a drink. It was interesting talking to the women and a lot of fun as Ana’s cousin is hilarious!
This morning we took another placement test. It was long, grueling and we did not do anything else all day. Well, I did write this ridiculously long blog post! Hope you enjoyed, now I’m off to eat dinner and then pub quiz at Hannigans. It really is a hard life for the social butterfly.
PS I love you.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Seriously, the only thing missing was the soundtrack
¡Buenos dias amgios! I think it is quite possible that Amalia takes great pleasure in giving us homework because she doles it out quite often and quite generously. Yet, although I would prefer to go play with the kids than spend hours translating and conjugating verbs, I understand that homework does help one improve. Reason thrown away, I just want to go play!
Aimless ranting aside, Saturday was an interesting and fun day. Pam’s plans of visiting her friend Christina in Malaga did not pan out successfully so we both slept in until… well who cares about specific times anyway? By the time that we finally changed our clothes, prepared ourselves for the day, and eaten lunch, it was around 4:00pm so we decided that we wanted to go on a little hike up the mountain at the base of which we live on. We attempted to follow the path that we had previously walked with Teresa, but we soon realized that we did not remember the route. Excited to explore different parts of the city, we continued on anyway. I find it hard to believe that people actually live in the homes that we walked by. It is so steep and so high up the mountain that I imagine you could lose ten pounds just going to buy a gallon of milk! After we had been walking for some time, we came upon an ancient, empty castle and a picturesque view of La Alhambra. It was magnificent. We continued walking up the ridiculously steep and narrow path until we came upon a giant Victorian home with a public garden. We’re not exactly sure what this treasure was- besides amazing- but we think that it either belonged to or is now dedicated to an Andalucían poet. Pam and I both agreed that the garden was like stepping into a Disney movie. Next to the little river running through the garden stood a miniature castle and lookout point. Seriously, the only thing missing was the soundtrack.
After we exhausted our exploration of our magical garden, we decided that it was time to descend the mountain. With no plan and unsure of any type of direction, we started walking downhill. After about fifteen minutes we came upon a beautiful old church so, as usual, we walked inside. Granada is speckled with so many priceless gems that are just begging to be discovered. After our quick prayers we made on our journey again, trying to see if we could recognize any of the street names when all of a sudden- BAM! There was Hannigans’- we were on our street! Pam turned to me and exclaimed- “We couldn’t possibly be better wanderers!” After a two hour hiking tour without a map, we magically found our way home again. Before we returned to the house, however, we caught a peek at a wedding going on at a church nearby. Weddings in Spain are like one big prom celebration in the respect that everyone gets dressed up very fancy. Later that night as we prepared to go out with our friends we heard something peculiar. “Can you hear that music?” Pam asked me, so I opened our window and was immediately washed in sound. “It sounds like a parade!” So we ran down the stairs into the street to see what was happening and, sure enough, there was a religious procession going down the street, full band and all. We were a little disappointed to see that Carlos, Anita, and Jaime were completely unfazed by it and couldn’t understand why we were so excited and why I wanted to watch from the balcony.
Sunday morning came late (as it often does) and soon became a day full of homework. By 8:30 pm, however, we kneeled in a pew (along with our friend Jayson) at St. Matthias church once again. It was a different priest this week (Ana informed me that there are two that switch off), he was older and did not speak at an even pace so it was pretty difficult to understand. It’s terrible, but I find it hard to concentrate during the homily and I am constantly forcing myself to pay attention and pick out the three words that I can understand. Throughout the rest of the mass it is easy to be an active listener because everything is mostly the same as I have always done. However, I feel a serious connection during communion. It’s funny, even though I’m still probably missing a quarter of what the priest is saying, at that I point, I still feel completely present in the mass.
Monday morning was relatively normal except class took place in the Fundación Euroarabe (another building belonging to the University of Granada), something that we didn’t realize until we were sitting at the CLM… and no one else was. Thankfully the two are relatively close and we were not that late for class. After class we- of course- did homework and then went for a run along the river. It seems like every time I turn around there is more to this city that I did not even know about previously. At night, I was only able to go to Pub Quiz for about hour, but I found it funny that when I walked through the door the Irish bartender (he’s the same one that works at that time every week) waved, “hello” to me. Tuesday’s class was also at the Fundación Euroarabe, and I gave my presentation on Federico Garcia Lorca. The class had to comment on your performance, and everyone agreed that it was just that- a performance. Once an actress, always an actress. Afterwards, Teresa brought us to the public library to get cards and to show us around. It’s a really beautiful building and I think that I’ll be spending a lot of time there. That afternoon at 5:00pm we had our first Flamenco class. It was great! Ana is just as fun as I knew that she would be- not to mention she’s a great dancer, and she knows it! I can already tell that this class will be a great stress reliever for me.
Today we had class again at the Fundación Euroarabe and Pam gave her presentation on Lorca, very informative and impressive. After class we couldn’t help ourselves but to walk into a few stores on our way home as a lot of them are still offering some great sales to get rid of all of their summer clothes. Around 5:30pm we met Liz near the river to go for another run and she showed us another route along the river where there is an outdoor gym area. I can’t wait to go back! I decided that I can’t possibly stop exercising while I am here, every night after dinner Ana says (without fail) “¿Quereís un postre?” (You want a dessert?). Of course the answer is always, “¡sí!” That roughly translates to, “I need to run!” ¡Pues, dulces sueños!
PS May the sun shine brightly on your face, may you always find your way home, may you love your dance class, and may the bartender always know your name! Love you.
Aimless ranting aside, Saturday was an interesting and fun day. Pam’s plans of visiting her friend Christina in Malaga did not pan out successfully so we both slept in until… well who cares about specific times anyway? By the time that we finally changed our clothes, prepared ourselves for the day, and eaten lunch, it was around 4:00pm so we decided that we wanted to go on a little hike up the mountain at the base of which we live on. We attempted to follow the path that we had previously walked with Teresa, but we soon realized that we did not remember the route. Excited to explore different parts of the city, we continued on anyway. I find it hard to believe that people actually live in the homes that we walked by. It is so steep and so high up the mountain that I imagine you could lose ten pounds just going to buy a gallon of milk! After we had been walking for some time, we came upon an ancient, empty castle and a picturesque view of La Alhambra. It was magnificent. We continued walking up the ridiculously steep and narrow path until we came upon a giant Victorian home with a public garden. We’re not exactly sure what this treasure was- besides amazing- but we think that it either belonged to or is now dedicated to an Andalucían poet. Pam and I both agreed that the garden was like stepping into a Disney movie. Next to the little river running through the garden stood a miniature castle and lookout point. Seriously, the only thing missing was the soundtrack.
After we exhausted our exploration of our magical garden, we decided that it was time to descend the mountain. With no plan and unsure of any type of direction, we started walking downhill. After about fifteen minutes we came upon a beautiful old church so, as usual, we walked inside. Granada is speckled with so many priceless gems that are just begging to be discovered. After our quick prayers we made on our journey again, trying to see if we could recognize any of the street names when all of a sudden- BAM! There was Hannigans’- we were on our street! Pam turned to me and exclaimed- “We couldn’t possibly be better wanderers!” After a two hour hiking tour without a map, we magically found our way home again. Before we returned to the house, however, we caught a peek at a wedding going on at a church nearby. Weddings in Spain are like one big prom celebration in the respect that everyone gets dressed up very fancy. Later that night as we prepared to go out with our friends we heard something peculiar. “Can you hear that music?” Pam asked me, so I opened our window and was immediately washed in sound. “It sounds like a parade!” So we ran down the stairs into the street to see what was happening and, sure enough, there was a religious procession going down the street, full band and all. We were a little disappointed to see that Carlos, Anita, and Jaime were completely unfazed by it and couldn’t understand why we were so excited and why I wanted to watch from the balcony.
Sunday morning came late (as it often does) and soon became a day full of homework. By 8:30 pm, however, we kneeled in a pew (along with our friend Jayson) at St. Matthias church once again. It was a different priest this week (Ana informed me that there are two that switch off), he was older and did not speak at an even pace so it was pretty difficult to understand. It’s terrible, but I find it hard to concentrate during the homily and I am constantly forcing myself to pay attention and pick out the three words that I can understand. Throughout the rest of the mass it is easy to be an active listener because everything is mostly the same as I have always done. However, I feel a serious connection during communion. It’s funny, even though I’m still probably missing a quarter of what the priest is saying, at that I point, I still feel completely present in the mass.
Monday morning was relatively normal except class took place in the Fundación Euroarabe (another building belonging to the University of Granada), something that we didn’t realize until we were sitting at the CLM… and no one else was. Thankfully the two are relatively close and we were not that late for class. After class we- of course- did homework and then went for a run along the river. It seems like every time I turn around there is more to this city that I did not even know about previously. At night, I was only able to go to Pub Quiz for about hour, but I found it funny that when I walked through the door the Irish bartender (he’s the same one that works at that time every week) waved, “hello” to me. Tuesday’s class was also at the Fundación Euroarabe, and I gave my presentation on Federico Garcia Lorca. The class had to comment on your performance, and everyone agreed that it was just that- a performance. Once an actress, always an actress. Afterwards, Teresa brought us to the public library to get cards and to show us around. It’s a really beautiful building and I think that I’ll be spending a lot of time there. That afternoon at 5:00pm we had our first Flamenco class. It was great! Ana is just as fun as I knew that she would be- not to mention she’s a great dancer, and she knows it! I can already tell that this class will be a great stress reliever for me.
Today we had class again at the Fundación Euroarabe and Pam gave her presentation on Lorca, very informative and impressive. After class we couldn’t help ourselves but to walk into a few stores on our way home as a lot of them are still offering some great sales to get rid of all of their summer clothes. Around 5:30pm we met Liz near the river to go for another run and she showed us another route along the river where there is an outdoor gym area. I can’t wait to go back! I decided that I can’t possibly stop exercising while I am here, every night after dinner Ana says (without fail) “¿Quereís un postre?” (You want a dessert?). Of course the answer is always, “¡sí!” That roughly translates to, “I need to run!” ¡Pues, dulces sueños!
PS May the sun shine brightly on your face, may you always find your way home, may you love your dance class, and may the bartender always know your name! Love you.
Monday, September 20, 2010
GACELA DEL AMOR QUE NO SE DEJA VER
Solamente por oír
la campana de la Vela
te puse una corona de verbena.
Granada era una luna
ahogada entre las yedras.
Solamente por oír
la campana de la Vela
desgarré mi jardín de Cartagena.
Granada era una corza
rosa por las veletas.
Solamente por oír
la campana de la Vela
me abrasaba en tu cuerpo
sin saber de quién era.
Federico García Lorca
la campana de la Vela
te puse una corona de verbena.
Granada era una luna
ahogada entre las yedras.
Solamente por oír
la campana de la Vela
desgarré mi jardín de Cartagena.
Granada era una corza
rosa por las veletas.
Solamente por oír
la campana de la Vela
me abrasaba en tu cuerpo
sin saber de quién era.
Federico García Lorca
Saturday, September 18, 2010
¡Oh, corazón perdido!
¿Cómo están mis amigos? So, I officially fail at my blog posts. I'm terribly sorry laziness and exhaustion have overtaken me these past few days and therefore I have been neglecting the blog! In any case, I have much to tell you. Wednesday we went to the Alhambra, probably the most famous thing in Granada (besides the free Tapas, the Sierra Nevada, Federico Garcia Lorca, the Capilla Real, etc) and it was just as beautiful and interesting as I have heard. It is an ancient Arabian city-castle and the decor is unlike anything that I have ever seen. Arabic art focuses on geometric repetition, words, and plant life which are made by an arrangement of brightly colored tiles. It's hard to imagine how a people could build something like that with the limited tools that they had. In addition, the main theme of the whole area is water and there are little man-made rivers and fountains flowing all over. They even had a central heating system with the water from the Alhambra's Arabic baths. Amazing. We also explored a little bit of the Generalife, the main garden of the Alhambra. Extraordinary. 
After our adventure at the Alhambra we returned home for lunch and then we studied the rest of the day for the quiz that we had on Thursday. Not. Very. Fun. However, everyone in the class basically got the same grade on the quiz, so Amalia is giving us all a second chance to retake it. After we finished getting our butts kicked by this little prueba, we returned to our house for lunch and homework. By the time 6:30pm rolled around, we made our way back to the school where we met Ana, our new Flamenco teacher. Pam, Liz, and I all decided that we would take the Flamenco class offered through the school so yesterday was the information session about the class. It sounds like it’s going to be so much fun especially because Ana literally NEVER stops talking. At least we'll be able to practice our Spanish! On our walk back to our house, we saw this old church the presence of which we had been previously unaware of so we decided to explore it. Pleasantly surprised to discover that is was simply magnificent inside, we spent a lot of time studying the decoration and impressive architecture. It was the perfect place to take really great artsy photographs. Next we decided that we were all a little hungry so we found a tapas bar and enjoyed. Later that night after dinner, I had to have a talk with Ana. Dinner was literally a plate of about 4 different cold cuts, and this just was not a fun time for my stomach. I swear I tried to eat like they do, but it just wasn’t happening.
Friday was a day for the walking shoes. Our house has the advantage of being ridiculously close to the school and one of the busiest parts of the city, but it is on the opposite end of the city from most of the city’s museums and a lot of our friends. Required to meet Amalia and the other students at 10:30am at El Parque de las Ciencias, a sort of museum of science and the second most popular museum in Spain, we began the twenty-five minute walk following the Río Darro around 10:00am. The museum was very interesting, and there were a lot of things to touch and play with- which, of course, is always fun. Also, they had this really awesome bird show during which they showed the skill of the birds, dive bombing a piece of meat from about fifty feet away. This was particularly funny because they would place the meat next to an audience member or at their feet so that the bird would fly almost right at the person’s head. Quite hilarious when the bird flew right at Pam, she’s still recuperating. A butterfly room captured my attention though. It was so cool to just be walking through a mini man-made forest with hundreds of butterflies flying around everywhere.
Lunch with the family was around 3:00 pm yesterday and we ate fish and a delicious chick pea salad. Later on we had to return to the other side of the city for a school run walking tour of the city that followed all of the important places in Granada that have something to do with Federico Garcia Lorca. Lorca is a famous writer and poet who lived in and often wrote about Granada. It was very interesting, and at least it brought us back to our side of the city! Pam and I then returned home for dinner, quickly changed and then headed out for the opposite side of town- one more time!- to meet our friends for a night at the discotecha. We went to a new place this time called Granada Diez. Now, Pam and I had been contacted by some people we know studying in Seville this semester who are visiting Granada this weekend. However, we really did not expect to see them. Who are the first people that we see as we walk through the door? Stonehill people! It really is a small, small world after all. Ok, I better go do something productive with my life and enjoy this lovely Granadiñan day.
PS May the beat always be strong, the music loud, and your smile wide. Love you!
After our adventure at the Alhambra we returned home for lunch and then we studied the rest of the day for the quiz that we had on Thursday. Not. Very. Fun. However, everyone in the class basically got the same grade on the quiz, so Amalia is giving us all a second chance to retake it. After we finished getting our butts kicked by this little prueba, we returned to our house for lunch and homework. By the time 6:30pm rolled around, we made our way back to the school where we met Ana, our new Flamenco teacher. Pam, Liz, and I all decided that we would take the Flamenco class offered through the school so yesterday was the information session about the class. It sounds like it’s going to be so much fun especially because Ana literally NEVER stops talking. At least we'll be able to practice our Spanish! On our walk back to our house, we saw this old church the presence of which we had been previously unaware of so we decided to explore it. Pleasantly surprised to discover that is was simply magnificent inside, we spent a lot of time studying the decoration and impressive architecture. It was the perfect place to take really great artsy photographs. Next we decided that we were all a little hungry so we found a tapas bar and enjoyed. Later that night after dinner, I had to have a talk with Ana. Dinner was literally a plate of about 4 different cold cuts, and this just was not a fun time for my stomach. I swear I tried to eat like they do, but it just wasn’t happening.
Friday was a day for the walking shoes. Our house has the advantage of being ridiculously close to the school and one of the busiest parts of the city, but it is on the opposite end of the city from most of the city’s museums and a lot of our friends. Required to meet Amalia and the other students at 10:30am at El Parque de las Ciencias, a sort of museum of science and the second most popular museum in Spain, we began the twenty-five minute walk following the Río Darro around 10:00am. The museum was very interesting, and there were a lot of things to touch and play with- which, of course, is always fun. Also, they had this really awesome bird show during which they showed the skill of the birds, dive bombing a piece of meat from about fifty feet away. This was particularly funny because they would place the meat next to an audience member or at their feet so that the bird would fly almost right at the person’s head. Quite hilarious when the bird flew right at Pam, she’s still recuperating. A butterfly room captured my attention though. It was so cool to just be walking through a mini man-made forest with hundreds of butterflies flying around everywhere.
Lunch with the family was around 3:00 pm yesterday and we ate fish and a delicious chick pea salad. Later on we had to return to the other side of the city for a school run walking tour of the city that followed all of the important places in Granada that have something to do with Federico Garcia Lorca. Lorca is a famous writer and poet who lived in and often wrote about Granada. It was very interesting, and at least it brought us back to our side of the city! Pam and I then returned home for dinner, quickly changed and then headed out for the opposite side of town- one more time!- to meet our friends for a night at the discotecha. We went to a new place this time called Granada Diez. Now, Pam and I had been contacted by some people we know studying in Seville this semester who are visiting Granada this weekend. However, we really did not expect to see them. Who are the first people that we see as we walk through the door? Stonehill people! It really is a small, small world after all. Ok, I better go do something productive with my life and enjoy this lovely Granadiñan day.
PS May the beat always be strong, the music loud, and your smile wide. Love you!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Reminds me slightly of a Japanese game show.
¡Buenas Noches! Class with Inma began at the usual time today and it was great. I like her a lot because the way that she teaches makes me feel like I really understand. After class, we decided to look up movie times for the Neptuno theatre so that we could experience a Spanish movie. “Salvando Las Distancias” or “Going the Distance” was the movie that we chose to see so we settled upon the time and promised each other that we would be there “en punto.” Next, Pam and I returned to our house and did our homework until it was time for lunch. After lunch, we brought the reading that is due tomorrow with us to the Fuente de las Batallas and parked ourselves on a bench to do it. After we finished reading, we decided that it was time, once again, to go shopping. Luckily, Pam is just as much a bargain hunter as I am so we work well together and we were able to get some good deals. We made it to the movie theater right on time, bought some popcorn, and sat down to enjoy a movie- or at least we tried to. Luckily, we were able to understand the gist of what happened in the movie, but it was very difficult to comprehend- most of the time- the words that they were saying.
Returning to our house just in time for dinner, we ate our delicious empandillas and then watched television with the family. I can’t believe I haven’t talked about the television programs here yet. Pam and I struggle to understand what’s going on because they speak so quickly and with such different accents, but mostly because the programs are just so strange. Tonight we watched this program that reminds me slightly of a Japanese game show. It’s a very popular talk show that hosts famous people and has them play ridiculous games and have crazy conversations. Most of the time, Pam and I are just trying to figure out why they are stuffing bricks into a running washing machine. Most of the time, we are watching Disney channel which is basically the same programs as in the US, but dubbed in Spanish. However, they have some Spanish programs too (apparently most are made in Argentina) and it is some of the worst acting that I have ever seen, but the kids seem to like it. Tomorrow we visit the Alhambra, so I hope that it will be a little more of an interesting blog post!
PS Love you.
Returning to our house just in time for dinner, we ate our delicious empandillas and then watched television with the family. I can’t believe I haven’t talked about the television programs here yet. Pam and I struggle to understand what’s going on because they speak so quickly and with such different accents, but mostly because the programs are just so strange. Tonight we watched this program that reminds me slightly of a Japanese game show. It’s a very popular talk show that hosts famous people and has them play ridiculous games and have crazy conversations. Most of the time, Pam and I are just trying to figure out why they are stuffing bricks into a running washing machine. Most of the time, we are watching Disney channel which is basically the same programs as in the US, but dubbed in Spanish. However, they have some Spanish programs too (apparently most are made in Argentina) and it is some of the worst acting that I have ever seen, but the kids seem to like it. Tomorrow we visit the Alhambra, so I hope that it will be a little more of an interesting blog post!
PS Love you.
Monday, September 13, 2010
¡Yo quiero bailar!
Hola mis amigos, vecinos, familia, y la familia de Pamela. What a weekend we had! We woke up early on Saturday so that we would make it in time to catch the bus that would take us to Almuñecar and Nerja. This was a school sponsored trip so we were led by a professor of the school who was hilarious, although I don’t think that she intended to be. Teresa and Amalia warned us to be there on time as the woman was insistent upon promptness and we soon learned that they were not kidding. Every other word out of the woman’s mouth was “¡en punto!” which basically means “right on time!” Our first destination was the city of Almuñecar where we visited an ancient castle from the ninth century. Much of the castle has been destroyed, but it was very interesting to stroll amongst the ruins and imagine the lives of the inhabitants and to have my day dream interrupted by “¡EN PUNTO!” I was a little disappointed by our trip to the castle because it was much too quick. I would have liked to explore the ruins a bit longer.
Once we had all boarded the bus again, we made on our way for “Los Cuevas de Nerja” or “The Caves of Nerja.” They were rather spectacular and a lot bigger and a lot closer to the surface than any of the caves that I have visited in the United States. After our tour of the caves, we ate at the buffet at the caves’ restaurant. So. Much. Food. However, it was quite a delicious stuffing session. After we finished our meal, we made on our way to the little town of Nerja. Upon discovering that our hostel was closed until 5:00pm (it was 3:00pm) we made our way down to the beach and I swam in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in my life, but much to my sadness, it was freezing cold! However, laying on the silt-full sand, listening to the waves crash upon the beach, and allowing the kind Spanish sun rays to soak into my skin I felt more relaxed than I have in a long time. After deciding that it was time to check into our hotel, we made on our way to our humble abode. I was very impressed with our accommodations (we even had a bathroom in our room!) and pleased to discover the little balcony out our window. After a nice long nap, we were ready to go out for dinner. We were surprised to discover that almost everything in Nerja is written in English. Apparently, this little Spanish town is the Cape Cod of Europe; it is where all the older people go to retire!
The next morning I awoke at 10:54am and realized that I had no idea at what time we needed check out of the hotel. So, in my pajamas, I ran down the stairs to the desk and asked the dreaded question. Of course, check out was anytime before noon so I made my way around to our five rooms and woke everyone up and told them the good news. Luckily, we were able to pack up and get ready for the beach in time for checkout and we made our way to a little English sandwich shop for brunch. Afterwards, we walked to the beach again and were delighted to notice that the water was significantly warmer than it had been the day before. I must have spent the entire day floating around the Mediterranean. A little before 5:00pm we grabbed an ice cream and bought our tickets to return to Granada. Bus tickets, by the way, are ridiculously cheap in Spain. Pamela and I made it back to our house just in time to shower and arrive ten minutes early for mass at St. Matthias’ church which is actually closer to our house and a lot smaller than the Cathedral. Also, the priest spoke much slower, and was a lot easier to understand than the one from the Cathedral. Pam and I were so excited! We decided that we have a new favorite “iglesia.”
9:30am, Monday morning saw us at the school ready for class with a different instructor, Inma. Apparently, she is the expert at the University of Granada in the Subjunctive tense (one of the most difficult to understand in the Spanish language). She was rather entertaining and a great professor. After class, Pam and I returned to our house to complete our homework, take a little siesta, and completely misunderstand some directions entirely. Under the impression that we had to meet Amalia at the EuroArabe building at 6:30pm, we set out for the location that we were completely unsure about but had a general idea of the direction. We got miserably lost. However, before you judge us far too harshly I must let you know that this is the first time that we have gotten lost in Granada and that there is no route 6A here. In any case, we arrived at the correct building by 6:45pm only to discover that our meeting had been changed to Thursday. Ho hum. Amalia felt bad for us as she had not clearly explained to us that she had changed our time, so she bought us each a soda. After we finished our beverages, we decided that we should go for a run. After our nice little run (during which I almost died. Pam’s fast.) we showered then ate dinner with the family- tuna and bacon pizza and jam pizza. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of these flavors of pizza. I am glad that I am eating meat while I am here, but I look forward to returning to my Pescaterian lifestyle, it makes me feel better.
After dinner, we ate our dessert of cookies in a bowl of milk and played with the kids a little bit. Pam gave Jaime a piggy back ride all over the house and we joked that it was a parade for King Jaime. Oh! I forgot to mention that he went back to school for the first time on Friday while Anita and Carlos go back on Wednesday. Next, we went across the street to Hannigans’ for our weekly Pub Quiz. We were surprised to find a lot more people there this week, but we had a great time losing miserably.
PS I forgot to tell you, we went out Friday night and we found this little dance club called, the Copacabana. This was probably a dream come true for me, and although there was no girl with yellow ribbons in her hair and her dress cut down to there, it was amazing. It was still a little early for people to be dancing (in Spain, it’s considered early at 12:30pm) so the floor was empty. Frustrated, I yelled out to my friends, “¡Yo quiero bailar!” From out of nowhere Rico (probably not his real name, and according to Pam, “a gorgeous, athletic, foreign model) sailed across the bar, grabbed my hands and swept me around the dance floor. He was a fantastic dancer and it was so much fun! I guess you shouldn’t be afraid to say what you want.
PPS Hope all is well with you. With salt of the Mediterranean Sea still tickling my skin, I wish you all health, happiness, and love!
Once we had all boarded the bus again, we made on our way for “Los Cuevas de Nerja” or “The Caves of Nerja.” They were rather spectacular and a lot bigger and a lot closer to the surface than any of the caves that I have visited in the United States. After our tour of the caves, we ate at the buffet at the caves’ restaurant. So. Much. Food. However, it was quite a delicious stuffing session. After we finished our meal, we made on our way to the little town of Nerja. Upon discovering that our hostel was closed until 5:00pm (it was 3:00pm) we made our way down to the beach and I swam in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in my life, but much to my sadness, it was freezing cold! However, laying on the silt-full sand, listening to the waves crash upon the beach, and allowing the kind Spanish sun rays to soak into my skin I felt more relaxed than I have in a long time. After deciding that it was time to check into our hotel, we made on our way to our humble abode. I was very impressed with our accommodations (we even had a bathroom in our room!) and pleased to discover the little balcony out our window. After a nice long nap, we were ready to go out for dinner. We were surprised to discover that almost everything in Nerja is written in English. Apparently, this little Spanish town is the Cape Cod of Europe; it is where all the older people go to retire!
The next morning I awoke at 10:54am and realized that I had no idea at what time we needed check out of the hotel. So, in my pajamas, I ran down the stairs to the desk and asked the dreaded question. Of course, check out was anytime before noon so I made my way around to our five rooms and woke everyone up and told them the good news. Luckily, we were able to pack up and get ready for the beach in time for checkout and we made our way to a little English sandwich shop for brunch. Afterwards, we walked to the beach again and were delighted to notice that the water was significantly warmer than it had been the day before. I must have spent the entire day floating around the Mediterranean. A little before 5:00pm we grabbed an ice cream and bought our tickets to return to Granada. Bus tickets, by the way, are ridiculously cheap in Spain. Pamela and I made it back to our house just in time to shower and arrive ten minutes early for mass at St. Matthias’ church which is actually closer to our house and a lot smaller than the Cathedral. Also, the priest spoke much slower, and was a lot easier to understand than the one from the Cathedral. Pam and I were so excited! We decided that we have a new favorite “iglesia.”
9:30am, Monday morning saw us at the school ready for class with a different instructor, Inma. Apparently, she is the expert at the University of Granada in the Subjunctive tense (one of the most difficult to understand in the Spanish language). She was rather entertaining and a great professor. After class, Pam and I returned to our house to complete our homework, take a little siesta, and completely misunderstand some directions entirely. Under the impression that we had to meet Amalia at the EuroArabe building at 6:30pm, we set out for the location that we were completely unsure about but had a general idea of the direction. We got miserably lost. However, before you judge us far too harshly I must let you know that this is the first time that we have gotten lost in Granada and that there is no route 6A here. In any case, we arrived at the correct building by 6:45pm only to discover that our meeting had been changed to Thursday. Ho hum. Amalia felt bad for us as she had not clearly explained to us that she had changed our time, so she bought us each a soda. After we finished our beverages, we decided that we should go for a run. After our nice little run (during which I almost died. Pam’s fast.) we showered then ate dinner with the family- tuna and bacon pizza and jam pizza. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of these flavors of pizza. I am glad that I am eating meat while I am here, but I look forward to returning to my Pescaterian lifestyle, it makes me feel better.
After dinner, we ate our dessert of cookies in a bowl of milk and played with the kids a little bit. Pam gave Jaime a piggy back ride all over the house and we joked that it was a parade for King Jaime. Oh! I forgot to mention that he went back to school for the first time on Friday while Anita and Carlos go back on Wednesday. Next, we went across the street to Hannigans’ for our weekly Pub Quiz. We were surprised to find a lot more people there this week, but we had a great time losing miserably.
PS I forgot to tell you, we went out Friday night and we found this little dance club called, the Copacabana. This was probably a dream come true for me, and although there was no girl with yellow ribbons in her hair and her dress cut down to there, it was amazing. It was still a little early for people to be dancing (in Spain, it’s considered early at 12:30pm) so the floor was empty. Frustrated, I yelled out to my friends, “¡Yo quiero bailar!” From out of nowhere Rico (probably not his real name, and according to Pam, “a gorgeous, athletic, foreign model) sailed across the bar, grabbed my hands and swept me around the dance floor. He was a fantastic dancer and it was so much fun! I guess you shouldn’t be afraid to say what you want.
PPS Hope all is well with you. With salt of the Mediterranean Sea still tickling my skin, I wish you all health, happiness, and love!
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