Any Questions? Yeah, can you start from the beginning... in English?

As a student of IESAbroad, we have the option to take classes at the University of Granada. I thought about it, decided not to because I enjoyed all my classes at IES, and then Celia mentioned the class she was trying to take: a translation class. The idea of translation has always interested me and I have looked into taking one at Ithaca. When Celia mentioned it, I had two thoughts: If I take this translation class I don't have to watch the 3 hour movie about Mohammad for Islamic Civilization tonight, and that it sounded like an interesting/useful class.

We met today outside the room that we thought the class was taking place in... until about 10 minutes past 4 when a professor showed up and apparently told us to follow him, because that's what all the native speakers were doing. I've learned to do what the natives do if I don't understand something. We are taken upstairs to a different room where we proceed to listen to the professor explain the class for 2 hours. I didn't understand much of what he said as he spoke quickly and hardly moved his mouth. I found myself wondering if I really speak that fast when I speak English. I also realized what a great opportunity a class at the University would be as being immersed in Spanish spoken at a normal pace is so much better than at the slowed-down pace the professors at IES use. What I did understand was: the class involved translating English to Spanish, you would work in groups and each pick a text and translate it. An ENTIRE text/book/libro whatever you want to call it. No wonder it was a 9 credit hour class. We realized we were not in Traducción 1, we were in Traducción 12... big difference.

After the class we searched for the class we should have been in, thought we found it on the main schedule but when we went to the classroom it was level 7 translation of French. We looked at couple different rooms and ended up going to talk to someone who worked at the University, who knew no more than we did. I'm not sure what happened, but long story short we sat through a 2-hour level 12 translation class, and though it sounded interesting, I'm not quite ready for that type of class :P We're not even positive that the level class we're looking for exists. Now we must talk to the adviser (who so far has been very little help to Celia) and find a class we can do successfully. It's not a huge deal for me, worse comes to worse I just stick with Islamic Civilization, which is interesting, just not my favorite class, but Celia only has 4 classes, and she needs 5. If this class doesn't work out she has to find another class that will work for her and her school. It's too late for her to pick up an IES class, though I suppose if she had to she would have to do so and just make up all the work. I really hope the new class works out, though we won't know for sure until Thursday, and time is running out to sign up for a University class!

So, I attempted to take the class, am still attempting to do so, and still have to watch the 3 hour movie... luck is not with me tonight. ¡Hasta pronto!

En la plaza de los toros...

**Before I write anything, I want to tell you that I will be talking about bullfights in this entry. Bullfighting is a controversial subject all over the world. In the US as well as here in Spain. What I write about my experience is my opinion, but I respect that you may have another opinion, and I ask that you do the same. If you cannot respect my opinion, I ask you to please stop reading here.**

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Before I came to Spain I told myself that if the opportunity arose, I would attend a bullfight. I was not a fan of the idea, and as I said in my last entry, I didn't think I would enjoy it, but it is a part of the culture in Spain. It isn't even a part of everyone's culture in Spain, but there is tradition and ceremony that occur with the fight. This past weekend the opportunity arose, and as I promised myself, I bought a ticket, even though it was quite tempting not to.

My señora offered to make me a sandwich to bring to the fight as there is an intermission during which people eat food they've brought with them. I accepted the sandwich out of courtesy, figuring I wouldn't have much appetite for it when the time came. Truthfully, I wasn't even sure I would make it to the the intermission, which occurred after the third bull. Every fight has 6 bulls, 3 matadors and numerous helpers, who to me seemed like trainees. At the beginning of the fight there was procession in which all of the people involved in the fight walked out, kind of like in football how the players' names are called and they run out onto the field, minus the names being called.
The matadors are quite religious, there is a small sanctuary where they pray before the fight, and they are also seen crossing themselves throughout the fight. To my surprise there was a pep band present who played music at the appropriate moments, much like the pep band I play with back in Ithaca:

Pep!

I won't go into detail about the different parts of the fight, I feel that most people have an idea of what the fight entails, but if you want to know more I can tell you via e-mail. Something I realized while watching the fights is that Americans, or at least anyone I've talked to, get caught up on the ending of the fight. The fact that the bull dies at the end overshadows the possibility of even considering the point of the rest of the fight. I mean, if the only point was to kill the bull, I'm sure the matadors could save of money on those costumes. My friend, Ashley's señora told them before they went to the fight that you need to have the right perspective about the fight in order to understand it. If you go into the fight thinking about animal rights and cruelty, then you will miss the real point of the fight. As Ashley's señora said, the bullfight is a celebration of brain over brawn. The matador is the brain while the bull, full of muscle and animal instincts, is the brawn.

The matador also has to have the skill and brains of understanding the bull's instinct. Many times the matador would finish a... a set of movements (sometimes including kneeling as the bull charges past, or standing close to a wall so the matador has no escape if the bull goes somewhere unplanned) and he would turn his back completely to the bull, accept the crowd's reaction and amble back to the sidelines for water. I, in no circumstance, would ever turn my back on an angry bull, but I suppose the matadors are able to read their temper and know, or at least hopefully know, that the bull was done charging for the moment.

The one matador really enjoyed putting on a show. He wore a bright orange costume with sequins and was definitely the crowd favorite. We soon found out why. The matador in orange had the ability to make the fight seem like a dance. He had the right amount of confidence and the right amount of charisma to make his performance enjoyable. Enjoyable was never a word that I thought I would use in the context of a bullfight. At one point during his first bull the bull's horns caught the matador's leg. It didn't look good for him but he quickly got up and got back in the game, finishing the set before going to get a string to tie on his leg to limit the blood loss. His defiance of being hurt or taken out of the competition made him more determined to show his skill and ability, and to me really demonstrated the reality of the bullfight.

The crowd favorite

Many people claim that bullfights already have a chosen winner, but truthfully, every bull is different and one wrong move on the bullfighter's part can end his life. Nothing in life is predetermined.

Looking back at the bullfight, I definitely wouldn't want to go again. I can now respect the art and skill that many people who have not watched a bullfight overlook. I am glad that I went, that I experienced the legendary bullfight, and glad I didn't let any of my presumptions stop me from going. It was certainly an experience I will never forget.

You know you're American when...

Finally feeling up to the club scene in Granada, my friends and I decided to check out a club called the Metro that was having an Erasmus welcome gathering on Thursday. Erasmus is a term used for European students who are studying in another European country through a government-funded program. Even though we are not Erasmus students, we are smooshed into that category almost everywhere here. We meet up around 11 or so for tapas, which were baked potatoes with radish (i think), sourcream, cheese, and corn. It was a really decent amount of food considering it was free and quite tasty.

Around 12:30 we decide to head over to the club, which when we got there at 1 no one was waiting to get in. I wasn't too surprised and was quite sure we were too early (even though the party started at 12), but we went in anyways. I was never more right in my life: there were about about 10 people total in the club, probably all Americans. There was some loud American music playing (most likely to get it out of the way so when everyone showed up they could play good music), and no one was dancing. It wasn't until 2 AM that people started showing up. Note to self: Do not arrive at party any earlier than 2 AM

The empty club :(

We still managed to have fun, singing along to some songs from our childhood, sipping on our free drinks with paid entry... Once people showed up the dancing increased and we, of course, joined in. From that moment on we danced until our feet protested enough to make us decide to go home, which was about 4 or 4:30 in the morning. As we left, it was still going strong, and we realized we definitely need to work on our clubbing-stamina.

Celia, Ashley and I in the club

Celia and I attempted the next night to go out once more, but after meeting up and finding a delicious Thai food restaurant: we realized it was colder than we first realized and Ashley had discussed going out the following night (tonight)... so we quickly decided that we couldn't afford money-wise or energy-wise to go out 3 nights in a row and parted our ways at the early hour of 1:30 in the morning. Arriving home, I felt the lack of sleep from the night before and was perfectly happy to curl up and get a good night's rest.

As I said, we had discussed going out tonight, but Ashley and Monique decided to stay in so Celia and I just walked around a bit and ended up getting dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The food was good, but nowhere near as good as the Mexican you can find in the states, let alone in Mexico (which I haven't actually had so I'm only assuming). Celia unknowingly made me try tacos in crunchy shells as I decided to order "lo mismo," or the same not realizing she had ordered crunchy shells, not soft ones. They were actually quite tasty and I may not be so against them in the future.

Celia with our free, colorful after-dinner shots at the Mexican restaurant... who needs mints?

We finished off the night with some sundaes at Café Futbol, which is actually known for their churros y chocolate. We'd already tried the churros so we went for something new this time. The sundaes were tasty, but I think next time I will stick with the churros.

Tomorrow I will be going to a bullfight here in Granada. I'm not sure how I will feel about it, but I'm pretty sure I won't enjoy it. I do feel that it is part of the culture here and its something to be experienced. I am surprised though by the number of Spaniards who do not like the bullfights and have never seen one. I actually have yet to meet a Spaniard who enjoys and supports them. I suppose I will meet a few tomorrow. It's easy to assume that by being such a popular sport, every Spaniard has at least gone to a fight, but in reality it's the same as any sport in the US, they all have fans and they all have people who can't stand them.

The Pineapple Yogurt

When in a new situation, like living abroad with a new family with new rules, it's often the little things that really makes you realize you're not at home. Ideas such as the fact that I don't have "kitchen privileges" in the apartment, so for dinner unless I go out I have to have a sandwich or cereal or salad. This was one of the first times I was really hit with the fact that I was in a house, but it wasn't really mine. I'm so used to being able to make myself a grilled cheese sandwich, or cook up some pasta and create a yummy sauce. Here I can't do that.

On the bright side, this phenomenon works for good things too. Yesterday my alarm didn't go off as I set it for 7:15 PM instead of AM. I was woken up by my host mom at 8, and having class at 8:40, I had to rush to get ready. I told her I would take my breakfast with me because I didn't have time to shower and eat. To my dismay she made me take my yogurt with me, which I feared would be really gross if I didn't eat it right away. I figured I would do something with it once I got to school. My grammar class has proven to be boring and the teacher even speaks English in class quite regularly, so I don't enjoy it much, especially when, like yesterday, I had an assignment for another class to finish. I meant to finish it in the morning, but having woke up late that didn't happen. I rushed to finish the paper over coffee with a friend, finishing with 10 minutes to spare, when I decide to take out my breakfast. I take out the yogurt, ready to toss it if it seemed warm, and realized it was pineapple yogurt.

Now, the thing about pineapple yogurt is that it is my absolute favorite. I could eat pineapple yogurt everyday and not be sick of it. I had told my host mom that I liked pineapple yogurt, but they don't have the yogurt with the fruit on the bottom here so I figured they wouldn't have a pineapple variety. The fact that she remembered and continued looking even after a couple times finding that there was no pineapple yogurt, made my horrible day so much better. I felt a bit more at home here in the Granada apartment after such a silly thing as pineapple yogurt.

Ronda y Sevilla

Here in Spain, or at least with IES, Fridays equal no classes. This weekend we used the extended weekend for a group trip to Ronda and Sevilla. After a 2.5 hour bus ride we arrived in Ronda where we were spending the afternoon. Like many towns in Spain, the streets are all cobblestone, with tiny little sidewalks on either side, if there are sidewalks at all. We spent the afternoon walking around learning about the area, taking photos of the gorgeous scenery, seeing the bullring and checking out some Arab baths. By trying to ask the guide why the matadors wear pink stockings/socks, I actually ended up asking why the bulls wore pink socks. As you can imagine, she was a little confused until I realized my mistake and corrected it.

Posing with one of the voluptuous sculptures with Ronda's landscape in the background

We continued on to Seville where we were all quite shocked by the idea of paying for tapas (we're quite spoiled here in Granada), and everything was a bit more expensive in general. We saw a flamenco show that was really fun, but I enjoyed the show I had seen in Granada more. The dancers were less personable with the audience here in Seville than they were at the restaurant in Granada. Many people went out after the show but I was exhausted, and knowing that there was only more walking and sightseeing tomorrow, I returned to the hotel happy to climb into bed and sleep.

The flamenco dancers

On Saturday we had a full day's worth of sightseeing. We first went to the Los Reales Alcázares y Jardines which was gorgeous. The gardens seemed never-ending with walkways the went off in every direction. There was even a maze made out of bushes, which we of course spent more time in than we should have and when we exited the maze no one from our group was there. We found out that the group had left the palace and continued out onto the streets of Seville not even knowing we weren't there. About 15-20 minutes later, we found the exit in time to find out that we had about an hour of free time for lunch. It was great we didn't miss anything, but a head count would have been nice, but all was well so life went on.

Hiding in the maze

We then saw the cathedral, which was huge, being the third largest in Europe (thanks Celia for that info!). We climbed to the top of the tower of the cathedral and were able to get some great views.

Partway up to the top of the Cathedral

Returning to the hotel we had some free time which was filled with a game of Egyptian Rat Screw and a slice of mediocre cheesecake. We then had the choice of going to an art museum or for a bike ride. Unable to imagine more sightseeing/education I chose the bike ride.

Seville has a bikeshare program kind of like the carshares that are starting to catch on in some cities. All over the city there are stations where, for a small fee, you can take a bike, ride it for however long you want and return it to any station where there is an open spot for the bike. What a cool idea! Since we had a large group, and we had to use our credit cards in the finicky machine one by one, we broke into two groups and went to 2 different locations to rent the bikes. It took a little time to get everyone bikes but once we all had one it was so nice to cycle around the city. Seville is definitely a bike-friendly place with lots of bike paths. We went to a park and explored a bit on the bikes, seeing an ENORMOUS building which to our dismay is empty and just kind of taking up space. It was built in 1992 for the World's Fair that took place in Seville and ever since has just been sitting empty. We got back just in time to get on the bus and head home. I fell asleep pretty quickly and woke up the next day to a nice pile of homework, quickly declared a Sweatpants Sunday, and got to work.

Flamenco Shoes

Why is it that as a dancer when I get new dancing shoes, my heart flutters? Even with the mild uncomfortable feeling that the stiff shoes give my feet I still can't help enjoying every minute of breaking in a new pair of dance shoes. I come home from the store, so excited to put them on again, eager to dance. What I find odd is that when it comes to other shoes, I hate the aches, the occasional blisters. I would take a nice comfortable pair of Teva flip-flops over heels any day. But there's something more to dancing shoes. There's something about dancing shoes that makes the blisters worth it.

Yesterday I bought my flamenco shoes for my flamenco class here in Granada. With a quick glance they look like any pair of plain black heels, but with a closer look, they are more than that. They are a bit heavier, and have more support than a regular pair of heels. The heels and toes have numerous little discs of metal glued upon them to make the sound more prominent when dancing. The best part? They're made in Spain. As I write this I'm wearing the new shoes, giving them time to become acquainted with my feet. They should loosen a little as I wear them, form to my foot a bit.

Buying these shoes makes me miss dance so much. If it weren't for this flamenco class I'm not sure what I would do with myself. Since I was 5 and my mom first signed me up for dance classes, I haven't gone longer than the 3 months of summer without dance. I am finding that dance is something you can continue throughout your life. You can let your dancing adapt to your life as time goes on. In grade school I was at a studio taking every type of dance I could. In high school I expanded this to include teaching as well as being the student. Now that I'm in college I don't have as much time to dedicate to dance, but I find friendships and community in the tap club where we meet twice a week to create rhythms and enjoy eachother's company. Social dancing too can be a way of letting dance adapt to your life. Thanks to my dad my eyes have been open to the community of contradancing, and though I have participated only a few times its something I respect and would love to experience more of. On the other end, one can enjoy the benefits of dancing by dancing alone in their room to Backstreet Boys and Shakira, using it to lift their spirits after a bad day. I've discovered that dancing is an activity in which to participate you don't need skill, or money, you only need passion.

Getting into the routine

Sacromonte

Part way through the hike in Cabo de Gata

I have officially been in Spain for a week. In such a short time my life has changed quite a bit. I am now an expert at taking "Navy showers," the long, hot shower is something of my past. I think this will be something I "bring home" from this experience and continue to use to be environmentally friendly. Spain has a lot of desert and therefore drought, something I didn't realize before coming here. Because of this they are conscious of their water use. I'm not positive but I think this is also why they charge for water and use bottled water at restaurants. I find I am more likely to order a drink that is not water here, knowing that I would be paying for something that is free from the kitchen sink.

With the homestay we have breakfast and lunch with our family. For dinner, we fend for ourselves. This week has been the week of Tapas. Even though its probably not the healthiest thing to do, eating tapas every night of the week, we've been taking advantage of the cheap meal they become and the free time we have before classes start next week. I explained in the last post about tapas but I actually had inaccurate information. With any drink that you order, whether it be beer, tea or water, you receive a free sandwich, most seem to be on bagel type rolls, with bacon, or "jamón serrano" (which I think is a cured ham, but I'm not sure. Whatever it is its good), or other variations depending on the bar. Its a great way to hang out with friends, and for 4 Euros (or less) I can have 2 drinks (a favorite is Tinto Verano, half red wine, half lemonade) plus food. It's wonderful!

On Monday we went of Cabo de Gata for a 10 mile hike, literally through a desert along the shore. It was quite strange to see desert and then turning around to see the ocean. The water was quite warm, much warmer than the waters were in Florida during spring break, and according to a friend from Los Angeles, much warmer than the Pacific ever gets. We finished that day off with a meal at a restaurant in San Jose where we had lasagna, pizza, pork.

Yesterday we went to Sacromonte, where there are caves that have been turned into bars and clubs. There is lot of flamenco in this "barrio" and it allowed some wonderful views of Granada. Another thing this walk made us notice is how many stray cats and dogs there are. Its kind of sad how many animals are in the streets. They are all well behaved, they don't bother people who walk by. They are very skinny and obviously have no home. If I had my own place I would want to adopt one...

Today I bought a little cactus for my room to bring some life into my room. At school I usually have a bamboo plant or something living to brighten the room. I have the first part of my placement test this evening, which is a written part. Tomorrow I have the speaking part of the test. I hope that the test reflects accurately what Spanish grammar class I need to be in. I'm not studying for the test because it may place me higher than I should be and this would just make my semester more difficult than necessary.

The classes I will be taking this semester (starting next week) besides the grammar class are:

• Flamenco Theory and Practice
• Islamic Civilization in Spain and North Africa until 1492
• Islamic Art and Architecture
• Lorca and the Andalusian Literary

¡Hasta luego!

The First Day in Spain

Today was an exciting day. I arrived in Spain at 5 in the morning. I hadn't slept much on the plane so I gladly accepted the coffee offered on the plane. I had met Abbie in the Boston Airport so when we got off the plane we wandered around the airport together trying to find our gate. It turns out they don't assign a gate until about 30 minutes before the flight, not realizing this we felt lost for a little bit. I bought a Cosmo in Spanish in order to have something to read in Spanish that wouldn't be too challenging. Before getting onto the second leg of our trip we met up with three more students going to Granada and ended up getting a taxi together. Since we shared a taxi it was only 5 Euros each. Showers were welcome thoughts when we arrived and then we had a few free hours before we were heading to lunch. We went on a search for a hair straightener for my roommate, which though we were unsuccessful in actually finding one, I was able to practice my miming abilities with the help of my Spanish. Spanish has actually been coming back steadily, though among each other we're still speaking English out of comfort. Once we're in Granada, or why wait til then? Maybe tomorrow I'll make myself only speak Spanish.

I have never been a huge fish eater. It has never been appealing to me. Today, I hate almost nothing but fish. We had lunch on the beach, which included a white fish, fried seafood (small squids, some type of fish cubed, and another type of seafood that I did not recognize), and a couple salads. Everything was delicious. The rest of the day was mostly time for relaxing. I took a short nap and woke up just in time to walk around the city. Most of the group went so we were probably a nuisance to the locals. We then split into groups and Javier showed us a Catholic cathedral, the Picasso museum (just the outside since it was closed), and a Roman theater. We then went for dinner at a place called El Pimpi and got some appetizers, in the essence of tapas. It is said that Granada is the only place where tapas are still free, as in by purchasing an alcoholic drink you receive a free bit of food. Here in Málaga we had to pay for the food, but by splitting the dishes we were able to still have a reasonably cheap meal. The food once again was delicious. We had "Los Pinchos" which was 2 cheeses (queso manchego and another kind) and cherry tomatos with an olive oil, tuna fish sandwich things (with asparagus on top!) and Tortilla de patatas (so good, like a mixture between mash potatoes and french fries). We actually had gotten the tuna fish by mistake because the waiter misunderstood what we wanted. After dinner we walked home, and as soon as I sign off of this, I will be asleep for the night. What a long, but exciting, day.

Tomorrow we're off to Granada!

T minus 6 hours

Today is the day. I'm in Boston staying with family friends, but in a short 6 hours I'll be sitting on a plane to go to Madrid. I'll arrive at 7 in the morning their time, though it will be more like 1 in the morning our time. Then I head off to Malaga for orientation and tours of the city. I'm going to be exhausted, but I'm so excited I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep on the plane. I will just have to do my best. I found out my seats for the planes and I'll have a window for the short leg from Madrid to Malaga, which will be nice to see the landscape as we take off and land. One of my first challenges in Malaga will be getting a taxi (let's hope my Spanish is comprehendable!) to the hotel we'll be staying at for a couple days. My mom took the iniciative to look up photos of the hotel, and though I don't have any to post, and at the moment I can't even think of it's name, it was absolutely gorgeous. There I'll meet up with other students, hopefully meet my roommate. I can't believe today has actually come. This semester is going to fly by so quickly, but will be a great experience.

¡Hasta mañana!