Life in "Grana"

¡Hola! 

 It is day number 19 in Spain, so I figured it's time for an update on my life here. Let me start off by saying Granada has been everything and nothing like I expected, all together. Unfortunately, I was pretty sick when we traveled from Madrid to Granada, so my initial reaction when we arrived was: "I can't wait until I get to my residencia so that I can pass out." And I did, in fact, fall right asleep when I got to my residencia. A nap to start my life in Granada, pretty true to form. My residencia could be compared to an American dorm, but it looks much more like an apartment. We have a "house mom" who is here during the weekdays; she cooks us meals, cleans and runs the residencia. Right now, it's just Emily (my roommate), Erin, and I living here, but this week there are 2 more American girls and a Spanish girl moving in.

We all feel that we are extremely fortunate with our housing assignment. First of all, Paqui (our house mom) is the best. She cooks delicious meals, has hilarious lunch conversations with us, and is so nice and helpful. Emily and Erin both speak Spanish very well, so a lot of our lunches consist of them translating between me and Paqui. Sometimes Paqui will say something and I'll be nodding along, thinking I understand it. Then she'll ask me, "entiendes?" "do you understand?" and I will just stare at her and start laughing. Because I have no idea what she is trying to say. Every single lunch ends with all of us cracking up about something: either my lack of understanding, Erin's attempts at hand gesturing, or Paqui telling Emily "I hate you" (out of love, of course). One of our first meals, Paqui made a delicious stew for us. We ate it, felt full and content, and were somewhat surprised that we all finished a whole meal. Then she came out with the second course of chicken and veggies, and we all said in unison, "MAS!?" We have now come to accept that we will be over-fed, but with her cooking, I'm not complaining.

 View of the Alhambra at night

So... Granada, or "Grana" as locals say. If Madrid Spanish was hard to follow, Granadian Spanish is nearly impossible at times. They randomly drop syllables and whole parts of their words off and talk veeeery fast. I am, however, pleasantly surprised at how fast my language skills have been growing. I've been taking 4 hours of Spanish a day with beginners like me. Having taken 6 years of French both helps and hurts me at times. It helps me retain certain words, phrases, and grammar rules, but I also slip into French a lot without realizing. After only 2 weeks of classes, I am already much better at communicating and can relate basic thoughts and ideas. I still can't understand locals on the street, but I understand my teachers, program directors, and Paqui pretty well. Of course I've used the phrase, "puedes repetir?" more times than I can count. I really love learning a new language. It's exciting to be able to talk to people and express myself in Spanish after only a few weeks. I have a feelings it's going to be hard to transition back into English when I get home.

The city of Granada is beautiful. I live off of a main road that stays well lit and busy until very late at night. Off of the main, more modern roads are the cobblestone streets, old bars, antique churches, and parks. We have done a lot of exploring, but there is still so much of the city to see. The days go much later here than they do at home, which is definitely an adjustment. Lunch is eaten around 2-3pm, dinner around 9-10pm, and nightlife begins around 11. People stay out socializing at bars, in the streets, or in plazas for hours. People don't go to discotecas to dance until 1, or later. Do they ever sleep? No wonder they hold tight to the tradition of siesta!

Yesterday, an important and exciting festival began here: the Festividad de Nuestra Señora la Virgen de las Angustias (Feast of Our Lady the Virgin of Sorrows). We didn't know exactly what would occur in the city, but we walked around the city center in the afternoon to explore. We were greeted by dancers in traditional Spanish clothes, several bands playing music, flower vendors, and tons and tons of people. As we walked closer to the Virgen de las Angustias Church, we saw a long line of people waiting to give flowers to the church. We watched the flowers go up on huge grates in front of the church, a long and fascinating process. All the while, there was music playing, choirs singing, dancing, clapping, and helicopters dropping flowers on us (SO cool). Later, we walked to a plaza where there was Spnaish music playing and dancing that went on until all hours of the night. This was my favorite part of the day, and I even danced through the plaza with Erin at the end of the day. Everyone was having so much fun, appreciating the beautiful day, and sharing the joy of the festividad. 

One thing that I've talked about with other people on this trip about is the mental struggle with expectations vs. reality. It can be easy to sometimes get caught up in thinking about your expectations for the trip and other peoples expectations for you. It is easy to worry, "Am I living up to expectations?" "Am I doing this right?" By doing this, however, we miss out on what is right in front of us: our own life and our own experiences. So in letting go of those worries, we allow ourselves to take in every new sight, sound, and smell, and make the most of each day here. My quote today is somewhat related to this thought: 

"Sometimes God doesn't give you what you think you want. Not because you don't deserve it, but because you deserve more."

Thanks for reading amigos, I hope all is well with you :)

Eleanor