Cordoba, Gilbratar, Sevilla

The Barnaby Macaques of Gibraltar! They are only found here and in Algeria. They are called "semi-wild" but they're basically pets. Just ornery sometimes. I never thought monkeys were cute until I saw some macaque babies. 

Wow. Cordoba's incredible cathedral/mosque hybrid. This cathedral started out as a mosque, and the Arab king at the time built these famous arches. When Cordoba was conquered by the Catholics, they turned the mosque into a cathedral - keeping the original arches but adding in a sacristy, chapels, etc., creating a wonderful and super, super cool blend of religion and of architecture. 

Could you even believe this is the same place?? The nave of the cathedral creates a striking difference between the old Muslim creations. 

A perfect example of where the two meet - an arch from the original mosque, and built on top of it is a Catholic frieze and roof. 

Some details from the Plaza del Espana in Sevilla. The plaza itself is huge, a gigantic half circle punctuated with towers on both ends and a fountain in the middle. It was created for the World Fair back in the 20's, and today remains a symbol not only of Spain's regions and pride, but also it's also designed in a half circle specifically to represent an open embrace to the Americas.

Chrisopher Columbus' tomb. He's buried in one of the largest Cathedrals in Spain, in Sevilla. Spain is very proud of Christopher Columbus - he also has a statue in a Plaza in Granada. A little bit of culture shock here - not quite something I was expecting.

La Plaza De Espana again! In the background you can see one of the spires of a tower. 

When in Spain, just chill out

It's been 17 days since I arrived in a bus to Granada, my body full of sleep and my mind full of the chatter of strangers. The world looked blue out of the tinted windows as I watched hill after hill go by, white houses like snowflakes scattering the countryside. Andalucia is beautiful. History here is so tangible and common - most of those snowflake houses are now in ruins, a fragment of the family that used to live there. These places in the US would be hunted out, given a groundskeeper, and to visit you'd have to brave through no-trespassing signs.
So, yes, for those of you who've read my last post, I'm not over it.
As enchanting as the country side is, I am here to be a student. Studying at Universidad de Granada is (and there's no other way to put it) freaking cool. El centro de lenguas modernas is based in a beautiful, all white building, with a courtyard in the middle and big trees that grow up the pillars. There are free pencils in case you can't find your own. The books cost never more than 25 euros.
The teachers are a lot calmer here. There is more flexibility to talk about other things - the ultimate goal is to improve Spanish, and the teachers get that. It's so nice to be in my Culture of Spain/Flamenco class and have long conversations about the gitano population in Granada specifically, and fun things to do in the Sacromonte neighborhood. The professors also talk wonderfully slowly so that I can keep along with my clunky Spanish.
However, it isn't all perfect - the Spainard schedule is something that is so hard for me to get used to. I pride myself on being annoyingly punctual and everyone in Spain is always. Late. I have a 25 minute walk to classes, and at 8:00 in the morning my brain is in overdrive to get me to where I need to be on time - I can tie my shoes in under 5 seconds - and I speed walk up hills, through crowds, across streets, down alleyways, past croissant and cafe for 1 euro shops, through plazas, down another alleyway and finally through the doors of el centro - just on time, a minute left to get to class. And so I do - and the professor doesn't get there for another 5 minutes.
This might seem like a silly thing to be struggling with - those are 5 minutes more I could sleep, right? I could walk slower? I could buy breakfast along the way? I could chill out????? I understand common sense. I understand that these are all perfectly normal reactions to having professors that are consistently late and attendance that doesn't start until 15 minutes into class time. I get it, I do, but, in the words of every 16 year old from 2010-2017, I just can't. 
Growth and adaptation to Spain, I guess, will be measured in how late I start to arrive to classes.

As you can probably tell, I am a functioning adult ready to thrive in society (haha). So something else that has been a huge struggle for me is food. I have lived on my own for 2 years, and cooked all my own meals. I've gotten proud of my cooking and even adopted the title "All Right at it", so  I know what my body likes and needs to feel good and healthy.
Here, someone else cooks all my meals.
And I'm grateful! It's nice to be able to just waste time until I get called to eat something someone else put effort into. It's really nice not having to do the dishes. But everything here is salty. Incredibly salty. As in even the salad is salty. And there is very little of said salad to begin with - I have gone from a diet of 70% vegetables to a diet that's 80% bread. It has been incredibly, incredibly difficult for me - I've resulted to sneaking arugula on my dinner when my host mom isn't eating with me, to picking up cucumbers at a fruteria and eating it whole, to keeping a stash of munchable greens under my bed.
However, I do have to say, my senora sometimes gives us these delicious, tiny empanadas filled with what must be a tuna/tomato sauce. It is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my life abd makes all the salt worth it.
So, here's my advice for anyone considering living in Spain with a host family - open your mind. There is no amount of research that can prepare you like how opening your mind can. Communicate. Don't hide vegetables like I do. Find easy, clever ways to get the food and the things you need (like how arugula can go on literally anything). Make things easy for both of you!

Two days in Granada

GRANADA! I'm here, and I love it! It's beautiful, there are so many people to meet, my host mom makes delicious food... it's hard to imagine an experience better than this. It helps that I set no expectations so there was no way to be let down, but even still - it's an incredible place. It's so difficult to decide what to write about because there are so many things! 

Today, we walked through one of the older parts of Granada, one with incredibly rich history. Walking down las calles en Granada, I am constantly imagining the people who have lived here centuries ago, doing the same things that I am doing. Everywhere I look, there are beautiful, old stone buildings that many have looked at before me - there are streets that have been walked on by centuries of different feet. Some of the paths have stones that are slippery from use, billions of people moving over the same ground. It's so easy to walk miles of streets here, as things are constantly changing and there's so many options of paths to take. Ancient fountains (or fuentes) in plazas cool the hot, sunny city, sharing art so lovely and diverse. Depictions of famous Catholic stories, muslim motifs, Greek/Roman influences... it's an art history major's paradise! Living in los Estados Unidos, you never really get that - everything in the US is so new and shiny (which is, of course, good in it's own way). 

Before I left, I was nervous about not meeting people who I clicked with, or not liking my roommate. Things are different here, but the people are essential reminders of  home - several people I've met live in Washington State as well, and being able to connect with them and talk about where we've come from has helped me adjust to life here and not feel so entirely overwhelmed. 

Now, the bad:

I am worried that my excitement to be here will fade to leave behind homesickness and sadness. Thoughts of my partner are constantly reminding me of the distance and the things that I am not experiencing with him. When the adrenaline wears off, where will I be?

In the meantime, I guess I'll just take too many pictures! 

La Universidad de Granada. This is the Modern/Classical languages building.

The castle in the distance is Alhombra. This photo was taken from the part of Granada that has the most Arabic/Muslim influence - there are churches everywhere that used to be mosques and have remnants of the mosque design in them, creating an interesting visual of the history that happened in Granada. 

Are you ready yet?!

So, heads up - studying abroad will be the most time consuming, taxing thing you will do (although, so I hear, the best). For me, it has been amplified by the stress of my everyday life - between working as much as I can, moving into a new house, preparing to go home to Arizona, and trying to think about packing for Spain (do I have enough clothes? What if they lose my luggage?? What do people even do in Spain?? What if I can't understand anything they say???), I have to admit that I feel like I'm about to walk off a cliff, too busy looking at the flowers on the ground in front of me to see where my next step will land. There is still so much to be done and, to be honest with you, I received my flight itinerary, opened it, read the first line and then promptly stuffed it in a folder to be dealt with later.

But I'm excited! As most people probably would be. I've never even been to Europe before and I feel so incredibly privileged to get to go for a whole semester. There's so many things that I'm looking forward to and I know that I am about to experience something that will change who I am. I crave perspective and change, so I know that this is what I want to do - but that doesn't make it easy. I feel a little like like a ping-pong ball, being wacked into happiness and excitement on one side and then smacked into anxiety and nerves on the other. I have fantasies of sipping coffee in the plaza, doodling in the margins of my notebook and feeling so at peace. Then I start to think about having a roommate that comes home loud and late and wipes her hairs on the bathroom sink. I suppose, ultimately, there's going to be good and bad in Spain, just like anywhere else.

So, a little about the process itself and how I process the process:

When I first chose a program, the first thing on my mind was fitting in. How could I not be a rude American? I thought of the classic moves Americans abroad often utilize ("I'm from Canada, eh!"), but decided to be honest with myself and ask the internet for help. I spent time on youtube watching what other people had brought, what they missed, the weird things that Granada doesn't have (not just peanut butter but also apparently toilet paper in public restrooms?), and the fact that everything is expensive (but free tapas so it's okay, right?). I even spent some time watching livecams of the outside of cafes or parks to get a feel for how people dressed. Yet, the best source for me wasn't creepy cams, it was just talking to people who had studied abroad. The excitement that everyone had for me and declarations of "It was the best time of my life!" have definitely raised my expectations but also helped me stay positive. It's different to hear something in person as well - you can trust their experience more and, obviously, ask questions! 

The one thing I've been avoiding talking to people about is homesickness. I know for me this will be the hardest part - I moved to Washington abruptly and alone for my Freshman year of college and the hardest part for me was feeling like I was in the wrong place. Perhaps this is a lingering feeling still, but two years ago it was crushing. I felt like I wasn't connecting with people - like everyone else had climbed this monumental mountain of friendship and comfort and I was still scrabbling at pebbles at the bottom. This is what I fear most from Spain. I fear the loss of constant companionship from my partner, the time difference from my parents, the birthdays I will miss of my closest friends. But attitude is everything. I plan on exploring constantly, even if I have to do it alone - and remembering that it's okay to have some space, too. It really will be what I make it, and I'm okay with being patient enough with myself to make sure I enjoy it.