Working abroad

My final video! This one explains the "professional" aspect of my semester in Granada as well as the benefits of studying abroad in general. Enjoy!

Videography, número dos

This video is about my time in Spain, specifically about my life in Granada where I took classes and lived with a host family.

EuroBlitz video!

After months of progress, mishaps, and maybe a little procrastination, I've finally finished compiling, organizing, narrating, and editing the video documenting my spring break adventure. For some reason, though, it won't upload to Blogger, so I've put it on Vimeo instead. You can check it out here!

Home again

I made it home safely after what turned out to be the smoothest traveling experience I’ve ever had, complete with luggage that barely met the weight requirements and a duty-free bottle of Spanish wine that will be enjoyed soon enough!

Transitioning home has been much easier than I imagined, and just like my first few weeks in Spain, I haven’t been victimized by any culture shock just yet. It’s helped that I’ve kept myself busy with a summer classes, unpacking, watching the French Open and staying as active as possible. I haven’t spent a summer at home since high school, so it’s kind of nice being around my family again for what may be the last extended period of time before graduating in May and hurling myself into post-undergrad life. 

There are things about my time in Europe that I miss terribly, but my life here in America is so different that I’m finding it easy not to lose myself in comparing Granada to Conyers. Any comparison would hardly make sense, actually. The past six months have gone by faster than I can comprehend. It’s especially crazy how it seems like so little here at home has changed since I left, and maybe that’s why I’ve been able to seamlessly slip back into the American lifestyle that I put on hold to enjoy a semester of breathless, intoxicatingly refreshing European adventuring. 

I have loads to keep me occupied this summer, and countless photos and memories from the semester to cherish, and since I’m practically planning my future around a return to Spain, I’m convincing myself there’s no reason to be sad about having to leave. But it’s really impossible not to miss sunny afternoons in Parque Garcia Lorca, nights of delicious Moroccan or Japanese tapas, all the new people I met and friends I made, or just the constant, unavoidable learning of Spanish.

In the meantime, I’ll be working on piecing together the videos and photos I took throughout the semester. It’ll be nice to be visually reminded of all the sights and sounds I experienced all over Europe, and hopefully I’ll have a decent “videography” to share soon.

Time to say goodbye

Leaving for Madrid by bus tonight...!

Will be back in the States by 4 p.m. tomorrow.

It's been such a wonderful five months, and I can't believe it's time to go home already. I know I'm going to miss Granada and all the people I've met, but I'm very excited about seeing my family again and trying to bring a little Spain back to the U.S.!

Flamenco in Granada

For the last official meeting of my study abroad program, we were all invited to attend a Flamenco show in the Sacromonte's caves for a bit of authentic (if touristy) dancing. Several dances were performed, but this woman was especially impressive with her fast footwork. After watching a couple of Flamenco shows in Spain, I've decided there's pretty much no way I could ever learn to dance like this.

Dancing in Barça

This video is from March, but I rediscovered it this morning and remembered how interesting it is. A group performed this dance with sticks outside the Sagrada Familia amid a humans rights organizations fair. I don’t know what kind of dance it is nor if it means anything, but it was fun to watch them in perfect syncretic motion beat their wooden sticks to the tune of a man’s flute music!

Leaving too soon

I’m an expert multitasker. Reviewing Baroque literature while enjoying the sun was never easier. 

In five short days I will be eating lunch in a different country, something probably a little more familiar than “albóndigas con tomate frito y verduras” on my plate. I’ve been trying to wrap up the last few days here in Granada will all things Spanish, visiting my favorite buildings, walking the streets, hanging out with friends and retasting all of the city’s best tapas. Recently, though, I’ve been more occupied with finishing school than anything else. But since I had my last exam this morning, the next couple days are going to be completely devoted to reminding myself why I love Granada so much and how I could never say goodbye for good. 

That and packing, of course.

Summer in the city

It’s for sure summer in Granada, no matter what the calendar says. Everything is green and blooming by now, and being outside for more than five minutes will leave you in dire need of an ice cream or Sangria break. It’s definitely tourist season, too, and even though the main streets are extra crowded now, all of the people bring a new buzz of excitement to the city and remind me how special and unique Granada is.

Last Friday I went to Alfacar, a neighboring rural pueblo known for two things: its ties to the Spanish Civil War and its delicious freshly prepared bread. I made sure I fit in a little of each in my trip, first going on a short hike to a wooded area where thousands of people were assassinated in the 1930s by nationalist militia. For years afterward, no one in the town alerted officials that countless bodies had been piled on top of one another and haphazardly buried throughout the hills. Finally, the government excavated the sites and designated much of the area as a cemetery and memorial ground. 

Because the famous Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca was killed in Alfacar for his support of the Popular Front, people leave transcripts of Lorca’s poems attached to trees and makeshift crosses. 

No one knows exactly where Lorca was shot nor what happened to his body, but some suspect he was assassinated near this olive tree in 1937.

Of course, I couldn’t leave without deciding for myself if the Alfacar bread was as good as it was supposed to be. We found a small panaderia and met Pepe, the 86-year-old owner who told us how he’d been in the bread making business all his life, taking after his father and grandfather. He was a very friendly, feisty old man, and clearly so happy to see a group of young people interested in his bread. I was talking to him about his life as a bread maker when he saw my camera and asked to take a picture with me! He was so concerned about taking a good photo that he had to clean his glasses quite well before my friend could take a couple shots and being reassured by me that they looked fine. Pepe’s bread did not disappoint either. We tried his chocolate-filled pastry which was delicious, the perfect balance of sweet and salty and baked to just the right crispiness. 

Pepe and me at his panaderia in Alfacar

Saturday afternoon, a couple of friends and I checked out an art and music exhibition at the Facultad de Ciencias at the main University of Granada. There were people making pottery, spray-painting graffiti, deejaying, dancing, making crafts, cooking food and two floors where all kinds of organization booths had been set up. A lot of the organizations were sponsored by the Juventud de Granada, the city’s pro-active youth, and it was interesting to see what the young people here take seriously enough to advocate in some other way besides a street-clogging protest. People advocating feminism, communism, techno music, Oriental culture, environmental sustainability, and organic farming shared the space with people petitioning against domestic violence, a breakdance demonstration, handmade jewelry vendors and kids making good luck charms out of yarn. It was noisy and busy and lots of fun. 

 Communism supporting is alive and well among Granada youth.

After hearing about it from several friends, I finally made it to the Sunday morning outdoor market. It’s known unofficially as the “gypsy market” and offers everything imaginable from fruits and vegetables to jewelry and sunglasses. It’s located out past the Granada’s main bus station, a very far walk made even longer when you don’t exactly know where you’re going. Luckily I had brought along some water to keep myself hydrated in the 80-degree heat. When I finally found it after asking someone for directions, I was surprised to see the market stretched along two parallel streets for what musr have been almost quarter of a mile. Although there were several booths selling the same shoes or clothes, they all had their own special prices and I couldn’t help not perusing through almost every one. I ended up buying some jewelry and a shirt, and I’m actually planning on going back next Sunday to see what other deals I can find.

Even though it’s only Tuesday, my last full week in Granada has been as enjoyable as ever. There are still a couple things I want to do before leaving, and I definitely want to walk to all the main sites one more time. It’s exam time, too, which is highly unfortunate, but after this Thursday I’ll only have one more and then I’ll be school-free in Granada once again.  I really need to study a lot for all three (especially since exams make up almost 100% of our grades!), but I’m thinking I can do that after tapas tonight. Or maybe I’ll just wait until tomorrow… :)

Vamos a la playa

I’ve hiked, snowboarded, and danced my way around Granada, taken trains, busses, subways and the occasional taxi, visited the Eiffel Tower, Galileo’s tomb and the Porta Nigra all in one week, tasted countless new foods, spoken English, Spanish, Italian -- and maybe a word or two of French and German -- and met people from all over the world during these last five wonderful months. Even with so much packed into my time here, it would have been ridiculous to have done all these things and traveled all this way and not make it to a Mediterranean beach!

Taking full advantage of the summer weather, eight friends and I booked a hostel for one night in Nerja, a town on La Costa del Sol a couple hours south of Granada. We spent the morning and afternoon relaxing and chatting on the beach, and after exploring the town a little, we returned to our hostel to cook copious amounts of the most delicious Mexican food. In addition to tacos, guacamole and salsas, we made American cookie dough and our own version of Spain’s tinto de verano drink. After months of not having access to kitchens of our own, we all went a little crazy being able to cook whatever we wanted. In the morning, we fixed pancakes with strawberries and chocolate sauce, and had enough Mexican leftovers to make perfect snacks to have on the beach.

Nerja turned out to be a perfect beach town, not too touristy nor too much of a city like Malaga. The beach itself was rocky and beautiful, uneven and encircled by large green hills, and even though the water was icy cold, we weren’t going to let a little uncomfortable chilliness keep us from enjoying it. 

Even though I didn’t really need a break from Granada, getting away for a while for a change of pace and scenery was appreciated more than expected. As much as I love going to the mountains, I’ve found that a weekend relaxing at the beach can be just as peaceful and refreshing.