Just another day in Granada

After weeks of travels all over Europe and beyond, we're finally getting settled back into daily life in Granada. Traveling was fun, but it feels good to be back "home" for a while. The weather is (finally!) cooling down and leaves are turning so that I feel like I’m not all that far from my home during my favorite time of year in Ohio.

This is the fourth week of our semester classes and I’m learning a lot. I’m starting to actually get homework, which I have mostly avoided up until this point! Helping the kids with their English homework is more fun for me than doing my own. :-) Still, I hardly have homework compared to what I have in Ohio. I like my classes for the most part. I'm currently taking Spanish Art History: Baroque to the present, Islamic culture and civilization, Spanish 20th century lit, Latin American Lit and a speaking/writing required class. They're going well, but it's definitely a challenge to sit through 2 hours of a lecture class in Spanish writing notes the entire time! I guess it's good practice...

Really, the best part about taking classes here is getting to SEE all that I'm learning, right in front of me. Last weekend we took a trip to Córdoba, another city in Andalucía, and visited one of the most famous mosques in Spain. I absolutely loved this visit because I got to see the reality of everything I'm learning in my Islamic culture and my art history classes in one. It makes the hours of note-writing in class worth it!

I'm still amazed at everything that I've been able to see while I've been here. However, even though I've been able to see and do so much, I think when I look back on this trip my best memories will be the simple conversations I enjoy with my madre at the kitchen table. I learn so much from her every time we talk and she has been an amazing blessing to me since I’ve been here, in ways I don’t think she’ll ever know. We talk about anything from what’s going on in our lives to current events going on in the world, from what food she made that day for lunch to love and faith. And she’s so full of never-ending hugs, kisses, and “hola guapas” that you always feel better just to be around her. Especially when homesickness comes around. I’m surprised it still comes and goes—I thought I certainly wouldn’t be homesick by now! Being around my family and the friends I’ve made here helps...

I want to write a brief summary of everything I’m learning, but I can’t. I don’t know how to sum it all up. I learn so much every day through my family, my classes, my friends, my trips and so on. All I can really say that my view of the world and my life has completely changed, but I'm not sure I can explain how, because I'm not sure I really know yet! I feel like a completely different person already, and I'm excited for all that I still have left to learn and grow during the two months I have left here.

I did have a dream last night that I returned home to my house on campus and I was sad! Not the reaction I would have expected to have, because right now I feel like I'll be so excited to return. But that must be a good sign that I'm really making Granada my home. I talked to one of my ISA advisers today and told me that it's usually harder to return home than it is to leave!

Anyway, nothing too excited has happened here lately. It's just normal life in Granada. The most exciting things I've been up to lately:

Last Friday night I went to a Discoteca, called Mae West, for the first time. A discoteca is a dance club where all the Spaniards go to hang out on the weekends, most people arriving around 2 or 3 and staying until 6 in the morning! It's a crazy life they live here, and I cannot keep up with it! I had fun, but I was really to leave much earlier than 6.

Earlier that day I got my hair cut (yay!) It was a challenge explaining how I wanted my hair cut in Spanish, but I practice on my madre before I went, to make sure I had the vocab down. It went well!

Something to look forward to this weekend is the campamento (retreat) I’m going on with the group of jóvenes (the youth) from the church. We’re taking a bus to the mountains right outside of Málaga, about 45 minutes away from Granada, where we will stay for 2 nights and two days doing who knows what…All the people I’ve met at the church are so fun so I’m excited to get to know them better through this. We shall see what happens!

Well, I'm off to do some homework now! Hasta luego...

More Pictures

some more pictures!
I'm working on loading the rest still, but check there again from time to time to see the rest.

The boy without a smile.

I separated this story from the rest of my Morocco blog because that was already getting too long. But I wanted to post this for anyone who was interested in reading about one of the most profound experiences I had on the trip and how it affected me. If you haven’t read about the Morocco trip yet, read the blog below first.

We knew that on the way back from the desert we would be stopping to give food and clothes to poor people in the area, so we all had something prepared to give. Eventually we stopped along the side of the road where some people had built their own houses out of branches and some blankets. Here we all walked off the buses to give to them whatever we had to give. I remember as I walked off the bus at this stop the first thing I saw was a 6-year old boy standing there with a blank look on his face, staring at all the students walking off the bus. I attempted a smile, but then stopped because I couldn’t. I couldn’t smile at him because it felt wrong in that moment. I realized I could never understand his life and he could never understand mine. I would never understand what it would be like to live with so little and he would never understand living with so much. It hurt my heart to see him standing there so helpless and so hopeless, knowing that I could do nothing for him but offer a few juice boxes and some bread. I couldn’t stand to look at him, and looked away to add my small offering to the growing pile of gifts for the people.

That moment reminded me of the many blessings I have, and although it’s not wrong to enjoy my blessings, I should be more thankful for them than I am. What is it that separates me from that boy and the rest of the people who live there? Why was I born into a family of wealth while he was born into a family with nothing? There’s nothing special I did to have the things I have and I’m not any better than him for having more. Some are born with a lot and some are born with nothing, and such is life. It hurt me that I could really do nothing for him, that he would drink the juice and eat the bread and go on living again with nothing. What hurt me the most, though, was the hopeless look on his face. I wanted him to know that there’s something more. That even if he has nothing in this life, he does have something. That even if he did have things, they would all fade away, but the one thing that wouldn’t is Jesus. I wish I would have done something to communicate that to him now, but I was shocked in that moment. I didn’t know how to respond. But I know that anything is bearable in this life with Jesus, and I wanted him to have that hope.

Anyway, if nothing else, I walked away from this experience more thankful for my blessings than before. Although I think it’s unfair that he was born with so little and I with so much, I have to go on living my life and allow myself to enjoy the things that I have. But I hope I never forget this encounter and the way it made me feel, so that I can always remember it when I begin to take things for granted.

It’s raining in the Sahara

Not just raining, storming. At least it was when I was there, camped out in the middle of the sand dunes of Morocco. It was an adventure unlike any other in a country unlike any other.

I was in Morocco 6 days last week, from Friday to Wednesday, with about 90 other students from my study abroad program. The 90 students were not only from Granada, but also from Madrid and Salamanca, so I knew less than half the people going on the trip with me. All the Granada people, still half asleep, crammed on a bus at 4 a.m. Friday morning and headed for the ferry at the Straight of Gibraltar where we would meet the other students and cross over to Morocco. This is where the first adventure began.

As we pulled up to the ferry station our director warned us over the bus intercom that the ferry ride might be a little rougher than usual since it was raining. What we had once thought would be a relaxing ride across the straight turned out to be a life-threatening experience reminiscent of the Titanic. Do I exaggerate? Maybe. But all I remember from that ride is the sound of glass clanking together, dishes crashing, and the many requests over the intercom to “please remain seated for safety reasons” as the boat bounced and crashed against the turbulent waves and I sat clutching my seat, staring out the window and high off Dramamine. Needless to say, we were all relieved to get off that ferry! We found out afterward that our boat was the last to cross that day before it shut down due to bad weather. We considered ourselves fortunate that we made it alive to Morocco.

Once we made it across the straight we had to sit in the bus for a couple hours while we waited to cross the border. When we finally got across (hallelujah!) we had another 8-hour bus ride ahead of us to the city of Fez. We got there that night, slept soundly, then woke up early the next day to tour the city.

Fez is a city unlike any other I’ve seen. The Moroccan streets in the Albayzin of Granada are somewhat resemble the look of Fez, but certainly not the atmosphere. We split up into 3 groups of about 30 people and walked around the narrow and chaotic streets of Fez on a guided tour. It was almost impossible to hear anything the tour guide said. The streets are very narrow and busy. Everywhere you walk there is someone selling someone to you and about every 5 minutes you have to move out of the way for a man walking a donkey or pushing a barrel through the streets. The smell is one thing I won’t forget. From every place came a different smell—from the donkeys, the shops, the trash on the streets…Morocco is a place of many smells, for better or for worse. The smell I will remember the most came from the tannery.

The tannery was my favorite place we visited in Fez, but probably the smelliest place I’ve ever been. To get to the tannery we entered a leather shop, grabbed some mint leaves and climbed up some windy stairs where we could observe the tannery from the roof. Immediately we were struck by the smell. I started gagging and pushed the mint leaves as close to my nose as possible and tried to pay attention to the tour guide telling us about the method of making leather. Although it was smelly, it was interesting and I loved to watch the people down below, working with the animal skins, curing them in the giant holes in the ground. We finally went back down and escaped the smell and looked around the leather store, then left to see more interesting sights.

Other interesting places we visited that day were a an old house converted into a carpet store, a pharmacy full of natural products for any purpose you would desire, and a hand-made pottery shop. It was a full day and it was nice to return to the hotel to rest for a bit before going out again that night.

After dinner in the hotel all 90 of us ventured out again to a music and dance show in Fez. It was a fun but very touristy spot. The music was fun and the belly dancers were fun to watch, and it allowed a time for all of us to loosen up a bit and get to know each other better.

The next day in Morocco was another long bus ride to the southern part of the country where we would camp out in the desert two nights. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. We rode the bus all day and arrived at a hotel around 5 p.m., where we then took split up into small groups to ride jeeps into the sand dunes of the Sahara.

When we finally go there that night we were in for a surprise. We couldn’t see what it looked like at the time because it was dark out. We walked out on the dunes anyway, after settling into our smelly camel-skin tents, to enjoy the fresh air and chat with the Berbers who live there. I was sitting on a dune with 2 other girls talking when suddenly the wind picked up and created a sand storm! We turned our backs to shield ourselves, thinking it would pass in a moment, but we soon had to battle it out and run to our tent when we realized it was turning into a thunderstorm! By the time we got to the ten everything was wet because, of course, the tents weren’t made to handle rainstorms in the middle of the desert. But we bundled up and finally fell asleep that night under the rain, embracing the moment as an opportunity to build character.

The next day was my favorite of the trip. We woke up to the sun shining, only partially wet, and ready to ride our camels! We all wrapped our turbans around our heads and hoped on our camels which we road about a mile through the dunes. I rode on one with another girl named Sabina, and we were accompanied by a young Berber boy, walking alongside us and making small talk in Spanish. Even though they’ve never been to school a day of their lives, all the Berbers know at least 3 languages, simply from talking with tourists! After we road our camels for a while we got off by a humongous sand dune, which we climbed up to enjoy the view and then sled down. I managed a successful ride down the hill, without taking a sand dive! After a little time there we got back on the camels and rode to a nearby village in the middle of the desert.

In the village we walked around talking to the kids there before we visited another typical Moroccon shop. The kids there were timid as we passed out candy to them, but they followed us around the entire day after that. It was mostly boys walking around with us because the women are to stay in the house all day where their work is done. In fact, we hardly saw any women the entire trip, even in the cities. I only saw one woman in the desert, and a couple of small girls.

We visited this town and one other and ended our day with a dance party in the food tent, the Berbers playing music for us and teaching us their crazy dances. It was a blast. That night it rained again, but we were prepared this time. Even though we didn’t get to see the amazing starry sky of the desert, we had our own unique experience battling the rainstorms at night. It was definitely an adventure I will never forget.

The next day we took the jeeps through the flooded streets back to the hotel, where we hopped on the bus yet again for another long ride up north to Meknes. I was disappointed that we arrived in Meknes so late, because we didn’t actually get to see much of the city. By the time we arrived there I was too tired to walk around much, so I didn’t really see it at all.

The next day was our trip back home, and we were all very relieved that for this ferry ride it was not raining! I was so happy to arrive back at my home sweet home in Granada, where I had more than a hole in the ground for a toilet and I could eat endless amounts of fruits and vegetables without getting sick. Although I loved the Morocco trip, it was one that made me appreciate what I have so much more.

Backpacking through Europe and beyond.

I know I haven’t updated this in a while, but no need to worry, I am still alive and breathing in Spain! I have been on many adventures in the past couple weeks and I haven’t had much access to a computer while I’ve been away. From September 26th to October 6th I backpacked around Europe with some friends since we had a break from classes in Spain. Then, I came back, started my first 2 days of my semester classes, then left again for Morocco on a trip with my program from October 10th through the 15th. All of my trips have been so amazing, and I’ve had so many experiences that I never expected to have at all in my life. I feel so fortunate for everything I’ve been able to do, and I’ve learned so much through everything I’ve seen! Here’s a short summary of everything I did in all the places I went.

Paris, September 26-29
I traveled through Europe with 3 other girls—Andrea, Angela, and Amen—and our first stop was the beautiful city of Paris. Paris was one of my favorite places we visited. The city was absolutely amazing. It was beautiful, grand, fashionable and everything else you would imagine Paris being. The first night there we took a guided 4-hour bike tour through the city where we saw some of the main attractions, ate the best ice cream in Paris, and ended with an hour boat ride through the city of lights. The rest of our time there we crammed in all the sightseeing we could. We toured the Notre Dame cathedral, Saint Chapelle, and the Louvre. We walked the beautiful and famous street Champ de Elysees from the Louvre to the Arc de Triumphe, hung out at Trocadero Square, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and even did a little bit of shopping. How could you not in Paris? I absolutely loved it and I can’t wait to return, hopefully sometime soon!

Switerland, September 30-October 2
Our next stop was Switzerland where we met up with another friend of ours from ISA, Elizabeth. We flew into Geneva, and just finding our way to the hostel that night was an adventure in itself, but we got there safely and were able to check in that night, even though I had accidentally made reservations for another night! The next day we walked around the city, which was very relaxed and quiet, quiet a change of pace from Paris. There’s not too much to see in Geneva, but we saw the major spots, including the tallest fountain in the world, the famous flower clock and the wall of reformation. Quiet an exciting day! My favorite thing in Geneva was the park around the wall of reformation with giant chess and checker boards painted on the ground. The chess pieces are so big they almost reach up to your waist. All the old men were out for some intense games of chess, and we enjoyed our very intense game of checkers as well. That night we took a train to my favorite city in Switzerland, Interlaken.
Interlaken is, without a doubt, the most beautiful place in the world that I have visited. It’s a city in-between and right next to the Alps. I can’t even begin to describe the beauty and tranquility of the Alps. The grandeur is something that has to be experienced to be understood. I’m almost certain I will make another trip out there during my life. Sadly, we really only had a day there, but it was my favorite day of our entire trip through Europe. We almost attempted riding scooters up to a hiking trail in the Alps, but then when we tested them out at the rental place, and the lady started talking to us about insurance, and we realized we would probably die if we rode them up there, we chose to take the bus instead. So, we took a bus to the train station, a train up to the alps, then a trolley up higher, and then hiked back down. Unfortunately, we didn’t time our trip well and ended up finishing our hike, walking down a steep mountain for at least a half hour in pitch darkness! Thankfully, we all made it alive, and it is definitely an experience we will never forget!

Rome, October 2-5
Our next stop was the amazingly historic and amazingly dirty city of Rome. I have mixed feelings about Rome. I loved it and hated it at the same time. Maybe hate is too strong of a word. I just found it somewhat depressing. I loved all the history we encountered in the city. Rome is a place I have always wanted to visit simply because of it's history. I was so odd that everywhere we walked around we saw remains of what the city once was. It felt to me like Rome wasn't really much more than a memory, that the city that exists now is something the people don't care about that much. At least that's how it seems with the trash lining every street and the scribbled grafitti on literally every building. It was quiet a shock from clean and pristine Switzerland. Despite all of this, I loved seeing what I saw in Rome. It was so amazing that after all this time, pieces of the old city remain, and we actually got to see it! Two places that I've wanted to see my entire life, the sisteen chapel and the colosseum, I saw. We toured these two places as well as St. Peter's Basilica, the Roman Forum, and Pantheon Hill. We also took our own walking tour of the city and got to see many other historic sights, including Trevi Fountain, probably the most beautiful and most touristy spot in Rome. The only two things I regret not being able to see are the Pantheon and the Spanish steps. But we did a lot for only 2 full days in Rome! We took one of the nights to enjoy ourselves at an Italian restaurant and a busy square. the food was good, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed after hearing as many excellent things about it that I did. It just didn't meet my expectations. All in all, our time in Rome was very fun and I wouldn't change a thing.

Venice, October 5-6
Venice was the perfect place to end our backpacking trip. By the time we made it there, all the clothes we brought along with us in our tiny backpacks were getting a little smelly, and most of us were more than ready to return to Spain. But Venice was amazing, and so unlike any other city we visited on our trip. I guess no city was like the next, though, so that doesn't really say a lot. Venice, like every other city, was beautiful, and a very relaxing way to end our trip. I think our hostel was part of the reason it was so great. It used to be the living residence of one of the overseers of the city, so it had an antique feel to it. It was beautifully decorated, and very peaceful, like a haven from the rest of the world. We didn't realize it was an all-girls hostel until we got there, and this was a nice change from our co-ed room in our hostel in Rome. Meals were served with everyone together in the dining room siting at one long table, and during these times we met so many other interesting travelers. It was so homey feeling! We explored the city for a day, walking to so many small shops that were everywhere in Venice. We ate lunch out during the day and at night visited San Marco's square and rode a water taxi around Venice. After that, it was kind of sad to leave Venice, but I was ready to return to Spain.

I loved that when I returned to Spain it felt like I was returning home. I guess that means Granada is actually becoming another home for me. It feels good to be settled here.
I tried posting pictures today so that you could see them as you read about my trip, but yet again, they weren't working!! I'm so frustrated. But, I will try again tomorrow so you can see them as soon as possible. I'm retiring from writing for today, but tomorrow when I post my pictures, I'll post another blog about my trip to Morocco!
I hope all is well and I miss you all so much! I only have about 2 months left to go, so I'll be seeing you all again soon!