Arriba, abajo, al centro, adentro!
The adventures continue, they are endless and great. Sometimes they are small, unplanned, simple moments that many other people wouldn't note. Like seeing Granada lit up in a million different shades during the sunset from the top of a hotel restaurant. Or sipping a coffee at a crowded street cafe and just listening to the hum of Spanish all around you. A Sunday morning pastry, a nap, doing homework... and then realizing that you smell the wonderful smell of Paella coming from the kitchen. These little moments are what keep day to day life here from becoming monotonous. There is something beautiful in each and every day, it's just about allowing the "normal" to become precious and exciting.
Going out to tapas, and people watching, then just walking around has become one of my favorite things to do. Being immersed in a sea of strangers, of culture, of a different lifestyle is oddly calming while also being an attention grabber. There were times in the beginning of the semester that I felt frustrated, not being able to put what I knew of the Spanish language into words. Now, I take my knowledge, which increases every single day, and can amazingly get thoughts collected and out of my mouth without hesitation. It comes naturally, quickly, and flows from my mouth without struggle.
On that note, school is going great. I feel challenged but still comfortable. My teachers allow for us to grow as speakers of the language daily by providing us with extremely useful information. Having the material taught by a native speaker makes a HUGE difference. They live and breathe the language, so they know exactly how to explain it. The best part is learning street/ social/ slang Spanish that can only be learned from experience, not from textbooks.
As any student who has studied in Europe will tell you, a great way to gain cultural knowledge and language practice is to go out. Although partying is not something I LOVE doing, I have found that going out in Spain can be very fun. One night, a bunch of friends and I met up at a bar to watch the Madrid vs. Barcelona game, and thankfully Madrid won. The atmosphere was exciting and loud- Spanish men get very... VERY into soccer games. Later that night three friends and I found out we won a bottle of champagne at one of our favorite clubs, El Camborio. We toasted to our new friendships, to winning champagne, and to Spain. Arriba, abajo, al centro, adentro!!! Spain can for sure put on a good party, pretty much any night of the week, for no given reason at all.
Now, Andalucia is the part of Spain that is most well known around the world for being THE image of Spain as a whole. Bull fights, white walls, flamenco, olive groves... it's all right here. Since I am a lover of Spain, but also a big lover of animals, going to a bullfight is something that I simply have no desire to do. It is an age old cultural experience and tradition of Spain, and I will respect it from afar. However, that doesn't mean bull fights stay completely out of my life. Above is a typical sight in a traditional Andalucian bar- the head of a bull who bravely lost it's life in a corrido de toros. I suppose you can make a comparison to big game hunting in the north country, so long as the animals are respected since bulls in Spain are treated with utmost respect and honor.
Wrong. Evy and I enrolled in Cata de Vinos, a wine tasting class. This past Friday we showed up for our first class, and encountered typical Spanish chaos. You're thinking, well yes, a classroom full of 20 something year olds, in Spain, ready to drink some wine.. of course there was chaos. NOPE. We found a classroom of about 20 native Granadians, all over the age of, let's say, 25. This workshop is put on by the University and is open to anyone, so I think we got quite lucky being placed in a class with no other foreigners. The topic is full of odd vocabulary, and apparently the production of wine calls for a heated discussion involving every person in the room.. all at once. My head was spinning trying to keep up with the voices competing to speak over one another, but I found myself laughing to myself. Spain is like this little world where it is normal and pretty much expected to interrupt people while talking. At first, you are taken aback, maybe a little confused and angry. But then when you see literally 20 full grown adults yelling at each other, paying no attention to the teacher, and trying to sort out the impossibility of wine production... you just laugh. This culture is beautiful and odd and mesmerizing.
I am so glad that I chose to come to Granada, and I couldn't imagine having it any other way.
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