Carnaval Ride & A Trip Without a Plan

Here I am once again trying to write on my blog. The last couple times that I have tried to write, I get distracted and then the next thing I know the whole thing that I started has been deleted. So hopefully the third times a charm and I will finally have a new post. These past couple weeks have been crazy. Yesterday marked the official one month anniversary of my arrival to Spain!! Time is flying by so quickly. Before I know it, these four months will be over and I will be back in the States. But for now I am trying to have as many adventures as possible while I am here. So what I have I been up to, you may be asking. WELL.....

Carnaval in Cadiz. Last weekend I went to Carnaval in Cadiz. It was a very interesting experience. I would like to compare it to a carnival ride. Those ones that looks so fun from the ground and you see so many people getting on them. So you decide ohh lets go on the ride. Then you get on and you get sick from all the spinning and once the ride is over you think to yourself "boy I am never going to do that again." This is how I feel about Carnaval. Definately a one time experience. The day began at 12pm waiting for the buses to take us to Cadiz (4ish hour bus ride). I was dressed in my so called costume, consisting of a tutu and a black hat that had feathers on it. We got onto the bus after waiting a while and the journey began. I should have known from the start that it was not my cup of tea when a man came on the bus tossing condoms at everyone. But there was no getting off the bus now. I had already paid my 20 euro and I was going. So after a long bus ride that consisted of sleeping and then having a bus sick person sit next to me (the poor soul) we finally made it Cadiz. What a beautiful city, right on the beach. First thing right of the bus was to find a bathroom. Second sign that this was not going to be my favorite thing. A man was coming out of the women's bathroom. Much to my surprise. After the bathroom trip we headed to a wall by the beach, where we sat and enjoyed the sun and warmth and then the sunset. It was fun watching all the people dressed up in the most interesting costumes. The funniest of the night were these men dressed up as chicken breasts (aka chicken costumes with boobs). There was a lot of cross dressing happening, ohh the Spanish men. But it was quite amusing. So once the sunset we headed into the crowd and boy was there a crowd. There were people drinking everywhere. Including on the steps of the Cathedral (shouldn't that be a sacred place, apparently not for them). Drinking everywhere. It was crazy. After my friend were groped a couple times by men in the crowd (soooo gross) we headed to a restaraunt to eat. We ate at Foster's (yes I broke down and ate at an American place).

Once we were satisfied by burgers and nachos it was back into the crowd. By this time people were pretty drunk. There were people peeing in the streets (men and women), people puking in the streets, and drunk people stumbling everywhere. What a mess. At one point I had a man stop me in the street and show me a picture of a vagina on his phone (no I am not kidding, this really happened). I repeat ONE TIME EXPERIENCE. We broke through the crowd and stood on the steps of the Cathedral at one point. We met some British guys who were there getting their pilots license. We also met some Finnish girls. It was interesting to see that people came from all over to do this. The night kept dragging on. I was getting tired, but the bus wasn't going to pick us up until 6am. Blahhh. So we just kept walking. At one point while walking through the crowd this big group of Spanish men (obviously drunk) stopped me and started saying "Tu es blanca. Mala. Mala." (Which means "you are white. Bad. Bad.") Upon saying this they proceeded to grab my arm and pull me into their group. Luckily my friend yanked me away. After that point, I was ready to go home. But there was still about 4 hours left. So we walked. Then we finally sat down in a corner and curled into ball, because by this time the temperature had dropped significantly, and waited for the bus. The bus finally came, but to my dismay he couldn't stop on the street, the police kept telling him to go up farther. So we ran along side the bus until we finally were able to get on, but quickly. After what seemed like forever the bus finally left Cadiz. We made it home at 11am on Sunday. ONE TIME EXPERIENCE.

So after this interesting night in Cadiz I come home and must deal with other drama. Ohhh how life hits you in the face sometimes. Despite all of this I think to myself how lucky I am to be here in Granada and to see the beautiful mountain everyday.

Thankfully, once the week of classes started, things were looking up. On Thursday I took a trip to the Albayzin* with my Art and Architecture class. I love my professor. I even got to walk with my host mom to our meeting point because she had a volunteer appointment (Cuentas Cuento). She walked me to class and even talked to my professor like my own mother would. Saying how she wished that they could replicate me and how I was caring. It is so nice to have a mother while I am away from my real mother.

Another fun experience I had was yesterday. I took a day trip to one the Andalucia's provinces called Jaen. It was a random trip, but it turned out to be a lot of fun! We took a bus, which was only an hour ride. When we got there we were searching for a museum. We asked for directions a lot and these gentlemen told us the museum was closed. So we stopped looking for it and were going to go to the cathedral when we walked past the museum we were actually looking for and it was open!!! It ended up being a really cool museum, with a lot of historical artifacts. So after browsing the museum for a while we headed to a palace I had heard about online. We found the spot, but they were doing construction and it was to be closed for a whole entire year (that would never happen in the U.S.) So then we headed to go find the Cathedral once again. We passed by this cool church, which happened to have a historical archive in it, which happened to be having a art showing. Ohh the luck we had. The art collection was a compilation by Joseph Bau who was held in a Nazi camp during the Holocaust, but was saved by Schindler. The paintings were amazing. They had so much sadness and depth to them.  After seeing the art we walked along the sidestreet to the Cathedral. It was so cool because this small street opened up to a plaza with a huge Cathedral. It was beautiful. Once we got our pictures of the Cathedral we headed to a park near the bus station to eat our lunch. Along the way we found a smaller park with a beautiful fountain. What are the chances, only in Spain. We decided to keep walking to the other park and it was even more beautiful and much a larger. We ate our lunch in the beautiful sunshine. It was so great. After that we headed back to the bus and headed home. It was a really great day trip!!!

Today was also another great day. I went and saw 101 Dalmations (in Spainish) with my neighborhood group and then we went out for tapas after. Then I came home and ate so more food. Once sufficiently stuffed, I headed out again to meet with my intercambio (spanish friend set up by IES) for the first time. She was really nice and even brought her friends along too!! It was cool because they are all studying interpretation so we spoke both Spanish and English together.

These days have been so amazing and I am going to try to live up the rest of the time that I have here!!
 Below are some pictures from Cadiz and from my trip to Jaen. And a link to the gallery of the artist that we saw!!
http://www.josephbau.com/

 Sunset in Cadiz

 Beachside in Cadiz

 CARNAVAL

  Cathedral in Jaen
 

Park in Jaen where we at lunch!

Blessed Beyond Belief

Last week was completely crazy. I started classes, took a trip to Ronda and Sevilla, and got my intercambio.  Last Monday I started classes and I have a pretty full load. I am taking a total of five classes, with only one class in English. So far I like my classes. I am in the first advanced level Spanish language class.  I am also taking Lorca and the Andulusian Literature. I love this class. Lorca was a poet, writer, composer, director and so much more. He was born and raised in Granada.  He is a true Granadino and the people of Granada take a lot of pride in his works.  There is even a beautiful park with lots of fun playground equipment (yes I have already played on it!) named after him.  Through reading his poetry and other works I get a glimpse into the real Granada. It is a very culturally and intellectually stimulating class.  I am in a class called Watercolor Workshop: Painting the Landscape of Granada.  We haven't actually started painting yet, but we are working on drawing.  It is very interesting because I am horrible at drawing, but the teacher is really patient. Last week we took a field trip to a museum with lots of art work and had to draw a piece. I picked a wooden sculpture of Jesus Christ on the cross to draw. I definately did not do the work justice, but hey I tried.  I think the class will be a lot of fun because we spend half of the semester in class and half out in museums and other places drawing what we see.

I am also taking a class called Islamic Art and Architecture.  This class is my only class in english and is taught by the same professor that I have for my watercolor workshop. It is funny to hear her talk in spanish in one class and in english in another. This class also has a lot of field trips, which I am excited about.  There is a lot of islamic architecture in Granada and it is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to learn more about where it all began.  Finally, I am taking a class called women in mediterranean film. This is my least favorite class because the teacher talks really fast in spanish and some of the stuff about film I really don't understand.  But I will stick with the class because who doesn't like to watch a movie every class period.  With all the Spanish I am taking in, the next thing I know I will be dreaming in Spanish. lol.

This past weekend I went with all the students in IES on a trip to Ronda and Sevilla. The trip was so much fun and these cities are absolutely beautiful and have so much history.  On Friday, we got on the bus at 7:45am (sooooo early) and headed for Ronda. I don't know how long the bus ride was to Ronda (I slept most of the way), but we finally arrived and I was so glad to get off the bus.  The first place we went to in Ronda was the Plaza de Torros. This is where they have bullfights!!! In the middle of the plaza there is a statue of a bull. In the plaza there is also a garden, which if you walk through there is a look out with the most incredible view. I was lucky enough to be able to eat my lunch in the sun looking out at this view. In these moments I wonder how I got so blessed to be here, to see so many incredible things.  I am so thankful. Other sites in Ronda that I got to see were the Puente Nuevo, and grand bridge that connects the old party of the city to the newer part and the Arabian bathrooms (baños de arabos).  The bathrooms were used by the muslims to wash themselves before entering a mosque to pray. They created an aqueduct in order to transfer water to the bathrooms. There were 3 areas within the bathroom, which increased in temperature. The whole things was an ingenius idea.

 Puente Nuevo

Banos de Arabos

 After walking around A LOT we headed back to the bus to go to Sevilla. The bus ride to Sevilla reminded me so much of home.  There were many green fields. I fell asleep and and when I woke up thought I was on my way to Holland to go to school, but then I remember ohh yeah I am in Spain. Once we finally arrived to Sevilla we headed straight to the hotel, but there was no time for sitting down. I headed out with a few other people to go on a bike ride through the city. It was quite an experience. Somehow at one point I was riding on a street full of people, not a good plan. After a while my group luckily found the bike path. We rode along the river and the lights shining onto the river was breathtaking.  There was so much to see in Sevilla, but it was getting dark.  So we headed for one last adventure to find the Plaza de España, where they filmed (I think) parts of the first star wars movie (don't quote me on this). We rode around the front of the building and it was older architecture and was beautiful, but nothing in comparison to what was on the other side. The other side was filled with fountains, bridges, and tons of what seemed like hand painted tile. It was amazing. I wish I could have taken a picture, but unfortunately my camera was on the verge of dying. Hopefully, I can go back to Sevilla and get some pictures. After seeing the plaza we headed back to the hotel to eat and then go see a flamenco show.  The flamenco show was really cool. The movements all have a purpose and a story. The show was spectacular. After the show I headed out with a friend from IES to meet with some girls from Hope that are studying in Sevilla. It was so great to see a familiar face.  We didn't stay out long because I was wiped from my long long bike ride.

The next day we went to a sort of Palace. It was beautiful and had a lot of intricate architecture. It was seperated into several building and had a lot of gardens in it.  It was really cool.  After visitng that, we headed to the Cathedral de Sevilla. It is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. It was breathtaking. There was so much history.  There was a sculpture of Christopher Columbus being carried by four kings.  There was also a huge organ that is still played today. We walked up 34 slants to get to the top of the cathedral where we looked out and saw the entire city. The view was indescribable. The climbing was well worth it. After a long day, we all got on the bus and headed to Granada. It was such a great trip!

 The Cathedral de Sevilla

View from the Cathedral

Other exciting news that I received this past week was the name of my intercambio. Basically an intercambio is a Spanish person who you interact with. My intercambio is a girl and is named Pilar. We have been emailing and chatting, but I hope to meet up with her soon. I need to practice speaking more Spanish!!! Also, I bought a ticket to go to Carnaval in Cadiz. I am not really sure what it is all about, but I shall see this weekend!!

Hasta luego!

La Fiesta de San Cecilio

Today was so much fun!! I went with a few girls to the festival of San Cecilio in the barrio (neighborhood) of Sacromonte.  San Cecilio is one of the patron saints of Granada. Tons of people came to celebrate the saint. The festival consists of tons of food and Flamenco dancing.  Upon arriving to Sacromonte (not that long of a walk from the IES center) we headed to the Museo Cuevas de Sacromonte.  It was really interesting to see how people used to live in caves inside the mountain.  Although I couldn't go inside the caves, it was still really cool to see how people lived a long time ago.  While we were in the area of the museum, there were some cooks getting ready to create a huge gigantous pot of paella. There was much going on around the museum at that point so we headed to the actual festival sight.  The first thing I saw as we walked up the hill was a bouncy thing for the kids (must be a universal thing).  Then I saw the masses of people. Right when we got there we got in a huge line to get free food. The free food came in a bad that said festival of San Cecilio (in spanish of course).  In the bag they put really salty fish, which I did not eat, bread, huge green beans, and a bottle of water.  It was a perfect snack.  They also had other food for sale and of course lots of beer and drinks to buy.  Once we got our bag of food we headed up to the abby at the top of the hill. It was absolutely beautiful.  They had a band playing music and there were a ton of people.  We decided to head back to the museum area to check out the paella, but would come back to the abby later.  When we got back to the museum there were a ton of people there. The flamenco dancers were getting ready to dance.  The Flamenco is such a beautiful dance, with clapping and shoe tapping and flowing movements. 

As time passed the weather went from really warm to really cold in a very short time.  I was mad earlier that I had brought my big jacket, but boy was I sure glad I had it when it began to cool down.  After the dancers were done we just sat around and watched the people. Even though I don't think I look like a Spaniard with my bright pink coat, I was asked twice about things happening in the festival. It was so cool cause I really want to blend in with the culture.  Either I look like I know what I am doing or I just look nice and they think I might know. Either way it is exciting.  After passing some time at the museum we headed back up toward the abby. Someone said that the abby is closed all year, except on the day celebrating San Cecilio.  It was really cool to go inside of it, but a little creepy. I touched this rock, which someone also said, I don't know if this is true, that if you touch it you will get married. Lol. The walk through the small corridors of the abby was super short, but it was worth seeing.  The city has so much history in it. The festival was just the start of my learning experience here. I can't wait to see more and learn more!!

A Whole New World

Here are some pictures from my walk to the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is one of the most famous mosques around and it is a hot tourist spot for people who come to visit Granada.  Granada is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to.  There is so much to see.  It is a whole new world to me.  It is so much unlike the United States.  The architecture here is much much much more antique. For me it is way more beautiful than the modern cities in the states.  Here there is a story for every building and the buildings tell their own story through their architecture.  While walking home from the Alhambra, I was able to watch the sun set through the trees.  It was a breathtaking sight. 

There is so much about this new world of Spain and so much to experience that at times it is overwhelming.  I had my first experience with homesickness the other day.  It is hard to be away from home and to not know much about the country you are living in.  To live in a place where people speak a whole different language than you.  The language barrier can be super frustrating at times. Despite all this things, I know that this is an experience that I should not waste being homesick.  I need to make the best of the beauty that God has allowed me to experience while here in Spain.  I will do my best to experience everything, even the simple things like buying food in the market or shopping for shoes during Rebajas. 

I hope to begin to fit into the Spanish color despite my bright jacket.  At least some tourists think I know what I am doing. Just last week a young Asian tourist asked me directions to one of the plaza. I laughed to myself because I had no clue, but I pulled out my map and I helped her with it anyway.  Hopefully, she made it to her destination despite the confusing directions I gave her that I am not even sure were right.  No pasa nada. Can't wait for more adventures in Spain!!