1.31.2012

I feel that I must first apologize for the fact that I was unable to publish the post yesterday. I'm still currently having problems with getting internet on my laptop at home and have been sent two USB internet modems that are not compatible with my PC. In an attempt to keep you all updated, here's a short review of the weekend.

Most of us who took the intensive month program finished class on Friday. Much of our group left soon after, but still leaving a good chunk of us behind. On Friday, some of us got together at a local bar to hang out. A while later, we decided to hit up one of the local discotecas. Previously thinking "Oh we're only going to a bar. I don't need to care about what I look like," I quickly put on a sweatshirt and running shoes to meet my friends. But going to the discoteca posed a new concern, because in Spain the guys dress very metro-sexual and the discotecas have strict dress codes. Alas, upon arriving to the discoteca and trying to get passed the bouncer, I was turned away because my running shoes were insufficient. While I would have liked to spend more time with my friends, I wasn't too distraught over being denied entry into the club because at 2:00ish in the morning, I was pretty tired and was more than happy to climb into my bed back at my home-stay.

Saturday brought nothing particularly exciting. The highlight came around 10 at night when a group of us got together for churros and chocolate. Yes, along with the siesta, churros con chocolate is yet another great invention that Spain has given us. The churros are pretty similar to what you might see in the States, but they are plain instead of coated with sugar. Then, one who is consuming the churros, dips the churro into a cup of chocolate (Think of hot chocolate, but really really thick....actually, just think about melting chocolate. Now put it in coffee/tea cup. Yeah, it's delicious.).

On Sunday those of us still in Granada decided to explore Sacromonte, part of the city in the hills of Granada where there are caves. There is even a museum dedicated to the caves and shows visitors how people lived in the them many years ago. Most of us decided to forgo the museum, not wanting to spend even the slightest amount of money. However, I think I many go back and visit the museum later, as those who decided to spend time at the museum said it was pretty interesting. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking through the hills (or if you live in Ohio, "mountains"). It was beautiful looking down at the city and getting a clear view of the snowed-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada. For lunch the group and I climbed an old wall, which, looking back was definitely not the safest decision we've ever made, but it was totally worth it despite the fact that some of the wall would crumble if you grabbed hold in the wrong place). We sat up on this wall, approximately 20 feet from the ground and continued to look out over the place we're calling home for the next four months. After lunch we continued hiking to the very top and then, after taking pictures of course, we began our descent. Arriving back to the city, we decided to reward ourselves with gelato. It probably undid all of the work we had just done that day, but it was quite refreshing. After heading home a few of us met an hour and a half later to go salsa dancing at a club that provides free lessons on Sundays. Needless to say, I was dead at the end of the day, but I can honestly say Sunday was one of the best days I've had here so far. I feel like our group is getting to know each other better and we can just relax and have fun together.

I suppose that bring us to yesterday and today. Yesterday began preparations for a trip to London with my roommate and our friends Shari, Emma, and Taylor. After a month I finally broke down and bought an actual winter coat. I got a great deal on it (only 25 euros!) as there are major sales going on in Spain right now called "Rebajas." Shari, Emma, Chris, and I also made a trip to a Costco like store to buy groceries to make dinner tomorrow on our way to the airport. Tonight we will leave for Madrid, camp out at the airport, and leave for London tomorrow morning. I really excited to see the city, especially after talking to my grandma and my friend Brandon Boucher. Both of them gave me great ideas for what to see and do in London. As I will be in London for the rest of the week, there will be no more posts until next week. Fear not though, I will be sure to update you on all of my shenanigans in London and provide you with both picture of London and Granada. Well, I guess that's all for now. Have a great week, friends!

1.27.2012

Hey all!

So as I´ve been blogging over the last two weeks, I´ve talked about all of the things I´ve seen and done, but haven´t really talked about how I´m doing. I´ve been getting a lot of questions about this so I figure I should write about it. Here it goes:
I´m actually doing pretty well! I like my host family and roommate and have made some good friends within my program. This month I took one class for four hours a day with two professors who taught for two hours each. My professors were really nice, but for the most part I found the class to be pretty boring. Overall the class was pretty easy and I didn´t learn all that much. However, I did learn a few new ways of looking at grammar which are completely opposite from the way Spanish is taught in the States. I´ll spare you all the nerdy explanation of grammar but if you happen to be interested, I would be more than happy to have a conversation about Spanish grammar with you. I also learned a few phrases involving food. Here are a few of my favorites:
1) "Dar una torta (literally "To give a cake")" means "To slap someone"
2) "Ser pan comido ("To be eaten bread") means to be easy or as we would say in English "a piece of cake"
3) "Vete a freir esparragos ("Leave to fry esparragos") means "Leave me alone!"
Today I took my exam for the class, which was also pretty easy, and have a week off before the semester begins. On Wednesday I´ll be going to London with my roommate and a few of our friends. I´m really looking forward to it!
Many people have asked if I´m homesick. I wouldn´t really say I miss Ohio too much, mostly just the people. Two things I really miss are watching OSU basketball and taking showers for as long as I want.
Overall, everything is going well. I´m looking forward to discovering more of what Spain has to offer and improving my Spanish. I´m sure I´ve forgotten some stuff on here, but I suppose I can add it all later. Be sure to leave a comment on this post if there´s anything you want to hear about! Thanks for reading, friends!

Nightlife

And now, the post you´ve all been waiting for: What´s the party scene like in Granada? So far I have recognized two major differences.

1)Spaniards stay out MUCH later than Americans.
2)Spaniards are usually not as drunk as many Americans. The concept of drinking is very different than that in the States...but more on that later.

Our first weekend in Granada, I decided to try life as a typical Spaniard. Going out at midnight, my roommate Chris and I ventured to a bar near the CLM (Centro de Lenguas Modernas, it´s where I take classes) where most of the people in our program were hanging out. For those who know me well, you know that I start to get tired very "early" in the evening. I was contemplating going home after the first bar, but forced myself to stay out later in order to get an idea of what nightlife is really like here.
After the first bar, the big group split into to smaller ones and we walked through the city checking out a few different bars throughout the city. This is where I started to see a difference in the way people in Spain use alcohol as opposed to many Americans. My observation was this: most of the people in the bars were not drunk at all or were only slightly intoxicated. This is because the culture is Spain is a very social one. Rather than have people over to their homes, Spaniards prefer to meet in neutral sites such as bars. Many of them will even stay at one place for hours on end, and, even if they do become drunk, it´s usually due to the process of being social (staying in a bar and having drinks with friends) rather than the specific goal of getting wasted. For this reason Spaniards drink more often than most Americans but the idea of binge drinking is not as prevalent.
After going bar-hopping for a while, the group and I decided to go to one of the discotecas in the city...think of a club, but much, much bigger. We arrived betwenn 2 and 3 in the morning and the place was packed. This particular discoteca had several different rooms for dancing, one even had a live band. All of them were completely filled with people, making it very hard to dance, or even move for that matter. It surprised me that the dancing the discoteca was very similar to American "dancing," meaning that there was no specific type of dance such as salsa or merengue. Much of the music was very techno, and for this reason I utilized moves such as the shopping cart and the lawnmower...impressive, I know.
We stayed until about 5:30 or so when I finally decided it was time for me to crash. Even though the party at the discoteca was still going strong, I had finally had enough and honestly, I was surprised that I even survived. I´m such a wimp when it comes to going out, but that´s ok. I was content to return to my bed and catch some z´s. I woke up around noon the next morning and finally felt like I had recovered from the previous night´s shenanigans. It was cool to experience the nightlife in Granada, and perhaps I will return to the discoteca eventually, but for now I´m content to just spend my weekends chilling with friends in tapas bars and enjoying a more tranquil weekend evening.

Perhaps a better picture, but doesn't show the whole Alhambra. Enjoy!

View of the the whole Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada from the Albaicin!

1.23.2012

Want to spend time in city filled with history, culture, and beauty? Then look no further than the city of Granada, Spain. At the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountians lies a city that containes beautiful plazas, cultural events and shows such as the art of flamenco dancing, and historical sites and wonders like the Albaicin and the Alhambra. Granada boasts a Arab heritage, as it was the last city in Spain occupied the Moors. In the past two weeks I've had the opportunity to visit both the Albaicin, the old Arab quarter of the city, and the Alhambra as well. The Alhambra is a palace and fortress that was constructed by the Moors in the 1300s. The craftsmanship and artistry that went into constructing the Alhambra was simply amazing. It's no wonder that so many tourists come here to see this place. Both the Albaicin and the Alhambra have a rich and fascinating history that can't be written in blog. I would definitely recommend taking a few moments to read about them. It's funny though, that even as I walk through the city's parks and plazas at night, while its many fountains are lit up, I never really realized the city's beauty until climbing to the top of the Albaicin or looking down at the city from the Alhambra and seeing the city from a whole different view. I don't have the eloquence to begin to describe what I see with words; all I know is that I am blessed to be where I am right now and for the next few months I get to enjoy what makes Granada so special.

1.10.2012

Hola amigos!
I have tried to create three different posts and each time my internet connection has gone out before I had an opportunity to publish it. This is an attempt (but probably a failure) to recount the last 5 or six days in Spain.
The last few days have been exciting but seem like a whirlwind of activity. The group and I spent two days in Madrid, spending yesterday touring the famous Museo del Prado, an art museum filled with many wonderful paintings and sculptures. Later we toured the city on foot to see many famous landmarks around the city including the Plaza Mayor and the royal palace. Unfortunately, the many sites (including the palace) were closed because here in Spain the celebrate the Day of the Three Wise Men. Madrid was nice but something about the city made me eager to leave and visit Toledo. On January 7th we arrived in Toledo and this city is no disappointment. We saw San Juan de los Reyes, a monastery built under the commission of Isabel de Castilla and Fernando II de Aragón. We also got to see a famous painting called "The burial of the Count of Orgaz". It is located in a nearby church and it was painted by a famous artist known as "El Greco". His name is really long and hard to spell, therefore I´m not going to put it in here, but if you´re interested in learning more about him, I would reccomend using a wonderful little tool I like to refer to as Wikipedia. Toledo is well known for its sword making so naturally, I had to buy a dagger while I was there. I fought the urge to buy an actual sword, but ultimately, I didn´t want to have to try to get that thing through US customs. Toledo was so beatiful and had a very tranquil atmosphere.
January 8th we arrived in Granada and finally ended what seemed like an eternity of travel. My roommate Chris and I got to meet our host mom, although a little later than everyone else due to car trouble. We ended up walking to her apartment with all of our luggage but got there without too much trouble. The apartment is small for five people, but it is nice. Sara, my host mom showed us around the city for a little while that night all the while talking about herself and about the wonderful city in which she lives. Yesterday we had to take entrance exams into the University of Granada. The test was pretty difficult considering that there wasn´t much preparation for the exam. Thankfully, I did get into the level I needed in order to get into my program by the end of the month of intensive language classes. Last night, the ISA directors took us to see a flamenco show. The musicians were awesome and the dancers were very talented. It was cool to something that is rich in Spanish culture. Today was my first day of class. I have class from 9am-1pm Monday through Friday with the rest of the afternoon as free time. Overall, class today wasn´t too hard so I´m hoping that a good balance remains between being challenging and managable. That´s all I have for now guys. I will try to update again soon. Much love!

Jameson

First days

Every trip requires that the traveler forget something that they had on their packing list. For me, I've forgotten at least four things so far. This list includes a medical insurance information form, an umbrella, a bar of soap, and an adaptor for my laptop charger. Thanks to my friend Patty, I can write this blog to tell you that the last two days have gone really well. Today the group and I took a trip around the city of Madrid. There was so much history behind much of what we saw and although it was interesting, it was hard to take it all in and remember everything we were told. I hope to be able to share some pictures with you all soon. Tomorrow we get to travel to Toledo and I'm really excited to see the city. I know this post is super short, but unfortunately, this is all I can post for now. Thanks for reading, friends!

The Adventure Has Begun!

Hey friends!

As you can see from the description of this blog, this is how I will keep all of you back home updated on what I'm doing here in Spain. I just arrived to Madrid this morning around 7:40 am (or 1:40am EST) after pretty smooth travel on both of my flights. Some of the other students going to Granada were on the same flight so we all met each other at the baggage claim soon after we landed. I've also gotten to meet other students who are going to Barcelona and Salamanca. Everyone seems really nice so far. After getting our bags, exchanging money, riding the bus to another terminal, and hydrating ourselves, we found or project directors and the rest of the group who will be studying in Granada. I met my roommate on the bus that took us to the hotel. His name is Chris and he seems like a cool guy. We get to meet our host mom later in the week. Before that, however, the group and I will be doing some sightseeing in Madrid tomorrow and then we are off to Toledo for a few days. Everything has been like a whirlwind so far and the lack of sleep that I've had over the last few days is starting to catch up to me, but I'm really excited to begin this adventure after spending so much time planning for it. Be sure to check back soon on more updates from Madrid and Toledo and as always, GO BUCKS!