Semana Blanca: Amsterdam, Prague, and Ireland!

AMSTERDAM!

Thursday, Feb 10, 2011

After packing my bag and saying goodbye to Catalina, I headed towards the bus stop. I jumped on the #33 bus that supposedly traveled towards the Granada Bus Station. I ignorantly took this bus in the opposite direction, and after gathering enough courage, I asked the driver if the bus was ever going to turn around and go to the bus station. Obviously, his response was no and I needed to switch to the other 33 bus. I was super panicked for time because my ALSA bus to Malaga was leaving promptly at 9 p.m. I told the second bus driver to go as quickly as possible. My hands started to sweat and my heart was racing the entire way there. Finally, we made it to the station where I hopped out and ran to the bus terminal. Thank god! The bus was still loading people and I was able to catch the bus. Phew!  Too close of a call for me. I tried to relax on the 1 ½ bus ride to Malaga but I couldn’t knowing we had a whole night and a morning to kill before our flight to Amsterdam. At the airport in Malaga, I made some strange attempts at sleeping, but eventually gave up. I probably got 20 minutes of sleep that night, if that. 

Friday, Feb 11, 2011

As the time approached to go through security at the airport, our plan took action. Since our first flight only allowed one carry-on up to 11 lbs, we decided the best idea was to layer as many clothes on as possible. It was quite the hilarious sight. I wore 4 pairs of socks, boots, jeans, a tank top, a t-shirt, two sweaters, a leather jacket, a pea coat, and my scarf. I would say that’s pretty normal travelers attire. I was literally sweating bullets as we passed through check-in and security. No one even looked twice at our bags!  On the plane, I magically fell asleep for the majority of the ride. It was glorious.  We made it to Amsterdam!  A metro ride away- we found ourselves at our hostel called Shelter City. It’s located in the Red Light District, but I seriously recommend it to anyone visiting Amsterdam because it is super safe (sidenote: It’s a “Christian” hostel- but I think that adds to the safe environment feel).  Sarah, Rachel, and I are rooming together in a Harry Potter sized closet and Amanda and Stacy are sharing a room with 2 really sweet German girls.  So far, I love the people I have met at the hostel and the city seems super fun too!  Tonight at the hostel, there is a free Valentine’s Day party and dinner. They served a strange Asian noodle dish with fresh vegetables and dessert was pudding with stroop waffles! These are the best dessert in the whole wide world: Wafer cookies with caramel in the middle. After dinner, we made friends with David at the front desk. He gave us some awesome advice about where to go in the city.  The five of us left Shelter City and headed out to explore Amsterdam. We walked through the Red Light District and man was I shocked! I had heard stories about what to expect, but never really realized these stories to their full extent. Two doors down from the hostel, prostitutes stood staring back at us with only a glass door separating us. Fun fact: Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam. After exploring some more, we decided to play it cool and head to an Irish pub for a beer. Early bed time tonight because tomorrow will be a long day!

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011

Free breakfast! I chose the worst option (bread and ham) but it was still free J  Sorry that it reminded me of Spain! The other girls were smarter and ordered the granola, yogurt, and fruit option. I’m doing that tomorrow for sure! Promptly after breakfast, we met up with Wendy Wise and her friend Blake right outside of our hostel. We were headed towards Dam Square for a free walking tour of the city. The tour was fantastic and super informative! Even though it was a bit rainy and cold, we still managed to have a really fun time. We learned a lot about the city’s history and famous “culture” if you will. We later hit up McDonalds for lunch (sorry I’m not sorry) where I ordered chicken nuggets and a stroop waffle McFlurry. Around 4, we left to go to the Heineken factory! The tour was worth every penny because it included some great information, a taste test and lesson on how to correctly taste and drink the beer, a virtual reality ride of being made into Heineken, and two free pints of the brew. Next on the agenda: Run home to get ready and go out! We attended the Amsterdam Ultimate Party Pub Crawl, which was actually kind of a bust, but we got a cool t-shirt! That night, we met some interesting German boys and taught them funny American phrases. I find that to be quite entertaining actually and I also love to learn slang phrases in other languages.  We also learned our lesson to always carry our cell phones; it would make things a bit easier J Back to the hostel at the early hour of 3:30 a.m., we happily crashed in our tiny hostel room.

                                                         Met up with Wendy in Amsterdam!

                                                       AOII's (plus Amanda) at the Heineken Factory!

                                                         (Overpriced) Bar Crawl in Amsterdam

Sunday, Feb 13, 2011

Free breakfast round 2 at Shelter City! I was super pumped to say no to the stupid toast option and get the granola and yogurt: score! Today, Amanda and Stacy decided to go to the Anne Frank museum and Sarah, Rachel, and I went to the Van Gogh Museum. It was amazing to be able to see some of his most famous works of art. Fun fact: our friend David secretly shared the hostel museum passes with us so we could get in for free!!  Once finished with the museum, we had food on the brain so we stopped at a nearby supermarket and purchased a feast for super cheap! We saved tons of money doing it this way instead of eating out at a restaurant. For less than 4 euro, I purchased a loaf of bread, jelly, stroop waffles, and a diet coke. We’re set! We ate our picnic back at the hostel and quickly passed out for a long nap until 9 p.m. We decided to play it cool tonight and hang out at the hostel, play some card games, meet some other travelers, and just chill.

                                                              Victoria  A.K.A. Christophina  :)

Fun facts/observations about Amsterdam:

1)   Amsterdam was built on a marsh, which is why the buildings lean over

2)   The apartments are super thin because there used to be a tax on building width.

3)   The oldest prostitute is 72 and there is a 2-week waiting list to see her.

4)   Prostitute Prices: 50 euro=15 minutes but nothing more than just intercourse. Pay more for extra activity, if you will.

5)   Weed is illegal, but it’s decriminalized: Can carry up to 5 grams of weed on your body. Only can smoke it at home or in a “coffee shop”

6)   Amsterdam was rated the 5^th safest city in Europe.

7)   It takes 28 days to brew Heineken beer. Ingredients: water, hops, barley, and Grade A yeast.

8)   There are more bikes than people in Amsterdam. A drunk game is to find unlocked bicycles and throw them in the river.

Monday, Feb 14, 2011

Even though our Airplane from Amsterdam to Prague was delayed, we still arrived around 9 p.m. to our hostel, Czech Inn. Again, I highly recommend this one. We were spoiled to say the least. The rooms were gigantic and super clean. The whole hostel was super modern and the staff and travelers were all very friendly. We later hung out in the hostel bar and ordered a beer for really cheap. We stayed in and chilled that night.

Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011

Around 8:30 a.m., we woke up and got ready for the day. We walked towards the tourist office for our free tour, but ended up getting un poquito lost. Good thing there was a tour later that day. We had an early lunch at a cute outdoor café. I ordered a hamburger and French fries, but it was a joke. It was more the size of a slider that came with 8 small French fries. Good thing we had bread to fill up on!  After lunch, we met our tour group. Our guide was James from Ireland and we fell in love with his accent (Can’t wait to visit Ireland!) Prague is such a beautiful city and it was great to be able to learn all about its’ history. When the tour finished, the five of us frolicked along the Charles Bridge and tried to look for the John Lennon wall, but failed. Still really fun though! Our next stop was to go shopping at a grocery store where we bought snacks, dinner, and beer for the equivalent of 3 euro!  It was such a great picnic back at the hostel.

Tonight, we had our minds set on going to the famous 5-layer club in Prague. While it was quite difficult getting to the club to say the least, we eventually made it all there and paid cover to get in. A bad thing about Prague is that people can smoke indoors…so needless to say we reeked of smoke when we left. We thought this night was going to be a dud when no one seemed to be having much fun when Sarah and I met these 5 Italian guys. The other three girls decided to call it a night, but Sarah and I stuck around.  While Sarah met the love of her life, I chatted it up with the 4 other Italian boys. I eventually directed most of my conversation, ironically, to the only Italian boy who didn’t know any English. Smart, right? I guess it was more of a game for me J Sarah and I partied like Europeans that night and crawled into bed around dawn. A quick 2 hours of sleep and we were ready to start our next Prague adventure!

                                                       Beautiful view from Charles Bridge in Prague

                                                        Our 5 Italian Boys at the 5 Layer Club

Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011

This morning, Sarah and I laughed over our adventures from the night before as we headed out for the day. Before our next tour, we stopped to get lunch at a hotdog and sausage stand, where I strangely chose the hamburger (cheapest option…obvie).  I was determined to stick to a strict budget in Prague; 1000 kr which is equivalent to 43 euro.  We thought today’s tour was going to be 250 kr, which would have been a large part of my budget, but we magically found the same tour for free!! I turned to Sarah and said something like, “we’re rich!” Even though it was really only a few euro to celebrate over J Another fabulous tour, but we were wiped out and decided to head home early.  I decided to hang out at the bar, check out my email, and chill for a while. Instead, I met a 27 year old, extremely interesting British guy. We talked together for nearly 3 hours (I also watched my first full soccer/futbol game on TV. It wasn’t terribly boring, I do admit) We discussed politics, futbol, cultural differences, and spiritual views. I honestly wish I had asked him for his facebook or email so I could keep in contact with him. 

Later on, Sarah came down and we attempted to journal, but it turned into a big fail when some Spanish guys joined our table with their bottle of absinthe. NBD.  It was the first time I ever saw an absinthe shot with a flaming spoon of sugar on top- I’m still not sure what that does…  I invited my English friend to join, but he decided to stick to beer instead of the shots. Sarah and I each only had 1 of the shots, but the others girls came down later and had a few more. Needless to say, they went out and had a crazy night.  Sarah and I called it a night around 1 a.m. and the other girls trickled in around 4 or 5.  Prague is beautiful and peaceful during the day, but gets quite rowdy at night.   Glad we all made it alive out of Prague J

Thursday, Feb 17, 2011

Time to travel to Ireland! Woo! We hoped on a quick plane ride to Dublin and then checked into our hostel at the Paddy’s Palace. This one, I do not recommend because it was super dirty and shady. We only stayed there because it is the pick up point for our amazing Paddywagon Tour (which I definitely recommend!) We chose the 3-day tour of Southern Ireland. That night, we chilled and had dinner out pretty cheaply. Excited for the tour to start!

Friday, Feb 18, 2011

We woke up pretty early around 6:30 a.m. to shower and get ready for our tour. Since we shared the room with 4 other random girls, we were as quiet as possible, but I’m sure they woke up to the 5 of us getting ready.  Free breakfast was served but only consisted of toast and cereal. I’ll take it! Promptly at 8 a.m., the Paddywagon pulled up and we boarded the tour bus. On our first day of the tour, Galway was our first city destination. We stopped to see the old Guinness castle and the surround village. Once in Galway, we were dropped off at our hostel where the 5 of us roomed with 3 other super nice girls. One was from Australia and the other 2 were backpackers from Canada. That night, Amanda had her friend Dillen meet up with us so he could show us around Galway. It’s a pretty small downtown area. We walked to the bay and it was a beautiful sight even though it was rainy and windy. Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the Paddywagon group at a local pub for some real Irish food. I had a pint of Irish cider with Irish stew! It was a pricy meal but definitely worth it. I enjoyed the live band and they played great sing a long music, even some American tunes! Around 12, I went back to the hostel to crash.

In Ireland, I definitely feel way more comfortable in my own skin than any other place in Europe. It may just be the red hair and Irish heritage, but I seriously felt at ease and at “home” in a way. I could see coming back later to travel here again or even live here.  I adore the Irish accent and so far, all of the people I’ve met have been very friendly and inviting.

                                                       I can totally see myself living here someday. 

Saturday Feb 19, 2011

I woke up much earlier than the others to shower and get ready for the day. I enjoyed another free breakfast and then set out for one last walk around Galway with Mathila, the Australian girl in our room. She was really nice and I loved getting to know her a little more. That morning was sunny and beautiful so I decided to head back to the bay and show Mathila the amazing view.  After our morning walk and back at the hostel, it was time to board the Paddywagon for day two- Cliffs of Moher! On our way, the bus made a stop at the Atlantic Ocean and the group was able to climb up a small rocky hill to get a better view. The view was absolutely breathtaking! We all got back in the bus and drove on towards the Cliffs of Moher. We were able to enjoy the spectacular views and had a good amount of time to do so. 

Our next stop after the Cliffs was Killarney!  We arrived at our hostel and settled in and later went out to purchase cheap dinner from the local supermarket. We also got huge liters of Irish cider for our pregame later that night. In the hostel, the whole group made dinner in the kitchen and we all ate together! It was nice to really sit down and get to know all of these people. That night at our pregame, we taught the other travelers some American drinking games like flip cup and “never have I ever”.  The second game was definitely an interesting way of getting to know some of the dirtiest things that these people have ever done. Some were extremely surprising but the two Dutch boys were definitely the funniest! After our pregame, the paddywagon group headed out together to a bar nearby where it was a pub in the front and a dance club in the back. I eventually began dancing with a local boy from Killarney. He invited me to the bar next door to get a drink. Of course I accepted. This bar was filled with way more people my own age and I was able to meet some of his friends. I know I already said this, but I am in love with the Irish accent!  That night I also was serenaded to “Galway Girl” woo!  Later that night back at the hostel, the girls in my room all sprawled out together on the floor eating cookies and cheethos and exchanged stories from the night.  I’m going to miss everyone on this tour!!

                                                       Our amazing Canadian friends. Miss you!

Sunday, Feb 20, 2011

After a restful 3 hours of sleep, we all somehow managed to get ready rather quickly, ate cereal and toast (with nutella- shout out to Jessica Campion!) and hopped onto the paddywagon for our last day on this amazing tour of a lifetime. Unfortunately, I was a bit hung-over and a bus ride was probably the last thing that I needed. I tried to sleep but failed miserably. Oh well, probably much better to view the beautiful scenery of the Irish country.  As we traveled along, the excitement continued to build because today we were going to visit the Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone! I was feeling slightly better, and just in time as we arrived to the castle.  Our group explored and crawled and shuffled through tunnels in the castle before we finally managed to actually scale the stairs and check out the inside of the castle. We were able to see the rooms of the castle and we imagined how gorgeous it would have been in its prime.  

The time finally came to kiss the stone.  Apparently, all who kiss the stone are blessed with the gift of gab, but in an eloquent sense. The actual act of kissing the stone was frightening. There was an attendant at the stone, which was situated at the very top of the castle. The attendant had the most interesting job ever; he helped each person to lie down and hang their heads and shoulders off the side of the castle in order to stretch out and give this stone a smooch. I remember screaming a little like a small child, but worth it!

                                                                      Kissing the stone!

After our excursion to the castle, I instantly got really sad because I knew our Irish adventures were almost over. The bus took us back to our hostel in Dublin, where we (obvi) got ready real quick to go out. We picked up some delicious Irish cider for our pregame and met up with our awesome Canadian friends at their hostel. It must have been happy hour over there because the lobby was super rowdy with people drinking and playing drinking games. We met some pretty cool Brazilian guys and played one of my favorite drinking games- Horse Race (Shout out to my Glen Ellyn Friends at U of I!)  Before we knew, we got the entire lobby of people up and cheering for our game! Best. Pregame. Ever. We finished our drinks and headed out to THE Temple Bar in downtown Dublin. Drinks there were pricy (5.50 euro for one) but I’m extremely happy that I got to experience this place. Super touristy, but no pasa nada. Since there was barely any breathing room in the Temple Bar, our group headed across the way to another bar, Fitzsimmons. Shit got crazy to say the least. We danced and hilarity ensued, obviously. Rachel and I danced with our new Brazilian friends and had a ton of fun! We stayed out until morning, and with a full hour of sleep under our belts, our alarms sounded. That was pretty awful, but we needed to pack our bags and head to the airport. Sad day.

                                                         I'll miss you Ireland! See you soon hopefully :)

In all honestly, Ireland felt like a second home for me. I definitely want to go back someday, hopefully in the near future. I can now share stories with my family about our Ireland experiences!!

***Time for 2 whole days of school- then Barcelona!

AOII Visitors, a Shrimp mishap, #19, Hiking, and a festival!

Wednesday, February 2^nd

Finally met up with Wendy Wise in Granada!  Wendy had been in town for at least 4 days prior, but it was awesome to see her!  I took Wendy and her friend Blake to Café Futbol for lunch. I had the pleasure of ordering for them in my broken Spanish, but it gets the job done. We shared stories of our study abroad experiences so far and it made me realize how much I miss my friends!  It was great to be able to catch up with Wendy, and later on that night, a few of us took Wendy to get drinks/tapas.  Apparently, there is this amazing bar  (with couches and beds?) in town that basically gives away free drinks. I just don’t understand how they are making any money, but anyhow, we each drank a free glass of tinto de verano (wine and lemonade).  After being talked into dancing (like American fools) by the D.J., we in return each received a free mixed shot of vodka y limon. Holla!  

                                                      Wendy and I with our free tinto de verano :)

Thursday, February 3^rd

Officially booked all flights and hostels for our first week long trip to Amsterdam, Prague, and Dublin!!!

Friday, February 4^th

Lunch today was seafood paella, my favorite!  I asked Catalina about teaching me how to make it and she said she can for sure show me how next time J  I made a cultural food mistake today that included shrimp with their heads and shells. The beady little black eyes and whisker looking things were still attached too.  From a previous fish eating experience, I thought it was normal to just pop the whole darn thing in… to my surprise it was quite crunchy and the whiskers tickled all the way down my throat.  I soon realized I had made a mistake. I watched my senora peal off the skin and the head and just eat the normal looking piece of the shrimp. I gagged a little bit right there.  Hmm, I guess I should have watched her eat one first?  Oops!

Stephanie D’Anza visited this weekend!  We went out Friday night to Chupeteria 69- basically Kams. It was filled with almost all Americans and a few British people. The menu consisted of three kinds of shots: fuerte, mediano, and suave.  We chose some interesting ones. Never again #19… never again. I wish I had more time to catch up with Stephanie, but a few of us are visiting Barcelona at the end of the semester so hopefully can then!

                                                             So many AOII's in Granada! 

Saturday February 5^th

Hiking Round 2!  This time, there were 2 groups of 15 or so that went to Monachil to hike. It was a gorgeous day with tons of sun.  Sarah, Rachel, Jeanette, and I decided to split off from the large group and we took a different route. It was interesting because the path wound up going up into the mountains were people lived.  I am still so amused by all of the stray dogs...and what they tend to leave behind... New word created: Caquis- our version of caca (poopies), but a lot of it! Probably the most interesting and strangest part of the hike was seeing a pack of men on motocross bikes attempt at scaling the mountains!  It was quite the sight. After the hike, I was wiped out and decided to stay in and hang out with my senora. I slept for 11 hours that night!

                                                     Eh...just some beautiful rolling hills. NBD. 

Sunday, February 6^th

Today there was a festival which consisted of thousands of people walking through the albaicin and Sacramonte to see Flamenco dance performances, eat, and pass the time with friends. It was another beautiful and sunny day (much better than the snow storm back in Chicago!)  I think the best part about living in Granada is getting to interact with the locals.  We encountered many impatient and rude people while in line for “los servicios” (port-o-potty).  Old women think they have the right to just push through el cola (line) and head straight for the front. Not cool. At times, the locals are wonderful and love to listen to you, but other times, their other side comes out.  This is when I compare the people here and the people in America.  At least we know how to wait our turn in line! Pero, no pasa nada. I still love Granada J

Hiking in the Sierra Nevada!

Friday, January 28^th

Greatest accomplishment so far= Surviving my first ever hiking experience…and it was in the Sierra Nevada Mountains!  A group of us started our day at 9 a.m. by flagging down our bus to Monachil.  2.40 Euro round trip. When we got up to Monachil (near the mountains) it was now raining, or better said, it was pouring. Guess who forgot her umbrella at home? This girl. Jeanette graciously shared hers with me until the rain calmed down.  We had to navigate our own way to the hiking path, but with our great navigator, Sarah, we found our way. We stopped at a beautiful point in our walk to eat our bocadillos (sandwiches) that our senoras had made. I unfortunately had last nights dinner (cabbage and raisins) in between Italian bread.  It actually was better than I had originally thought.  I also had saved some of my chocolate bar from my previous adventure at Corte Ingles (grocery), que bueno!

After some debate and confusion as to where the path was, we followed our instincts (or should I say we followed our tour guide, Hercules the dog) to the beginning of our hiking trail.  We thought the mountain would be covered in goats and bulls...no...it was overpopulated with dogs. We saw some roosters, a donkey, un gato, and basically herds of dogs (and lots of caca). 

Our first initial view was breathtaking.  I didn’t know what I thought this hike would entail, but my god was it beautiful. We crossed a wobbly bridge (reminiscent to Indiana Jones), shimmied along the sides of caves, and raced to the top. 

Hercules!

                                                      Beautiful view in the Sierra Nevadas!

                                                      The Indiana Jones Bridge. Conquered.

On our back into Monachil, we had some spare time, so we stopped at a local bar. I tried Cruzcampo cerveza for the first time, pretty good Andalucia!  It came with a small cup of gumbo soup. There was some green tasting chicken like substance in it, which Jeanette called gizzard. MMmmmmm.   Not sure what it was, but I liked it!  We hopped on our return bus and I got home around 4. I was chilled to the bone from our rainy adventure and I couldn't get in the shower fast enough!  

The day was definitely an adventure that deserves another (or multiple) visits. Next week quizas??  The next morning I woke up with super sore hips and legs. Worth it! 

Disco/Running

Friday-Saturday, January 21 and 22

First experience at a discoteca: I should probably start at the beginning de la noche. (Minor detail: I made a 30 minute walk into a 50 minute walk. Solid.) I met up with the girls at a plaza around 11:30. A bar promoter pointed us to this shot bar where we paid .50 cents for a mysterious blue mixed shot. We then decided to buy 3 bottles of wine and split them among the 6 of us. Mistake. Afterwards, we spotted a bar (that smelled a bit like rotten cheese) and the others ordered a cerveza muy grande. We met a local that fell in love with Sarah. She is his princess (see below). From there, it was discoteca time. $10 euro cover that included 2 free drinks. Vodka y limon. We hung out and danced until nearly 4 a.m. Best decision of the night = taxi for $5 euro.  The morning was not my friend to say the least. I told Catalina “me duele el estomago” and with that, she whipped up this herbal tea that tasted like apple juice that apparently is good for your digestion. Sweet!

While a bit hungover, I made the trek to el centro to meet some girls. I took them to the mercadillo near my house, which was a big hit. The market is very overwhelming but everything is muy barrato (cheap). We even practiced our bargaining skills. I bought a shirt for $4 and a bag of gummy bears for $1.  Win.

 "My princess! I love Sarah the most."

 Guapas!

The Spanish love their Fanta.

Sunday 1/23/11

Slept in until 11:30 a.m. For all who know me really well, this is a very strange occurrence. I’m generally an early riser and like to get a good start to my day… it could be the blinds that completely close out all light…or some left over jet lag exhaustion?  Yo no se.

I threw on my running clothes, then looked out the window and realized it was snowing. Yes! I put on my earmuffs and running gloves and said adios to my senora. It was a great feeling to finally be able to get out there. It also helped me get my bearings around the city, which was much needed to say the least.  Solid start with 4 miles…I guess I’m not in shape to run the Barcelona Marathon on March 6^th then, huh… Watch out Chicago Marathon in October!

Running is a strange experience in Spain. I get some strange looks from old men here. Maybe it was the spandex pants?  I also got some cat calls, one being something like “Hola- oh la la…guapa!!”  I guess it’s more of a compliment here than in the U.S.? 

Getting Lost/Flamenco Dancing!

So far, school has been pretty laid back and chill. I think this semester is going to be on the lighter side if you know what I mean. I am even thinking about dropping a class (literature…) and then I would be taking 12 hours.  I really only need one advanced hour while abroad anyways because the other classes don’t count towards my major (poor planning on my part).

After escuela, Thursday night was when everyone was going to get together and go to a shot bar and then to a discoteca. I was pumped! I had directions and a map so that hopefully I would know where I was going, or at least in the general direction. What do you think happened… I got lost and ended up at some highway. Great.  I’m glad I could navigate my way back to the apartment.  A little bit of an epic fail this night, but I know there will be plenty more disco nights to come.  I think what made it worse was when I came back that night and talked with my senora. Catalina said something like “Estaba perdida? Oh…es muy facil, es muy facil!” She basically thought it was impossible to get lost around here…lies.

Video of the three Flamenco Dancers

At least I had a fun night to look forward to. The whole Granada group was invited to attend a Flamenco show in las cuevas (caves) of Sacramonte.  Everyone got a complimentary drink and sat back and watched this marvel of a show. Would anyone know what I meant if I included a reference from the movie Superstar?  Remember Molly Shannon's parents who were Irish Dancers? The dancers had to dance faster and faster, and then of course some of you know what happened after that.  But anyways, it was very impressive to see these Flamenco dancers move their feet so rapidly, all while keeping a steady, graceful upper body.  I have pictures and a video to show off.  It was definitely an experience that I would love to do again, maybe even learn it myself. 

Stage for the Flamenco Dance at Venta el Gallo.

This weekend I am going to chill in Granada. I haven't made any official travel plans yet, but there are many ideas bouncing around. Saturday is going to be our shopping day! I'm taking a few friends to the mercadillo by my house that has extremely cheap, cute clothes, shoes, etc. Afterwards, we'll probably stop by this cute tapas bar nearby for a drink and then continue on shopping! Sunday it's a possibility to go hiking...

I hope to get some travel plans together really soon. I would love to meet up with some of my Glen Ellyn friends somewhere in Europe too! The top places that I would love to visit are: Dublin, Rome, Paris, London, Barcelona, and Amsterdam! I am basically open to traveling anywhere, as long as it is a reasonable price. I guess I should start doing some research and checking precios. 

Hasta luego!

Lesson to outsiders: Don't take the Rosemary. You will regret it. 

Alhambra Tour and Beginning of School

Alhambra Sunday January 16^th

It’s difficult to describe in words the beauty of the Alhambra. Imagine an intricate palace that took decades to build. Every corner is embellished with marble, ceramics, and religious imagery. There are breathtaking views of the city from all around. The best part of the Alhambra was saved for last: the Generalife garden. I’ll post pictures because describing it in words doesn’t do it justice. 

The tour of the Alhambra lasted a quick 6 hours with a short lunch break in the middle. My senora packed my lunch, which included more than half a loaf of Italian bread as my sandwich with a few pieces of thinly sliced ham, 2 mandarin oranges, and a coca-cola. Score.  When I came back to the apartment, I was exhausted and sore, but definitely worth the pain. I highly recommend visiting the Alhambra if you ever come to Granada.

First Day of School, Monday, January 18

I had my parents skype me their time (12:00 a.m.) in order to wake me up at 7 a.m. my time. I bet they’re glad that I finally got an alarm clock.  The first day of school was pretty relaxed and I had a huge break in the middle. Mondays and Wednesdays I have class 11-12:30 and 4:30-6 with a very large siesta in the middle. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have class from 9 a.m. straight through until 2:30. After that last class, I’ll book it home for lunch and have the rest of the day free! Friday, por supuesto, there is no class which leaves plenty of time to do some traveling on the weekends. 

Last night I went out with my amigas to a tapas bar. While it was a bit confusing/stressful to choose a place and all meet in one spot, we finally sat down to order a drink. My friend Mary Kate ordered a tinto de verano, which sparked my memory about a suggestion from a friend back home. He told me to try this drink, while it was a tad bit girly, because it will be the best drink of your life. Not sure if it’s the best ever, but it’s up there. 

Point of interest: I believe I walked nearly 10 miles, if not more today. Me duele el culo.

Tuesday, January 19^th

Used my new phone alarm this morning without a problem! Woke up early to get ready and walked to my 9 a.m. class. I think I’m starting to get used to a 30-minute walk each way. No wonder Europeans are so in shape!  They walk everywhere! I had class from 9-2:30 and I’ve never walked faster in my life. I know one thing is for sure, my stomach is not used to eating a small meal at 8 a.m. and then waiting until 3 p.m. for lunch.  It gets a little embarrassing when other classmates can here your estomago growling.

**One thing I learned about Granada today: If you step in dog poop (caca), it is considered great luck!  Good thing there are tons of stray dogs J

Orientation through 1st day with Catalina!

Tuesday January 11th - Wednesday January 12th

The time is finally here! I said goodbye to the family and boarded the dreaded 8 hour flight.  After 6 hours of attempting to find a comfortable spot to sleep, I gave up and watched the movie, Wall Street 2, except for the fact that the flight attendants gave me faulty headphones that didn’t fit in the jack so I basically watched a silent movie. Awesome. Near the end of the flight, a pleasant surprise was breakfast! The meal included a croissant sandwich with ham and cheese, a mini muffin, fruit cup, orange juice and a kit kat bar. About an hour later, we landed in Madrid! The airport was modern and beautiful; basically everything was made of glass. I had a minor mishap at security when I accidently left a full water bottle in my backpack. As it went through the x-ray machine, the TSA people literally had a cow. After 5 minutes of yelling at me in Spanish, I finally understood that they wanted me to go to the bathroom to dump out my water. Ay dios mio.  

We made our way to our terminal and waited during our four-hour layover. Eventually, we boarded our second flight that was to arrive in Granada around noon. When our flight landed, we picked up our luggage and boarded shuttle buses that took us to our hostel in Granada. The hostel was very pretty and I loved the outer architecture.  I am rooming with 4 other girls: Sarah, Rachel, Stacy, and Amanda. Our room is tightly packed with 5 twin beds, a few pieces of furniture, and a small bathroom (plus a bidet?)  We settled in, checked in with our parents, and got ready to explore the city. 

The 5 of us joined up with a few other girls and we began our walking adventure. Everything was so beautiful, I almost forgot that I was starving and only had eaten one handful of trail mix all day. While we walked the gorgeous streets of Granada, with the words “rebajas” on every corner, we found it difficult to chose a place to eat. We finally found a nice little restaurant and decided to give it a go. Upon first glance, all we see is meat dangling from the ceiling. We attempt to order but fail to hear the words “la cocina esta cerrada” from our camerero/waiter, which means, “the kitchen is closed”. We learned our first cultural lesson that people in Granada like to eat late, unlike Americans. After that embarrassing scene, we finally came across a quaint little café. I ordered una bocadilla con atun y tomate (tuna and tomato sandwich) for only 3.20 Euro.  We were quite satisfied with ourselves, including our ability to order and pay using the little Spanish vocabulary that we had. With our heads held a little higher, we headed for a bar to order a drink. We came across a bar that seemed hidden, like it was a little local secret. There, Rachel and Amanda mustered up the courage to order a drink, which was promptly served with a Spanish tapa, which consisted of chips and a piece of ham on toasted bread.  Afterwards, we toured the backstreets of Granada and stumbled upon a great shopping area, all advertising huge “rebajas!” I checked my watch and realized we had been on our little adventure for over four hours and still most of us going on very little sleep. We decided to turn in a little early this first night, but plan to go out to our first discoteca soon.

Thursday January 13th

After a fantastic nights sleep, we woke around 7:30 and got ready for the day. We were offered a small breakfast from the pasteleria next door to the hostel, which consisted of your choice of café con leche or te (I chose agua) as well as a croissant with peach jam.  After this quick meal, the entire group (77 students) walked to a colegio to learn more about the program and safety tips, and we then took a Spanish placement exam.  Miguel Fernando from CEGRI came to speak with us, and although he had important things to say, he carried on well past 2:30. By this time, we were all starved and have not gotten used to the Granada meal schedule.

**On the way to get food, we noticed two chicos with a camera as they took the picture of my friend Amanda (pelliroja tambien) and myself. Apparently, it’s strange to see two redheads standing next to each other! Definitely feel like an outsider but I guess I can’t hide my pale skin, red hair, and freckles.

 A group of 7 of us walked towards our hostel with our minds on the Chinese restaurant across the street. We sat at a table and quickly ordered our food (first successful attempt I might add) and enjoyed familiar Chinese food. The check, or cuenta, was a bit of task. The waitress, or camerera, did not understand that we wanted separate checks, but it worked out in the end, even with a bit of stress. Now time for my first siesta! Afterwards is a tour of Granada!

Well, my first siesta, that included a long nap, was fabulous, other than the fact that I woke to Stacy knocking on the door and me freaking out that I was late to the group tour. Thank god the group was still there. On the tour, we learned about some amazing aspects of the city! It is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. When the tour got back to the hostel, I realized that I didn’t have a card to get upstairs since my 4 roomates were taking their siesta nap! I was forced to use my amazing Spanish speaking skills to try and describe my situation to the receptionist. I was proud that I could explain that I needed a copy of the room key. I came back and took a second nap! We woke and chatted for nearly 2 hours until other girls came to our room at 10 p.m. and motivated us to get ready to go out.

We headed towards tapas bars. Along the way, what we thought were gypsies, were 2 club promoters. We received cards that allowed us 2 free drinks (una cerveza y un mojito) each!  Since we couldn’t find the place, we went to a different tapas bar, well, we thought was a tapas bar. We ordered two bottles of a really good red rioja wine. The camerero didn’t understand that we didn’t want to pay for food, but quickly brought out 4 dishes to share. I think I was rude when I asked if they were free, because he was shocked at my question. Our bill for 7 people ended up being 80 some euros, but it was definitely worth it!

We left and walked back to the hostel to find a large portion of the group chilling on some 40’s and some bottles of wine. We quickly joined with our own 40’s of La Alhambra (1.50 Euro) and played drinking games and got to know each other until 3:30 a.m. Afterwards, the 5 of us came back to our room, slightly tipsy (me more than others) and went to bed.

Friday, January 14^th

We had our housing orientation today and received maps of Granada. The map displayed where each of our houses were in reference to the school. I of course am in the very bottom corner of the map. Yay. Afterwards, a bunch of us walked to the market and everything in the market was super fresh! (We could tell from the smell….) I also purchased una coca cola light for .60 Euro which is close to $.90 in the U.S.

Around 4:30, the group met for a tour. We were told to wear good walking shoes, but none of us expected to walk miles up hill. We took a tour of the Albaicin and el Sacremonte, which lasted nearly three hours, but I enjoyed every minute. The views from that high up were breathtaking especially when we could see the Alhambra.  We definitely weren’t in Kansas anymore. Later that night was the group dinner, which lasted nearly 3 hours. Culturally, this is very common and long conversations are highly valued among family and friends.

Now to explain Granada: First of all, I feel extremely out of place. I know people told me I would stick out like a sore thumb, but I did not believe it until now. It may be mostly because I have red hair and look like una Americana, or it may be that I have no idea how to converse with natives. I am slowly learning the unique accent in Granada. They tend to drop letters at the end of sentences, especially the letter “s.” For example, instead of saying gracias, they say gracia. All of the words seem squished together, but I think I will get the hang of it. At the moment, I feel really comfortable speaking Spanish with the other students in the program, but I am so intimidated to speak with locals.

 Teachers have failed to tell us about the simple things like how to order food and how to ask for a check. I have found that it is going to take some time to get used to the daily schedule. I find it obscure to have a siesta in the middle of the day, usually from 2-4 where everyone in the entire town stops to enjoy time with their family. Breakfast is usually a small croissant around 9 (I’m already sick of these after 3 days) Lunch isn’t until 2 or 3 p.m. but it is the largest meal of the day and it is meant to spend with family.  Sometimes, it is necessary to have a light snack before dinner, which tends to be around 10 p.m.  Dinner is usually very light, mainly served tapas style with plenty of wine and café con leche. I must say that I tried the wine here and love it! It is way less bitter than wine at home, or at least the kind that I have tried in the past.  For those of you who think I am weird for not liking coffee, I still hold those opinions strongly. I gave it a try, but no luck. It was even the café con leche that everyone raves about, but I still thought it was utterly disgusting.  Que asco!

The layout of Granada is extremely confusing. There is no rhyme or reason to the structure of the city. Some streets can be just like city streets we find in Chicago but others are short and extremely narrow. At times, the streets are barley big enough to fit a car (Austin Powers reference anyone?) I will probably post pictures of these strange details later.  Point of interest: They put blinds on the outside of their windows and I don’t see a reason to that…

Saturday, January 15^th

Today was the day we left the “orphanage” to meet our adoptive parents, or at least that was what it felt like. Promptly at 11:15, my senora arrived to the hostal to pick me up. She brought her sister-in-law with, and apparently, they are very close.  We took the bus from the hostal to the apartment, or piso. The location is pretty dang far away from campus in my opinion, but Catalinia begged to differ. The apartment is much bigger than I expected. There are 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. Catalina has 3 full-grown children, which is why there is so much room. 

Fun fact #1: Don't walk around the house barefoot. 1) It's considered rude and 2) If you do, you will get bronchitis, which in turn becomes pneumonia, and apparently then that evolves into missing a month or more of school. Story short, invest in some zapatillas, house slippers. 

Fun fact #2: Catalina understands zero ingles. 

Soon after giving me the grand tour, she and her sister-in-law (I think her name is Mariana but don’t quote me on that) pushed me out the door and headed to the mercadillo, which is about two blocks away from the apartment.  It is an outdoor market that sells all types of clothing, shoes, music, anything you can imagine, but the best part is that it is in a very economically conscious part of town. You could buy dos chaquetas por 3 euro.  (2 jackets for about $5!) It is there every Saturday and I am definitely going back! Once we left the market, we stopped by a local cervezeria. I ordered a coca-cola light (not diet, strange) and the other two each ordered una cana de beer, or a small glass of beer. It was served with a free tapa that consisted of fried calamari, but the kind that actually looks like tentacles. It was sabroso!  Catalina picked up the tab, which was super nice and we headed back for lunch and a siesta. After waking my parents up at 6 a.m. their time to skype for a few minutes, lunch was served. My favorite so far = paella con mariscos, pan, y vino! 

After our lovely afternoon nap, she wanted to take me to el centro de Granada. I assumed that was where the action was but didn’t really know where she was taking me. She first showed me a quick way to walk from the apartment to my school and I was surprised that it was such a straight shot. Afterwards, she took me shopping! We went in several stores and did a little window-shopping, but I ended up buying a new blue lacy cardigan from Zara’s (yeah Jane!) for 10 euro. Una ganga because Granada is having their month long sales all over called Rebajas. I love rebajas.  The next and last stop was none other than my first experience with chocolate con churros. I must say, I think they were so hyped by the other students in the program that I expected them to be fantastic. I probably would not order them again.  Lo siento Granada (but I am in love with everything else!)

We came back for a quick dinner at 9:30, which consisted of gambas y almejas (shrimp and clams) along with bread and wine. We then proceeded to watch all of her children’s weddings that were on tape.  My kind of fun!