why are you taking out 70 euros? i'm going to rome!

me stina and leah in seville

botellon

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile I've been busy with school and what not! Hmm where did I leave off...

Ok, so last Thursday I did one of the most fun things I have ever done. Unlike most cities in Spain, it is illegal to drink on the streets of Granada but there is this one plaza where it is legal to drink and everyone goes there on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before going to the clubs. It is called botellon which basically means "big bottle" and there were literally like 300 people there it was crazy! Everyone goes to the store and buys a bottle of liquor, a bottle of Fanta, cups, and ice and stays there until like 3 in the morning. We might have been the only Americans there but it was so much fun and then we went dancing at a club called Kapital. Molly and I met these two boys who are from Spain but studied at South Carolina last semester--how weird! They were in Charlotte more recently than I was! 

This past weekend I went to Seville with API, it is a city about 3 hours west of Granada. It was really cool because Christine is studying there so I got to hang out with her which was so weird. We acted like it was so normal to see each other but then we were like wait, we are in Spain together. She is coming to Granada in a couple of weeks which I am really excited about! Seville is really, really pretty we visited the third largest cathedral in the world, how crazy! Inside of the cathedral was the tomb of Columbus but apparently there is controversy about whether or not it really is Columbus. Spain believes that Columbus is in Spain and that his son was buried in the Dominican Republic and the Dominican Republic thinks that Columbus is buried there and his son is in Spain. Our tour guide told us that they are going to do a DNA test to figure out where Columbus is actually buried. Seville was a lot different than Granada, it is about 3 times the size of Granada and was about 10 degrees warmer. The warmer temperature was definitely nice, it was almost 70 on Sunday but it definitely made me realize how much I love Granada. Even though Seville has wider roads and bigger parks and plazas, there were so many more Americans in Seville. Literally everywhere I went I heard people talking in English which is a really bad thing for me because I don't try to talk in Spanish as much. 

I started volunteering last week and it is fun but a lot different than I thought it was going to be. Last week I was basically a guest speaker. I felt like I was at show and tell. The teacher made me stand in front of the class for an hour talking about myself and explaining the school system in the United States. The kids are all around 11 or 12 years old and have been taking English since they started school but the questions they were asking me were hilarious. One of the girls asked me if I liked to ice skate, I have no idea how she knew the word ice skate but apparently it is one of her favorite sports and she was telling me where I could go ice skating here. 

I am going to Cadiz for carnaval this weekend which I am really excited about. My costume ideas are hungry hungry hippos, Captain Planet, or Pocahontas. Not really sure how I am going to be any of those things but it should be interesting. Alright, time for a siesta. I went out last night for Joshua's birthday (one of the boys who studied at USC) and had to get up early for volunteering so I am going to try to nap before class! 

are you walking to madrid?

My big hiking adventure...

Yesterday, Stina and I went to a town called Guejar Sierra that is known for having some of the best hiking in the area. We took a 40 minute bus ride and got dropped off in the town not really knowing what our next move was (we of course opted out of the guided tour). We began walking around the town asking people if they knew where the trail was that we wanted to hike, Vereda de la Estrella. We were pointed in the right direction and began our trek. It ended up being a 5.4 km walk to even get to the hike. The hike was so beautiful though! It was a trail up through the Sierra Nevadas that we thought we could hike in one day but a fellow hiker told us that it took 2 days to complete the entire trail. We decided against camping out in makeshift tents. As we were walking along the trail and I looked over and saw a herd of sheep being moved across the mountain by a herdsman. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen! There were literally hundreds of sheep across the river on the other mountain. When you looked in front of you there were three mountain peaks and the one in the middle was snow-covered. It was absolutely beautiful. 

                         

me stuck in the tree...

We passed this really cool tree and decided that it would be an ideal place to eat lunch. I began to climb the tree only to realize that I am not much of a tree climber (shockingly enough) and it is even harder with a book bag on to fit through a small opening in-between the trunk of a tree. Stina was on the ground cracking up at my attempt to get out onto one of the limbs and photographing my climb. I made it pretty high up on the tree, I was probably 12 feet off the ground but then I got really scared that I wasn't going to be able to make it down so I decided to turn around and we ended up eating on level ground. The hike, with the walk to and from the city, ended up being 15.5 km long, a little over 9 miles. I don't think I have ever walked that far in one day! But it was so much fun and so pretty! Today, I walked over to this park that is about 5 minutes away from my house and read for a couple of hours this afternoon. Today was one of the prettiest days we have had so far, it was so sunny and almost 60 degrees! No big plans this week except more class and I start volunteering on Wednesday morning which I am really excited about! 

graffiti, kabobs, and dog poop

This weekend was so much fun! On Friday night we went out for Leah's 22nd birthday to this mexican restaurant (yes mexican, not spanish) that was delicious! Then we went to this club Granada 10 where we went the first night we were in Granada. It was a lot different atmosphere on a Friday night than on a Monday. It was a lot of fun but really crowded and drinks were terribly expensive! On Saturday we went to this flamenco show that was not what I expected at all. I have always imagined flamenco shows as 

people dancing and girls wearing brightly colored dresses. This show was four people--a guitarist, a singer, and two people who I am unsure of their role in the performance. The majority of the time they sat there randomly clapping and saying random words. I thought there was going to be no dancing at all but finally on the last song that both got up and danced randomly but their faces were definitely more intense than the performance should have allowed. It was fun though and I guess we did only pay 4 euros to see it so maybe one day I will splurge and go see another flamenco show in one of the gypsy caves. after the flamenco show we went to this club called El Camborio. It was so cool! There is this area called Sacramonte, which I will tell you about later, where the whole town is built out of caves including this club. When you walked up the stairs of the club there was the most amazing view of Granada and the Alhambra. The club also wasn't too packed so it was a lot of fun, there were break-dancers at the club who were so good. The only other time I have seen break-dancers was at the metro in NYC so seeing it in a club was quite the experience. The keep asking Molly and I how Americans danced so we taught them how to raise the roof hahaha (I think I got the majority of my dance skills from dad) Stina and I successfully ate two kabobs on Saturday, one in between the flamenco show and one after the club. There are kabob places EVERYWHERE in Granada and they are so amazing! It would be like having pita pit every 5 feet. I usually get falafel however, Stina got chicken which was speared on this large roaster and was approximately 1 foot high full of meat GROSS. Molly's roommate Kristina said that she tries to limit herself to one kabob per week, Stina and I are trying to resist multiple kabobs per day. Yes, I know I'm very skinny! 

So for the past two days I have gone on cultural tours with API to get class credit. Yesterday we walked through Sacramonte and the Albaicin. They are two neighborhoods in Granada and what I pictured Granada looking like from pictures I had seen before I came here. The neighborhoods are all little white houses that all resemble each other and in Sacramonte there are all of these gypsy caves. The gypsies all try to sell stuff or open bars in one of the caves serving sangria and what not. It was a really pretty view and luckily was on one of the first sunny days here so it was really pleasant to walk around. There are a lot of cool restaurants in Sacramonte that I want to go back to once it is warmer outside and sit on a patio overlooking the city. Today we went to the Alhambra which was amazing. Whoever comes to visit me, we are definitely going back. It was a Moorish city built in the 13th century but looks more like a palace, it is known as the red fortress. The architecture is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. All of the rooms have intricately designed ceilings and tile covering the walls and floors. There is a big Islamic influence in the architecture because it was built by a Muslim ruler. In the center of the Alhambra is a reflecting pool surrounded by four doors. According to the Koran, Muslims are allowed to have four wives so the doors correspond to the four different living quarters of the wives. The Moors who were living in Spain were conquered by the Christians under Ferdinand and Isabella so there is also a Christian influence on the architecture in the Alhambra. Charles V was also the one who erected the palace in the center of the Alhambra. So there was a brief history lesson for yall. It was seriously one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. Each room you walked in was so incredibly built, I can't imagine how long it took to construct the Alhambra!

Alright, well bed time for me. This is going to be the earliest I have gone to bed since I have been here but unfortunately tomorrow I am going to have to stop living my fairy tale life and start class BOO! 

levanta el cielo

Differences I have found in Granada:

1) The time difference: It has taken me almost a week to get used to the different schedule in Granada. People sleep here a lot later than I normally do at school. It is normal (especially for my family who doesn't work) to sleep until 11 o'clock in the morning. Breakfast is usually a cup of coffee and cereal which I usually prefer to opt out of. The milk for the cereal is room temperature whole milk that is stored in the pantry (GROSS). Lunch isn't served here until around 2:30 or 3 and is considered the biggest meal of the day. It usually consists of a 3 course meal--salad, entree, some sort of vegetable, and of course an entire baguette. The dessert for lunch is always a plate of fruit, usually mandarin oranges that grow on all of the trees around Granada. Spaniards also don't snack as often as Americans do which is really hard for me because dinner isn't served until usually around 9. Dinner is not considered a big meal here and is sometimes leftovers from lunch or soup. The time after dinner people use to get ready for the big night ahead. People normally go to tapas bars around 11 and with every drink you order you get a free tapa (appetizer). Friday and Saturday are the biggest nights here where people go to discotheques around 2 or 2:30 and don't usually go home until 6 or 7 in the morning (it is quite a challenge to try to keep up with all of the party goers here). 

                                                 

                                          Me, Stina, and Leah on our walk home Saturday night

2) The architecture: Everything in Spain is so beautiful! Everywhere you look there are intricately designed buildings, churches, and palaces. Even the University of Granada campus is beautiful, it is in a building that was built in the 14th century with a terrace in the middle with fountains and trees that have fresh blooming flowers and oranges. Everywhere I look I want to take a picture of all of the amazing architecture.

                                                                  

                                                                             A Cathedral in Toledo                   

On the other hand, Granada is very dirty. I wear a pair of shoes or pants once and they are stained a dark gray color despite the fact that people are constantly sweeping and mopping the sidewalks and streets. The streets are also scattered with stray dogs who roam the streets all day long without leashes, running in and out of traffic. I am not sure if these dogs are strays or if there owners just let them out because they always seem to be running to a specific place. There are also a lot of homeless people in Granada. They never seem to be begging but are always laying on the sidewalks or in the doors of businesses sleeping on makeshift beds with blankets completely covering their faces. Instead of the homeless people begging for money, there are plenty of street performers. People playing the accordion or spray-painting themselves as statues who will dance if they are given money. 

3) People in Spain don't volunteer: Spaniards find it very odd that people would want to volunteer at schools, at homeless shelters, or at assisted living places. Most volunteer positions in the United States are paid positions in Europe therefore volunteering is almost non-existent. No worries though, I found my way around it. I am going to be volunteering once a week at an elementary school called Colegio Caja Granada. It is a public elementary school where I will be helping teach English to elementary age students. I went today and met with one of the teachers at the school to talk about what days I could volunteer and what age students I was interested in working with. The school seems really nice and very interactive. They do video conferences with American elementary schools and play games where the Spanish students ask the Americans kids questions in English and the American students respond in Spanish. I am going to start volunteering either next Tuesday or Thursday so I am really excited! 

Well it is getting really late here so I am going to go to bed so that I can rest up for Leah's 22nd birthday tomorrow. I think we are going to walk up to the Alhambra (a old Moorish palace which I am visiting on Monday) and watch the sunset and then go out to dinner and the partay! I will definitely try to update at the end of the weekend because I am sure there will be more exciting stories! 

Love, Grayson 

i think i just punctured an internal organ

I finally found an internet cafe that is close to my house so hopefully I will be able to start talking to people on skype. I went snowboarding on Friday with Kristen, Stina, Leah and Molly at Sierra Nevada, a ski resort about 30 minutes away from here. We woke up at 6:30 in the morning to catch the 8 o'clock bus. We bought our bus tickets and rented all of our equipment from a rental shop at the bus station with ease but then the adventure started...

Molly´s story: When we got to the mountain we were trying to find a locker to put all of our bookbags in and left our skis and snowboards on a rock, when we got back to the rack everyone´s stuff was there except for Molly's. After frantically looking for her skis, she asked the police if there was a lost and found in case someone accidently took her skis instead of their own. The police basically laughed at her and said that someone had stolen them and she had to file a police report (this entire interaction was spoken in spanish). After having already bought her lift ticket, she had to rent a new pair of skis at the pricier rental shop on the mountain. Leah and Molly were walking back to meet the rest of us on the mountain when (icing on the cake) Molly slipped on a patch of ice and fell down. Molly told Leah not to say anything or laugh because she was going to ¨freak out¨ haha but the bad news is that Molly ended up having to pay 50 euros to replace the stolen skis.

Kristen's story: We decided to get a feel of the terrain and opted doing a green for the first run down. After that, we were all up for the challenge and took another lift up that offered only blues and reds. We took the blue trail down that half way down turned out to be mostly a red (which we later found out is a black diamond in the US). Kristen hasn't been skiing since the 8th grade and has a little trouble controlling her speed (possibly because she keeps her skis completely together, her poles horizontally off the ground, and maintains a crouched position). I wish that I constantly walked around with a video camera because I saw quite possibly the funniest thing in my life that would have definitely won money on America's Funniest Home Videos. I was going down the mountain when all of a sudden Kristen comes flying down the mountain past me. She completely wipes out not even attempting to break her fall with her hands. She loses a ski half way back up the mountain that I had to pick up and bring down to her. The slope we were on was really steep and she couldn't put her ski back on so she just decided to try and make it to the bottom on her butt and one ski with poles and the other ski in hand. She is still flying down the mountain, spinning in circles with snow blowing in her face when all of sudden this older man comes zooming down the mountain with one of his skis flying down in front of him. The man tumbles down and is lying on his back with his poles and skis in the air and whizzes underneath a "DESPACIO" sign which means "SLOW" that is approximately 6 inches off of the ground. The man's other ski flew off the side of the mountain and he was leaning over to try and lift it with his pole. Needless to say, it took some time for me to stop laughing and continue down the mountain...

Snowboarding in Spain is definitely different than snowboarding in Jackson. You have to take a gondola up the mountain that drops you off in front of 5 different lifts, which take you further up the mountain. It was so awesome because the runs were so long but getting on the gondola was a different challenge. Apparently Spaniards don't believe in waiting in lines so instead of it being an orderly process it was more diving into the gondolas in hopes that there was enough room. I was so sore yesterday and had a KILLER sunglass tan (really attractive, I know). It was a lot of fun though! We went to a discotheque last night called Kapital. It was fun but it was also a lot of API (my program) students, which makes it a little difficult to meet local Spaniards. It was definitely a late night though, people here don't eat dinner until like 9 o'clock and don't usually go out until 12 or 1 at night and the discotheques don't close until 6 or 7 in the morning on the weekends. Don't worry--I was definitely at home asleep before then. We are going to go watch the super bowl tonight at an Irish pub called Hannigans but it doesn't start here until 12 so I doubt I will be able to stay up and watch the end. Hope everyone has fun at all of the super bowl festivities! Miss yall!

Love, Grayson