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