WE OUT GRANADA

Coming from a small town where my high school was amongst a cornfield, I had never believed that I could live in a foreign country, especially one where a different language was spoken. Last summer, I worked doubles and even triples with the hope that I would be able to participate in this program. Words can't express how incredibly grateful I am that I had this experience, and I can't seem to adequately summarize all I have learned. The stand out thing that I am leaving with is a sense of clarity. After months in Ann Arbor, it's easy to get sucked into the internship searching, resume building, and late night cramming mode. Having time here to mix learning with real world experience has invigorated my passion for my education. While here, I didn't feel like I was studying just for the grade, but because then I could go home and actually have a discussion about the Spanish election process or political system with my host family. And from these conversations has come another huge tack away: a new perspective on my country. After school everyday, I would watch the Spanish news with my host dad. It was incredibly interesting to see how happenings in the US were reported here and to hear my family's thoughts about the US. Having grown up in such a small, homogenous area, putting my life in a global perspective has been an incredible and humbling experience.

And now for future students,,,,Know that this program isn't one size all, and it didn't exactly turn out how I expected after my orientation. Here is my non-Trip Advisor (and hopefully not too cliche) advice:

DO get to know your family and spend time with them outside of meals. If they invite you to an event, you should always go. For example, every Sunday morning my sister has an equestrian class in the country outside Granada. I also made excuses or had activities because getting up early to watch her trot around on a horse didn't sound too appealing, but I finally committed this weekend and had an amazing day. I have spent nearly this entire weekend with my host family (Saturday we went to their summer house), and it has been one of my favorite weekends of the trip. I got to see the silly, pleasantly weird side of my little sister and taught her the Cupid Shuffle. By far, I will remember those moments more than any monument I could have visited in that time.

I got to play with kittens and feed the chickens, horses, and turkeys at the stable!

DO find activities that are especially tailored to your interests. While popular attractions and "must-see" lists are fine, you will always learn and appreciate more if you can connect to it beyond just a beautiful view. My favorite experiences always involved music and dance because those are my passions. Seeing and even taking a class in a different style of dance was amazing, and I can honestly say I am obsessed with flamenco (and looked up classes in Ann Arbor if anyone wants to join...). I would recommend paying attention to those sometimes ratty-looking flyers on the street and local pamphlets/newspapers because is where you can find the true gems that are overly-touristy.

DO keep a journal.... Make friends with the CEA people (I love Loly!!!!!!).... take siestas.... eat ice cream almost everyday... share with your family want you are learning...pay attention to the "words of the day"...at least try to keep a budget (sometimes you forget you are spending real money)...

DON'T be surprised by the lack of diversity in Granada...Although there is a rich culture and history here, it isn't quite as diverse as the United States. When someone says "negro" or "chino" here, they don't mean it with bad intentions, and often times something your host family says that seems inappropriate to you is simply because of a different in culture. I have had some very interesting discussions about sexuality, racism, etc. with my family, but I enjoyed them as learning experiences. Be open and don't take offense; know that when they tell you about stereotypes, you don't have to be the voice of the United States.

DON'T update your Facebook everyday, send a Snapchat every 5 minutes, or try to stay in constant contact with your friends back home. My second week here, I broke my iPhone and used an old, non-smart phone with a Spanish SIM card for the rest of the trip. I really only used it to talk to my mom, and otherwise I had Skype to keep in touch with my family. It was nice to not have to check email or text messages constantly. Use the opportunity to disconnect a bit; if you really have secure friendships, you won't need to talk with them every single day.

DON'T stress to much about the class... expect ice in your drinks... get a tattoo... be scared to tell your family when you have a problem... refuse to try anything (even if only once)... only visit Granada (I highly recommend Madrid)... forget to relax (seriously, it's not like Ann Arbor)...

HASTA PRONTO EEUU

tu tienes mi amor

Alright let's be honest here, this just doesn't suck this sucks really bad. Every day of these last six weeks has been a true dream for me.. I have always dreamth of traveling to Europe. back in February when Kate emailed me and told me my dream would be coming true, I could not believe it. However this last week has been really rough for me because my homestay family has truly become family to. It makes me a bit emotional to see my mom emotional about my departure. Every thing about Granada is what I've always thought life should be. I never really enjoyed the tense, overly competitive lifestyle that Ann Arbor is, so to be somewhere more centered around geniune love for one another like Granada was a blessing for me. I think that the 3 things that made my experience awesome was talking Spanish even when I thought I made no sense, meeting new people, and staying on top of my work. I always felt that life was to short to only do things that made you comfortable. I put this into action by going to Africa with my friends. In Africa I had a ball and met even more great freinds. It seems like I only ran into nice people during my stay.. everyone from my teacher, cea, class mates, and random encounters. I will be going back to America this week but I am pretty sure I will be returning here to my other home soon!

Hasta proximo!

Cuba Libres!

I remember listening to the speakers at orientation and them saying, "This is going to be an experience of a lifetime, studying abroad is the greatest thing possible, this experience will change you, you are so lucky that you get to do this!" and I was thinking that I just want to get my language requirement out of the way in a place where I can legally buy alcohol. I had never been outside the country before, and I was excited to take a "vacation", but I was not expecting to be changed by the experience. Now, I am one of the speakers who is going to say that "this experience will be the experience of your life, you will become a better person" because these last six weeks have truly been the greatest of my life.

I think that my biggest take away from this experience will be my new perspective on "space". Growing up in America, I am use to large streets, large backyards, large cars, etc. In Spain, everything is smaller, and for the first couple weeks I really missed having open spaces. I felt very "claustrophobic" walking through the city. After six weeks, I have gotten use to the size of things here, but when I do return to America I am definitely going to appreciate the size of everything more, because you really don't need a lot of space to live. Also, another big take away for me is going to be the culture, in general, from Spain. It is very cliche, but I do think I will have a part of "Spain" in me for the rest of my life. For six weeks I have tried to live the life of a Spaniard, and I hope to be able to incorporate siestas, tappas, and the love of futbol back in my American life.

For those students taking Spanish 230 in Granada next year, here is my advice for you.

DO: take advantage of every weekend here. Unforatenly, there is a lot of work during the week and the attendance policy doesn't allow students to travel during the week. CEA provides a few weekend trips, but that leaves about 4 weekends for you to travel- I suggest you travel at least three of those weekends and save at least one weekend for going to discotecas in Granada! I went to Madrid one weekend and Morocco another weekend, along with the CEA weekends at Sevilla and Cordoba. I am very glad I did this, and I only regret not trying to plan one more vacation because the six weeks really go by fast!

DO: Hang out with the people in your class before you come here! I only knew one person coming into the program, and therefore the first couple weeks were still dedicated to learning about the other people in my class. I now have friends for life from this class, but if I had known them better before the program we may have been able to organize more trips together and planned things in advance.

DO:  Try to hang out with Spaniards! I think some of my favorite memories will be from hanging out with Carlos, the host brother of Barrett. I did not have any host siblings, but hanging out with Carlos and his friends was really fun because that is a great way to learn about the "actual" culture of kids our age. Also, this allows you to practice conversational strategies with people your age, and forces you out of your "comfort" zone.

DO: Order lots of cubalibres!



DON'T: forget about your homework! The workload is real, and now as I am writing this blog I am regretting not studying for the final exam sooner. I do think this class is easier here in Spain than it would be in Ann Arbor because you are forced to use Spanish everyday, but that does no make the class a piece of cake!

DON'T: go to the same places every day! I think we had a few tappa places that we went to a lot more than we should have, and we weren't able to experience all of the places in Granada. It is good to have a favorite spot to meet which is close to lots of peoples houses, but then I suggest you just go on adventures with no place in mind and just try new tappa places.

DON'T: don't bring two suitcases! You won't need that many clothes, and I remember my abuela was very flustered when she saw me with many bags when I met her. I think it is very guiri to bring lots of things here, and you should pack light.

DON'T: be a guiri all the time! That being said, I was probably the biggest guiri in the class, but I still made sure there were times where I left all my American in my apartment and left trying to be a Spaniard.


I am extremely grateful for this experience, and I am sure when I get home my friends will notice something different about me. I have made many friends here, and I am extremely grateful for them also because without them and Carla this experience would not have been as influential as it was to me. We may never all be in Granada again, but Granada will always be with us!

Reflecting on Six Weeks - Barrett Olson

Disclaimer: As I am writing this I am finding it a lot harder to write. The other blogs where straight forward responses or tasks. This blog is different. It is asking me to reflect on six fantastic and complicated weeks. I am not a gifted writer. I am much better at deriving equation and writing computer programs. So if will be difficult for be accurately represent and reflect on my stay here but I am going to do my best.

To aid in this attempt I have some ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ for future participants of the program and there explanations.

Do try as many different tapas/types of food as you can.

I usually do not have a lot of variety in my diet but here I was forced to change that. I have learned to love fish I have had an open mind to everything and have loved almost everything that I have tired. One of the best advice I got before coming here was "ask what it is after you eat it." I think that, in Spain at least it is a good rule to live by. I mind and stomach have been opened to new varies in food and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Do go to as many CEA/Program events as possible

The CEA staff is wonderful and they do all that they can to make your stay amazing. They are the kindest sweetest people I know and have really been a great resource and foundation. The trips that they set up for us are fantastic. The are so organized you don't have to worry about a things. I really enjoyed the program events especially due to there diversity. They did a great job showing us a myriad of different things. The trips as I said were great but I also enjoyed the small afternoon events and wish that I could have gone to more of them. I have never meet a group of people that seem to care more about the people they are help. I really feel like I've made some great friends at CEA.

Do go and experience the night culture

I don't often go out at Michigan. I am more of a stay in and watch a movie kind of guy but I have had so much fun going out here. Drinks and Tapas are some of my new favorite things and while my waistline isn't very happy right now I would do it all again. I have made great friends in my class due in at least in part to our unforgettable adventures on Pedro Antonio and many different Discotecas.

Don’t forget to sleep

With so much to do it is easy to forget how important sleep is. I found naps/siestas to be a very necessary part of my days here. Having a good amount of sleep will make you enjoy everything better, it will make it easier to work, easier to learn, and easier to have fun. 

Don’t forget to study

This is a big one with some much to do it would be very easy to just sleep all day and go out every night and get tapas. It is important to not for get why you are here. You are a University of Michigan student and you are here to learn and to gain a bit of cultural perspective. The class is a lot of fun but it is not easy.

Don’t have a closed mind

Most important of all, you are going to experience a plethora of things and it is important to keep an open mind and understand that you might not alway be able to communicate or do exactly what you want to do but that is okay. You will but much better of going with the flow of things and will most likely end up having more fun.

I stay in Granada was amazing and I would trade my experience here for anything. I would much rather have a reflective conversation then try to write out my feelings but I have the framework of do/don't has helped explain my thought and the perfective that I am currently developing.

It's been real Granada!

Spain gave me a lot of memories that I will not forget! There are so many things I've done here that I would never be able to do in the states.

Be willing to try new food! I wouldn't be willing to try new food as easy as I was here in Spain because in the States, we have the option to what we eat.  In Spain, they have specialties and you should be open to trying it because 1. You really don't have any other options, and 2. It's part of being in a new country and experiencing what the country has to offer.

Embrace the nature here! If you're a park lover, the parks here are not the same in the states, and are truly worth sitting/running/walking/studying in! The parks here have so many things you can do here, and the vibe given there is so tranquil, yet live and thrilling. 

 If you don't like hiking, don't worry! I don't either, but its possible to make it worth wild! Just be a funny person, and complain the whole time :) If you have people laughing, you're less likely to be worrying about the hike itself, and more about the conversation you're having throughout the hike. Another method is realizing the incredible view you'll receive when you make it to the top.

Visit Africa! Or another part of Spain! It's truly an experience to already be abroad, but explore while you're able to. Africa was a very humbling and nice experience, and I would assume all the others who went to other parts of Spain can say the same. Another thing to do is make sure you're making new friends while you're out in Spain. There may be opportunities to meet other people not in your same program, so use it to talk to others!

When given the option to drink this water, decline! It's good for you, but not many people like the taste of it. It's described as a tonic water taste with a penny aftertaste. Unless you love tonic water, you may not like this. 

Wear the proper clothing when you're in Spain and remember that its hot and it barely rains.  Don't pack too much, and make sure that you bring the right type of clothes. Gym clothes are nice to wear when you're working out, but restrict it to that.  The style here is very different and you may get looks as if you're American if you have clothing similar to gym clothes or over-relaxed apparel. 

Lastly, do not get obsessed with the wifi and the necessity of it! It will truly make your time here horrible when you don't have it. Just embrace the time you get tot be out the country, and begin to realize that the people in the states will still be there, but you being in another country won't be promised.

Use these tips and you should be fine! Adios Granada.

Saying Goodbye

There really aren't words for my experience here. I can try and spin images from my memory into words, but it won't capture the true essence of my experience. My trip to Granada was one of dreams and movies but better and worse in a way. Better because it actually happened but worse because unlike a movie, I can't rewind and play it again when I'm reminiscing about my six weeks here. I'm left with my words, pictures, and memories. But words and pictures capture only a moment and memories fade. 

Thinking back over the last six weeks, I'm pleasantly surprised to report that I learned more than just the language. I learned about myself and I learned about the world I live in. I came here with my feet solidly on the ground with a full understanding of who am I and what I wanted from this life and over the course of this trip, that's changed. I'm not just the University of Michigan student who wants to have a good job when I grow up anymore. I don't have to rigidly hold myself to my beliefs of the best way to do things or tell myself that there are things in this world that are impossible to achieve or experience. Because this trip was impossible. I couldn't have ever believed I'd spend a night at a hostel staying up watching Harry Potter movies with people from all of the world and drinking a glass of wine. Or that my favorite place in the entire world is somewhere I've only ever dreamed about in books. I've been in places and touched walls that are older than my country, and I've met people who can trace their ancestry back hundreds of years. I've walked streets and heard up to five different languages being spoken and I've seen those same people laugh, the most universal sound in the world. I've met people and had the most rewarding conversations with people who don't speak my native tongue because a smile and a laugh is the same in all languages. 

I'm going to miss the little things the most. I'm going to miss walking by my neighbor in the mornings and hearing his laugh because I woke up ten minutes ago, I'm rushing out the door, and I forgot he doesn't speak English so instead of hola comes out "Hi, how are you today?" I'm going to miss getting lost in the city and seeing school children run and play with each other. I'm going to miss walking down the street and turning left and walking until I end up at the most beautiful view of the Alhambra and Rio Darro that I've ever seen. But most of all, I'm going to miss the people. The people that I stop on the streets for directions and we wind up talking about the differences between Spain and America. The people that take you under their wind and teach you to dance flamenco and the "Spanish Way" so you don't look like such an American. As I'm writing this, I'm trying to find words to capture how open and accepting the people I've met here are but none of the words do them justice. 

Spain has become my second home. It's as simple as that. 

My advice for potential students? 

Don't make excuses. Make plans. Studying abroad, no matter where you go, is life changing. Whether you have an internship or you think you have to work, those things can wait because you'll  be doing it the rest of your life. It's very common in America to be scared to go after your dreams or the things you want, but your trip will be so much better if you let those fears ride in the backseat. Don't be afraid to talk to someone in your broken and improving new language. Don't be afraid to try new things because you don't know if you'll like them. 

Let yourself explore the city and yourself. You'll be amazed at what you find. People get stuck in a pattern of doing and thinking the same things and studying abroad is a great way to break that cycle and find out who you really are and what you want. 

Don't spend all your time with your American friends. You'll get comfortable and miss opportunities to talk to natives or experience new things. 

Make lasting connections with people. Not only will it be amazing to have friends from a different country, but you'll be able to continue to practice the language and if you ever come back, you'll have people waiting there for you. 

Don't just do the typical tourists attractions. Sure, they're great and all but are you really going to remember the date something was built or the name of the person who built it? It's so much more rewarding to explore on your own and find the things that have meaning to you. 

Pack light. Baggage wise and expectation wise. You're not going to the country to change it, you're there for it to change you. That won't happen if you stubbornly stick to your idea of how things have to be. And clothes from different countries are way cuter. If you can, I highly recommend a shopping trip while there!

"Don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened."

This is going to be my motto the entire way home. I'm going to miss Spain with all my heart, and I'll be counting the days until I find my way back again.

The End of an Era - Sam Ozminkowski

My time in Granada has been incredible. It's impossible to believe that I've already spent six weeks in this incredible city. It feels as if it was just yesterday when I stepped of the bus for the first time, tired after having been up for almost 24 hours and trying to communicate with my host mom. It seems incredible that I, and my classmates, have come so far in our Spanish education in only six weeks, though I definitely wish I had at least six more. I'll definitely be coming back to Spain as soon as I possibly can.

Living in Granada, I've learned a lot of things. I've learned about new foods, tasted some incredible french fries, and learned just how great a mojito can be. I've learned how to go to sleep before midnight every day of the week and then stay up until 6 am Friday night, though I'm still not sure how I ever managed to do that. Being here, I've gained a new appreciation for Spain and its politics, its fashion, and its other interesting customs. I've fallen in love with big lunches followed by long naps, evening tapas, and the company of good friends. I've learned not only what sangria and tinto de verano are, but also that they're extremely delicious.

(CLICHE ALERT: SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ EVERY CLICHE ABOUT STUDYING ABROAD EVER)

Studying here in Spain has been life-changing (1). I've learned so much about Spanish culture (2) and can't wait to come back (3). I've fallen hopelessly in love with Spain (4) and I hope to spend a few years living here in the future (5). I will never forget the people I met here (6), especially my host family who have been incredible to me. I especially won't forget my host mother's cooking. Though the food here is actually quite boring, it was still good and my host mother is wonderful at cooking it.

(IF YOU READ MY CLICHES: THANK YOU. IF YOU DIDN'T: THEY'RE DONE, WORRY NOT)

Finally, I have some advice for future participants in this program.

DO study and practice some Spanish before you come. I was barely able to talk to my family the first week I was here because I barely remembered any Spanish.

DO make the most of every opportunity and try new things. I know this is another cliche (sorry) but really, if you have a chance to try something new you should definitely take it. Spain is an incredible place with some different customs and culture than the US and you should definitely try to learn as much about it as possible. The more you try the better your experience will be.

DO try to do some side travel. I know it's hard with all of the studying and other requirements of the program, but some of the most incredible experiences I had were on side trips. Nerja is especially nice, though definitely wear a lot of sunscreen. I was a lobster for a week after going to Nerja.

DON'T take things too seriously. Class is hard and there's a lot to do, but make sure to make time to get tapas, go out with friends, and otherwise explore the city. Remember, you could be taking this class in Ann Arbor. You're in Granada for a reason, and that's not to stay home and study all day. It's more important to learn the culture first hand than to boost your grade one or two percent by staying home studying.

DON'T go to the same Cafes, Bars, Taperias, Discotechs, etc. every time you go out. There are so many different incredible places in the city to experience, it's a waste to go to the same places every time. That said, it's fun to make one or two places your own and patronize them frequently, just make sure you're always trying new places as well.

DON'T forget TAPA TUESDAY. TAPA TUESDAY is the most important day of the week. On Tuesday go try new tapas and drinks with your friends, and don't forget to use as much alliteration as possible. Alliteration adds a lot of enjoyment to all activities, especially TAPA TUESDAY.