Hola mis amigos!
Where to begin... for me, this is my first adventure to the other side of the pond, and after an easy two flights ( Chicago --> Madrid --> Granada), I found myself if one of the most beautiful and welcoming cities I could have hoped for.
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| Madrid airport |
Granada is a ciudad rich with culture, history, and passionate people. On our first full day (lunes) we were lucky enough to visit the Albayzìn, one of the most beautiful and oldest places in all of Granada
"uno de los lugares màs antiguas y màs bonitos en toda de Granada". Many Spaniards are fascinated with politics and often know more about history in los Estados Unidos ( the U.S.) than we do. Por ejemplo, this view (vista) was one of President Clinton's favorite views en todo el mundo ( in all of the world), and I can absolutely see why.
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| La màs buena vista de Granada |
Uno día típico en Granada para mi ( a typical day in Granada for me):
- Wake up around 8:00 a.m. ( mas o menos) I enjoy a pequeño desayuno con mi madre y pequeño hermano (brother), Ricardo. Breakfast here in Spain usually consists of pan (bread) and siempre cafe para mi ( always coffee for me).
- Walk to class. Granada, a primera vista, parece muy muy grandé ( at first glance, Granada seems very big), but everything is in walking distance. On my walk, I walk by bakeries opening and can smell croissants and cafe con leche. Granada is a bustling city, and almost everyone lives in apartmentos right in the corozon de la ciudad ( the heart of the city). Because of the hot summers, streets have overhangs that act as shade for the streets, something I had never seen before.
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| Sombra de las calles ( shade of the streets) |
- Class 9:00-1:10. With around 15 other U of M students and our wonderful profesora ( quien es muy dulce :) ) we study culture, grammar, and continue to develop our Spanish at a local community center with CEA.
- Siesta y almuerzo 2:00-4:30. I'm sure you have heard of the famous spanish siesta, and while it may seem a bit rara ( weird) en los Estados Unidos, it is very much necessary here porque cada día it is around 40 grados ( which translates to around 95 degrees).
- Tapas and homework. Here in Granada, tapas ( small dishes that are eaten before lunch and after dinner) are gratis, free when you order a drink! My favorite bebida, drink, here is "tinto de verano" ( en Ingles: "tint of summer"). As we are accomplishing a whole two semesters worth of Spanish, we have many activities that we need to do, so there is mucha tarea, a lot of homework, but it is all very much worth it, so homework is a large part of this great experience as well.
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| Tinto de verano |
- Ejercicio? ( exercise). It is a pretty accurate stereotype that students in the US are obsessed with exercise, and due to the hot weather, runners come out at night around 9-10 for a night jog when the temperature is right.
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| Garcia Lorca Parque at night, the perfect place to jog and people scope. |
- Dinner 9:45 p.m. Dinner here in España is much later and much lighter here and eaten before you sleep.
- El fin del día! ( the end of the day)
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| View from my bedroom |
Gracias para su atención ( thank you for reading)!
Hasta luego (until next),
Grettie
Grettie: great detailed account of what we are here for! and I am really liking the mix of English y español.
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