Primera Impresiones de Granada

This experience in Granada has been spectacular so far! I had a crazy start with the trip since my luggage wasn't here when I was, and that made things start shaky. Once I came to my homestay, they spoke only spanish, and it truly was a culture shock! It was a point where I just wanted to go back because I couldn't understand much of what they were saying, and I couldn't get my point across. My family consists of mi madre, named Gertru and mi padre named Rafa and they have 2 kids, one 4 named Adrian and the other 8, named Julia. They came in with open arms and told me on the first day that I was one of their own here. 

The food here is something new to me, because I'm used to american food only, and they have something new everyday for me to try. The first day was the most interesting because I wasn't able to tell them anything! They opened the refrigerator, pulled out items and asked me whether I liked them or not to get a feel of what type of food I like.  They eat much healthier than I do at home, which isn't a bad thing! It just felt like I was culture-shocked with both healthy food and spanish food. I learned that they love to put olive oil and ketchup on everything! The two strangest condiments are highly favored and used commonly in the homestay I live in. The eating schedule was something I had to get used to also because they eat everyday around the same time (8 am, 2:30pm, and 10pm) and in the states, I didn't have a planned eating time because my classes were at different times for each day, and I tried to not eat so late at night, so the eating times here were much more effective on me than I thought. 

I've never been to a place that looks even similar to Granada! The streets are made of a marble-type material in most places, and a lot of people drive mopeds! In the states, you don't see many mopeds, and their cars are much smaller than the ones I see in Michigan. There are shops everywhere! And I love how close to central my homestay lives.  At nights, I hear people screaming and shouting at 3 am, and the streets of my hometown aren't that loud at that time.  Practically everything is walkable here, and I love the accessibility here.  It feels just as safe as Ann Arbor.  The day is longer than the day in Michigan so at 10pm, its usually dark or start getting dark, but it's more like 7 or 8pm in Michigan. 

I go by the motto "Everything happens for a reason" so with that, I wouldn't change a thing. It's all a learning experience and I am loving all of it! There's nothing I'm too upset that I left at home, but it would be nice if I packed more shorts! The heat here is more intense than I thought! 

Until next time,

Roderick