Bienvenidos a Granada!

So I’ve pretty much failed at posting thus far, but I have some really good excuses. Monday I was still in transit, Tuesday I was jetlagged, Wednesday I was busy and didn’t really have internet until 11 pm, and today I had a morning orientation session, followed by almuerzo (lunch, the main meal) with my host family.  The wireless actually went out sometime this morning (and apparently everyone in Spain  has wifi passwords, so I can’t leech off someone else), so I’m writing this on Word then transferring it to blogger later on, so don’t complain if my excuses don’t cover today. So this might be a fairly long post, since I’m talking about 3 days worth of stuff. I bought a journal to write stuff in so I wouldn’t forget it before I got the chance to blog, and I’ve already used 7 pages of it, so prepare yourself for a blogpost longer than some essays I’ve written

My flight from Logan airport was easy sailing, although they did make me go through the weird body scanner where you have to put your hands on your head and you elbows out, and your feet shoulder width apart. At the gate I met up with Jess, a girl from Catholic University in Washington, DC, but who lives near Boston. We stuck together for the rest of the way to Malaga. They also gate-checked my rolling carryon, because of course I was in the last boarding group and all the stupid business passengers took all the overhead space with their 2 carryons plus personal item.

We got to Chicago O’Hare with plenty of time to spare, ate some dinner, and made it to the gate. At that point, nearly an hour before the plane was supposed to board, there was no delay and I was secretly mocking Andrea in my head for her hatred of the airport. We boarded about 15 minutes late, which is pretty standard for most airports, and then sat on the runway for a full hour because of traffic. This wasn’t ideal, because we only had an hour and a half layover in Madrid to begin with. I was also sort of disappointed with the lack of personal TV screens on the plane; every other trans-atlantic flight I’ve been on has had them. So I read, then slept, then read some more until we arrived in Madrid. I also may have chugged a cup of straight coffee because I forgot they also had tea, which was served about 45 seconds after the coffee. Let’s just say I was wide awake for the rest of the day. Never. Again.

 I was about halfway back in the plane, and knew that I only had 30 minutes to go through immigration, customs, and security. As soon as the fasten seatbelt sign turned off, I was shamelessly up and halfway down the aisle. We basically ran through the airport, and made it to our gate (which was, of course, the farthest from where we landed) with just a few minutes to spare. So, I will take this moment to declare that Andrea was right and that Chicago O’Hare is the dumbest airport ever. Sorry for doubting you, buddy.  :)

We finally landed in Malaga, and it was gorgeous. It was warm and sunny (back home, it was icy and snowing so much that my siblings had a 2-hour delay) and beautiful, dotted with palm and orange trees. Shortly after arriving at the hotel, we went on a paseo (walk) with one of the IES staff members, who took us to the harbor, where we ate lunch. There was a really awesome playground that some people (Casey and Andrea. cough) would have loved. That night we went on another walk, through the city center and to a Roman amphitheater. It was pretty sweet.  I then wandered around with two people I met on the walk, and we got dinner at a random restaurant before navigating the really confusing, windy, streets back to the hotel.

Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel (fresh squeezed orange juice, yum) and then started orientation sessions. I was feeling a little sick, which was probably because I was super dehydrated and sleep deprived (I slept a total of 9 hours over 2 days), so I got to skip a non-necessary activity and go take a nap on one of the lobby couches. I didn’t really want to miss the activity, but I knew from experience that even 20 minutes of sleep, along with a bottle of water, would get my body back on track, while staying awake would only make it worse. So after an hour or so when orientation started again, I rejoined the group, and learned that there are 9 girls from Ithaca here this semester. Crazy! By lunch I felt spectacular again, and was excited to see that the hotel had glass bottles of soda instead of cans or plastic. I kept the caps.

 After lunch the buses started arriving to take us to Granada. It was a gorgeous ride, through mountains and olive… well, I’m not sure what it’s called… olive plantations? olive orchards? In any case, I saw about ten thousand olive trees. It’s only an hour and a half from Malaga to Granada, and about 2/3 of the way through the ride I started getting nervous about meeting my host family. Mostly I was hoping they didn’t think I was weird.

Luckily, my worries were for naught. My host mom was there before the buses were, and helped me bring my (large amount of) stuff to her car. She lives right in the city center, with her husband and 3 kids, who are 13, 18, and 20. Her mom lives upstairs, and I met her today. All of them are super nice, though I can’t really understand what the youngest one says. My host mom said that even she can’t understand, so I’m not too worried about it. IES had called to say I wasn’t feeling well, and she was going to make me some soup, but when I told her I was feeling 100% better, she asked if I liked pizza, so that’s what we had for dinner. I usually don’t like toppings on my pizza, but it was pretty good. Serrano ham and onions and something else.

My room is pretty small, although it’s not cramped. I have a bed and desk and a closet with a dresser in the bottom. The best part is that I have my very own bathroom. I’ve never had my own bathroom before, so it’s pretty nice. It’s in my room, so I don’t even have to walk through the hallway after a shower.

My host mom (sorry to repeat this, I’m not supposed to write about her in a public space, so I’m gonna ask someone at IES if I can use just first names) walked me to the IES building this morning, about 15 minutes away on foot. I had been sort of tired the night before, so I hadn’t noticed how pretty the plaza we live in is. It’s the Plaza de Gracia, and it’s lovely. There’s a playground and a fountain and a church, among other things. That’s one of the things I like about Granada: there are plazas with greenery everywhere you go. It’s really nice.

Anyway, I will at some point get pictures of the cool stuff along the main street, Calle de los Reyes Catolicos, I haven’t yet because I’ve been busy, going to or from IES. The IES building is absolutely beautiful, and it situated right in the heart of Granada. It is also in a Plaza (de Santa Ana) with a church and fountains and trees. Most of the morning was language orientation (mostly review for me), but we also took a tour of the building and had a coffee break as a language assignment. The building itself was built in the 1860’s, and it’s lovely. On the street level (called floor 0 or la planta baja) there is a patio with 2 fountains along with a table and chairs with a lot of plants. Upstairs are the normal classrooms and offices, and on top of the building is a roof terrace with a view of the Alhambra (part of it, anyway). For our coffee break we had to go and figure out what certain types of coffee were at a local café, although we didn’t have to try them. By the time I ordered everyone else had asked about all the drinks, so I ordered fresh squeezed orange juice and some sort of pastry that was mostly covered in chocolate.

The walk home for lunch was meant to test us to see if we could get back to our homestays. Another girl, Sandra, has to walk through la Plaza de Gracia to get to her house, so we walked together. And didn’t get lost. I was really proud of myself, because I didn’t use a map at all, just went from memory. For lunch we had onion soup, which was delicious, and pasta with mushrooms. Normally mushrooms aren’t something I like. I tried them when I was little and didn’t like them, and the ones on Christina’s dining hall omelets didn’t always smell very appetizing. But in the spirit of adventure I tried it anyway, and they were pretty good. I also got to meet my host mom’s brother, who teaches at IES. I’m actually in his class (Arab World and the West) and he seems very nice, so I’m glad that I’m in the class.

In an hour or so, I’m meeting some girls from IES to see some of the city while it’s still light, buy international calling cards, and top up our phones. We might do a little normal shopping too, as all the sales are going on right now. I won’t buy too much, though, because I have no idea where I’ll put it. Probably just a bigger purse for class (my backpack makes me stick out like a sore thumb) and some scarves.  So that’s all for now, but I’ll be posting pictures and more stuff soon. Hasta luego!