Hi everyone! I'll try to update more in the coming weeks-- I'm still adjusting to not having internet at home!
Last Tuesday, a lot of people on my program went to a bar called Hannigans to watch Obama's inaguration. The bar is known for playing American football games etc. and we knew that the inaguration would be in English, not dubbed over in Spanish! When I got there, the bar was already full of American students and everyone was shouting excitedly about Obama. It was a lot of fun and really exciting to see the transition, especially with tons of Americans surrounding me. After Hannigans my friends and I went to a few more bars for tapas and had a great night!
Last Friday about 15 of us rented skiis and snowpants, took an hour bus ride to the Sierra Nevada mountains at 8am (I woke up at 6!), and arrived to find that it was pouring and extremely foggy. We anxiously waited to see if the rain would let up, but an hour later the mountain was officialy closed for the day. We were really disappointed, but a few of my friends and I made the best of the situation and hung out with workers in the ski rental shop instead (see pictures!). Hopefully I'll ski at some point this semester since the mountains are so close!
On Saturday I slept late, ate lunch with Maria, and then went shopping with friends in the afternoon. It is sale season in Spain from January-February so we are trying to take advantage! That night everyone on our program went to a Flamenco show at the top of la Albacin and the back of the stage was a glass window where we could see La Alhambra-- it was beautiful! The show was different than I expected but very cool. There were 2 guys playing instruments (1 on the guitar and 1 on the drums), a woman singing, and then a woman actually doing the Flamenco dance. She was so talented and moved her feet so quickly-- it was like tap dancing but much more complicated! After the show, we went out for dinner, to three different tapas bars, and then to Granada 10, a discoteca. We all had a lot of fun!
This week has been going by so fast! I really like my classes and teachers and there is barely any homework which is so different than U of I. I have so much more free time here! I love it! My apartment is great and so is Maria. She takes English and French classes a few times a week so I help her with her English homework and she helps me with my spanish homework too! She's so sweet and always asks if I'm comfortable and enjoying myself.
Tomorrow night I'm taking a midnight bus to Madrid and then flying to Lisbon, Portugal for the weekend! I'm so excited! I'm going with 3 other friends and we're all looking forward to our first trip in Europe.
I hope you are all doing well! I'll write again when I return from Portugal!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
My first week in Granada!
Hi family and friends,
Hola! Como estas? As most of you know, I'm studying abroad in Granada, Spain this semester. I'm on a program sponosored by U of I where I take classes in Spanish at a small school just for American students, live with a family in Granada, and have the opportunity to travel around Europe.
I'm been here for almost a week and have been having an incredible time so far! During the first few days, everyone on my program (about 60 students from U of I, UW-Madison, or
Michigan-Ann Arbor) stayed at a hostel together. We had orientations at our school, went on walking tours of the city to get our bearings, and went on a few "touristy" tours as well. I loved learning about all of the history in the city and look forward to going back to the places we visited. The most famous site in Granada is La Alhambra, which is a fortress build when Granada was under Moorish rule and has beautiful Islamic architecture.
Above is a view of la Alhambra from la Albacin. Below is the view of the city from la Alhambra.
I've been having a great time meeting all of the people on my program and spending time with them during the day and at night. We've been going out for tapas a lot, which are little dishes that come free with any drinks you order! It used to be very popular in many places in Spain, but the tradition has died out and now Granada is one of the only places where you can still get tapas. So far, my favorites are a baked potato with a buttery garlic sauce and olives with salad.
On Saturday, we all moved out of the hostel and were picked up by our Senoras to go to our homes for the next 4 months. Some people live with a husband and wife, kids, and grandparents in their house, but I just live with one woman, Maria. She's in her 50s or 60s and has kids that are in their 20s and live in Madrid. Her husband died about 4 years ago and she has hosted many students from my program in past semesters. She's really sweet and wants me to be happy and comfortable in her apartment. She cooks all of my meals for me and does my laundry once a week. We usually eat lunch together, which is the biggest meal in Spain, and it has been fun to talk to her and practice my spanish. She speaks very slowly and always asks if I can understand what I'm saying. I have my own room which is really nice (see pictures below!) and heat in my room as well, which a lot of my friends don't have. The only negative is that I don't have internet, but I can come to the school (where I am now) to use it or go to an internet cafe that is close to my apartment.
Above: my room; our living room/dining room; the kitchen
Yesterday I started classes and so far I like them a lot! I'm taking Spanish Art History, Culture of Islam, Spanish Composition, and Oral Spanish. I have each class for 2 hours 2 days a week and no class on Thursday afternoons or Fridays which is great for traveling! My art history class seems like it is going to be really interesting; once a week we go to museums, churches, and statues around Granada and learn about the different types of art that exists here.
Alright I'm off to Oral Spanish! I hope you are all doing well! Please send me emails (ljweitz@gmail.com) & update me on what you've been doing if you have a chance!
Hola! Como estas? As most of you know, I'm studying abroad in Granada, Spain this semester. I'm on a program sponosored by U of I where I take classes in Spanish at a small school just for American students, live with a family in Granada, and have the opportunity to travel around Europe.
I'm been here for almost a week and have been having an incredible time so far! During the first few days, everyone on my program (about 60 students from U of I, UW-Madison, or
Michigan-Ann Arbor) stayed at a hostel together. We had orientations at our school, went on walking tours of the city to get our bearings, and went on a few "touristy" tours as well. I loved learning about all of the history in the city and look forward to going back to the places we visited. The most famous site in Granada is La Alhambra, which is a fortress build when Granada was under Moorish rule and has beautiful Islamic architecture.
Above is a view of la Alhambra from la Albacin. Below is the view of the city from la Alhambra.
I've been having a great time meeting all of the people on my program and spending time with them during the day and at night. We've been going out for tapas a lot, which are little dishes that come free with any drinks you order! It used to be very popular in many places in Spain, but the tradition has died out and now Granada is one of the only places where you can still get tapas. So far, my favorites are a baked potato with a buttery garlic sauce and olives with salad.
On Saturday, we all moved out of the hostel and were picked up by our Senoras to go to our homes for the next 4 months. Some people live with a husband and wife, kids, and grandparents in their house, but I just live with one woman, Maria. She's in her 50s or 60s and has kids that are in their 20s and live in Madrid. Her husband died about 4 years ago and she has hosted many students from my program in past semesters. She's really sweet and wants me to be happy and comfortable in her apartment. She cooks all of my meals for me and does my laundry once a week. We usually eat lunch together, which is the biggest meal in Spain, and it has been fun to talk to her and practice my spanish. She speaks very slowly and always asks if I can understand what I'm saying. I have my own room which is really nice (see pictures below!) and heat in my room as well, which a lot of my friends don't have. The only negative is that I don't have internet, but I can come to the school (where I am now) to use it or go to an internet cafe that is close to my apartment.
Above: my room; our living room/dining room; the kitchen
Yesterday I started classes and so far I like them a lot! I'm taking Spanish Art History, Culture of Islam, Spanish Composition, and Oral Spanish. I have each class for 2 hours 2 days a week and no class on Thursday afternoons or Fridays which is great for traveling! My art history class seems like it is going to be really interesting; once a week we go to museums, churches, and statues around Granada and learn about the different types of art that exists here.
Alright I'm off to Oral Spanish! I hope you are all doing well! Please send me emails (ljweitz@gmail.com) & update me on what you've been doing if you have a chance!
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