This will be a quick post but I just had to give an update on the weather since the last time I posted it was rainy and gloomy. Well, today was MUCH better. It was sunny but there were some clouds. The best part, though, was the fact that it was 19 degrees.......celsius! Here is a quick conversion for you: 19 degrees C = 67 degrees F. It really is starting to feel like spring here. Some of the trees and flowers are blooming and it´s wonderful. I still can´t imagine what the weather will be like in the summer if I am already peeling off layers of clothing when it is not even 70 degrees. The summers in Granada sometimes reach 110 or higher! Ahhh.
Anyways, things are good for a Monday!
Hasta Luego,
Emily

Week One of University Classes

I was able to find out this week what university classes are like in another country. I am taking two classes at the University of Granada. One is called ¨Sociology of the Religions¨ and as for my other class....well that is still being figured out. I am enrolled in a class called ¨Introduction to the Music of Al-Andalus¨ which is a class about music during the Arab reign of Spain. It seemed interesting until I went to the class both days last week and the professor launched into two lectures about ideas and concepts that I don´t even think I could understand in English, let alone in her rapid Spanish. She was writing arabic words on the board and it was so hard to follow what she was saying. Another one of my friends from the University of Michigan is also in the class and he has been just as lost as me. I think for the sake of my sanity I need to find another class. I tested out another class that seemed interesting and ran into just the same problems. It was called ¨Technoscience, Culture and Medicine.¨ I thought it would be intertesting since my major is medicine and science -related. However, there were 8 people in the class and most were native spanish speakers. There were three American girls but one had been here since September and could understand/speak well and the other one had only been in Granada for three weeks but was very good at spanish. We had to split into two groups of 4 to discuss a list of questions about our opinion on many different challenging questions (that once again I could barely think of a sentence to defend my opinion in English, let alone contribute anything positive to the conversation in Spanish). So I don´t think that is the answer to my problem. I have all of next week to change classes so I am going to keep looking for more options.
It was a frustrating week. We are all hitting the point in our trip where it is just frustrating to not be able to fully communicate with people. It was ok to completely struggle for the first month but now it just seems irritating. Oh well, we will all keep plugging away and keep practicing. It doesn´t help that the beautiful weather we were having for over a month seems to have disappeared for a while. It has been cloudy, gray, and rainy for the past three days! No fun!! But I won´t complain too much since it is not snowing or below 20 degrees outside.
Well that´s about it for now from Spain. I hope everyone is doing well! I can´t believe February is almost gone! Time is just flying by!
Emily

Vacation in Spain

No need to worry....I am still alive and well! The past week we had a break from school and my friend and I took a trip to Barcelona and Madrid. Most people went to Italy, Paris, London, and other assorted cities in Europe but Liz and I wanted to explore Spain.
First, we went to Barcelona. We were there from Friday (2/8) to Monday (2/11). Liz has a friend that is studying in Barcelona and so she played tour guide for us. We saw so much of the city in two days. We saw many of the little neighborhoods of Barcelona (Barceloneta, Olympic village, and some assorted other places). We saw Gaudi's houses - we did not go inside for a lack of time and a desire to save some money. He seemed like an interesting guy (Gaudi). My favorite part of Barcelona was Park Guell - Gaudi's park that he designed. It is absolutely huge (over 70 acres) and is just a little piece of heaven. Most of the park is decorated with mosaics of colored glass. There is a great view of the city from the top of one of the platforms. There are also two little house/cottages in the park that look like gingerbread houses. It is hard to give it justice just describing it but if you ever have a chance to get to park guell - it's a definite must in Barcelona.
We also visited Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece. It is absolutely monsterous - it takes up an entire block. We went to the FC Barcelona museum and it was fun. There was a lot of memorabilia from many years of the club's existence. We were able to go inside the stadium and look around and it was very cool.
Barcelona has a very metropolitan feel - almost like a mix of New York and Miami. The city is very spread out so we took the metro a lot and it was a very convenient way to get around. We were able to stay in Liz's friend's apartment and cooked our own food. It was very different from all of my home-cooked meals at my homestay.
After our stay in Barcelona, we took a flight to Madrid. We arrive Monday night and stayed in a hostel. It was very small but got the job done. We did a lot of museums in Madrid. We went to the Prado, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen-Bornemizsa. They were all very cool and I was glad that we went to all of them - but I don't really want to go to another art museum for a while! We also went to the Palacio Real, Palacio de Comunicaciones, Fuente de Cibeles, Plaza Mayor, Parque de Buen Retiro (a huge park in Madrid with some awesome things to see - definitely a must see if you go to Madrid), and we wandered by some other random places. Liz and I agreed that Madrid has the feeling of Washington D.C.
I really like both of the cities but was very happy to return to Granada (it is great because it seems like home now!) My classes at the University of Granada tomorrow. I am taking Sociology of Religion and Music of Al-Andalus. It should be interesting to see how they compare to classes at U of M. We only have four more weeks of class and then another break for Semana Santa (not that I am looking forward to another break already - haha!)
I am sorry it took me so long to update my blog. I will try to be better at it! I hope everyone is doing well!
Emily

Boring Week

I apologize for not writing sooner but it has been a pretty uneventful week and weekend. I will fill you in on a few of the more exciting events.
I began reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I have read it in English and now am attempting to read it in Spanish. It is difficult but a welcomed challenge because I am looking up the words that I don´t know and am learning new vocabulary everyday. I love to sit in one of the many parks in Granada and read for a while. I find it very relaxing and a good way to spend a few hours.
My friend Patrick and I decided to give the Cathedral another try this past Sunday. We went to the service at 12. It was interesting...very cold inside the cathedral. I picked up a lot of the sermon but the scripture readings were a little confusing. We said the Apostles Creed and the Lord´s Prayer - both of which were very interesting to hear in Spanish. It was so strange to hear something that I have known for most of my life in another language.
We have a break starting on Thursday (the 7th of February). My friend Liz and I are going to Barcelona for a few days (8th-11th) and then we are flying to Madrid (on the 11th). We have no plans beyond that. We will probably stay in Madrid for three or four days and then possibly go to Valencia or to Malaga to spend some time soaking up the sun on the beach!
I am sorry I don´t have anything too exciting to say. I am sure I will have lots of things to say after returning from my trip! I hope everyone is doing well!
Hugs from Granada!
Em