El Albayzín, Sevilla, Córdoba, y baile Flamenco

After a whole week without a blog I finally decided it was time to take a break from my crazy life right and sit down to write a little something, specifically for my momma (who I miss dearly). I can not believe that I have been in this beautiful city for 12 days already, it blows my mind. I feel like yesterday I was packing all my last minute items into my suitcase and standing awkwardly in the lobby of O'Hare while my mom took pictures of me. It scares me to think about my last week here and how sad it is going to be to leave this city, my host mom, and all the AMAZING people in my program. I don't know if I can even express how great these people are. To sum it up there is not one person that is in this group that I would not feel lucky enough to be friends with. Fortunately I am lucky enough to have a couple of these special people going back to my school with me :).

Alright, enough of looking to the future. This past week was so much fun! If you couldn't tell from the title I have been out and about exploring this city and a few others. Last Thursday my group went to a neighborhood within Granada called El Albayzín. It was actually the same place I had gone shopping before with all the moroccan stores lined up next to each other and the Tea House with the bohemian decorations. But this time while I was walking through the streets I was given a little history lesson. I wish very much that I could tell you guys more about the history of the area and the buildings but after almost a week of constantly receiving new information by brain has started to overload. We eventually made our way to the top of the town where there was a look out over the whole city of Granada. The first thing that Noellia (our leader) said as we were walking up to the spot of the look out was "don't freak out when you first see it" and let me tell you, this view was worthy of a melt down. I am typically more of a nature person and find the most beauty in views of mountains, oceans, and mother nature's purity. But the scene of the blue sky, the Arabic buildings, and Maze of streets from above comes close to some of my favorite Colorado landscapes. I have some pictures but they will never be able to do the beauty of the view justice.

We then spent the weekend taking a road trip to Sevilla and Córdoba. Saturday we drove to Sevilla. When we arrived there we were first taken to the beautiful Plaza de España, which this scene of Star Wars was filmed at -

So cool.

It was so beautiful and, like everything else in Spain, romantic. There were horse drawn carriages every way you looked and a small river where couples in row boats were enjoying the view. 

After talking around and enjoying the movie-esq. scene we moved onto La Catedral de Sevilla, which is the third-largest cathedral. Only Saint Peter's Basilica of the Vatican and Notre Dame stand before it. Without knowing the extent of what lay before us, we started up the stairs of the tower within the church. More than 30 (yes THIRTY) flights of stares later, we arrived at the top of the tower. In Spain they would say "vale la pena" or it was worth the pain. You could see out over the whole city. 

As cool as Sevilla was to visit, I definitely gained an appreciation for Granada. It truly is THE most beautiful city.

The next day we woke up early and headed to Córdoba. It was yet another magical town. We visited a former Islamic mosque that had been turned into a Catholic Cathedral. It had the elegance of the Arabic arches mixed with the grandness of the Catholic paintings and carvings. It was a very unique and beautiful buildings. 

After a whole weekend of traveling we had Monday off for free time. I explored a beautiful park that was decorated with every color of roses imaginable and enjoyed my free time. 

Tuesday we went Flamenco dancing. It was the most fun I have had in a long time! We learned how to do a short dance. For some of you that knew me in high school you will understand what I mean when I say that my Deb was really showing ;). The real Flamenco dancers then put on a show for us. It was a good half an hour of dancing and I was not bored once. The romance of this type of dancing is captivating. Here are a few pictures: 

Well, that's all for now. I will try to be more consistent with my posts!! 

-Danielle 

Mi Primer Día de mis Clases

Well... technically it wasn't my first day of clases today but it sure felt like it. On Monday I woke up feeling terrible, like I was getting sick at a very unfortunate time. I still got up and went down to breakfast hoping that the feeling would pass. When it did not, I decided to stay home and sleep the rest of the day in place of going to school and taking my placement test. I literally (yes, literally in the actual sense of the word) slept all day. I didn't wake up until 5 and I was still not feeling my best but I decided to meet up with my program anyways. Our program leaders took us around the city and pointed out important spots and historical buildings, most of which my roommates and I had explored already. We then were free to leave and that pretty much was the extent of my day.

Yesterday I woke up and went to my school fairly early to take my placement exam. As I walked into the college I was very nervous. The whole time I was thinking that I had to some way or another do well enough to get placed in at least level 3 (beginner intermediate). When I was taking the test I was certain that I had done badly enough where I would be put into an even lower level than that. But by some sort of miracle, when the teacher took me aside to do my oral part of the exam, she handed me my already graded written part of the exam there was a number 7 checked at the bottom of it (advanced level). Then she started grading my grammar, which I scored a 5 on. I was then feeling a little more confident and when we got to the oral section she asked me very basic questions that I was able to answer. I ended up scoring a 6 on that. They then allowed me to choose whether to be in level 5 or 6. I chose 5 because I didn't want to put myself in a situation where I would be in over my head. Since then I have been to clase for a day and a half and it seems like a good fit. It is definitely challenging but in the best way possible.

After lunch our program met up again to do our daily cultural activity. We went to the cathedral and the Coliseum Real. I don't even know how to describe the cathedral other than saying it is grand and beautifully detailed. I'll let the pictures do the talking for that one. The Coliseum Real was also beautiful and grand but it was unique because it is the resting place of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures in the coliseum so I will do my best to describe it. When you walk in there are pews looking towards a huge gate that went up to the ceiling. Even the gate was beautifully detailed and made of brass. When you enter the gate there are two large marble blocks (not positive if it was marble). One has a king and a queen carved into it laying on their death beds with decorations all around them. I don't remember what king and queen that was. The other one is a carving of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella laying on their death beds, yet again with decorations carved all around them. The two carvings are facing a wall that has been carved and painted into numerous biblical passages and portraits/carvings of the king and queen. I really wish I had a picture to show because I can't begin to describe how beautiful it was. Between the wall and the marble carvings of the two king and queens are stairs that lead into and out of a little passage below ground. This is where you go to look into a room with the actual coffins of Isabella, Ferdinand, their child, and a couple other people. It was quite eerie. If you don't know much about the royal family (like me) it's important to know that Isabella was a greedy dictator who wanted to conquer anyone and anything and I'm pretty sure she killed a lot of people along the way.

After our exciting day filled with historical activities my roommates and I went out for wine with friends at a very small bar. It held, at most, 10 people. We had a great time and drank delicious wine.

Today I had my first day of full classes, which went very well but I am definitely feeling the exhausted from only getting 4 hours of sleep last night now.

I miss everyone at home very much and I promise I am being safe like everyone has asked :)

Danielle

P.S. My Winona roommates asked me to give them a shout out at some point so here is my shout out Sarinna & Libby ;) Miss and love you guys.

The front of the cathedral 

I couldn't get over how detailed even the ceilings are!

The Altar 

No puedo dormir

Well, seeing as I can't sleep I suppose i'll write a blog. Today was a great day! I woke up just before noon as I was exhausted from the night before. After eating breakfast my roommates and I met up with some of the friends we have made already. We walked around for a bit until we found a quaint tapas y vino restaurant (Vino = vine and tapas = a tradition Spanish dish with small portions but lots of variety). We ordered sangria and a small portion of tapas came with it. The sangria was delicious of course and the tapas were yummy as well. It was my first time buying alcohol legally and I was pretty enthused about the experience. 

After that we each went out separate ways to eat lunch with our families. My host mom made a delicious lentil and rice soup, and salad to go with it. I wish I had a picture to show you because it looked as good as it tastes. We then had our afternoon siesta and rather than sleeping I snuck onto the terrace to read for a bit. 

We then met up once again with the other girls and went to walk around by the shops. We found ourselves lost in a maze of shops in back alleys. Most of the items being sold looked as if they belonged in a beautiful Moroccan home. I wish I could buy the lot to redecorate my house in winona. 

After looking at over a dozen stores a few of us found a side street that was known for its tea houses. We selected the restaurant that looked the most appealing. When we walked in the door it looked as if we had walked into a bohemian dream or a house that had been decorated with all Moroccan themed decor. I had my first cup of tea since being in spain and it was delicious, of course. It was named after a Spanish king (I don't remember which one exactly).  I also think the caffein may be a reason for my insomnia right now.

After an hour of good tea and conversation, my roommates and I headed back to our house. We ate dinner and hung around with our host mom the rest of the night.

Well...hopefully after writing and revising
this some of my energy will be used up and I will be able to sleep.

Danielle 

The tea

One of the back alley streets 

Sangria! 

Jet Lag

I finally arrived in Granada around 1 pm Spain time or 5 am Chicago time. The flight from Chicago to Miami was painless and, surprisingly, the flight from Miami to Madrid was not bad either. After trading seats with a man so he could be near his family I wound up sitting next to a woman named Lola from Sevilla, which is South Spain, about three hours from Granada. She was wonderful and we talked about Spain and the  differences between it and The United States. The best part about the trip though was her little 5 pound Yorkie. She had snuck him out of his bag and had him laying on her lap hidden under a blanket. He stayed there the whole way without once barking or trying to jump down. The whole time I was just picturing what a disaster it would have been if my mom had tried that with Chloe.

When I arrived in Madrid I ran into about 7 other students in the same program as me and we stuck together the rest of the way. After one last short plane ride we all landed in Granada. After getting on a bus and driving into town my roommate Kayla and I met our host mom. Her name is Amparo Bolaños. Right when we met her it was apparent that my initial prediction that she spoke English was not the case. She only speaks Spanish and it was definitely a rude awakening for me when I realized how terrible my Spanish skills are. Luckily, my second roommate, Angela, that arrived later speaks fluent Spanish and English. Although I try to speak as much Spanish as possible it is very comforting to know that if I am at a lose for words I can turn to Angela and say "Que es la palabra para..." and she can help me out.

 My host mom is extremely nice and makes delicious food. As soon as we got home we ate a large lunch and she explained to us that lunch is the main meal of the day. After unpacking and laying around a bit we decided that we wanted to go on a walk. It was 9pm but the sun was still relatively high in the sky so my host mom, my two roommates, and I walked around the city. I have attached some photos and although they are not the best quality they still give you an idea of what the city is like. The city is known for its Arabic architecture. The modern areas are beautiful but the oldest parts of town holds some of the most breathtaking buildings I have ever seen. Something about the architecture, endless amounts of trees and flowers, and river that goes through town makes it feel like a dream or something you would see in the movies. To sum it up in one word it's romantic. After walking around a bit we got ice cream at a prestigious ice cream shop in the more modern part of town. My host mom said it was her favorite ice cream shop in the city and I would have to say it was some of the best ice cream I have ever had. 

We didn't get back to the house till 11pm. We then finally had dinner and she explained to us that they usually eat around 9pm, which still is 4 hours after when I typically eat. I think one of the hardest things to get use to will be their eating habits.

Well, it's 1am here and 6pm back at home but I am exhausted and going to bed. 

Danielle

This is the river that flows next to the house I am staying in.

Fountain in the middle of La Plaza de Isabel Catolica  

La Alhambra - the program is taking us there sometime this month

And a horrible picture of Flamenco dancers

Map

A lot of people have asked me where in Spain Granada is so I thought this map would help give you an idea.

Ten Days

I have been counting down to May 31st for over six months now. It astonishes me that there are only ten days left on that countdown now. The anticipation of finally leaving for Spain is causing me to feel both thrilled and nervous. Now before you go and say, "How could you be nervous? You should feel so lucky to have this opportunity!", you have to understand that it takes a lot of courage for me to go outside of my comfort zone. I have always felt anxious and self-conscious when I take a step outside of what I find familiar. BUT that is precisely why this trip is so important (besides the fact that I will be learning a wonderful language). I hope to come back from this trip with a bold new outlook on life.

As most of you know who are viewing this blog, I am leaving to study abroad in Granada, Spain on May 31st and will be returning July 27th. I made the decision over a year ago that this was a life experience I could not pass up. The reason for me choosing Spain is because I am working on a Spanish minor and I will be able to knock out classes I need, while improving my Spanish speaking skills. I am also contemplating adding to my current major, elementary education, a major in Teaching Spanish. Yet another reason why this trip is so crucial. I am writing this blog for friends and family who are interested in seeing what I am doing while I am abroad. I want to be able to share these wonderful experiences with the people I love. I am also writing this so I will be able to look back on this blog when I am older and remind myself of all the crazy adventures I had.

There are two things I have to warn anyone who plans on following this blog though. One: I am by no means a good writer. There will most likely be gramatical errors and I have a tendency to ramble. Two: I am very bad at keeping things like this up-to-date. It is likely that some weeks I may post 2 or 3 times and then some weeks I will be lucky to post once. It is also likely that some of my posts will have few words and be used for the purpose of sharing photographs. I will only be there for 2 months so I don't expect to be posting very many blogs while abroad.

Anyways, I am so excited to have this opportunity and cannot wait for May 31st to arrive! I hope that this website will serve as a bridge from Spain back to the US for all of my loved ones. I am still figuring out what will be happening with my phone while I'm there. Most likely I will have a set amount of minutes I will be allowed to talk on the phone. Skype will be the best form of communication while I am there. My skype name is danielle,lombardo for anyone who would like to contact me. Facebook is another option but I don't plan to be spending my time on there often while I am away.

-Danielle