Cena de Bienvenida Carlos V

Friday night I attended the welcome dinner for students here in Carlos V Residence Hall. The event began with a few words from the director of the dorm. From what I understood, she gave some stats about the dorm. At one point she began to talk about what cities in Spain most students were from, she even added we have some foreigners living in the dorm. Who knew? Apparently one student questioned this information, and the director assured him she was right, while making eye contact with me. Quite a few people also looked at me... Just when I thought I was starting to fit in with the Spaniards! After her brief speech, we walked over to the cafeteria for the dinner which was surprisingly good. Unfortunately, students started smoking in the cafeteria completely ignoring the no smoking signs. Beer was also served at the dinner, but then again it's served everyday at lunch. It seems strange thinking back to UNCG's zero tolerance policy with alcohol, and here the school is actually providing the alcohol. Anyway, the dinner was fun and gave me a chance to meet some new people. I met a girl from Russia who seemed to be looking for a friend. Some girls from Jordan, who live on my hall, also came up to me and said they didn't know anyone there. I talked to them and then introduced them to Jose Luis, Marta and some other Spaniards. A big group of us ended up talking and we were actually the last ones to the leave the dinner. Before leaving we took a quick picture of our group.



We are the world!
Representing Jordan, The United States, Spain & Russia.

I get by...

...with a little help from my friends!


Amigos: Jose Luis and Marta


Even though I met Jose Luis and Marta over a month ago, it seems we're just now starting to become good friends. Maybe they were a bit shy at first, wary of the foreign girl. Nevertheless, it's interesting to watch the stages of a friendship. We went to lunch together everyday for a month, but that was about it. A quick lunch, then everybody said "hasta luego" and I wouldn't see them again until the next day. This was extremely difficult because I felt everyday I only saw "friends" for about thirty minutes. Something happened this week, and I'm not sure what it was, but I started to notice we were spending more time in the cafeteria. It seemed we had reached the point in a friendship where we wanted to be around each other. There isn't a better feeling, especially when you're alone in a foreign country, than knowing you have people who care about you, and will be there if you need something.


A few words about my new friends:

Jose Luis is a chemical engineering student from Cordoba. I met him in the computer lab while having trouble with the Spanish keyboard. He was even nice enough to go with me to the office to figure out why the internet wasn't working in my room. He speaks some English which is pretty unusual among students in the dorm. Sometimes I feel his English is improving more than my Spanish! Most times I do try to speak in Spanish and he speaks in English. We're convinced we'll have each other's language mastered by the end of the year!

Marta, also from Cordoba, studies psychology. This is her first year at university and she recently turned 18. Jose Luis and Marta's fathers work together at the post office in Cordoba. Marta's English is pretty limited, therefore I'm forced to practice my Spanish daily. Some days we are lost in translation, and we start laughing because we have no clue what the other person is trying to say. Who knew learning a language could be so much fun?

I feel so fortunate to have met such kind, caring students here in the dorm.
Muchas gracias, Jose Luis y Marta!

Spanish 101

As I've noted in several other posts, I can truly tell my Spanish is improving. I feel like I've already learned more here than I would have learned in a semester Spanish class in the United States. And, I'm not only learning in my classes! In fact, sometimes I feel I'm learning more outside of the classroom. It's easy to pick up on little words, phrases, or expressions in daily conversation.

So, if you plan on visiting Spain, I suggest you learn these words/phrases:

Vale:
translates to OK in English and is used all the time! I had actually never heard it before coming to Spain. Needless to say, I quickly added it to my vocabulary.

Venga:
from the verb venir, to come. It's often used when saying "bye" to someone. From what I can tell it's similar to "later."

No pasa nada: Nothing happened!
An appropriate response to "i'm sorry."

No te preocupes: Don't worry!
I've heard this a lot since arriving in Spain. I'm not sure if it's because the Spanish are so relaxed or I'm always stressed! I'll let you decide.

Weekends

As many of you know, weekends in Granada are especially difficult since my friends in the dorm go home every chance they get. I've been persuading them to stay one weekend but so far I haven't been successful. I'm happy to report that this weekend wasn't so tough. I'm hoping they only get easier from here on out!

On Friday afternoon, after discovering a couple Euros in my room, I treated myself to coffee at my favorite coffee shop, Coffee Belle. The lady now recognizes me which is a plus because she gave me a discount on my coffee. Afterward, I went over to a store nearby where the lady also recognizes me. I find it really interesting just to talk to these people and learn about their lives. Also, it's a great way to practice my Spanish with natives! I then headed over to El Corte Ingles, for some grocery shopping and browsing. I always like to stop for a perfume tester since I left all of my perfume at home.

Saturday I slept late then met a girl from my Spanish class at Plaza Isabel, a great meeting place here! We wanted to try the movie theater out. It seemed to be a good idea as many other people were also at the theater. We ended up seeing Nights in Rodanthea dubbed in Spanish. It was crazy to see a movie set in North Carolina! Whenever a car was shown in the movie it always had NC license plates. There were also a couple letters shown that had NC addresses on them. After the movies, it was almost dinner time (8 o'clock!) so we headed to one of the many restaurants in the mall. This mall has the only Mexican restaurant I've seen in Granada. It's funny how many people think Spanish food is the same as "Mexican" food. Our dinner was pretty good and I also learned from the girl that there's a church in Granada with a large student membership. I think I'll try it out next weekend!


Sunday, today, was a pretty typical Sunday afternoon. I worked on homework and laundry all afternoon. I had a brief scare with the washing machine, which took 2 hours to wash one load of clothes! Thankfully, everything's okay now and my clothes are safe, and clean!


Stay tuned for next weekend-- I'll be reporting on our "Welcome Dinner" in the dorm!

Granada: Home Sweet Home?

I had good intentions of writing about my first month here and now it seems the second month is quickly approaching. Obviously this is a good sign that things have picked up and it's no longer so difficult! Even though I still have hard days, I feel like I somewhat belong here now. I'm really starting to appreciate the little things about Granada. I enjoy that Granada has a big city feel yet it's small enough to find your way around. Also, with the large number of international students it's quite easy to meet a new person every day. This also means that whenever I'm out in the city I usually run into at least one person I've met. I've met so many people now I often have to stop and think where I met someone (the line at the police station? in passing at the international office?). As the time passes I can definitely tell my Spanish is improving. When I arrived I was able to communicate and get my point across. Now I feel I am able to have more of a conversation with someone. All of this leaves me feeling confident about my decision to study abroad. What a difference a month makes!




Plaza Isabel




Parque del Triunfo




My facultad



Monastery in front of my dorm




The front of my dorm




My building




My room

Si se puede!

The day draws to a close in Spain and students get ready to call it a night. However, light still shines in habitacion 5106. Others will wait for the news tomorrow, but not this girl transplanted on foreign soil. Tonight she is in a different time zone and her heart bleeds red, white, and blue.



Memorable moments from my "election day"
Despite being far away from home, the impact of the U.S. election is certainly felt here in Spain. While people are not as tuned in to the election as Americans, everyone seems to be aware that the outcome will have a worldwide effect.

I was determined to bring up the election as much as possible today. Most of the reactions were about what I had expected. Some people smiled politely but showed no real interest when I mentioned today was the U.S. Election. Others seemed curious and were eager to know when the winner would be announced. A cafeteria worker caught me off guard by saying, "your country has an election today." A librarian asked,"Obama or McCain?"

Overall, I was a bit disappointed more wasn't said about the election today. I hoped a professor might mention it in class or a classmate might ask about it. Thank goodness for the internet so I can stay connected and follow the latest news!



A new day begins to unfold in Spain, while states are awarded back home. The foreign girl grows sleepy but knows breaking news could arrive any minute. Tomorrow she'll plan for a siesta.