Greetings from Granada: April 2009

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Semana Santa

Here in Spain, we recently celebrated one of the most important holidays of the year. Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is not just a religious celebration but it's also a large part of the Spanish culture. Most Spaniards rarely attend church and do not consider themselves religious. Church goers usually consist of grandparents, who I often see congregated outside church doors after mass. This seems a little confusing as to why Spaniards put so much time and effort into a religious holiday. After observing the holy week and talking with numerous Spanish friends, it seems that the holiday is something very cultural. While there are some Spaniards who see the week as rather fake, there are others who see it as a tradition that brings Spaniards together every year. Whatever your take on the spectacle, there's no doubt that it is an event very unique to Spain.

During Holy Week, it is not unusual to have multiple processions everyday leading up to Easter. People spend a lot of time practicing for the processions, learning how to carry these huge figures. A month before Easter it was common to find people practicing in the streets. Different brotherhoods participate in the processions, wearing different color pennants to show which brotherhood they belong to. Bands follow behind playing music that sets the tone for an eerie, mysterious event. Just about everyone participates in these processions.

My mom was here over Holy Week and we arranged to be in Granada for some of the processions. (Andalucia is most noted for its processions and Sevilla has the most famous processions.) We managed to see one night procession that was pretty exciting. Some of the night processions last until 1 or 2 AM! We also saw the 100th anniversary of a huge procession here in Granada. It had over 20 figures and lasted several hours. It was almost called off due to rain, but luckily the rain held off for the most part. If it does rain and the sculptures get wet, they are ruined. When it started to rain the Semana Santa workers were quick to cover the figures with plastic to prevent damage. I couldn't believe how many people came out to see this procession. The streets were packed with no room to walk. Chairs were set out on the streets for people willing to pay. The specatators who had it best were the ones with apartments overlooking the processions.

Street vendors selling baked potatoes, very popular in Spain

Members of a brotherhood carrying crosses

the band playing

one of the figures

a group of women dressed in black

the end of the procession

100th Anniversary Procession

Thursday, April 16, 2009

A "Ski" Trip

Before I came to Granada, I talked with a girl from UNCG who had been here last spring. She told me of all her favorite things about Granada which included a ski trip with the dorm. All year I had been looking for signs for a ski trip. Finally in February signs were posted for a ski trip in March. I was warned before the trip that organized trips in Spain weren't always the best. However, I had never been to the Sierra Nevada and felt it was a must if I was studying abroad so close to them. The ski trip ended up being a disappointment, although I did see the mountains. The dorm took us to the little ski resort town and told us to be back at the bus in 5 hours. I was with my Russian friends and all of us were clueless as to what to do, where to go, what ski clothes/equipment to rent. We spent 5 hours in the little town, browsing shops, eating lunch, reading magazines in Spanish, and taking pictures. When we got back to the dorm, I was shocked to see I had gotten sunburned. Note to self: always wear sunscreen when outside for a long period of time. As always, group trips might not be what you expect, but they are certainly an adventure.

UNCG girls in Granada

In the beginning of March, a girl from UNCG, who was supposed to study abroad with me in Granada, contacted me. She's studying abroad in Toledo this semester with 5 other girls from UNCG. She and the other girls came to Granada and wanted to meet up one night. All of the girls had originally wanted to study abroad in Granada this semester. With all of the problems I had last semester with the international office, UNCG didn't feel comfortable sending the other girls to Granada. Nevertheless, we met while they were here and I showed them around Granada.

Vamos a la discoteca!

My neighbor in the dorm, Claudia, has been so kind and sweet to me all year. If I ever need anything Claudia always lets me borrow it, or if I just want to spend some time in her room, I always feel welcome. After her last exam in February, she and classmates were going to celebrate with a night out on the town, and she invited me to go with them. A night out in Granada usually starts around 11 PM and lasts until 5 or 6 AM. I'm not a huge fan of this night scene, but I thought going to a discoteca with a big group would be fun. We first went to one of Claudia's friend's dorm rooms where about 20 of us stayed until 1:00 AM. The boy ended up getting in trouble when a security guard got on to him for the loud music. I was just proud of myself for understanding what the guard said in Spanish! Some situations feel the same in Spanish as in English! The discotecas still aren't my favorite place in town, they are pretty dirty and most everyone is smoking. A popular dance move is to dance with your cigarette in hand, how classy. Around 5:30 AM I was ready to leave, not to mention exhausted. Anyway, the discotecas are a very popular night outing here in Granada.

A Birthday

I'll continue with some catch-up blogging, but this time I promise it won't take as long! I'll fill you in on what I've been doing second semester.

Shortly after Daddy left, one of my Russian friends on my hall, had a birthday. She was a little depressed about celebrating her birthday far from home and family. Therefore, we decided to go out and celebrate and make the most of her birthday in Spain. We first went to a cafeteria on Gran Via to eat a delicious cake and drink cafe con leche. Afterward we went to a tapas bar for more dinner appropriate food.

Maria and Elena, two Russian girls from my dorm

cafe con leche + cake! is there anything better?

Daddy's Visit

My dad visited two months ago and I'm just now getting around to blogging about our time together. As many of you have discovered, if I'm not blogging, it's usually a good sign. Blogging helps me express my feelings when I'm having difficult times, and fortunately for me difficult times now seem like a thing from the past.

In February I was lucky enough to have my dad visit me during my mini-vacation between exams and the start of a new semester. After several stressful weeks I was in need of a familiar face from home. I met Daddy in Madrid where we stayed for several days before returning to Granada. Even though I had already been to Madrid, I am so glad I returned because the city had a totally different feel to it. You can imagine that Madrid was not one of my favorite places before, due to several unexpected layovers in the city. My trip to Madrid with Daddy definitely made me appreciate everything the city has to offer. Of course the beautiful warm weather in February may have had something to do with it.

Thanks to Daddy's Top 10 Madrid book, we managed to see most all of the tourist sites in three days. The Royal Palace tour was one of my favorite activities and I highly recommend it to anyone touring Madrid. The Palace is so grand and magnificent with breathtaking paintings on the ceilings. A large group of older Spanish women were touring at the same time as Daddy and me. It was funny trying to maneuver ourselves around a crowd of Spanish grandmothers.

We also saw the three major art museums: the Prado, Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen. We ended up spending the most time in the Thyssen, where the paintings are arranged in chronological order. Tons of preschool aged children were having an art lesson during our tour. It was so cute watching the little children sitting on the floor talking about the paintings. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Thyseen restaurant before trekking on to our next destination. Our one-hour visit to the Prado didn't exactly due this world renownded museum justice. However, we did manage to see a lot of paintings before we were politely told to leave. We quickly saw the Reina Sofia before we left for Granada.

The Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid's famous park, was the place to be on a warm February day. When I visited it in December, I was a little depressed that it seemed so dead. In February it seemed like a different place, full of Madrileños, students, children, tourists and street performers. A small pond with paddle boats is a main attraction to this park. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to go out on a paddle boat. It's on my list of things to do before I leave Spain!

Another important achievement from the Madrid trip: mastering the metro. We felt so comfortable using it, Daddy even took it to get back to the Airport on his way home. Impressive!

We traveled to Granada by train, my first experience with the Spanish train system. The trains are slightly more comfortable than the bus, but a lot more expensive. Of course when your visitng father wants to travel by train, who's going to object?

Daddy and I only had one day to tour Granada, but we made the most of our time. I was able to show Daddy around the city and give him a glimpse into my daily life here. We visited the Capilla Real, where Ferdinand and Isabel are buried and brushed up on our Spanish history. An afternoon trip to the Alhambra was enjoyable only after we figured out where the ticket office is located. A few more signs would be very helpful for clueless tourists searching to pick up their tickets. Fortunately, we did make it to the Nasrid Palace close to our scheduled time. Afterward we enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the sunny terrace at the Parador San Francisco, recommended by Aunt Wanda. We toured Carlos V's palace and the other buildings before calling it a day. Seeing the Alhambra really made me appreciate Granada more, and it made me realize that I live in such a historical city. I couldn't imagine living in Granada and never seeing the Alhambra. It's almost as if it's a hidden gem of the city.

It was a sad goodbye to Daddy, especially knowing a full semester lay ahead of me.

I'm so glad you visited, Daddy! Can't wait to see you soon.