Hi friends.
It's been far too long since I have written in this thing, my apologies. It feels like I wrote my latest post just the other day, but I blinked and it is already one week later. I'm telling you, time here is crazy! Regardless of my perception of time and reality, let me catch y'all up with what all has happened in the past week. ¡Vámonos!
Last week was a pretty normal one here in Alcalá de Henares. I completed my third week of school, "mucha tarea" included, and just spent quality time with friends and family. Maddie, Anna, our new friend Angela, and I took a girls trip to Madrid Wednesday. We shopped, walked around, ate dinner (and ice cream of course), and ventured into El Corte Inglés for the first time. El Corte Inglés is essentially Spain's version of London's Harrods...it is a huge department store filled to the brim with just about anything you can imagine. There are multiple locations in Madrid alone and the one we went inside has seven floors. It was a little world of its own! The following day Maddie and I went to Zumba class at the gym our Spain family owns. The oldest daughter, Cristina, teaches the class, and Mari, our momma, joined us as well. We danced for an hour to both Spanish and some American music. It was really fun! The best part about it was spending time with part of our new, sweet family. One of my biggest prayers for this experience has been developing relationships with the people around me, my Spain family included. I can honestly say I have had the opportunity to get to know them, spend time with them, and do things with them. That right there is a blessing within itself.
Now on to the weekend...good ole Granada. There is so much that can be said of this southern Spanish city, but I am going to sum up my weekend vacation a little differently this time. Before I proceed with all my bullet points, I want to give a basic background of the weekend. First, the Granada group was Anna, Maddie, Haylee, Frank, Matthew, and me. Second, Granada is an old Spanish city located just an hour north of the Mediterranean coast. Its history includes a huge Arabic influence, most prominently seen by its most famous site, La Alhambra. La Alhambra is the #1 most visited site in not only Granada, but in all of Spain. For more information on La Alhambra, click here. Finally, I kept a "Granada" note on my iPhone throughout the weekend including the big and little things that made the weekend trip our own. I did not write these bullet points in retrospect, but rather as they were happening. I am simply going to copy what I typed up on my phone and share it with y'all...I just thought I'd spice up my writing style a little. Here it goes:
-Train stopped on the way to Atocha...off to a promising start! (Sunday: good thing this was not any foreshadowing for the rest of the trip!)
-Nice people...southern hospitality holds true in Spain too.
-Alhambra journey: tickets were available Thursday, sold out Thursday afternoon, Matthew tries to order them, his order gets cancelled, we are all ticketless, walk around the free parts of La Alhambra Saturday morning, get cheap tickets (yay!), visit Sunday morning. Nice.
-Nice hostel...I feel safe...and there are free towels! Yay. Props to Haylee for booking Pensión Venecia.
**Yes, you are reading this correctly. We did stay in a hostel. You'd think after my Barcelona story that I would never ever again, but low and behold, we booked another one for Granada. Needless to stay, it was perfect. And cheap. Great decision (all credit goes to Haylee...thanks girl!).
-Mississippi State Bulldogs win! Off to the CWS :)
-DELICIOUS ice cream...best yet! Thank you Spain for your devotion to helado.
-Music at lunch...there were lots of good street musicians.
-Lots of English spoken in Granada. Very convenient! Hopefully I have practiced my Spanish "un poco" this weekend.
-Visited La Catedral de Granada
-Listening to music together
-Maddie wanting to be a princess and a mermaid
-According to Frank, it has a "cool vibe". I agree :)
-Struggle up the big hills at La Alhambra
-Long train rides= reading and relaxing
I think it is safe to say that we had a fabulous weekend. No stress, completely comfortable (and safe), and very enjoyable. Two thumbs up, five stars, the whole shebang. If you ever make your way over to Spain, do not miss out on Granada. It is a gem.
Last week was a pretty normal one here in Alcalá de Henares. I completed my third week of school, "mucha tarea" included, and just spent quality time with friends and family. Maddie, Anna, our new friend Angela, and I took a girls trip to Madrid Wednesday. We shopped, walked around, ate dinner (and ice cream of course), and ventured into El Corte Inglés for the first time. El Corte Inglés is essentially Spain's version of London's Harrods...it is a huge department store filled to the brim with just about anything you can imagine. There are multiple locations in Madrid alone and the one we went inside has seven floors. It was a little world of its own! The following day Maddie and I went to Zumba class at the gym our Spain family owns. The oldest daughter, Cristina, teaches the class, and Mari, our momma, joined us as well. We danced for an hour to both Spanish and some American music. It was really fun! The best part about it was spending time with part of our new, sweet family. One of my biggest prayers for this experience has been developing relationships with the people around me, my Spain family included. I can honestly say I have had the opportunity to get to know them, spend time with them, and do things with them. That right there is a blessing within itself.
Now on to the weekend...good ole Granada. There is so much that can be said of this southern Spanish city, but I am going to sum up my weekend vacation a little differently this time. Before I proceed with all my bullet points, I want to give a basic background of the weekend. First, the Granada group was Anna, Maddie, Haylee, Frank, Matthew, and me. Second, Granada is an old Spanish city located just an hour north of the Mediterranean coast. Its history includes a huge Arabic influence, most prominently seen by its most famous site, La Alhambra. La Alhambra is the #1 most visited site in not only Granada, but in all of Spain. For more information on La Alhambra, click here. Finally, I kept a "Granada" note on my iPhone throughout the weekend including the big and little things that made the weekend trip our own. I did not write these bullet points in retrospect, but rather as they were happening. I am simply going to copy what I typed up on my phone and share it with y'all...I just thought I'd spice up my writing style a little. Here it goes:
-Train stopped on the way to Atocha...off to a promising start! (Sunday: good thing this was not any foreshadowing for the rest of the trip!)
-Nice people...southern hospitality holds true in Spain too.
-Alhambra journey: tickets were available Thursday, sold out Thursday afternoon, Matthew tries to order them, his order gets cancelled, we are all ticketless, walk around the free parts of La Alhambra Saturday morning, get cheap tickets (yay!), visit Sunday morning. Nice.
-Nice hostel...I feel safe...and there are free towels! Yay. Props to Haylee for booking Pensión Venecia.
**Yes, you are reading this correctly. We did stay in a hostel. You'd think after my Barcelona story that I would never ever again, but low and behold, we booked another one for Granada. Needless to stay, it was perfect. And cheap. Great decision (all credit goes to Haylee...thanks girl!).
-Mississippi State Bulldogs win! Off to the CWS :)
-DELICIOUS ice cream...best yet! Thank you Spain for your devotion to helado.
-Music at lunch...there were lots of good street musicians.
-Lots of English spoken in Granada. Very convenient! Hopefully I have practiced my Spanish "un poco" this weekend.
-Visited La Catedral de Granada
-Listening to music together
-Maddie wanting to be a princess and a mermaid
-According to Frank, it has a "cool vibe". I agree :)
-Struggle up the big hills at La Alhambra
-Long train rides= reading and relaxing
I think it is safe to say that we had a fabulous weekend. No stress, completely comfortable (and safe), and very enjoyable. Two thumbs up, five stars, the whole shebang. If you ever make your way over to Spain, do not miss out on Granada. It is a gem.
In other news, I went to a Flamenco class at school this evening. Rocio, a staff member at Alcalingua led a one-hour crash course and we all attempted to master the art of Flamenco. I am still trying to get the hand motions down right...I've got a ways to go, haha. Another exciting story from the day: a bird left a present on my foot on the way to Flamenco class. That's right folks, I was blessed with some bird poo on my shoe. I guess there's a first time for a lot of things when you travel to a different country ;)
Back to a more important note, today marks the beginning of my last week here in Spain. This time next week I will be traveling back home to my sweet family. Drake is the best boyfriend ever and is going to pick me up from the airport. It is going to be a great day! I am, however, going to savor these last days in Spain. Time is slipping away and I want to make sure I invest my time wisely. In people, in experiences, in education, in memories. I have a great week ahead lined up with something different every day. I am especially looking forward to Friday. In the morning, we have a "diploma/certificate" ceremony at school, finalizing our four-week course at Alcalingua. That night, Maddie and I are going to see "El Rey León". In English, please? Ok. THE LION KING!!! We are so excited. In lieu of our evening ahead, I am going to post a little pump-up video:
Back to a more important note, today marks the beginning of my last week here in Spain. This time next week I will be traveling back home to my sweet family. Drake is the best boyfriend ever and is going to pick me up from the airport. It is going to be a great day! I am, however, going to savor these last days in Spain. Time is slipping away and I want to make sure I invest my time wisely. In people, in experiences, in education, in memories. I have a great week ahead lined up with something different every day. I am especially looking forward to Friday. In the morning, we have a "diploma/certificate" ceremony at school, finalizing our four-week course at Alcalingua. That night, Maddie and I are going to see "El Rey León". In English, please? Ok. THE LION KING!!! We are so excited. In lieu of our evening ahead, I am going to post a little pump-up video:
As usual, I have pictures for your viewing pleasure. And trust me, you are in for a treat. ¡Granada es muy bonita! A lot of them are from the Alhambra, but several others are thrown into the mix. Hope ya like 'em :)
Group picture at La Alhambra Saturday (before we got our tickets!)
Las chicas.
Anna Banana with the oranges she ordered for lunch.
Girls at lunch Saturday.
At the main entrance of La Catedral de Granada.
The inside was beautiful. It was a BIG cathedral.
Favorite part of the cathedral. The ceiling reminds me of Beauty and the Beast.
Frank. Enough said.
We found a very cool candy store (my food pic for this post). Yum!
Alhambra group before our tour began. We were very happy about our Sunday morning!
We weren't allowed to wear our backpacks on our backs...here is the result.
Inside Palacio Nazaries.
I love the architecture in this picture. And our goofy book bags.
Arabic written on the walls.
I <3 my friends.
Backpack, Bethany, and the city of Granada.
Group picture with the Sierra Navada mountains behind us. Great view!
Of all the flower pictures I took Sunday, this one is my favorite. :)
Generalife gardens at Alhambra.
Sweet picture with Maddie inside the gardens.
It truly is a joy for me to write about my experiences in Spain. I want to share what I am seeing, learning, doing here with you so you can walk alongside me in this wonderful journey. You are here in spirit friends. The prayers, the emails, the Facebook messages, the texts, the blogpost readings...a piece of you is here in Spain, too. I know I tend to end every post the same, but I really cannot thank you enough. I mean it. Also, as my month is quickly coming to an end, I have realized that I only have a limited time left to post new entries. I am going to try to write two new blog posts this week! I can't make any promises, but I am going to do my best.
Hakuna matata amigos...
Bethany
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