It's not goodbye, it's see you later

It's hard to believe I have already been home for three weeks, and I am currently writing this blog post while lying on my bedroom floor in Simsbury.  I have put this off for so long because I felt I needed some time to reflect on everything, let the whole being home thing sink in, and come to terms with the fact that I am really not going to back to Granada anytime soon.

Still, though, I did not tell Granada goodbye.  If there is one thing I learned in Granada, it's that you are never really saying goodbye to something, whether it be a place or a person.  I know I'll see Granada again someday; I can't not go back! Of course, that is only one of the many lessons I learned over the last four months. There are many more, which I'll get to later.

Despite the alternate universe, not-real-life aspect of Granada, being home has its perks.  I can take long showers, sleep without the sounds of a baby crying and my señora cleaning the kitchen at 2 AM (including throwing pots and pants at the wall, or at least that's what it sounded like), I can walk around with bare feet in the house (!!), exercise without being cat called, and I have all the food I like (without salt and oil) at my fingertips. I have seen a decent number of my friends, although Julie refuses to see me because she "doesn't want to leave the 203" (just kidding Julie, but you are a loser), gone to Rhode Island and the beach already, unfortunately resumed my lovely job at the YMCA's rock wall, forced Carly to make me dinner, and gone to the concert at the famed Meadows (I mean, hey, I'm home, so why not pretend it's high school again?).

There are certainly things I miss. I can't exclaim the undeniable cuteness of Spanish babies with Lindsey since she is in Chicago, and there are also no Spanish babies here (although I confess, we maybe send pictures of cute babies we see to each other. The whole taking-pictures-of-babies-we-don't-know thing might be frowned upon in America, so don't tell).  I also can't go out to tapas whenever I please, especially not at the cheap price of 2 euro a drink plus free food.  My Spanish speaking is at a minimum in Connecticut as well, although I did practice with my wonderful Mexican friend Checo the other day, and I was shopping a few days ago among a large throng of possibly Puerto Ricans and understood everything they were saying (of course, eavesdropping is frowned upon as well, but I like to call it practicing my language skills).  I am painfully bored at home, actually, and I'm realizing that I have mostly outgrown Simsbury. I mean, it's a great place, and it's a beautiful town, but what is left here for me? My friends aren't coming home this summer (for the most part), my parents have work or something (I actually have no idea where my father goes, but I think he might stare at a wall in his office, answer a few e-mails, drink coffee, and then come home feeling "accomplished"), and my high school job at the YMCA is not conducive to my ADD (I do not actually have ADD, but I do not like sitting and staring at a rock wall for hours on end).

My friend Carolyn from the program posted a quote that sums up exactly how I feel: "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." -Nelson Mandela

I am the same on the outside (minus this lovely tan everyone is jealous of, and a few added pounds), but I feel as though I have changed on the inside.  I am a more positive person now, upbeat about life, and mostly completely happy (except for when I realize I have real responsibilities at home...ugh).  When I was in Israel last summer, I remember Gary saying something that stuck: the hardest thing about going home a changed person, with tons of new experiences, is trying to explain your experiences to other people. This was true about Israel, and it is even more true after returning home after four months away.  Will my friends and even my family ever understand Granada and everything I did when I was in Europe? Probably not, but that's okay. It's special because its my own experience, and I don't think it needs to be fully explained.  Sure, I have funny and meaningful stories from my trip, but I will never be able to accurately explain the emotions I felt at certain times, or how looking at something beautiful each and every day (such as the Sierra Nevadas surrounding Granada, something I never grew tired of) made me feel a kind of happiness I have never felt before in my life.

All of this being said, I think everybody needs to go abroad, or at least travel, at some point in their lives.  Then, they will understand what I mean.  I was terrified to leave. Absolutely, 100% scared out of my mind.  I did it anyways, because I knew somewhere inside that I had to do it, not because someone else wanted me to, but because I wanted to do it for myself.  I was the most selfish I have ever been for the last four months. If I wanted to go somewhere, I went, without consulting my parents, my friends, or anybody's opinion.  I often have a problem (if this is a problem) of being too selfless, of always trying to help other people before helping myself.  In Granada, I learned to put myself first, and it no longer matters to me what people think of this attitude.  Before you can help others, you need to help yourself. I always knew this, but I never followed it. Now, I can say I do.

My friend Chelsie, who I knew of before Granada (she is my friends' roommate), became one of my good friends on the trip.  During a long conversation on a bus ride home from Nerja, we were talking about relationships, happiness, and most of all, life.  Something about being abroad makes you have deep conversations like this, and she mentioned to me that I would make a great psychologist (by the way, thank you for the compliment Chelsie!). I have always thought this as well, but decided to explore history, political science and Spanish instead.  Who knows now, though? The possibilities are endless. The one defiant statement I remember making in high school to my guidance counselor is that in my life, I want to help people.  I don't know where my future is taking me, but now I know that I can pretty much do anything. Being away taught me that there are not many limitations and, as lame as it sounds, I need to do whatever makes me happy.

So, if you travel sometime in your lives (which you should!!) I give you a word or two of advice: be alone, completely alone. The only way you'll learn about yourself is if you put yourself in a situation where you have to solve problems by yourself.  Of course, there are always people to help you (and don't forget that!), but there were so many times in Granada where I felt completely lost. Yes, it sucked at the time. But I wouldn't trade the slight tears, minor breakdowns, and confusion for anything. I was lost on a Munich subway for half an hour, confused by myself on a London bus, sort of freaking out both times (but also excited that I was on a real adventure), but now doing things alone doesn't bother me one bit.

I am determined to not lose the lessons I learned in Granada now that I am back in the United States.  I haven't yet, so I think that's a step in the right direction.  I want to be happy, have fun, value my family and friends, and most of all, not worry about useless nonsense. As the Spanish say, no pasa nada (basically "don't worry about it.").  I gained so much from four months abroad, and I would never trade any of my experiences for anything (yes, even landing in the hospital-that was an experience in itself!). I like to think I am now an improved version of my former self.  I am unbelievably grateful for the opportunity I had, pretty much using Europe as my personal playground for an entire semester.  Thank you everybody for following along and reading this (even if you just skimmed!), and I hope you all know that you were a part of my journey as well. I thought of all of the important people in my life each and every day, and I hope someday you all get to experience and see everything I did.

I suppose that's it. My next adventure brings me to Washington, D.C. on Sunday for my dream internship at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. I probably won't keep a public personal blog, but I will be blogging for the museum, so I recommend you check that out! :)

This isn't goodbye, it's see you later.

Lauren

The video my director made of her pictures. There's a bunch of me playing soccer, go figure right?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2uNNoGJ7jM&feature=youtu.be

At the very beginning in January, watching the sunset

The graffiti done by a professional. U.S. graffiti can't even compare

My favorite view of the Sierra Nevadas, and Lindsey of course! :)

Most of the UConn group at the Alhambra

Watching the sunset on our final night. Everybody was nice and tan and definitely not wanting to leave our city. So glad I met some of the best people over the last four months, and even happier I'm taking everyone back to UConn with me! :)

Nearing the end...

This is going to be a quick little update, because I am procrastinating on packing and such, but I have THREE DAYS left here. Three days! How is this happening? It hasn't hit me yet, though.

Tonight we have our final dinner with our professors and señoras.  Maybe it will hit me then, but I don't know. My room is currently a mess, with piles of my clothes that are being donated, shoes that are broken, and things that are making it home with me. My bags are heavy and full already, and even though my dad brought home all my winter clothes in April, I am going to have to check an extra bag. Oops.

It got HOT here suddenly. Apparently this always happens, because according to the Spanish spring does not exist here (they think 70 is cold, but then suddenly 80 is summer...).  Yesterday I went to the beach in 85 degree heat, and today it's supposed to be 97.  I am going to watch a bullfight in Sevilla tomorrow, and it's going to be 95 degrees! Water, water, water...

The heat here is very different from Connecticut, since it isn't humid. My skin feels like it is going to fall off because it is so dry.  My whole body actually hurts, probably because my bed is a rock and my pillow still has metal springs on it. I'm ready for my real bed with my comfy pillows and peace and quiet (there is a baby in the apartment next door, and an elementary school next to the complex that has recess every morning around 9:30).


As for my Spanish speaking skills, they are greatly improved. I can carry on full conversations and can understand almost everything. The only thing that I am a little weak on is my vocabulary, because there are so many words I don't know. I mean, I know the basics, but having a large vocabulary in your second language is extremely difficult! I got frustrated last night because I took a taxi to my friends' house, and he brought me to the wrong place, and proceeded to talk to me in broken English as if I did not understand Spanish.  He said to me, "one euro, please." Come on. Un euro, por favor. I am not an idiot.

These are the things I get annoyed about now, which is certainly better than the nonsense I worried about in the past.  Sometimes I feel as though the Spanish do not even try to understand someone learning the language, and I end up feeling like an idiot. I went into Corte Ingles to buy flowers for my director, and I said, "Donde está los flores?" (Where are the flowers?) The man looked at me and said, "Comida?" (Food). I responded, "No, no, flores. Como un flor que personas compran para sus amigos en un ocasion especial?" (No, no, flowers. Like a flower that people buy for their friends on a special occasion?).  He stared at me again. I played charades, and he finally goes, "OH! Flores, si." (Flowers, yes). Uhh...that is the word I said in the first place! I still can't roll my R's, so maybe that was the problem, but STILL! It's incredibly frustrating sometimes, especially when you have spent four months trying to get really good at a language.

On the other hand, I am able to answer people's questions when they approach me on the street ("Hay una salida en el parque en el otro lado?"=Is there an exist in the park on the other side? To which I was able to answer correctly) and I can easily ask for directions now when I get completely lost (still happens way too often).  Ordering food is a simple task (which was once a nerve-wracking and heart pounding activity) and going shopping is now fun, rather than completely confusing. I have made big strides.

I also got an A in history! This is good news, because that's the one class that counts for my major. I got a great grade on my last paper, which was hilarious to me since I learned the majority of what I wrote about on wikipedia. Speaking of, wikipedia.org has truly saved me this semester. Who says it isn't a scholarly source? Ok, ok, maybe next semester I should not use it for my two history classes and political science classes...

I am off to pack and get ready for our fancy shmancy dinner. More pictures to come, of course, and hopefully one more blog post, but for now here are a few pictures from the last few days:

Lynn in front of a painting (that looks oddly like our literature teacher...) next to school 

My director, Lay, and me! Plus the flowers I purchased after a struggle with the Corte Ingles worker... 

My Señora's daughter Elena and me. She does not live in the house with us, but she lives in Granada too and comes over for lunch a lot. 

Kobe and I looking oh so thrilled at the beach :)

Hasta Luego!

Lauren

Final Exams?

I only have one more exam until summer! Not that these exams were stressful or hard or even time consuming, but I still like to exclaim the arrival of my favorite season.

My friend Amanda is a hilarious individual (and is also my Jew buddy), and I have been known to laugh really hard around her to the point that 1. my stomach hurts 2. i almost pee my pants and 3. i need to leave the room so i stop my uncontrollable laughter.  I can't even explain half the reasons why I laugh, but even looking at the faces she makes during class is entertaining.  There was also what I refer to as the Salmon Incident in Madrid, where Amanda and I ordered salmon that was more bones than fish.  She related the meal to dissecting owl pellets in middle school, and proceeded to mash it all up. I lost my appetite, but at least I was laughing. There was also the time we wandered through Toledo listening to "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys and belting out all of the words. I'm sure everyone in Toledo absolutely loved us.

So, knowing the hilarious-ness that is Amanda, her finished literature exam was truly something. Take a look:

All of the people that made the homage were poets. They all wrote in the style of Luis Gongora, a language very hard to understand, full of metaphors. Gongora was a Baroque poet.  Poets are Cernudo, Garcia Lorca, Alberi, Jimenez, and many more. During the Civil War, the members of the Generation of '27 were killed, exiled, or decided to stay in Spain. Garcia Lorca was murdered in the war. Additionally, all the poets wrote in honor of Gongora. Picture: Seville!! "I love Gongora! Me too! I am going to write a book for Gongora!"

I think we were supposed to write more, maybe. Also, maybe we were supposed to elaborate. And maybe the material we were supposed to write about was on four or five classes. And possibly, pictures weren't supposed to be a part of the exam.  But it doesn't matter. Amanda wins with her charm and personality, because our teacher absolutely loves her, but who could blame her? I guess I love Amanda too, despite my sarcastic attitude with her. 

Besides, the exam could only raise our grades. What's the point of trying? (Yes, I am aware that both of my parents are teachers and that they are reading this. Don't worry, mis padres. I didn't draw any pictures on mine and I tried to write relevant things. Of course, these "relevant things" were based off of the ever-so-reliable wikipedia.org, but pretend that is a scholarly source).

I did a little souvenir shopping today in the Arab shops in Granada, and maybe if I really really like you, I got you something! But if I didn't, I probably still like you...I just ran out of money.  The countdown is on with seven days remaining. It's a bittersweet countdown, though. I like my friends and my Señora oddly loves me (clearly she does not read my blog, not that she knows English anyways), but I am ready for American food and friends and family.  Or, should I say, United States food. Here in Spain if you say "American" that can mean any of the Americas, from North America to Central America to South America.

Granada, I will say goodbye in one short week.

Anyways, nothing else to say. Tomorrow after my exam, I plan on celebrating with a small (very small) shopping trip. :)

Lauren

Good times with great people

I could not think of a decent title for this blog entry, but I believe the lame one I came up with is fairly self-explanatory.  Although I did not get to go see Allie in Alicante, Chelsie, Karonica, Lindsey and I had a great weekend in Nerja.  Nerja is about an hour and a half from Granada, and is a cute little beach town that reminds me a little of Cape Cod.  The beach was nice (and topless, yet again) and we managed to squeeze one terrific and sunny beach day in before the rain came on Saturday.  I am tan! And I am probably heading to Salobreña (another beach town) on Thursday or Friday for one last day trip.  How lucky am I?

Chelsie and I jumping at the beach! She is a dancer, so check out her form and compare it to mine...

Of course, I also have an exam tomorrow, but my professor told us not to study for it.  The exam can only raise our grade, and I have had a feeling all semester that she doesn't actually read any of the things we write anyways. My motivation is at an all-time low.  Next semester will certainly be a rude awakening, but I'm hoping Emi and Carly's crazy science major tendencies will force me to study as well.  Exams here are mostly only a formality, and I just want them over so I can go to the beach, shop, and explore Granada before I leave in almost one week. (!!)

I can't believe this is almost over.  Part of the reason why this past weekend was so great was because I was completely and entirely myself.  Not to say I haven't been this whole semester, but there is a level of comfort that you can only get after spending a lot of time with people/friends.  Now, I feel completely comfortable with my friends here and there isn't anything I have left to hide from them (not that there ever was, but I hope you get what I mean).  I mean, now pretty much everyone knows about my slight OCD with my retainers (I can't sleep without them...) and how weird I am most of the time.

I am also sad to be ending this semester because I have gotten to spend so much time with Hannah. We barely ever get to see each other since she goes to Bucknell and doesn't live in Simsbury, and only manage to squeeze in a few hang outs/catch up sessions throughout the year.  She also so happens to be some sort of genius, and has saved my butt a few times with her fluent Spanish.  Luckily, though, podemos hablar en español ahora, vale? :)  Also, Hannah has scarlet fever or something ridiculous right now, so FEEL BETTER! I warned her about the Spanish doctors and their medicine, and told her not to let them leech her or something ridiculous, but she is apparently having better experiences. Hopefully she will be better to accompany me on my last few nights out in Granada!

One of my oldest and bestest friends :)

Currently, my Señora is annoying me slightly because 1. she moves around all my things when I go on trips for the weekend and 2. I didn't eat the entire potato she left me today, so she threw a mini fit. Sorry I am not hungry! But honestly, I got fairly lucky with her, even though she is old and decaying.  Listening to some other stories, I am more than grateful for the hot water and constant Wi-Fi I have in my house! Funny side note: Lindsey was unable to take a shower last week sometime because she walked into the bathroom, and found two LARGE plants taking up residence in her shower.  Why? Just, why? Apparently, her señora simply forgot to take them out of the bathtub. Oops!

I am a little ready to go home today, only because the UConn in Florence group got home today, and so did Lindsay. With everyone home and reuniting with their friends and families, I want to see everybody too! At the same time, however, going home does not seem like a reality. I don't think it's going to feel like reality until I am sitting in my house in Simsbury while watching Sportscenter and eating pancakes.  Then I will actually be home, and Granada will be part of my past.

That's a sad thought, actually. I don't ever want to forget the feelings I've had here, and I absolutely do not want to lose this feeling of absolute happiness with myself.  I hope to carry the things I've learned here, and the confidence I've gained, into this summer, next semester, and life after college (woa. now THERE is a scary thought, which I have been thinking about a lot lately since many of my friends are graduating this year).

The next chapter in my life, though, after a short 3 and a half weeks in Simsbury, will be a summer in Washington, DC, interning at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I am unbelievably excited to have another amazing opportunity, and I am thrilled I get to live with Shannon, one of my best friends from high school.  As a girl who used to cry for home at summer camp (whether that camp was 5 days or 2 weeks), I sure have come a long way.

A big congratulations to all the graduating seniors today at UConn.  I will miss the ones I grew close with, and I wish I could've been there to celebrate the end of your college careers! :) Come and visit next year-my apartment is your apartment!

Also, a BIG shout out to my amazing soccer team for volunteering for the Special Olympics Husky Classic at UConn last weekend.  We participate in this event as referees/scorekeepers every year, and it's always a fun day.  I wish I could've been there as well, but I'm so happy so many of you turned out and helped a good cause! :)

men & women's FC UConn (well, some of them). I may have creeped this off of Facebook, but I loved it so much that I just had to!

So, I have 8 days from tomorrow and I am going to make the best of it.

Lauren

P.S. I managed to force myself to watch Mariano Rivera's rough fall, and his press conference afterwards.  I almost wanted to cry (him saying he wasn't sure if he was going to return felt like the end of my childhood!), but he said one thing that really stuck out to me: "If [the injury] had to happen like that, at least it happened doing something I loved to do...there's a reason things happen, and you just have to fight through it." He's 100% right, and that quote applies to everything in life, not just his injury.  The man is amazing, and the reason why he was most upset was because he felt like he was letting his team down. Now there is a professional athlete with his priorities in line.  There's a reason why he is my favorite! :)

Trece dias mas? Que triste!

I have only thirteen more days here! It is unreal. I can't believe it. I have a similar feeling in my stomach that I did when I was leaving the United States, except it's almost worst because I know when/if I come back here someday, it's not going to be the same. At least everything at home is still exactly the same as I left it (minus a few changes, such as a hopefully finished classroom building at UConn and Carly probably dyed her hair again).  I honestly never expected to feel this kind of attachment to Granada, since I was petrified to come here in the first place.  Despite Spain's strange idiosyncrasies and, to be frank, some of the strangest human beings in the world, I have grown to love this place.

Today I went to buy a new razor, because I left mine in Portugal. When I realized I lost my razor, I immediately panicked since people don't shave here, and I didn't even know if stores sold razors. They do. Praise the lord. Anyways, I was in line to purchase it and some lady cut RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, handed her item to the cashier, and proceeded on with her day. Are you serious? This, and variations of this, happen every. single. day. Spanish people can't form lines. Apparently, it is not in their culture.

I almost died laughing over the weekend in Portugal when Hannah, her friend Laura (who is my friend now too! She has been in Granada for the year, though), and Lindsey and I discussed Spanish medicine.  We related it to witchcraft, because honestly, I think the people here think herbs and magic spells can cure problems. One time I told my Señora I couldn't sleep, and she handed me a cup with 4 leaves in it.  ...Ok. Hocus Pocus. I fondly recalled the time the doctors at the hospital gave me a nice shot in my butt without warning (still do not know the purpose of that), and Laura told a story about when she cut her head open and was bleeding (obviously, since your head always bleeds a lot when you injure it) and the people at the hospital acted as though they had never seen something like that before.  Of course, Laura was fine (only a few stitches), but the dramatic Spanish reactions to things like that are absolutely hilarious (once you are feeling better, of course. It isn't so funny when you are in pain and you want to strangle all of the doctors for making your blood pressure rise even higher with every one of their fearful yells of, "OH MY GOD THIS IS SO BAD YOUAREGOINGTODIE")

Anyways. I even laugh now at my professors, who I do not think are qualified at all. This is a typical conversation I have with my literature professor after I get back a paper (with no corrections on it, of course):
Me: So, I know this is a good grade, but how can I do better?
Professor: Oh, well this is a good grade!
Me: Yes, I know, but there are people in the class who did better, so I want to know what they did differently.
Professor: This is a good grade!
Me: Yes, I understand. But how can I---
Professor: No, no. Hasta luego.

....Ok, thank you for your help.  I ended up reading my friends' paper, and she wrote at the beginning "In class we discussed so-and-so topic and..." When we compared the paper to her previous papers, we determined this small sentence was possibly maybe (who knows?) why she received a better grade. Of course, my UConn professors would shoot me in the face if I wrote that on a paper (should I try it in the fall? Probably not a good idea), but hey, guess I have to adapt, no matter how much it kills me.

I told my grammar professor I was going to fail the exam tomorrow, and she said I could pay her money for an A. I might do it.

Portugal, on the other hand, was a great time. Despite my efforts to keep this blog PG, I will say there was an unlimited sangria sailboat cruise. By unlimited, I mean that if I finished even half a cup of it, the leaders came around and filled up my cup. The rocking sailboat did not help matters. But we all had a great time, and Hannah and Lindsey were absolutely crazy and jumped into the frigid waters. Noooo thank you.

The hotel, which I figured would be some dinky place comparable to a Motel-6, was actually a 4-star hotel with a kitchen, a huge bathroom, and two big beds.  I'm not complaining. It was rainy-ish and cold the whole weekend, but we got some sun, and I played soccer on the beach! Most importantly, the trip leaders (all men in their 20s, which is suspicious, but again I am not complaining) were muy, muy guapo, and most of all, did not seem Spanish (read: I did not once question any of their sexualities). I missed boys who don't shave their legs (yes, you read that correctly. The number of men I have seen here with bare legs is absurd and actually un poco disturbing. Which brings me to a question: If men here shave their legs, why don't women shave their armpits? ...I don't know why I think about these things).

This is probably not what my father wants to read. Dad, I had a really fun time on my trip and I didn't spend a lot of money and it was all very educational.

There. Okay so moving on, Portugal was beautiful and my favorite part was this place called the end of the world. Apparently, before Columbus came to America (and spread diseases and killed people and was a bad person and took people in as slaves...Sorry. Every time people here exclaim the triumphs of Columbus, I really want to throw that in. But that would be disrespectful, since Columbus is kinda Spain's claim to fame. So I shall write my thoughts about him in my blog instead), people thought this was actually where the world ended. It was too breathtaking for me to capture on my camera, but I tried.  Hannah thought it wasn't that impressive, but what does she know? (She also obsessively stalks my blog...Hi Hannah!)

Zee end of the worrrrld! 

rain clouds in the distance

So...that ends my international travel experiences for the semester. I can't even comprehend where my favorite place was yet, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to answer that question.  Every place was unique and had qualities that I liked and didn't like. I can't choose just one place! I will say though, Rome is not somewhere I want to return. It was dirty and busy and sketchy (I just named all the qualities of NYC, but I love New York, so I don't know what made Rome different...maybe it was the sketchy Egyptian drifter roommate).  I'm glad I went to see the history of it (and to eat the food), but it certainly wasn't a beautiful place, which is what I tend to look for in places. Florence, on the other hand, was the first place I truly loved in Europe.

In other news, I have decided to stop taking the bus in Granada because 1. I need exercise and 2. These people do not wear deodorant. Please, picture being on a very crowded bus without air conditioning on a warm day... Enough said.

These complaints are minimal, however. After I complete and fail my grammar exam in 15 minutes tomorrow, I am off to the beach (about an hour away) for a few days with Lindsey, Chelsie and Karonica. I am hoping for good weather, a tan, and a relaxing time!

I'm sure I will write in here at least one more time, but for now, think of me enjoying my last thirteen days in the magical place of Granada.

America, I hope you are getting ready for me (read: Mom, please remember to stock the fridge).

Lauren :)

Beach paradise and only three weeks left.

I am exhausted in every way possible. Traveling, not sleeping well, going to bed too late, and having a jam-packed schedule will do that.  That being said, I wouldn't give up these next three weeks for anything.  On Friday I am going to Lagos, Portugal with Hannah, her friend Laura, and Lindsey on a bus trip from Granada, which I am really looking forward to (despite the forecast for rain!).  The weekend after, I am hoping to go to Alicante, Spain to see Allie, but I don't know if that is happening yet.  Even so, it's absolutely crazy I only have three weeks left! Yesterday was my last flight within Europe (on the lovely Ryanair...) and I am sad my traveling adventures are coming to an end.

This is my last full week of classes as well, which brings mixed feelings because 1. it means the semester is almost over but 2. I am also happy about that because class here is honestly a miserable and frustrating experience.  Sometimes I wonder if my teachers are even qualified to be teaching me things, because they stand in front of the class and recite facts, with absolutely no critical analysis of the material. I could read wikipedia and be more informed about the topics, but hey, I guess the classes are easy enough. It's most frustrating for me because I have a lot of things to say, and I have been taught to draw connections between classes/what I've learned in the past, but they don't like that here.  I was actually talking to some people who are studying in Sevilla over the weekend, and they are having the same problem at their university.  I don't get it and I don't fully understand how this country runs efficiently sometimes, to be honest.  In what other place is it acceptable to take a five hour break for lunch and a nap? No where. The people here claim that the siesta time is necessary in the summer because it's hot outside, but I'm pretty sure it is just as hot in Las Vegas, Florida, heck even Connecticut sometimes, and you don't see us taking long breaks from 12-4 or 5 pm.  But hey, I guess Spain has been around for awhile, so apparently they are doing something right, even though I may never figure out what it is.

It's interesting to me as a history/political science major to think about the time that Franco was the dictator of Spain.  Spain essentially lost 36 years during his reign, as Franco restricted the people´s rights and isolated Spain from the rest of the world.  As a result, Spain is seemingly behind the times now.  Women are just starting to play a bigger role in society (and are still thought of as inferior by the older generation), very few people speak English (especially in Andalucia), and as a whole, the country is very old fashioned (again, Andalucia especially).  My Señora in particular still thinks Franco was a godsend, and many of the older generation believes Franco did the country good because while he was dictator, the economy was strong (as it usually is during a dictatorship, but whatever).  It´s interesting to see this perspective, because to me supporting a dictator seems absolutely ridiculous, but it is eye-opening to hear the (sometimes completely strange) things people say here (such as my friend´s Señora, who said ¨I miss Franco. When he was in charge, the homosexuals didn´t have rights.´´...WHAT! Come on.)

Speaking of the role of women (which was the topic of three of my socio politics classes-please someone shoot me, especially because the same facts were repeated over and over), I hate the way men here treat women.  I have never been more conscious of being a woman, and I realize now how amazing the United States is when it comes to treating both genders equally. The women here legally have the same rights and opportunites as men, but the way men treat women (in my opinion) is completely disrespectful (don´t get me started on the Spanish male stereotype that soccer is stricly a sport for men, and men only).  To put it bluntly, the men here are absolute pigs.  Here is a perfect example: Yesterday I was walking to class, wearing a dress that almost reached my knees and was 100% covering me.  However, it seems as though Spanish men have never seen bare legs before (most girls wear tights at all times, but hey, I sweat a lot so no way am I doing that when it is 75 degrees), because they yell and taunt and flirt with any girl whose legs are not entirely covered.  I´m sorry, but I didn´t realize I was going to Saudi Arabia.  Anyways, I was walking down the street and two men on a motorcycle literally STOP next to me and do the typical Spanish male sound when they see a decent-looking female: ´´Ch-ch-ch-chhhh!´´ I turn and glare at them, because that sound is annoying and dumb and they sound like a cricket of some kind, and the man WINKS at me then proceeds to MEOW. Yes, meow. Like a cat. What! I did not realize that making animal sounds is attractive to women. I wish I had been quick thinking enough to woof back at him, but I was a little too confused and shocked. Why are you meow-ing? Also, unrelated, but why are you wearing a purple scarf?

Later that night, Lindsey and I went to get tapas and a man working at the restaurant greeted us with the usual Spanish greeting: ´´Hola, guapa!¨ (hello, pretty).  This is actually a normal greeting in Spain, so I have grown accostumed to it, even though I think it´s sort of creepy.  However, this man took it a step farther, telling me I was beautiful with my flower in my hair, and that Lindsey and I were the two prettiest girls to come into the restaurant all day. When we left, he told us we had to come back again, and we should bring our friends next time, all with this creepy ¨come with me I have candy´´ smile.  I told my Señora about this, and she said that it was a bit much, but acting in that way is standard in Spain.  Maybe this would be flattering if Lindsey and I had low self esteem and hadn´t been used to getting yelled at by random men for the last three months, but at this point it is absolutely annoying. Do we look interested? No. Maybe now I should mention he was in his 30s (with obviously spiked and gelled hair, but that´s besides the point). Would this be acceptable in the United States? No, and it doesn´t happen often there either (here, it happens just about every day).  Let´s just say I am ready to experience the less direct American men again (who ever thought I would say that, seeing as how almost every guy at UConn bores me to death).  But hey, if any of you out there are looking for a confidence booster, come to Spain. Every boy here will call you pretty (but they might meow, woof, ribbit, or moo at you as well, who knows). :)

However. I had an amazing weekend in Palma de Mallorca.  The island was gorgeous, with white sand and blue water beaches.  Ally, Alyssa, Ari and I stayed in an apartment we found online for a very cheap price. If I had known about the website Alyssa found the apartment on earlier in the semester, I totally would have tried to find apartments in other cities.  The website is airbnb.com, in case anyone is planning on going abroad. You can use it in the United States, too!  It was perfect to have our own area, kitchen (not that I cook. I am a disaster in the kitchen), and sleeping areas without the accompaniment of strange people in a hostel room. I would definitely recommend looking for cheap apartments when traveling!

I got a little tan, relaxed a lot, but I am still so tired. I am on a school computer right now and don´t have my pictures, but I will upload some soon. I also went to the Alhambra yesterday (finally... I mean it´s in Granada and is Spain´s most visited attraction, yet somehow I hadn´t gone yet) which was beautiful.  I don´t really know what more to say about Palma, but if you get the chance to go, do it!!

Oh, wait, did I mention the beaches there are topless? Typical for Spain, but a little shocking for me at first. I´m pretty sure you could walk around naked here and nobody would care. Actually, I think you could do just about anything and nobody would care. I don´t really get it because the whole country is so relaxed about rules and regulations, but my Señora freaks out if I have bare feet in the house. They have some weird superstitions...(such as you will be automatically sick and dying if you go outside with wet hair, and if you have a sunburn, you NEED to go to the hospital, as Lindsey found out yesterday. No, she didn´t go, but her Señora was quite convinced that medical attention was absolutely necessary).  All of the crazy beliefs and superstitions certainly make for some funny stories.

Hasta luego, I have grammar class and I guess I should maybe probably go to it...

Pictures to come soon!

Lauren :)

Only the good die young

Before I arrived in Granada, I thought many times, "I am going so far away, where nobody will know me and Connecticut will barely be a thought in my mind."

I was completely wrong. The number of strange connections and coincidences that have happened here is unreal (ex: seeing a girl from my temple walking down Granada's main street).  The most shocking one, however, is not a happy coincidence at all.

During what I thought was many years ago, a young and beautiful woman named Suzette Berrincha lived with my Señora in Granada.  The first night I was here, my Señora told me about her, accompanied by a picture, and sadly mentioned that she had passed away.

I figured this happened years ago. My señora has had students stay with her for years, and for some reason I assumed this was very far in the past. Again, I was wrong.

A week or so ago, Suzy was mentioned again and I grew curious. Who was she? Where was she from? How old was she? I decided to google it, and the answer I found shocked me.

It turns out Suzy passed away just this past November, was in Granada in Spring 2009, and was brutally murdered by her ex boyfriend.  Furthermore, she was from West Hartford, which is only a 15 minute drive from me.  She went to Hall High School, and I know many people from there.  I contacted my friend Adanna who went to Hall, who told me that she knew Suzy from cheerleading, and also passed along the name and e-mail of one of Suzy's close friends.  I just gave Suzy's friend's e-mail address to my Señora, who was extremely excited to talk to someone about her memories of Suzy.

The whole thing is a little spooky for sure, and another girl in my program knew someone who was close to Suzy as well. I can't believe the number of connections, but I am so glad I looked up Suzy's name online and was able to connect my Señora with someone from West Hartford to talk about their memories.

My Señora has a framed picture of Suzy along with the pictures of her family members. It is clear they were close, which makes everything even more heartbreaking. Suzy was absolutely beautiful. I have a feeling that if she were still alive, or if I had been here when she was, we would have been good friends.

I wish her family and her friends she left behind the best, and I am so sorry for their loss.

Granada has connected me with so many different things, and presented so many reasons for me to value my life. For that reason alone, this is the best thing I have ever done.