And everything starts to speed up...

It seems like I haven't written on here in forever, even though it has only been a few days!  I have done so much in the last three days alone that I feel as though it has been weeks!

Where do I even begin?  I guess I should start with Lindsay's visit.  First of all, I should probably thank her for visiting. She took an eleven hour overnight train from Barcelona to come see me, mostly because I was so homesick when I got here last week. (Was it only last week? I feel like I have been here forever.) Now that's true friendship.  Of course, by the time she arrived, I wasn't homesick anymore, but regardless, it was so awesome to see her.  I picked her up at the train station (on time!) and we promptly fell asleep in my bed the second we got to the apartment.  Yes, we know we are exciting and adventurous.  I'm kidding. We did do things!  Despite the rain (the first rainy day of the semester, figures) we managed to walk all over Granada.  She stayed at a hostel somewhat nearby that I quickly became obsessed with.  It was a backpackers' hostel, so the hostel was full of well...backpackers. Duh, Lauren.  Being there made me want to backpack around Europe, which hopefully I will someday do.  Her hostel was in an area of the city that I hadn't been before-called the Albaicin.  It was very hippie-ish and also beautiful, with narrow cobblestone streets and the best view of the city.  After we left that area, we walked around for the rest of the day (in the rain! We are champs).  We ended up next to walls covered in graffiti (lots of graffiti in Granada).  Apparently these walls were painted by a professional artist, whose name I forget, who also has done work in South America and other places in Europe.

Simsbury meets Granada!

The weirdest thing happened the next day.  Lindsay and I were walking down the street, when we saw a large group of girls walking towards us.  At first I figured they were just other Americans, but then one of the girls goes, "Oh my god! What...are you both doing here?" Yes, another completely random Simsbury-in-Spain encounter.  It was Ally Gibeley, who I went to Hebrew school and high school with! She is studying in Seville for the semester and was visiting Granada for the weekend.  I will now start to sing "It's A Small World After All" (maybe as obnoxiously as it is sung on the Disneyworld ride).  I can't even believe we so happened to be walking down the same street, at the same time, in SPAIN nonetheless.  I now am wondering who I will see next...

Lindsay left on Saturday night, and I woke up early to go on a UConn organized trip farther south. By the south, I mean the beach, and even though it was a brisk 60 degrees, many of us braved the chilly water and went swimming.  Swimming in a loose term, though.  I actually sprinted in the water, dunked my head for good measure, and just as quickly leaped out. Brrrr!

Here we goooo! First time in the Mediterranean!

The beach we went to was in Neraj, Spain. I can't even put into words how beautiful it was, so I won't even try.  Everyone should go there. Think brilliant blue water with mountains in the distance.  The area surrounding it is what I picture to be in Greece.  Little houses perched on hills with beaches everywhere.  Paradise, or maybe a scene out of a movie.  I'm doing an awful job at describing this, so just know that it was amazing.

This weekend we are going to Seville, Cadiz, and Ronda which are still in Andalucia but farther west. Apparently some of my mother's ancestors came from Seville, which makes me a Spanish Jew! I am going to play up that card all weekend.  I'm super excited to see more of this country, and I want to see how it compares to Neraj!

Finally, I booked my plane tickets to Italy today with Hannah.  For those of you who don't know, Hannah and I are childhood friends, and she practically lived at my house throughout elementary school.  Somehow, we both ended up in Granada this semester, which is another strange occurrence since we didn't plan on going together.  We are going to Rome and Florence February 23-27, and I absolutely cannot wait to indulge in some delicious pasta and pizza (and uhh, see the sights too of course! I love food way too much).

Obviously other things have been happening, such as the usual miscommunication with my host mother (was late to lunch today after going on a run, and I tried to call her, but she didn't understand me so she hung up).  I am swearing off bread for a little-Spaniards consume SO many carbs that I am not used to, and I can't handle it!

Also, as an added side note, Spaniards parallel park their cars in the following fashion: they see a small space, generally a space smaller than their car.  Then, in order to see if they have room (instead of just scoping it out with their eyes), they start to park.  Instead of being cautious, they simply hit the cars in front and in back of them, and usually manage to squeeze into the spot.  Uh, what? Interesting technique, I suppose. I yelped out loud when I first saw it happen, but I guess it is...normal? Just another Spanish thing that is normal here, but probably not normal anywhere else in the world...

Wow, I need to go to bed. I fell asleep in literature class today (Sorry Mom, I'm sure if you were teaching that would not have happened...) and my teacher yelled at me because somehow, I ended up cross-legged in my chair. I don't know how that happens.

Hasta manana!

Lauren

P.S. I heard that Carly's dog, Cooper, is one of my blog's most ardent followers.  I also heard he was mad that he has not gotten a shout out yet.  So, hello Cooper! There are lots of stray dogs here that you could play with, so maybe you and your family should come visit! ;)

School, American Snacks, and Eternal Darkness

I'd say one of the best changes from last semester at UConn to this semester in Granada is the fact that I am done with class on Thursdays at noon and can begin my weekend! Last semester, I had 6:30 AM practice and class all the way until 6:30 PM. Now that is a long day.  While many people would probably complain about having class at 8:30 AM like I did today, I do not mind too much.  I always prefer to get my classes done with early so I can end early.  My classes here are not bad at all, and if I don't get all As I will be mad at myself (I guess that is every semester, though).  But seriously. If I don't get all As here, there is something wrong.  My professors have made their classes as easy as possible for us, so I am not going to screw it up.  Plus, I am so incredibly lucky to be able to study here, so the least I can for myself and my parents is to do well in school.

My literature professor is my favorite so far.  I think I am the only one who feels this way, as everyone else thinks she is crazy, overly happy, and even somewhat intimidating.  However, I think I love her.  I laughed my way through the entire class.  She told us that we have to speak solely Spanish in class, even to our classmates, and then changed to English by saying the only phrase I think she knows: "I kill people who speak English."  I just re-read that and it sounds awful, but if you heard her you would laugh too. Picture a tiny older woman with bouncy gray hair and glasses perched on her nose randomly bursting into a heavily-Spanish accented English phrase. Take my word for it.  We also got to ask her questions, and someone asked what her favorite work of literature was.  Her response? "Nada."  She says she used to like literature, but now she hates it, and only teaches it because it pays the bills.  I mean, I'm all for honesty, so...Vale!

I try to walk on different streets on my way home from school every day.  I keep finding new and interesting places. Today, I found this area with graffiti EVERYWHERE. This picture doesn't do it justice, because I couldn't possibly get all of the graffiti in it:

I don't know who Jack is, but whatever.

I have been having trouble with the eating schedule here.  For those of you who do not remember the acid reflux debacle of senior year, I have acid reflux and sometimes it is terrible.  I eventually realized that the only thing that controls it is by eating very small meals, and snacking throughout the day.  Unfortunately, Spaniards do NOT snack. This posed a problem.  After waking up in the middle of the night/not being able to sleep because of stomach/throat pain, I came up with a solution: go to the supermarket and buy snacks! Duh!

My very American purchases.  They didn't have Chewy bars, but I guess I can settle for Special K.

So, now I won't be dying to eat a huge meal for lunch, which is good.  And I now know that the supermarket near my apartment has American snacks! Wooo!

Strangely enough, the sun here doesn't rise until 9 AM or something, so my walk to school around 7:45 is mostly dark.  It's kind of weird to wake up when there is absolutely no sunlight.  Today as I was walking I had to check the time about three times because I was absolutely convinced it was only 5 in the morning.  Weird things to get used to, I suppose.  I listen to Beyonce on the way to school, though, so everything is completely okay (All of you better know my love for Beyonce by now).

Oh! I forgot to mention I watched the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona game at a bar last night.  In case you don't know about the rivalry between those two teams, think Red Sox vs. Yankees, only maybe more crazy.  I absolutely loved watching/hearing all the Spaniards around me get super involved in the game and when Dani Alves scored a beautiful goal to end the first half, the Barcelona fans went crazy. The bar I was in was 50/50 Barcelona and Madrid fans.  I like Barcelona myself, since Messi is my favorite, but it was cool to hear the Madrid fans' reactions too.  The game was a 2-2 tie, but Madrid was eliminated because they needed to win by 2 goals or more.  Yay Barcelona!

I am going to go write an essay for a summer internship application, and then it's off to the tea place down the road that a group of us like so much! Tonight I think I am going out to a club, which should be fun. Tomorrow morning Lindsay is coming! I'm so lucky to have such a good friend in Spain this semester too, even though I wish I had been in Barcelona watching the game with her last night.  She is coming at 8 AM which is really unfortunate, and she might have to wander around Granada alone until I wake up...... Just kidding Lindsay! If I can find the train station, I'll be there. No promises.

Hasta Luego!

Lauren

A group of us at the Christopher Columbus statue near school! If I'm lost, I always manage to find my way to this statue and then I know where I am.

First day of "class"

Well, the website for this blog has officially changed to Spanish, so I have no idea how to navigate it.  As I have said probably 50 times in the last four days, I guess I will have to learn!

Anyways, I guess siesta is technically over, but I am extending my rest period until five, which is when I'm meeting my friends to plan our traveling excursions! Dinner here is not until nine, so five is actually considered the middle of the day.  Unfortunately, this means I spend most of the warm and sunny part of the day inside eating lunch and resting.  Oh well, at least I get good food!  My senora made me pizza last night and I devoured it in under 5 minutes.  I ate a salad (yes, Mom, I really did!) to make up for it.  I actually eat a lot better here than I do at school, since I eat fruit after breakfast and dinner.

Today was the first day of "class." Class is in quotes because well, class doesn't really feel like class.  The building we are in does not feel like a school, and the professors told us that they understand we are all studying abroad, and do not want to give us time consuming work.  Well, at least I think they said something along those lines.  Everything is in Spanish, so who knows.  My history class that I have to take for my major meets at 8:30 AM (ugh), and due to the early hour, there are only six of us in the class.  The professor's voice sounded more like a lullaby, which I think I am somewhat okay with since we only have four one page essays and two open note exams.  Que facil!

This is my new school building. Makes Arjona look even worse.

I had Advanced Spanish Grammar right after that, which actually scared me a little because 1. I have not taken any kind of grammar class since sophomore year and 2. I have always, always struggled with the subjunctive and past perfect tenses.  I have always understood the material in class, but when it comes to exams I blank out and do terribly.  I told my professor this after class (which wasn't too too awful) and she told me, "No te preocupes" (do not worry).  So, hopefully it'll be okay!

Afterwards, some of the UConn group and I wandered around the area surrounding the school.  We found this great area that was very Arab influenced and had cool shops selling pocketbooks, backpacks, many MANY earrings (this could be a problem for me-I wanted to buy them all! I am obsessed with earrings.), lamps, and other items like that.

Chillin' in front of a huge display of earrings. Trouble? I think so!

The days here are fairly relaxing.  I came home from lunch, cleaned my room a little, talked to friends on Facebook, and I've been sitting and watching television since then.  Unfortunately, the Spaniards on tv talk way too fast for me to understand.  On a funny note, my Senora could not remember the name of the president of Spain.  I had to look it up for her.  If anyone is curious, his name is Mariano Rajoy and he is apparently "better than the last one," in my Senora's words.  I asked her if she knew about United States' politics and she said she didn't, but most people here do.  It's so interesting to hear an outsiders perspective about the United States-in Granada, they seem to like us Americans (hey, we spend our money when we come here, so why not?)  Spain is suffering through a huge recession (much much worse then the United States), so there are always crowded streets full of people just standing around, usually smoking cigarettes.  At first I wondered why the adults weren't at work, but then I realized there are no jobs to be found! By comparison, the United States is well-off!

Sierra Nevadas in the distance. Not a bad walk to school, huh?

That's all for now. I didn't mean to make this so long, and now I'm late for meeting my friends. It's okay, everyone here runs on Granada time, which I feel like is always 5-10 minutes late!

Love,

Lauren

Hola de Granada!

Hola a todos!

I am safely in Granada, Spain!

Let me tell you, it has been a long few days.  I did not expect to be incredibly jet lagged when I got to Spain, because when I went to Israel last May I was not jet lagged when I got there (only when I came back home).  However, this is completely different.  I'm not as busy as I was in Israel, so fighting through the jet lag is harder.  Last night I think I fell asleep around 4 AM and woke up at 8 AM.  Luckily, there is a siesta from 2-4 pm where the whole city pretty much shuts down for lunch.  So basically, I am a kindergardener again with planned nap times (not that I napped as a little kid-sorry, Mom!).

I live in a very nice apartment with my own bedroom and bathroom, which is great! I have a host mom and that's it-I was hoping I would have a family like other people in my program do, but my host mom is very nice and loving.  She is cooking lunch right now and it smells pretty good.  All of the food has been good, although I have a sensitive stomach and haven't been able to eat a lot of it yet.

My host mom's accent is, well, WEIRD. She has the lisp that apparently a lot of Spainards have, and it's extremely difficult to understand.  There was a very funny moment yesterday.  I was trying to tell her that the internet did not work in my bedroom, and at first I thought she understood.  Then, she pulled out her computer and showed me a picture of (ready for this?)......a train station in Russia.  For a few minutes, I thought she was trying to tell me that the train station in Granada had free Wifi and I should try going there for Internet.  Maybe, possibily, the train station in Granada was named after Russia? But when I asked where the station she was showing me was, she responded with, "Russia" and pulled out a map and showed me a picture of, well, Asia.  I gave up after that.  In case anyone was wondering though, apparently Russia is very beautiful and everyone should travel there...

Today we went to the Centro de Lenguas Modernas (my new school!) for the first time.  Luckily, 5 or 6 other UConn students live near me, and we've already gotten relatively close.  They are all cool and super nice, and we all walked to school together.  During the very pretty (think hills surrounding you, trees with oranges growing on them, with an Arab feel in the architecture) walk to school, I kept thinking about how big the world is.  Seriously, so many people walking around, driving to work, and I don't know any of them! Adali (our Resident Director from UConn) was waiting for us outside of the tiny narrow street we needed to walk down to get to the school's entrance.  We went inside the school and I think I even said out loud to someone, "Wow, there are so many different kinds of people here! People from all over the world!" I never in my right mind would think of seeing someone I know.

For those of you who know me well, you probably know where this story is going. Five minutes later, I saw a girl walking on the floor above us (the inside is a square, and the middle is open, so you can see the people walking around the second floor).  I thought, "Hmm, that girl looks familiar...She kind of looks like my friend Julia Fearrington from high school. But no way, that's not even possible. No way would I see someone from Simsbury here."  I think I repeated "Oh my god, no way!" about five times until my friend Gail urged me to yell out Julia's name (I still was in disbelief that it even might be her).  Surprisingly enough, Julia turned around at the sound of her name and studied the crowd for a second until she saw me.  She ran downstairs and....yep, it was her! Julia is studying here with a school from Iowa, even though she goes to school at Davidson.  I still cannot even believe she is in the same city as me!

On a similar note, I figured out I can text and call Lindsay and Allie at a low price since they are also in Spain! This is good news, because I am homesick (although it gets a tiny bit better every day) and like having connections to old friends.  I also like new friends though, too, and I think I am starting to find my niche within the large UConn group.

For now, adios! I need to eat lunch with my senora, nap, and then possibly go shopping and plan my travels with some of the girls who live near me! We might go to the beach Saturday with a group from UNH, and Lindsay might visit (I think Barcelona has turned her crazy, though. Just kidding Linds!) at some point.

Hasta Luego!

Lauren :)

P.S. I will post some pictures soon, but I'm kind of in a rush!

Here We Goooo

I don't think I ever thought this day would come, to be honest.  Yeah, I applied to go abroad, did all the paperwork, got my visa and talked about leaving uncountable times with probably everyone I've met in the past 4 months, but actually leaving? That part isn't real. I think I have every single emotion right now and the one I feel changes every five minutes.  Nervousness? Check. Excitement? Check. Curiosity? Check. I have that weird first day of school feeling, but with the added emotion of knowing I am about to board a plane and go to a foreign country.  Somehow, I'm not as nervous as I thought I would be at this time (11:48 PM on January 19, 2012, 20 hours until take-off) but the anxiety is definitely there.  So, here I am with two full suitcases, ready to leave tomorrow.

This song has been playing on repeat for the past few days on my (brand new!!) iPhone:

As corny as it sounds, this song kind of represents what I hope to gain from going abroad.  To me, this song is about moving on from what is troublesome, finding bigger and better things, and letting yourself be happy.  Not to say I haven't had happy and fun times in my life, but I'm hoping my time in Granada will be the happiest so far. Plus, this song is all kinds of great and makes me want to jump up and down and dance (not that I am a good dancer. I am not. But I like to jump around and look like a fool.)!

I have to say, I would be way more nervous about going to Granada if the awesome and great Jackie had not helped me prepare! Jackie did the same program as I am doing last spring and told me everything I wanted to know.  She even drew me this map:

I can assure everybody that I will be carrying this map around with me for awhile, as it points out where the most important thing is: food! I'm excited to eat Spanish food, although I am not usually that adventurous when it comes to strange and new foods.  I'm going to try to be, though!   Just keep me away from those dang kiwis, or we might have an issue involving my epi-pen and a Spanish hospital.

So, I guess that's it.  The next time I write on here I will be in Spain! How is this real? I don't think it is. Nope, definitely not real. I am going to sit inside my house forever and ever and watch the snow fall.

...Ok, who am I kidding? I hate snow. Snow sucks. See ya in May, America!

"In the end, I've come to believe in something I call "The Physics of the Quest." A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of Quest Physics goes something like this: If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you." -Eat, Pray, Love

Preparations and Procrastination

Hello, blog world! Well actually, probably just hello to my friends and maybe my family, since I don't know if anyone else cares enough to read this.

There are only nine days until I leave, which means nine more days to eat Brookside, nine more days to see all of my friends and say goodbye, and nine more nights to sleep in my big, comfy bed! This still is not real to me. Every time I come home, I feel like I am in high school again since I'm surrounded by all my old friends. There is no way I am 21 and about to leave the country for four months!

This is where I'm going! Here's to hopefully warm weather :)

Despite my nerves, I am so super excited to finally be in Spain!  I have always thought about studying abroad, and for some reason, Spain was always the #1 destination on my list.  Despite my somewhat negative experiences with Spanish teachers (Senor Cohan kicking me out of class junior year of high school and my Spanish TA from sophomore year at UConn calling me "unrespectful" come to mind), there have been many great teachers (Pagano!) who have given me a desire to speak Spanish fluently.  Although I am very nervous to live with a family and take classes all in Spanish this semester, especially after not taking a Spanish class since sophomore year, I know I will pick it up fast! Well, I hope so anyways.

I have no idea what to expect from my semester in Granada.  So far, my only hopes are that I: 1) learn a lot of Spanish, 2) travel a lot! This girl has never been to Europe before, 3) Meet amazing people and not just stick with the UConn group-I want to meet natives and people from other universities, too!

I tend to get homesick, so I'm hoping to keep busy so I won't remember that I am not going to see my mom for four months (my dad, however, is coming to visit!). I will miss all my UConn and Simsbury friends a lot, but I know they will still be here when I come home.  Hearing about my soccer team's games will be hard, since I know I am going to wish I am playing with them and seeing them every day! (But I suppose I am kind of going to the soccer mecca of the world...Jealous?)

Some of the people who I will definitely miss!

I guess for now, I have nine days to enjoy the rest of my so-far very relaxing break.  I have seen mostly everyone I wanted to, and now I am trying to figure out what I have to bring overseas and what I can leave at home! I will obviously be procrastinating on the packing thing; how am I supposed to fit 4 months of life into a suitcase? I guess we will see...

Love,

Lauren :)