Mi Hogar Nuevo

It's hard to feel at home when you're thrust into a completely new situation and everything is unfamiliar. When everything feels overwhelming, it's nice to know that you have somewhere to go... Home. Here, we did not really have a "home" for the first few days.

As fun as it was to stay with my friends in the hostel, I was really excited to meet my host family. Like I mentioned in a different entry, my host family is an older woman named Encarnita. She lives with her cat and has a nephew who stays at her apartment about one night per week when he passes through Granada on his way back from law school.

When Saturday morning finally came around, I was so nervous to meet her. What do you say to someone who is willing to open their home to you for two months? How could I possibly express that? And in Spanish?!

I lugged my suitcase downstairs and waited for 11:00 to come. I watched as Siobhan met her señora and left the hostel. One of our directors asked my name, and then she announced, "¿Encarnita? ¿Está aquí?" to the women in the lobby of the hostel. A tiny woman stepped forward and gave me a kiss on each cheek (a traditional Spanish way to greet someone) and then led me outside.

I was so embarrassed because I wanted to say something intelligent or funny...or anything at all. But of course every word of Spanish that I ever learned seemed to escape me that that moment. So much for my plan of expressing my gratitude, huh?

While waiting for a taxi, she asked me, "¿Cómo es tu español?" ("How is your Spanish?"). Since I couldn't seem to remember anything, I figured the most honest answer was, "Así así" (It's just okay/average").

The 5 minute taxi ride seemed so long. She asked me a few simple questions, but I was so nervous that I only managed one- or two-word answers. 

When we got to the apartment, she showed me how to work the elevator and the complicated door locks. The inside was nearly exactly like I imagined it, a bit of mix and matching but still cozy. She showed me my room. It's super adorable.

 My room! Nameless Pillow Pet made it too

Desk and bulletin board with some memories of home, friends, family, and camp

 The view if you look out my window to the left

The view to the right. See the shop near the gold car and blue van (it was closed when I took the picture)? That's a coffee shop and crepetería. They already know me too well.

 The first afternoon with my señora went pretty well. I eventually started to remember some of my Spanish (Yay!) and we talked about some of the house rules and things I should know about living here. Then we talked about family, my friends, and a lot of other things.

She was a little difficult to understand because of her Andalucian accent. The Andalucian accent is interesting because it has the legendary "Spanish lisp" but only on words that have a soft C or Z sound. For example, the word for 10 is "diez." It sounds a bit more like "dee-eth" here.

They also like to drop some of their syllables. Some of the more interesting ones that have left me giving Encarnita a blank stare until she realizes that she needs to explain are:

"'sta lu-eh-o" instead of "Hasta luego [See you later]"
"Arró" instead of "Arroz [rice]"
"¿'stá cansã/o?" instead of "Estás cansada? [Are you tired?]"

In the end, there was a lot of nodding, smiling, and saying "sí" even when I had no idea what was going on. It was truly information and Spanish overload. Encarnita was so wonderful and patient and seemed to be able to read my mind when I didn't understand something (despite my "si's" and nodding). She would re-explain and speak slowly for more difficult concepts. She doesn't speak a word of English except for "banana" which I taught her just yesterday. It really was a perfect test of practicing communicating in Spanish when the other person really knows no English.

By late afternoon, I honestly had a headache and could only think: Pleaseeeee let me meet up with my friends so I can speak English!

Eventually, Elyssa, Siobhan, and I met up that night and discussed our new families and how the day went.

Every day, things get easier with adjusting to customs, the language, and learning my way around the city. I love it so much and can't wait to share more with you all!

¡¡Besos!! xx

Love at First Sight

I am still in utter shock and disbelief that I am in this beautiful city. No. I am not just here, or visiting. I go to school here. I LIVE here! Sure, maybe only briefly but I will now always be able to say in the future, "I lived in Spain for two months." That still doesn't seem real to me.

Once I started to let it sink in that I am actually here, I figured it would be a good idea to document the impressions that I have each day. What unique things I notice. I think this is especially important because we become so jaded in our lives and don't notice the most amazing things. Places that we pass every day on our way to work or school are beautiful, unique, and even ugly but we don't notice either way.

The last thing I want is to not appreciate every detail of this city. By the end, I still want to remember what it feels like to see the city for the first time and fall in love all over again.

1) Uniqueness of each building and each apartment unit above it

2) People look/dress a lot more similarly to Americans (I'd compare to what Chicagoans wear in the summer) than I had expected. What I mean is that I had the preconceived notion that I would come here and stick out like a sore thumb with my light hair, light skin, and blue eyes. Truth is, nearly all the people who live here are just as fair as I am. They might tan a bit better than I do in the summer (but then again, who doesn't?), but other than that, there isn't a huge difference in the looks and diversity of the city. They just look "European." As for the clothes, I thought I would feel an intense pressure to dress in the highest fashion at any given moment. I would say I go back and forth on how I feel about this. Everyone here really does dress well. The difference is that it's not obscene runway fashion; it's just like that really cute outfit that you manage to put together once every few months... but they do that every day. Another comparison is sometimes there seems to be that "one friend" in a group who is more fashionable than the others. Here, if a group of 6 girl friends walk past, they all look so put together and I can't decide which outfit I like best. Even the kids are fashion conscious.

3) The DOORS. They are amazing. I am planning to do a completely separate special entry about all the amazing doors I have found in Granada.

4) Water comes in glass bottles that you pour into a wine glass (same with Coke/Pepsi). There isn't "free water" or refills like there are in the US.

5) People smoke outside the restaurants at tables. My señora informed me today that it is also illegal here to smoke inside restaurants and bars.

6) There is outside seating everywhere. I am pretty sure that nearly all restaurants only have outdoor seating. The inside is for one or two tables and for the waiters and cooks. At the paellador, there were tables with umbrellas that misted water on us while we ate. Think of it like the misters in line for roller coasters at Six Flags and Disney World. It makes a lot of sense considering that the summer weather can easily surpass 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

7) Dogs just roam. People own them (they have collars) but they wander away and beg at at the outdoor seating tables.


8) The colors here are spectacular. It's pretty self-explanatory:

9) Musicians play on the plaza and then pester you for money while you eat at a restaurant outside. One of them came up to Elyssa and me on our first day at OhLalá. He spoke really quickly so we didn't know what he wanted. We asked him to speak more slowly. He just grumbled something and walked away angry. Sowwy mista. No Euros para ti.

10) Internet at the cafe, Mundo Manilo is wayyyy faster than at the hostel. I also got a cappuccino and didn't get charged the full price... only 1.2€ instead of 1.4€! Yay! It's really the little things in life that make ya happy.

 (My friend Siobhan with Mundo Manila in the background)

(The 0.2€ "discounted" cappuccino!)

11) The majority of the men that we see driving Vespas/mopeds are actually men in full suit and tie suits on their way to work. Mopeds are really everywhere. The movies didn't exaggerate that one bit.

12) By Day 2, I understood a lot more Spanish than I thought I would, especially quick phrases as I pass people on the streets. It was different at first to hear every person you pass speaking Spanish and knowing that I was the one speaking a foreign language.

13) People on the streets don't really smile at each other like they do in the U.S, especially the Midwest. They're not angry or anything... they just don't really go out of their way to smile at you.

14) None of the stray dogs that I mentioned earlier bark at people.

15) There was an adorable girl riding on the back of a Vespa with her mom on the way home from school.

16) Every detail of the city is beautiful. Even the cobblestone sidewalks and streets.

17) I think it's fantastic that I see dads picking up their kids from school. They're able to do it more frequently than dads do in the U.S. because the kids are finished with school at siesta time when dads have the break from work.

18) Everything. Is. FRESH. The market has individual specialized shops for everything. They don't do supermarkets. There is a flower stand. A tea street. A fruit and veggies stand. A meat market. A lace shop. A yarn store...

 19) Overall, everything is just gorgeous. I still take pictures of everything and look like a complete tourist. For right now, I don't mind so much because the memories are worth it. However, I do want to start feeling less like a tourist and more like someone who lives and studies in Granada.

"Dar un paseo por la vida."

Mi Viaje a Granada

I'm here!! I  made it to Spain in one piece, and am absolutely loving it. Sorry that there have not been blogs these first few days. Everything has been so new, exciting, and pretty exhausting with the jetlag and sightseeing combined. So many things to share!

The flight to Granada went pretty smoothly. Other than a slightly delayed takeoff, everything went well. I was so exhausted when I was getting on the plane and thought it would be super easy to pass out. Once they had served dinner, I was still sleepy, but couldn't fall asleep! Hopefully the ride home will be better for that.

 My first glimpse of Spain and the beautiful sunrise Wednesday morning after landing at the Madrid Airport.

My first passport stamp when I arrived in Madrid!!

When we arrived in Madrid, we had a 5 hour layover to sit out. The airport was absolutely stunning and had a lot of cool shops for us to explore, so we stayed busy. The only downside was that they wouldn't announce our gate number or terminal until only half an hour before our flight. It made us nervous initially, but we realized soon after walking to our gate that the Madrid airport is nothing like O'Hare and walking to any gate takes less than 5 minutes.

 Trying to get WiFi in the Madrid airport. No such luck... We were actually pretty sad after this picture was taken. Also, WiFi is pronounced either "Wie-Fee" or "Wee-Fee" here. I thought both were pretty funny.

Passing the time in the Madrid airport at a cafe. The drink here is called Capriche de Canela. The bottom layer is cinnamon syrup, followed by coffee with milk (cafe con leche), then cream, and finally topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with cinnamon. Yummm!

After our 5 hours at Madrid, we had a quick 1 hour flight to Granada. Here's my first look at the beautiful Sierra Nevadas of Granada:

Our Resident Director, Miguel Ángel, picked us up from the airport and had a bus waiting for us for the brief drive from the airport to downtown Granada. As we drove deeper into the downtown area, I couldn't help but think how I have truly never seen anything like this before. The buildings. The streets. The people. The buzz. Even from inside the bus, I could feel the energy of the beautiful city outside. Every person on our bus oohed and ahhed and pointed wondering if each calle that we passed would soon be home to precious memory in the weeks to come. Soon we arrived at our hostel, Hostal Atenas.

The hostel is much different than I had expected-- private rooms that are doubles, triples, or quads (we chose our roommates) and have a private bath. Everything is very clean and organized here, and I have been pleasantly surprised about the whole experience. Even the lights were a curious challenge. We couldn't figure out for the longest time how to turn on the lights in our room. Some of the other students in our program finally figured out that you have to put your room card key into a slot above the light switch before flipping the switch. The reason for this is to force you to turn off the lights. When you take your key to leave the room, your lights turn off. Power and other utilities are very expensive throughout Spain. Everyone takes care to make sure they conserve wherever possible.

The room my roommate Elyssa and I share. We found the beds made this morning with our stuffed animals neatly placed on our pillows. Our maid is super adorable and always says hi to us in the hallway. I'm sure she's the one behind Operation Pillow Pet Placement.


I know I just barely covered arriving in Granada, but I want to give my first impressions of the city an entry of its own. I'm sorry for the delay in the blogs, but I promise I'll get the hang of this eventually and have more consistent posts soon!

Besos!

Packing and More Packing...

I will admit it: I am the worst packer in the world.  Underpacking. Overpacking.  Procrastinating packing. Taking 2 weeks to pack. Guilty to all.

This packing adventure has been no different.  I am afraid I am packing all of the wrong things.  My friends who have been to Granada for study abroad have given me so much advice about what to do when I get to Spain and about the packing... but they went in the winter.  Packing for winter term is relatively simple: layers and more layers.  Summer in Granada is one thing: hot and hotter. For that reason, I went on a bit of a shopping spree for fun summery dresses and skirts hoping that it will be a "fun" way to keep the heat at bay.

After at least 4 days of shopping and countless stores, I still feel like I have a million odds and ends to buy.  How did I not own any of this already (money belt, luggage lock, etc.)?  Oh, right.  Most people don't just have stuff like that laying around their house.

So, on Day 4 of Operation: Pack for Granada, it looks something like this:

 If only you could see the rest of my room, you'd realize that it's an absolute disaster, and not even half of my stuff is in the suitcase.

I also have the task of making all of this

 Fit into this:

Might I mention that the above item is probably the most handy thing I've seen in a long time?  It will be really useful to be able to see everything that I need without digging through one bag filled with everything.  The best bit is that it rolls up small and is a perfect size for travel.

For anyone who is planning on traveling (or even are just curious), here is my list of some of the more oddball things that I nearly forget to pack (and would definitely be a pain/expensive to hunt down in Europe):

1. Bobby pins.
2. Nail file
3. Toothbrush cover
4. Purell
5. Extra razors
6. Tweezers
7. Floss
8. Airborne (Soooo not worth being sick for even a moment. I'll be on a plane and public transportation way too often to take any chances)
9. Claritin/allergy meds (You never know how the plant life and pollen will be different, especially thousands of miles away)
10. Extra hair ties (ain't nothin' worse than not having a hair tie when in need of a ponytail. Am I right, or am I right, ladies?)
11. BAND AIDS. Sweet baby Jesus, these are so important. Not only will you be the super soccer mom of the group, but you can also heal and ward off those pesky blisters that are sure to come from the excessive amounts of touristy walking that are sure to happen.
12. Throw away flip flops-- for hostel showers
13. Luggage lock (one that is TSA approved)

And last, but absolutely not least,
14. My beautiful PILLOW PET. Yes. I said it. I bought a mini pillow pet. I figure there might be an occasion or five where I don't want my sweet little head touching the questionable yellowed pillow at a hostel.  No one knows where that's been.  That's where my [Currently Nameless] Pillow Pet saves the day!  Not only is s/he cute, comfy, and portable, it keeps me safe from sketchy linens.

So, that about wraps up my packing.  I leave in a bout 13 hours and my room is still not in good shape.  I have yet to download new music to my iPod, get a book for the plane, pick up my dry cleaning, etc., etc.  Basically, I have a lot to cram into the hours before noon.

Also, if you'd like me to send you a postcard  (I can't make promises, but I'll do my best!!), send your address to my email-- hopkin13@illinois.edu. That will be the best way to contact me while I am abroad.

Thanks for reading!
T-13 hours!!

¡Voy a España!

¡Hola a todos!

I am completely new to the blogosphere, so bear with me as I get used to the ins and outs.  Right now, I am packing for what is sure to be an incredible 8 week adventure to Granada, Spain.  While there, I plan to take in the Spanish culture, language, and way of life.  A little traveling around Europe in between is sure to happen as well.

My host will be a woman named Señora Anguita.  Her apartment is near the town center and less than 15 minutes walking distance from my host university, CEGRI.  She shares her home with her cat and enjoys reading and going to the countryside in her freetime.  Beyond that, I don't know much else about her.  I am very anxious (but excited) to learn more about her.

The program that I am traveling with is the Study Abroad Office through the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).  It is also open to students from the Universities of Wisconsin-Madison, Illinois-Chicago, and Michigan.  In total, there are about 60 students attending the program.  About 50 of us are from UIUC and the rest are from Wisconsin.

So far, I have only met a handful of students in my program.  Some of us met up on campus for ice cream a few weeks ago. Otherwise, we have been communicating over Facebook through a private group where we talk about everything from places to visit to host families to what to pack.

Speaking of packing, that's been the project consuming my days since I've been back home.  The other study abroad students and I have started a GoogleDoc to make a shared packing list.  It's great to bounce ideas off each other... Collectively, we should hopefully remember everything!

I'm off to have a classic American pizza with my family now.  It's my last Family Friday Pizza Night (and possibly my last good pizza) for the next 8 weeks, so I better live it up!

My next blog will be all about my packing process. 

¡Hasta luego!