Hi,
Today is Friday and is my last day here in Granada. I´ve finished my classes and packed my suitcase. Hopefully, I haven´t bought too much stuff while I´ve been here.
I´ve had a great time here and have learned so much. Certainly, my speaking ability has improved - although I still can´t understand the natives when they speak at full speed! I have also learned a lot about the history, geography and culture of this area. I am glad I was able to take this trip!
I hope you´ve enjoyed reading about my days - I have enjoyed ¨journaling¨ my experiences.
Courtney
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
New pics
Hello!
Here is a link to more photos. http://s593.photobucket.com/albums/tt15/kcpope/courtney06_20_09/
And more pics:
http://s593.photobucket.com/albums/tt15/kcpope/06_23_09/
I have more to add to the second file - sometime!
Here is a link to more photos. http://s593.photobucket.com/albums/tt15/kcpope/courtney06_20_09/
And more pics:
http://s593.photobucket.com/albums/tt15/kcpope/06_23_09/
I have more to add to the second file - sometime!
Wednesday, June 23
Hello again,
I wanted to say more about my trip to Cordoba. The mosque is beautiful, I can´t remember how back it dates, but it is hundreds of years old; like many of the buildings here. The mosque was supposed be destroyed, but Carlos V happened to visit Cordoba while traveling on his honeymoon. He saw how beautiful and impressive the building was and decided not to have it destroyed; but convert it into a cathedral. They added onto the building, but much of the original architecture remains.
Yesterday, we took a bus up to a part of Granada called Sacromonte. It is high up on the hill/mountian and is an area where the gypsies lived in caves. We visited a museum and saw how the caves were utilized by the families. It was really interesting to see how and why the caves were used the way they were. People still live in some of the caves today and they have electricity and cable TV. The caves at the museum didn´t have plumbing or bathrooms, that I saw, but surely the families that live in caves now have those ammenities!?!
From Sacromonte the three of us, Jo, Anyita and I, walked back down into Granada by way of the Albaicin. In the Albaicin there is a plaza that looks out across to The Alahambra. It is a nice place to sit and enjoy the view. The plaza is always busy with gypsies and pèople that make their living selling their handiwork. Paintings, jewelry and playing/singing/dancing flamenco - the reality is that they are a bit unsavory, but it nice to sit and listen for awhile. You can see from my photos that I love the narrow streets and all the flowers that decorate the houses. The streets of The Albaicin and the villages in The Alpujarras were similar.
One thing I forgot to mention about The Alpujarras were the entrances to some of the houses. Juan led us into a doorway with dirt floor and downward sloping tunnel. I thought to myself, ¨What in the world is this?¨, but as you go along the path it turns and opens into a beautiful courtyard/garden with 4 or 5 front doors to different families houses. The openings were built like that to provide privacy for the families. At night/afternoon, the families gather in the garden and visit.
That´s all for now.
Courtney
I wanted to say more about my trip to Cordoba. The mosque is beautiful, I can´t remember how back it dates, but it is hundreds of years old; like many of the buildings here. The mosque was supposed be destroyed, but Carlos V happened to visit Cordoba while traveling on his honeymoon. He saw how beautiful and impressive the building was and decided not to have it destroyed; but convert it into a cathedral. They added onto the building, but much of the original architecture remains.
Yesterday, we took a bus up to a part of Granada called Sacromonte. It is high up on the hill/mountian and is an area where the gypsies lived in caves. We visited a museum and saw how the caves were utilized by the families. It was really interesting to see how and why the caves were used the way they were. People still live in some of the caves today and they have electricity and cable TV. The caves at the museum didn´t have plumbing or bathrooms, that I saw, but surely the families that live in caves now have those ammenities!?!
From Sacromonte the three of us, Jo, Anyita and I, walked back down into Granada by way of the Albaicin. In the Albaicin there is a plaza that looks out across to The Alahambra. It is a nice place to sit and enjoy the view. The plaza is always busy with gypsies and pèople that make their living selling their handiwork. Paintings, jewelry and playing/singing/dancing flamenco - the reality is that they are a bit unsavory, but it nice to sit and listen for awhile. You can see from my photos that I love the narrow streets and all the flowers that decorate the houses. The streets of The Albaicin and the villages in The Alpujarras were similar.
One thing I forgot to mention about The Alpujarras were the entrances to some of the houses. Juan led us into a doorway with dirt floor and downward sloping tunnel. I thought to myself, ¨What in the world is this?¨, but as you go along the path it turns and opens into a beautiful courtyard/garden with 4 or 5 front doors to different families houses. The openings were built like that to provide privacy for the families. At night/afternoon, the families gather in the garden and visit.
That´s all for now.
Courtney
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 23 2009
Hello again!
Today is Tuesday and my last week here in Granada. I have truly been enjoying myself, but three week is long enough to be away.
My weekend was really fun and full of interesting activities. Friday night my friends, Jo and Anyita went to several bars to sample tapas. By the way, Anyita is from Sweden, not Switzerland. In Spanish Sweden is Suecia and Switzerland is Suiza. They sound very similar. Anyhow, we had gotten a list of places that serve good tapas with their drinks. It was fun and luckily there is a popular drink here in Granada called ¨Tinto de Verano¨ it is basically a mild sangria, very little alcohol. So I was able to drink several and still find my way home. Some of the tapas we had were tuna with tomato on bread, sardines (local favorite) on bread, ham (another local specialty) and some little hamburgers; not so Spanish but good regardless.
Saturday morning we left for a tour of Las Alpujarras. Las Alpujarras are the little villages that are scattered around southern side of the Sierra Nevada. When the muslims were exiled from the country there were many that didn´t want to leave. They had a choice to leave what had been their home for 700 years or convert to Catholicism. Some chose to do neither and moved to the mountains instead. There are about 80 little villages that make up Las Alpujarras. They are cute little towns with wonderful views of the mountains. We had a great guide named Juan who had a wealth of information to share.
On Sunday we left for Córdoba. We had the same guide, Juan, on Sunday as well. In Córdoba we saw ruins of a muslim palace, a Jewish synagogue, the muslim mosque which was converted to a cathedral, and a bridge that dates back to the Romans. We also took a walking tour of the city center. The temperature that day was 43 celcius - I was shocked to discover that that equates to a toasty 109.5 farenheit! There was hardly anybody else in the streets except our group - smart people, eh? Them, not us.
I am uploading more pictures and will post a link soon.
My classes are great. I really enjoy my teachers! This week we have been reviewing areas of Spanish that tend to be difficult for students. And guess what?? They are difficult! I have not been feeling so intelligent this week; the good thing is that nobody else in my class feels too intelligent either!
Hope all the Father´s had a nice day on Sunday!
Today is Tuesday and my last week here in Granada. I have truly been enjoying myself, but three week is long enough to be away.
My weekend was really fun and full of interesting activities. Friday night my friends, Jo and Anyita went to several bars to sample tapas. By the way, Anyita is from Sweden, not Switzerland. In Spanish Sweden is Suecia and Switzerland is Suiza. They sound very similar. Anyhow, we had gotten a list of places that serve good tapas with their drinks. It was fun and luckily there is a popular drink here in Granada called ¨Tinto de Verano¨ it is basically a mild sangria, very little alcohol. So I was able to drink several and still find my way home. Some of the tapas we had were tuna with tomato on bread, sardines (local favorite) on bread, ham (another local specialty) and some little hamburgers; not so Spanish but good regardless.
Saturday morning we left for a tour of Las Alpujarras. Las Alpujarras are the little villages that are scattered around southern side of the Sierra Nevada. When the muslims were exiled from the country there were many that didn´t want to leave. They had a choice to leave what had been their home for 700 years or convert to Catholicism. Some chose to do neither and moved to the mountains instead. There are about 80 little villages that make up Las Alpujarras. They are cute little towns with wonderful views of the mountains. We had a great guide named Juan who had a wealth of information to share.
On Sunday we left for Córdoba. We had the same guide, Juan, on Sunday as well. In Córdoba we saw ruins of a muslim palace, a Jewish synagogue, the muslim mosque which was converted to a cathedral, and a bridge that dates back to the Romans. We also took a walking tour of the city center. The temperature that day was 43 celcius - I was shocked to discover that that equates to a toasty 109.5 farenheit! There was hardly anybody else in the streets except our group - smart people, eh? Them, not us.
I am uploading more pictures and will post a link soon.
My classes are great. I really enjoy my teachers! This week we have been reviewing areas of Spanish that tend to be difficult for students. And guess what?? They are difficult! I have not been feeling so intelligent this week; the good thing is that nobody else in my class feels too intelligent either!
Hope all the Father´s had a nice day on Sunday!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday June 18
Hi!
Everything is still going well here. The temperatures are still unseasonably hot. Today it is 34 degrees celsius which is 93 fahrenheit - it´s still hot but not as hot as it has been. Let´s see, what have I done in the past few days? I´ve been shopping a little. There are an infinite number of clothing and shoe store here. I finished reading the books I had brought with me, so I asked a classmate if there were book stores here that sold books in English. She said there were, but it would be good to read a book in Spanish to improve my knowledge more. I eventually found a store that had a small section of books in English. I picked one that is about a guy from Sweden who bought a farm in the Alpujarras, mountains that are part of the Sierra Neveda and very near Granada). It is about his experiences adapting to farming and rural life in Spain. I justified buying a book in English because at least it had to with Spain. But then guilt set in and I decided I should also find a book in Spanish. I picked one that I have heard other students talk about, it is new and I think it is being made into a movie. And I am reading the Spanish one first - surprisingly, it is not as difficult as I had expected.
Last night 3 ladies and I went to a restaurant to watch flamenco. My three friends were Jo from Brazil, Anyita from Switzerlan (and a teacher of foreign language) and Monica from Italy. I have really enjoyed meeting people from all around the world!
Flamenco originated in Andalusia - the region I am in. It was a style of dance and music that the gypsies performed. the restaurant is located at the top of the hill that the Albaicin sits on. The walk was not too bad it is steep and one of the other ladies needed a couple of breaks. The dinner was tasty. I had gazpacho for the first time and ¨Popeye Pizza¨. Which was a thin crust pizza with mushrooms, shrimp, spinach and garlic sauce. ¡Me gusta! The Flamenco show was interesting. The dancers get very involved with their dancing. The looks on their faces is so intense... I really enjoy the guitar part of the Flamenco. It is amazing the way the guy plays the guitar.
As we were arriving at the restaurant there was a man and a woman (and a dog) who were handing out cards for the restaurant - trying to encourage passers by to go to the restaurant. We told them we were already planning to go, but as we were asking a couple of questions a car started to come around the corner. The streets are extremely narrow, so of course, we were in the way of the car. The driver honked and we moved, but the couple´s dog was a little slower to get up and move. As the couple was telling the dog to move the car started to go. The couple got upset and told the driver to wait. Oh, did I mention the man with the dog was obviously on something - not drunk, but on drugs for sure. The lady seemed normal. Anyhow, the guy on drugs began yelling at the driver and the driver yelled back. As the car went past the guy kicked the bumper. Well, the driver didn´t like that and he stopped and jumped out of the car. My friends were already past all this, but I was still right there and when the driver opened his car door I was essentially trapped (he didn´t shut the dor), that´s how narrow the street is. I thought Öh, my gosh, these guys are going to start fighting and they are right behind me!¨Obviously, the driver didn´t like people touching his car, but I quickly and carefully, closed the door a bit so I could get by. I felt bad for the people with the dog, however the guy, both guys really, didn´t have to behave the way the did.
This weekend I am going on two excursions. On Saturday, I will be going to the Alpujarras (remember the book I bought). And on Sunday I am going to Córdoba. Both should be fun and interesting, but Córdoba has a beautiful mosque that I am excited to see.
That´s all for now. It is time for me to head back to the school for the optional cultural class they offer in the afternoons. Today is the dance of the Sevillianos. (people from Seville) I think it is very similar to Flamenco - maybe I´ll pick up a couple moves!
Court
Everything is still going well here. The temperatures are still unseasonably hot. Today it is 34 degrees celsius which is 93 fahrenheit - it´s still hot but not as hot as it has been. Let´s see, what have I done in the past few days? I´ve been shopping a little. There are an infinite number of clothing and shoe store here. I finished reading the books I had brought with me, so I asked a classmate if there were book stores here that sold books in English. She said there were, but it would be good to read a book in Spanish to improve my knowledge more. I eventually found a store that had a small section of books in English. I picked one that is about a guy from Sweden who bought a farm in the Alpujarras, mountains that are part of the Sierra Neveda and very near Granada). It is about his experiences adapting to farming and rural life in Spain. I justified buying a book in English because at least it had to with Spain. But then guilt set in and I decided I should also find a book in Spanish. I picked one that I have heard other students talk about, it is new and I think it is being made into a movie. And I am reading the Spanish one first - surprisingly, it is not as difficult as I had expected.
Last night 3 ladies and I went to a restaurant to watch flamenco. My three friends were Jo from Brazil, Anyita from Switzerlan (and a teacher of foreign language) and Monica from Italy. I have really enjoyed meeting people from all around the world!
Flamenco originated in Andalusia - the region I am in. It was a style of dance and music that the gypsies performed. the restaurant is located at the top of the hill that the Albaicin sits on. The walk was not too bad it is steep and one of the other ladies needed a couple of breaks. The dinner was tasty. I had gazpacho for the first time and ¨Popeye Pizza¨. Which was a thin crust pizza with mushrooms, shrimp, spinach and garlic sauce. ¡Me gusta! The Flamenco show was interesting. The dancers get very involved with their dancing. The looks on their faces is so intense... I really enjoy the guitar part of the Flamenco. It is amazing the way the guy plays the guitar.
As we were arriving at the restaurant there was a man and a woman (and a dog) who were handing out cards for the restaurant - trying to encourage passers by to go to the restaurant. We told them we were already planning to go, but as we were asking a couple of questions a car started to come around the corner. The streets are extremely narrow, so of course, we were in the way of the car. The driver honked and we moved, but the couple´s dog was a little slower to get up and move. As the couple was telling the dog to move the car started to go. The couple got upset and told the driver to wait. Oh, did I mention the man with the dog was obviously on something - not drunk, but on drugs for sure. The lady seemed normal. Anyhow, the guy on drugs began yelling at the driver and the driver yelled back. As the car went past the guy kicked the bumper. Well, the driver didn´t like that and he stopped and jumped out of the car. My friends were already past all this, but I was still right there and when the driver opened his car door I was essentially trapped (he didn´t shut the dor), that´s how narrow the street is. I thought Öh, my gosh, these guys are going to start fighting and they are right behind me!¨Obviously, the driver didn´t like people touching his car, but I quickly and carefully, closed the door a bit so I could get by. I felt bad for the people with the dog, however the guy, both guys really, didn´t have to behave the way the did.
This weekend I am going on two excursions. On Saturday, I will be going to the Alpujarras (remember the book I bought). And on Sunday I am going to Córdoba. Both should be fun and interesting, but Córdoba has a beautiful mosque that I am excited to see.
That´s all for now. It is time for me to head back to the school for the optional cultural class they offer in the afternoons. Today is the dance of the Sevillianos. (people from Seville) I think it is very similar to Flamenco - maybe I´ll pick up a couple moves!
Court
Monday, June 15, 2009
Pics
Here is a link to some pictures I uploaded. I have some videos, but I am not sure if the transferred.
http://photobucket.com/Courtney06_15_09
http://photobucket.com/Courtney06_15_09
Monday June 15
Hi!
It´s been awhile since I have been able to post. The internet conncetion at my school has not been operating since last Thursday and then the school is closed on the weekends. So today I have come to an internet cafe to make a post.
I think the last time I posted I had been to The Alhambra and bought tickets to the corrida or bullfight. I didn´t do much Thursday or Friday, except for school. I did a little shopping on Thursday and discovered that Spain has lots of good clothing stores and lots and lots of shoe stores. Apparantely, the prices for nice shoes are good in Spain although, naturally, the ones I like are still quite expensive!
Saturday morning I got up and went to tour La Catedral (Cathedral) and La Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). The Cathedral was very beautiful and impressive. I am amazed at the sheer size of the buildings - the ceilings must be 100 feet tall! The Cathedral is important because Granada was the last remaining city in Spain that the Arabs controlled. In 1492, Ferdidnand and Isabel´s army took control and exiled the Arabs. In a show of dominance, a mosque was demolished and the Cathedral built in its place. Ferdidnad and Isabel, are entombed in the Royal Chapel next to the Cathdral. There are aslo many other important historical figures entombed at the Cathedral.
I forgot that on Thursday morning I got up and went to watch the religious procession outside the Cathedral for the Corpus Christie holiday. I only watched a short time; there were lots of people around and it was kind of boring after awhile - just people walking out of the church.
Thursday afternoon Grisha, Daniella, Mau and I went for a walk before dinner. Grisha knows his way around the city very well and took us up through the Albaicin. The Albaicin is a neighborhood where the Arabs lived before being exiled be the Catholic Royalty. The streets are extremely narrow and it is built on a steep hill. We walked and walked uphill until we reached Plaza de San Nicolas. It is a great place to look across to the Alhambra. Many gypsies live in the Albaicin and this plaza always has people that play and sing flamenco music for tips. We weren´t disapointed- three or four men started playing, singing and dancing. Grisha wanted to take us to another plaza further up, but Daniella and Mau refused. It was very hot, 40 celcius 100+ farenheit, and Mau wasn´t wearing good shoes for walking. Another time I´ll see if he wants to go again. It is a beautiful neighborhood, but is a maze of streets. I would not even attempt to go myself with the luck I´ve had finding my way around here. Did I mention I´ve been lost more times than not? I have improved a lot since last week, but I am not ready to take on the Albaicin!!
Saturday night, Daniella, Mau and I went to the corrida. It was really hot, 100 or more again. It isn´t supposed to be this hot in June - that´s I came as early as I could. Anyhow, the corrida was really interesting. I didn´t like seeing the blood, but I wasn´t too shocked when the killing actually happened. I think our bullriding can be just as shocking at times. There was one corredor (matador) who was very entertaining. When the bull first comes into the ring he is running around and totally looking for a fight. Frondi, the matador, was down on his knees when the bull came out and enticed the bull past him with his cape/cloth a couple of times. He would be very vulnerable if the bull decided not to go after the cape and chose him instead. It was a good time and I´m glad I was able to see one while I was here.
On Sunday, my roommates invited to go to the beach with them. The Mediterranean Ocean is less than hour away by bus. It was extremely relaxing to lay on the beach all day and read. The water was pretty cold, but again, it was really hot so it felt good. There was a nice breeze coming in off the ocean that felt nice as well. The beach was busy, but we got there early enough to rent lounge chairs and shade huts. It was a little shocking to see women go topless. Most didn´t but a few did - both young and old. Mau is from China and she was beside herself, she was pointing and generally freaking out. I had to push her hand down and tell not to point! She is so timid she could hardly stand to wear her shorts and a bikini top. She had brought her bathrobe and kept it draped over herself most of the day.
I had mentioned to my house mom that I wanted to have chocolate and churros sometime. Sunday after we returned, she treated us to tapas at a bar and then chocolate and churros. All I can say is: Oh My!!! Who has seen The Simpsons Movie? Remember when Bart got the hot chocolate? His reaction was my reaction! Very rich, thick and warm chocolate in a little espresso type cup. Then they bring churros, which is just fried bread, but you dip the churro into the chocolate. Delicioso!! However, I couldn´t finish mine - it is not something you could eat often.
I am uploading some picutres to Photobucket and will post a link a little later. That is enough for now. I will post more often now that I have a reliable place to access the internet.
Court
It´s been awhile since I have been able to post. The internet conncetion at my school has not been operating since last Thursday and then the school is closed on the weekends. So today I have come to an internet cafe to make a post.
I think the last time I posted I had been to The Alhambra and bought tickets to the corrida or bullfight. I didn´t do much Thursday or Friday, except for school. I did a little shopping on Thursday and discovered that Spain has lots of good clothing stores and lots and lots of shoe stores. Apparantely, the prices for nice shoes are good in Spain although, naturally, the ones I like are still quite expensive!
Saturday morning I got up and went to tour La Catedral (Cathedral) and La Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). The Cathedral was very beautiful and impressive. I am amazed at the sheer size of the buildings - the ceilings must be 100 feet tall! The Cathedral is important because Granada was the last remaining city in Spain that the Arabs controlled. In 1492, Ferdidnand and Isabel´s army took control and exiled the Arabs. In a show of dominance, a mosque was demolished and the Cathedral built in its place. Ferdidnad and Isabel, are entombed in the Royal Chapel next to the Cathdral. There are aslo many other important historical figures entombed at the Cathedral.
I forgot that on Thursday morning I got up and went to watch the religious procession outside the Cathedral for the Corpus Christie holiday. I only watched a short time; there were lots of people around and it was kind of boring after awhile - just people walking out of the church.
Thursday afternoon Grisha, Daniella, Mau and I went for a walk before dinner. Grisha knows his way around the city very well and took us up through the Albaicin. The Albaicin is a neighborhood where the Arabs lived before being exiled be the Catholic Royalty. The streets are extremely narrow and it is built on a steep hill. We walked and walked uphill until we reached Plaza de San Nicolas. It is a great place to look across to the Alhambra. Many gypsies live in the Albaicin and this plaza always has people that play and sing flamenco music for tips. We weren´t disapointed- three or four men started playing, singing and dancing. Grisha wanted to take us to another plaza further up, but Daniella and Mau refused. It was very hot, 40 celcius 100+ farenheit, and Mau wasn´t wearing good shoes for walking. Another time I´ll see if he wants to go again. It is a beautiful neighborhood, but is a maze of streets. I would not even attempt to go myself with the luck I´ve had finding my way around here. Did I mention I´ve been lost more times than not? I have improved a lot since last week, but I am not ready to take on the Albaicin!!
Saturday night, Daniella, Mau and I went to the corrida. It was really hot, 100 or more again. It isn´t supposed to be this hot in June - that´s I came as early as I could. Anyhow, the corrida was really interesting. I didn´t like seeing the blood, but I wasn´t too shocked when the killing actually happened. I think our bullriding can be just as shocking at times. There was one corredor (matador) who was very entertaining. When the bull first comes into the ring he is running around and totally looking for a fight. Frondi, the matador, was down on his knees when the bull came out and enticed the bull past him with his cape/cloth a couple of times. He would be very vulnerable if the bull decided not to go after the cape and chose him instead. It was a good time and I´m glad I was able to see one while I was here.
On Sunday, my roommates invited to go to the beach with them. The Mediterranean Ocean is less than hour away by bus. It was extremely relaxing to lay on the beach all day and read. The water was pretty cold, but again, it was really hot so it felt good. There was a nice breeze coming in off the ocean that felt nice as well. The beach was busy, but we got there early enough to rent lounge chairs and shade huts. It was a little shocking to see women go topless. Most didn´t but a few did - both young and old. Mau is from China and she was beside herself, she was pointing and generally freaking out. I had to push her hand down and tell not to point! She is so timid she could hardly stand to wear her shorts and a bikini top. She had brought her bathrobe and kept it draped over herself most of the day.
I had mentioned to my house mom that I wanted to have chocolate and churros sometime. Sunday after we returned, she treated us to tapas at a bar and then chocolate and churros. All I can say is: Oh My!!! Who has seen The Simpsons Movie? Remember when Bart got the hot chocolate? His reaction was my reaction! Very rich, thick and warm chocolate in a little espresso type cup. Then they bring churros, which is just fried bread, but you dip the churro into the chocolate. Delicioso!! However, I couldn´t finish mine - it is not something you could eat often.
I am uploading some picutres to Photobucket and will post a link a little later. That is enough for now. I will post more often now that I have a reliable place to access the internet.
Court
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