¡Odio despedirme!

I can’t believe that it’s finally here- my last full day in Granada. After having lived in this city for ten months, it has come to feel like and be my “home”. It seems crazy to think that tomorrow morning, I’m boarding a bus to Madrid and saying goodbye to this truly wonderful place for who knows how long. I’ve had so many incredible experiences this past year here in Granada and I’ve met so many amazing people; it’s going to be impossible to describe it all to you when I’m back in the States and my photos will only tell part of the story. Even though I hate to leave and say goodbye, I am leaving Granada and returning home very, very happy- I couldn’t have asked for a better, more incredible first year out of college. 

I'm going to spend my last day in Granada running around like a chicken with its head cut off, attempting to do a million things (that I should have done days ago, of course) all in the course of a few hours. I have a few errands to run in the city (some last minute purchases have to be made, including a small carry-on suitcase, because the amount of “stuff” that I’ve acquired over the past ten months doesn’t seem to want to fit in the suitcase and backpack that I already have!) and then I’ll return to the apartment to clean and finish packing so that I’m set and ready to go early tomorrow morning. Another thing that I have to do this afternoon is take a leisurely stroll through some of my favorite plazas and areas in the center of the city. I have three favorite spots in Granada- one is a plaza (Plaza Nueva), the other a street (la Carrera del Genil) and the last is a view (el Mirador de San Nicolas). I wish that I could bring these places home with me to Connecticut but, seeing as Ihow that would be a little tricky, I’ll enjoy them today and rest assured that they’ll still be here when I come back one day. Finally, tonight, after all of the above is (hopefully!) accomplished, I’ll go out for a few last tapas at some of my favorite bars with my friends who are still in the city. It should be a nice, relaxing night and a good way to enjoy my last evening in Granada. (Important: if when I’m back home I’m in a foul mood while out to eat or drink, please know that it’s only because I’ve been spoiled here with free tapas with every drink!)

Last week was a blast… the Feria del Corpus Christi (a big carnival-like event that’s Granada’s biggest festival of the year) was all last week and I went three times with friends. We also traveled to two other towns within the province of Granada for some very fun “midsummer” festivals- the “Fiesta del Agua” in Lanjarón and the “Fiesta del Fuego” in Salobreña. In addition to these public events, I spent almost every waking hour with my friends, walking around the city, cooking in their apartments, lounging in the sun, taking late-night walks for ice cream… doing nothing special in particular, just enjoying being with each other. I have made some wonderful friends here this year from around the States, Spain and Europe and spending the past ten months with all of them has been incredible.

This past week, however, has been a bit of a sad one. Exams are finishing up, the school term is winding down, and everyone is going home. I’ve been to so many “despedidas” (goodbyes) over the past few days that I can’t keep them straight. Monday I spent my last afternoon with my coworkers at Alba Longa’s annual end-of-the-school year luncheon. We celebrated the school year and the retirement of five of the school’s staff and had a wonderful afternoon. My boss made a small speech about my time at the school and I couldn’t help but start to cry- I didn’t want to say goodbye to my coworkers or my year teaching abroad! I myself said a few words to everyone, thanking them all for being so wonderful and for helping me and supporting me at the school since my first day; I’ve truly felt like one of the “Alba Longa team” since I began working at the school. I wish that there had been some way for me to continue there next year! I have some wonderful photos from the luncheon that I will post to this blog, probably when I’m back home, so that you can all finally see just who I’ve been working with!

Once again, I’m sorry for the lack of activity on this blog lately, but the apartment where I’m staying now has no Internet and so each time I want to go online, I have to go to an Internet café or find a bar with WIFI. I will post pictures of all the events, things etc. that I have been up to once back at home in Connecticut.

So… I leave Granada tomorrow morning but I don’t return to Connecticut until Wednesday, July 13^th. How is this possible? Do I have an incredibly long layover somewhere? Nope! I’m excited to say that while my stay in Granada has come to an end, my adventure in Spain isn’t over just yet! Tomorrow afternoon, I will get to Madrid where I’ll meet my friend Miguel at the bus station. We’re going to spend two days in Spain’s capital city, taking part in the city's Orgullo 2011 festival. There’s a parade and a concert Saturday night that I think we’ll attend and I know that we won’t have any trouble keeping ourselves entertained and occupied with all the activities that will be going on in the city. Then, Sunday morning, we’ll head to Ferrol, a small city in the province of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Miguel is from Ferrol and after a day at his home, we’re taking his car on a week-long road-trip through northern Spain! We’re going to hit some cities that I’ve always wanted to see including A Coruña, León, San Sebastián, Bilbao and possibly Oviedo and Santiago. However, the big stop of our trip will be in Pamplona for the Fiestas de Sanfermin or, as you all know it, the running of the bulls! I can’t wait to see one of Spain’s most famous events and something that I’ve wanted to witness now for years! After our road-trip, I think we’ll spend my last day or two in Miguel’s hometown. Everything’s still up in the air and our itinerary is flexible- while this lack of planning would have scared the crap out of me at this time last year, now it’s all incredibly liberating and I’m very excited to see where we end up! There are still so many places to see, people to meet and things to experience!

Here's a map of central/northern Spain. The cities with the red squares are the ones which I'll definitely be visiting during my road-trip with Miguel. The ones with the smaller pink circles are the ones which I'll most likely see, but they're not set in stone. I hope that this gives you all a slightly better idea of where I'm headed over the course of the next two weeks!

Alright, that’s it for now! Wish me a fun last journey in Spain and a safe flight home! I hope that you all know that I’m very excited to see you back home in two weeks’ time! ¡Hasta pronto!

So... just where am I now?

Hello, everyone! Sorry that I've been a horrible blogger lately- I know that it appears as if I've fallen off the face of the earth! Well, I'm happy to inform you all that I haven't! I'm very much alive and well over here in Granada, very busy and going about 100 miles a minute. In this post, I'll just update you all very quickly as to what I've been up to these past four weeks (since Dad and Joe flew back to the States on May 19th) and I promise that I'll write a few more posts this upcoming week to fill in the gaps (complete with photos, of course!) as to what I've been up to.

I'll start off by saying that finally summer and all its sun and heat have arrived to Granada! Since the start of June we've had mid-90 degree temperatures everyday, with lots of sunshine and -the best part- no humidity! I've definitely been enjoying the warm, sunny weather by spending as much time as possible outside. I've taken up hiking as one of my favorite pastimes here in Granada and find myself exploring the parks and mountains in and around Granada quite frequently with my friends. Another plus to all this time spent outdoors? I actually have a bit of color! Who knows, maybe by the time I arrive home in three weeks I'll actually have a tan!

Technically, my last week of work at Alba Longa was the week of Monday, June 6th. I went into school for normal days on Monday and Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon, my students (in both 1 ESO and 2 ESO) threw me a small surprise "going-away" celebration to thank me for my year with them. It was so sweet! Some of the students had prepared small speeches and they all chipped in to get me some really thoughtful gifts to take back to the States with me. All of my 1 ESO students wrote me little notes and they gave me a photo album that on the first page contains a photo of all of us one day after a math lesson. My 2 ESO students all wrote me a card and bought me a lovely silver bracelet. It was a wonderful little party with them! The following day, Thursday the 9th, I spent at Armilla's "Ciudad Deportiva" (public sport center) with my 1 ESO students and students from two other schools in Granada. There we held an all-day bilingual field trip during which the students had to complete a workbook filled with various activities related to nature, springtime and math in English and Spanish. After the students all left to go home, I stuck around the park's outdoor café with my coworkers for a few afternoon beers and plates of jamón serano and cheese. It was a lovely afternoon. Since then, I've seen my coworkers one other time, at a retirement dinner for my coworker Ramón. We had a lovely dinner in Sacromonte, a one of Granada's oldest neighborhoods that overlooks the Alhambra, and afterward we went to one of Sacromonte's many cave-bars in which you can hear and see live flamenco performances. I will go back to Alba Longa tomorrow one last time to say goodbye to my students during their English lessons (their summer vacation starts this Wednesday) and next Monday I will say goodbye to all my coworkers at the school's annual end-of-the-academic-year luncheon. It's been a wonderful year with both my coworkers and my students... it's hard to believe that come September, I won't be returning with them to work everyday. I'll post pictures from all my recent events at Alba Longa soon!

And now, where am I living and what's my general plan for my last three and a half weeks here in Spain? Well, since May 25th, I've been technically "homeless" here in Granada. I lived with Ana until that date because she had three other American students coming in for the summer. Originally, I had only planned on staying in Granada until the beginning of June to finish up my teaching and then return home. However, back in February, a good friend of mine named Miguel invited me to visit him at his home in Ferrol, a city located in the community Galacia in Northern Spain. In addition to visiting his home city, Miguel proposed that we take a two week road-trip along Spain's northern coast, with the main aims of our trip being to see as many northern Spanish cities as possible as well as experience the world-famous Spanish festival, los Sanfermines, otherwise known as the running of the bulls in Pamplona. I must say, I was very tempted when Miguel asked me to do this trip with him and after speaking with Dad, I happily told Miguel, "Yes, count me in!" The only downside to this plan was that Miguel will not be back in Spain until the 1st of July, as he was studying and working at the University of Delaware for the academic year and currently spending the month of June traveling around the States and Canada. So, my stay in Spain now extended by seven weeks, I needed to look for a place to stay for the month of June because, as Ana always hosts study abroad students during the summer, we agreed last summer that I would stay in her apartment through the end of May. This was perfect at the time, as I was only planning on staying in Spain until I finished teaching at the beginning of June. But, things change and plans come up, and when Miguel asked me to wait for him to do the road-trip, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity because I realized that I probably wouldn't get another one like it again! I was worried about my June housing situation at first, but seing as I have wonderful, wonderful friends here in Granada, since the 25th of May I have been staying with three different friends in their apartments. For the first week and a half, I stayed in my Finnish friend Hanna's apartment. After her apartment, I moved in with my French friend Pauline for another week and a half. Currently, I'm in my third and final flat with my Finnish friends Sussu and Joni and their Scottish flatmate Clarissa, a very nice girl studying abroad here this semester whom I've gotten to know over the past month. Then, next Friday it's off to Madrid where I'll meet Miguel at the bus station. We'll spend two days in the capital before heading north to Ferrol and beginning what will be my biggest and last adventure in Spain (well, for this year anyways. I know that I'll be back some day!) before heading back to the States on July 13th. During my road-trip I most likely won't have much access to the Internet but I will attempt to write a couple of posts about our whereabouts and experiences!

That's it for now, a quick update on the past month here in Granada. Most posts with details and photos to come soon! All my love, and to all my friends and family back in the USA, see you very, very soon!

Dad and Joe Visit Granada!

On Wednesday, May 11^th, I was up early to catch a bus to the airport to pick up two very special people for a week-long visit: Dad and Joe! After a very long trip across the Atlantic (three planes in total!), Dad and Joe landed in Granada shortly after 9:00 a.m. They were exhausted but happy to finally have reached their final destination. We took the bus back into Granada and made our way to their hotel, Hotel Dauro, located in the center of the city just a few minutes’ walk Puerta Real. As it was only 10:30am, we were hoping to leave their suitcases in the lobby before checking in that afternoon; however, we were told that their room was already ready and thus we were able to drop off everything directly in the room. We grabbed some coffee and toast at one of my favorite breakfast cafés in Granada, Hicari, before walking around the city for an hour. At 1:00pm, Dad and Joey wanted to head back to the hotel to take a nap before going out later that night. They were exhausted because when I showed up at the hotel later that evening at 7:00, they were still asleep! Letting them sleep a little more, I returned to the hotel around 8:00pm. We headed to Calle Navas for the first of many, many tubos (tall glass of beer) and tapas during their visit. Joe immediately stated his love for the free tapas that accompany every drink here in Granada and Dad and I agreed that the States should definitely look into adopting a similar tradition in our bars and restaurants back home. Later that night, around midnight or so, we made our way down to Mae West, one of Granada’s many clubs. Every Wednesday night, Mae West holds a free concert featuring a band that plays cover songs from bands including the Police, Pink Floyd, Sting, Areosmith, Kansas, etc. I usually go a few Wednesday nights a month with a small group of Spanish friends because the band’s excellent and, like I mentioned before, it’s free to get in! So, that night, my friends Maca, Ana and Miguel met the three of us outside the club. Shortly after getting inside, I noticed that I recognized one of the men standing in the group to our left. Actually, I recognized most of the people in the group to our left- they were my coworkers! They were all there to celebrate Javier’s birthday (technology teacher) and were pleasantly surprised to see me. It was great to be able to introduce my Dad and Joe to all my coworkers and while Dad spent most of the night chatting with Javier, Joe and I hung out with Maca, Miguel and Ana. Around 2:00am we called it a night and left the club. Dad and Joe were tired but happy after a good first day in Granada and we made plans to meet the next morning at 11:00am in the lobby.

The next day, Thursday, I picked Dad and Joe up and we headed back over to Hicari for another breakfast of coffee and toast (Dad and Joe, after having spent the better part of last year making fun of me for eating only tostada con tomate every morning for breakfast, quickly found themselves addicted to all the different types of tostadas available for breakfast). A few coffees later, we made our way to the Albaicín, my favorite place for strolling in Granada. The Albaicín is a pretty, yet very hilly and labyrinth-like, neighborhood. We walked along the Albaicín’s narrow streets and past its white buildings to the Mirador de San Nicolas, a lovely plaza that overlooks the Alhambra as well as the entire city of Granada. Next the the Mirador is a small mosque that also has spectacular views of the Alhambra from its gardens. We took lots of photos that morning, putting Dad’s camera to good use. (He still had pictures from the last time he had visited me in Granada on the memory card, and that was over two years ago!) Later that afternoon, we met Ana and Oscar, the other American student living with Ana this spring, in Plaza Bib Rambla for a snack of chocolate con churros, a delicious fried dough treat served with sugar and thick, melted chocolate for dipping. My Dad was excited to see Ana again after so long and we spent an hour or so seated outside under the restaurant’s canopy, enjoying the lovely weather and yummy churros. We said goodbye to Oscar and Ana before walking around the city for a little bit more and ending the day with a few more tapas for dinner at one of my favorite tapas bars in Granada, Bodegas Castañeda. 

Dad and Joe... in Granada!

Views of the Alhambra from the Albaicín.

View of the Alhambra from the mosque in the Albaicín.

An afternoon snack with Ana and Oscar.

Friday morning after breakfast we did a little souvenir shopping throughout the city. That afternoon, we visited the Alhambra. It was my fifth visit to the 13^th century Moorish palace and fortress, but it didn’t fail to impress me yet again. Firstly, the Alhambra’s gardens, especially those in the Generalife (summer palace) were fully in bloom and alive with beautiful colors and flowers. Secondly, I’d never visited the Alhambra in the afternoon before and the views from the Alcazaba’s (military fortress) lookout towers were spectacular at 7:00pm. We spent a good three hours on the Alhambra’s grounds—I think that it was definitely one of Dad and Joe’s favorite things that they saw while in Granada. We made our way back down to Granada where we met up with my good friend Clark for another (surprise!) night of tapas. Clark is a graduate student at the University of Delaware here for the semester teaching a few English courses at the University of Granada. We met through a mutual friend, Miguel, and have been good friends since February. Anyways, like I said, we met up for tapas and six rounds later (I could barely move after having eaten and drunk so much!) we called it a night and went to bed. We needed to get a good night’s sleep because we had big plans for the weekend!

Spices and teas for sale next to the Cathedral.

Souvenir shopping on Calle Candelaria Nueva.

Inside the Alhambra: the Generalife (summer palace/gardens).

Joe and Dad going up the escalera del agua.

Inside the Alhambra: the Palacios Nazaries.

Views from the towers of the Alcazaba (military fortress).

I am madly in love with this city :)

The following morning (Saturday, May 14^th) Dad, Joe and I caught an 11:00am bus to Málaga, another city in Andalucía just about an hour and a half from Granada. When we arrived shortly after noon, we were greeted by Javier (the same coworker whose birthday was being celebrated the previous Wednesday night at the concert in Mae West) and his friend Lola. Javier very nicely offered to host my Dad, Joe and me in Málaga that weekend. His family is from Málaga and so he has an apartment there close to the beach. We spent the afternoon in the city itself, seeing some of the most important sites and streets in the city. Then, we headed to Javier’s apartment to change into our bathing suits to spend the rest of the afternoon on the Mediterranean. We ate tons of seafood for lunch and lounged around the beach, soaking up the sun and 85 degree weather for a few hours. Later that evening, we headed back into Málaga for the city’s “Noche en Blanco” festival. Many museums and exhibits were open late, free of charge, that night for the celebration and we got to see the city’s new Picasso museum art collection. Also that night, we saw a free concert in one of the city’s main squares. The band playing was "Celtas Cortos" a popular Spanish rock group that combines Spanish music with Celtic sounds and influences.  

First view of Málaga, including the city's plaza de toros.

Ruins of a Roman theater.

Málaga's Cathedral.

Joe and Dad enjoying the first of many seafood dishes that weekend!

The concert we saw Saturday night, the Celtas Cortos.

The next day, I woke up around 10:00am and found Lola and Javier already awake, talking and reading in the living room. The three of us had breakfast together as we waited for my Dad and Joe to wake up. I think that jet-lag had finally caught up to them because at 12:30pm I had to go into both of their rooms and wake them up! After they ate, we again headed down to the sea for another afternoon at the beach. Javier and Lola took us to an excellent restaurant right on the water where we were able to sit outside as we ate paella de marisco (seafood paella), a large salad and espetos de sardinas (sardines cooked on skewers over an open flame). After walking off some of lunch along the beach, we returned to Javier’s apartment around 5:30pm where we all showered, packed and prepared to head home. Javier drove us back to Granada and we were back in the city by 8:30 that night. Tired, Dad and Joe went directly to their hotel room whereas I headed to my own apartment to finish up some lesson plans for the week ahead before heading out to a bar to celebrate a friend’s birthday and watch the Sweden-Finland hockey championship game with some of my friends. 

At the beach in Málaga.

Joey on the Mediterranean!

Cooking the sardines.

About to enjoy some paella de marisco!

Joe with the plate of sardines.

Monday morning was grey, cloudy and a little chilly. It didn’t matter all that much, though, because we weren’t planning on walking around the city that day. Instead, we headed to Armilla to my school, IES Alba Longa, where we first met my coworkers in the café across the street from the school for breakfast. Lourdes, my boss, treated us to our coffees and tostadas as we chatted about my year here, the boys visit to Granada, etc. After breakfast, we went to the school where Dad and Joe met my 1 ESO students in our weekly English class. For the first half of the class, my “seventh graders” had to come up with questions in English to ask Dad and Joe. It was great- not only did my students really like meeting “my family,” but it was really nice being able to show Dad and Joe just what I’ve been doing for the past eight months. I finished up the English lesson while Dad and Joey waited in the teachers’ lounge and then we headed back into Granada for the afternoon. We did a little more shopping until 6:00pm, when I left the boys to go tutoring for two hours. After my lessons, we met back up and had a few tapas for dinner. 

Tuesday was another busy day for us. Shortly before 10:00am, we met Clark at the bus station. The four of us spent the day in La Alpujarra, the mountain villages in Granada’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. Our bus arrived in Pampaneira just after noon and after walking around for a bit we stopped at an outdoor café for a coffee. Afterwards, we made the 1km hike uphill to another mountain town called Bubión where we ate a small but delicious lunch of jamón serrano, cured cheese, salad and, of course, more tubos. We spent an hour or so in Bubión before making our way back down to Pampaneira for a little more window-shopping before the bus that would take us back to Granada arrived at 6:15. The day started out cloudy but by the time we arrived in Bubión it was sunny and warm. We had an excellent, relaxing day in the mountains of Granada and got a little exercise in to boot!

Joe, me and Clark.

Pampaneira.

Hiking from Pampaneira to Bubión.

We made it to Bubión!

Enjoying some jamón serrano.

Wednesday was Dad and Joe’s last day here with me in Granada. Having missed so much work already, I went into the school in Armilla for the morning and worked my usual Wednesday schedule of four classes from 9:15am-1:50pm. While I was teaching, Joe and Dad, armed with a well-marked map, spent the morning sight-seeing and shopping around Granada. When I met back up with them that afternoon at 3:30, I was very impressed to hear that not only did they make it from their hotel to Hicari for breakfast, but also that they visited both Granada’s Cathedral and Basilica de San Juan in addition to having done a little souvenir shopping. We spent their last afternoon together, walking through the city despite the drizzling rain. Around 5:00pm, the rains cleared up and we went to a tetería (Moorish tearoom with teas, coffees and sweets) for a cup of tea. After returning to the hotel to prepare their suitcases, we ended the night with a few last tapas. 

In the tetería.

Delicious pakistani tea.

 Thursday morning we were all up early, around 5:30am, so that we could make it to the airport shuttle bus stop for 6:15am. It was sad to see the boys go- it was great having Dad and Joe here with me in Granada and I miss them already!- but it was easier to say goodbye this time around knowing that I’ll see them in just two months, as opposed to the eight months I had gone without seeing them since last September. It was a jam-packed visit, but I had a wonderful week and I hope that they did, too!

As for me, it’s now “back to the usual routine” of teaching and tutoring. This week is my last full week at IES Alba Longa; next week I only work Monday and Thursday. I can’t believe how quickly these past eight months have flown by… it’s going to be so hard to say goodbye to all my students! Okay, break-time at work is over… now I’m off to science class with 1 ESO! ¡Hasta pronto!