¡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!