Alhambra, Finals and Wine!

            I had a very busy weekend.  Friday my friends and I went out to tapas at a Brazilian Bar (delicious).  We had coconut chicken and pineapple shishkabobs.  We left the bar around 12 and walked around the city for a period of time with what felt like the majority of the population of Granada.   I am still overwhelmed by the number of people that flock to the streets between the hours of 10pm and 2am.  It is like everything is moved three to four hours later in Spain.  Lunch is at 3 rather than noon, dinner at 10 rather than 6 and bedtime is typically at 2 rather than 10.  We joined the herds of people at the best ice cream place in the city called “Los Italianos” and even went back for seconds it is so good.  My favorite flavors include Nata, Café, Straciotella, and Blackberry.  Nata is a sweet, vanilla cream and Straciotella is a mint, nata, and chocolate combo. 

            Saturday during the day, our program took our first visit to the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is the castle where the last Arab emperors lived in when they had control of Granada.  Between 722 AC and 1492 AC was the Spanish Reconquista.  The movement started in the North and moved down to the south.  The Reconquista started when the Catholic King, Fernando, the ruler of Aragon and the Catholic Queen Isabel, the ruler of Castilla married.  They then began the task of gaining territories in Spain working there way south.  Originally the Reconquista was driven by the goal of power and gaining riches.  However, over time the goal changed to spreading Christianity and ending the era of Muslim rule in Spain.  In 1492, the last Muslim Emperor, the Nazari Family, was defeated in Granada by the Catholic Kings, and the Iberic Peninsula, aka the Spanish Territory was conquered.  The Alhambra is a huge territory.  This weekend we were only able to see part of it.  But for an example, we stood in the room where the King and Queen signed the inquisition papers to remove the Muslims and Jews from Spain.   We also got to visit the private quarters of the King and Queen along with climbing to the top of a tower where we saw the best view of Granada. 

The detail and artwork inside of the Alhambra is incredible.  The outsides of the buildings are plain, as the rulers did not wish to show their wealth.  However, the insides are breathtaking.  Every wall on the inside is decorated, not with paintings; rather they are decorated with engravings.  The Arabs commonly used plaster during this time for decoration.  I have attached some pictures of the engraved walls, but the photos truly do not do it justice.  After the Alhambra I spent most of the afternoon studying with my friends because we have our finals this week.  To finish the day, a group of my friends and I went to a local sports bar to watch the Barcelona game.  I then called it an early night, actually being in bed by 1am. 

            Sunday morning, I went the market of Granada with three of my friends.  It was incredible.  They have it every Sunday morning and it is a mile long then you turn a corner and it goes a mile back up to the start.  They sell all sorts of things such as clothes, shoes, fruits, veggies, dried fruits, nuts, purses, watches, jewelry, etc.  We didn’t end of buying anything because it is so overwhelming, but also because we have all turned into penny pinchers as our first month has already burned through a good portion of our money.  Sunday afternoon we all studied more for about four hours then parted ways and returned to our houses.  When I got back to my house it was around 8 and I had every intention of staying home and studying that evening because we had a culture exam on Monday that covered the history of Spain beginning in the Prehistoric era aka 100,000 B.C. all the way to 1492 A.C.  However, my host mom had a different idea.  That night there was the annual procession through Granada in honor of the patron saint.  I thought the streets of Granada were crowded on a normal night but I truly feel like 90% of the city was in the streets.  In Spain, religion is important to a large portion of the society.  Therefore, everyone leaves his or her house on this night to watch the procession.  The procession consists of the members of the primary church in Granada walking through the streets.  However, with them they carry the statue of the patron saint of Granada.  The statue is beautiful.  It has silver and gold detail and I would guess roughly 20 to 30 men carry it because of its weight.  All of the men in the procession were in purple and black suits and they seemed to radiate pride because they were a part of honoring the patron saint. People from all over Granada, and from the towns in the outskirts, come to the city to celebrate.  Only my host mom and I went as my roommate had homework to do but we had a great time.  We sat at a tapas bar for about an hour just talking about random topics.  She bought me quite a few glasses of wine and all of the typical food of this specific celebration.  We had a great evening.  The procession was incredible. It takes 4 hours to walk what would normally take 30 minutes at most.  It was hard to move through the streets there were so many people.  I have also attached some images of the statue and the masses that filled the streets. 

            Monday I had my culture exam, which I think went pretty well.  I just finished my oral exam for my intensive class and tomorrow I have my written exam.  After tomorrow I will have officially completed my intensive class and I will begin my other classes at the CLM starting the following week after my vacation.  Tomorrow evening I leave for London and Dublin.  I LOVE VACATIONS IN EUROPE!!  I am going with some of my friends and we will be first spending three days in London then we are going to Dublin for three.  We are getting very excited.  We don’t have too many plans for what we are going to do but I know we are most definitely going to be visiting Westminster Abbey, the South Bank, the London Eye, Platform 9 ¾ (HARRY POTTER!), the changing of the guards, the gardens, etc.  In Dublin we are planning on going to Trinity College, the Dublin Castle and possibly the countryside.  We are very excited.  Therefore, I will probably not be writing again for over a week but when I return I will have great photos to share!

            The past few weeks I have been realizing how lucky I am to be having this opportunity to study abroad.  I am embracing the Spanish culture, language and the general European attitude and I can’t get over how incredible it is.  I feel healthy and happy.  The other day I was walking to class in the morning.  I had just received the daily free newspaper in Granada from the same guy as the past month and I caught myself walking through the streets smiling!  There wasn’t anything in particular that I was smiling about; I was just completely content with my life.  With that I am off to class and I love you all! Talk to you in a week!

Alhambra

Procession

Just Another Week in Paradise

Another week has flown by and I have almost been here for a month.  I actually left Seattle one month ago today, and I will be returning in three months from today.  This past week has been very full of studying because my finals are coming up this next week.  I will be ending my intensive language program next week and the first section of my culture class.  After taking my finals, I have a six day vacation in which I am going to London and Dublin with some of my friends!

            This week, with our program, we went and explored another one of the neighborhoods in Granada, called the Sacremonte.  It is a neighborhood up in the hills of Granada, but the houses are built into the caves in the hillside.  Also, the roads are very narrow so the only way to reach the neighborhood is by walking.  It is interesting because it didn’t seem like it was a part of Granada.  Rather it seemed like a rural community without the influence of the city at all.  I will attach some photos below so you can see more of what I am talking about.

            This week we also went to a Flamenco show with our program.  Great idea; however, it was horrible.  It was technically called a Flamenco festival, which our director described to us after. Festivals consist of non-professionals that dance for a specific cause.  All of the profits from this specific show were going to an organization in Kenya, Africa.  I felt good because we were helping a positive cause however, the show was not what I was expecting. It started at 9:30 and while some of the dances and songs were good, once three hours had gone by and the end was not in sight, we all left.  Our directors stuck it out to the end and they said that it did not officially end until after 2 in the morning.  Aka 5 hours of singing and dancing without an intermission.  On the plus side, the theater we were at was beautiful and I have attached some photos.  

            This weekend, along with all of the studying I have to do, my group is going to visit the Alhambra.  It is the old Muslim Castle that sits above the city of Granada.  We are going on Saturday and I am very excited to see it as most locals say it is their favorite part about the city.  I am off to bed and I hope everyone is well!

By the way, here is my address:

Katie Chale

Emperatriz Eugenia 10-5 B

Granada 18002

Spain

If you feel the need to write a letter! I am always a willing recipient!

With the Alhambra in the background

La Sacremonte

The Theater where the Flamenco show was.

Plaza del Torros at night

El Botellon: The common Spanish pass time for the youth during the weekend

A discoteca

Córdoba

Yesterday, our group went to the city of Córdoba for the day.  We left Granada around 8:30, and returned a little before 10 at night.  It took three hours to arrive in Córdoba by bus and when we got there we had bout 2 ½ hours of free time.  Our host moms packed us sandwiches and fruit so we spent the majority of our time exploring and visiting museums.  The first museum that we went to was “el museo arqueológico” aka the archeological museum.  Some of the interesting items in the museum include an old chess set, ancient coins, jewelry, statues and pottery.  Probably the most interesting part was that the museum is located on top of what used to be the theater dating back to when the Catholic Kings and Queens lived in the city.  Next, we visited the castle in which the Catholic Kings and Queens lived when Córdoba was the grand power of the Spanish emperor.  The gardens were beautiful and we were able to climb to the top of a tower to get a view of the city.  I am finding it hard to believe how much history there is in Spain.  Spain was the major world power for centuries; therefore, there is a very rick culture and endless information to soak in. 

After we completed our free time we broke off into two groups.  My group went to “el mezquita” first.  It is the Catholic Church in Córdoba but was originally built as a mosque.  Inside there are more than 1000 columns and they are all connected with double arches that are made of red and white bricks.  The inside is incredible because at first glance the arches and columns seem to create a huge sense of unity and symmetry.  However, once you look closer you notice that the columns are made of different materals and have different decorations at the top.  No two are exactly alike.  This is because when the mosque was being build they had so many artists making the columns that each one ended up unique.    I am going to post pictures but you should also use google to look up the Mosque in Córdoba because my camera died half way through our visit. 

After visiting the Mosque we went to “los Baños Arabes” de Córdoba.  They are the Spanish equivalent of an American spa.  Through our program we actually got to go through the steps of the Baños Arabes.  The way they are set up is that they have three different pools with water at different temperatures.  The one that you spend the most time in is the warm water.  However, there is also one that is about hot tub temperature and then another that is colder than Puget Sound.  Also, at the baños, there is a steam room.  Finally, to top it all off, everyone in our group got a massage.  It is all part of the package deal.  We were in the Baños Arabes for about and hour and a half and I didn’t know it was possible to be that relaxed.  I was not able to take pictures but I went searching on Google and have attached some below so you can get a better ideal of the Baños.  Supposedly, there are also Baños Arabes in Granada J
Shortly after finishing the Baños Arabes we boarded the bus to head back to Granada.  It was quite an amazing day and I would be interested in returning to Cordoba to have more time to explore the city.  It is hard for me to believe that today is Friday already.  I have almost been here for three weeks.  The time had absolutely flown by.  This weekend we are exploring one of the other neighborhoods of Granada with our culture teacher and just staying around the city.  I actually have quite a bit of homework that I need to get done; sometimes I forget that I am here to study Spanish.  In school, I only have two weeks left of my intensive class then I am going to London and Dublin for six days.  After I return to Granada I will begin my next classes that will last for the next three months.  I will continue my culture class, then add a grammar class, a pronunciation and writing course and a course about the history of Spanish art.  I am getting excited.  Hope everything is well in the states! 

 The Ponte Romano bridge with the Mosque in the background

 At the Castle where the Reyes Catolicos (Catholic Kings and Queens) lived

Inside the Mosque

 Inside the Mosque, near the Catholic Church

Try and find the differences between the columns

 Los Baños Arabes

Photos from the past week

The pond in the Garden by my house

Free exercise equipment in the Park 

 One of the tapas bars 

 Rachel and I in the Plaza de Toros

 Plaza de Toros

 Ronda

 My Spanish name = Kati

 The valley bellow Ronda

The village of Ronda