Dear Diary

I've nothing in particular to write about, except that the past week and a half has been pretty great. Let's start with last week...

After informing me that he would be coming for an entire week, Mike arrived last Monday to spend some time in good ol' Granada. After shutting him up in a hostel for 3 days while I went to classes, we then ventured out exploring. I have since realized that Granada is not the best tourist city. There isn't a lot to entertain tourists during the day, besides the Alhambra, a few small museums, and general walking around. Nevertheless, I think we had an enjoyable week that included lots of ice cream and fried food, sitting in plazas, tea with my host family, and the Alhambra by night.


















Hostel street- it was a happening place at night between the hours of 9pm and ___am.


















The hippie neighborhoods of Granada, known as the Albaycin/Sacramonte.


















This is a very special picture...not just because Mike is in it. If anyone (especially one person) can guess why, they'll have the pleasure of knowing they were right, and perhaps some ire.



























A couple shots from the Alhambra. I enjoyed seeing it at night, especially as I will get to go two or three times during the day (for free) with my architecture class. I thought perhaps that because I'm studying Arabic here, I could read some of the calligraphy on the walls. I was very wrong, though I think I saw a few "a"s and maybe an "r".

Anyway, this week is also turning out to be particularly good also. A quick rundown:

• I was informed that I will be living with 3 wonderful and crazy people in a house in the beautiful South Wedge neighborhood of Rochester next year/this summer, complete with a cat, a garden, and some worms (courtesy of Maria's vermiculture). We've yet to find an actual house, but I'm confident in their ability to find one while I'm here.
• I turned in one of two fellowship applications today. I've been applying for two months, and it became a bigger ordeal than I was originally thinking it would be, so I am ridiculously glad that at least one of them is out of my hands.
• I discovered the UR class schedule was up for next fall, and investigated. None of my classes overlap, I won't ever have class until 11, the advanced seminar anthro. class being offered is about perceptions of nature, and I am unofficially taking an independent study course about the resource conflict between biofuel development, agriculture, and ecosystems.
• I'm going to Cordoba on Friday, and Brussels next weekend. (!!!!)
• I had a pretty coherent conversation today with my host mother about what I want to study after college, and my ancestry.

I feel like this entry has been a bit more for myself, to organize my thoughts, but hopefully it gives a glimpse of what's been going on here. Time's starting to speed up...I've been here almost 6 weeks already!

Living with a family is definitely awkward at times, but also really great/enlightening. Here's the situation:

One apartment, six people. One señora (María José), her mother ("la abuela"), two brothers (aged 19 and 24), and my roommate (Viri) and I.

Viri and I were never really properly introduced to the brothers, and ended up living in their apartment for a week without seeing them. By now, we have a routine of ignoring each other for the most part, which while isn't ideal, is working out. However, María José is a very warm person who can talk for hours, and who has made us feel right at home. She told us the other day that she convinced someone she had four kids, rather than two because she always feels like her host students are part of the family. It's rather dangerous to ask her directions or advice before leaving the apartment, because she'll repeat herself at least three times to make sure it sinks in. Not that her suggestions aren't always spot on. She is also a fabulous cook, and most of our conversations involve learning about Spanish cuisine and how to say lots and lots of foods in Spanish.

La abuela is also great. She's definitely a bit senile, and I likes the opportunity of having two young people in the house to relate her rather disjointed stories to. She's pretty sick and recently moved into the apartment after spending some time in the hospital, but she proudly showed us her false teeth the second day we got here.

After la comida (the big lunch at 2:30/3ish), María José, her mother, Viri, and I often sit around for awhile talking. Yesterday we had a particularly good conversation ranging from learning the word for "broody" hens- clueca- to la abuela's experiences as a teenager on a farm during the first years of Franco's rule. I believe we were also given advice about what ice cream flavors to try. It's a really good way to learn about Spain and the people here, and I'm really glad I chose to do a home stay.

Also, on a completely different topic, I believe what Emily H. said about commenting is worth repeating here (I'm giving credit where it's due, not plagiarizing!). I set up the blog so that anyone can comment, and there should be a comment button down at the bottom of all of my posts if you want to leave a message. If you comment anonymously, just add your name so I know who you are!

The Real Reason I Came to Spain

Just thought I would share with you all one of the fabulous things offered by the great country of Spain: churros con chocolate...












I did not take this picture, but I can assure you that the ones I had were identical. Basically, they're fried dough that you dip in incredibly thick chocolate. I believe they rival the waffles tasted by dear Emily in Belgium.

A few more notes about food:

Most of what people eat in Spain comes from the immediate region. Ham (which I originally wrote as "jam") of the best quality is definitely from Spain, much of the produce comes from a microclimate somewhere nearby Granada where they can grow lots of stuff during the winter, oranges are most definitely from here (they're hanging from every tree in the south right now), and little cakes that you buy in stores for breakfast are from the next town over, etc.

People also spend more of their money on enjoying food over here. They/we eat out a whole lot, and generally spend time and money socializing in bars or cafes or restaurants. If we want to hang out together, the only place to do that is a food establishment, which can get a bit expensive. My host mother, who is an especially dedicated cook, also spends a couple hours every day making the big lunch served around 3 and can talk endlessly about food.

They also eat a lot of bread over here. Toast for breakfast, bread with lunch sometimes, sandwiches with giant slices of bread, tapas served almost always with bread. Bread and pastries stare at me from every other shop window.

In conclusion, I'm still thinking about the food culture. Though it seems a bit more in line with my thinking...except maybe for the bread.

Cita Arriba (Or If You Will, a Literal Translation of Update)

Here are some of the pictures I promised, as I've collected quite a few:














We'll start with a shot of the Alhambra...it's exciting to see it, though I'll have to wait a bit to go inside.














Part of the old Moorish wall that ran around the city. Now it's the site of tapas bars and cool lights.














The view on my walk to school.

Also, we spent this last weekend in Sevilla, a couple of hours west of Granada, as a last hurrah before classes started. It's a very different sort of city, filled with royal palaces, one of the possible tombs of Christopher Columbus, numerous plazas, and hoards of Americans.














I felt the need to post this, though it didn't require much skill since it's beautiful on its own. The dome at the Alcazar palace, of which every square inch is decorated with craftwork.














Finally, the cathedral had a treasure room, golden crowns and all.

Other than that, orientation has gone by rather quickly, despite some of its tediousness. I've come to realize that high school/college Spanish has not prepared me very well for this...I'm sure I've ranted about this to most of you, so I'll spare the discussion for now. Tomorrow it's on to real classes and perhaps a bit of work!

As a final note, I live with an 80 somethingish woman, my host grandmother I suppose. She's pretty great...She spouts a lot of history at inappropriate times, such as in the middle of conversation directed elsewhere. I found out the other day, for example, that February has 28 days, while listening to an explanation about food or some such topic.

Bad Anthropology

I feel that I should post something about the hilarious and strange differences between Spaniards and Americans, but I've got nothing. I haven't felt the need to assimilate culturally, beyond the obvious initial awkwardness living with a different family and being trying to speak a different language. I suppose there's the siesta, but it doesn't feel like anything out of the ordinary to me- the stores close, so it's a little more formal than just eating and relaxing at home for a couple hours.

Maybe cultural differences just aren't as dramatic as I was expecting. They eat at different times...OK...so I have to get used to different eating patterns. No fireworks, no streamers or confetti, no orchestrated music. Though finding out the reasons behind eating a huge meal at 2:30 and barely anything after that would be a tougher and more interesting pursuit. Eh, people are just more culturally fluid than they think, if they've a mind to it.

In other news, I've been here a week, orientation continues. I've decided I should pursue the dulcimer after watching, of all things, an American folk concert in sight of the Alhambra.

Someday I'll have pictures, but it's been raining every day (a rare occurrence for Granada) and I've only taken a few photos.

Obama's President: Naturally I Flee to Spain

So I've reached a point where I can organize my thoughts enough to write a coherent post... during my first siesta, and it's basically a formalized version of what I do everyday: relax, talk, maybe take a short nap in the middle of the day.

There's really nothing to report as far as travel goes. Didn't get to see Mike at Heathrow, but otherwise everything went smoothly. Though as a warning to anyone travelling through a London airport- they don't post your gate until 15-30 minutes before you board. Almost, almost I wanted to stay in England, but I knew Spain was waiting, and my plane to Málaga was about half full with IES students, so we all huddled together to await our fates.















For those interested, here's Granada, way in the south. Home of the Alhambra, called the most "sensual" building in Spain in several of my guide books. Take that how you will.

When we got to Málaga, it was a mad rush to recreate freshman orientation. There are 81 people and I remember about 20 names and 20 faces, but the two don't necessarily go together. Yesterday, after an uneventful night at the hotel, we drove to Granada and met our host families. I'm living in an apartment with a women, her two 20ish year old sons, and her mother, along with another student who is fluent in Spanish since she grew up speaking it. So, lots of Spanish all the time, but that's what I came here for, and I'll get used to it quickly enough.

María José is an incredibly nice woman, who loves to cook. She immediately told my roommate and I that we were to make the apartment and her family our own. And she knows all the cheap places to shop, and how to get around, and is willing to talk to us in detail about this for hours. She also, along with everyone in the area, thinks that 40-50 degree weather is terrible, and unbearably cold. Granted, there isn't much heat in the apartments here, so it feels cold most of the time, but I'm appreciating the heat wave compared with home.

Tonight I get to explore the area a little more, since we've really only been doing orientation stuff. Perhaps I'll use all the money I'm saving on buying dinner for 2 or 3 euros (free tapas with a drink!) and spend it on making myself look less American.

The Eye of the Storm

I've had requests to set up a blog, so away we go.

While its main purpose is to document my semester in Spain, I just got back from a couple weeks in Chile with my Chamber Orchestra. A few photos/notes are in store:

The view from my balcony in Valparaiso. It's a hilly coastal town in the middle of Chile, which is known as the New Years Eve capital of South America. And we just happened to be there on New Years Eve. The people in every one of the houses in this picture were on the streets partying till the not-so-wee hours of the morning (8 am).

We, uh, hiked the Andes. This was the view from the lagoon we stopped at. I think the picture speaks for itself...















A shot of some of the UR/Santiago youth orchestra members! URCO combined with them to rehearse/play a concert. Despite the language barrier, we all became friends. They were so enthusiastic, especially when playing their instruments: our version of Westside Story involved confetti and dancing on stage. And we had an audience. Heh, a bit different than playing in Strong Auditorium at Rochester.



A bit seasonally challenged at the moment, from Christmas decoration in an 85 degree summer to half a foot of snow. Now it's on to packing and getting ready to go to Spain on the 19th. Everything's a bit surreal...