Week 17: Granada

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This has been another great week of work, traveling around and experiencing new things. Monday morning I went to work where I pulled 2nd graders out individually, corrected 5th grade´s English exam, and colored pictures with 1st graders. It was pretty much a normal day at school. After school Laura and I caught the bus for Chinese food before our tutoring began for the day. The sun was out and warm so we went to the park and relaxed before heading our separate ways. I went back to the school and played on the computers there for a bit, Marco was sick again so I had a long time to kill. Finally I headed off to my lesson with Ignacio. We had a great hour playing with legos and a pirate board game. After the lesson I caught the bus back to Madrid and to bed.

Tuesday was a very different day. I got to sleep in nice and late because the 2nd graders were off on an excursion and I had an orientation for work in the afternoon. I woke up very relaxed and headed to the police station to find out if my residency card was finally ready. It was!!! I finally can come and go with no problem 😊 After waiting in line for about a half an hour I picked up my card and headed out. It was another beautiful day in the city so I walked around, sat by the fountains in Sol and waited for Laura to meet me there. When she arrived we ran to our banks so they could make a photocopy of our new ID´s and thus would no longer charge us for not being a resident of Spain. Afterwards we walked around to a few shops and then headed to her place to relax before going to our orientation. Finally it was time to head to the meeting so we set off. It was a 4 hour meeting that honestly I pretty much thought was pointless for me to attend. They spent the time talking about the renewal process (which I won´t be doing) and how to prepare the 4th and 6th graders for their English exams with topic ideas (both of which I do not work with). So I had to sit there for the entire session. The only thing I learned was a new way to erase stuff off a smart board 😊 so I guess you could say I didn´t go away empty handed. By the time the orientation was over I was exhausted, still trying to get over this cold. So I headed home and then to bed.

Wednesday was an AMAZING day. I spent the morning at work as usual; 2 hours with 2nd grade, 1 hour sitting in 5th and back to 2nd grade. My last hour with 2nd grade was a little bit different though, which was very refreshing. Wednesday was Australia´s National Day so Sandy came to the class and gave a hilarious presentation. She acted out tons of stuff and even showed the students how to play Australian football, while in the process hitting a student in the face with their pencil case. Don´t worry she was fine. It was so entertaining, and really got all the students involved. Then they students made crafts of Australian animals. After the lesson I headed out and caught the bus back to Madrid. I got home, relaxed for a bit and then got all dressed up to head out to the city. A large group of us were meeting at the theater to watch the Russian Ballet perform Swan Lake. It was one of the most amazing things I have yet to see performed. The lead was unbelievable, the costumes breathtaking and the music stunning. The theater itself was quite small so I could see everything great. It was a well spent 2 hours and 25 Euros.

Thursday was a very long day. I got up and headed to the metro, had to wait forever for a train that was taking passengers and finally made it to the bus station. Unfortunately the 745 bus had already left so I was stuck on the slow 8 o clock bus. Finally after a long drive I made it to the school. I spent my day pulling 2nd graders out, pulling pairs of 5th graders out (to prepare them for their science exam), corrected homework and completed worksheets with 3rd grade, and then spent the last hour playing animal bingo with the 1st graders. Work went by really quick but then I had a long day of tutoring afterwards. I headed to San Agustin and began my first lesson with my two second graders. We spent the first half of an hour going over science but English was a struggle for them. They did not want to study for their vocabulary test. Finally I motivated them with a basketball game when we finished studying, and they flew through the vocabulary questions. Afterwards I went to Miguel’s house where I had my lesson with his sister Lidia. We spent the hour writing another rough draft of a composition she will be writing in her English class. I really enjoy working with her. It is so nice to have real conversations instead of talking about toys and the park 😊. After our lesson I headed to my two sisters house. We spent the hour playing skipbo, goofing around with my camera and acting out different scenarios. Before I knew it the lesson was over and I was heading back to Miguel’s house for his lesson. For the hour we worked on English (future verbs) and it went by super quick. Finally I headed to the bus and went back to Madrid. With this extra hour of tutoring for Miguel and Lidia I get back home a lot later on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I think it’s worth it. When I got back it was about 930 so I wrote my blog for the week before and then headed to bed.

Friday came bright and early. I woke up at 430 to pack for my weekend in Granada (I really should have done it the night before but just wasn’t motivated to) and was able to Skype with mom as I was getting ready to leave. I headed out and went to the bus station to catch my bus to Granada. After a 5 hour ride with Spanish movies (that I could fully understand 😊 ) I arrived in Granada. When we arrived I hopped on a bus and headed towards my hostel. It was in a great location, on Gran Via, close to the cathedral and right in the Albayzin district. After getting all settled in I headed out to see the sites. Unfortunately I arrived during the siesta so many places were closed, so I ended up walking around and taking pictures while I waited for them to open up. Finally things started to open so I headed to the Royal chapel to begin. The chapel was okay but I really loved the art work they had and the tombs for their kings and queens. It was really interesting to see. After the chapel I headed next door to the Cathedral. I swear I have never seen anything so breathtaking. This is by far the most amazing cathedral I have ever been to in Europe. They whole inside was completely white, from the lime they used to stop the plague, except for the gold artwork popping out in vibrant contrast. It was so beautiful. I spent so long in their just trying to take it all in, marveling over the massive organs stuck into the columns. By the time I left the cathedral it was pouring down rain 😞 but I continued to walk around trying to find more of the sites I had yet to see yet. Once it started to get dark I headed to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. It was kind of an interesting dinner. I walked into the restaurant and was the only non Chinese person there. But it was packed, so I knew it would be good. Unfortunately everyone thought they needed to stare at me the whole time I was there, they would even turn completely around in their seats to watch me eat. It was so awkward, but the food was good. Afterwards I headed back to the hostel and visited with other guests, relaxed and headed off to bed.

Saturday was another full day of the sites. I woke up nice and early, ran downstairs for my free breakfast and then headed off for my visit to Alhambra (Granada’s Palace). To go to the palace you have to make a reservation so I scheduled mine for noon so I would have plenty of time to see the gardens, the fortress and a few other buildings on the grounds before the Palace. I started off at the Gardens which were really pretty but it isn’t exactly the right season so a lot of it wasn’t in bloom. The architecture of the buildings was beautiful though, a constant use of arches present in everything. After the gardens I headed to the palace grounds where I began at the bath house, where funny enough I ran into all the Chinese people that had been watching me eat the night before. It was so strange, but at least they said hi to me this time 😊. I continued on to the church and then the Charles V’s palace. It was a very odd palace. It was completely round with the center open just like a bull rink would be. It also had a few museums in the palace so I walked around them looking at the old artifacts, pictures and postcards of Alhambra. From there I headed to Alcazaba fortress which had an amazing view of Granada on the towers. It was fun to walk around the walls and towers but I was surprised by how many of the paths just dead ended into a wall; the layout was a bit confusing. By the time I was done with the fortress it was time to head to Nazaries (the palace). The palace was amazing, all the intricate design and details were unbelievable. Unfortunately one of the best parts was torn apart to be reconstructed so there were a lot things missing and places that were shut off. It was pretty sad but still wonderful to see. After the palace I finished up with a few more sights on the grounds that I hadn’t gotten to beforehand and then I headed back down town for lunch at a fabulous little Indian restaurant where I had curry, crepes and tea. When I was finished I continued to more sites including the Moorish baths and the science park to fill my time during the siesta period. Once the siesta was finished I headed to the Carthusian monastery. Once again I was so impressed with amazing architecture and artwork in the monastery. Granada has so many beautiful religious locations. By the time I left here it was pretty late so I decided to join the hostel for dinner and then walk around the city to see the night life. It was a great day filled with tons of sites.

Sunday I woke up nice and early again, checked out of my hostel and headed to the last few sites on my list. I started off by heading to the San Nicholas viewpoint which had an unbelievable view of Alhambra. It was truly gorgeous. I walked around, visiting churches as I came across them, and exploring the old wall of the city before heading down the hill and back into the city. I was walking through the city when once again I ran into the group of Chinese people from dinner. I was seeing them everywhere; it was quite numerous at the time. I continued through the town toward the San Jeronimo Monastery. This monastery was very different than the other places I had been to. Whereas most chapels and cathedrals were brilliantly white this monastery was surrounded in color. It was wonderful to see the contrast. By the time I was done with all the sites I had to head back to the hostel to grab my bag and then the bus depot. I hopped on the bus, and after a 5 hour drive I was back in Madrid. It was a great and beautiful weekend.

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Photos

Granada Royal Chapel
bodies of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand

Granada Royal Chapel
Tombs for Queen isabel and King Ferdinand (on left) and Philip the Fair and Juana the Mad (on right)

Granada Cathedral
Me

Comments

[Mom]

I Miss that smile. :-) MADLY