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Published: January 31st 2006
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the cathedral
where we went to church. it was hard to capture its essence because it´s located in an area with lots of winding streets and hills, and it´s huge. but i tried... VACATION! we´re on it. no school for the whole week. i feel very relaxed; it really seems to have occurred at the perfect time...
I have such a hard time trying to decide what to write about! This is such an intense experience, and I have a lot of thoughts about it all. I´m trying to write the most informative yet interesting yet not overwhelming updates that I can. With my limited internet time. Work with me here. 😊 That said...
Last week I went to a Catholic mass in a huge cathedral near the Albaicin. Lauren and I went with some girls from California and their señora. The church was freezing - everyone kept their coats on, and you could see your breath. It was super interesting to experience it, especially listening to the service and singing in Spanish. The choir was amazing: it was only like 15 people, but it sounded like 50. The harmony was strong and perfect. Everyone gathered in one corner at the end of the service and joined the choir in this song while the priest performed some sort of ritualistic something. It was wild standing in the middle of a bunch of
the mirador
a lot of people hang out at the mirador de san nicolas, the famous view of the alhambra i´ve written about. the other night some of us went to watch the sun set over the city. here we have lauren and joe, a great guy from wisconsin i hang out with pretty regularly. Spanish catholics singing their heads off... very cool, very cool.
In case you don´t know, I´ve somewhat recently identified service work as an important value and high priority in my life. Thankfully, ISA has helped those interested in finding ways to volunteer in Granada. I can´t wait to start! We had various programs and opportunities from which to choose, and although it´s not officially confirmed, I believe I´ll be working with two different programs. One is a service for elderly people in Granada. It is basically a companionship program where you spend time with one person repeatedly, doing whatever they want to do but basically providing company and human interaction. The other is an after-school program for kids of poorer families in Granada (mainly the ¨gitanos,¨the gypsies). They say this program is really intense but extremely rewarding. I am excited to interact with two opposite ends of the human continuum through this work, while both improving my Spanish and working for a greater good. Stay tuned...
So we start the actual semester (done with the intensive month) on Monday. I actually just found out that I passed the test to enroll in the advanced program. I wasn´t sure
plaza isabel la católica
this fountain is an infamous meeting point for us. it´s at the intersection of two pretty main streets and isn´t too far from the CLM. the statue at the top shows queen isabel giving columbus permission to obtain ships and supplies for his voyage. if I would make it, and I am so glad that I did. Now I will be able to take classes that will both help me with my Spanish language and with a topic area (such as teaching English to native Spanish-speakers). Hooray! It will be challenging, I´m sure, but I´m ready for it. Until Monday, I will be spending time in Málaga with three other girls, from Wednesday until Sunday. Málaga is another town in Spain, southwest of Granda and on the coast. We found cheap bus tickets and a good deal on a hotel on the beach! There are so many places I want to see in other parts of Europe, but for now I am working on my Spanish and want to remain immersed in the culture and language. Hopefully there will be time for other travel later in life.
As far as my emotional state goes, I recently went through a couple days of ... not sure what to call it, but I wasn´t that happy. I love to talk with and interact with people, and I think not being able to do that as easily finally culminated and got to me a little bit. If you´ve never studied another language or lived somewhere where yours isn´t spoken, you will never know the feelings of frustration and isolation not being able to express yourself brings. However, I´m happy to say that those feelings really only lasted a few days. And on that note, I have yet to experience any so-called ¨culture shock.¨ I am really pretty good at adapting to new situations and people, so I sort of expected this, but I am happy that I´ve been...well, happy for most of my time here. Unless those couple of days WERE the culture shock. I don´t know.
However, I think those few days last week were just something that needed to realistically happen. I am really starting to feel comfortable interacting with people, especially when I go out. It´s so fun getting to know people; I ALWAYS love it... but everyone knows that it´s sort of exhausting to meet new people all the time. Well, here I am constantly meeting new people using a language that I´m not really comfortable with!! (especially at the level of comfort I have with the English language, being an English major and all...). I´m probably stating the relatively obvious but it´s really kind of a big deal for me right now. But I get more confident every day, and a successful understanding/conversation with a native speaker is the most amazing feeling. As of late I´ve met and exchanged contact information with various Spainards/foreigners who speak Spanish (and not English), and it´s so exciting. It would be easy to always interact with English-speakers (other Americans, English, what have you), but it´s so much better to attempt to speak Spanish when you´re out. It´s hard, really hard, but it´s SO AWESOME. 😊
Well, I think that´s enough. I´m not making progress on my goal to write less, more often. I´ll try to work on that. I hope I´m not wearing anyone out/putting anyone to sleep. More later...and pictures from Malaga as well.
Hasta luego...
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Melissa
non-member comment
Hello!!
Hey Wegs, It's so good to finally get your blogs!! It sounds like you're having a great time! I only have one word of advise~take it all in and have fun!!! You can sleep when you get back!!!! Love ya, Kent