As we continue on our group excursions to various cities in Spain, the sites we visit become increasingly stunning, and with each destination I find new favorites.
In short, after each trip we have taken, I sit down to Skype my parents who ask me how the trip was, and each time I reply, “It was amazing! I saw the most beautiful (insert church/building here).” Each city keeps topping the previous.
Friday morning we left to Granada, a small city resting on the slopes of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains and about two and a half hours away from Seville. Its most famous attraction is the Alhambra, a Moorish palace, city and fortress all in one. It was beautiful, and walking through its stone corridors and forests of columns was like stepping back in time.
The ancient columns still stood after hundreds of years, and we were told it was because a slice of lead was placed near its top, allowing it to gently slide and move when needed.
Just thought I would add that I thought it was pretty ingenious.
Although the skies were a dull grey and at times we felt a light drizzle, the beauty of the city could not be dimmed. We visited the Royal Chapel and Cathedral of Granada where the tombs the monarchs Isabel and Ferdinand and Juana and Felipe lie — their actual tombs. We got to walk beneath the cathedral’s floors and view the iron coffins that held their bodies. It was very surreal.
That night a group of us ventured to a gypsy cave for flamenco. Sounds fishy, right? The “cave” was actually a tavern that looked like a tunnel, but I could see how some could call it a cave. I was skeptical at first, but once the performance began all my doubts melted away.
Flamenco is a typical Spanish dance, and usually involves a guitarist and vocalist while the remaining performers clap and tap their feet while another dances. The dance involves graceful arm movements and powerful steps. There were women and men performers, and their strength and concentration was incredible.
Toward the end of their performance, they randomly picked people from the audience to dance with them. And of course, I ended up being dragged to the floor. But if you know my personality, you know that I have no shame, and I love to go for it. If you know me you may also know I am awkward and I have small feet, which means I have no coordination, so you might imagine how entertaining my attempts at flamenco were. I had a blast, trying to move like the woman I was dancing with. It was a great night, and a few friends have videos of everyone dancing — I expect those to be on Facebook soon.
In other news, I missed the Super Bowl. It came on at 12:30 a.m. here and my dedication to professional football runs as deep as my love of fried sardines. Some people went to an Irish pub near the cathedral to watch it. Good job guys.
Lower-level Spanish students have our first oral exam this week, and for some reason I am finding it difficult to motivate myself to study. I think it is because I have no idea how to study a language. I am nervous, but I find myself eating popcorn and a pastry I bought from OpenCor, a type of Spanish 7-Eleven, and watching “Arrested Development” on tv-shack.net.
I didn’t think learning this language would prove to be so difficult, but I know that is me being naïve. Perseverance and practice will widen my vocabulary and hopefully enable me to sound less like an incoherent child and more like a fluent young adult. I have high hopes.
On another note, I got free coffee from the café below our apartment. When I told my mom this, she broke into laughter and kept asking me if I thought the men who owned the place are handsome. I told her no, because they are only 10 years younger than my dad. She did not seem to find this problematic, and now whenever I leave the house she points downstairs, winks and says, “Eh, eh? Café con los guapos?” Let’s hope she doesn’t try to hook us up.
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