A Fantastic 10 Days With My Mom And Ready For Egypt!

March 28th,

March as been busy to say the least and I have not been able to update my blog in my normal way. Nevertheless, I'll make sure to have it updated when I return from my trip to Egypt at the beginning of April.

The past 10 days with my mom have flown by.  After meeting her in Barcelona, figuring out our luggage fiasco and enjoying the city we then flew to Granada to start our tour of Southern Spain.  We spent a few days in Granada, visiting the Alhambra, spending time with my roommates and friends and going on some great hikes.  On Thursday and Friday we visited Córdoba and Sevilla, spending the night in the Andalucían capital.  We returned to Granada to spend more some time around the city before preparing for our return trip to Barcelona.

On Monday, I'll say goodbye to my mom in the airport and will immediately start my next trip-7 days in Egypt.  I'll be traveling with a Spanish tour group with my roommate Antonio and a few of my friends from my UC program.  We'll be spending four nights on the Nile on a cruise, stopping to tour all of the famous historical locations during the day.  We'll then spend 3 days in Cairo and will tour the pyramids in Giza and maybe be able to head up to Alexandria.  It should be a great trip.

Back in Granada will start Semana Santa and I'll have time to catch up on work and maybe do a road trip through Spain.  Not sure yet.  I'll update the blog with all of March when I return.

-Micah

El Bautizo De La Barbacoa

March 16th,

Some pictures from our first BBQ cookout!

Imperialism And The United States Of America

March 16th,

Waking up at 8:00am, which really felt like a continuation of the day before, I had breakfast and went to Relaciones Internacionales.  For my project's presentation, I brought along my California flag to use as a prop.  Our original teacher was back, still teaching despite being 9 months and ready pregnant.  We had some good discussions, the most poignant moment being my intervention about "Israel's war against Hamas," which the Professor interjected to point out how I had said that in such an "American way."  Here in Spain and the majority of Europe, the war in Gaza in December and January is referred to as the "Disproportional, aggressive war of Israel against the Palestinians."  In instances today, and for what has been many this year, I generally keep quiet and listen to the opinions that others have even though I may strongly disagree with them.  

After class, I quickly ran down stairs to print my essay running into Melissa.  We printed out our essay and spiral bond it in a small book.  We quickly went back up stairs to start our presentation.  The DVD worked and we set up our powerpoint.  The professor took a seat in the back and the class faced us.  I'd put up the California flag over the wooden podium. Melissa began talking, reading her notes about the theories of Imperialism.  She was getting really nervous and was not speaking well.  It got to the point where she was so nervous that she couldn't go on and I skipped the last slides of her part.  I quickly jumped down from the stage and stood in front of the class without any notes and began my part of the presentation.  I explained the history behind each point I'd written down.  The professor interjected a few times but I more or less spoke for a solid 45 minutes.  We finally got to the documentary which worked great.  After the film we began the discussion about Imperialism.  Although off to a slow start, it got really in depth with the whole class participating, including the professor.  There was point in which I could see the educational epiphany, the true cultural exchange taking place.  In the end we received a loud applause and the professor said we had done a good job with a lot of effort.

Outside I told Melissa we had done a great job and I was happy it was over.  Happy to be done with the big project, I went grocery shopping and then went to Master Tutorial which was fun and easy.  Jon came back over to my apartment after class and we talked about future trips.  Once Heiko and Antonio came home, we decided to complete what we'd been talking about since September...purchasing a BBQ.  We went to a hardware store and bought a 70 euro BBQ for 40.  Charcoal and a little small, nevertheless it looked good and we were excited.  Antonio and I stopped to buy some meat while Heiko went for a run.  Back home, we assembled it in the living room and then put it out on the balcony.  I made a marinade for the pork chops of white wine and spices and we laid on the vegetables and sausages.  The mentality  of summer had arrived and although our charcoal wasn't that great and it took us a while to get it hot, the BBQ was a christened.  We're looking forward to having some cook outs on the teraza. 

Finally Done With My Project...At 4am

March 15th,

I woke up at 6:00am and immediately started working on my project.  I was still not happy how the paper was coming along, especially my utter lack of good sources.  

At around 12:00 the girls woke up having stayed out late with the other girls from Morocco Exchange.  We sat on the balcony while they ate breakfast and booked their tickets back home to Madrid at 3:00pm

We decided to stop at "El Nido de Buho," on the way to the bus station in Plaza de toros.  Having discovered it when we arrived in August, "El Nido," is one of the best tapas bars in all of Granada.  The bar was packed on the Sunday afternoon and we had to eat outside using a ledge of the building as a table.  We had two rounds, the second being unnecessary as we only had about 20 minutes to get to the bus station.  We ended up running the last 100 meters.  I said goodbye to them as they boarded the bus to Madrid and then caught the city bus back to the centro.

In the next hour and a half before Melissa came over, I worked on my paper.  I was still worried that it wasn't very good, or at least not as articulate and concise as I wanted it to be.  Melissa came over and we spent the next 3 hours working on and finishing our powerpoint.  Neither one of us was done with our essay.

After Melissa left around 10:00, I went in the kitchen to have dinner with Heiko and Antonio.  We watched a little of Volver that was playing on TV.  The last time I'd seen it, I'd needed English subtitles.  Now I understood everything.  Knowing that I couldn't go to sleep until I'd finished my project, I made a cup of straight coffee with sugar and went to work.  Despite drinking coffee occasionally here in Spain, I still don't have much of a tolerance for caffeine and the one cup of coffee really worked.  I could feel the caffeine pulsing through my veins as I wrote.  In the next 6 hours, I finished my paper.  20 pages in total.  The writer's block that had plagued me all week fell as I was able to add some great sources from texts that I had read last year in my national security political science classes at UCSD that I still had saved on my computer as .pdf's.  I mailed the final copy to Melissa and then skyped my mom and brother before going to bed.  I'd be getting up in a few hours for class.

More Pictures From Ronda

March 14th,

Some more pictures from a perfect day trip to Ronda.

A Day Trip to Ronda

March 14th,

Seven months in Spain started out early as I got up at 6:00am, grabbing my pre-packed bag, eating a quick breakfast and meeting Sarah outside my building at 6:30.  We walked to the train station in the still dark morning.

Everyone was on time at 7:00am.  Debby, Alexi, Rachel, Sarah, Maggie, Kendra and me as the only boy.  That's happened a lot this year.  Definitely not a bad thing, but interesting as I its obvious that a lot more girls study abroad than boys.  We bought our tickets, 25 euros round trip and boarded the train, finding an open car for ourselves.

The ride to Ronda was gorgeous as the tracks cut through the green countryside filled with olive groves.  We stopped at a few white villages along the way as the tracks began to climb the mountain.  I fell asleep and read for my project, while listening to some Spanish bands that Antonio had given me.

Arriving in Ronda we exited the train station to find ourselves in a beautiful, quaint town with white buildings and inviting architecture.  The first thing we did was head to the Mercadona so the girls could buy picnic supplies.  We then began our walk through the city, reading about the famous sights in lonely planet as we headed toward the center.  We first came upon a park by the oldest and most famous bull ring in Spain.  Vertiginous cliff views of the valley spreading below the plummeting cliffs.  Green valleys with rolling hills, Spring in Spain was beautiful.  

The day was perfect, hot, and the warm sun streamed down.  From the bull ring, we walked to the small plaza de España before climbing past the "camino de Ernest Hemingway," and after turning the corner came upon the absolutely incredible, architectural feat of genius, "Puente Nuevo."  Rising up between the two cliffs of the spanning gorge, the bridge with its three windows brings the two sides of the valley together.  We gazed at it a long time before walking across it, receiving even more incredible views from the other side.  

Just seeing the bridge was worth the visit in and of itself.  The river ran underneath it creating a waterfall on the other side.  Birds flew below its staggering height.  I was in awe and wondered how it was ever built during that time.  Literally built into the rock itself, brick by brick, whoever put in the keystone must have been very brave.  Hemingway had written about the Ronda bridge in For Whom the Bell Tolls as he described a scene during the Spanish civil war in which the "fascists were hurled from a bridge."

From the other side of the bridge we headed down into the gorge following the spiral stairs.  We had an early picnic in the shade of some trees.  

After lunch, we decided to check out the walls descending the mountain that we had seen on the other side of the gorge form the top of Puente Nuevo.  We descended the cobble stone steps until we reached an old arch, part of old ruins, and the most amazing views of the bridge we'd seen all day.  We hung out there for awhile taking pictures and admiring the bridge and surrounding landscape.  Walking in the opposite direction, we stopped to sit on top of an old arch before deciding to return to where we just were to see if we could make it down into the valley.   Our curiosity turned into a great hike.  I explored the interior of an old, electrical dam, now overgrown with plants.  We kept descending, trying to dodge the stinging nettles until we made it down to the main road. 

Back up top we admired the cliff side restaurants.  We had two hours before our train so we went to check out the Plaza de Toros.  None of the girls wanted to pay the 6 euro admission so they sat in the park while I went to check it out.  A sand covered ring surrounded by stadium seats supported by ionic columns, the bullring is one of the oldest in Spain and also one of the most famous.  The museum itself was nice, with descriptions on the history of bullfighting, an old armory and lot of uniforms and accessories. 

I met back up with the girls and we walked back to the train station.  We explored a nice walkway, lined with perfect little houses, before heading back to the train station to catch our 5:35 train.

The train ride back was quite beautiful and I slept most of the way.  Back in Granada we said goodbye and Sarah and I walked back to the centro.  I talked to Rebecca and Caryn about their day in Granada.  They had met up with the other girls from Morocco Exchange and had bought me a ticket to attend a flamenco concert up in Sacramonte.  I showered and changed and we went out to Plaza Nueva where we met up with the girls.  The show was ok as I it was mix of Disney Movie songs with Flamenco.  I liked the parts when they actually danced flamenco.  We went for tapas afterword and went out to a bar, before I excused myself to go home and sleep.  Tomorrow, I would finish my project.

The Start Of A Weekend In Which I Was Able To Do It All

March 13th,

I woke up really early on my day off at 7:00am to get a start on the pile of work I had to complete.  Basically coming home at the same time I woke up, Heiko returned home from his 8 day trip through northern Spain.  I talked with him and his friend Benjamin and Antonio too as our piso was a lively place at an early hour.

Having struggled with it all week, I sat down and forced myself to write more for my essay for my Imperialism project.  Melissa and I had divided the topic, with her focusing in on all of the generic, broad theory and my part being historical examples of American Imperialism from the Mexican-American war to the current occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I had so much to write and it was hard to stay motivated.  

Around 11:30, I went over to the facultad at 11:30 to talk to the International Relations office to ask the coordinator about grades and talked to Inma about the summer job.  She told me I'd be better off not taking it as I should be here to see my final grades and contest them if something is incorrect.  I went grocery shopping for the weekend before returning home to work.

I kept working in the afternoon although I was getting easily distracted.  I did receive an email from ArtPower! at UCSD letting me know about student job positions for next year.  I would love to work for ArtPower and the two positions working in the Loft, the new performing arts center and restaurant, would be so much fun.  I'll send in my resume and cover letter although I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it as an is already a huge time commitment.  

After a two hour siesta, I kept working.  I'd written a lot but I felt that my sources were weak.  

I've added beans to my cooking repertoire.  I'd let a bowl of black beans soak for all of yesterday and after boiling them for an hour, had them with the rice and chicken.  The improvement of my cooking skills is a slow process.  Heiko made some vegetables and we had a nice shared dinner.

At 11:00pm, my friends Rebbecca and Caryn who I had met on Morocco Exchange the month before called me to let me know they were at the bus station.  Studying in Madrid until May, the girls had called me early this morning letting me know that they were coming to Granada and asked if they could stay with me.  I've done similar things this year in regards to asking people if I can stay with them so I said it was fine, but I did reemphasize the fact that I would basically not be here this weekend as tomorrow I would be going to Ronda and the rest of my free time would be dedicated to my project.

I met them at the bus station and we came back to the centro.  I still wanted to be a good host so we went to one of my favorite tapas bars.  We were all tired and went back to my piso to sleep early.

In Spain, Protests Stop Class

March 12th,

I woke up at 11:30am to my alarm clock and went for a run around the Parque de Ciencías.  I ran up the seven flights of stair in my building to finish my run and stretch out on the roof.  I ate breakfast, showered and then went to buy some dvd's for my documentary.  I burned 8 copies and hoped they would work as Europe has a different format than North America or Japan.  I had wanted to finish the project completely before my afternoon class, but was unable to do so.

Teoría del Estado ended early as a protest against the "Plan Bolonia" was so loud that the professor couldn't be heard.  "Plan Bolonia," is a movement in Europe to unify and streamline all of the universities in the European Union.  This means an equal curriculum and classes in all of the universities.  This means that Spanish students will have to do more homework and complete their majors in 4 years instead of 5 or 6.  "Plan Bolonia," is a polemic topic here in Spain.  I always laugh at a little as it is less "corporate," less "hegemony," less "dictation," than the University of California.  Being let out early, I walked behind the protest until I cut up to my street.  

I quickly changed into salsa attire and went down to Calle Ronda where Nelson was holding a special class in a local gym.  A pretentious health club with white-capri wearing assistants passing out cut up fruit to the club members.  Lit candles guided the way up the staircase to the large dance hall where Nelson was giving his class.  Although a large group, I had a lot of fun.  Taking salsa was a great decision and I'd like to continue with it when I return to the US.

For dinner I'd been invited over to Rachel's.  A lot of people from program were there and we had a "media exchange program," of exchanging music and movies.  I hung out until 12:00 before coming back home to sleep.    

Summer Has Arrived

March 11th,

In Relaciones Internacionales at 9:00am we had a new professor who will be taking over for our normal one as she is going to be giving birth soon.  Young, preppy and slightly James Bond looking, Profesor Sanchez knew his stuff.  I think the class will be more difficult and interesting.  

In Historia Política Social Contemporánea, the professor talked about the politics leading up to the First World War, with the web of alliances and treaties.  Interesting, complicated.  After class, I ran into my old professor from Estructura Social Contemporánea and then went to the Facultad de Derecho to introduce myself to the new professor of my Relaciones Internacionales class.  

Outside it was hot and sunny.  I took off my sweater and wondered why I was wearing jeans. Summer has arrived, skipping spring in the process

In the hour and a half between my next class, I did some grocery shopping and quickly put everything away before heading back to the facultad for the Master Tutorial.  I received an "A" on the first exam.  Although slow and a little tedious, I like the class as we go over the finer, more difficult aspects of the language and have the opportunity to hone in our control.  

After class, Melissa and I walked to my piso to work on the powerpoint for our project.  We also talked about the potential Greece and Turkey trip this summer.  Melissa's family is from Turkey and she has invited friends from the program to stay with her for a week in July.  If I went along, we would visit Turkey and Greece.  Our project was interrupted by the call I'd been waiting for from Barcelona.  I talked to the head teacher in an interview that was more of a logistical explanation of the summer camp.  She said that I had a very impressive resume for someone so young.  I am not sure if I will take it as although I would love to have international work experience on my resume and live the summer in Barcelona, I will have to do a lot of logistical coordination here in Granada in regards to moving classes and finishing up the study abroad program.  I also have to pay July rent so I'm not sure if it would be worth it as I have to look for my own apartment for one month in Barcelona.  Lots of thinking to do.

Melissa left and I made a snack before taking my computer and box of strawberries over to my friend Elliot's house in Plaza de Toros.  We hadn't hung out in a long time and Elliot had invited me over for dinner.  Health food guru, exercise fiend and the one American who has maintained true discipline in regards to a regular sleep cycle, Elliot is an exemplary student.  He made tofu, beans, rice and a salad.  We ate the strawberries I'd brought over while discussing the time in Granada, Judaism and future trips.  We want to do the Camino de Santiago together but will probably have to settle for a day trip to Gibraltar instead.  We scheduled tentative dates.

Back home I talked a little with Nathalie and Antonio before finishing the documentary for my Imperialism project.  Today I had recorded the opinions of a girl from Switzerland and another from Russia.  Everyone thinks the United States is an Imperialist state (I would agree so as well), but one of the questions that I plan on asking in open debate is "if that is a bad thing?"  I went to bed and still having a lot of work left to do.

 

Class Picks Up and Salsa Simmers

March 10th,

I woke up at 10:30am after having dreamt a long time in Spanish.  The day was perfect and I changed into my running shorts and went for an hour run along the Río Genil.  Georgeous.  I stretched by the river and an all the way until I reached the last gas station before the national park of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  Back home Nathalie and her visiting friend from Germany, Anya, were eating breakfast on the balcony.  I ate with them before taking a shower and beginning to read more for my Imperialism project.

I read until lunch.  Antonio was feeling really sick and decided to go to the doctor.  I first hoped that he would be all right and then thought selfishly and wanted him to be better by the time we go to Egypt!  I ate the leftover rice, beans and chicken for lunch in the summer living room listening to music.  

After lunch, I read, but really wanted to be working on my movie.  I decided to see if I could record some really different opinions and went around Granada asking shop owners and the merchant salesmen.  No one wanted to be filmed, so I decided to stick with just the students.  Tourist season had arrived to Granada as the streets were filled with foreigners.  In true Spanish fashion, I took a quick 30 minute siesta before going to the facultad for my afternoon class.

In Teoría del Estado we had an intense debate about what is a "nation."  I participated a lot saying that I believed the "Nation of the United States," came after the "State of the United States."

I talked with some kids from my program before reading in the library for about half an hour.  I then went to Salsa for the most fast-paced and intense class that we've had yet. I danced with a of girls and Nelson made us practice a lot of new moves.  The last move that Nelson had me do was ridiculous.  With the girls back to me, I had to pick her up from behind, putting her legs around my waste, swinging her down, grabbing her hands between her legs and assisting her in the completion of the flip.  Crazy as her head almost hit the floor.  I was the only boy he had do it and we'll have to practice it a lot more.

Back home, I collected my laundry from the roof and then ate dinner of more leftovers.  I hung out a little with Nathalie and Anya, showing them pictures of me with my long hair. They couldn't believe it but liked it a lot.   I talked to Antonio who was feeling better.

I went to bed still having a lot to do on my project and realizing that I needed to finish it before the weekend as I wanted to go to the small city of Ronda.

And The Reality Of A Year Abroad Is That I'll Never See Some People Again

March 9th,

I woke up at 7:15, worked out, ate breakfast and arrived at the facultad early.  Walking over to the political science college, I ran into the professor who had interviewed me for my Relaciones Internacionales final and he told me that there would be no class.  I went to the facultad any way to check out grades as I have to turn them into the UC study center.

In Historia Política Social Contemporánea, we watched an old, cinema verité style film called "La Primera Carga del Machete."  While watching the movie, I was thinking about the huge project on Imperialism and the United States that I would have to give next week. I'd been wanting to make a documentary about the opinions of other students on the topic of Imperialism and whether they think the United States is an Imperialist state.  After class I began the collection of films and opinions.  I wanted to ask students from different countries and started off by interviewing my friend Jon as the opinion of the United States, a kid from Hungary, another from France and later my apartment mate Antonio.  I asked each person three questions:  "Where are you from?" "What is your definition of Imperialism?"  "Do you think that the United States is an Imperialist State?"  I wanted as many interviews as possible and planned on editing them all together.

Leaving the facultad I went shopping in Mercado Central and Mercadona.  I then went to Master Tutorial where I think I did well on our first grammar test.  Back home, I loaded up the videos that I had collected during the day and also spliced together clips from "Gladiator," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Black Hawk Down," to show an "Imperialism Evolution," and spice up the project.

That afternoon, Antonio and I went to the travel agency and put down our down payment for Egypt.  We are going!  It should be an amazing trip.  Back home I bought my one way ticket to Barcelona to meet up with my mom and looked at other trips.

My dad had told me that my Great Uncle Theodore had been really sick and I asked him for the number so I could call him and Aunt Belle.  When I talked to Aunt Belle, she told me that he had passed away earlier that day.  I felt sad and remembered some fond old memories of him that I had had from a long time ago.  This year abroad is a once in a life time opportunity and I've been enjoying every minute of it.  At the same time, I realize that I can't pause the rest of the world nor expect everything to be the same when I return.  

 

Behind On The Blog But Will Have It Updated Soon!

March 19th,

Dear Family and Friends,

So far this year I've tried to update my blog every week, but unfortunately in the last 11 days I have been unable to do so.  These past two weeks I've been very busy with school (an hour and half presentation in Spanish about Imperialism and the United States with an additional 30 page paper, 10 minute film documentary and question and answer session) and activities through Granada.  I've also been busy trying to figure out if I will be working in Barcelona this summer, teaching English at a summer camp.  I would like to take the job but there is a litany of logistical coordination that I have to do here in Granada before I could accept it.  I've also been accepted as an Residential Advisor for the 2009-2010 academic school year for UCSD Sixth College and will begin training at the end of August to prepare for the coming school year.  

Tomorrow I will meet my mom in Barcelona and we will spend the weekend there.  Monday we'll be in Granada and spend the rest of the week touring the city and taking day trips around Andalucía.  Monday, March 30th, I'll say goodbye to my mom in the Barcelona airport and three hours later, board a plane to Egypt to begin my next trip.

Antonio, my Spanish apartment mate, and I have been planning a trip to Egypt.  We've found an amazing deal, that although still expensive, looks to be an incredible trip.  Four nights with a cruise on the nile, from Luxor to Ashwan,  stopping during the day to tour the cities and historical sights.  In Ashwan we fly up to Cairo where we'll spend the next three days touring the city and seeing the pyramids.  I'll be going with a Spanish guided tour so all of the trip planning has been and will be in Spanish.  An adventure in and of itself.  

Egypt leads into Semana Santa which is our official spring break.  After resting for a couple of days, my friend Jonathan Garvey and I will be heading to Berlin to tour Germany's capital city.  Back in Granada, we'll have a day to recuperate before starting back up with school.

That's more or less the plan for the next month.  I'll update the blog like normal when I can.

Thanks to everyone for reading and I look forward to seeing all of you in person when I return home at the end of July, beginning of August.

-Micah

It Will Be The Same And Different

March 8th,

I woke up lat at 11:30 to the sun pouring in through my window.  I tested the weather out on my balcony and it was warm enough to wear shorts.  I changed into my jogging clothes and went for a nice run along the river looping past the Parque de las Ciencías to my piso.  I stretched on the roof and came down to eat and shower.

A really low key day, I sat inside, reading, studying and writing.  Antonio and I talked a little more about Egypt.  For lunch, Antonio had made a great soup with garbanzo beans and he shared some with me.

I skyped my dad and brother and they told me that my great-uncle Theodore is suffering from cancer and is not doing well.  Its difficult for me to think about the fact that when I return home, a lot of people who I have met and loved won't be there anymore.

I studied for my grammar quiz tomorrow in Master Tutorial and kept working on my project for American Imperialism.  I'm having some trouble linking everything I want together.

Nathalie invited me out to Booga Club for the weekly jazz session.  I'd gone out enough this weekend and I spent the rest of the night reading before going to sleep.

(The Year In Parenthesis)

March 7th,

I woke up at 10:30 to sounds of Nathalie cleaning the house.  I got up and went to help.  After sweeping, mopping the floors and taking out all of the trash we reorganized the furniture.  I ate breakfast with Nathalie and it was nice to talk to her.

The day was beautiful (it would have been perfect for a visit to Ronda) and so I made a sandwich of turkey, gouda, mustard and tomato and took with with me to have a private picnic in the perfect sun in front of my favorite fountain in the plaza del Acera del Casero.  I read and wrote for a while in the sun before coming back inside.  After reading in the living room, Antonio came in and we decided to take a walk to a hard ware store to buy the barbecue that we've been talking about since September. 

All of the shops were closed on this Saturday afternoon so we just walked around Granada, stopping for 1 euro ice cream and checking out a swap meet.  We stopped at Mercadona to pick up supplies for the apartment.

Back home, I ended up skyping my friend Joyce Chang from UCSD.  This morning I had received my RA acceptance and will be an RA in the Sixth College Residential Halls this coming academic year!!!  An RA last year,  Joyce had also applied and received it so I called her to ask her about the training process and what to expect for the coming year.  Its funny but enjoyable to see how one event can and will affect my life for the entire year to come.

I took a shower and made dinner and then skyped my mom.  I probably should not have gone out as I have a lot of homework to do, but I realized that there are only 12 or so Saturday nights left in Granada and I decided to go over to Veronica and Jennifer's apartment to hang out with Jon and other people from my program.  I had to call my house at around 5:30am to talk to the Havurah during the annual Purim Party, so I figured the easiest thing to do would be to go out for a couple of hours rather than go to sleep and wake up to call.  I went with the girls to "Sala Principe" a very preppy club that was a lot of fun before coming home to skype the Havurah.  It was nice to talk to everyone.  After I finished talking, I went immediately to sleep.

The Art Of Hosting And The Reality That I Can't Do It All

March 6th,

I woke up around 11:00am after having slept in from the night before.  I had no real plans today on my day off other than having three girls from my program who I hadn't hung out with since practically ILP over for lunch.  After spending some time on the computer, I went to go shopping before they came.  I went to Mercado Central where after waiting in line for a bit I bought a chicken breast and hamburgers.  I then went to a fruit stand where I bought two huge, succulent tomatoes and 3 nice oranges.  I quickly came home, dropped the stuff off and then went to Mercadona.  I hurried back home, the heavy bags weighing me down, where I quickly cleaned up the entire kitchen and living room, set the table and cut up the oranges as appetizers.  I then started tomato sauce and laid out the chicken and tortellinis.  

Melissa, my group project partner, Veronica and Jennifer came over and I did my best to hold a conversation while cooking.  Hosting takes practice.  I'd like to get to the effortless point that my parents and grandparents are able to do.  Practice, I guess.  Everything turned out to be really good and we had some good conservations.  All 4 of us go to UCSD, but as our study abroad program is so big, I really hadn't hung out with any of them.  The girls left and I cleaned up.

Antonio and I had still been talking about Egypt and I wanted to talk to a travel agency as I was thinking the price we found online was too good to be true.  We went to the travel agency down the street and spent 30 minutes talking to the guide, who first gave us a price of 800 euros but after we told her that we'd found it for less than 500 on line, she was able to give us the same package, 4 nights on a cruise on the Nile and 3 in Cairo, for a final, everything included, price of 600 euros.  It will be an expensive trip but I feel that if I have the opportunity to see the pyramids while I'm young it will be an indescribable experience.  Also, to plan a trip to Egypt from home in the US it would be three or four times as much.  It looks like we will leave the same day that my mom returns home to California and will run into our spring break of Semana Santa.  I'll miss three days of school but I'll talk to my professors before hand.

Back home from the travel agency I decided to take a siesta as I knew I wouldn't sleep at all tonight.  Tomorrow I had plans to go to the quaint city of Ronda at 7:00am for a day trip.  Heiko was also going on trip, 10 days in the north of Spain, and as I had seemed to attend some sort of late night festivities before my last three or four trips we decided to throw our first large house party since December.  

I woke up at 10:00pm, showered and cleaned up the apartment.  I have to say I learned my lesson about throwing a party the day before a trip...don't do it.  In true Spanish fashion, no one showed up until 12:00am and the last guest left at 5:00am.  As the host and responsible one, I had to make sure that everyone was out and the apartment was ok.  I talked to the other people who had also wanted to go to Ronda and I told them that I was not going as I had to clean up my house.  It was a great party but also a reality check that I can't do it all.

Work In The Morning, Weekend In The Afternoon

March 5th,

I woke up at 10:15, tired but ready to dedicate the day to work.  I worked out with some basic exercises and then took a shower.  At breakfast, Nathalie and I watched "Scrubs" in English.

From 11:30 to 4:30 I finished the práctica for Teoría del Estado.  A large packet to read and 5 essay questions about "The Welfare State."  I wrote a lot.  I received a message from the Barcelona job and wrote them back asking if we could reschedule for today.  She replied and said that today worked well and that would call me at 3:00pm.  After a quick turkey and gouda sandwich for lunch that I ate in my room while looking at my watch, the director failed to call met again.  Highly annoyed,  I sent them another message to see if we could reschedule for a third time.  If they can't call me just to set an interview, I don't know if I want to work for them.

At 4:30 I finished the trabajo, proof read it and then went to class.  In class, we went over the trabajo and I participated quite a bit in the debate with the professor.

I ran in my dress shoes over to my salsa class in Fuente Nueva.  It was packed with people and I ended up dancing with a girl from Prague for the entire class.  This semester there are lot more foreign students who signed up.  I wanted to stay for the advanced class but couldn't as I had to hurry home to pay the rent for the month of March.

We paid a lot more this month than usual as the the cold weather had run up our heating bill.  This being my first year that I've lived on my own, its quite a real world learning experience to see how expensive it is to live. 

The trip that Antonio and I had wanted to go with to Egypt had filled up.  Although I wanted to go sooner rather than later, I was glad as I did not want to go on a trip that would make me late to pick up my mom at the Barcelona airport on the 20th.  Antonio and I decided to go talk to a travel agency to see if there were other trips.

After doing some homework, I went over to Blake's party in Plaza de Toros to make an appearance.  We stayed until about 3:00am before coming back home to sleep.

Aprovechar

March 4th,

I got up early at 7:45 tired, but ready for class.  International Relations was good although I had to excuse myself to answer a call from the US embassy in Madrid about my questions concerning Egypt.  It looks like I'll have to purchase a travel visa when I get there.  

Historia Politica Social Contemporary as we stared our unit on Imperialism.  I left this class a little early as well as I was expecting a call from the university in Barcelona about the summer job at the English language camp.  The interview was supposed to be at 12:00pm sharp but they did not call me.  I waited for 20 minutes before going into the computer lab to send an email to the person who was supposed to interview me to make sure everything was all right and if we could reschedule.  Melissa and I checked out some books that we would need for our project on Imperialism and then headed back to my apartment to begin an outline and rough draft.  Both poli sci majors from UCSD, Melissa and I talked about how we should write about "Imperialism." Since the professor had been going over a basic idea of Colonialism and Imperialism, we decided to focus just on the United States and our own relation to Imperialism.  We have to write a research paper and make a powerpoint.  

For lunch I made us chicken and rice, one of the two recipes that I've gotten down (the other being "pasta fresca").  We talked to Antonio and Heiko before continuing a little with our project.  Melissa left for her next class and I bought tickets from Vueling for my mom's and my round trip tickets from Barcelona to Granada.  I then sent a lot of emails including ones to Sixth College about my RA application and ArtPower! about future job positions.  I'll have to wait until Friday to know if I received the RA acceptance.  Once I found it out, next year will be a little more planned.

For dinner I made a sandwich and I sat at my newly expanded desk, I moved the one from my balcony into my room, and worked on the Teoría del Estado práctica due the next day.  I made facebook events for a trip to Ronda on Saturday and also a party on Friday.

Calle San Antón Is The Place To Be!

March 3rd,

I woke up late around 11:00am and immediately started the day by cleaning my room, working on homework, working out and taking a shower.  I had breakfast around 1:30pm.

Trying to book flights for Barcelona when my Mom comes, my card wouldn't go through.  I called the credit card company but nothing was wrong with my card just their site.  I'd wait until tomorrow and try again.

I left messages on the Madrid embassy's phone as Antonio and I have found a potentially incredible trip to Egypt and I wasn't sure about what I'd need for a visa or the fact that I have Israel in my passport.

At 5:30 I went to class which was interesting.  We talked about the Theory of the State in detail and other polemic, crucial, quotidian topics like "Nation" and "Society."  Despite our debates and text assistance, I still find all three salient archetypes very difficult to classify and truly define.  

After class I went to salsa for a fantastic, advanced class.  I may start going 2 hours a week, to both classes, as there are not enough boys.

I had missed a call from my OL from summer, Mónica so I called her and although I'd had plans to go home, I took her up on her offer for tapas and met her at a really cool tapas restaurant that specializes in wine.  After tapas, I went home and was working on my computer, still in my dress shoes from salsa when Heiko came back from his own "tapas date" and wanted to go back out for one more.  We asked Alberto and Antonio if they wanted to go and decided to walk around our street in the center of the city and try a new place. 

We walked around Calle San Antón, all of us looking a little more preppy than usual. At the end of our street we saw the two bouncers guarding the entrance to some bar or club.  We had always passed by it and had seen very well dressed people going in and out but had never stopped by.  Thinking we weren't going to be allowed to enter, I was surprised when the bouncer opened the door and graciously let us in.  I was blown away to say the least as the bar/club/performance arts venue was the best decorated and overall stylish place I'd been to in all of Granada.  I couldn't believe it was only a 100 yards from my house.  We climbed a spanning staircase bathed in light and entered a huge room, a former movie theater.  A live band was playing a jazz set and the black dress shirt waiters made high class cocktails and tapas behind a bar that changed colors.  We sat down at a table and soaked in the venue.  I was happy to go out with my roommates, especially Alberto as he is never home, and find a new place in Granada.

Heading back to our apartment, we all agreed we lived in the best location in all of Granada.

A March Monday

March 2nd,

Monday morning came way too early.  I got up and went to Relaciones Internacionales only to have the professor come half an hour late.  Once class finished, I ran downstairs to print out my práctica on the Spanish-American war for Historia Política Social Contemporánea.  Next Wednesday I'll be presenting on Imperialism and relating it to the United States.  It is a group project with my friend Melissa from my program.  We talked to the professor about the project after class.

I went shopping at the Mercado Central and the local fruit stands before going to Mercadona for everything else.  Back home, I looked at flight times and ticket reservations for the Alhambra for when my Mom comes in a few weeks.  Although I found the information online, I decided to go up tot he Alhambra to check it out in person.  I'll never grow tired of the incredible juxtaposition that is the distinct change between the city and the Alhambra woods.  Absolutely beautiful.   As it turned out, I had to book online, and headed back down the hill toward the centro.

Corrine called me and we met up for coffee.  I came back home to up load photos and work on homework.  The rest of the night was low key as I sat inside reading, the sound of the rain falling against my balcony a peaceful background melody.

Rabbit Rabbit, Our Weekend In Cádiz Comes To An End

March 1st,

Like the night before, I woke up smashed between the other people who had come in later.  How we thought we could sleep six in the same bed was ridiculous.  I slept on the floor in my sleeping bag until waking up at 11:30.

Tired from the night before but feeling pretty good considering we had just spent two full days and nights in Cádiz.  We packed everything up and checked out of the hotel.  Despite having a shower in hotel room, none of us had bothered to take one.  We planned to jump into the ocean today before going home so we would be "clean."

Our bus wasn't until 3:00pm so we had a few hours to walk around the city.  We went for another small breakfast of pan con tomate at a cafe in the city center.  On this last day of Carnaval, there were still people dressed up and bands singing and dancing in the street.  I don't think anyone actually works in Cádiz for the 10 days that Carnaval takes place.

From the cafe we went to the beach where the tide was so low that the stone bridge was completely dry. The water was so far out that that there was about 500 yards of additional beach.  Bake and Sarah jumped into the freezing water (the grey weather had returned and I thought it was pretty cold out).  I decided to walk along the beach and explore.  Passing in between tide pools, slippery walks and anchored fishing boats, I came to one of the corners of a castle built in the sea.  I explored the area around the castle before heading back in, afraid that I'd be trapped by the tide.  Back on the beach, we organized everything and went to look for the bus station.

We took a long, lost route through the city, seeing the last of Cádiz before boarding the bus back to Granada.  The bus ride was 5 hours but not too bad.  The countryside was beautiful with the hills glowing in the sun set.  Back in Granada it was raining.  We boarded the bus back to the center and I rode it with Sarah until Puerta Real.  I said goodnight and went up to my apartment, happy to be home.  After talking to my roommates, I took a much needed shower.  I finished up a homework assignment for Historia Política Social Contemporánea and thought of future trips before going to bed.

Carnaval Day Two

February 28th,

I woke up around 7:00am, smashed between everyone else who had come back later that night and tried to fit in the same bed.  I got up and laid my sleeping bag out on the floor and fell back to sleep.

We all woke up around 11:00am and talked about the night before.  We lounged around in the hotel room before deciding to get "breakfast" as 1:00pm.  At the café next door we ordered "café con leche" and "pan con tomate" in true Spanish fashion.  Everyone was feeling tired, so we went back to the hotel room to nap.

The weather was clearing up and that afternoon we went to the beach.  Blake and I picked up a pizza while the girls went to find drinks.  It was about as a relaxing afternoon as we could have had as we leaned against the slanted sea wall, enjoying the warmer weather while eating our lunch.  Tonight would be the most crowded night as groups of day tripping, Erasmus and American students from the other Spanish cities would be taking "party buses" to Cádiz for a total of 16 hours.  As we laid on the beach, costumed people walked by.  We stayed on the beach until sunset, which was quite stunning with the last drop of sun and sliver of moon spread across the horizon and sea.  Alexis and Debby went back to the hotel to get the costumes and we put on our togas and crowns right there on the beach.  

As the last night of Carnaval began, the beach was the beginning of the party.  I ran into some of the girls that I had met from Morocco Exchange on the beach.  Pushing our way through the streets, we first went to a great restaurant that Blake had remembered from summer.  The Greek Gods sat down at the table and ordered.  Eating my meal in my golden wreath crown was quite a scene!

Whereas yesterday was crowded, but manageable, today was so packed that in the plaza de la Cathedral it was impossible to move.  The Cathedral was an incredible, ridiculous sight and probably the epitome of the idea of there being a difference between "Saturday night and Sunday morning." Thousands of people in a variety of costumes were dancing, running wildly and consuming large quantities of alcohol on the steps of the Cathedral.  Only in Spain.  In the plaza we ran into a huge group of Spaniards dressed as Smurfs who we hung out with and spoke to in Spanish.

We spent a long time at the Cathedral and Alexis and Rachel decided to head back.  I followed Blake, Debby and Sarah as we kept going from plaza to plaza.  Once again, our group was separated and I decided to head back to the Cathedral before heading to the hotel.  I ran into Kendra and Maggie from our program who were dressed as "punk rockers" in vibrant, neon wigs.  We headed back to the cathedral together before I said goodbye and walked back toward the beach.  Down on the beach I ran into all of the Moroccan Exchange girls.  Their bus would pick them up in a few hours and they were there in costume with hundreds of other people in the same situation.  We hung out for a while, before tired and a little cold (my undershirt and toga weren't that warm) I headed back to the hotel where I immediately fell asleep.

¡Carnaval en Cádiz!

February 27th,

I woke up at 8:00, showered and put on the one set of clothes that I would be bringing for the weekend.  With my toothbrush and sleeping bag in Heiko's small backpack, I was set.

Waiting a few minutes at the bus stop, I caught the 33 to the Estación de Autobuses.  At the bus station, I met up with Blake, Sarah, Rachel, Debby and Alexis my friends from the program who I would be going to Cádiz with.  We put the girl's suitcases in the luggage compartment and boarded the bus.

The bus took an indirect route from Granada to Seville and then to Cádiz.  I slept and looked at the countryside which was quite beautiful with olive groves and fertile valleys.  The area around Seville was an emerald green. 

 The perfect weather form the week before had gone away and we arrived in Cádiz to cold, grey skies and wind.  We didn't have a set plan, this second weekend of Carnaval, so we decided to embrace the idea of playing things by ear.  Debby and Alexis had booked one hotel room that we would all be sleeping in.  They took a taxi to the hotel to check in and store every one's stuff while Sarah, Rachel, Blake and I went to explore Cádiz.

Cádiz is a beach city in Southern Spain and by some historical accounts, possibly the oldest city in Europe.  Like a fist jutting into the water, the city spans across the peninsula.  Our hotel was in the new part while all of the main tourist sites and Carnaval events were in the old part.  The old city was separated from the new by a giant wall and ancient fortification.  It was decorated with a giant sign saying Carnaval and the watchtower had been turned into the face of a clown.  Traveling with Blake was cool as he had lived in Cádiz for a month during the UCEAP, Pre-Ilp and knew the city pretty well.

From the bus station we walked to the old city and saw the tribute to the signing of the Constitución of Cádiz of 1812 and then walked through the quaint, narrow streets to the Plaza of the Cathedral.  Beautiful, with a "shell" theme and lined by palm trees in an open square, the Cathedral was the centerpiece of the city.  

We called the other girls and walked to the hotel Rachel and Sarah went up to change.  Blake and I didn't need to go up to the room, so we decided to walk along the beach to the stone bridge that jutted out into the ocean.  At then end of the bridge was a stone fort and old lighthouse.  We walked along the beach wall until we came to the stone bridge.  The waves crashed against its side and the salt spray licked my face.  There were other people milling around and picnic-ing.  Blake and I talked to a group of crazy Spaniards who took a picture with us and then left.  We walked back to the beach where we met the girls.  From the beach, we cut back into the old city to explore.  Exploring Cádiz was a lot of fun as there were little plazas with fountains and small parks spread out throughout the city.  The girls had brought the food with them so we found some benches in one of the little plazas with views of the ocean and had a picnic dinner.

Back at the hotel, we had a café in the restaurant before going up to the room to change into our costumes.  Carnaval in Cádiz is a huge 10 day spectacle that overwhelms the city with music, theater shows and costumed merry-making in the streets.  We were to be Greek Gods and had made an easy, but great costume of togas and golden-leafed crowns.  Once we were all ready we headed back into the old city.

Winding our way through the plazas of the old town, we saw some of the concerts and singing troupes.  Throughout the 10 festival there are hundreds of groups that put on skits of song and dance.  The groups are judged and the winning one receives a large prize.  There were a lot of people in costumes which made the whole scene a lot of fun.  The plaza of the Cathedral was packed with people drinking in public in their costumes.  We then went to a larger plaza where we found a spot to watch the concert on the huge stage.  Different bands took turns playing their set.  By the time the concert was over around 2:00am, the streets were packed with people in costumes.  We decided to walk around and eventually make our way back to the hotel.  2 hours later, Debby and I had been separated from the group due to the mass of people crowding the streets.  There were people in a myriad of different costumes and themes and they filled the streets with hysterical antics.  At 4:00am, we decided to head back to the hotel and we were lucky enough to run into an older Spanish couple from Cádiz who said they lived right next to our hotel and could show us the way back.  The first to arrive back at the hotel by 4:30am, I quickly fell asleep.

Second Semester in Full Swing

February 26th

I woke up around 9:00 and went to the Study Center to drop two of the six classes that I had signed up for this semester.  I really debated to drop both classes, Sistema Política de la Unión Europea and Política y Gobierno en Andalucía, as they were both very interesting and in subjects that I would like to learn more in.  Nevertheless, I knew I should focus more on my year classes and insure that I do well in those.  Second semester begins my last 3 months in Europe and although I'm here to study and learn, I also want to travel and take full advantage of the rest of the year.

Back home, I organized the few things I would be taking to Carnaval in Cádiz.  Before going to my afternoon class of Teoría del Estado, I worked on homework and personal tasks at home.  After class, I asked what score I received on the mid-term exam and the professor told me that I had received a "7."  Although not a great score, I did significantly better than most of the students in the class.  The Study Center doesn't just look at my grade, but the discrepancy between all of the grades in the class.  I'll actually end up receiving a higher grade thanks to the other students.

I then went to the advanced class of salsa.  The teacher had really picked it up as I was a little behind everyone else.  There were a couple of the girls from the salsa class from last quarter so its fun to be in there with them.

From salsa, I jogged back home and quickly showered as people were coming over for dinner as it was Nathalie's birthday tonight.  One of her Italian friends made some excellent pasta and we had a nice dinner with the Erasmus group.  More people came over after dinner and we hosted a mini-fiesta for Nathalie.  I didn't go out after everyone left as I needed to sleep before the weekend in Cádiz.