Our ISA group went on an excursion to Granada this past weekend; one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. Granada has it all; it has a beach with Mediterranean waters, the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountain range and free tapas in every restaurant. Since Granada was the last Spanish city to be reconquered from the Muslims, there is evidence of Muslim and African influences everywhere. Buildings are constructed with intricate arches and beautiful colors. The cathedrals have giant pointing towers and gothic-styled pillars.
We went to the Alhambra, the most-visited building in Spain. This old fortress has about 2 billion visitors per year and we were lucky enough to get a guided tour of this piece of history. Apparently this fortress was used by Muslims to guard against invasions and the building entrances are designed to elude intruders and have several coves and overhead hangings which made it easy for guards to hide and kill the invading enemies. Granada was an amazing place to visit and I wish I could have spent more time there. Luckily I will get to see more of Granada when I return to Spain with my family in the upcoming summer.
This past week I was granted the opportunity to adopt a roommate into my host family. I gladly accepted knowing it was Kari Hyland, one of the girls I have traveled with (including to Barcelona) and will travel with to Italy and Morocco next month. I was so excited to have her come live with me and so far everything is great. I enjoy having another American to live with to help me speak with my host mother and father, and being able to speak English in the house helps me keep my sanity. Growing up as an only child, I never had to share any of my space or my things so having a roommate is a different change of pace, though a nice one. Having a roommate freshman year was my first time having to share a room with another person and it was definitely an experience. I think this time around will be beneficial for the both of us. Kari is a fun, lovely woman and I enjoy traveling with her and spending my time in Spain in her company.
My education internship is still going splendidly. Yesterday I worked with the children, again teaching them school and weather vocabulary. Since they are starting to learn about Halloween as an English tradition, they got to paint Halloween posters and make tiny pumpkins out of PlayDough to decorate the classroom. They are as cute as ever and I love them all. Many of them come up to me asking me to open their snack or help put on their jackets and I don't think they understand why I start laughing when they do; they're just to precious, I can't help but laugh.
The professor I work with in this classroom let me run the entirety of the lesson yesterday, which was a little scary. Sitting in front of twenty-five antsy four-year-olds who barely speak English can be nerve-wrecking. The teacher left the classroom to go work on the bulletin board and I was left by myself with all of them sitting on the floor staring up at me. We talked about daily morning routines and I asked them, "What is something you do everyday before you go to school?" I could tell they didn't fully understand the question because they didn't answer, just stared. Finally, little Diego in the back yelled, "Brush my teeth!". I applauded him and they all laughed. I thought, maybe this isn't so bad and told the professor that I'm a natural.
I have this upcoming weekend off from traveling since midterms are next week, but some friends and I are thinking about going to the beach in Cádiz since we still haven't been there yet. The beach in Málaga was nice, but the beach in Cádiz is supposed to be out of this world. I am also starting my probiotic regimen this week to prepare my body for the harshness of Morocco. We leave for Morocco a week from this Thursday for six full days. I am so nervous but incredibly excited. Seeing all of the African and Muslim influences in Granada got my hyped to see even more of it in Morocco. I am planning on buying several souvenirs and clothes since everything is cheap and prices can always be bargained. I am slightly nervous about possibly getting sick there since the water is so contaminated so hopefully the probiotic pills and yogurts will help with that. I am also ECSTATIC for the camel ride; I know I'm going to want to take my camel back to Spain with me.
I also discovered that a lot of my friends from University of Denver who are studying abroad in other Spain programs are also coming on the Morocco trip with my Sevilla program. My good friends Luke, Emily and Whitney are all coming to Sevilla first and then we all leave together from there on Thursday at four in the morning. Even though I have to get up before the dawn that day, I am still going to go out to dinner with Emily and Whitney in Sevilla the night before since I haven't seen them in months. I am so excited to see all my friends and I am beyond excited to go to Morocco. I can't wait to be able to say I've been to both Europe AND Africa as part of my study abroad experience.
Thank you, University of Denver, for giving me this amazing study abroad opportunity. I always knew you were the right school for me.
D-E-N (Rah!)
V-E-R (Boom)
Denver, our Denver, we sing to thee
Fairest of colleges, give her three times three (Rah! Rah! Rah!)
Long may we cherish her,
Faithful and true,
University of Denver,
For me and you!
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