Where the gypsies live

I still can’t believe my final week in Spain is over! I will miss all the friends I have made, the family I have been staying with, and Granada in general! I feel as if I have only just got here.

On Monday I went out for paella with my friends. Paella is a customary dish in Spain. It is usually shared with people and comes out in a large pan. Paella can be many different flavors from black rice (octopus) to a seafood or vegetarian paella. They always contain rice and different seasonings, seafood, or vegetables depending on the type. Eating here is a very social activity and when going out to dinner you can almost guarantee that it will take you at least two hours.

Tuesday we went horseback riding outside the city. A fifteen minute bus ride will take you out of the city and close to the mountains and the river. A group of students and I rode horses along a walking trail by the river. It was very beautiful and relaxing. The houses are all built along the mountains here and the views are amazing from up above in the country side.

I saw a movie at the theatres in Spanish on Wednesday. My friend and I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was a little hard to follow in Spanish because they speak quickly, but overall I could understand the story and learn a few new words in Spanish. In movie theatres here there are assigned seats and they are fairly cheap in Granada (only 4 Euros).

Thursday we went to Flamenco in a cave in an area called Sacromonte. This area is where many gypsies live inside caves built into the mountain. The caves are amazingly beautiful and surprisingly warm in the winter here. The flamenco show lasted almost two hours and was incredible to watch. I was extremely close to all the dancers and they moved so quickly and elegantly. Before seeing the show the group I was with had an hour dance class in Flamenco. It was extremely hard to do and learning the rhythm in the songs is not easy!

On Friday I had my final day of classes and had to say goodbye to my professors, friends, and host family here in Granada. It was hard to say goodbye, but we ensured each other that we would talk and whenever I visit Texas, Italy, Spain, or Korea I have people to visit.

My experience abroad has been eye opening! Living among another culture and language other than my own has been very fun. The people here have been so friendly and patient with someone who cannot speak perfectly. I have met so many amazing friends and this experience has propelled me to continue learning Spanish.

When I had wanted to say something to my family and I didn't know how, I would make it a goal that day to learn so the next day I could perfectly tell them what I had wanted to say. I can honestly say my experience here has been life changing!

I now know what it feels like to be lost in a country and have no idea how to ask for help. It has given me much more compassion for others and helped me to slow down and enjoy life a little more. I would recommend studying abroad to anyone no matter what level of language you know. My Spanish has improved vastly, and going to Spain has given me more knowledge and experience than any one class could have provided me.

Some fun facts about Granada ...

• Unlike America where our street trees are mainly oak, maple, and ash, Granada has its streets lined with orange, pomegranate, and palm trees
• Granada was under Muslim rule for almost 800 years, which is the longest Muslim rule in Spain
• The whole time I was in Granada it did not rain or snow once
• Spain has a president, but also has a king and queen
• The area of Granada has been inhabited since approximately 5500 B.C.
• Granada actually means pomegranate in Spanish

— Racquel Kreischer #HuskyUnleashed #HuskyAbroad

Racquel Kreischer is a senior engineering major spending this winter break studying abroad in Granada, Spain. Through the Instituto Mediterráneo Sol Granada she is studying Spanish while living with a Spanish family learning up-close about Spainards lives, language and culture.

No pasa nada ... it's okay

This week I have gone to La Capilla Real (Royal Chapel), Granada Cathedral, a food tasting class, another city nearby called Malaga, and celebrated Three Kings Day.

The Granada Cathedral and La Capilla Real were huge and absolutely beautiful. The Granada Cathedral took over 200 years to build and was ordered to be built by the Catholic monarchs that had conquered the city! La Capilla Real had many interesting paintings and possessions of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella including their crowns and the most expensive painting in Granada. La Capilla Real also houses the tombs of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella which we got to view. There are no pictures allowed inside here, so unfortunately I can't show any of the beauty of La Capilla Real.

I went to a delicious food tasting class. The Mediterranean diet here is much different from the diet back in Pennsylvania. Olive oil is essential in everything they eat here, and I mean everything! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert! If you have a fruit salad for dessert why would you not add olive oil! Everything I have tasted in Spain so far has been absolutely delicious and even at my own host family all the food I eat is homemade and delicious.

Three Kings Day is a holiday on Jan. 6 here in Spain. It is the celebration of the gifts given by the three kings to the baby Jesus. The night before Three Kings Day there is a huge parade. They have amazingly decorated floats throwing candy everywhere with fireworks going off in the background. Many people are out lining the streets to the point where it's impossible to move!

People then go out to restaurants for tapas and to celebrate the holiday. The next morning my roommate and I awoke to the banging of pots and pans together to wake everyone in the house.Presents are hidden all over the house with riddles "brought by the three kings". Everyone has a lot of fun trying to find their presents and eating all the chocolate money dispersed throughout the house!

On Saturday my roommate, Mikayla, my friend, Simona and I went to the nearby city of Malaga. Malaga is a beautiful city along the coast. It was quite an experience to get there by bus. We had run into a small mishap when there were only two tickets left, and there was three of us. We got to use our Spanish to change tickets and ended up waiting a couple hours for the next bus so we could all ride together. The bus ride there gave me the opportunity to see the beautiful mountainous countryside.

There were thousands of olive trees and many sheep! We took a boat out on the water while we were in Malaga to see all the amazing views from the water. A bus took us around the whole city and we got to see incredible views of Malaga.

The temperature there is also much warmer so many people are out walking in their shorts and t-shirts while on the beach. On the way home from Malaga I had the luck of sitting next to someone from France, studying here in Spain! I got to practice my Spanish for two hours with someone who was near my level and learn all about France!

Three Kings Day was an amazing experience in Spain. There is so much fun to be had in Granada during the holiday season! In general, the Spaniards here in Granada seem to take life a little slower and enjoy every bit of it.

One of the sayings that people always seem to repeat here is "No pasa nada." In English this translates to no need to worry (just relax). Everything seems to be a bit more relaxed here and for a city it feels like a quaint little town with friendly faces everywhere.

— Racquel Kreischer #HuskyUnleashed #HuskyAbroad

Racquel Kreischer is a senior engineering major spending this winter break studying abroad in Granada, Spain. Through the Instituto Mediterráneo Sol Granada she is studying Spanish while living with a Spanish family learning up-close about Spainards lives, language and culture.

Celebrating the New Year!

With only four weeks here I'm trying to make the most of my time. I can finally comprehend what everyone around me is speaking, so I have gotten more adventurous in visiting areas nearby.

This Wednesday our study abroad group went to the traditional Arabic Baths here in Granada. There are Arabic Baths here in the city that are a monument that people can visit, but they are not used by the public. Traditionally, the Arabic Baths were used by the Romans here in the city. The Arabic Baths that I visited are different pools that are hot, cold, and warm. You can hop around to different pools at your choosing and drink hot mint tea while relaxing. During the Arabic bath experience you get a massage and lay on a hot stone afterwards. One of the only rules in the Arabic baths is that there is to be no talking. They are supposed to be a completely relaxing experience.

This Thursday I went to the Alhambra which is one of Spain's most visited attractions. The Alhambra is a huge palace which is more like a city within its confined walls. It takes hours to go through the whole palace.

We had a guide that led us around much of the palace and it took three hours only stopping briefly to view the sights and learn some of the Alhambra's history. The pictures of it do not do the Alhambra justice. It is beyond beautiful and took over 250 years to complete! There are Arabic scriptures carved into the walls and ceilings everywhere! Much of the walls are covered with tile or scripture. The ceilings are extremely high and detailed. It amazed me how advanced these people were in science, math, and astronomy, hundreds and hundreds of years ago!

I had gone shopping around Granada this weekend with a few friends and found many unique, homemade things to buy! Of course, while out shopping we couldn't resist buying some gelato for a midday snack! Everyone is out shopping right now because of the holiday season and exchanging of gifts on Jan. 6 (Three Kings Day).

New Years in Granada was very fun! There are so many fiestas and people celebrating the New Year! In Spain there is a tradition that at midnight everyone has to eat 12 grapes quickly for 12 months of good luck in the next year. I spent New Year's with my host family eating a large dinner that we had helped to prepare all day.

After dinner the table was moved and the whole family danced to a variety of music until 1 a.m. My roommate and I then went to the city hall square to see a large concert in the streets that were closed down and dance until late in the morning. New Year’s here is different from the United States, but very fun with many people celebrating in the streets. In addition, almost all stores closed on New Year’s Eve and remained closed New Year’s Day.

The city of Granada is so beautiful, especially during December and January! There are Christmas lights hung up everywhere you look in the city! A large fake Christmas tree is put up and a large statue of Papa Noel. There are small shops set up all over squares and random music being played all around. The spirit of the holiday season in Spain is certainly unique and I would recommend anyone to come visit Granada around the holidays!

Hasta luego until next week!

— Racquel Kreischer #HuskyUnleashed #HuskyAbroad

Racquel Kreischer is a senior engineering major spending this winter break studying abroad in Granada, Spain. Through the Instituto Mediterráneo Sol Granada she is studying Spanish while living with a Spanish family learning up-close about Spainards lives, language and culture.

Hola, Papa Noel

My first week in Granada, Spain has been amazing! Arriving in Granada I landed at a very small airport with my program director waiting for me. I am living with a host family here with a roommate from Texas. I have classes five days a week that help me to learn Spanish. During a short break in classes each day I am able to go to a busy cafe that serves chocolate and churros!

After classes I walk home and have lunch with my host family. Then, embark on a new adventure in the city. The food is very different here and living with a family helps me truly see what Spain culture is really like.

There is a medium sized breakfast at 8 a.m., a large lunch at 2 p.m., and a light dinner at 9:30 p.m.! When going out tapas and sangria are a very common thing to eat. Tapas are delicious and can be found at almost any bar! They are different everywhere and usually involve some sort of topping on a piece of bread. I have met many new people in my classes. Including people from Italy, Korea, Spain, and the United States. We are all trying to learn Spanish, so we have a language in common to speak in.

After my classes each day I go with a group of students to see the beautiful sights in the city. Spain has so many amazing things to visit! There are thousands of beautiful places to see in Granada alone.

The mountains lie in the background of the city and the beach is only a mere two hours away! Orange trees line the narrow streets with cafes dispersed everywhere. It was a shock being immersed into Spanish with my host family and classes speaking only Spanish, but in the span of a week I have caught on quickly! Everything is in Spanish, tours, conversations with my host family, eating at restaurants, so it is very important to learn quickly.

• Monday — I went to a part of the city called the Albayzin. Albayzin was extremely beautiful! There were amazing views of the Alahambra (which I will visit next week) and narrow streets with motorbikes zooming everywhere. Almost all the streets are designed with small rocks laid one by one and narrow streets to keep people shaded on hot days. The houses are all extremely white and this part of the city has many historical elements.
• Wednesday — I went on a graffiti tour and ate at a traditional Arabic tea house. The graffiti here adds color to the city and nearby white houses. All the food here is amazing and the art and scenery are even better!
• Thursday — I went on a Bellenes tour! All around the city there are large tents set up with beautiful nativity scenes celebrating the Christmas holiday that people walk through. There are over fifty Bellenes in the city and they all compete for different prizes awarded by the city.
• Friday — I went to El Parque de las Ciencias. It is a large science museum with an aquarium, various animals, and science information. On Friday night we went to tapas for dinner at 10 p.m. In Granada it is not unusual to eat dinner at 9:30 pm and go to bed around 1:00 am. There is usually a siesta between 2 to 5 p.m. where you can nap and many places are closed during this time.

Studying in Granada during the holiday season is very exciting! There are many different parades and fiestas going on. For Christmas Eve there is a large family party with a lot of food, wine, and conversations. Exchanging of presents doesn't happen until Three King’s Day, however Papa Noel (Santa) comes Christmas Eve to give gifts for the children.

There is so much to do in the beautiful city of Granada and living with a family makes studying here even more exciting. I know where all the best places to go and things to do here are located. I’m only at the beginning of my second week, but I can’t wait to do more exploring throughout this beautiful city.

— Racquel Kreischer #HuskyUnleashed #HuskyAbroad

Racquel Kreischer is a senior engineering major spending this winter break studying abroad in Granada, Spain. Through the Instituto Mediterráneo Sol Granada she is studying Spanish while living with a Spanish family learning up-close about Spainards lives, language and culture.