some things never change--the weekend flew by with shocking speed, leaving me in awe of the places visited, new spanish words learned, and discoveries made, but little school work accomplished--such is life. el fin de semana kicked off with my round 2 of the Alhambra. with our history teacher from ILP as our personal tour guide and information from previous classes streaming my thoughts, i was able to soak up the magnitude of these palaces in a new way. the intricacies of each room, hand sculpted, designed, and painted by unknown artists/architects, each window and bit of water with such intent and purpose, and the vast history that surrounded each step i took was overwhelming. plus, our spanish professor is a sweetheart who explained the history of the muslim leaders and the pact between the christians and muslim powers that kept this masterpiece from being destroyed. as he put it, this type of architecture (alhambra--muslim )focuses on what is inside, leaving the exterior fairly plain--in contrast to christian architecture that emphasizes the exterior impact and usually has a more vast, empty interior. the differences (and occasional similarities) are fascinating. it is a place that must be experienced.
after a late friday evening of salsa dancing and discoteca hopping it was time to vamos a la playa (one of my mom's favorite phrases haha) on saturday morning. beach bound and thoughts regarding weekly stresses fleeting, i further emergered from my homesick funk as we approached Marbella, a beautiful southern beach town along the southern spanish Coasta del Sol (Sun Coast). naturally, this provoked another, "damn, i'm in spain" kind of feeling. also, Marbella freakishly reminded me of the beloved santa barbara with warm sand between my toes and a view of the ocean before me and lush mountains at my back.
(ignore the idiotic look on my face--what am i doing? and check out the backdrop)
the highlights for sunday are numerous...but most importantly, i once again put off class searching and decided to hang with my friend's monitor (a student from the university) named Rafa. Rafa is basically my fountain of knowledge. he knows this city better than anyone i've met so far and is so incredibly kind about giving me the lowdown from the best churros and chocolate spot, to local hiking spots, and how to experience granada like a spaniard. most importantly, he showed us an 'easy access' (aka up a huge hill with various twists and turns) nature oasis right outside the city. this will no doubt be my saving grace at various points throughout the year when i'm in need of a city escape.
this part of granada is known as Sacramonte--the home of the gypsies and other alternative people who live in caves--fun stuff.
the more i learn about granada and experience spanish life, the more i realize that this year, in this place that constantly challenges me, constantly provokes thought, constantly tests my abilities, and constantly stretches me, is an extraordinary opportunity to explore and pursue the person i want to be. with each day as an adventure and pushing my comfort zones, i am determined to take as much as i can away from this experience and let it shape the person i want to become. soo--quick shout out to all those who made this/are making it possible! seriously. sending mountains of love and thanks your way! ok, enough cheesiness (but sincere thoughts) for one blog.
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