Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. - Anthony J. D'Angelo

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Aqui!

                Estoy en Granada! My host family is wonderful, I can't believe how lucky I am! We had literally just arrived to a beautiful apartment and were served a delicious lunch (fresh home made french fries and chicken with a tomato and pepper salsa) and the extended family was there.  They were all so friendly and willing to explain things a little slower for us but overall, I had no problems understanding them (which is amazing.) We then met up as a group with our professor and took a tour of El Albayzín area of Granada. It is this breathtaking Arabic part of town with the most beautiful views. We saw the Alhambra from a mountain top and walked past a ton of cute restaurants and shops that I can't wait to explore.  It was great, the only thing that I didn't like was it was A LOT of walking up and down cobblestone steps...normally I wouldn't really mind because the view was so spectacular but the long plane ride and time zone change really knocked me out. 
                We then went to la oficina del programa (Fordham's office) and had a few appetizers and discussed the program with our profesor and Begona, the Spanish academic tutora (basically, she helps us with everything we need -- adjustment to Granada, classes, our homestays, etc. Then we came back to nuestra casa, and unpacked.  We have a ton of space with a large closet and drawers.  It is great because I didn't really want to live out a suitcase the whole time. For dinner (eaten at 9pm) we had croquettes, potatoes with olive oil and oregano, and a salad with tuna, black tomatoes (delicious!), avocados and olives. It was so flavorful and fresh, and then I finished unpacking and went straight to bed.


        This morning, we had a small breakfast of toast and jam and we bought some coffee on our way to class.  We had a little grammar review with Luisa, a profesora de Granada, and it went by really quickly because she made the class very fun.  At 1:00pm we went home for lunch and ate the most delicious paella with chicken, peas, this INCREDIBLE chorizo, and artichokes.  My mom will be so proud, I ate roasted peppers and onions with bread and I couldn't get enough of it because it was so sweet and mild but very flavorful. Then back to El Centro de Lenguas Modernas for another 3 hours and our profesora was Carmen. She was hilarious and we got to play Taboo (in Spanish of course) and it was really funny to try to see us explain words that we didn't even know! 


                        After the class ended at 7pm, Profesor Lamas y Begona took us to el Cafe Futbol for...Churros y Chocolate!  This desert/breakfast/snack food is a long fried dough stick and a small cup of hot chocolate that is really rich and thick. Usually you dip them into the chocolate and then drink whatever is in the cup after you are done with the churros.  I found out that in Spain, it is customary to have a light desayuno (breakfast), then tapas (or a little snack), la comida (which means both food and lunch in Spain), then la merienda (our churros con chocolate counted as this), and then cena (dinner).  


                It is kind of weird getting used to the meal times but I think after a few days it will be fine...plus everything has been so enjoyable that it hasn't bothered me too much! For dinner, we had lasagne but it reminded me of Greek Moussaka (Hey Kristen!!) because it had shredded meat, carrots, and was covered in bechamel sauce and cheese.  There was also sweet sausage, tomatoes and cheese on the table. I'm really glad I am in a homestay because I can have really authentic Spanish food and being Italian, I understand how important food is to a culture and a family. I've also been trying to ask questions about all the food we are eating to get a sense of the cultural perspective. The other cool thing I found out about Spain is that after dinner, they always eat yogurt, pudding or fruit.  When I told mi senora that I couldn't eat the pudding or milk because I'm lactose intolerant, she went and got me fruit, so I had a clementine. All the fruit is really fresh and I love oranges so I'm happy about this particular tradition. :)  I've uploaded some new photos from the trip and will keep adding as I have time. But the past two days have been wonderful and although I really miss all my family and friends, I think this semester is going to be one of the best experiences for me.  As they say in Granada, hasta luego!

1 comment:

  1. AHHH I'm so happy you're having such a good time already!!!! And everything you've eaten sounds delicious! Especially the churros y chocolate, that's a tradition I could get used to in the States! :)

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