Chocolate caliente, churros, y cursos

Since last time I wrote, not much has happened.  I have just been adjusting more to life here in Granada and trying to move past the culture shock.  On Thursday of last week I spent most of the day crying, and informed anybody who would listen that I was coming home.  However, I think a good meltdown was all I needed because once I stopped crying and realized I couldn’t go home, I really did feel better.  My host mom talked to me over a cup of tea about the experience I was about to have and encouraged me to stick it out.  She is really great about talking with us about everything, and understands the whole process of studying abroad since she has been taking in students for the last five years. 

Over the weekend friends and I experienced a couple great aspects of culture here in Granada.  The first is tapas.  Nightlife is a huge part of the Spanish culture, and my friends Shelly, Anna and I decided to embrace a bit of it, and headed to a tapas bar.  Basically, you order I drink (I have found I like tinto de verano, red wine mixed with a little bit of lemon-lime soda) and then the bar serves you free food.  Tapas are a snack, or a smaller version of sometimes very traditional Spanish dishes.  The first tapas bar we went to served us some sort of meat, which we think may have been lamb, in a delicious sauce.  The next plate they gave us was all mushrooms.  I tried it, but it wasn’t my favorite thing in the world so I just enjoyed my drink and the company of my friends.  The next night when we went out for tapas again, we were served turkey and cheese sandwiches and French fries.  The tapa you receive just depends on the bar you go to, and the crowd that they typically cater to.  Another night over the weekend, Shelley, Jennie and I just went to a dessert place, and enjoyed observing the Spanish people. 

Another fantastic aspect of Spanish culture is hot chocolate (chocolate caliente) and churros.  I know what you are thinking, what is so great about hot chocolate; you can get that in the United States.  Not like the hot chocolate here.  It is extremely rich, and thickened to a point where you have to eat it with a spoon.  Then you get the churros with it, which is essentially fried dough, and dip them into the chocolate.  It was probably the most enjoyable food experience I have had since getting to Spain.  I did not what to leave the restaurant, and considered asking the program if I could just live there for the semester.  I am positive I would be able to eat chocolate and churros at every meal and not get sick of it.  Although, I am still handling the Spanish diet pretty well, and I have found myself enjoying almost everything.  I have learned that I like spinach, peas, and olives, and many dishes I never pictured myself eating.  So far, the only thing I have truly struggled with is mushrooms on a frozen pizza, and the tuna empanada (similar to a calzone) that I was served for lunch today.  The tuna was way more then I could handle.  I ate all the bread that had not been contaminated by the tuna.  I was worried about offending my host mom by not liking it, so I told her I enjoyed it.  We are having it again for dinner tonight.  I am hoping I can learn to like it. 

Other then tapas and chocolate, the weekend was very low key.  We walked around, and checked out another viewpoint where you could see the entire city.  A lot of people were taking it easy, in preparation for the start of classes on Monday.   That’s right; we finally are out of vacation mode.   I was so ready for classes to start, because I felt like once I had a routine established, Granada would really start to feel like home.  My first class was my grammar class.  It seems like it is going to be a typical Spanish grammar class, although I am hoping since the language is now something I am forced to use throughout the day the grammar concepts will make more sense.  The other class we are required to take is a speaking and writing class, which gave the same impression as the grammar class. 

My three electives as of right now are Islamic Culture in Spain, History of Spanish Art, and The Arab World and the West.  However, the Arad World and the West class is taught in English and I am attempting to switch into a Spanish literature class taught in Spanish in order to immerse myself completely in the language; all my other classes are taught in Spanish.  The Islamic Culture in Spain class seems like it is going to be really interesting, especially considering our location.  Granada was the last place the Moors ruled in Spain, before the reconquista finally pushed them off the Iberian Peninsula entirely.  Therefore, we are literally surrounded by the history and influence of the Islamic culture in Spain.  All of the material we are learning about is put into context, just because of our location.  The professor seems extremely enthusiastic about the material, which always leads to the best classes. 

I am also very much looking forward to the History of Spanish Art class.  The professor came into today and pulled up a power point, titled “An Introduction to the Course”.  I expected it to cover the syllabus, and give an overview of the projects/assignments/exams that would be given in class.  Instead, the professor gave us a biography of his life, complete with pictures.  We learned about his childhood, his time in the military, his favorite soccer team, Real Madrid, and his hobbies.  He loves to play sports and he also sings opera.  After telling us his hobbies, he passed out the lyrics to his favorite song, Granada, and led us through the first five or six lines.  I am almost positive he was the only opera singer in the class.  Eventually he gave up and just played us the song from a C.D. he had brought with him.  I am going to attach a link so that you can listen to the song he tried to teach us to sing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy2fC1yzWrI).  He seems like quite the comedian.  We get an extra point on the exams if we put a joke (un chiste) at the end of them.  I really think I am going to enjoy all of my classes, and I haven’t gotten a bad first impression from any of the professors.   I'm getting the feeling this is going to be a very good semester.