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From Abroad

Flamenco is very popular in Spain. The art originated in Andalusia. The historical dance was a way for the poor to express their oppression and culture. It is a combined art of a dancer, a guitarist and a singer. Some shows includes one of each, or a guitarist who sings as well. Here’s a picture of the ensemble I saw.

The dancer contributes sound with the hard strikes of the feet and toe strikes, snapping of the fingers, clapping called palmas and experienced dancers play castanets. Castanets in Spanish are called “palillos”. They are traditionally made of wood and played by wrapping the string around the middle finger and using the others to tap them. This is the Female dancer clapping or making the “palmas” sound.

There are tons of places to see a show. They all have a different quality and offer a little something different. Some are free in a small bar others are a little more pricey for what they would call an “Espectacular Flamenco”, which includes an entire rehearsed show. The show that I saw was not an “Espectacular” show, but it gave the general feeling of what Flamenco is.

There was a male dancer who did a pretty good job as well.

I am studying in the southern part of Spain. Granada is the city and what they call the province is Granada as well, the state is Andalusia. So it’s Granada, Granada, Andalusia Spain. Andalusia is well known for there specific accent. They do not pronounce the s’s or d’s in their words. It is very distinctive and very hard to understand for a beginner like me.

Andalusia also has an abundance of olive trees. They are practically everywhere, all along the countryside and highways. My mentor told me there would be a lot but I did not imagine long stretches of lands and mountains covered with them. As you could imagine olive oil and olives are very cheap here.

Granada is located at the base of the mountain range Sierra Nevada. It is amazing how close they seem. The snow is very vibrant. When I first arrived it was a little cold but now that it is hot, the mountains still look just as beautiful. You can see them from practically anywhere in the city without a building in the way!

Granada is named for the Pomegranate in Spanish. The streets are lined with little pomegranate statues everywhere. My advice is to be careful when you are walking because I tripped over a few.

Here is a picture of the statue that is centered in the middle of the city. The plaza is called Plaza Isabelle Catolica. It is depicting when Queen Isabella granted permission for Christopher Columbus to travel to what he thought was Asia. She paid out of her own money for his journey and after he “discovered America” Queen Isabella did not have to split the fortune with King Ferdinand because he had nothing to do with the journey. This is my interpretation from my Spanish tour guide! 1492 was a BIG year for Granada. Besides Columbus’s discovery the last Muslim leader surrendered control of all of Granada to the King and Queen and it was slowly converted into Christianity from Muslim beliefs.

The most amazing attraction I have seen in Granada is Al Alhambra. It is a major tourist attraction. It combines a lot of history of the city and Spain. The architecture is combined with the Moorish influence that it was originally built from and the Christian influence that came to follow. It is humongous inside and basically is indescribable? The pictures are worth more than my words.

These photos will never do it justice, this is a must see, if you are ever in any part of Spain. It would be worth traveling to Granada and spending at least a day to see the palace.

A great view of the Alhambra is from a location in Albaicin called El Mirador San Nicholas. You can see the whole palace and the summer home. It is most appreciated at sunset.

It was my birthday when I went there so I felt special and wanted to take a picture!

I still have a lot more to see in Granada, but so far so good.

So I’m starting my blog a little late into my trip, so in order to catch everybody up to date on my last month in Spain I’ll just touch on the basics and add more specific stories later.

My first lesson that I learned about studying abroad is when they tell you to pack light, they REALLY do mean pack light. I packed way too much luggage and had a very difficult time getting it to my final destination. It was especially difficult having only one wheel when I landed in Madrid, which later fell off and became no wheels all the way to Granada. So my advice to first time travelers would be one big suitcase, one small suitcase and a carry on is sufficient!

My second lesson that I learned very quickly was I didn’t speak as much Spanish as I thought I did before. In a classroom setting you become very comfortable talking with other students who may not speak very good Spanish either, so they can not correct you. Once you are talking to fluent speakers, it is a whole other world. I have received plenty of confused faces after reciting some of my broken Spanglish. So my advice would be to find fluent speakers to practice with a few times a week in a café or park before studying abroad. They can help by correcting you and telling you the proper way to say things. I practice here in Granada with what we call “Intercambios” They want to improve their English and in return helps me with my Spanish.

I don’t like to call some things I learned about the food and clothing a culture shock because I actually was not shocked. I was warned before I came how it was going to be, but I did not expect to notice the differences so abruptly. The first lesson in Spanish dining is DO NOT eat it if you do not want it! I learned that the hard way of finishing a particular dish I did not care for and was then served it several times after because I must have gave the impression I liked it! The second lesson in Spanish dining is DO NOT eat more than you usually do or usually care to eat on a normal basis, because again the impression is you can eat this large portion of food regularly and you will be served the same amount next time. My third lesson is you should know the phrase “Estoy llena!” which means “I am full” because if you try to casually turn down more food with a polite “No, Thank You” they will insist that you eat more because you are the guest and they assume you are just being shy, when truthfully you do not desire to eat anymore.

If anyone reading this blog attends WVU, then you know how comfortable everyone is with wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts all the time. Well, in Spain that is not the traditional style of dress no matter where you are going and no matter what day of the week it is. You will never see a Spaniard dressed in sweatpants. I was aware of this before I came so luckily I brought plenty of nice jeans and dress shirts. A very popular style is leggings or fashion stockings with high boots and long shirts. So that will save you some room in your suitcase as well, because you do not need your bulky sweats!