Week 12 (Part 2): Benefit Concert and Science Park! -- 4/12 to 4/15/16

Last night was the benefit concert for the Granada Food Bank at Lemon Rock bar and hostel! With a couple hours of last minute rehearsals to polish some songs up, we were ready to perform. Of course every concert has its complications. Besides my fellow guitarist Alex breaking a string right before the concert and another one during a song, the microphones not totally working the whole time, or forgetting a lyric in a song once or twice, the concert went quite smoothly and we made it!

The bar was packed with our fellow ISA students, so glad that they were able to come out and support us, a definite shoutout to all ISA members! Also to all the ISA directors especially Rosanna, Marisa, Angel, and David (who let me use his guitar) for helping us out and getting everything set up. It was such a fun night, and I am so happy I got to play with our band Los Tintos de Verano, and I wish we could do another one!

I am in the process of getting all of the pictures from different people who took them and some videos too, so I won't be able to post them today, but they will be on my next post Monday so stay tuned!

Anyway today I just got back from the El Parque de Ciencias (Science Park) in Granada where we got to do different science experiments, see some animals, and just enjoy a beautiful morning perusing the exhibits both inside and outside. We were lucky enough that when we were on the observation tower looking out over the beautiful view of Granada, the park staff was doing an eagle demonstration. One of the staff brought an eagle up to the observation deck, let us take some pictures while it was waiting, and then let it go to search for a rake rabbit in a field across the park with a trainer. It was pretty amazing to see the eagle take off from the tower, soar around to get its bearings, and then bolt for the rabbit in the field. Amazing, yet terrifying.

Anyway here are some pictures from the park!

A couple of group shots, one in the front of the park and the other at the top of the Observation Tower!

Megan hanging with her new friend Albert from Germany

A bunch pictures of the eagle we saw before he took flight

Some pictures from the Butterfly Exhibit 

My friend Darwin and I discussing his theories 

Megan and Hope enjoying the beautiful day!

Hope you enjoyed! Pictures from the concert coming Monday!

Week 12: Concert Prep -- 4/8 to 4/11/16

This weekend was another relaxing one of just staying in Granada, walking around the city, getting some ice cream, visiting the Hamman Arab Baths, and of course a lot of guitar playing. The highlight of the weekend definitely was going to the Arab Baths: five different temperature pools, a steam room, and a massage all with a North African/Arab atmosphere. I was not able to take any pictures while in there, but I'll post one below. It was definitely a cool experience, very much touristy, but at the same time a fun, student priced, relaxing Sunday Morning.

Also this weekend I was trying to get out and go to some parts of the city I don't usually go to, like Los Jardines del Triunfo, which is a small park with wide squares and beautiful spots to sit and encircle yourself in the gardens. Before heading to the Gardens, I went and got some of the best ice cream in Granada from Los Italianos. It's homemade ice cream, and one of my favorite flavors is their specialty La Casata, which is somewhat like an ice cream cake with vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and a tutti frutti type flavor too. It is definitely worth waiting in the long lines that seem to form before the doors open.

As for concert prep, everything is coming together! We open up the concert at a bar called Lemon Rock with a set of around 15 songs featuring some songs like Wagon Wheel, Free Fallin', La Vie En Rose, and La Camisa Negra. I'll post some pictures of the concert for my Friday Post! We are playing alongside three other bands, one of which is called La Submarina Amarilla (The Yellow Submarine) and is a tribute to the Beatles so needless to say I am excited for Thursday.

I am sorry again I do not have so many photos from this weekend, but here are a couple of what I have:

This photo is not mine, but this is one of the pools in the Hamman Baths

Here's a picture I took my first weekend here in Granada of the statue en
Los Jardines de Triunfo 

Hope you guys enjoyed! More pictures Friday from the Concert!

Week 11 (Part 2): Routine Week and Photo Contest -- 4/6 to 4/7/16

This week has been pretty routine with classes and band rehearsals. The ISA band also know as Los Tintos de Veranos (for those of you who don't know it's a type of drink which is basically a sweet wine), only has six more days until we go live on stage at Lemon Rock Bar in Granada. We have a set list of about fourteen songs of all types and languages, and every day we are more and more ready. 

As this week has not been so eventful with many pictures to show you guys, I thought I'd use this post to possibly get some feedback on my photos as I am entering a couple into a photo contest for el Centro de Lenguas Modernas (CLM) at University of Granada. I have to narrow it down to five photos that represent life as a student at the CLM--any trips, experiences, or pictures of students. I have narrowed it down to about eight right now from my whole time here in Spain, but I would love if you guys could help! I also need a caption for each picture, so if you guys want you can comment below this post with your top five of the eight, and any captions that might come to mind! Thank you! 

Also all of these pictures do not have any effects put on them.

Here are the pictures: 

Street Guitarist in Granada

Granada just after the sun goes down

Flower with sunset in Granada

Inside La Sagrada Familia

Flower on a rooftop in Fes, Morocco

Looking out over the Desert, Morocco

Sunrise Sahara

Thinking about overlaying the two last photos... any thoughts appreciated

Cartwheels in the Sand, Morocco 

If you guys could comment below with any thoughts that would be awesome! Thanks

Also here is a shout-out to one of the ISA soccer teams making it into the finals of the CLM soccer intramural soccer tournament. Here's the team getting in a huddle after a convincing win over UConn. 

Team ISA after a big semi-final win in soccer to propel to the final round against Bucknell

Hope you enjoyed, more from this weekend here in Granada!

Week 11: Relaxing Weekend and Rehearsal -- 4/2 to 4/5/16

This uneventful past weekend was definitely needed to recharge after a tiring couple of weeks. Unfortunately for you guys that means that I do not have so much to say! I got a haircut, saw Batman vs. Superman, and got to meet my new temporary house mates.

Actually we had at one point five other people living with us: two French girls from an island in the Caribbean called Guadalupe--just east of Puerto Rico-- and three Italian guys from Milan.

With the French girls it was a little hard at points to communicate because they spoke French, Creole, just a little Spanish, and some English. There was a lot of translating going back and forth from Spanish to English as my host mom only speaks Spanish. We were able to work it out though.

The French girls left yesterday, and for the next week the Italian guys are staying with us. They all speak Spanish very well and one English fairly well too, so it is definitely much easier to communicate. I have also noticed, not just now but a couple times before, how truly important it is to learn another language. If I were not in the process of learning and practicing my Spanish, I would not be able to communicate at a sufficient level with anyone I am living with (besides my roommate Sanad). I would not be able to talk and share experiences with other Spanish students from Japan, China, Italy, France, or Cyprus (as there is a girl in one of my classes from there). I am nowhere near becoming fluent, but being able to work through a conversation with somebody who doesn't know English and in turn connect with that person on some level is something that I am definitely lucky to have been able to experience and shows me the importance of attempting to learn other languages.

I won't turn this into a rant, but there is definitely a lot of separation in our world today, and it could be one of the steps for everyone to reach out and learn another language in order to broaden their perspectives, as learning a language is not just the mechanics, but also the culture and mindset of a country or community.

Anyway, since this weekend I did not take so many pictures, I will post a couple of my favorites that I have taken:

Plaza de España in Seville 

Good ol' Swiffer on our hike to Los Cahorros

Two of my favorite pictures from inside La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Hope you enjoyed, more to come Thursday!

Week 10 (Part 2): Classes and Concert Rehearsals -- 3/29 to 4/1/16

This week has been comprised of classwork, American-Spanish student exchanges, and concert preparation! The next big event that is planned is my program's benefit concert on the 14th of April. I, along with five other ISA students and one University of Granada student, have been rehearsing for the past couple weeks, and we will be performing a mixture of Spanish rock, folk, jazz, and possibly even country. The concert is to raise money and food for the Granada food bank, and we will be playing with two other bands: a flamenco artist and a Spanish Beatles cover band! I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

Anyway, that's just a little update on things back here in Granada. It has definitely been a hectic week and a half of traveling for our spring break, and I am glad that I am back with my host family and back into my routine!

I don't have many pictures, but here are a couple from when we had a little going away party for my friend Galen who just finished his program and is heading back for his spring quarter in California!

Hope you all enjoyed, and there is always more to come! I am back to the regular Monday/Thursday schedule of posting, and don't be afraid to share my blog with your friends and family!

Week 9 (Part 2) to Week 10: Semana Santa and El Camino de Santiago -- 3/23 to 3/28/16

I spent Holy Week and Easter this year in Granada to see some of the famous processions, and then headed to Galicia in northern Spain to do the last part of El Camino de Santiago -- a Catholic pilgrimage that leads to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

While in Granada for Wednesday night, I was able to see four processions, each representing and demonstrating a different stage of the Passion of Christ, him carrying the cross and suffering. In all of Southern Spain, the processions consist of people dressed in robes with pointed hoods, looking like dunce caps, signifying a sinner, floats of Jesus and the Virgin Mary . These robed people, called "penitentes" process through the streets with candles and incense, leading the way for floats called "tronos" which are carried by other members of the specific church who is putting on the procession. The floats can weigh thousands of pounds, and are usually carried (depending on the size) by thirty or forty men. The floats are all ornate, made with silver and gold, and expressing the different stages of the passion of christ. The float of Jesus is followed usually by a marching band with cornets, trumpets, trombones, tubas, and a drum line. The band is then followed by an even more ornate float carrying the Virgin Mary. It is so tall sometimes and dressed with so many flowers and candles that you can just make out the face and figure being presented. The processions that I saw were definitely a spectacle and I was glad to have been then to experience the hype and excitement in Granada in preparation for Easter. 

Right after watching those processions, I headed off with Jack and Wyatt to do El Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. We started in a town called Ourense in Galicia, bought some groceries for the road, and tried to find our "credentials" for the pilgrimage. Every pilgrim, to keep track of where he or she has been, needs credentials -- or a passbook -- to collect the stamps from each stop along the way in order to prove that the camino has been completed. Since we started at an uncommon starting point, we were not able to get the credentials (even though we spent a couple hours walking around the city to the churches and cathedrals...). However, we did keep all of the stamps we got on a paper and I stuck mine in my notebook. Due to this we did not get "recognized" by the Catholic church as pilgrims, but we were still able to gather the stamps for sentimental value and as a souvenir. 

I'll summarize the four days that we walked briefly: 

So, the first night we ended up starting at 6:30 pm and walking for six hours until 12:30 am (walking a good 55,000 steps that day), where we arrived at our first "Alburgue" or a pilgrim hostel where pilgrims can stay for free or sometimes a six euro fee. The next day we were able to find walking sticks, and walked a whopping 12 hours through hills, mud, and some rivers, and did 37 km (23 miles). We had bought some supplies to make sandwiches for lunch and made sure we had plenty of water to drink. It was also helpful that there were a lot of water fountains along the way too. We arrived just after sunset at the alburgue and had a good dinner at a restaurant in the town. I was lucky enough to be able to grab the last bed, but Wyatt and Jack had to sleep on some matts that were given to them. The next day we woke up at 6:30 am to get a head start on one of our hardest days. It ended up raining for most of the day. It was definitely a struggle to push ourselves once all of our clothes and backpacks were soaked. By midday we felt like we could not go on, but we pushed ourselves to walk the remaining 15 km (9 miles) to make it a total of 33 km (20.5 miles) for the day. By that time our feet were ripped up with blisters from walking 97 km in three days (60 miles), and we just wanted to finish the next 12 km (7.5 miles) to Santiago. We arrived at Santiago at 1 in the afternoon, headed to Easter mass, grabbed some lunch, and then headed to our hotel to get some well-needed rest and an obligatory shower.

In general, I am glad that I did the walk. It was definitely hard at points, a physical and mental strain that forced me to push myself forward when I thought that I would not make it. It was a time for bonding between friends as it was a time for reflection and thinking. I would not have been able to have done it without Wyatt and Jack as we all picked each other up, pushed each other forward, and joked when there was a little too much tension. Anyway, as this blog's focal point is pictures, I will get to them soon! All I would like to say is that I am lucky to have good friends who I can walk for 67 miles with and still be able to joke and revel in our struggle after.

What a Spring vacation! Anyway, here are some pictures from Granada and El Camino de Santiago:

Semana Santa Processions in Granada:

The Penitentes leading the procession

Some of the kids of the parish handing out candy and toys

Kids giving some water and helping out those who are carrying the float underneath

The marching band playing 

The float with the Virgin Mary -- covered with candles and flowers it is sometimes hard to even see the figure being presented 

A float "trono" depicting Jesus carrying the cross

Pictures from El Camino de Santiago:

Different types of markers to send us in the right direction:

some pointing out albergues, others pointing direction with the symbol of the path, a shell.

Ourense, the starting point of our pilgrimage 

Sunset from the path

Views from the countryside 

A rainbow decided to motivate us to push out the last 5km uphill leg of our day on Saturday

Beautiful Easter Morning lookout

The inside of one of the Albergues we stayed in

A couple flower photos from the houses we passed by

Our final descent into Santiago de Compostela: if you look closely you can see the Cathedral 2 km straight ahead.
It was a beacon for our hope of being able to sit down, go to mass, and then eat a good easter meal. 

A procession with a float depicting Jesus risen from the dead. The procession was much more simple and reverent in comparison to those in Andalusia. 

View of the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela

A couple more views of the Cathedral

A statue outside of one of the centers for Pilgrims 

Mass inside the Cathedral: not a bad place to celebrate Easter!

Hope you guys enjoyed the post! 

I'll post another tomorrow with some pictures and updates of what happened so far this week!