Vagabunda en Madrid: Waitlisting Does Pay Off!

Hello!

I have news! I made it to Granada! I went to the school at seven am and found that many students opted out of the trip to Granada to focus on impending deadlines. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to so many places in Spain. Barcelona, Santiago, and now Granada! My favorite trip so far (including London) has been Granada. I loved the diversity and clash of cultures in Granada. It has a huge Moorish influence and many Moroccan restaurants and stores.

The first day there we walked uphill and got an incredible view of La Alhambra and then were left to explore independently until dinner. I got some great Christmas presents/souvenirs for my family in Granada and everything was reasonably priced. Dinner was at a Moroccan restaurant where we were served exotic lemonade and sweet tea with desert. Our meals were gigantic plates of couscous topped with either vegetables or chicken (I had the vegetables). The interior of the restaurant was beautiful. I took some photos of the indoor fountains and stained glass lights. I felt like I had entered a passage to another country! Being in Granada made me desperate to travel to Morocco and made me even more jealous of the students traveling there this weekend (you know who you are..)!

The next day we actually went to La Alhambra and saw as much of the inside as possible. The detail was extraordinary. My favorite part however, was the gardens. I think because I associate gardens with vacations in Cardiff, Wales, where my Granddad lives. He takes great pride in his vegetable garden and rose bushes.

The last day everyone went to the bathhouse and got massages. Exhaustion got the best of me and I decided to save my energy for visiting the Cathedral in the afternoon, and slept through the bathhouse visit. I have to say the hotel in Granada was the best hotel I have ever been to in Europe. Breakfast was so nice in the morning it reminded me of the United States in some ways, waking up to a traditional American breakfast. I got lunch with Amy McAllister (head of student activities in Madrid) that day and I asked her about how she learned to speak Spanish so clearly. Amy replied that when she met her husband it gave her the encouragement to use the language constantly. But she also said that she is always learning new words and that her Spanish vocabulary is still growing. I wondered how I could apply that same tactic to my Spanish speaking and have actively sought out friends like Soraya to encourage me to only speak in Spanish to her.

Every time I travel somewhere new, I realize how much I love traveling and how much of the world I have not seen. Being in Europe where everything is so much closer has changed my perspective on the United States. My friend Caitlin Cataldo and I have begun planning trips to New York City and Chicago for when we return to the United States during winter break. There is still so much of the United States that I have not seen. Caitlin and I have resolved to correct this at once by spending time in each other’s hometowns and showing off the best things they have to offer during our winter break.