Tips for future students studying in Granada

1. Bring a good umbrella. Or rain boots. Or a raincoat. It may have rained more than usual here this winter, but I was surprised when it didn't rain on any given day.

2. Buy a bus pass. You'll be making many trips to the Málaga Airport and occasionally around the city as well, and a pass is cheaper than paying on the bus every time.

3. Smart wool socks. Once again, that rain.

4. Find the Carmen de Los Martires garden sooner than later.

5. Catch on to how Spaniards speak. It's different than Latin American Spanish, and there are many nuances that we were not taught. Also, review the vosotros form.

6. Please don't pronounce the "tr" in "tres" or "tren" like you would "tree." Americans do it all the time, and it sounds super ugly. 

7. Bring slippers, as Spaniards never walk around the house in bare feet or just socks.

8. If anyone warned you about smiling at guys and giving them the wrong idea, don't worry about that.

9. It's OK to drink water from the fuentes.

10. Don't take the plants from the gypsies.

11. Your host family won't want you to shower more than once a day. Dry shampoo is helpful, and for those with lighter shades of hair, baby powder gets rid of grease.

12. Not every day is going to be amazingly wonderful. Don't feel like study abroad has to be great 100 percent of the time.
13. Try to do an intercambio. Despite your best intentions, you're going to end up speaking English with your friends. An intercambio will force you to really practice your Spanish.
14. There will be an adjustment period when you get here, but Granada is really a wonderful and beautiful city. I have two weeks left and I feel like there is still so much left to discover. Enjoy your limited time here as best as you can.

20 tips for future study abroad students

We're all given a lot of general study abroad tips before we jet off for wherever our program is located, but rarely are we given concrete inside information. Here are some tips that I've put together, some of which I knew going in and still think were helpful, others which I wished I had known before. A lot of these may apply more so for those who are in a place like Europe, where you will probably be doing a lot of traveling. ¡Buen viaje!

1. Travel a lot, but make sure to appreciate the city you're studying in.
2. It's a good idea to invest in a large travel backpack. Get something that's larger than a regular-sized backpack, but small enough to use as carry-on baggage on airplanes. REI sells a lot of good ones.

3. Bring empty travel bottles (100mL or less) for traveling. (Especially if you come with big bottles of sunscreen — you can dump some in these rather than paying a fortune at the beach.)

4. Get a credit card that doesn't charge international fees (like Chase Sapphire).

5. Tell your bank before you leave what countries you think you'll be traveling to.

6. Look for hostels with breakfast included or at least offered. If you can't get an ideal hostel location, book one with a high "good atmosphere" rating.

7. Neck passport carriers/money belts sound dorky, but are actually a good idea. You're probably not going to listen to me, but at least I tried.

8. Don't worry too much about fitting in. Wear what you want. People will know you're American no matter what you do.

9. Separate yourself from your camera. Selfies with the camels in Morocco may seem like a good idea at the time, but later you're going to wish you had let your own eyes soak in the sights more.

10. Go-to websites: skyscanner.com, hostelworld.com, airbnb.com, eurolines.com.

11. Don't always compare things to how things are in the United States. A culture isn't about how it's different from another culture — treat it as its own entity, completely detached from others. This will help you accept those "cultural differences" easier.

12. Don't be afraid to travel alone.

13. If you haven't already, start a postcard collection.

14. Download Viber and WhatsApp. And Google Translate.

15. If you learn how to flirt in another language, you'll come back a pro in your native language.

16. When you're traveling, get a city map and circle your hostel/apartment on it. Then stick that map in your boot when you go out.

17. Travel hand sanitizer is a very good idea.

18. If you have a tablet, use it to read books rather than lugging around heavy paper books.
19. Don't lose sight of yourself when you're abroad. Crazy things are going to happen, but don't chalk it up to "yolo" every time.
20. Your study abroad experience is completely your own. Do what you want. Don't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing, or "live up" to everyone else's stories. You're studying abroad for your benefit. Grow, and have fun. :)

Lovely mornings in Granada

As usual, being productive here is proving very difficult, so here I am, writing a blog post instead of studying for my Arab-Islam test. It's OK though, I'll get to that afterward.

This morning I returned from a two-day ski trip in the Sierra Nevadas — it was great to go back and really explore the parts of the mountain that we didn't have time for in January!

But this past week in Granada was fantastic. On my afternoon run on Tuesday, I came across Francis, who suggested we run the next morning — at 7:15 a.m. I was hesitant at first because sleep is nice and I had class at 9 a.m., but I eventually gave in after he kept saying "Come on!" in his heavy Spanish accent.

The run was worth it — like always, he made me go harder and farther than I would have on my own, but it was cool to see Granada at daybreak.

The next morning, Elizabeth, Melissa and I trekked up into the Albaicín at 8 a.m. before class to buy sweets from the nuns in the monasteries. Elizabeth and a couple of other girls had done so the week before, and I really wanted to go see what this was all about for myself!

Apparently the nuns only sell the sweets until noon, so we rose early in order to make sure they wouldn't sell out. On the side of the convent, there was a door with a cross above it, and a little buzzer on the side. I pressed the buzzer, and it took a couple of minutes for someone to answer. As the nuns can't have direct contact with the public, I just heard of voice say, "¿Hola?" I responded with the very scripted response: "Hola madre, que dulces tienes hoy?" Translation: "Hello mother, what sweets do you have today?" She then told us to open the door, and there lay sweets on a lazy susan.

We told the nun we'd like the roscos fritos, and she then turned the lazy susan and there lay a bag of fresh roscos. We put the money on the counter, and she turned it back and gave us change. I thought it was so cool that the whole transaction was based on the honor system.

We then hiked a bit farther up to Mirador de San Nicolás, where we could get the most amazing view of the Alhambra and eat our roscos. Normally, that area is teeming with tourists and locals, so it was nice to have the whole area to ourselves (albeit one elderly couple with their two dogs).

After my morning class, I headed back up to the garden (Carmen de los Martires) my art history class visited a couple of days before. Even though it was on-and-off drizzling, it was so peaceful to walk through the garden solo and just enjoy the beauty of Granada outside of the city center.

Peacocks in the park! Two days before, this guy spread his feathers to impress the ladies
(It didn't work though, they just wanted the food that someone was throwing them).

The French sector of the garden — more organized and precise than the Spanish part.

What I miss, what I will miss

As my time is nearing its end in Granada (just about one month left!), there are a lot of things I'm starting to miss about life in the United States. It's great to live in another country for a while, but when you've been raised in one culture for 21 years of your life, there are bound to be things you're eventually going to miss. But, on the other hand, I'm realizing that there will be many things that I will miss about life in Spain. Here's a snapshot of what I'm missing, and what I think I will miss when I return home.

What I miss about the United States:

1. My family

This is the first time I've gone a solid five months without seeing my parents and brother. I haven't even Skyped them because, once again, of the bad Wi-Fi connection. I only talk with my parents on the phone once every one or two weeks, so I look forward to going home and telling them stories in person!

2. Living on my own

I cannot wait to be able to cook what I want, blast music in my room, bring friends over and shower whenever and however many times I want again.

3. Paved roads

The majority or the roads here are cobbled or made out of bumpy rocks, and because I walk at least four miles every day to and from school, the roads have worn my shoes thin and hurt my feet. 

4. Going to a gym

The workout culture here is different - there aren't as many people who exercise here for the sake of exercising. They either play sports, or exercise by walking everywhere. Thus, it isn't super common to belong to a gym. I was on a strict routine at my gym before coming here, and I'm really starting to miss it (Nike Training Club app!).

5. Milk

I haven't had a single glass of milk for three months, and I'm used to going through about a gallon a week at home.

6. Driving a car

I find driving fun, and I miss being able to hop in the car and zoom off to wherever I want.

7. Good 'ol American cuisine

While there aren't really any typical "American" dishes, there are certain foods that I crave, probably out of nostalgia: grilled burgers, corn on the cob, gooey brownies and watermelon, just to name a few. I also miss my mom's balanced meals (which I've picked up when I cook for myself). Here, many times I'll be presented with a smorgasbord of yellow and white food — AKA carbs, carbs and more carbs.

8. Cell phones that work even without Wi-Fi

Sure, we bought dinky little Spanish phones, but since we have to pay for every text and call we make, most of the time they just sit in our rooms. So, we use our regular phones when we have Wi-Fi. Sometimes I do a double-take when I see someone talking on the phone or texting on a bus or in the street, and wonder how their phones are working. Then I remember that normally phones are able to do that.

What I'll miss about Spain:

1. Having things done for me

Even though I said I can't wait to live on my own again, it is nice that I have breakfast, lunch and dinner cooked for me and my laundry done for me every week.

2. The weather

I escaped a terrible winter in Chicago and arrived in the mild, Andalusian winter. It's felt like spring for many weeks now here, and a nice spring only lasts for about a week or two in Chicago.

3. The food

Paella, toast with tomato spread and olive oil for breakfast, rice with milk (a dessert), chocolate pastries (0.50€!), strong coffee, tortilla española. Hopefully I can successfully replicate a lot of this at home.

4. The sights

Even though there's no grass here, there's always something beautiful to see. It may be extremely old buildings, or natural beauty. There's a running route that I take that leaves the city and offers an incredible view of all the Sierra Nevada mountains. And just yesterday I discovered a beautiful, large garden near the Alhambra (complete with peacocks!) with my art history class. Little discoveries like that so late in the game make me worry about what I won't discover about Granada before I leave! (My senõra's sister would say that's because I travel too much, which may be true, but I can't help it.)

5. Inexpensive bread and pastries

Never will I forget the bread lady and the bread man, who nourish Cegrí students with tortas de chocolate and, as I say, "el pan con aceite y pasas."

6. Courageous chicos

Unlike in the United States, where many guys walk past you as if they didn't have eyes or as if you weren't even there, guys here will use the eyes that God gave them and stare at you. I appreciate having my existence acknowledged.

And that's that. Traveling is wonderful, but home really is where the heart is.