My third week here in Granada has been filled with many firsts and tons of culture. I have experienced many different, but fun things. The week started off on Sunday with an afternoon mass at the Cathedral. The mass itself was comparable to some of the masses I have been to in the United States. It was all in Spanish, but I recognized the different parts of mass. My host family was able to show me the mass written out in English on their phone, so that helped a lot! The Archbishop performed the ceremony and he had a lot of "assistants." Everything appeared to be rehearsed and timed perfectly throughout the ceremony, which made the mass that much more beautiful. The only thing that really stood out to me as strange and out of the norm, was a few people taking photos and videos during the ceremony. Some had their flash on, so it was very obvious and distracting. However; the experience was something I will never forget, and I am very happy that I decided to go.
After mass on Sunday, we celebrated Lennon's, a friend of my host family, birthday! The birthday party was so much fun, and I enjoyed seeing their traditions here in Spain. The whole celebration started off with music and singing, which was followed by a meal and ice cream. After eating, we all gathered in the living room. Each guest told Lennon why they were thankful for him. Even though I couldn’t understand the majority of what was said, I could tell that Lennon was very special to all of them. They finished the party with a skit about confession, which was fitting since Lennon is studying to become a priest! I loved being a part of that celebration and Lennon’s special day.
Later Sunday evening, Manny, Frankie, and myself joined our family for dinner. They bought the biggest pizza I have ever seen in my entire life. It was crazy! After dinner, our hosts decided to put on a concert for us with singing, guitar, and dancing. We all had so much fun and didn’t stop laughing the whole time! Sunday as whole has been one of my favorite days of the trip so far. I truly enjoyed seeing Spanish birthday traditions first hand and loved spending quality time with my family. Sunday made me remember why I came here in the first place! I loved experiencing their culture and all of the new things that came with it.
On Monday, we went back to our internship. I was moved to a new classroom that has older children that are more independent. They experience mood changes and often need reassurance or redirection. It was a particularly interesting, yet fun day because we took the class to one of the smaller fairs. There are many fairs and activities around Granada this week due to it being Corpus Christi week. This fair was geared toward children and featured many games, bounce houses, and balloons. It was so heartwarming to see how the children interacted with each other. The children that have the ability to walk independently insisted on pushing the wheelchairs of the children who could not walk. One specific boy was very involved with everyone. If he saw anyone that was upset, he immediately went over and hugged them to make them feel better. It was honestly so amazing to witness. The world is filled with so much evil and negative actions, so seeing these loving actions that children shared with each other was so special and rewarding. It was a very eye-opening experience for me. It is a reminder that if everyone was to treat each other the way that boy treated everyone, the world would be a much better place! On our way back to the school, we got to see all of the giant heads that are worn during the Corpus Christi parade. They were a little creepy…but still very cool!
On Wednesday, we got to watch one of the parades. It was amazing to see how many people lined the streets of Granada to witness this celebration! It was not like any parade that I have even been to. The giant heads that I saw on Monday were put to use. They were way creepier during the parade. The people inside the costumes carried around “balloons” that were actually pig bladders that were dried out. They would go up to people and hit them in the head with it. It was terrifying, but interesting to say the least. I loved seeing all the different outfits that the procession had, as well as the outfits that the people in the crowds were wearing. It was definitely a very cultural experience that I am glad I had the chance to see.
On Thursday, we went to another parade. This parade was more of a celebration of the holiday of Corpus Christi. It was more religion focused and it included many priests and other people who are involved with the church. After the parade, we went to the science museum and bio-dome. I inherited my mom’s fear of snakes, so naturally I was terrified of going. Luckily, I was warned before we saw them, so I could walk in the other direction! Overall, the bio-dome was incredible! We got to see the cutest otters and some interesting birds. We all had a great time together, and it was nice to do something low-key for the afternoon.
Friday, we visited the Alhambra, a gorgeous palace right in Granada. Everything we saw was completely breathtaking. There were so many details in every single part of the palace. As I mentioned the first week, I normally don’t like history, but seeing this and being a part of it was amazing and indescribable. It is crazy to think how much work and planning went into this place, and I was happy to see that it was so well preserved after over one thousand years. The whole group was in awe the entire time we were there. I am adding pictures below, but they do not even come close to doing the Alhambra justice!
Friday night, we all went as a group to a bull fight. I was hesitant at first about going, but I am glad I did. There is a lot of culture and tradition behind bull fighting. I was pleased to learn that the bulls were bred specifically for bull fights and that their meat is used as food afterwards. There were a few extremely gruesome moments that were quite painful to watch. The worst moment was watching a couple of the bulls hanging on to life and seeing them suffer. The best part was seeing the gutsy tricks that some of the matadors successfully did. The crowd’s reaction to the fight also added a lot of excitement to the whole experience.
This week has been so amazing. It was a busy seven days, but there wasn’t one day that I didn’t enjoy myself and learn something new. This week and all of the memories I have made, has made me feel so incredibly blessed to be here.
