The week before I left for Spain was full of excitement and panic. Trying to figure out exactly what I was going to bring and how I was going to pack it was very stressful. It was really difficult to process the trip ahead because in all honesty I had no idea what to expect. I’ve been to Spain before, but never without my family. It is also worth mentioning that I really don't speak much Spanish, so that was another reason why I was panicking. When I woke up the morning of departure, I was freaking out. The only thought going through my head was ‘what in the world am I doing? It wasn’t until I got on the bus from Portland to Boston, that the fact that I was leaving for Spain began to sink in. After a seven-hour flight, from Boston to Madrid, we waited in the airport for around three to four hours waiting for our flight to Grenada.
(First group picture in the airport from Boston to Madrid)
When we got to Grenada, we got our luggage from baggage claim and met up with Mike Taylor and drove into the city. After a short, but beautiful drive we arrived in the city. When we arrived, we unloaded our luggage and met up with our host families. Once we met our hosts, we each went back to our respective apartments. After Austin and I arrived at our host’s apartment we spent most of the day recovering from the exhausting amount of traveling we had just gone through. The host that Austin Bear and I are staying with is named Daniel and he is from Brazil. Daniel has been in Grenada for nine months and even though he claims that his English is not very good, everybody in the group believes otherwise. In all honesty the fact that he speaks English is great, especially since Austin and I don’t speak much Spanish. Austin and I slept until it was time for us to get lunch at the house that Brianna and Jillian were going to be staying in. After a delicious lunch of lamb, rice and veggies, we all enjoyed our first official siesta in Spain. After a few more hours of sleep, we met up and explored a church and the Royal Chapel. Both were absolutely amazing. In the church we did an audio guide about the church and all of its amazing characteristics. After we walked around the church for a while, we met up with Mike’s wife Cassy and went to see the Royal Chapel. In the Royal Chapel, we learned all about King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who unified Spain. It was a cool experience to walk through the Chapel, see all of the beautiful art and statues, and to learn about these great historical figures. My favorite part of the Royal Chapel was the part where you can walk down the stairs and actually see the coffins of the King and Queen. I thought that was really cool because it gave life to these historical figures that we’ve all read about but have never had any actual proof that they were at one-point living people until that moment when we looked upon their coffins. That night, we had a pizza party and had quite possibly the largest pizza I have ever seen. Austin and I went with Mike to pick it up and the looks that we got carrying these huge pizzas through the streets – wow. People would stop and stare and make some type of comment to the people around them.
(group picture with our two pizzas)
On Friday we explored the city and saw the locations of our internships. Austin, Sarah, Jillian and Brianna are going to be working at a hospital and school for the disabled. At the school we were shown all of the different tasks that go into running the giant operation. I have to say, it was really touching to see all of the students running around and enjoying their recess time – it brought back memories of running around, playing games in my own childhood. After we finished up at the school, we hopped on a bus and rode up to the Sacramento Abbey where Maya and I will be working on Tuesdays and Thursdays. While we’re there we will be working on a restoration project. In all honesty, the idea of working at a restoration project, moving sculptures and paintings that are hundreds of years old and being responsible for correctly identifying their origin both terrifies and intrigues me at the same time. I’ve never done anything like it before so I’m super excited about getting the experience. After lunch at the local university, we got back to town and hung out in one of the plazas by the cathedral. Around five we met up to go meet the artist that Maya and I will be working with for the second part of our internship. On Mondays and Wednesdays we will be working with him and his wife, creating art and learning about what it takes to run a local art business. The artist that we will be working with is an expert print maker who runs his shop with the intention of not being ‘just another tourist gift shop’ he wants to sell quality crafts at prices that he feels the art he is selling deserves.
After learning about his practice, we walked over the residence of the Archbishop and had an amazing conversation about what we were doing here individually and as a group. Not only was he a super nice guy, but he was also so incredibly supportive of all of us and the work that we all came here to do. After our meeting, we walked out onto the plaza and witnessed the Archbishop bless the married couple who were celebrating in the plaza with their friends and family, but he also blessed a homeless man who came up to him and asked for a blessing and no money – the Bishop, being the kind man he is, gave the man money and a blessing. After our meeting with the Archbishop, we all went out to get drinks and complimentary tapas. Over a wonderful meal, we all told our stories of how we got to SJC, gossiped over funny stories from years gone by, and enjoyed the company of new friends. After tapas, Austin, Jillian, Brianna and I returned to the house in which Brianna and Jillian are staying and enjoyed more food and drinks, as well as a very fun but very confusing game of Spanish Mafia – we lost. Afterwards, the four of us went back out to explore the city in the nighttime.
(us meeting the Arch Bishop)
On Saturday, we hung out around the city and explored our new home for the next month. Sarah, Austin, Maya and I walked around the city with absolutely no destination in mind, we just aimlessly wondered around the city, stopping at everything that caught our attention. In the evening we went to a Flamenco show which was absolutely incredible. After the show we all walked around the city, taking pictures and doing more nighttime exploring.
(the flamenco group we saw – the guitar player was amazing)
Today, Sunday, we took the bus routes to each of the intern locations so that we could figure out which buses we each need to take. This evening we’re planning on taking a short hike to an area overlooking the Alhambra
(View of Alhambra from the Sacramento Abby)
