I am lucky enough to have been given many opportunities and experiences in my short 20 years, that most people aren’t given in their lifetimes. From a school trip to the Grand Canyon at 12, D.C. at 15, New Orleans at 19, and many more. So when I heard that Saint Joseph’s offered an internship in Granada, Spain, I had to apply. I started off by setting up meetings, filling out applications, and overall trying to make this experience happen for me. I did all this while working 5 days a week, and getting decent grades. I put this work in, only to hear that there were not enough people that applied to make the trip happen. After a week in distress, I heard that more people had signed up and the trip was “good to go”. To my excitement everything had fallen into place my relationships were strong, my grades were good, I was well liked at my job, plus I got an internship in Spain. However, it was at this point in time that I remembered, I failed Spanish in high school.
As the semester ended and Granada grew closer, so did the inevitable. The girl who failed Spanish at 14, was going to Spain, and she was in trouble. Before we came to Spain my nerves were honestly getting the best of me. I was anxious and stressed about what I would be doing, how I would function and honestly about my entire situation. However, one thing I have learned in my first few days in Spain is to throw expectation out the window.
The concept of “anything goes here”, could not be truer. From chocolate in the morning to coffee or wine at 5, dinner doesn’t start until 10 pm and siesta is a real thing. I quickly realized coming here without expectations was the best thing I could do. For example, we flew into Madrid airport. This was the first time I have flown internationally as an adult, I don’t know what my expectations were, however when we boarded our small plane of 100 passengers, I knew that was not what I was expecting. We started the flight and as I looked out the window I saw what I could
only describe as blocks of color like someone was painting a landscape. Spain and its beauty had me in its grasps from that moment on. Less than an hour later we landed at a small airport where we were greeted by Mike and the realization that this was actually happening. We got into the van and off we went.
Zipping and turning through alleys and roads not meant for ways of modern travel, I thought this was scary until we got to experience the buses on our second day (which I can only compare to riding the night bus in Harry Potter). Our first stop was to the house Bri and I are staying at. Here we met Herika, one of our host mom’s. She had a hard time with English and as I have stated before I have a hard time with Spanish so communication was off to a rough start. Even with the language barrier, she is warm, kind and opened her home to us.
After settling in we all met up for a tour of the Cathedral, where for the second time the beauty of Granada captured me. I have been to my fair share of basilicas and chapels, even a cathedral or two, but the Catedral de Granada spoke to a part of me that thought I would be a princess, the part of me obsessed with architecture and the idea that this wouldn’t even be the most impressive aspect of our first few days is insane. Later that evening we all joined together for a pizza party and our trip was on full speed ahead.
Friday was a day packed full. This was the day that we were introduced to our internships. We began by going to the San Rafael school, where I will be working, with disabled children of all different levels of function ages 3-23. This school is part of the San Juan de Dios and as we visited I realized how much San Juan de Dios does for this community. This includes the school, hospital, soup kitchen, places that the homeless can shower, along with clothes and all the toiletries they could need. The concept that this area is catered toward this population that is neglected in the U.S. is an amazing concept I am excited to be a part of. Next, we took a bus for the first time up into the Sacromonte, where again Granada’s beauty captured our attention once again. Here we
got a preview of the kind of work the students in this internship will be doing, as they will be assisting in art restoration of artifacts, some from the 15th century, (of course I have to admit I am kind of jealous). After this, we went to the Inmaculada where we ate lunch to get into the swing of what will soon become our regular routine. Then we got to do my new favorite thing: “Siesta”. As our day continued and I thought I couldn’t get any more excited, we got to do something that would make my Grandma very proud. We met with the Archbishop. That’s right the Archbishop of Granada. We had a lovely conversation where we all got to share about our academics and interests and he personally made us all feel very welcome in his city of Granada. If that wasn’t crazy enough he said a prayer for us (this interaction was the first thing I discussed as I made my FaceTimes home). When I arrived back at my homestay with Brianna, Caleb, and Austin, we walked into a party my host family was having. With food, games, and wine, we met some more interesting people of Granada and learned their stories of how they came to be in this beautiful city. After this, the four of us attended our round two of tapas that evening. Where I got to know my new friends a little better.
Saturday and Sunday were days we had free. Brianna and I took Saturday as a rest day to catch up on some much-needed rest. However, that night we got to attend a flamenco show, which had to have been the most amazing and beautiful performance I have ever seen. If the dancing wasn’t enough to impress me the vocal range of the singer and skill set of the guitar player did me in. Sunday we got to visit Herika’s favorite place, Carmen of the Martyrs. Here again, Granada and its beauty captured my attention.
As I sit here writing this, in anticipation for my internship starting tomorrow, I am excited for my Spanish lessons and my next few weeks here in Granada, from the perspective of a girl who failed Spanish in high school.
