I have made it through our first full week in Granada, and I am absolutely loving it here. It’s been a busy one, including starting our internship experiences as well as exploring more of the city and eating food in our free time.
Our week began on Sunday, starting with us all revisiting the internship sites, and familiarizing ourselves with the bus routes so we wouldn’t be late on Monday! Later we went to the Carmen of the martyrs, which was the home of underground dungeons for Christian captives and slaves during the rule of the Moors. During this time, it was a barren desert, but today it was filled with lush gardens and waterways, with ducks and peacocks, and amazing views of the city.
Monday began the internship portion of our visit! But first- we got to take a placement interview and test for our level of Spanish language. The school we are taking classes at is at the top of a hill, overlooking the rest of the city. We were supposed to take a bus there, but it was running late, so we had to end up walking to it. This wouldn’t have been terrible, but none of us were ready for that much exertion at that time of morning. The roads were steep cobblestone, winding up the hill through shops that were still closed. Once we get into the classroom, the teacher starts talking to us in rapid fire Spanish, confusing all of us and resulting in all of us laughing in embarrassment. Meanwhile, there were two others there for placement, and they were able to carry on full conversations with the instructor. We left the school mentally exhausted and wondering what our first day of Spanish class would bring.
When we got to the San Rafael school, those of us that were staying there for our internship were split up and assigned to a classroom. The sizes of the classrooms vary, depending on the severity of the children’s disabilities. The classroom I was assigned to had two teachers and three children in it, all of whom had severe mental and physical disabilities. One of them is bed bound, the other two with wheelchairs or crawling. Because of the severity of the disabilities in our room, it is more focused on their comfort and care. I got to help one of the teachers with the bed-bound student’s mobility, extending and stretching his joints. Later, I got to help feed one of others. That was a bit of a learning curve, as I have never had to spoon feed anyone before! We both got a bit messy and sticky the first day! I would set my hand on the table, and the boy would tap my hand every time he was ready for another bite. The hard part was not giving him too much that it spills everywhere.
All the teachers are incredibly nice, but it took a little bit to settle in, because none of them spoke English, and I can barely speak Spanish. We ended up using a mixture of Google Translate, and some very broken Spanish on my part!
Monday afternoon a few of us went for a walk to explore the city, and we ended up on the outside of the Alhambra, the fortress and palace. It was originally designed as a defensive fortress, near the Carmen of the martyrs so it was also barren in all directions, allowing for visibility to spot intruders. In the following centuries, it was added onto to include royal palaces and gardens.
Tuesday was similar at the school, but was less stressful going into it, since I already knew what to expect. I fed the one student again and helped take him for a ‘walk’. He had a small bike-like walker he would sit on, and when it was nudged forward, he would use his feet to push himself forward down the hallway. There was a bit of excitement midmorning though, one of the students was eating their breakfast and suddenly went into an epileptic seizure. Apparently, this was relatively common, because the teachers weren’t too concerned. I’m used to working in emergency situations where the ambulance is only called when seizures are uncommon or unusual, so I was surprised at the reaction since it was so common. The biggest concern was making sure she didn’t choke since she had been eating. We laid her on her side on a soft mat, and a few seconds later, she was okay. She ended up sleeping most of the rest of the day.
That evening was our first Spanish class. We were all very nervous for it, but we ended up enjoying it. The lesson was entirely in Spanish, teaching us to introduce ourselves, say where we were from, and our profession. The teacher would give a bit of background and examples, then go around the room and ask each person for an answer to the questions. The teacher made it fun and we all laughed a lot, getting through being embarrassed or self-conscious, and able to speak it at least somewhat properly!
Wednesday was an uneventful, but still busy day. At the internship, I got to help feed and walk the student again and help feed another student. After this, I learned a new skill: How to brush someone else’s teeth! This was much easier than I had figured, I was just worried I would somehow hurt him. After internship, the afternoon resulted in more exploration of the city.
On Thursday two of my three students were absent, so I got moved to the neighboring classroom where Sarah was working. We ended up doing several craft activities, that the students would use to help their sensory development. For one of them we painted cardboard tubes different colors, and another, we cut old t-shirts into strips. We found out later that these were going to be tied onto hula hoops and hung from the ceiling as a giant mobile for the kids to play with.
That afternoon we had another Spanish class. This was our first time going without the help of Professor Mike, so of course this is when we’d mess it up. We decided to leave early, just in case we got lost. It’s a good thing we did, because we somehow got onto the right bus, but on the opposite side of its route, so we ended up going onto the complete opposite side of the city. Even though we left half hour early, we still got there a half hour late! Apparently, Professor Mike called and let them know we would be late, so it ended up being ok, but the Spanish teacher chastised us jokingly when we got there. We ended up working on verb tenses. It was much less embarrassing this time than Tuesday was!
On Friday we had tickets to go inside the Alhambra fortress and palace. The artwork was absolutely amazing! It was probably one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. All of the palace walls were covered in tile, and the ceilings and pillars carved with intricate patterns. The entire building was covered in fountains and running water. Every surface was either carefully painted or carved. Professor Mike told us that when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel were trying to take over Granada, the armies were ready to fire their cannons and destroy the palace, but Queen Isabel thought it was too beautiful to destroy. Thankfully they listened to her so we can still appreciate it today!
That’s all for now, but next week we have a hike, a visit to Nerja for the beach, and a trip to Cordoba!
Until then,
Adios!
