I don’t think I’ve had more than a couple hours of not always being on the go since we got here, whether it is being at internship, visiting historical sites, or just exploring the city with new and old friends and finding where the best tapas are! It’s exhausting, yet the excitement makes it worth it. Even though I’ve been here for over three weeks at this point, it still seems surreal to actually be here, not just as a tourist, but actually be working and living the culture.
On Sunday, Jill, Brianna, Caleb, and I prepared an American style brunch for our hosts, consisting of bacon, eggs, home fries, and peppers and onions. Everyone loved it, even saying that it was something that they would make for themselves in the future. We ended up sitting at the table for close to three hours, laughing and talking, as well as comparing customs, and sharing photos of the areas that we lived in. Dinners this week were a lot of fun too, as we get better at understanding and speaking Spanish, our hosts will talk help us and encourage us to practice, all of us laughing at our mistakes.
The San Rafael School finished on Tuesday, so the two days that we were there were lighthearted and easy going; Monday mostly consisting of playing with the children, and Tuesday going for a walk to city center with teachers and children from most of the classrooms. The children seemed to love being outside and seeing all the activity brewing for the week’s Corpus Christi festivities. It was hard to leave the school for the last time, saying goodbye to the teachers and children that we’d grown close to in the last few weeks. Next week we will still be at the San Rafael Hospital, but we will be working in the soup kitchen and a clothing distribution area for the homeless.
We visited many of Granada’s historical sites this week with Professor Mike. The first was a tour of the Sacromonte Abbey, including both historical and archaeological relics that had been found there. We saw the beautiful chapel there, then went into a cave area where many of the relics and been found, along with the remains what are believed to be important religious figures. On Wednesday, we visited the San Nicholas
Church, which is currently under restoration and closed to the public. We were able to see it though because the restoration is headed through the same facility that Maya and Caleb are working with for their internship. The church has had a sad history, first being badly damaged by fire, then a victim of a bomb in the Spanish civil war. It had been repaired through government funds but was poorly done and began collapsing. Even though it is still far from done, it is beautiful inside, combining the gothic arch style, and modern artwork that the sunlight shines through where the destroyed dome would have been. To help symbolize the tragedy and being rebuilt, there are still the remains of the broken arches. On Friday we visited another two beautiful monasteries, San Jeronimo and the Cartuja, both with incredible artwork and sculpture.
On Thursday, Mike and Cassie hosted us for a movie night, and made us some delicious burgers and guacamole. We watched a documentary called The Human Experience, following two brothers in their travels around the world searching for what humanity and life mean. They spend time living with the homeless in New York City, in a hospital in Peru for children with medical problems (Which happens to be in the same organization as the San Rafael School here in Granada!!!), and a leper colony in Ghana. On their way they find how people can hold onto hope and happiness even when they are going through something terrible. It was an amazing and very thought provoking film!
The city has been buzzing with excitement this week, preparing for the Holy celebration of Corpus Christi, a feast centered around the Eucharist. The highlight of the week is the procession on Thursday, where the Eucharist is placed in an ornate float, is carried in a long parade across the city with the archbishop, government officials, parish members, and clergy. It ends back inside the Cathedral of Granada, where there is a blessing by the Archbishop, and rose petals are scattered onto it from the ceiling. This part was amazing to see and be a part of such an important celebration.
On Wednesday is a smaller parade called the Tarasque, which is believed to have pagan origins, and is very common with children. It has a mannequin of a woman riding a dragon and depending on how she is dressed indicates the fashion for the year. It also has giant figures of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, people wearing giant heads that carry around inflated pig bladders that look like balloons and hit people on the head. Sometimes it would just be a gentle hit, but others would be hard. I managed not to get hit, although I was slightly hoping to be!
On Friday night we visited the Ferria, with Mike, Cassie, Daniel (Caleb and my host), and Brianna and Jill’s hosts. It was very similar to our fairs, with tons of food vendors, rides, and what looked to be temporary nightclubs set up with music and dancing. Nearly everybody went on a big swinging, spinning ride that
went upside down when we got there, which was fun, but also terrifying. I did that one and one other, plus a few times on the bumper cars! I may have gotten a little too much into these and bruised my knee on the steering wheel on impact one time! Besides the rides we got Nutella stuffed churros, loaded baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and candy apples, all of which were amazing!
Well, this adventure of a lifetime is rapidly coming to a close. We leave early Friday morning. Even though I miss my family and home, I’m not sure I’m ready to leave yet. Everything about this trip has been better than I could have expected. It’s been amazing meeting and getting to know everybody, from Mike and Cassie, to Daniel and the other gracious hosts from Shalom. I’m not looking forward to the goodbyes that are coming all too soon.
But before then, we still have a few more days to learn more about the people and the city, and spend time at a different spot to finish our internship! So, Adios, until next week, and the last week!
