Mañana, Mañana, Mañana…

Well, it’s been a whole month since I found myself in Granada (very scared, but thankfully not alone) attempting to write a blog post that could effectively express how I was feeling about finally being in Spain. Since then I’ve managed to hold several Spanish conversations with complete strangers, had more than one awkward encounter with my host brother, taken 2 level tests, completed 2 weeks of orientation, explored La Alhambra, traveled all over Morocco, ridden a camel, flown up to Ireland, tasted Guinness, seen the Cliffs of Moher, visited Edinburgh, climbed Arthur’s Seat, saw my first castle, travelled to Seville on a whim, met many new friends, and completed a very successful first week and a half of classes. Whew. So if you we’re wondering about the long hiatus between blog posts, the reality is that my life has been crazy lately. Crazy wonderful, but crazy nonetheless.  

         Judging by the lack of blog posts, it is clearly evident that I’ve had no problem of adjusting to the “No pasa nada. Mañana…” aspect of the Spanish lifestyle. If you don’t speak Spanish or have never been to Spain, you are now probably staring blankly at your computer screen wondering what the heck you just read and muttering the following phrases to yourself: “Mañana aspect? What in the world are you talking about Marissa?!” Mañana in Spanish means tomorrow. From the moment I set my feet on Spanish soil, I have been bombarded by Spaniards uttering that particular word. Ok, you caught me; that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the Spanish are quite famous for having the mentality of, “Eh. It doesn’t matter. I’ll just do it tomorrow.” While not one to usually play up stereotypes, this particular one has proven itself to be more than accurate. The people here really are on a totally different timetable than those in the US and the procrastinator in me has been enjoying every single second of it. Need to withdraw Euros from the ATM? Eh, I’ll do it mañana. Need to buy stamps so that postcards can finally be sent? Maybe mañana. Need to update this blog? Mañana.

Mañana. Mañana. Mañana. The unfortunate thing about the “mañana lifestyle” is that mañanas never stop coming. Before you know it a whole month can pass and that thing you meant to do mañana is still written in the “To Do:” section of your planner waiting to be done. With the end of orientation and the beginning of a 19 credit semester has come the reality of a schedule. Even though I am in Spain for this school year, I still have many responsibilities. If I am actually going to get done half of what I want to accomplish while I’m here, I have to stop putting things off until mañana and start doing them hoy (today), beginning with this blog. It might mean sacrificing some of my siesta time, but the upside is that I will start to get done everything I need to.

In the meantime, since I now have almost 4 weeks of things to share, I thought that instead of writing a novel, it would be fun to give you all snapshots of some of the highlights from each day over here so far, beginning with my first week in Granada. Hopefully it will give you a good idea of how much fun I’ve had finding my place in this beautiful city!

 

To begin the day, Veronica and another professor, Aurelio, gave us a walking tour of the center part of the city. It turned out to be a great way to get to know others in the group, as well as begin to learn our way around Granada. Afterwards, we had a quick break for lunch, and then found ourselves back at school for our level test to place us into our orientation groups. The night ended up being a late (but great) one as one of the other girls, Katie, and I braved a pub to stay up and watch Nadal win the US Open.

 

Today began with another Veronica/Aurelio tour. This time, we climbed all the way up the hills of La Albayzín which are opposite those of La Alhambra. Though we were all huffing and puffing, the area is rich in Moorish architecture/history and offers beautiful views of the city, the mountains, and of course, La Alhambra. After our morning hike, we were officially divided into our orientation groups and began our 3 hour temporary classes.

Wednesday was our first morning without a scheduled tour or activity, so I took the opportunity to sleep in. After a full afternoon of classes, Amelia, Amanda, and I decided it was a good night to go out for churros con chocolate. We walked all along the river, but finally found a place that was still serving them despite the late hour. Apparently churros and chocolate are supposed to be eaten for breakfast here. Who knew?

 

Before our morning meeting, 2 other girls from the program (who are also staying for the year) and I were faced with the task of hailing our own cab and getting safely to the Office of Extranjeros on the outskirts of the city. We all made it in one piece and with a lot of help from Veronica’s assistant, were able to successfully complete step one of extending our Visas and attaining our Spainish residency cards. Impressively, we even made it back in time for the meeting. After classes, we met our intercambios for the semester (University of Granada students who volunteer to hang out with us and help us practice our Spanish) and went out with them for tinto (red wine) and tapas.

 

I honestly don’t remember much about this day other than that it was the first time I really took time to walk around the city myself. I let myself wander the streets and get slightly lost, discovering tons of new stores, tapas bars, and ice cream places as I went. Even now, I still have yet to go a day without discovering a new part of the city that I’ve never seen before.

To round off my first week in Granada, the whole group went on a tour of La Alhambra. With Aurelio as our guide, we had an endless stream of historical knowledge at our disposal. Though the inside was beautiful beyond words, my favorite part of the day came when several of us stayed behind to walk in the gardens and Generalife. The gardens were gorgeous and the six of us had so much fun exploring and holding mini-photoshoots anywhere and everywhere. All the new discoveries and new friends made for the best possible end to a fantastic first week in sunny Spain!