Author: Gabi Neuman

Location: Granada, Spain

I’ve talked about the adventures I’ve had in Granada, Italy, and Morocco, but not much about what happens during the everyday life of Granada.  A little bit about the city and people of Granada and my daily life experiences, some good, some bad, and others just simple observations or as we say here in Granada, “no da igual”:

  • People are always shopping (don’t ask me where their seemingly constant flow of money comes from)
  • The majority of stores and restaurants close around 1:30pm and reopen around 4:30pm every day for siesta time
  • I’ve eaten more bread, oranges/nectarines, soups of all kinds, and drank more hot chocolate in the past month than I have in my entire life
  • Tapas are also a very regular activity to go out with friends and get after dinner.  If you don’t know what tapas are, they are essentially an appetizer that you get for free when you purchase a drink whether the drink has alcohol in it or not.
  • The architecture in Granada is very heavily influenced by the Arabic culture when they were inhabiting Granada before the Christians conquered the city.  Hence, the Alhambra exists, which if I’m not mistaken is an Arabic palace.  There are also many side streets where you can see the remains of the Arabic influence.
  • Siesta is now a daily activity for me
  • I also have more free time than I ever have in my life and don’t really know what to do with myself (plus no class on Fridays–I’m definitely not complaining about this one)
  • Wake up late, stay up late.  Pretty sure that’s the motto here in Granada
  • Everyone smokes, and when I say everyone I mean everyone (down to the 14 year olds)
  • You concentrate your brains out to understand what a professor or someone else is saying to you in Spanish and still don’t catch it all so you have to ask for them to slow down or repeat it and feel like a dummy
  • In this same manner, it’s a mini achievement when someone in a store speaks Spanish to you and then continues to speak Spanish to you even though you know you’ve totally botched what you were trying to say
  • When I first arrived, many of the locals were telling me how small Granada is and I didn’t believe them because for me it seemed huge.  However, after a month and walking around the city quite a bit, I have to say that they’re right.  There are two main roads to orient yourself by (Calle Recogidas and Camino de Ronda) and if you know where those roads are you’re all set.
  • Granada is a seriously gorgeous city.  If you look up to the east (I think) you have a clear view of the Sierra Nevada mountains, you can look out to the country side, there’s beautiful plazas everywhere, a river that goes through the city which makes for a nice walking area, and so many other places to adventure to.

Although I’ve observed and experienced quite a bit in my short time I’ve been here whether good, bad, or just simply an observation, there is so much I still don’t know about Granada, the people, the language, and Spain in general, but I guess that’s why I’m here so that I can learn all I can about this awesome place.