Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Category: Granada (page 4 of 5)

All posts from Granada, Spain.

General James

December 9, 2010 / / 2 Comments

My good friend James came to visit for the last 5 days. We had a blast exploring Granada. We went to several areas in the northern part of the city, the Albaicin (Muslim quarter), and the Realejo (Jewish quarter) that I hadn’t seen yet. After seeing the Alhambra on our first day we went up into Sacromonte to see a cave museum. While we took some time for lunch we began a goofy video series that I have edited into the fine document you have below. I hope you enjoy it. (enjoy my blatant typo at the beginning too)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYLqjVnRT-M]

On Sunday we headed up into the Alpujarras. My third trip there was still more distinct than the last. We started in Bubión and took a local trail all the way up to the beginning of the Sierra Nevadas. It only took us one hour to finish the trail so we kept going. Within another hour we were convinced that we were very close to a peak, clearly not a high one, but we just wanted to be able to see into the valley on the other side of what we were climbing. Of course, an hour later we were proved wrong about five times and had climbed so far we were up to our ankles in snow!

When the digital clock beeped 3:30 it was time to turn around and “respect the mountain” as James reluctantly said. We had just reached a lookout point with explanatory signs and such things. It was our last hope of a summit and it wasn’t one. We followed another trail around the next point of rocks only to find again that the mountain continued further. We took photos with freezing hands and headed down while enjoying a view of the higher parts of the Sierras, the valley, a lake, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Final program sponsored trip: Toledo and Madrid

December 1, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Big praise to our cooperative school, Central College and the excellent program they have established here. I had no idea how many different trips and opportunities they would have prepared for us here.

We went to Morocco for five days, to Jaen to see a bullfight and some caves, to Toledo and Madrid for a weekend, to a local concert in Granada, and to an olive oil factory in the mountains. We also had a Thanksgiving banquet last week and we will have a farewell banquet next week as well, all on the program! Of course I did pay for the program (let’s not forget to give thanks for scholarships), but I really didn’t expect to have so many provided experiences, especially considering that I paid a little less for this semester than I did for one in Valpo. How about that?!

Toledo and Madrid were superb, I’ll let the photos do the majority of the talking. View the complete album here on Picasa.

So you know the expression "Holy Toledo"? Well, turns out Toledo has an unreal number of churches, something like 81, hence the term.

Suzanne, Tom, me, Amy and Kelsey, who decided that since doesn't go to Valpo she couldn't face forward, come on Kelsey!!

View of the Puerta del Sol from our hotel. We we're right in the heart of Madrid.

Palacio Real, riveting to look around inside. Just imagining that the royal family lived there and that the building is also used today is incredible.

Well, here I am in December! A good friend of mine is coming to visit tomorrow during my pre-exam break. I´m really looking forward to exploring the city more and making the most of my last few weeks to indulge in Granada´s tapas.

Olive Oil in Spain

November 23, 2010 / / 1 Comment

Olive oil, along with wine and bread, are staples of the Spanish (and Mediterranean) diet. I enjoy extra virgin olive oil direct from my host family’s village daily on salads. It’s really strong stuff, would ruin soups or other cooked foods, but it’s great for salad, and so healthy! I also enjoy the not so healthy things, like the fries and eggs that my host mother cooks in a saucepan full of oil. Yes.

My program went to a nearby village to visit an old fábrica de aceite de oliva, olive oil factory. It was pretty crazy to see with my own eyes just how old the tradition is. We saw two presses, one from Roman times, another from Arab times.

A Roman olive grinder. Everything you see here is the real deal, original equipment from before Christ!

The above equipment is called a Molina de Sangre, which literally translates as blood mill, but means a mill powered by animals. During a harvest this mill would run 24/7 using a rotation of animals. The above process produces a paste or dough which is then taken to a separate place to have the oil pressed out of it.

An advanced press from Arab times, centuries IX - XV.

Arab technologies were much more advanced that those of the Romans. They harnessed the power of the mountain rivers using pipes and a waterwheel to grind the olives. After they would place the paste into rope baskets and put them below the press in the top right corner of this photo. Two men would then turn the bars below and oil would fall through the rope basket into large clay cisterns. What falls from the olives really ought to be called juice, because at first is is full of water, not just oil. Arabs used a series of cisterns to let the oil naturally separate from the water, then they would use large ladles to remove the oil. Then you’re done, no processing necessary.

Outside of the factory, the small partitioned sections belonged to individual farmers for them to place their olives before the oil would be extracted.

Las Alpujarras

November 16, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I have spent the last two Saturdays up in the Alpujarras, a mountain range on lower south side of the Sierra Nevada characterized by its spring water and Jamón Serrano (ham that is dried in the mountains). The Alpujarras has many small villages tucked into the sides of the mountains or on plateaus. You can hike the entire Alpujarras in one week on the GR-7, which runs through the Alpujarras all the way up through Spain, France, and Italy, to Greece.

The GR-7 looking over Lanjarón

On my first trip I went with four others to Lanjarón, a long and narrow village. Using my Andalucia Travel guide from Lonely Planet (a must have for this semester, thank you mom) we stopped at a tourist office where the guide showed us a good trail and gave us a map. Then we went to check out the view from the Arabic castle. It was phenomenal. The Alpujarras doesn’t get a lot of attention because it’s right next to the Sierra Nevada, so the castle was a great find that not too many know about.

My second trip was with another set of friends, this time we headed to Pampaneira. When we arrived the tourist guide told us we could take the bus from a village further up the mountain, so that way we would have time to make a substantial hike. We headed up and sideways along the valley through Bubión and Capileira, stopping every little while to take in the view. At one point I could see the snow capped Sierra Nevadas, the village dotted valley I was in, the lake it led to, and the sun-reflecting Mediterranean ocean, all from one place!

Classic Alpujjaras pine trees on the way to Bubión

Nearing the end of our trek we tried to cut off the path in order to try to summit before the bus came. Of course, fate would have it that we just ended up in a field with a horse staring at us. Then we had to walk behind what looked like a quiet house, only to find a small barbecue party on the other side. After they stared at us once they pretended like we didn’t exist, phew! We awkwardly played along and walked around their house back to the street. Embarrassing!

We found a praying mantis on the hike! Had a blast doing some photography with him

We ended up having a little time in Capileira before the bus came, so we sat down at Bar El Tilo to have tapas. At one point I had

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

to ask if we could have a minute to think and was told, “En las Alpujarras no hay estres” (in the Alpujarras there is no stress). Very chill, thank you cool waiter guy with yoga pants. Then as we ate the plaza below us filled up with people lining up to get roasted chestnuts. At first puzzled, I went down to check it out and discovered they were free! Someone gave me a small newspaper which I used to scoop some up. So great! I have no idea who was cooking them or why they were free, or if it was custom, but it was fantastic.

Tapas

November 9, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Tapas: small Spanish savoury dishes , typically served with drinks at a bar. Origin: Spanish tapa, literally ‘cover, lid’ (because the dishes were given free with the drink, served on a dish balanced on, therefore ‘covering’, the glass).

I would correct this definition from Oxforddictionaries.com with the present tense, “are.” Well, in part. The tradition of free tapas only remains in the province of Granada, and they don’t balance the tapa on top of the drink anymore, thankfully if you ask me. You may have had tapas in America, possibly at a Tapas Bar, there’s a good one in Indianapolis I believe. You also might have told someone about such a tapas bar, only to have them stare at you and quietly ask “a topless bar?” Clearly you have no such problem here in Granada.

A little while ago I began some independent searching on Calle Navas, which I have heard is the most famous street for bars in Spain. On Navas you reach a new bar every 4-8 steps, it’s that full of bars. Usually you can get a nice beer or wine for 1.70-3 euros and then, depending on the bar, you get anything from a small serving of Jamón Serrano to whole plate full of Mariscos (seafood, usually clams and the like). Not being a red meat eater and being a little skiddish of  clams (although fish are amazing here) I have been a big fan of Patatas a Lo Pobre, which I heartily enjoyed at Bar La Abadía. Athough the bartender was in need of a shower, he was nice enough and left me in peace as I sat outside and reviewed for midterms. What’s great (although sometimes problematic) about Spain is that no one cares how long you stay at their bar or cafe. They won’t even pester you by asking if you want another drink. The problem side is payment, sometimes you have to pretend like you’re leaving in order to get a check. Of course, that can also be quite funny. I really enjoy the relaxed manner of tapas though, sitting uninterrupted for one hour to study over good food and a beer for only 1.70 euro was just what I needed.

Inside Bar La Abadia, it was only 7PM, which is way before most Spaniards start heading out.

Although the origin is disputed, authors hold that The tapas tradition began in the XIII century when King Alfonso X the wise (el sabio) got sick and his doctor advised him to eat small bites of food with sips of wine throughout the day. When the king recovered, he mandated that nowhere in Castilla would wine be served with out a bit of food. Tradition has it that this helped the people avoid alcoholism and provided more food for those that didn´t have much money for protein rich foods. Because the tapa was balanced over the drink, it also prevented flies or other distasteful things from getting into the drink.

So, there you have it. ¡Vamos de tapas! (Let’s go out for tapas!)

Great Mosque of Córdoba

November 3, 2010 / / 1 Comment

Bridge to la mezquita de Córdoba. Muy bonita.

This past weekend, we had a class trip to Córdoba to see their famous Mezquita (mosque), which is now a Catholic cathedral. The history of the building is both impressive and a bit loco. The building was started sometime around the seventh century, and has traded hands between Visigoths, Romans, Muslims, and Spaniards. Thus, in this one building you can see more architectural elements than any other in Spain. I’m no architecture enthusiast, I struggle to pick out differences in Gothic and Baroque art even after taking Spanish Civilization (sorry Professor Miguel-Pueyo), but I still loved seeing it. Just walking through the different sections is like walking through a large museum, but it isn’t a museum!

The cathedral in the very middle of la mezquita

There are four Islamic sections, and then, all of a sudden,  acathedral stands in the middle, overlapping in all but one of the Islamic sections. All around the cathedral are the typical Islamic arches, certainly lending you a very odd feeling when you walk through them into the cathedral.

Oh, and did I mention the Phonecian church that’s buried underneath? That fact wasn’t passed on by word of mouth (I wonder why…) and so not many years back when some flooding occured the marble flooring needed to be replaced. Workers must have been shocked when they found out there was an entirely unexplored church below! You don’t need to hear an essay from me on this, so check out good old wikipedia for better descriptions and some good citations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mosque_of_Córdoba

Double arches in the Islamic section. The second arches were added when massive additions were made to the building.

In closing I’ll leave you with a 3d digital video of the Mosque, somewhat hilarious, but very well done:

Spain Excursions

October 26, 2010 / / 0 Comments

A recap of my travels in Spain: Google maps

On our first free weekend we headed down to Salobreña, the closest beach to Granada, about 40 minutes via bus. After the first week of orientation it was really nice to lay out, relax, and swim. The Mediterranean ocean was very, very pure, and although I’ve heard that there are nicer beaches in Spain, the water made it a great afternoon.

At this point, I still had my cast from my karate incident prior to arriving in Spain, and so when I saw a Spaniard swimming with one arm above the water like myself, clearly, I had to go say hello.

After my trip to Morocoo, which I’ve already posted about, I had a short break before classes so I headed up to Valencia with some friends from our program. They knew a Spaniard named Miguel who came to the States last year to teach Spanish at their school, Central College. He just moved up to Valencia so we got to explore the city with him. Their science park has some of the coolest modern architecture I’ve seen here, take a look at my Picasa webalbum to see all the photos.

Two of my Valpo friends, Emily Bahr and Madeline Horvath, met me in Valencia and we headed to the Oceanografíc, the largest aquarium in Europe! Highlights were aquariums with hallways through the middle of them (so close to sharks!), an amazing dolphin show, and some really lively wetlands:

Before I headed back to Granada I decided to catch a Bullfight (corrida de toro) in Madrid. Whether you’re a fan of bull fighting or not (I’m still undecided), it’s a key part of Spanish culture that I don’t think will be going anywhere soon.

More recently still I headed up to Barcelona for a long weekend, Allie in Reutlingen has already written about our time there, check it out. One of my favorites, Mercat Boqueria, a bustling market over 400 years old. Amazing mangos:

Las clases en España

October 20, 2010 / / 0 Comments

The Spanish University system, at least the system at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas, is a little different that what I’m used to in the U.S., but I have adjusted readily, and I already enjoy it’s perks. My schedule:


Interior patio of the CLM, classrooms encircle the patio and have windows to the patio and outside!

Monday & Wednesday:

8:30 – 10:30: Gramática

10:30-12:30: Cultura Islámica en España

12:30-14:30: Introducción al Español de los Negocios

18:00-20:00: Producción Oral y Escrita (POE)

Tuesday & Thursday:

8:30 – 10:30: Literatura Hasta Siglo XVIII

I have class straight from 8:30 to 2:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays, a little intense, but it makes my Tuesdays and Thursdays much lighter. Also, Aurelio, my professor for Islamic Culture, is absolutely hilarious, so I get just as much comedy as I do lecture from 10:30 to 12:30. Every teacher usually gives you a ten minute break in the middle, and some stretch time before and after each class, which maintains levity, and keeps our eyelids open.

My classes are challenging, there’s lots of new vocabulary, but the professors know we’re here to do more than study, so we don’t have too much homework. Between my grammar and POE classes, I have already become a lot more comfortable in using the weirder tenses of Spanish, and I know I will be more fluent than ever when it’s time to head back to the States.

A closing Spanish idiom: To say someone is a huge gossip, or just doesn’t watch what they say, you say that they don´t have hairs on their tongue. That’s my favorite so far, more to come.

Morocco Exchange, I met my Morrocan self

October 5, 2010 / / 2 Comments

Of all the things I could write about after my time in Morocco I would have to choose my meeting Zakaria, a Muslim from Tangiers about my age and stage in life. Our first stop was to meet him and Kawtar, an assistant at a Women’s center, to sit down over tea (very, very good mint tea) and have a discussion about our cultures. Our group of 15 began a hold-nothing-back conversation on Islamic/Arabic and American stereotypes, the veil, and politics, and we ended up focusing a lot on marriage.

Things got pretty interesting when Zakaria and Kawtar disagreed on many fronts and weren’t afraid to say so, or even argue heatedly in front of us! That’s one thing about Moroccans, they can disagree about something and still get along great. In this instance, Kawtar wore a veil, but was generally liberal in her view of Islam and in her beliefs on gender roles in marriage. As we continued, Zakaria, a more conservative fellow, but not over the edge, defended his view of husbands, wives and arranged marriage.

Kawtar and Zakaria

Although initially masked by our presuppositions of arranged marriage, I was able to see past stereotypes to see that Zakaria’s desire for arranged marriage was not for the sake of being traditional or controlling, but with the belief in and intent of creating husbands and wives that are committed to loving each other and raising their children well. He could have used the word love a little more in my opinion (it also would have made him sound a little better to our group of mostly girls, I think), but I felt a great agreement come upon me when I began to see what he desired and how much I desired the same for my fellow Christians. Among other things, I had noticed just how similar Zakaria was to me in his personality and in the way he spoke of his faith. It was like I had met a Moroccan John Webster. So later, after our group discussion I went up to him and we ended up in a friendly but intense discussion of Islam, Christianity, and Jesus. Wow! I was really happy we were both so interested and willing to share our beliefs with each other. I was dumbfounded by how similar Islam appears to be to Christianity. Just the way he spoke about his faith was very similar to the way I do, just substitute the Allah for Jesus. One small change that changes everything.

Rather than go down the rabbit hole into this discussion, I only wish to share just how surprised I was to meet someone that should have been more different from me than anyone I had ever met, only to find that he was more similar to me than most of the people in my group of Americans. And I’m not just talking faith, this guy likes skiing (yes, in Morocco) and action movies too.

Morocco in Pictures

October 3, 2010 / / 3 Comments

Last Friday night our group of 41 (38 girls and 3 guys, but that’s a post for another time) headed out to Algeciras to stay in a hostel in preparation for our morning ferry to Tangiers (here’s a map of our entire trip). We then split into three groups (phew!) and set off with our leaders from Morocco Exchange, a fantastic organization dedicated to changing stereotypes between western society and Arabic, Islamic, societies by means of short visits to Morocco. I thought it best to share the trip with pictures, click a thumbnail to see it in full size.

Bottom line: Morrocan/Islamic/Arabic culture is not what we think it is in The States, even if you have tried to guard yourself from media stereotypes. Every Moroccan I met wants peace, dialogue, and understanding between our cultures despite our differences in religion.

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