It has officially been a week of living in Granada, a foreign place that has taught me just how comfortable I should become using Spanish. Technically, I hit a week this past Tuesday, but that’s alright. From flying for about 22 hours and getting just a glimpse of what España has to offer me, I felt that this would be a great time to check in and write about my adventure from the beginning of last week to now.
Flying Across the World
The journey began back on May 27th, where it would take about a day to arrive in Madrid, España. That was the first shock to hit me, as there’s only so much you can do on a flight. However, with a good two-hour movie and sleeping for the most part, I made it work. For the most part it the flights were the easiest part of the journey.
It was waiting for about two hours for my next flight to Granada is where I felt the jet lag settle in. This journey was full of my first everything, which included traveling overseas and experiencing that degree of jet lag. The Madrid Airport was like no other airport I had been to.
It was almost like its own breathing entity amidst the chaos I was faced with. That was the start of using my Spanish semi-permanently, as I constantly had to ask for locations and order food in Spanish. In my opinion, I did great, considering half of me wanted to sleep and the other half was captivated by the sight around. Seeing the sunrise was an absolute delight, almost like a sign of the start of my jam-packed first day.
Landing in Granada
Traveling yet again (this time for an hour and a half), I had finally landed in the city where I’d start my internship and my courses. Already, the director of our program was telling us to not fall asleep until night time so that our bodies could acclimate to the time difference.
I can tell you right now, I went to sleep, and then slept some more. In my defense, my host family actually encouraged it. They are the nicest family that I’m so glad to have met, not to mention Cuban, so many of the foods they make are exactly what I’m used to back in the States.
However, they did let me know the key differences on my first day. The one thing that I’ve had to get used to is bread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, I believe it’s justified in España, as I’ve noticed what I would consider “dinner” is actually their lunch.
From about 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm, the city pauses as kids and parents return to their houses to gather and eat. This is the biggest part of the day to catch up and talk with your family, so if you miss it, you’d better have a good excuse or let your family know in advance.
The one thing I can say I love is that though the servings of food may be big, I never get the feeling that I’ve eaten too much. I think it’s mainly because Granada is a walking city, and considering I’m new, I’m enjoying every second of just walking around and getting to know the different neighborhoods, such as Albaicín.
Overall, I’ve been loving my trip, and I still feel like I have so much of España yet to explore. The beaches in Nerja were absolutely beautiful, and I can’t wait to get a proper introduction to the city of Madrid.
Already, I feel my Spanish getting better by talking to my host family (who only speak Spanish) and with other students in my classes, which was one of my biggest concerns when coming to an entirely different country, besides the difference in slang and words that I’m used to with my family.
One week down, three more to go! I can’t give my next update about España and my journeys around the country