Well, I’ve been in Granada for just over two months now and it’s safe to say that my time here has been nothing short of amazing. I’ve been terrible about [read: haven’t been] journaling thus far, but I figure it’s never too late to start so I’m going to try to play catch up. This first post will be predominantly about Granada.

Granada is a town of roughly 250,000 people and is located in the autonomous community of Andalucía. Before the Spanish Reconquista (when Ferdinand and Isabel took over and converted Spain to Catholicism), Granada was ruled and inhabited by the Moors. They built the famous Alhambra Palace (the most visited attraction in Spain) and many Arab influences still exist in Granada today, especially in the Albayzin. The Albayzin is characterized by narrow, winding streets, which are lined with white buildings in the typical Arab style. These buildings are now home to many teterias (tea houses), restaurants, and hookah lounges. It takes about 20 minutes to walk up the hill to the Mirador de San Nicolás, which is directly across from the Alhambra. On sunny days it is packed with tourists, and local merchants who sell jewelry, paintings, and other handmade goods.

The center of Granada is much more modern than the Albayzin. It is full of trendy shops and restaurants. There are dozens of parks and plazas where you can sit and “tomar el sol” while enjoying gelato or reading a book (some of my favorite things to do). I live in a student residence called Residencia Jardines, which is home to about 20 Spaniards and about half a dozen AIFS students. The residence is very centrally located, so I can walk anywhere that I need to go.

Granada is a college town. Of its 250,000 residents, some 70,000 are students at la Universidad de Granada. Before coming here, I was under the impression that Granada would have an actual campus, much like the University of Texas. I was completely wrong. The people of Granada refer to the city itself as “the campus” because the university buildings are scattered throughout the city. All of my classes are in two buildings, which are part of the CLM — the Centro de Lenguas Modernas. The CLM is still part of la Universidad de Granada, but it is where most foreign exchange students have their classes.

I am taking four classes — two are taught in English and two are taught in Spanish. One Spanish class is dedicated to grammar, while the other is dedicated to speaking and writing skills. My classes in English are “The History of Art in Spain” and “Spanish Culture & Civilization.” Though I do learn a lot in all of my classes, they are not what I would consider challenging…especially not by UT standards. I have homework occasionally but it requires minimal effort, and we don’t have class on Fridays. Our midterms aren’t until next week though, so I guess it’s too early to say that they are easy classes. All of professors are all extremely nice and and I really enjoy all of my classes.

Daily life in Granada is quite different than daily life in the United States. Everything here happens much later. Most shops don’t open until 10:00AM. Lunch, which is the main meal of the day, isn’t until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Dinner, a much lighter meal, is almost never before 9:00PM but could be as late as 11:00! The nightlife here starts much later as well, and is a much longer process. At UT, for instance, most people pregame at their apartments until about 11:00PM before heading to 6th St., where they will bar hop until all of the bars close at 2AM. In Granada (and Spain in general), the night begins at a tapas bar around 10 or 11PM. Tapas bars in Granada are great because you get a tapa for free when you order beer, wine, or a mixed drink! Some places let you choose your tapa from a menu while others choose it for you. The tapa could be something simple like nuts, olives, or cured ham, or something fancier like kebabs, sandwiches, or even shawarma (more on that later)! After the tapas bars, Spaniards head to the pubs. Pubs in Granada are the equivalent to bars on 6th Street. After the pubs, if it’s still before 3 or 4AM, it is common to go to a shot bar, or “chupiteria” (chupito = shot). Most chupiterias have menus with over 100 different shots, all of which are 1 euro. Finally, at around 4AM, it’s time to head to the clubs, or “discotheques,” which stay open until 6 or 7AM! Moral of the story: Spaniards go hard.

This brings me to the legendary “siesta.” Many people are under the impression that all Spaniards take naps / siestas all afternoon. Though Spaniards do take a break for siestas, they don’t actually sleep. They use the afternoon hours between 2 and 5 to go home, have a big meal with their family, and relax. They might dose off for 20 or 30 minutes, but sleeping any longer than that is frowned upon. Almost all of the local businesses are closed from 2-5 everyday, which is fine and dandy until you actually need to run errands during that time. It seems like Spaniards hardly ever work. They don’t open their shops until 10, they siesta from 2 until 5 or 5:30, and they close for the night at 8 or 9. Plus they’re all closed on Sundays too!! It’s amazing to me how any of them make enough money to stay in business, but I guess whatever works…

In general, life in Spain is much slower than life in the United States. People walk slow, eat slow, show up late, and truly take their time. I’m a fast walker, so I find myself swerving around people, who are strolling down the street like turtles, in an attempt to make it to class on time. All this effort is in vain, though, because class never starts on time and often begins as much as 15 minutes late! I hate being late though (it gives me anxiety), so I refuse to be late even though I know it doesn’t matter.

Everyone in Granada dresses impeccably. Every time they leave their house, men and women are dressed to the nines. I see women walking down the street in full-length fur coats at 11AM. Men wear scarves and nice leather shoes and many of the women wear heels everywhere they go, which is particularly impressive considering all of the cobblestone streets. You almost never see anyone wearing a t-shirt and I feel like people are judging me (because they definitely are) anytime I’m feeling lazy and wear a t-shirt and leggings to class.

Other random cultural differences:

-People don’t smile at people they don’t know, and it’s taboo to do so.

-People almost never pick up their dog’s poop.

-Though weed is illegal here, it is mostly ignored and you will often see people walking down the street smoking joints.

-Because it is common for young people to live with their parents until they are as old as 30, PDA is normal and accepted! On the streets, in the parks, in restaurants…it’s everywhere.

“My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been”