Last Days in Spain

Gordita!

I cannot believe my semester in Spain has come to an end. It seems that just yesterday I was signing papers to sign up for the program and having no idea what the semester would bring. It's a very bittersweet feeling to know that it's over. I can't wait to go home and see everyone, but at the same time my life here has been amazing and it will be sad to leave such an beautiful city, and amazing host family. In the time I've spent here, I've done more than I normally would in a year.

My younger host sister, Leticia, and the other puppy!

View from their balcony in Jubrique

These last few weeks have been pretty fun. The past two weekends I went to the "pueblo" with my host family. They have a house on the side of the Sierras, and another around the other side of the mountain in a town called Jubrique. Both of them are beautiful. From the mountains you can see not only the Mediterranean, but the coast of Africa as well as Gibraltar since it's only about 10km away. They definitely were relaxing weekends. No computer, TV, or city noises! Plus it's a lot cooler there than in Granada. It's been very hot lately and it's almost unbearable to sit in the sun. My host sister and I spent one day playing with her aunt's puppies. I pulled out about 50 ticks from them... I couldn't help it! Her aunt's dogs at that house are for hunting, so they aren't trained very well and are kept outside with dog houses and access to water and food, however they have so many ticks. The puppies are adorable and if they had said I could, I would have taken the brown chubby one home with me (Leticia and I called her Gordita (fatty) since she isn't named yet). I was happy to go there again this past weekend so I could stay occupied and not think about the three days that I had left in Spain.

My host parents sitting next to me, Celestina and Fernando, and my professor Marco

Before our classes ended we had a group dinner with the host parents at a pizza place, called Pizza Metro. True to their name, the pizzas are one meter long. It was nice to see everyone all together since it rarely happens outside of class.

My only final exam I had went very well. It would've been hard to do poorly since our professor told us exactly what was on the exam. Besides class, I spent the last days walking around getting last minute gifts and souvenirs, drinking sangria, and hanging out with friends before they all left. Several times we went to one of my favorite spots in the city that overlooks the city and the La Alhambra. It's quite the hike to get up there since it's on the side of a mountain, but it's worth every step. If you go during sun set the sun sets off to the right of the city, and right after the Alhambra is lit up. You can see practically all of the city, the Alhambra right in front of you, and the mountains right behind it. Tour groups pass through here at night but people also come and drink wine, play flamenco, and admire the pretty view.

This is only a fraction of the team!

I also had my last practice with the Granada Club team. I'm so happy I had the opportunity to train with them here. I met a lot of really nice people and had some exposure to different training methods. Before I started with them I was running by myself most of the time and ended up having issues with my calves. It hurt so much to run for 3 miles, that I needed to take time off. Had I not met the team, I don't know if I would have continued to run while I was here had it not been for the team! Plus I got to practice Spanish more! The group of kids on the team is an awesome group, not to mention very fast!
It's honestly overwhelming to think back on all the things I've done and am going to miss about Granada and Spain. I could not have asked for a better semester, and am so thankful that it happened. Tomorrow is back to real life! I can't wait to see my family and friends, especially Riley (the dog)!!

My first (and last) bull fight

The Tuesday after returning from Barcelona, about 10 of us went to see the first bull fight in Granada. Before I saw it, I knew it would be quite the shocking event to watch. I am not for the bull fights nor support them, minus the 20E for the ticket, because it truly is a brutal sport. One of my professors is passionately against them, as are most Spaniards, and spent a good 5 minutes of class discussing how the brutality does not represent Spain and should never be used as a symbol to represent it's people because most do not relate to it. This comes as a shock to many people because they think Spain and bull fights go hand in hand, however it couldn't be any more untrue. Only about 15% of Spaniards are in favor of them. Since there is little funding for the events, tourism being one of them, citizens are taxed to keep these events running. Provinces such as Catalunya have prohibited them, and others are trying to do so. However, I figured it was worth watching once to witness as one of my other professors puts it "the beauty and brutality of humans and animals".

In every bull fight there are 6 fights, 6 matadors. In this particular event there were a few very famous matadors, "Cordobes", y "El Fandi". They're celebrities like Angelina Jolie and are often found in sections of magazines such as People or whatever Spanish version of that we have here.
The first kill was the most shocking to watch. My stomach twisted into knots as I saw the bull die, blood pouring out of the mouth, people cheering, and the bull keel over. The object is to tire the bull out until it has no fight in it left, and kill it as swiftly as possible. There is a point at the back of their neck where both shoulder blades meet that has a gap between them underneath the skin. If the matador does it right, the sword enters here and goes directly down to its vital organs, killing it very quickly. If not, it bounces off or does not enter all the way and the matador needs to do it again. Two out of the six fights were absolutely awful. At the end of a fight once the bull is dead, the matador receives one ear, two ears, or both ears and the tail. If it was horrible he receives nothing, but if its good its one ear, both its really good, and all three is stupendous. We saw performances where they received nothing, one ear, and a few two ears. There is a judges table where they grade him on many things such as performance, how the crowd reacts, the kill, and many other things I don't know of.

One of the performances I thought didn't deserve an ear or anything at all, was very painful to watch. The bull ended up having to bleed to death because he stuck the sword in wrong. No one wants to see that, especially the matador. It's very shameful, embarrassing, and disgusting to watch. These matadors have been practicing since childhood, and as my professor puts it, "have a weird bond/connection with the bulls". They above all people don't want to see it die horribly, which is odd to think about since it's their profession. Typically after their fight they do a walk around the ring waving to the audience, but this matador simply just stood in place and twirled and left with his head hung low. I don't even think he grabbed his ear.
The last fight was the most incredible. The bull was beautiful, and never stopped fighting. Overall, I'd say he won this fight. The matador was less experienced, and decided to plop himself on his knees in front of the gate before the bull came out (see video below). This fight lasted a while, and at times it seemed the bull was bored of it. He would walk away, and the matador would slap him in the ass to get him to turn around. When the matador went for the first kill, we all knew it was too early. The bull was distracted by the crowd still, and still energized, and not tired out at all. The kill was awful because even after the third, fourth, and fifth time the matador tried, the bull was still on his legs. I think the matador was exhausted and misjudged the bull big time. He was the one matador that didn't receive anything. After the bull died, he was beyond ashamed. He was crying uncontrollably, and the other matador's offered their support, but he was in shambles.

The matador is fine in the end, he didn't get spiked by the bull, only prodded. Perhaps this is why the fight ended up being so bad. I can imagine the matador was quite shaken up after this!

Barcelona!

For my five day vacation this past weekend, eight of us went to Barcelona! Overall the weather was cloudy and rainy, but the sun eventually broke through the last day to make the end of the trip very nicely. We arrived late Thursday night, so the following morning we all woke up and headed to the Sagrada Familia which was a 15 minute walk from our hostel. I've seen too many cathedrals to count since I've been in Spain, but by far this structure is the most incredible I've ever seen. It is a Basilica due to its artistic design, and it has taken 126 years to build what is standing today with much more to be done. The inside is finished, but a 170 meter tower, one side of the building, and many more things, have yet to be completed. There are four 100 meter high towers that are absolutely enormous, so it's hard to imagine another almost twice as high! Sagrada Familia was the last project Gaudi worked on, and he only got to see some of it constructed before he died due to injuries after being hit from a tram. The Basilica has faced some set backs in its time. During the civil war in Spain, parts of the inside were destroyed as well as many of Gaudi's drawings and models. In fact if it weren't for a bridge in the structure that served as a lookout/shooting point during the war, the whole thing might have been destroyed because it stood for everything the rebels were against. The inside of it is breathtaking and like nothing I have ever seen or will see. Gaudi disliked traditional straight lines and right angles because he thought them to be boring. All of his work is influenced by nature and his designs always serve for some purpose besides their unique appearance. When entering the Sagrada Famlia, it feels as if you stepped into a forest because the pillars branch out at the top and the bottom making them look like trees. All of the windows are not finished but the ones that are, are the most vibrant and colorful stained glass windows I've ever seen. When all of them are stained, the inside will definitely feel more earth-like from all the deep blues and greens.

Walkway in Parc Guell designed by Gaudi

The other major works we saw by Gaudi were Casa Batllo, Parc Guell, and La Pedrera. The buildings easily stand out from far away since they look nothing like any of the buildings around them. The owner of La Pedrera actually wanted his house to look just like Casa Batllo, but when Gaudi built it he made it look nothing like the drawing he made for the owner. At the time some people thought it was so ugly, supposedly mother's would cover their children's eyes as they passed to shield them from such an ugly sight. The wife of the owner hated it, and the day Gaudi died she had her ceiling re-plastered. However that was all in the past, and today people adore the different styled architecture. The rooftop of La Pedrera is fantastic, however I did not pay to go up and see it. Google images does it better justice than any picture I could take! One of my favorite places I visited in Barcelona is Parc Guell, a park designed by Gaudi. Originally, he built it with the intention that people would buy plots of land and it would become a giant real estate area. However, only three people lived there, Gaudi, his friend, and apprentice, so eventually it was turned into a public park. As my friends and I walked through the park we saw some musicians, people dancing, people having picnics, exercising, and of course touring the park. It's a very large park with colorful gardens and beautiful walkways and structures. Since it's set up on a hill, you can see just about all of Barcelona to the bay. 
Besides seeing Gaudi's work and going on tours about them, we also took a tour of the Old City which is the section of Barcelona that existed before it was conquered. In general, it was a very informative history lesson and we got to see the old neighborhoods and oldest buildings in Barcelona. We also learned about some Catalan traditions. One that is particularly different, is that in every nativity scene there is an extra figure besides Mary, Jesus, Joseph, the three kings.. etc. It's a person squatting and pooping. This is completely serious. It's supposed to symbolize giving back to the earth what we take from it. So around Christmas time you can go into shops and get celebrity squatters as souvenirs, or also your Christmas pooping log. The other Christmas tradition that's different also has to do with poop. Instead of a big fat man delivering the presents by a sleigh led by reindeer, families have logs with little faces on them that children sing to, leave food out for, and pet to bring presents. By 'bringing presents' I mean pooping them out.
One other tradition that we were able to witness is human towers. Sunday, in front of the Sagrada Familia, teams gathered to do their tower. It's a human pyramid sort of, but instead of people on all fours you're standing on shoulders. The base counts as one story, and they can go as high as 9 levels high. It's completed when the child at the top raises his or her hand. As the tower gets higher, the people get smaller and smaller, so the person at the top is probably as young as 5 or 6 years old. It's pretty nerve racking to watch since the people shake and the tower sways, but one local promised us they never fall, no matter how much they shake and sway. Despite what she told us, we learned on our tour that in the past people have died from falling, but its not very common.
We made our way a few times towards the beach and port, which was a very nice long walk. Almost every day we were there, we stopped for lunch at a small local shop called Bo De B. They have sandwiches for about 3,50E you can take away, and they are the best I've ever had! We were advised to get there early because exactly at 1:00pm, when they open, a line forms. Since it's a tiny shop, you could end up waiting outside for quite some time! You can ask for chicken, tuna, smoked salmon, beef, vege, and add all the sauces and vegetables you want. It's making me hungry just thinking about it!
On our last day we wanted to take the gondola up to the castle that overlooks the city. However, we somehow didn't find where to get on until we were almost there, so we had quite the hill to hike. The castle wasn't very big, but had gorgeous gardens and fountains around it, not to mention a great view of the city. The great thing about Barcelona is there is the busy city, but also big parks with lots of green and a beach nearby.
All the walking definitely made me tired this past week, but it was all obviously well worth it. The architecture is beautiful and at night the city is very pretty. However, I was happy to return home to Granada. Exploring and traveling a lot this past month has really made me want to explore and roam around Granada even more since less than a month is what remains of my semester!

Some friends and I at the port of Barcelona