Submitted by Meghan Noury on the 2012 fall semester program in Granada, Spain…
YUP. I KNOW. I’M SO ANGRY ABOUT IT, TOO. This chick only has 5 WEEKS LEFT OF THIS SEMESTER. I’m going to throw something. Or cry. Probably both. But I am DEFINITELY going to sieze the day for these next 5 weeks. Yes, I miss my family and friends SO much, and I absolutely cannot wait to get back to see them, but… I mean… It’s Granada. I know thousands of people have studied abroad before, and thousands of people have had the times of their lives, but I don’t think ANYONE understands what it is like to live in Granada, Spain for 4 months unless you physically have. Because, and I might be biased, or just an always enthusiastic about life kind of person, but I truly believe Granada is one of a kind. I don’t care what anyone else says, in my opinion, Granada is the best study abroad experience ever, and well, you can’t understand why I don’t want it to end unless you’ve been in mis zapatos (my shoes). In short, I’m never leaving. You’re going to have to drag me on that plane come December 21st. I rather the world end then leave… oh wait…. =p
Now after thoroughly depressing myself, let’s talk about some FUN THINGS that has been happening! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… in Granada! Except not a lot, just that these past two weeks they have been putting up huge light decorations all around the city! They don’t light them until December, but it’s still exciting! I can’t believe I’m missing the Christmas season in the United States, but Christmas is a huge holiday here, so it will still be fun! To get in the mood, I’m currently listening to Christmas playlists… I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but it’s to make up for the fact that I won’t be home to decorate the tree, bake cookies, and experience some New England wintery weather!
Last Thursday, while getting ready for school, I got a Facebook message from my Delaware roomie, Brie, FREAKING OUT. She told me that there had been a glitch in the UD system, UD SIS, and that class registration for Spring Semester was open to the WHOLE SCHOOL! Now my registration date wasn’t until Nov 20th, so I told my roommates, and just like that, we registered for all the classes we needed! If any of you reading this is a science major, you KNOW how difficult it is to schedule labs, discussions, etc! So I was wicked happy when I got the lab sections I wanted. Well, UD is no fool, and a little more than 24 hours later, everyone who registered early got an email saying “Blue Hen, we thank you for your eagerness to register for classes, butttttt…. you can’t do that. We apologize.” (more or less is what the email said…) So, my classes got erased and I must register tomorrow. It was a good try!
Another exciting thing is that my roommate, Elena, and I just booked out flights for our 2nd long weekend, the first weekend in December… where are we off to now? BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, AND GERMANY! So excited! We’re leaving Saturday, Dec 2nd, and coming back Saturday, Dec 8th. Our first stop is Brussels for a little over a day, then going to explore Germany for the rest of week! This will be an adventure, most definitely =]
Friday was another group excursion to another famous, awesome, quaint, and beautiful Andalucian city, Córdoba! This may be my 2nd favorite city in all of Spain-only 2nd to you know where… ;). This is also where our program director, Amalia, is from, so she had LOTS of fun with us! The city is divided by a big puerta (door) that separates the old city from the new city. We spent most of our time in the antigua (old) side! Oh yeah, it was 70 degrees and sunny Friday… SCORE!
We learned a LOT Friday, including about some famous Cordobians.. here is Maimonides, a famous doctor and theologist that we learned about. Kyle did a project on him, so here is him and Amalia teaching us about him. If your rub his foot, it’s supposed to give you good luck on your exams… this guy was a doctor, so my initial thought was- OMG, will I get into med school if I rub his foot?!?!?!? Vamos a ver (we will/are going to see!). Needless to say, there was a mad rush to this guy’s foot.
The group in this GORGEOUS patio filled with bright blue flower pots!
Me, Elena, and Alyssa. The best two roommates I could have asked for! I love you both!
My artsy but not actually that artsy picture…
HAHAHAH. This. well… let’s just say two boys in our group, Max and Kyle, decided to be some chicos comicos, and shave their mustaches like this. Someone took a picture on their Iphone, and one thing led to another…. bam. The Mustache Project. Everyone now has a picture like this. I think I look pretty good…
Nicole and I!
Totally Spain. Can I have this as the walls in my room?
Another famous guy from Córdoba, Gafeque, or something of that sort, was the creator of glasses… Glasses in Spanish is Gafas. AH, it makes sense! Kyle thought it was only appropriate that this statue had some shades…
Torre! of the Mezquita that is. Just sorta a slightly important thing of Córdoba (sarcasm here, for my friends who are lacking in the Spanish history department) =]
Yeah. Dont mess.
The Alcazar Jardins (gardens) from above!
Entrance to the gardens!
Alcazar Jardíns= absolutely magnificent.
Did I mention I’m getting married here?! Yup.
My roommates and I on this beautiful day!
It sort of reminded me of the maze garden that the Queen of Hearts lived in in Alice and Wonderland.
Our next stop is the highlight of Córdoba- The Mezquita. There are a lot of mezquitas (mosques) around the world… but try JUST googling “mezquita”. What comes up as the first hit? The Mezquita de Córdoba. Yeah, it’s the most famous out of all of them in the world! Good thing I just had my midterm in Art History, because we learned ALL about this monument. It is huge, has a lot of history, and is so detailed and intricate. We spent a good amount of time in here, learning a lot, and experiencing what the other girls and I learned in our crazy Art History class! Now it actually has a little section that is a Catholic Cathedral.. here, just take a look…
That famous Torre I told you about =]
Dovelas- ladrillas rojos y piedras blancos. Columnas differentes de Jornico, Dornico, y Corinto. Tienen base, fueste, y capitel. hay 11 naves, la mas importante es 6, donde está la Mirhab. See Mom, that was all from memory! Who would’ve known this girl could learn art and architecture?! =]
This is, in Spanish, arco herradura, redondo, dovela. Horse-shoe shaped arc that’s round and has alternating red and whites of brick and stone. Also, it’s simply just beautiful.
