Reflection: one year later

Exactly one year ago yesterday... I moved to Spain.

The four and a half month I lived in Granada, in a piso overlooking Meat Street were the best months in my life. I learned that I could live on my own, be independent and adapt to new situations. I learned that sidewalks in Spain are either non-existent or slippery when wet. I learned to never accept the rosemary from the gypsies or else I'd be robbed. I learned that people have no problem having sex in an apartment lobby and that if you wear shorts and flip-flops in public people will call you a puta.

But most importantly I learned that there's bigger and more important things in the world than you can ever imagine.

There is not a day that goes by that I don't wish I could be back in Granada. Then I take a step back and remember that everything comes to an end. In some ways, it seemed like a fake life. I had no worries or responsibilities. Classes were ridiculously easy and some of my biggest problems were trying to find the cheapest hostel for my next weekend getaway.

I met so many amazing people and I was lucky enough to bring some of them home with me. For those who are in other states and countries, I'll see you soon.

When i look back on my semester in Spain the only regret I have is not spending a full year in that gorgeous city.

Now, a year later, things are going pretty good.

I finally paid off my credit card debt from my travels! I (sorta) quit my job at Cracker Barrel (aka Crack Bar) because I found something much better.
I am now a staff reporter at the UNM Daily Lobo. If you want to read my breaking news articles, go here.
I still work as an office assistant in the foreign language department, but not as much as I did last year. I finally have free time!

I'm applying for every internship I find. Ideally I would like to live in D.C. for the summer (I'm coming for you Mike!) but I'll accept anything I can get (But I'd prefer ABCNews).

I will officially be a college graduate in December! I can't imagine life out of school so it will be an interesting adjustment. I decided that if I can't find a real journalism job, then I'm going to apply to be an Au pair and move back to Europe for a year.

I'm thinking of starting a new travel blog about New Mexico. If I do I'll post the link.

As far as that list of goals I made, here is an update:

1. Become more outdoorsy. Right now it's really cold outside so I prefer to stay indoors.

2. Learn another language. Learning Hungarian is low on my priority list, but I'm taking two Spanish classes this semester instead of just 1.

3. Start my novel(s). After taking creative writing this semester, I have a better idea of what direction I want to take my stories. Chapters have been written but it's still a work in progress.

4. Compete in running competitions. I'm pleased to announce that I will be competing in the Warrior Dash! It's a 5k complete with different obstacles. Training started yesterday.

5. Visit another continent. Hopefully within a year I'll travel again. My top choices are Australia, New Zeland, India, Egypt and Japan.

All great things take time.

That semester changed me for the better. When I think about Granada and my travels and all they taught me, I can't help to ask some questions:

What do you think the Dutchman is doing with his life? Did he move to Cadiz like he wanted, or is he still in Granada creating art that no one buys?

What about Lauren's lover, Juan, and his creepy grenade friend? What are they doing with their lives?

And Vincent? And Carlo? And José?

Is Poe still as delicious as I remember? (OMG I'd kill to have a piri-piri or coconut chicken)!!!

Did that guy in London ever find some cocaine?

Did that crazy man in Nerja ever find that missing little girl that was taken from her real mama and papa?

Does this make me a groupie? (Only Lauren can answer this question).

What was that weird vegetable that Lauren questioned?

Is the bread man still selling his bread outside my piso?

Is Encarnación still alive?

Are there still creepers hitting on American girls in the clubs because they think they'll sleep with them?

Is that old lady with Alzheimers still protesting in Barcelona?

Will I ever get the chance to seduce Enrique Iglesias with my beautiful Spanish words?

Why does Bryce hate Prague?

and last but not least...

Where can I find fried chocolatey goodness?

Hasta Luego y nos vemos!

All good things come to an end...

Last trip to the Mirador =(

To start off my good-bye blog, I want to share a little story with you all.

Friday night was Lizzie’s last night, so we decided to head down to our favorite tapas bar, Poe. Along the way we passed a hotel, where there were many screaming Spanish men above. At first we didn’t pay attention to them until I noticed one little thing.

Me: Are they naked?!?!?!?!?

Someone else: I think they are?!

Another one: Oh my good-ness!!!!

Marianela: I’m going to take a picture!!!!

This is why I didn’t have a Spanish boyfriend. They like to get naked with other men in hotel rooms.

Anyway, back to the sad part…

I’m sitting in EVL’s apartment writing this blog because I am officially homeless.

Today I moved out of the apartment and tomorrow I head out for my two-week adventure to the exotic lands of Portugal, Paris, Prague and the precious state of Michigan!

This week has been a week of lasts. Last club in Spain, last tapas and last experiences with some of the best people I’ve ever met. Since last Sunday, I’ve said hasta luego to six people so far. It’s a good thing that half my gang is from New Mexico, because at least I’ll get to see them when I get home. It won’t be the same without the rest of our foreigners/Bryce from Florida!

This week has been surreal. I am having a hard time believing that this chapter in my life is over. Even though I’ve only been here four months I can’t imagine my life anywhere else. The past semester was everything I hoped for and more! I’ve seen so many breath-taking places, gotten lost, ate my weight in Poe Tapas, met the most ridiculous Spanish men and learned a lot about myself in the process.

Since I was in high school, I knew I was going to study abroad my second semester of my junior year. Now that it’s over, I don’t know what to do next. Besides graduating in two years time, I have no other immediate dreams and goals, so I guess I’m going to have to make up some new ones… here is my list so far:

New Life Goals:

1.     Become more outdoorsy. Learn how to snowboard, mountain climb, repel and kayak. I also need some wilderness skills. A few months in Montana with my Uncle Steve would turn me into a pioneer woman for sure!

2.     Learn another language. I still haven’t mastered Spanish, but maybe I’ll have better luck with something more challenging and obscure, like Hungarian!

3.     Start my novel(s). So far I have three ideas that I want to manifest into the written word. I’ve worked on bits and pieces of each, but nothing substantial. If the job market is this bad when I get out of college, I’ll need something to fall back on.

4.     Compete in running competitions! I think a marathon might kill me, but I could probably do a few 5k’s or something like that!
5.   Visit another continent! Now that’s I’ve done Europe twice, I need some new cultural influences in my life. Egypt, China, Japan, Thailand, India, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are all high on my list. This will all be possible due to the high amounts of royalties I will collect from my best selling novels.

There is a silver lining. Nippy is also coming on this adventure with me. So just in case I don’t blog about my last travels, there will be pictures of Nippy so be excited for that!!!

In retrospect, the only thing I would have done differently would have been to take my love of Enrique Iglesias more seriously by heavily stalking him. I know it would be love at first sight. When he finally meets me outside his bedroom window, he’ll want to be my hero and stand by me forever.

So for now this is not adios, but hasta luego Spain! I will someday return to you with my future children and show them all the exciting places that I visited: 

“Here’s the club, El Camborio, where mommy spent most of her weekends making out with random dudes.”

Yeah… that conversation is going to happen.

Granada Street Art

Here in Granada, there's a lot of cool street art around the city. There's a guy named El Niño and a few other artists who get paid to paint these murals. Check out their work!!!

Now this is perfect paella...

One of the features of this website is the tool that allows you to see what people type into their search engines to find my blog. The subject “best paella in Granada” keeps coming up. This makes me feel like a phony because the only Granada paella blog I wrote was about the mediocre first course on the menu del dia at Café Cristobal. So I figured I needed to update so people don’t feel cheated.

Friday, we went to a place near the cathedral, El Aguador. Paella was $15 dollars per person, but since we split a disc between three people instead of 2, it was only 10.

It was fabulous to say the least. It had the biggest prawns and mussels I’ve had in paella in a long time. There were plenty of clams, squid and even baby octopus! The only vegetables in the dish were peas, but they mixed in well with the rice and seafood.

However, I feel nothing can top the delicious paella I had in Madrid so I give El Aguador 9 out of 10 points.

Tuesday happenings

Sunday evening we went out to Poe to enjoy and nice evening of tapas with friends. This is when Marianela decided to throw a grand pizza party at EVL’s house on Tuesday.

We ordered 6 pizzas for 12 people, which was way too much pizza for everyone. We sat around with our little food babies for a while until midnight when we decided to get ready to out.

Last night we went to a club called Mae West. Even though it was Tuesday, it was free to get in and that’s something we don’t pass up. The whole place is a western theme with posters of old Hollywood actors and movies all around the club. It is also conveniently located in the Mall near EVL’s house.

Yes. The mall. 0_o

It was actually really fun which was good because I heard a lot of mixed reviews about it. You either love it or hate it. At first the music was really good, then they started playing a whole bunch of Spanish songs that I couldn’t dance to. It was also slim pickings that night (but let’s be real here, it always is).

Mae West is a place that you have to dress up to go to. I wore a cute black, white and teal strapless dress with my cute (but painful) black heals. Due to my three inches height increase, I was a full head taller than almost every guy there. Not only that, but I noticed a lot of old guys there. Definitely my parents age or older, 50+. 

There was also this little man who wouldn’t stop hogging the dance floor and rubbing up against my back when he danced. Here we were, the five of us, trying to dance in a circle pressed in the corner, while this Spanish smurf and his other small fry friend were moving all over the place like douche bags. I finally got tired of him so I just elbowed him out of the way. He did not like this.

Me: *making a circle around my body* Mi espacio!

Smurf: *Gives me a dirty look* No me jodas!

Anyway here we are having a good time and all of a sudden some other douche bag comes into the circle trying to dance with us. He starts doing all these crazy moves like he broke his back or something. He had a friend come up to us to talk him up.

Spanish girl: Os gusta?

Me: uhhhhhhhhhh…

SG: muy guapo no?

Me: ummmmmmmmm….

I honestly wasn’t in the mood to meet any more guys. Plus he was drunk. No me gusta…

So it’s getting down to the nitty-gritty of my time here in Granada. I have a week and a half left of real class and my last final is the 24^th. My last day here in Spain is the 30^th.

I have a lot of mixed emotions about going home. I’m really anxious to see all my family and friends back home, but I know a week into real life I’ll be missing the life I’ve created for myself here. Last night, after we left the club, Lizzie and I were talking on her porch:

Lizzie: It’s funny how quick a place can feel like home.

This is so true. I’ve only been here about four months but it seems like so much longer. The truth is I can really see myself making a life here. It’s big enough that it fulfills my big city dreams, but small enough that I don’t feel overwhelmed. The weather for the most part is great and it’s very comfortable. Of course I have no idea how I could work or support myself, and everyone I hang out with is leaving. I would have to go through the long and annoying process of making a new group of friends and that just sounds exhausting.

Even still, I’m going to be really sad to leave this place. I’m happy here and I don’t have to worry about the stupid things that are going on at home. I know as soon as I get home, I’m gonna have to work to find the place where I belong again.

Meh.

Enseñeme a dougie

Before I post my blog about Rome, I would like tot take the time to share with you a little bit about our Wednesday night.

Since we have less than a month left here in Granada, we decided we have to make the most of our night life here, since it’s pretty much non-existent in NM. Granada 10 is the place to be on Wednesday, but it turned out to be lame.

They do this thing called “free bar” but they really should just call it free juice bar. All they serve until 12:30 is tinto de verano, which is just a wine cooler.

Anyway we killed some time sitting drinking our juice and watching all the other hot messes in the club making out and dancing to bad 80’s music. Finally they played something decent and we went out to dance.

As we’re having a splendid time shakin’ our groove things, Lauren sees a familiar face. It’s none other than her Spanish creeper, Juan, who she met the first time we went to Granada 10. The problem is that she would have preferred to never see him again.

I just thought this was all hilarious. I feel that since I’ve had two awkward run-ins with the Dutchman, it was her turn to have such run-in. Anyway she saw him and pretended that she didn’t, but it was too late because he saw her as well. We decided to be stealth and move to the other side of the tiny dance floor in hopes that he actually didn’t see Lauren.

It was too late though because he followed us.

Juan talking to Lauren: Tu has visto – You saw me

Lauren: Estoy con mis amigos – I’m with my friends

I assume he got the hint because he didn’t bother her the rest of the night.

Anyway we dancing having a good time and then the best thing happened. They played the dougie song!!! You have no idea how happy this song makes me. They hardly ever play it here in Spain because they don’t know how to dougie. They need someone to teach them.

I however had no problem showing off my tragic amazing dougie skills. The Spaniards didn’t know how to respond to this.

Lauren: oh god, Juan’s still here.

Me: that’s okay. I’m still gonna dougie.

 Yesterday was none other than Cinco de Mayo. We took this opportunity to celebrate this wonderful holiday with our Latin American culture class at a Mexican restaurant down the street. We had margaritas, listened to a mariachi man sing El Rancho Grande and last but not least took shots of tequila with our professor!!! Only in Spain…

Afterwards we had a second dinner of nachos at EVL’s house with the rest of our friends.

One more thing: there’s this sketchy/secretive place old people go at night. This place is a self-respecting clothing store by day and then it turns into a mystery place at night. We can’t figure out what it is… strip club? Prostitution ring? Fantasy football league?

What do you think it is?

Tapas Tour: Take 2

Lizzie, Bryce and I continued our quest for delicious Tapas last night. We’ve had this assignment for a while and we still needed two more places to go in our designated area.

The first place we went to is called Reca. We were gonna go this place the first night, but it was super crowded and we didn’t want to stand in the rain.

Lizzie had diet coke, Bryce had a beer and I had tinto de verano. SIDE NOTE: Spaniards prefer to drink tinto de verano rather than sangria. It tastes the same to me, but I think the big difference is that sangria has fruit and tinto doesn’t.

The waiter brought us our drinks and our tapa: Mini ravioli in a creamy alfredo-like sauce with ham bits on top. I’m not sure what was inside the ravioli, but it was good. I think its was just cheese, but who knows. There may have been some ham mixed in it as well. Overall it was a 3 out of 5. 

 Lizzie and Bryce Enjoying their drinks

We continued on our journey to Poe, the best place in Granada to get Tapas!!! Poe is run by a guy from the UK and his Jamaican wife. It’s very popular with all the students. My favorite thing about Poe is that you can choose your tapas and they are all equally delicious. My favorites are the beef and pineapple skewer and the coconut chicken. They also have really good deals. A bottle of wine for 11 Euros comes with six tapas. If you’re splitting the bill with one or two people that’s a great way to save money. We weren’t exactly sure if Pose is in our jurisdiction, but it’s so good that we decided to add it anyway. 

 Delicious coconut chicken =P

 Black Bean Soup mmmmm!!!

Sketchy Bread Man

Living in a foreign country for a good amount of time has it’s perks. You get to see a lot more of the city and surrounding area. You find places you love to visit and you make new friends.

Sometimes there are downsides. Like when you get into a routine. It’s nice to have consistency, but it makes for boring blog entries and little to write about.

However, in Granada, the people who live here always make for good entertainment, like this guy: the sketchy bread man.

The Bread man is always in this same spot every morning and hardly ever sells any bread. Until today:

According to Valerie, he told her that he "needs to get through University," but you'd have to sell a crap load of bread everyday and it seems like everyone avoids him like the plague:

Why I love Granada in Photos

Back home, I’m not a runner, but the gym isn’t opened on Sundays and I usually don’t wake up in time to go to the gym Saturday morning so I opted for a run around the river, which is simply gorgeous!

You know how in Yes Man when Zooey Deschanel’s character teaches that running/photography class? Well I decided to try taking pictures on my run Saturday. Turns out its as ridiculous as it sounds. I was not coordinated enough to take the picture as I was running so there was a lot of starting and stopping involved.

 

Also, there are always random animals hanging out in the city, for example this donkey was in front of the church all afternoon. Later on Saturday night, this crazy guy was riding him all over the plaza, then parked him outside a bar while he had a drink:

 

Sunday we went on a hike. Basically we followed the road past El Camborio until it ended. Then we went back and took a detour up a hill. 

Street art

The ever infamous Alhambra

It's weird to see El Camborio in the daytime

Roadkill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overlooking Granada

Sacremonte

Near our piso!