Fall-ing for Spain

Just eating my lunch, sitting on the ruins of an ancient, Moorish palace

This halloween weekend I find myself at another puente in Spain. What's new? :) Instead of planning a long trip Adrienne and I decided to hop on the train and travel to a little city in the province of Málaga, Andalucía called Ronda. We heard it was a beautiful place and one of the largest "white villages" of southern Spain. After a train ride that seemed like the French pea pod scene out of a Veggie Tales movie, we arrived. As we left the train station it started to rain, so we ducked into a little cafe to make our plan of attack. We walked towards the beautiful views and found where we would spend the next six hours. It was breathtaking. The colors of the country side screamed autumn and the air was oh so fresh! I was so happy to be in another place and out of the city for a day. Our French-Canadian tour group from the train flagged us down for what we thought was to take a picture of them. Instead they wanted pictures with us! Adrienne and I were in tears we were laughing so hard. We had no idea that our train ride bonded us so closely with them.

Ronda has an extensive history with an amazing mixture of Roman and Moorish architecture. After the Moors took the Roman's place in the city, the Christians came and tore down much of the existing Islamic architecture. They built their churches over the remains leaving architectural proof of the mix of cultures in the south of Spain. You can look at a cathedral and see a minaret that was once part of the mosque that existed there, that now serves as the bell tower for the Catholic cathedral built from the original mosque structure. Although it is interesting to see so many influences of cultures and religion in one structure, there is quite a dark history behind the remains.

Puente Viejo

Adrienne and I ate our packed lunch over looking the painted countryside sitting a top the remains of an Moorish palace. After exploring the city we took a trail we found down to one of the most breathtaking sights I have seen in Spain. The sun peeked out just in time for me to take a picture :) It was a beautiful day in the month of October. I know if I was home right now I would be at the Avila Barn buying my pumpkins and honey or crafting my three Halloween costumes for the Isla Vista Halloween festivities. I am missing fall in California, but celebrating it Spanish style isn't too bad eh?

Since being in Spain I have found a great church in a barrio right outside of Granada. It's a family barrio with a large Muslim population. The church is an international church of about 50 people maximum. Christina and I have been going on Sunday evenings and enjoying worship in English and Spanish. After the messages there is a time for prayer where the floor is free to thank God for whatever is on your heart. I am almost in tears every time. Listening to honest words to Jesus in English, Spanish, and Arabic has been an experience and I am blessed to have found a Bible believing church here in Spain.
A couple weekends ago the church was distributing winter clothes to the Zaidin neighborhood to bless families that were in need. Christina and I took our Saturday morning to help organize winter clothes and help fasciliate the distribution. It was so encouraging to see this church investing in their community and blessing people in need. I was so blessed to be a part of it and hope to find more opportunities like this in my year here. I don't want to leave Spain without knowing that I have made a difference somehow. I want to invest in this city and although traveling and spanish are great things, I hope that God uses me for something greater here.

My address...in case you want to be pen pals while I am away :)
Kristen Vassaur
C/Damasqueros N.12 1Izquierda
18009 Granada
Granada, Spain

Is that Spanish or Arabic?

Demonstration for the strike. Yo Voy!

I have now been in school for three weeks, but have only had class for a grand total of eight days. Let me give you a run-down on how Spain works. 1st week of school: No class on Monday because of ceremonial purposes and no class on Thursday because of a workers strike. I am also trying to take on the Spanish mentality by arranging my schedule so that I don't have class on Friday's. 2nd week of school: I actually had class Monday-Thursday, but one of my professor's didn't show on Thursday because of the puente. A puente is a Spanish extended holiday. This past week there was a fiesta for el día nacional on Tuesday. From what I found online the holiday is similar to our Veterans day. Needless to say, if there is a holiday on Tuesday, Spain thinks that it's a prime opportunity to have a 4 day weekend. So, week 3: No class on Monday or Tuesday. I now find myself at the weekend once again. Thank you Spain :).

Now, I make it sound so easy and for the Spaniards I don't think it is too difficult, but I am having a hard time. I am taking 4 classes: The Social Reality of an Arab Woman, Contemporary History of the Arab World, Pre-hispanic Art History, and Museology. I have the same professor for the Arab classes and she is a sweet, dynamic lady, but speaks with an insanely thick Andalucían accent that I really struggle to understand. It doesn't help that she is reading about women's rights straight from the Koran and a quarter of the words she uses are Arabic. There are times when I honestly don't know if she is speaking Arabic or Spanish because of her accent. My other professors speak fast, but have powerpoints, so it is easier to follow along. I know my classes are interesting, I just wish I could understand everything! I feel like I am in over my head at the moment, but I know it will get easier. My favorite spanish phrase right now is "poco a poco," which means "little by little." This is my motto and I'm sticking with it.

Besides school starting I have began tutoring 5 kids and 1 adult in english. This sweet, missionary couple from Texas, living in Granada connected me with the job. I am so grateful to have a source of income while studying here for a year. I tutor 4 siblings (the 2 youngest for 1 hour and the 2 oldest for the following hour) on Monday and Tuesday nights and a mother and her daughter for another 2 hours on Tuesday also. The kids are adorable and the families are fantastic. It's a lot of work and quite exhausting, but I know it will be rewarding once I figure out what the heck I'm doing. The younger kids don't speak really any english, but the older kids have a much higher level. I enrolled in a certification class to be an official English tutor, so hopefully that will give me some direction. All in all I am so blessed to be a part of these kid's lives, to be around Spanish families and to have a little more insight into their culture.

Old friends and new friends

Last night was one of my favorite nights I have had in Granada. The first week I was here I bought a ticket to see Andrew Bird (an American musician) play at a theatre downtown. One of my new Spanish friends, Ana, bought a ticket too and went with some girlfriends and I. He put on an amazing show and had a talented Spanish, folk singer open for him. We were in the 2nd row and couldn't have had a better view. I had an amazing time and was so happy to see a theatre filled with the Spanish alternative crowd. It was so interesting to see all of these Spaniards in love with American gypsy, folk, rock. It was a great night with amazing music and beautiful people.

The musical/loop stylings of Andrew Bird and his opener, DePedro at the Teatro Caja Granada

Trains, buses, boats, and ferries

A happy heart

After finishing finals in our intensive language program, buying numerous bus tickets and booking a few hostels, 3 girlfriends and I took off to the southern coast of Portugal.  We had a smooth bus ride and landed in the land of Faro at 2AM.  We had no idea what Faro had to offer, but we knew we were 4 California girls that needed a beach A.S.A.P. We heard there was a bus that came every 20 minutes to take us to the nearest beach. After waiting for about a half hour Shannon and I decided to walk back to the hostel to ask if we were at the correct stop. About half way back we saw our bus coming, looked at each other and started sprinting in the other direction after the bus full of people. I am sure they thoroughly enjoyed the sight of two tourists sprinting after the bus, trying not to kill themselves on the cracked, cobble stone streets of Faro.

The beach was everything we hoped for, warm Atlantic water, sangria and sun.  Even better, Faro is not a tourist city and so the beach was filled with Portuguese friends and lovers. After returning to our hostel we decided to check out the nightlife and stumbled into a Portuguese karaoke bar. We were the only non-Portuguese in the place. People really tried hard to communicate with us, but there were only a few who spoke English and none that spoke Spanish. After listening to too many Portuguese drunken love songs, we decided we needed to spice up the party. Of course, Spice Girls, “Wanna Be” was our song of choice. We gave it all we had and definitely had the bar’s attention. Not sure if it was good or bad attention, but we got a couple pity claps at the end and decided it was a good time to leave.

The following day we took a train to a nearby port town, Olhão and then took a ferry to the island of Farol. We heard this was the island of shells, diving and snorkeling. The southern coast of Portugal has a few tiny islands surrounded by marshlands with various birds and unique nature. I enjoyed my alone time on this island and took a walk down the beach collecting shells for my room. We swam and watched the Portuguese lifeguards play paddle ball and work really hard at not doing their job.  We caught the Ferry back to Olhaõ at sunset and took the night train back to Faro.

The following morning we took the train (which by the way is extremely cheap in Portugal, cheaper than the bus) to our next stop, Lagos! Immediately we realized that Lagos was the place to be for everyone who was not Portuguese! We were determined to enjoy all that the city had to offer and find the real Lagos that lied beneath the Australians and Kiwis. We walked through the town, past the alien child statue in the town center, until we found our hostel, “The Stumble Inn.” We knocked 3 times (that’s what it said to do on the website) and a friendly, dread-lock man greeted us and showed us to our rooms. We walked 5 minutes to the nearest beach in cloudy weather, explored a little and found a cave that was swimmable. We didn’t have our suits so we did what the Portuguese would do and had a sweet lady watch our clothes while we dove into the warm water. We swam out for the cave and walked through only to find a boat full of tourists on the other side. I am sure they got more than they bargained for that day. We swam, explored and laughed the whole time.  Those memories are the ones that make me feel so blessed to be alive!

The daily grind in Portugal

Fernando, you will be missed.

The next day after finding our next hostel in the hills surrounding Lagos we made our way back into town to, of course, go to the beach. We were stopped by Portuguese men telling us to take their boat tour of the southern coast. We talked down the price and hopped in a little boat with our new friend, Fernando. He was the sweetest Portuguese teddy bear who had an image and a story for every rock formation we saw. Along the coast were ruins of an ancient Arab castle, an elephant, a yellow submarine, a wedding cake, and other creative things that Fernando has thought of in the past 30 years he has been giving tours. We took in all the Atlantic had to offer, the uniqueness of the small coves and rock formations. After we said goodbye to Fernando we walked along the bluffs until we found a perfect cove to enjoy a little game of paddle ball and what was left of the sun that day.

The sweetest thing in Portugal

We walked back into town as the sun was setting trying to find a Portuguese restaurant that Fernando recommended to us. We were lost and stopped in front of a men’s sports bar. Little, old Portuguese men started blabbing directions off in Portuguese, but not before another little, old Portuguese woman could get in on the action. Before I knew it, we had multiple recommendations and a Portuguese conversation going on. We had our dinner and started on the journey to the outskirts of town. On the way we spotted the sweetest lady in the window of her home. She looked radiant and when Adrienne asked to take a picture of her she nodded her head and posed. I almost had tears rolling down my cheeks and was ready to ask if she would be my grandma. She was by far my favorite memory from Portugal.

Our cove for a day

After numerous bus mishaps we arrived back in Granada at 3AM. Reality had set in and school was going to start on Tuesday. All of the nerves were back and my Portuguese vacation was over. I was excited to see what the "real life" would hold. Along with the Spaniards, the Portuguese have learned to love life. I realized that the majority of people were the happiest sitting in their boats, taking in the sun and not doing much of anything. I would venture to say the world would be a happier place if we all took time for sitting in the sun and naps on the beach.

Fernando and I sending our love through a conch shell in Portugal.

A Bloody Nose

Well, I have almost been in Spain 1 month and finally the sickness going around in the dorms caught up with my immune system. I have been in bed for about 5 days now with a Spanish head cold. I made an interesting trip to the emergency room after I had 3 heavy, bloody noses and 1 of my good friends said, "Hmmm that's not normal." I excused the first by saying the air was dry and by the third we were in the waiting room. Quite an interesting experience, going to the emergency room in Spain. As Laura put it, "They don't teach you this kind of stuff in Spanish 1-6. We learn how to say we want to go to the beach, but not how to say I have a heavy, bloody nose or I am coughing up phlegm." Laura was a saint through the whole ordeal and also doubled as my translator. It's even more difficult to speak in Spanish when your head is throbbing and there are doctors shoving prongs up your nose telling you to bite down on gauze while they cauterize the inside of your nose. It was almost better that I couldn't understand them because I had no way of anticipating what they were going to do. The doctor found a cut on the inside of my nose and after cauterizing it the bleeding stopped. After, they took my blood to make sure I wasn't anemic or anything of the sort. The test results came back clear, they gave me some medicine (not sure what), and sent me on my way. I am still not sure of how to pay or what I am supposed to do now. The lady at the desk circled some things, highlighted a few more, and then told us to come back tomorrow. That was 3 days ago, but no worries, nothing is open on the weekends in Spain. :)

The confusion of piso hunting candidly captured on my face.

Before all of this getting sick business, I wore myself out applying for my student residency (worse than the DMV's office) and finding a piso. I found an amazing little Spanish piso in my favorite barrio of Granada, the Realejo. The Realejo is, I think, the most artsy part of Granada, with graffiti murals covering the stone walls and cobble stone alley ways. There are 2 vegetarian restaurants in the Realejo, 1 of which is completely gluten-free and vegan!

Hicuri-Veg food :)

Spain is changing its ways.

My room has a balcony over looking a little alley and my landlord is a kindred spirit! He is a holistic doctor who told me, when I forgot to bring the money for first month's rent, "Hakuna matata, Kristen." Him and his lady live in the piso above me and his daughter, her husband, and their son live in the piso next to me. The piso I am renting is his brother's, but he is in Germany making Flamenco guitars for the year so I get the privilege of living in this awesome family, love, nest. I got the chance to meet my piso mates, but won't be living with them until finals are over at the end of the week. Tamara is a psychology student from Spain and Charlotte is from England and is here to work and speak Spanish. They are both incredibly sweet and I can't wait to get to know them. I am so blessed that God provided an amazing place to live with these awesome chicas and can't wait to move in! I will post pictures of the place soon.

The Spanish - Livin' la vida loca at all ages

Besides ending the piso search, applying for residency, classes, and contracting a not-so-fun cold, the month mark has almost hit and reality is starting to set in. I have to pick my classes for the entire year this week, will be taking finals on Thursday, and moving out of the dorms and into my piso on Friday. Real life will be starting soon, and I am excited to see how my world is going to change.

Helado and Ham

Our epic hike to Los Cahorros

Hello friends and family~

I have been been in Granada for exactly two weeks and am just now starting to adjust to the Spanish time schedule! Of all Europeans, Spaniards stay out the latest and get the least amount of sleep. On the weekends the discotecas don't even open till about 2am (trust me we have tried to go before then) and they don't come home till 6 or 7am. I know...I can't believe it either. The siesta from 2-5pm is a much needed break in the middle of the day when all shops and restaurants close and Spaniards take their naps.  Over all, the pace of life here is so much slower than the United States - says the beach town girl from Isla Vista.

We are really trying to fit in here...hahaha

Spain has been a huge adjustment thus far. The time schedule, eating habits, language, and people are oh so different from California. I started the intensive spanish school last week and take my finals for my 5 classes (grammar, reading, literature, history, and oral comprehension) in 2 weeks. After that I have a week break where I am planning traveling with one of my dearest friends who came here with me from UCSB and a few other girls from California. After our week break we will start the actual Spanish university (la Universidad de Granada) and will be taking all of our classes with spanish students in spanish. I will be taking classes for my global studies major and art history minor. 

The accent here in southern Spain is like nothing I have ever heard before. For example, in Spanish you say "hasta luego" and here in Granada you say "hata lueo." Exactly, what the heck? Hata lueo? It has definitely been a challenge focusing in my classes when my literature professor is trying to explain Cervantes in a thick Granada accent.  

Another aspect of Spanish life my body is still adjusting to is the food. Spain loves their ham! For those of you who don't know I am a vegetarian, which is an unknown concept to the Spanish. My comedor at the dining hall in our dorms calls me "loca" every time I ask for my food without meat. I gave a presentation in my oral class on an animal rights documentary called "Earthlings" and he didn't even understand what I was talking about, not sure if it was my spanish or the subject of fair treatment for animals haha. After I was finished he asked me if I thought animals had feelings. I said, "Claro que sí" (of course). Then he asked me if I ate plants and I again said, "Sí." He then tried telling me that plants and animals have the same feelings and that it was silly for me not to eat meat if I ate plants. The conversation ended with him shaking his head in confusion and disagreement. Not only do the Spanish love their meat, but they love their helado (ice cream/gelato). I was on a role and was getting one everyday to cool off, but I had to cut that habit when I realized that I am going to be here for a year and didn't need to eat a year's worth of gelato in the first week :)

My gelato habit inspired me to join a gym along with a few other girls from my program. It is rare that women work out here (yet they are naturally skinny, walk in heels, and never sweat), so when we went to sign up the whole gym was very aware that a group of American girls infiltrated. The first day we exercised, we took a spin class with a very macho Spanish instructor. The music commenced with the song "So What" by Pink. Our instructor sang and shimmied to American pop songs through the entire class while yelling commands at us in Spanish! We laughed through the entire class with a room full of silent, blank faced Spaniards.  We are now regulars at Gimnasio Triunfo.

I am loving life here so far and have not had the chance to be homesick yet. My hands are full with trying to find an apartment to move into in 3 weeks, applying for student residency, and homework, but my heart misses you all!