Vida y otras cosas en Granada

I am having a relaxing afternoon in my apartment, sipping on coffee, watching the buildings on the hill across from us reflect the slowly descending sun, and listening to a local Spanish TV show. Today was one of the first days that the sun has emerged since we’ve been here. It has rained almost every day we have been here, which apparently is VERY odd. Normally it rarely rains here, but it has rained so much people are getting depressed and staying inside all day. It is very discouraging to constantly be wet and have umbrellas break. It even snowed a couple days ago! It didn’t stick, in fact it didn’t even make it to the ground, but it was cold and very strange for the area. Many of the sidewalks are made of tile, so it makes for a slick walk when the rain comes down. Luckily, none of my slips have ended with me on my butt. However, it has been so cold in our apartment. Everyday that Nati comes for lunch she finds me curled up in a ball with a blanket around me, saying “tengo frio!” The heat doesn’t turn on until the afternoon, and the apartment doesn’t have carpet or very well sealed windows. Nati always laughs and makes fun of both Caroline and I saying, “Son norte americanos!” In other words…we should be used to much colder weather. Colder weather, yes, but warmer houses tambien. (Here is a picture of the street I live on, and one of the front of our apartment.)

I don’t have much of a routine at the moment, because I am STILL waiting for classes to start. When I first arrived I had “review courses” which was a three-hour class every night going over basic stuff we have already learned. Then I took a placement exam to figure out where I needed to go. I ended up placing in a different program then I applied for, but it’s fine because all of the classes are approved by BSU and I will still get my credits. So, since the placement exam I have had five days off. I don’t even start classes for another two days! It is kind of crazy. I have been trying to get a schedule and run every other morning or so, but it is hard. At first I couldn’t sleep at night, now I sleep way too much! The directors of my program tell me it’s my reaction to change of environment and dealing with a new language. It is mentally draining to constantly be translating everything you hear and everything you want to say. It’s even more draining when you can’t say what you want to say, or don’t understand what others are trying to say. (Here's a view of the river, which is really close to our apartment and has a path along it where I sometimes run.)


Caroline and I received a new roommate the other night, Mari, from France. Up until now, we have been referring to her as Frenchy. As in, “Soon, Frenchy will be here.” Or “I wonder if Frenchy will think we are stupid Americans?” (This last part spoken with a phlegmy French accent, “stoopid Amereecahns”). So far, she has been a good roommate. But Caroline and I still refer to her as Frenchy, just not to her face. However, I’m hoping to change that soon, and once I feel it is appropriate, I will ask her if it’s okay.Not surprisingly, Frenchy doesn’t speak English. But, she does speak some Spanish, about the same level as Caroline and I. We are able to have conversations, but not necessarily go in depth. So when we come to words we don’t know, its funny because either one of us dashes for a dictionary, or we just try to explain what we want to say in Spanish. Mari is 24 years old, and is taking a month of Spanish here and then going to Peru for three months of Spanish. Her whole family is French and only French, and she said it is frustrating because people in France only speak one language-- French. Caroline and I told her it’s somewhat similar in the US, but she said they are worse off, because French isn’t an international language. She said for her job she needs to learn both Spanish and English. However, I’m not sure what her job is, or if she just wants a job in which these languages are necessary.

We were curious how meals would work out, since Caroline and I have “special needs”, but it ends up Frenchy doesn’t eat with us. She makes her OWN meals! Apparently she had a cheaper option of making her own food instead of having Nati make it. The first day Frenchy was here we explained to her that because we are weird and can’t eat gluten, we can’t use the same side of the toaster for our bread. I explained to her which side we use and which side she should use. Her eyes filled with panic as she tried to explain in Spanish, “I already used that side!” Poor girl felt really bad. We explained it was fine, we would just clean it, and from now on we needed to use different sides. I am glad Nati makes us food because her cooking is AMAZING! I love her food. I realized today that I haven’t had such a large variety of food since before I found out I was gluten-free. She uses very basic ingredients, but makes so many different things. We almost always have meat (mostly chicken) broccoli, potatoes, a soup with either Garbanzo beans or lentils, and fruit. So we are getting quite the balanced diet, and she always makes the meal differently. She has even ventured into making us gluten-free pizza and breaded chicken! She makes it all from scratch, too. We constantly shower her with compliments and thanks, and she giggles and tells us how easy we are to please. Apparently, some of the other kids won’t eat her food. What a bunch of crazies!

Even more bizarre, I just received an email from a guy named Tyler. Tyler went to school at Boise State and lived with my host family in Costa Rica right before I lived there. So, Yami gave me his email and facebook contact and I friended him and asked him questions about his time there and such. Apparently, he lives in Cordoba right now with his wife, which is in the same providence (?) as Granada. Weird! I guess when people have similar interests they end up doing similar things.

As usual, I am overflowing with things to say, but am trying not to overdo it in one blog. I may have to write these more frequently! I still wanted to talk about the Alhambra, which I went to see earlier this week. But, since I have come to my personal limit, I will leave you with this photo of me in the gardens, and will write on the Alhambra next time!

Hola, me llamo Amanda. Soy libre de gluten.

How do you begin a blog that is the first of many on an experience that cannot be compared to any other? I am currently in Granada, Spain, and so much has happened since I left the States last week, I don’t even know where to start. I have already seen many famous buildings in Madrid, spent time with a friend from Challis (yes, in Madrid) visited landmarks in Spain that go back to the 14th century (and seen art and books as old as 2000 years old), hung out in Holy Toledo, been given LOTS of bread, and gotten lost. I’m realizing that it will be impossible to tell you in detail all the amazing things I’ve seen so far, but I will try to give you the jist.

The program I’m in has about seventy-seven girls, and eight boys. We are the most enormous group of American tourists, even split in half. While in Madrid we stayed in the Hotel Moderno, which in proper European fashion, only had two elevators
which held about one person plus their luggage. And when it comes to traveling to Europe and having seventy-seven girls together, that means a lot of luggage. I mean, so much luggage my program had to rent a van to haul our extra bags because they didn’t fit on the two buses we had. However, the Hotel was beautiful and in the very center of Madrid, which made it easy to get around and see some of the best sites.

Madrid is beautiful. It has such a different, yet familiar feel to it. It is a bustling metropolitan with ads covering skyscrapers and department stores that are eight floors tall, thousands of people within a few blocks, and noises coming from all directions. Yet it has narrow winding cobblestone streets that take you to small shops, cafés, and locally owned restaurants. This part reminds me of Italy, but there are many things about Spain that are very different (aka, toilets that aren’t holes in the ground.)

While in Madrid, we visited the Royal Palace of the former Kings and Queens of Spain, which of course was ridiculous. At least it felt ridiculous as I walked through an enormous palace with ornate decorations, furniture, paintings, and rooms for dressing, rooms for sitting, and rooms for talking. It is hard for me to imagine kings and queens and their lives. These are things we only hear about in fairytales.

That same day we also visited the Museo del Prado, which holds famous works from Greco and Goya. We had an extremely enthusiastic tour guide who spoke mostly Spanish, and very slowly, so it was nice since it was our first day immersed in the language. I would’ve loved to have spent hours in the museum, but we spent over an hour there, and our stomachs were growling, and our heads drowsy from jet lag.

Which brings me to tell you about food in Spain. I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the schedule, but at least I am able to find food I can eat. In Spain, they have a light breakfast, a two-course lunch with fruit, coffee, and wine that usually starts around 2pm, and a light dinner starting at 8pm at the earliest. And I’ve been informed, “Spaniards don’t snack.” Don’t snack? My life is comprised of snacks. I am trying to conform to the culture here, but I usually end up starving before the next meal comes.

The good thing has been being able to share the gluten-free experience with someone. My new roommate, Caroline, is GF too.
In Madrid we went to almost all our meals together, collectively impressing upon our waiter that we indeed, could not eat wheat or anything like it. It’s very different for me to go from “I can’t eat gluten,” to “We can’t eat gluten.” Or, in other words, “No puedo” turns into “No podemos.” And although we continually explain, we somehow still end up with bread on our plate. Bread in place of the real food we asked for. Bread put on top of the food we requested “sin pan.” It got to the point where all we could do was laugh. When we said the word gluten, we were looked at like aliens. When we said we couldn't eat bread, they thought we were even crazier. I really think that the majority of the waiters just assumed it was some mumbo jumbo word from my own language. However, it hasn’t been hard to find food without gluten. Tapas are commonly ate here, and they comprise of platters of various different things, such as cheese, meat, seafood, vegetables, etc. While I was in Madrid, I went to eat tapas with Michael Gilliam from Challis. For those of you that don’t know him, he is a friend I have had since I was four-years-old. He is going to Grad school in Madrid, and he took some friends and myself to a tapas restaurant where we split four tapas and two pitchers of Sangria for a total of 7.50 euro each. I suppose this is the only time Spaniards could be considered to snack, since tapas are finger foods. However, it is pretty filling. (PS, picture isn't mine)

Lucky for us, Caroline and I are set as far as food goes in Granada. We live in an apartment where our landlady, Natividad, feeds us three gluten-free meals a day. The apartment is absolutely adorable. It was once Natividad’s mother’s, however she is now 92-years-old and lives in a nursing home. The apartment still has some of her style, with brown chairs and white doilies, and a china cabinet. It is a very comfortable place, and we even get internet! Natividad doesn’t speak any English, and she is sometimes hard to understand with the Spanish lisp and Granada accent. However, between the two of us, we know what’s going on. She makes the most delicious meals, all from scratch. She thought it was interesting that people would think our diet was complicated or difficult, and I now realize it’s because she doesn’t use anything processed. When you are in complete control of what is put in your food, where would the problem be? We eat a lot of vegetables and potatoes, and sometimes chicken. For lunch today she made us soup and chicken with potatoes, carrots, onions, dates, and a white wine sauce. It was amazing. I am in shock of how good the food is. She must love to cook because she also has another apartment to cook for, as well as an exchange student living in her house. Everyone has their own nit picky things (which she tells us about when all we do is sit in awe of how good her food is) so she makes many different meals in a day.

If my grammar or spelling is off, it is more than likely because of my brain trying to switch into Spanish. Once again I am finding that not only am I struggling to speak only Spanish, but that it makes it almost impossible for me to speak English. I can’t think of words, I say things in the wrong grammar structure, and I say words that probably aren’t even real words. It’s all part of the process of getting back into Spanish, and it is much harder in Granada than it was in Madrid. In Madrid, the speaking is much clearer, but in Granada the accent is very thick. I get so confused by what people are saying, I sometimes just can’t speak at all. However, classes haven’t even begun yet, so I know this will all work itself out in time, and that Spanish will come much easier.

Of course, there are many more things I would love to tell you all. I still didn’t mention Toledo. If you are bored, look up Toledo Spain, I promise you won’t be disappointed. I wanted to get a blog out before it got to the point where talking about things became too much. Well, here’s to new beginnings, and along with my Spanish, I hope to make these blogs better as we go. Here is a picture of Toledo, if it will pique your interest.