RONDA (not to get confused with the Beach Boy's Rhonda)

Oldest Plaza de Toros

Spanish countryside

This was our last excursion. I am a little late in posting the photos. Since Ronda, we took our DELE exam, our final exams and gone our separate ways. I am writing this blog back at home (#2) in Portland.
Now that I have had almost a week in the States, I am have reflected on Spain quite a bit. I know that I grew more as a person within those 5 months then in 2.5 years at college.


As a goodbye, here is one of the last photos we took together in Granada:

La Ahlambra beer in front of La Ahlambra (all lit up in the background)

Thanks for following my blog!

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain...that's why we go to the beach!!

          and we jumped...

we all made it!

Last Sunday morning, I planned to meet a friend to go to the beach. When she overslept her alarm and didn't show up, I decided to go...alone. On the way, I met other American students and spent a couple hours with them. My friend DID end up waking up and taking a later bus to Nerja (the beach town). When she showed up, we ran into a whole group of our friends from our program. Overall, though the trip started a little rough, it ended on a really great note! Plus, we went cliff jumping...and a day is ALWAYS better with some cliff jumping.

The countdown begins for the arrival to the US. It is such a weird and exciting feeling. I have been here for 5 months and feel that in the last couple weeks I have felt the most comfortable. It makes me excited for when I stay in a country for longer than a couple months!

Now, after a good game of soccer with a mix of Spaniards, French, Italians, Americans and a Swedish guy, I am off to bed. Tomorrow will be our last excursion with the program so you will see another blog real soon!

Besitos

La tierra de los polacos

So fun fact...If a Spanish person were to read the title of this blog, they may believe that I would be talking about Cataluña because there is a derogatory joke which refers to those in Cataluña as "polacos." However, I am not the kind of person to throw around such pejorative reference. I went to the REAL land of the polacos. If you are still lost as to where I am referring, let me translate.
The land of the Polish.
I went to Poland!
My friend, Alexis and I stayed in Wroclaw. Coincidentally, a friend from Portland is from Wroclaw, so we didn't have to worry about figuring out our itinerary. She gave us plenty of suggestions!

just smelling the flowers...

Wish you were here

pretty money

 We loved the city itself. While there, we ate great food, tried authentic Polish beer and even discovered a free concert in a park. Everyone was super nice and most of them spoke English. The city of Wroclaw is also littered with small gnome statues...

It was a fun scavenger hunt to find them all!
The most impacting part of the trip was when we chose to visit Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was almost a 3 hour drive one way but we felt that since we were already in that part of the world, 3 hours didn't seem too bad.
It's always difficult to explain experiences like we had. We can't exactly saw we had a great time, it seems a little disrespectful. I can speak for myself when I say that I feel privileged to have seen Auschwitz to be able to carry that memory with me for the rest of my life.

The rocks are representative of prayers. It is a Jewish tradition.

What is left of a crematorium

"Work Makes Free"

A woman etched her "identity" into the wall...

While there, scenes from Elie Wiesel's Night were playing over and over in my head. It was an experience that I hope to never forget.

Overall, the trip was worth the short time spent. We loved Poland!

Now I am off to study which seems even harder to do when all from Portland are on summer vacation already. Also, my brother graduates this weekend from GU. So, Lewy congrats!!

Besitos.

Semana Santa

 Photo blog style! Spring Break was super great. Amanda and I left Granada early to spend the day in Malaga (look on map southwest of Granada) with Andy, A.j. and Alexis. I feel like I was a little left out on the "A" name group...thanks parents. We spent the day on the beach! It was relaxing and fun.
We had a rough start once we left Malaga, with the wrong flight idea (we had planned flying into Girona instead of Barcelona but instead flew into Barcelona). Thank God for nice taxi drivers. We made reservations in a hotel way outside of Barcelona (unbeknown to our knowledge) but he help us find a different place to stay in the city. Then that night, while walking around the city, I fell off the curb and hit my knees and palms flat on the cement. OUCH! After THAT the guy at the Kebab was not very nice. Besides our interesting start of the trip, we got our sh...stuff together and took the bus (the second day) to Girona. (Look on the map north of Barcelona)
In Girona, we...
stayed with locals, met locals, spoke Spanish, learned some Catalan, met new friends, learned more about the difference between Castilian (main Spain) and Catalan (Cataluña). Yes, there is a difference. Most importantly, because the lifestyle is much more slow-paced, we relaxed.

l

Girona (in Castellano=Gerona)

The Pyrenees in the distance

Muralla (ancient wall to protect city)

 During our stay, we took a day trip with two of our new friends to the beach. Now it was not a "let's-sit-on-a-towel-and-drink-strawberry-daiquiris" kind of a trip. We walked three hours down the Costa Brava. Whoa! It was BEAUTIFUL. Here are some great photos from the day.

Now, I know what you are thinking but, yes, those are real photos that I took because I was physically there. Seriously, that was such a great day and made me fall in love with a different side of Spain (the Cataluñan one).
PART TWO: BARCELONA
After our stay in Girona, we made our way down to Barcelona. In Barca, my high-school friend Rachel met up with us.

Barcelona

Plaza de Espana

 We visited many of the main tourist attractions. This one is one of the most interesting ones. It is a Benedictine monastery on the top of hill/mountain.

Montserrat

"Silence"

St. Theresia

Prayer candles

 Basically, it is a big religious hub-bub which attracts many pilgrims and tourists alike. It was so beautiful and cool to see the older churches/homes of the old monks.
In Barcelona, we stayed near Las Ramblas (famoush Barcelona street). We were near famous Gaudi buildings and we walked the streets to the famous Sagrada Familia which has been in construction for the last 120 odd years.

Gaudi

 La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia second side

 Park Guell

 

 

 

 

1992 Olympic Stadium