Nightlife in Granada

Not only is Granada great for daytime excursions and sightseeing, but the nightlife is pretty sweet as well. A friend of one of the girls in my program visited Granada before and sent her a list of really cool places to go. Seeing as how we only had one free night in Granada, of course we wanted to make the most of it. One of the places on the list of places to visit was the chupiteria (shot bar). This place was literally described as as "arcade for alcoholics". Every shot costs one euro and for every shot you buy you get a point. The more points you have, the bigger your prize can be. Of course, this is the place we decided would be the best to go. But honestly, just getting there was half the fun.

Inspired by the costumes of the people in the Spanish style Amazing Race, we decided we all had to go out as a team with a unifying costume. After intensive searching by two CIEE-ers we decided to all buy sombreros. I'm not quite sure how this was the only thing we could find, but we just went with it.  Before going to the chupiteria,  a friend of one of the guys in my program who happened to be studying in Granada met us at our hotel. And this is where the fun began.

We all put on our sombreros and walked down the street as we blasted music from speakers. I thought it was especially hilarious because some people don't know the differences between Hispanic cultures, so we sort of looked like the "ignorant Americans" who think Spaniards wear sombreros. Although this is something I would never think to do in the US, we only had one free night and we were there to have fun.

Once we arrived at his friend's apartment, we chatted, etc. until the idea for Sharpie mustaches came about. The two guys from my program had a friend draw on full curly tipped Sharpie mustaches on their faces ... I would like to take credit for supplying the Sharpie : ) The rest of us just got mustaches on our fingers so we could hold them up periodically for picture time. Then it was chupiteria time!

DISCLAIMER: Due to my battery dying I didn't bring my camera with me, so I have no actual pictures of that night. I suppose it's better that way : )

Example of shots menu

There's not much I can say about the chupiteria. I don't drink at all, so I guess the better way to phrase that is "there's not much I should say about the chupiteria". Nothing dramatic, just not my stories to tell, you know? Leaving the chupiteria was as much fun as getting there. Directly down the street from the bar was a pizza restaurant, and my friends headed straight there. One friend, who gets a bit feisty when she's been drinking, asks the worker how much a calzone costs. He says five euro and her response was Que ladrón tu eres! (What a thief you are!). Then, she manages to drop the money over the counter landing in a pizza. That didn't have a point, I just thought it was really funny.

Somehow, our group manages to get separated and we end up with the friend we just met that night and his two Canadian roomies. As we're walking, we see this lemon tree and one of us decided that we really needed some of these lemons. The only problem is the tree is planted behind a 12 foot wall. A plan was soon hatched to hoist our new Canadian friend up so she could grab a few lemons and throw them down to us. In the end, the lemons were beyond sour and we eventually began to use the pieces as objects to hurl at each other.

Eventually, we made our way to a discoteca (nightclub), but the bouncers were super rude. They wouldn't let my friend in because they said he was wearing tennis shoes. Honestly, I thought the sombrero and drawn on Sharpie mustache would be the bigger problem, but apparently not. Also, seeing as how the fee to get in was ten euro and the bouncer was rude, I really didn't feel much up to going in. Not to mention, at this point it's probably 3AM and we have to be at breakfast that morning by 9 or 9:30. For Spain, 3AM is pretty early to go home, but I was super tired and we had an early day the next/same day. So, three of us walked back to the hotel and the rest stayed at the discoteca, and my one night of fun in Granada was over.

A Weekend in Granada

My program took us to Granada this weekend. I honestly think this was the best weekend I've had since I've been in Palma. When we arrived Friday night, none of the "touristy' places were still open so we just walked around a bit. We stopped somewhere and had this super amazing view of the city.

After walking around for a while we took a guided tour through some of the city. One of the stops was a flamenco bar. The bar was actually built into the side of a mountain, so it was like a cave. As I expected the dancers were amazing, but I think I was expecting something different. I always thought flamenco was a partnered dance, but apparently the authentic flamenco is one person at a time. At the end, I was pulled up to dance with one of the dancers. I got some pretty awesome videos of two of the ladies... before the old grouchy one told us "no video". Sad face : (

 

 

Saturday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, then went straight to the Alhambra. I felt so cultured just being there. We came during a really nice time of the year when there aren't too many tourists and the weather was still pretty cool. The only thing I felt like we missed out on was the flowers. A large part of the visit is walking through gardens and I noticed a lot of them hadn't bloomed yet. I really only noticed this because my mom loves flowers and she wanted me to take pictures of all the flowers. 

View from one of the towers

We also happened to be there during an Amazing Race (Spanish style) so there were quite a few of costumed people running through the streets while we were there. Also, the men who carry the statue of their saint during their patron saint's holiday were out training. They were huddled together under a giant piece of wood covered by a cloth all working on moving as one. It looked super intense and it made me realize the hard work that many of the citizens put in for the celebrations of their patron saints. Overall, it was a pretty great time and I definitely would love to go back.

The Dog

My Spanish mom bought a puppy for her granddaughters for Christmas. His name is Joc (I'm not sure how it's spelled because it's in Catalan, but it's pronounced like jock). I was super excited because on the form I filled out for my homestay I said I wanted a family with a dog. He was cute for the first few days... and then I saw his true colors. The silly little thing likes to pee and poo in front of my door. My Spanish mom says he's marking his territory, but it's MY territory right now. He's only four months old so I guess he's still being potty trained. I think he may have a problem with short term memory also. One day he wants to be my friend and nibble on my fingers. The next day he's barking at me like I'm an intruder. Then, he'll just sit and stare at me like he's never seen be before in his life. But it's so hard to stay mad at him. He's just so super cute.

This is how he just sits and stares at me.

I'm Officially a Movie Star...

well sorta kinda. My Spanish mommy is a clothing designer/actress and she is designing the wardrobe for a movie. I can’t remember the name in Spanish, but it translates to Creepy Lives. One day she tells me her movie needs a few extras to fill in the background of the movie. All I need to do is wear a white shirt, black shoes, and a belt. Simple, right? Not quite. Somehow, I managed to not have a nice white shirt or a belt. But never fear, Spanish mommy is here! She has a shirt and a belt for me to wear (of course she does, that’s her job!).

I was expecting to have to show up around 2 PM, but my Spanish mommy comes home around 11 AM and tells me they need me now. The director decided to change the order he wanted to shoot some scenes. She didn’t have the right wardrobe with her and of course she didn’t have me, the star : ) Anywho, I get to the “set” which is actually an old prison and yes it was indeed creepy.

My Spanish mommy led me inside and I met the director and some of the actors. For my scene, I have to wear this blue blazer, but blast it all the stupid thing doesn’t fit. The director ordered blazers that were all the same size (too small). The other two ladies who were already in the jackets had to pin them shut just to keep the tiny things from popping off. I think this could possibly be the first time that having giant boobs has actually hindered someone’s acting career. So frustrated and disappointed, I sit down in the room and watch people come in and out as they film their scenes. 

Cool side note: I watched the make-up artist turn a handsome older gentleman into a scruffy looking drunk with a black eye, busted lip, bruised forehead, and pock marks. She used a toothbrush dipped in a make-up alcohol mixture as a sort of low budget air brushing machine.

But back to the good part. Eventually, I go outside to where some of the actors are waiting. It was super freakin cold inside, so they went outside to stand in the sun. As I’m sitting outside, one of the women working came up and told me they needed me now. I thought I had missed my chance, but apparently not. I go inside and they tell me they need me to sit at this desk and read a newspaper. I’m like sure I can do that. But for some reason, there was a little table top fan just blowing away…did I mention it was freakin freezing inside. Then the director asks me what kind of pants I’m wearing. I guess he really liked my dark pants, because he gave me a bigger role in the movie. But apparently he didn’t like my jacket, so I have to take it off…once again, I find it fitting to remind you that it was super freakin COLD!!! Anywho, now my role was to open the cell door, look at the main actress as she walks through, then close the door. I can totally do that.

The director yells ACTION!  and I give the performance of my life. Then, he yells CUT! My feedback was “Muy serious. No smile.” (I thought this was a super cute example of Spanglish) So we shoot the scene two more times and that was it. They thanked me and I went back outside to wait for my Spanish mommy. I took a few pictures with one of the other actresses and all was said and done. So, it's official. I can now add movie star to my resume.

A picture I took of the prison that day. Creepy, right?

Riddle: Why Did the Donkey Cross the Train Tracks? PART 2

So we were stuck in a little town that I now know is called Sineu. The bus arrived, but he said he wasn't leaving until 2 and we had about 35 minutes to spare. We stop in this really cute little restaurant to wait. The owner seemed really nice, until he charged us for three baskets of bread when we only had one. He said it was enough to feed three people, so he charged us for three baskets. It still doesn't make sense because there were five of us. But oh well, life goes on.

Finally, we are on the bus to Manacor. Just my luck, the emergency hatch at the top of the bus is open, so I have wind and rain blowing in my face. So I was wet and cold. UGH! But whatever. I was just happy to be on our way again. 

Once we arrived in Manacor we had no idea what was open, so we randomly wandered through the tiny streets until we came to the main city center. We found this restaurant that had an amazing lunch menu deal. You could get an appetizer, second plate, dessert, water, and wine all for 8 euros. So of course we all jumped on that deal. First, we had some pretty awesome paella. It was a little weird because there were whole legs and shells still in the paella. I guess we had just gotten used to ordering paella ciega (paella that you don't need to pick shells out of and no whole fish, including heads).

We ate and drank to our hearts content, while also watching Batman dubbed in Spanish. There was this sparkling water drink called suc frut (which I like to pronounce like suck fruit) that was intended to be added to the wine to make it sweeter. But seeing as how I despise the taste of alcohol, I drank it by itself. It has to be the best drink I've had since I've been in Spain, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I am definitely going to have to make a special trip to Carrefour to find it. I can't even find it online.

By the time we were done eating, it was sort of late. We didn't want to miss our train and be stuck in Manacor, so we hustled back to the train station. As we're driving back it's quite possible that I drifted off to sleep a few times. Just my luck I happened to be sitting next to a hitter. My friend would randomly smack me to tell me to look out the window at the view. Yes, I know it's pretty outside. I saw it on the way here : )

All in all, it was a decent trip. I got a really good story out of it too I guess. How many times in your life can you say your trip was delayed because a train hit a donkey? I don't know if I would ever go back, but I think it's hard to really get a feel for a city on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. If I ever do go back, I'm going back to that restaurant to see where I can buy some suc frut!

Riddle: Why Did the Donkey Cross the Train Tracks?

Today my friends and I decided to take a little day trip to Alcudia. It's supposed to be super cute, have awesome beaches, AND it has some sort of old timey market on Sundays. Unfortunately, due to the ridiculous complexity of the Mallorcan transit system, we missed the right train by 15 minutes. The next wouldn't come for over an hour, so we decided to pick somewhere else and just go.

Alcudia: Where we planned to go

So the adventure began when some random squinty-eyed old creeper dude came up and started talking to me in the train station. I couldn't understand anything he was saying, but all I heard was the word morena (brown-skinned). My friend thought he was saying something rude so we were being kind of standoffish. Then, he tried to introduce me to some other creeper that had to be a good 40 years old. Apparently, he said something about how my brown skin was a pretty color or something like that. I'm like seriously? Grown man had to get his old creepy daddy to come hit on me? That's so not cool.

The adventure continued when we decided to venture to Manacor. We climb aboard the train, and all is well until... a friend, who shall remain nameless, really had to use the bathroom. Of course there are no bathrooms on the train and the situation is getting dire. My other friend  in a very MacGyver-esque fashion, chops the top of a 1.5 liter water bottle off with a key and tells her to use it like a porta potty. So she went to the back of the train and handled her business as I stood guard. Being a girl has it's perks, but men definitely got the long end of the stick (no pun intended) when it comes to being able to pee in random places.

All she needed was a 1.5 liter water bottle and a key.

So back to the riddle. Why did the donkey cross the train tracks? 

Answer: Doesn't matter. He didn't make it.

As we pull up to a stop (that isn't Manacor) the conductor tells us we have to get off. Now we might be foreign, but we can read and we know we are not in Manacor. Then a friend goes to talk to the conductor. She comes back and tells us they shut down the tracks because a train hit a donkey. We're like WHAT?!?!? Things like this only happen to us. We had to wait for a bus to come (in the freezing rain might I add) to take us the rest of the way. I'm still trying to figure out why there's a problem. How long does it take to clean up a donkey? I guess it's just one of those things you never think you'll have to deal with until you have to deal with it. I just feel sorry for the people who lost their donkey that day. Well... I guess it wasn't that great of a day for the donkey either.

Part Two to Come

Valldemossa x 2

The first time I went to Valldemossa was with the students from my study abroad program and our "Guardian Angels", but we didn't stay long enough to fully enjoy the amazing beauty that is Valldemossa. We showed up, tried to go to the cartuja (charterhouse) which was closed, ate coca de patatas (potato rolls), and left. 

So... my friends and I decided to come back. And I have to say it was the best day trip I've had so far. We bought tickets to the cartuja, which also included entrance to a church, monastery, palace, museum, and a small garden. AND we got a private piano concert (not because we're super special, just because nobody else happened to be there at the time). I took some of the most gorgeous pictures during this trip.

I need to figure out a way to support myself if I moved to Valldemossa for good. Maybe a professional babysitter or an English teacher. I'm not exactly sure what I could do, but I would find a way. Or I might just get super rich so I can afford to buy a summer house here.

The Weeb

Arxiduc Lluis Salvador

My university in Palma is called Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB, pronounced like "weeb"). The UIB is SOOOO different from Agnes Scott. First, the student body is gargantuan compared to tiny little ol' Agnes. There are about 5,000 students at the UIB compared to about 900 at Agnes Scott. And the campus is a BAJILLION times bigger too (exaggeration, I know). Agnes Scott sits on about 100 acres. I'm not sure how big the UIB is, but it takes a good 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and that's if you're walking briskly. And of course, half of my classes would be in the furthest possible building on campus, Arxiduc Lluis Salvador. There's one half of the campus where the older buildings and the metro station are, then there's about 10 minutes of nothing, THEN there's Arxiduc. Why? Why? I have never had to take a bus to get from one side of the campus to the other, but at the UIB it's necessary.

Did I mention that everything is in Catalan? I knew most people spoke Catalan, but I didn't realize that all the signs at the school and all the official school emails would be in Catalan. Luckily, it sort of looks like English and Spanish when you read it. Hearing it though  is completely different. To me, it sounds like a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, and French. In the end, I'm usually still pretty confused though.

Water Costs How Much?!?!?

I have been told that the tap water in Mallorca is no good. Apparently, it has high concentrations of calcium and you could get kidney stones from drinking it. This is honestly such a HUGE issue for me. I loves me some water, but here you have to pay for it. Water costs about as much as a Coke. How is that possible? You would think an island would be the best place to get some super awesome water, but clearly that's not the case. When I first got to Palma, I probably spent 3 to 4 euros a day on water. That's only the water I bought while I was out, not the gallon of water I drink with my meals. I thought I was going to send my Spanish mommy to the poor house with all the water I was drinking. And then, our "Guardian Angels" introduced us to Carrefour (the Wal-Mart of Europe). They have an entire room of just water. I found my happy place.

Bicis No Son Mi Fuerte

We went on a bike ride along the bay today. The view was absolutely beautiful...unfortunately I spent most of the time terrified I would run somebody over that I could barely enjoy it. No pasa nada (nothing's going to happen) is what people love to tell me, but I'm pretty sure if I ran over somebody's kid on a bike something would pasa. To be honest, I did clip a lady on the shoulder and she didn't seem upset. It was probably because I was apologizing repeatedly as I swerved trying to keep from hitting someone else. 

Now, I know how to ride a bike, but today was just not my day I guess. It didn't help that the bikes themselves were super shaky or that I haven't actually been on a bike in years. I know you never forget how to ride, but knowing how to ride isn't the same as being able to ride well. I'm pretty sure I'm just imbalanced though. I don't even walk straight. Oh well. I think walking along the bay is much nicer (and safer for me and those around me). I did get some nice pictures though : )