The Set-Up

So here we are. A mere four days before take-off. I believe this is where I tell you about myself and what I will be doing for the next four months. Well, alright, fine, I'll tell you. I have the amazing opportunity to live in Granada, Spain for the next four glorious months. I will be exploring the city, the amazing country of Spain, and the incredible continent of Europe that every American college student hopes to get lost in for a few months.

In Granada, I will be taking classes at both the IES Center (IES is the company that is sponsoring my trip) as well as the Universidad de Granada. Five classes in total, four in Spanish (one being an actual Spanish class). As much as I would love to say that it will be all fun and games, there will definitely be some, hopefully minimal (sorry Mom and Dad), work. For me, classes are there to make friends with those on my trip as well as Spanish students in my Universidad de Granada class.

I will be living with a family in Granada with another American student, a girl named Valerie. After much anxiety, I have FINALLY received my housing assignment. I will be living with Senora Juana Castilla Torres in an apartment that is supposedly very close to the city center. I don't know much more about where I am living and who I am living with (I don't know if Senora is married or has kids) except that she loves to watch movies and read and--most importantly--is a GREAT COOK! To no one's surprise, the fact that I am going to have good, homemade Spanish food brings the biggest smile to my face. I am really excited to get there and explore my neighborhood and make it my own!

Now you ask: Allison, what is so great about Granada? Why did you pick Granada out of every other city in Spain? Well, my close friend Wikipedia can tell you most of the general information that makes Granada so great (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada). The general idea is this: Granada is different, off the beaten path. With over 240,000 residents and 88,000 students enrolled at Universidad de Granada, the city provides an opportunity for me to truly be a part of a college town--in Spain. Also, with lack of tourists and snobby Catalonians (or so I hear), I will be forced to utilize my Spanish language skills and become fluent in the language that I have studied for a decade. Overall, I'm hoping that a small program, there are only 73 of us, in a close knit community will provide for me an experience that is truly Spanish and simply incredible.

The history aspect is also extremely appealing. As the last capital for the Arabs (Moors) in Europe, Granada is home to the Alhambra, a palace built for the Moorish King and his court and was then later used by Christian rulers as well. Located in the heart of Granada, it is literally my backdrop while in class. This fact, plus the many other glorious artifacts found around the city, speak to what the city once was and how the modern city has created a strong relationship with its past. The ability to study the old while exploring the new is what makes Granada so extremely exciting and unique. This incredible opportunity was one that I simply could not pass up and I am more than looking forward to this amazing journey ahead of me. I have studied this culture and society for too long to be treated as a tourist for four months and thus, Granada awaits.

So, with the final countdown in place I leave you to finish up my To Do list and consider starting to pack before I take a leave of absence from the States for awhile. I hope to write on this blog every week and post pictures from my travels. If I slack off, feel free to tell me that you miss me and my humorless banter and I will try to do it as soon as I have time.

Next time we speak, I will be in ESPANA!