Silent Procession

Thursday night is very important during Semana Santa. Everyone always says, if there is one procession to see, it is the silent procession on Thursday night. The procession leaves the church at midnight and travels around the city past 4AM Friday morning. Nicole and I left the house around 11:30 to go find a spot to watch the procession, the streets were filled with people everywhere. It was crazy how many people were out and about, it was hard to walk down the main roads. We found a spot on a little side street where the procession traveled and waited till 1AM for the procession to get there. It was really unique. All the restaurants shut off their lights, and the street lights turn off, and everyone watches in silence as the penitentes (people with the tall hats) walk through the streets carrying candles. The only noise was a single drum, leading the procession and keeping everyone in step. It was pretty cool because I had never seen anything like it before. Plus, I got to be front row so I really got to engage myself. Some of the penitentes had chains around their feet to "punish" themselves as they walked through the streets. There were also las mujeres de mantilla, which are women who wear all black with a black vail, traditional of Semana Santa. The procession lasted for about a half hour, and then Nicole and I found another one nearby to watch. We eventually ended up back at the house pretty late, but it was worth it!

Chains 

Semana Santa

It has been a rainy Semana Santa to say the least. On the bright side, Paul and his family came to visit which was very exciting. My host family and I went to the airport on Friday morning only to find out they had missed their connecting flight due to a delay from Boston to Madrid, and therefore had to take another flight into Granada. Nevertheless, we all went back to the airport later that afternoon and picked them up, I was very happy.

Thursday night we walked around the center of Granada; we got some gelato, and then went to Los Diamantes for dinner, which is known for its fish. It was pretty late so we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Friday was nice out, so we took advantage of the weather and walked into the Albacyn and up to Sacramonte. It was quite the hike and it got very hot along the way, but the views were beautiful. I also took them to the Mirador de San Nicolas to see the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevadas.

Saturday night Paul and I went out to a couple of bars. The first one we went to for the tapas, but it was too late and they stopped serving them which was quite a disappointment because we were a little hungry. That bar closed early, and it was raining, so we ran to a random bar nearby that had a lot of people in it. Turns out it was an Irish bar, and the first song that came on was "Im Shipping up to Boston" which pretty much made our night. The crowd was so fun and the music was a great selection of songs from the 90s. I don't think we could ever repeat a night like that.

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day, we got up and went to the science museum for a little while, followed by lunch and a nap. It was also the start of the processions, so we went back to the hotel to watch them. The hotel room was perfect because it had a window that overlooked the street where the processions took place, so all we had to do was open the window to watch them. It certainly beat standing in the crowds of people. The processions were unbelievable. I love the cultural aspects of being here, so seeing the processions of people and floats walk down the streets was awesome. The floats are held up by people who walk in unison, very slowly, down the streets. I don't know how they survive, the floats look heavy. The bands that played were also very very good. There were also people dressed in religious outfits that look like the KKK, but are not by any means. In fact, the KKK stole their dress code from these processions. Nevertheless, I found it very interesting.

Science Museum

Sunday's Procession

Monday we went to the Alhambra. It was much warmer than the first time I had gone there, so it was nice. I got to walk around the little town, which I had never gotten to do the first time I was there. Later that afternoon we watched the processions from the hotel window. Des Paul and I went out for tapas and then came home and went to bed, we were all pretty tired.

A wall in one of the gift shops with all different currencies 

Paul thought he was a model

Processions

Tuesday Paul woke up really really sick with a fever and cold, so I went back to my host family's house to get some medicine for him. After taking some Tylenol he felt a little better, so the two of us went on a walk and then ate lunch at a cafe, which was horrible. The food was pretty gross, but it was still fun.

Wednesday Paul and I walked around the city in the morning, followed by lunch at my host family's house. Paul's whole family, plus my host family, Javier's sister and mother and father all ate at the house, enjoying a typical Semana Santa feast. The food was never-ending. Javier's mom made paella and pork with pineapple for the main course. We then had flan and a strawberry yogurt dish for dessert along with homemade donuts typical of Semana Santa. Everything was very yummy.

After lunch Paul and I went up to the Albacyn to watch the sun set. It was kind of cloudy so we didn't get to see it as well as we had planned, but it was still worth the run up all the hills to get there in time. We went out for a goodbye dinner and then went to bed.

Thursday morning we all woke up and got breakfast in the hotel as usual, and then brought our bags to the lobby while Paul's mom checked out. They got a taxi, so we said our goodbyes and they headed off the the airport. I'm gonna miss having them here.

Arab Baths

I had midterms this week, and although I was nervous, I realized very quickly that I didn't need to be. First of all, I only need to pass them. But, I studied anyway. The tests in all my classes were probably the equivalent of an 8th grade general unit test, they were that easy. Nothing like my midterms and finals back at UNH. The tests pretty much mimicked the study guides we were given. So obviously, when I got my exams back I passed with flying colors. Yippee!!

Most of the kids from UNH left Wednesday morning to go to the Balearic Islands off of Spain, but me and my friend stayed in Granada. To celebrate making it through half the semester, we went to the Arab Baths, which was an awesome experience. The environment was very peaceful and architecturally fascinating. The place had three pools, a warm pool that you could swim in, a shallow hot pool that you could lay in, and a hot tub sized cold pool. You are supposed to rotate from the warm to hot to cold pool, and then sit in the sauna. It's very good for your skin. I made two rounds of this, minus the freezing cold pool, I barely made it in and out of there if was so chilly! I really liked the hot water pool, it was so relaxing to just lay back and take in the environment. After about an hour of that, we were called for our 15 minute massage! It was fantastic and well needed! I have never been so relaxed. After the session was over, I could already tell my skin was super soft and refreshed. I went home and showered and felt ready to take on the day. 

That pretty much sums up the excitement for the week. I'm off to the airport to pick up Paul and his family!!!!! I'm very excited to see him! This week is Semana Santa, a huge week long Easter celebration in Spain, I will be blogging about it for sure come next week! Till then, I'll be enjoying my few days with Paul!

Ronda, Spain

Selfie!! Look at the valley!

Sunday I went on a trip to Ronda through the Centro de Lenguas. All the kids from my UNH group, along with kids from Fordham University in New York went on the two and a half hour bus ride to the beautiful town of Ronda. I had heard many many great things about the town, so I was extremely excited to go!

It was raining when we got to Ronda, but it didn't stop us from doing anything. Umbrellas in hand, we walked to the cliffs of the town, which were unbelievable. The whole town was so high up in comparison to the valley. We then went to the Plaza de Toros to see where the bull fights take place in Ronda. It's not the season yet, so it's more of a museum than anything, and you can walk around the arena which was cool. We saw where they keep the bulls before the fights. Usually, there are 6 bulls involved in each show, which I was unaware of. I always thought it was one bull per show.

One of the bridges, absolutely stunning!

Breathtaking, I can't even imagine how that was made!

Entrance to the Plaza del Toros

The bullfighting ring

After our tour, Mari Carmen, our usual tour guide gave us three hours of free time to wander and do whatever we wanted. Everyone from UNH decided to go hiking down the cliffs which was the best thing I've ever decided to do! Ronda is known for its three bridges (these massive stone bridges built to span the cliffs. They're super cool from up top, but being able to see them from below was even cooler. I was able to walk under the bridge and go exploring, and the pictures were amazing. At this point the sun had come back out, so it made for the perfect day.

Everyone wanted to go to a cafe for the rest of their time in Ronda, but I decided to wander around on my own looking at the different shops. I ended up in a leather shop talking to the owner for quite a while, and bought a pocket book after he gave me a deal on it. I was very happy with my purchase.

Finally my three hours of free time were up and everyone met back at the church, our meeting spot to catch the bus back to Granada. When we got there, all the kids from Fordham were drunk of their bums, stumbling to walk and talking without sensors. It was awful, and I felt so bad for our director Mari Carmen, who was alone in taking 40 kids on a school trip. I finally put the pieces together and realized it was St. Patrick's Day, so all the kids from that university went to an Irish pub to drink during their three hours of free time. Definitely a great way to pass the time in a once in a lifetime city. But hey, who's judging.

The bus ride was miserable; it included two girls throwing up because their were drunk, and one girl peeing herself for the same reason. Attractive, right? The bus was disgusting, and thankfully I had headphones and I just took a nap. But it was horrifying and depressing. Plus, all the kids were acting like they were the best things in the world, meanwhile all of us from UNH were calmly sitting in the back either studying for midterms, listening to music, or sleeping, all while trying to ignore the chaos at the front of the bus. Our director was very displeased and I felt so bad for her. We all blew her kisses as we left the bus.

Nevertheless, it was a great experience and I'm so thankful I got to go. It is probably one of the prettiest towns I have been to in Spain thus far, and the nature was awesome! Now I just have to hope my allergies don't act up!

Monday I had two midterm exams. I studied a little but the exams were very easy, much easier than any midterm exam at UNH. So for that, I am thankful. I have one more tomorrow but I'm not very worried about it either. The city is also preparing for Semana Santa, which is very exciting!! There are bleachers set up along some of the streets in preparation for the religious processions that will take place. It is geting me very very excited!

I can't believe I'm missing out on this every day. Miss you bro!

Oh, and before I forget, I had a wonderful three hour Skype date with Chris on Saturday! Clearly we had a lot to catch up on, including making faces at each other...

I also came across these pictures from when Mom was here in Spain. They're from the day Mom went to the Alhambra and then we went out for tapas for lunch and picked up Ana at school. I miss you Mom!

Mom had to do some madd creepin' to get this cute picture. Worth it though!

Mom in her natural habitat!

Javier was a little thirsty...

Aww!

Ana clearly doesn't like to play basketball, she'd prefer to sit

Picture of us at the hotel Mom would've stayed in