Yesterday we explored and truly saw the beauty that Granada had to offer. To start off our adventure, we first walked through Albaicín, the old neighborhood of the city. Along the narrow winding cobblestone streets lied various artwork, most notably the art of El Niño De Las Pinturas, a well known graffiti artist in the city. However, it didn't end there. We then hiked up Through the neighborhood of Sacromonte, all the way up to the highest point (and best view) of Granada. What goes up must come down, and after our descent we returned to much needed rest and relaxation in our lunches and siestas. These were much needed, for the walking was not over just yet. We then went shopping in the center of the city for a few hours, buying whatever we fancied, but also just having a lot of fun eating together in local cafes. The rest of the night, now free, was spent hanging out, enjoying our time together, and preparing for the days ahead.

Un beso,
Max & Nate

Students had the opportunity to do service at a home for people with mental disabilities. We performed a couple of songs such as Lean on Me, and You & Me by Jason Maraz, as others clapped and even danced along. After some musical entertainment, we accompanied our buddies, playing hockey, basketball, soccer, and also did some art. Though this was all fun, we reflected on the experience where we expressed a lack of preparation for the exposure to a different reality. Some of us within the group had never done this type of service, making it difficult for us to fully enjoy the experience. We were respectful of eachother's  feelings and came to consensus that this was a wonderful learning experience for which we were grateful, but would not be something we would continue to do for the full week. We handled the situation in a very mature manner and the sharing of emotions brought us even closer as a group.

After we did service work we all had a group lunch with our teachers and the teachers from CELEI the international school in Granada that we partner with. We had salad and soups and really yummy fish!! After lunch the students and teachers from CELEI visited the Cathedral de Granada and the Capilla Real of Granada. After returning home some of us went out and got tapas and the rest of us watched a Granada versus Español de Barcelona game. It was so fun and the teams tied in the end! What football fanatics the Spanish are! 


Un abrazo,
Lily & Jessie

La Mesquita/Córdoba

On Sunday, we took a two hour bus to a city called Córboda. The city is best known for La Mezquita, a large mosque dating back to 600 C.E. We visited La Mezquita and spent time learning about the city. We had a lot of food including tapas as a mid day snack and later a three course meal at a local restaurant. This meal included croquetas, calamar a la plancha, and flan for dessert. We also visited a museum, where we were able to climb to the top and have a fantastic view of Córdoba. Afterwards, we walked around the city and did some shopping where some of us bought cool souvenirs! We then took the bus home and got to spend the night with our host families eating dinner and talking about our day.

Abrazos,
Danielle, Stephanie & Azia

La Alhambra

On Saturday, we started our day off with an amazing walk to the most famous historic site in Granada, The Alhambra (The Red Castle). The weather was perfect for the long walk up the steep hill where the Alhambra resides. We toured the Alhambra and visited many different areas and sections of it, showing us the most amazing and significant Islamic architecture in Spain. We had a tour guide who filled our minds with interesting facts and important information. When we finished the tour of this beautiful palace, we reunited with our buddies and went home for lunch and a siesta-- it really exists! We had our whole night free with our buddies. The next day we woke up bright and early to take a 2 hour ride to Córdoba. We all slept on the bus and arrived to gorgeous weather (again) in another amazing historic city. We toured La Mezquita (a Cathedral built in the 12th century within a Mosque dating back to the 700's) and were able to see amazing exhibits of historic artifacts. The art and sculptures were also magnificent. After touring La Mezquita we grabbed lunch in the city, which was delicious, and afterwards went shopping. We topped the day off with ice cream and headed back for a nice soothing night at home with our exchange buddies and their families.

¡Besos!  

-Christian & Jess 

Leaving NYC

We arrived at Berkeley Carroll in the late morning with mostly giant but some small suitcases and all fearful but excited faces. There wasn't much to do once we arrived though, so we started wandering around to find last minute necessities or food cravings. We went to lunch at 67 burger, our last real American meal. At last we dragged our suitcases out of the door to the bus to conquer the hours and hours of travel. Because the plane wasn't full, most of us had an extra seat in the row that we used to stretch over as we attempted to sleep (mostly unsuccessfully). As we started to fly into Spain, we were lucky enough to follow the sun and see the most incredible sunrise welcome us into Madrid. When we arrived, we started trying to adjust, finding it difficult to order our sandwiches in Spanish. After a long layover of card games, snacks and attempts at accessing the wifi, we boarded our plane from Madrid to Granada, walking out onto the Tarmac to breath our first breaths of Spanish air, which was surprisingly cold.  Our one hour flight went by quickly and soon enough we were on our bus to get dropped off with our buddies, shaking in our chairs from nervousness and excitement. The first buddy we saw was Jess's, Andrea, who was holding a huge "bienvenidos Jessica" sign. We watched as a few of our students left our group to go join their new "Hermanos españoles."


Finally those of us with Hermanos at the high school Soto De Rojas arrived to a huge gathering of our buddies and their parents and ran out to give them all hugs and two kisses. The excitement snd nervousness made my body shake and mouth unable to speak Spanish, but after a few minutes I was sitting down at the table for lunch with my family, and I already felt at home. After lunch we sat on my bed talking for hours about everything. I was able to speak and understand more than I thought I would. Within hours I saw my Spanish improving, and after a couple of days it's even obvious to others. Sometimes Spanish comes quicker to me than English, even when I'm talking to Americans.

¡Besos! - Emily & Camille

GRANADA 2016

¡BIENVENIDOS A NUESTRO BLOG DE GRANADA!