2016

It has been a bit over a week since I landed back in the Unites States after my adventures in Granada. This last week as given me time to catch up with friends, family, and take time to reflect on this amazing opportunity. As I look back on the past two months I...

This last week has been filled with testing. For my last week of testing I was able to schedule 11 participants. Unfortunately, due to the end of classes and preparing for finals I had 4 last minute cancellations and 1 no show. I still have two more participants...

So far testing the end of last week and this week has been going pretty well/ I have been emphasizing the importance to not blink or move around during the experiment and I think the participants are understanding the significance to our data collection. Although...

As I sit here in lab, it dawns on me that this is my last Monday in Granada. I have some mixed feelings, but I'm predominantly sad to be leaving and surprised that this trip went by so quickly. Its hard to believe that just next week I'll be back in my house, sleeping...

That's right, I have tickets to go see the actual Alhambra palace tonight at 5:00 and I am super excited! In other news, our presentations on Tuesday went very smoothly. Our audience had very good questions, critiques and comments that shed some light on points where...

Testing has gone pretty well that last couple weeks. So far I have nine useable files out of the first 15 tested participants, yay! I have been having a few problems with some of the electrodes and lowering their impedances as well as making sure that the participants...

I have been so pleased with the amount of participants I have been able to run these past two weeks. I needed Native Spanish Speakers and L2 Spanish Speakers for my research study and  I was beginning to worry about finding enough L2 speakers. The best way is to...

Rachel and I made a lot of plans for this weekend...and we did none of them. In all seriousness, our lab presentations are tomorrow and we spent the weekend preparing and exploring our city. I´m pretty nervous for this presentation tomorrow, but everyone keeps telling...

As I write this, I am awaiting the arrival of my 30th participant. This news is bittersweet because he actually should have been the 34th. At this point, my research is teaching me a good lesson in patience and people skills. I've never been stood up this repetitively...

This last week along with the Monday and Tuesday of this week has been filled with testing participants. Although my recent days have consisted of nine to ten hour days in the lab, because each session takes three hours, I am really excited to be testing at a regular...

Well I finally understand why dinner is enjoyed so late in the evening here in Granada. This Spanish heat is serious! I am definitely feeling thankful for our landlady for giving us some fans to enjoy in the apartment. I have to give myself a pep talk before I walk...

This past week in the lab I was able to test a couple participants and their testing went really well! Within the next two weeks I plan to increase my testing amount per day and hopefully have a total of 20 participants tested by the week of June 20th. My recruiting...

I am very dissapointed that I did not get to test any participants because today would have marked the big number 30. Now that we´re on the topic, I suppose I should mention how smoothly my experiment has been running. Although there are some differences in the...

In case my readers (my fans, my groupies, etc.) were worried, the Federal Credit Union will be sending a replacement debit card to my house, at which point my father will send it to Spain. So, things are looking up in that arena. In other news, we are concluding week...

I feel so lucky to be able to say that I was in Granada, Spain for the celebration of Corpus Christi. What an exciting weekend! Every time we turned around we were seeing, hearing, smelling, or tasting something new. The first thing I noticed was the BEAUTIFUL dresses...

This was what I asked myself when someone pointed out that I am no longer "here in Spain for two months" anymore. I only have one month left. Almost four weeks have gone by and I can't believe how quick they felt. I'm maneuvering little side streets of Granada,...

Today I tested my first participant, yay! Although there were a multitude of problems –from a lack of sound connection to the response box not working –I was able to complete the first testing session here in Granada. I definitely would not have been able to get...

We made it into Generalife and saw the gardens, but that's as far as they let us go. But I'm sure the fourth time will be the charm, right? We also went to the playa at Almunecar (I don't know how to get accents on the PIRE keyboard) on Sunday and got roasted by the...

Yay! After so much anticipation and preparation throughout the semester we are finally here. I had two days after finishing up my finals to unpack, do a million loads of laundry, and repack for my 8 week adventure. It didn't really seem real that I was really headed...

It’s been a week. Ok, it’s been a little more than a week, I just don’t want to admit that I completely forgot about writing this blog. Day 1, Rachel Joy and I arrived at the Lorca-Jaen airport and, what do you know, it’s freezing rain and windy. It basically looks...

On Tuesday I was leaving home to go to the Philadelphia airport where I would start my Spanish adventure. I was definitely a little nervous but also excited by the novelty of a new country and curiosity of what my research might result in. After saying goodbye to my...