by Emily Rae Sabo
Hello all! It’s been a while since I last wrote and I apologize! I have indeed missed writing to you. It’s been a crazy past two weeks and I can’t wait to tell you all about it now. As I write this, I am sitting in la sala de becarios (the grad student/people on scholarship work room) tying up any and all loose ends before tomorrow, when my time here ends and I set sail for my post-PIRE Europe travels. Looking back on the past eight weeks, I can’t believe it’s already my last day working at the University. I am definitely going to miss hiking the big old hill to the University every morning to work alongside all my friends and colleagues here in the department. But what I might miss most from my daily routine here is ordering my morning tostada mista y café con leche y hielo (toast with jam/jelly and coffee with milk and ice) from my friend Antonio, who works at the cafeteria on campus. All nostalgia aside, this final leg of my journey in Granada has been as fun as it was productive, and now it’s time for the day-by-day breakdown of this final leg of my journey in Granada. If you want to learn more about how my research has progressed and what new things I’ve learned about Spanish culture, read on!
Tuesday June 5 -Today I had a participant to run in the afternoon. But I spent the rest of my day at the University with my eyes glued to my laptop screen. I wouldn’t have it any other way! Amelia, Clair, Sara, and I were scheduled to present our work to the department the following morning, so I spent the day analyzing my data and putting my presentation together. Before I go on, I would like to take a moment to extend a big thanks to my Penn State graduate student mentors Alvaro and Amelia for helping me navigate my data and make sense of it all. It was with their help that I was able to get my bearings and finalize my Powerpoint presentation. After having finished preparing my presentation, Amelia and I met with Teresa Bajo (head of our department) to touch base with her and quickly brief her on our presentation. Thanks to Dr. Bajo’s help, we were well-equipped and ready to go for the following day. After work that night, Clair, Sara, Amelia, and I worked on merging together our separate presentations into one so that everything would run smoothly and coherently come presentation time.
Wednesday June 6 – I woke up early today so I could eat a good hearty breakfast at the University before my presentation. Now that I am friends with most of our colleagues in the department, I wasn’t as nervous as I expected myself to be. I also found that I wasn’t nervous about presenting in Spanish (perhaps a good sign that immersion has taken its effect?).However, what did put me a bit out of my comfort zone was the question and answer after the presentation. This was a bit harder for me to conquer than the presentation itself just because a lot of people talking at once in your second language (and with an Andalucian accent) is understandably challenging. But, like in all situations where I encounter language miscommunication, I just had to ask for clarification before answering their questions and no pasa nada(everything was okay). Looking back, I think I could have done a more thorough job explaining my graphs. To an audience of linguists, I think my explanation would have sufficed because the material is more familiar. But because the department is made of mainly psychologists, not linguists, I should have spent more time explaining my variables and what was really happening with my graphs so that everyone could understand it. Other than that, I am really pleased with how our presentation went! Having only one participant later in the evening, I was left with a free afternoon. I spent a little time at the University using the wifi to contact participants also to continue familiarizing myself with the programs we use to analyze data. Then I headed back to el centro (the city center) because today was the Tarasca. La Tarasca is the pagan parade that takes place every year on the Wednesday of the Feria. But what is La Feria, you ask? It is fundamentally a sacred week that honors the city’s patron saint. But with each passing year, it becomes more and more a liberal, party-going, week-long celebration with lights lit above all the streets and a carnival-fair type park set up with booths and rides just outside the city. But to return to la Tarasca, it was basically a short parade full of bellydancers dancing, big Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand puppets walking, marching band music playing, and colored confetti falling from every balcony. While it was a short parade, I have never seen the streets so packed. It’s a wonderful thing to see the community come together to celebrate. After the parade, I went back to the apartment because the other Penn State PIRE becarios and I had decided to host a family-style dinner for our Granadino friends. We spent the day cleaning the apartment top to bottom, planning the menu, and grocery shopping. Then Clair and I went to the University because we had a participant scheduled for the evening. After eating ourselves silly at our family dinner, the whole group of us went to la Feria. As I mentioned before, the Feria is a big carnival style festival in the campo (in the parts outside the city) with booths, rides, and tent restaurants. I rode a tacky haunted house ride and the bumper cars. I’m not sure if Spaniards are more competitive when it comes to carnival rides or if someone was just out to get me, but all I remember is one extremely rowdy bumper car barreling towards me and the next thing I know I wasn’t in my car anymore. I was on the ground. Flung like a ragdoll. I guess seatbelts are required on park rides at the Feria? But don’t worry, I’m still in one piece! But indeed, it was quite the adrenaline rush. Well anyways, on your next trip to Granada, remember that you’ve been warned about the bumper cars at la Feria. J
Thursday June 7 – The University was closed Thursday and Friday due to the Feria. I took advantage of my day to take care of some work. As usual, I went to work recruiting participants via email. While I did my laundry, I turned on the TV and to my surprise, I found Spanish-dubbed Desperate Housewives. It made me feel like I was back at home! During the night I tried arachina for the first time with my friend and colleague from the lab, Francesco. Being Italian, he told me it is a type of Italian food I must try before leaving Europe. It turns the guy knows his food! The arachina was like a little hot pocket filled with rice and peas and chicken and sauce. Pretty good. I went to bed early because I had an early bus to catch in the morning.
Friday June 8 – I woke up at 6am to catch my 8am bus to Cádiz, a beautiful city in south-western Andalucía. In short, Cádiz was my favorite city in Andalucía (after Granada of course) mainly for its beautiful coast, it’s small town feel, and the sweet people I met. To summarize, I ate shark for the first time and I also ordered a plate of the famous regional plato pescaito frito (fried fish). I caught some rays at la Caleta beach and wandered over to explore the rest of Cádiz’s stunning coast. Because I made friends with a boy from France and a girl from Italy, my brain was in language absorption overload by the time I went to bed.
Saturday June 9 – After spending the day in Cádiz, I headed off to Sevilla, as it is en route to Granada from Cadiz (when you are taking the bus). My friend from home is studying there for the summer, so he showed me around the city. We took a walk by the Guadalquivir river and he showed me some of his favorite nooks and crannies.
Sunday June 10 -Sunday morning when I woke up, almost everything was closed. But there was a religious procession going on in the barrios (the neighborhoods) that morning, so I got to see some the church members carrying la hostia (the body of Christ) on a float through the street. It was like a mini neighborhood version of the Corpus Christi. But I was saddened to realize that due to this religious holiday, the great Cathedral of Sevilla (the largest Gothic Church in all the Iberian Peninsula) was closed. But luckily there was a loophole: if you attend mass you can get in. So, after mass, I walked around the church grounds and came across the tomb of none other than Christopher Colombus. To be honest, I expected his tomb to be bigger, but then again, anything would seem unimportant in comparison to La Catedral de Sevilla is. Later, we walked to Plaza Espana, Sevilla’s biggest plaza. Its claim to fame are its beautifully decorated plaques that honor each of the autonomous communities of Spain. After this touristy stop, I was in the mood to cool off and relax (Sevilla is so hot at this time of the year). So, we went to Park María Luisa to play in fountains. Before catching my bus home, my friend and I cooked dinner at my hostel with some friends that we made. The Eurocup was on, so the atmosphere was lively to say the least.
Monday June 11 – Today I had a full schedule. I ran three participants. So from the research perspective, we had a very productive day at the lab! Por la noche, I went to San Miguel Alta, the viewpoint with the highest altitude in all of Granada proper. It was quite humbling to see the city from so high up, but my favorite mirador (viewpoint) is still San Nicholas in Albayzin.
Tuesday June 12 – Today, in the morning, Clair and I stumbled upon a new park where we can exercise. It had tons of machines and trails to play on. It was a bit curious though because we were the only young people there. Let it be known that the elderly of Granada really do seem to take care of their health. I hope to follow suit! I also found it curious that they don’t wear exercise clothes to exercise. They wear slacks and work shirts, so we stuck out like sore American thumbs with our exercise pants and tanktops! We had a participant in the late afternoon today, and after working at the lab for an hour or so, we went home for a family dinner night at the piso (apartment). I tried (and failed miserably) at cooking salmorejo, which I had eaten in Cordoba and loved. I thought it would be quick and easy, so I invited some of our Spanish friends and colleagues from the lab to join us. But alas, I cannot follow a recipe and instead of adding two teeth of garlic, I put in two heads. But the failed dinner aside, we still enjoyed great company!
Wednesday June 13 – Clair and I had a 9am participant in the morning and Melissa and Alvaro presented their work to the lab group. They did a great job explaining their work and it was nice for me to get a formal update on what is happening with their experiments and data. After their presentations, I went to Playa Salobreña with Clair and Melissa. This is by far my favorite beach in Granada. I like it because it’s got a breathtaking view of the white-washed town, a castle on the hill off in the distance, and a rock that you can climb that looks out over the ocean.
Thursday June 14 – Today was a day for chores. Because I had no participants, I spent the day cleaning the apartment and buying some of those last-minute things that I’ve been putting off ever since I got here. I bought a cd of traditional flamenco music, some more Granadino clothing, and a whole bunch of other keepsakes. Later that night, Clair dyed my hair black. Although I thought this morena (dark-haired girl) disguise would make me blend in more with the people of Granada, they still call me rubia rubia (blondie, light haired girl!) when I walk down the street. I guess you can take a girl from Pennsylvania but you can’t take the Pennsylvania from the girl. Tonight Spain had a Eurocup match with Ireland I believe, so I went for tapas with my friend Hana to watch the game and soak up some futbol frenzy.
Friday June 15 – For this weekend, my plan was to see the small town of Ronda and the weird English colony of Gibraltar. I left for Ronda at 6:50am and spent my time climbing the rocks, playing in waterfalls, and admiring the feats of ancient engineering that are the bridges of Ronda. It was a whirlwind of sightseeing, but it was like nothing I had ever experienced before (I’ll have to post pictures). Then during late afternoon, I left Ronda for Gibraltar. To say the least, Gibraltar is interesting. Despite the big signs saying PASSORT CONTROL IMPORTANT, passport control is a joke. I walked from the Spanish side to the English side and the police officer didn’t even glance at the passport in my hand. Tonight was an annual Gibraltarian festival that celebrates all the different cultures in the colony. It centered on a Gibraltarian pastry called the Catalina (I wouldn’t recommend it unless you like the consistency of paper mache). But there were fireworks and good Indian food. J
Saturday June 16 – Today I took the cable car up the rock (really, it’s a mountain, but the locals call it the rock) to see 1) the native monkeys that live there and walk around and jump on you 2) St. Michael’s Caves, which is beautiful with its dripping stalagmite forms and 3) the War Tunnels, where the English soldiers lived for three years to defend the military base from the Spanish during the Great Siege. After that, I spent a quiet evening enjoying Main Street and I called it a night.
Sunday June 17 – I got up early today and had a big English breakfast at the Ocean Village port in Gibraltar with my friend Eva. After eating, I made the trek to la frontera (the border between Spain and Gibraltar), ran to and almost missed the bus to Algeciras, and from there bought my ticket back home to Granada. After unpacking and resting a little, I grabbed dinner at a sushi place (a sushi place in Spain…who knew!?) with Clair and Sara. Then, of course, I went to an Internet café so that I could call and message my dad and grandpap to wish them a HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! I then took a walk to the mirador San Nicholas in Albayzin to enjoy the view. With the view from this mirador, nothing in life can be too bad.
Monday June 18 – Today we had a participant scheduled, but he had to cancel due to an emergency. So I spent the day taking care of chores around the house and trying to re-email any participants that showed any interest at all in participating in my study. Now, if you remember from my first blog, I borrowed Alvaro’s mother’s flamenco dress for Dia de la Cruz at the beginning of May. Well, my trip here ends soon, so I thought it best to return it pronto. Once I got to his house, his mom invited me to stay for dinner and watch the Spain-Croatia match with them and some friends. Amongst other tipical Spanish tapas, we ate dates with bacon, salmorejo (with the proper amount of garlic this time), croquettes, and shrimp. After the game, I got to listen in on some Spanish political discussion. It was great fun and comprehensive L2 input to boot. I left full and happy, and with some new futbol-watching vocabulary phrases to put in my notebook!
Tuesday – I spent today checking in with participants, trying to secure a few final ones before my time here in Granada ends. Then Alvaro, Clair, and I spent the evening at the lab going through all our data to make sure we had everything where it should be. Then we had to go through and make sure each of our bags has all the necessary research equipment – to make sure we don’t leave any pieces of the equipment behind! On the way home from the University, Clair and I grabbed a tapa, something we’re sure to miss back in the states. Once back at the apartment, we went to town cleaning. As of July 2nd, the place is no longer ours so we had to make sure everything was spotless and looking like it did the first day we got here. Check!
Wednesday – Today Clair and I went to the University early in the morning to finish up some last bit of work. We wanted to go through each file one by one and make sure everything was there one more time. We consolidated all of our data from all the lab booths onto our hard drives and personal computers. We then went through and made sure our handwritten participant sheets matched the data we have. In the end, we have run thirty-six participants (yay!), everything looks great with the data, and we can’t wait to start analyzing all that we’ve collected here. In terms of my upcoming departure from Granada, my friend Sara from home came to meet me in Granada today so that we could travel through Europe together. Although today was a whirlwind of packing, planning, cleaning, and working, it was all worth it come nighttime: we PIRE researchers planned a goodbye party with our friends from the lab so that we could see everyone one last time before leaving. I couldn’t imagine a better ending.
Thursday June 21 – Early in the morning today I leave Granada for a ten day trip to San Sebastian, Paris, and Rome. My plan? Enjoy some culinary genius in Spain’s most talked-about beach city in the northern Basque region (San Sebastian), stroll on by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and oogle at Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain. I must admit I am feeling a bit nostalgic about leaving Granada, as it is now my second home. But I should think the road ahead will also bring unforgettable adventures, so I can’t be too sad!
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you have any questions or comments about my trip, my work, the city, or any of my experiences here in Spain at all- please ask (I assure you I will never tire of talking about my summer here). Until then, ‘ta luego!
-Un saludo,
Emily