Life in Granada

 Its been a pretty crazy few weeks.  First and foremost on our minds is my sister Mary, who was just confirmed to have a mild grade and stage of ovarian cancer.  This is the link to her blog where she explains everything.    

http://goingtothefarnorth.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/stage-1a-grade-1-mucinous-adenocarcinoma.html

Its been hard being so far away from home and news during this whole process, but Mary seems to have a lot of support and love coming from everywhere.  

On top of that, I moved from Madrid to Granada in this past week.  My last weeks in Madrid were lovely and relaxed. It snowed!  Holy moley for the first time in a long time I got to see snow! It was only for half an hour, but they were genuine large flakes.  Wow.  I spent my last days saying goodbye, I found a replacement au pair who is with the family now, so I know that the family will be fine.  My last night in Madrid I went salsa dancing with a good friend.  Wow.  Salsa dancing. I absolutely love it, and I think I'm pretty good at it too! (for a complete beginner) Hopefully here in Granada I will find a good place to go and dance, and good people to dance with.  Oh salsa is just fantastic.  Lots of sad goodbyes the next day, and I went on the train to Granada.  The train went out of Atocha station, which is my favorite train station, because of the lovely indoor botanical garden, and all the turtles!  Legend has it that years ago there was just a pond by the garden, but then people started leaving all their unwanted turtle pets in it, and this is what it looks like today.  Fascinating. I arrived in Granada that night and was met in the station by Ben, who has been here for three weeks already.  The next day I got oriented in the Hostel, and figured out my work there.  The work is your run of the mill cleaning stuff, but its only three hours a day, and I quite like hanging laundry.  The owners are lovely and the other helpers are fantastic.  The hostel has a lot of things going on, its a hostel/language school, and also has art and yoga classes. Cool! I don't start helping in the ceramics studio for another week, so I have mostly been cooking and wandering around Granada. I am so happy.  Granada.  I am head over heels in love with this city.  Hard to explain, but every time I walk somewhere I am delighted.  Its an old interesting city with Moorish and Christian influence.  It has cobblestone streets, mountains in the background, lots of graffiti and warm colors.  Stray cats and dogs wander around, there are lots of colorful stalls selling Moroccan goods, and I have never seen so many tea shops.  I love this city.  I found a market where we get fresh fruit and vegetables!  I found a library where they have an English section!  I'm happy.  The other thing that I have been doing here is cooking.  We make all of our meals and with a combination of being at home, Holden Village, and au pairing, I really haven't had the opportunity to cook.  Its been awesome, I'm waiting for it to feel like a chore, but I love it so far. Its really nice cooking for two, if it was just myself, I wouldn't put as much of an effort into making real meals. Because the meals are so lovely and yummy, I decided that I am going to take photos of every meal we make and eat together, I'll put the pictures up at the end.  

There is a lot of strange activity that goes on outside of our front window.  When I came to Granada a few weeks ago we got to watch the 3 kings parade go by, then the other morning, the kids from the school all came out and formed this peace sign and released white balloons. Something very odd, because we were quite literally the only ones who were watching from the window.  No one else saw the peace sign.  Then this morning there was a protest going on. I'm not sure about what but it was enthusiastic.

My friend Nathaniel is studying in Granada for a couple more weeks, and we took a hike up a large hill overlooking Granada.  Granada itself is a really large hill, you are always going up or down, on top of that (pun!) my room is on the 5th floor.  By the time I leave I am going to have some killer calves.  We bought a flight to Rome! After Granada I am planning on volunteering on farms in Italy for two months, before returning home to work. I will travel with Ben for two weeks before he goes home.  
Here are some food photos!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

  In the spirit of Christmas we made holiday orange jack o lanterns.  This was my substitute for clove oranges and apples.  And I like showing off my orange carving skills.  They didn't believe me.
The other pictures are at my friend Mitra's house, he has the best view in the world, and we ate fruits that I have never seen before. Exciting.

 My friend Michaela, an Australian who lived in India and was Au-pairing in Spain left right before Christmas, much to my unhappiness. It was probably for the better though, we couldn't kick the habit of going out to eat in lovely yummy places that robbed our pocketbooks, if she stayed I would be broke. Delicious food though.  
After New Years an American friend that I met at Holden Village arrived 

 and we traveled to the south of Spain for a week, spending time in Toledo, Malaga (!) and Granada.  This brings me to my news! I am moving to Granada! Ben (the American friend) is volunteering at a Hostel and teaching English.  While we were there we learned that they were in need of another volunteer, and after thinking, checking out my options, getting loads of helpful

advice, and talking with my host family, I made the decision to move to Granada for two months.  After this I plan to travel to Italy and volunteer on farms, then return home to work for the summer.  There are a number of reasons I decided to go to Granada.
A. I love that city, its old, a mix of Moorish, Christan and Roman architecture and all around beautiful, more alternative too.
B. As great as my family and kids are here, most of my job is just driving and helping a bit with English, I don't feel like its challenging at all, and while it was good for a few months, I couldn't face half a year  more.
C.There is a British potter working just outside of Granada, and she says she could use some help in her studio while I'm there.  YAY!
D. I don't feel like I am leaving a lot here in Madrid, a number of my friends left before Christmas.  While there are a few people still here that I will really miss, I never found my niche here.  And the noise from the traffic drives me crazy.
E. Its easy to find a replacement Au Pair, I just finished skypeing with the one that will replace me.  The family has been very understanding, gracious, and wonderful about everything, they are fantastic people.
F. The hostel Intinere that I will be volunteering at is a really cool place, the owners have lot of ideas and they need people to do them!  There is lots of creativity, I may be able to lead some classes, help out their daily activities, lead tours, etc. Also at the hostel is an English school and Yoga studio.

So that's that! On the 26th I am moving! Here is my address until April for all who need it:
Grace Coffey
Itinere Hostel
C/ Natalio Rivas, No. 1
2a Planta
CP 18001 Granada, Spain
 

Please note the English spelling.  Delightful.  This was in the main Metro Station in Madrid

 

Christmas Photos

Here are some pictures of my time in Germany that my friend Patty was gracious enough to send me.

Patty's parents doing a puzzle.

Christmas Eve Dinner!

Kluski (I think that's how you spell it)

Patty bravely knitted a hat for her boyfriend in about 4 days, and it was her second hat she's ever made. I was her mentor, and am modeling it here.

Kris Kinder in Germany

HOLIDAYS! Oy vey.  Where to begin?  Well. First off, I arrived in Germany only to find out that my camera was out of battery.  A failure of my blogger self, but no doubt a can paint a picture with a thousand words.  So! I went to Germany! I have a good friend Patty who lives there, and have stayed with their very welcoming family on a number of occasions.  They live in the west of Germany, in a rather obscure city called Herne, an hour or so away from Cologne.

 I decided to take the train, and get a Eurrail pass, as the pass was about the equivalent of a holiday plane ticket.  Or at least up front it was.  The idea behind this pass is that you have a number of days in a number of countries where you can ride the train all day with the pass. Cool. I love trains!  Then they added this thing where you need to get reservations for all high speed and long distance trains that have an additional price attached to them, based on how far you are looking to go. Ok, not as cool, but acceptable.  Being the put together person I am, I went to the station (for you can't buy the reservations online) about a month before my trip to get the reservations I needed. I was planning on getting on a night train from Madrid to Paris, then get a train from Paris to Frankfurt or Cologne.  I got the Madrid to Paris and and return reservation with no problem, but a lot of my Christmas cash, then was informed I had to be in Paris to get a reservation to Germany.  Thats ok, I figured, there were many trains headed from Paris to Germany and there was no other way to get a reservation, so I would get one when I got to Paris.

The day of my departure came and I left on the lovely night train to Paris, excited to wake up to the beautiful city.  I even figured I would have about 6 hours to explore if I could get a train later in the evening. I was very excited to go to Shakespeare and Co. and eat a croissant.  I got to the station and went to figure out reservations.  After waiting a complete hour in line, I talked (in Spanish) to the agent, who promptly informed me that I couldn't get a reservation to Frankfurt or Cologne.  Or anywhere in Germany for that matter, not today or tomorrow or the next day (Christmas Eve). This left me stranded in Paris.  He did not listen to my pleas that it was impossible for me to get one, he was decidedly unjolly.  So I left, crushed and crying pitifully, not knowing what to do, having very little money, and just wanting to get to Patty's house.  I decided to try another agent in English, to see if anything might change, I waited another hour in line, and got to the English (thank god!) agent.  Who said the same thing.  No reservations available for Eurrail pass holders.  I could have bought a ticket for about 200 euro, but there was no way I was going to do that.  As I started to cry (my under-pressure coping tactic) she said there was a faint possibility that I could go and beg the conductor to let me on.  I had 10 minutes.  I raced to the conductor and begged him to let me on, and he did! Of course with a hefty fee, but I was so happy and relieved to get there and not be stuck sleeping in the station for two days.

I spend a lovely Christmas with Patty and her family. They were originally from Poland, and spoke Polish around the house. Polish are reputed to be some of the most gracious and welcoming folks around, and this family certainly lived up to the standard.  I was stuffed with food many times over, and learned how to make a number of dishes.  We had a traditional Catholic Christmas, where the Kris Kinder brings the presents on Christmas Eve.  Patty's nephew was there, who was 5 years old, and that added the right amount of excitement. We spent the rest of the days eating, drinking, sleeping about 11 hours a day, and relaxing in the perfect Christmas Holiday way. 

When the time came for me to leave on the 30th, I was very wary of the train system, and decided to do a rideshare to get to Paris, about 5 hours away, because I knew I wouldn't be able to get a reservation.  I was ready!  I would even have the afternoon to spend in Paris!  Of course, when I got to the station to meet the rideshare people, no one was there.  We called and called and waited and waited.  Desolate and furious I asked in vain about reservations to Paris.  None.  I would have to take a train to another city and beg the conductor to let me on again.  If this didn't work I would be stranded in Germany for many more days.  I needed to get back on New Years eve, because I had an American friend who was meeting me there, then we were going to travel together to the south of Spain.  Nervous and scared I said goodbye to Patty, took a train to Frankfurt, and begged.  Its times like these that I am very thankful to be an innocent looking young woman.  Thank god he let me on.  I made it to Paris, and was able to sit by the violet Seine for a half an hour while eating leibkuchen.  I had a lovely conversation on the train home, and somehow made it to Madrid on time.  Next blog I will tell you about my New Years and Andalucian adventures! 

It can get cold in Spain?

Its December! Its cold.  I'm cold.  Our heater is temporarily broken so I've been packing on the layers and spending much more time in bed than I should. For some reason I had figured that Spain doesn't really get that cold.  I was wrong, when I visited Spain two years earlier in February, it was Burma in comparison to Germany, but I was also nearer to the coast, apparently here in the center during the winter months it stays around freezing.  Not cold enough for snow of course, but cold enough that I'm mad that there isn't any.

I went to El Greco's house! Lovely place

Michaela and I went to Toledo!  Its only about an hour or so from Madrid by bus, so it makes a lovely day trip.  As you can see, Toledo was wonderfully picturesque, all the buildings a varying shade of terracotta, and cobblestone streets. A very old city, Toledo used to be the capital of Spain, and is particularly interesting because of it was a city where Jews, Christans, and Arabs all lived together for centuries, which spurned a odd mix of architecture that you can still see today. Toledo is famous for its Mazapan, which I think is like Marzipan, but the difference was never clear to me.  There might be a difference in the sugar to almond ratio.  Michaela and I were rather confounded when looking to buy Mazapan, for there seemed about 100 different types. The city was beautiful, but my favorite part of it was by the river that surrounds Toledo.  We spent much of our time there.  There were old arched bridges, and crumbling stone buildings, the whole thing seemed much like a fairy-tale, or at least something that would inspire a fairy-tale.  I was so happy to hear how silent it was. Toledo also has a big sword reputation, and lots of armor. 
  I went and saw the Life of Pi in theaters!(English of course) absolutely amazing, hopefully this weekend I'll go to the Hobbit. I think Spanish like to go to the cinema more often than Americans, its quite common here. In a week I take the train to Germany!

FAIRY-TALE LAND!

 Its been a while! Life is going, faster than I expected, and I feel like I'm in a pretty good rhythm now. A few weeks ago there was a huelga general, general strike.  It was enormous, most people didn't go to work, didn't shop,and there were thousands on the street, grafitti everywhere.  The kids stayed home from school so I didn't go to the protests.

 I found a library! Oh joy! It has a substantial English section that should last me a few months, I read a lot here, for I spend a lot of time on the metro. I also met a Canadian who looked exactly like Tintin! He says that he doesn't try, but I don't believe him.

 

The other weekend I went with a friend to The Sierra, the mountains around Madrid.  We went on a good hike, it was very cold, and there were a lot of people on the trail.  It felt fantastic to get away from the cold and smog of the city. I am going to return this Sunday, my Australian friend hasn't seen snow since she was 6, so I'm hoping that there will be some.

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 Christmas time is in full swing now, there are very odd Spanish Christmas markets that seem to exclusively sell small nativity figurines and crazy wigs and hats.  The only food you can buy at them is potato chips or sunflower seeds.  Very different from the German Christmas Markets, which I love. The street decorations are also...interesting.

 A  American grocery store! The prices are quite ridiculous, but you can buy peanut butter, cake mix, baking powder, airheads, cupcakes, marshmallows, and Jones!  I have also been expanding my food experience, I tried roasted chestnuts for the first time, as well as brandy and macaroons.   

Godzilla goes to the opera!

I bought myself a blue christmas cactus

 As great as Christmas would be  in Spain, it just doesn't coincide in my head. Many of the au-pairs head home for Christmas, but its just too far and expensive for me. I am headed to the snow in Germany.  I have a good friend who lives in Dortmund (not the most beautiful city, but its near Cologne)and will be spending Christmas with their family. They are Polish and some of the most hospitable people I know, so it should be lovely!