Grenada

Last weekend I went to Grenada with my study abroad program. In civilization class, we learned about the period of time when Muslims controlled the Iberian peninsula from 711 to 1031 AD (they weren't expelled until 1492, but after 1031 their control started to decline). Grenada was a very important city for the Muslims because it was a military stronghold in the 11th century and in the 13th century, the royal residence was established in Grenada at the Alhambra.

We left as a group on Friday afternoon. We traveled by bus, which is not my favorite mode of travel. It took around five or six hours to get there. After checking into the hotel, we walked up steep winding streets to get to a good view point of the Alhambra. The Alhambra is the palace where Muslim leaders lived starting in the 13th century. The view was gorgeous. It was dark so we got to see the whole city lit up.

On Saturday, the group went to see Grenada's cathedral and the tomb where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel (famous for funding Christopher Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic) are buried. I forgot to mention that I was sick this past weekend. When I woke up in the morning I wasn't feeling well enough to get out of bed so I slept in while the others explored. By the afternoon I was feeling up to getting out and about. I met up with the group at a market where we explored for a bit. I bought a few souvenirs: some tea, a scarf, and an evil eye. Then we had tapas for lunch. After lunch we went to the Alhambra. It is quite an exquisite building. The decoration is intricate and stunningly beautiful. The Alhambra is very large so it took us many hours to explore all of it. When we finished our tour of the Alhambra, we had an hour or so of downtime before going to see a flamenco show. I really enjoyed the show. The music was great and the dancing was very impressive. It reminded me of tap dancing with more hip shaking.

Sunday we checked out of the hotel at 10:30 am and got back on the road. After a few hours of driving we stopped for lunch. Then, we went to go see the famous windmills of Consuegra. Miguel de Cervantes made the windmills famous after publishing Don Quixote. It was very windy and quite cold, but it was worth it because the windmills were very cool.

Grenada really is a great city. I only wish that I wasn't sick and that I got to experience the nightlife. Hopefully one day I will be able to go back.

    

          

  

  

Birthday Weekend

*I meant to post this on February 10th when I wrote it, but I totally forgot to upload it.

This weekend (Feb 7-9) was a lot of fun. I would have to say that my birthday weekend was a success. I already wrote about what I did on Wednesday, my actual birthday. However, Wednesday is a boring day to have a birthday, so of course I had to celebrate some more this weekend.

Thursday night (Feb 7), I went with two friends to a club. Initially, we were going to go to Kapital, the seven story nightclub, because we heard it was free for girls on Thursday nights before 1 am. That is false. It was not free and my friends didn't want to pay to get in on a Thursday night. If we had to pay, they would rather go on a Friday or Saturday. As we were walking away from Kapital, we came across another club, Faena, where girls did get in for free, so we decided to check it out. Faena was okay, but not great. The music was decent but the club wasn't nearly full enough for it to be fun. By 3:10 am, my friends and I were ready to leave. 

Friday night (Feb 8) was a lot more fun. Me and six friends started off at El Tigre del Norte (highly recommend!!!) where we got six heaping plates of tapas and drinks for six euros each. El Tigre was packed and we were barely able to squeeze around the table, but it was great. I loved the atmosphere. Then, we went to an Irish Pub/Disco. It sounds like a really weird combination but it was actually pretty great. We all got in for free, which is always nice. The place was full of people, meaning it's a good place to be. Also, the music was fantastic! I definitely plan on going back to that place soon. When we left the Irish Disco, we then headed to a club. The girls got in for free (I felt sort of bad that the guys had to pay...but only sort of). The club was called Moondance. Sadly, it was a total bust. The club was basically empty and the music wasn't great. We left pretty soon after entering. We ended the night at an Irish Pub (no disco at this place). 

  

Saturday (Feb 9) was the birthday of one of the guys in my program. He told his parents that my birthday was three days before his and in the birthday package that his parents sent him, they included a tiara for me. So sweet! I most definitely wore that tiara the whole night! A group of us (around 11 people) started off the night at Cien Montaditos, a place that sells cheap food. I didn't eat anything there, but some of the guys did a food challenge. Then, we went to a restaurant (I forget the name), and split gnocchi and ravioli. Yum! By the time we finished eating, it was time to go to Kapital. I'd heard a lot of mixed reviews about Kapital. Some people love it, others hate it. It's definitely more of a tourist trap than anything, but it was an experience and if you're in Madrid you have to go at least one time. I had a lot of fun at Kapital. My friends and I explored all seven stories. We danced and sang and had a great time. By 4:30 am, I was so tired that I decided to call it a night. Maybe one day I'll be able to stay out until the metros reopen at 6:00 am like a true Madrileña. 

This weekend was a lot of fun. Madrid is a great city to celebrate a birthday. If I couldn't be home for my birthday, I'm glad I was here.

Birthday!

Cheers to 20!

Today is my birthday. I am 20 years old. That is so weird. I'm in my twenties. I am officially in my twenties. No longer a teenager. I'm not sure I'm okay with that. Growing up is so weird. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to grow up, to be older. But now that I am growing up, now that I'm older, I just want it all to slow way down.

Don't get me wrong. Growing up has it's benefits. Getting older is fun. I have more freedom. But with freedom comes more responsibility. There's always a trade off.

Anyways, I think 20 suits me. I like 20 so far. It has only been one day, but 20 is good.

Today was a decent day that ended really well. I woke up early this morning and video chatted with my mom and brother. That was the first highlight of my day. Since it's Wednesday I obviously had class. In the morning, I had electric circuit theory lecture for an hour and then discussion for an hour at UAM. Then I went to the Institute to study for my Spanish Civilization exam (of course the exam had to fall on my birthday). In the afternoon, I had Spanish class and then the exam. Luckily, the exam wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be (I still should have studied more though).

After the exam, I went to get ice cream with Jennifer. This was the second highlight of my day. Although it's the middle of the week I couldn't not celebrate my birthday just a little bit. If I had just gone home right after the test then it would have been just like any other day. But today isn't just any other day. Today is my birthday! Jennifer and I went to a cute little chocolate shop/cafe near my apartment. I ordered Oreo gelato (DELICIOUS! Unlike any kind of Oreo or cookies 'n cream ice cream you'd ever find in the States) and Jen ordered Moscato sorbet. Then, because it's my twentieth birthday, I ordered a glass of champagne. Yum!

The third and final highlight of my day has been reading all of the wonderful happy birthday wishes people are leaving for me on my Facebook wall. So sweet! Thanks, guys!

I did feel a bit of the birthday blues today. Getting older always makes me a little sad, and it's also sad not being with family on my birthday. However, I'm not as traumatized about getting older this year as I usually am. Also, going out for ice cream and champagne cured my birthday blues immediately.

This coming weekend is labeled "Jasmine's Birthday Weekend" and my friends and I are going to celebrate! We're gonna go out, party, dance, and have a blast. (We're also gonna study a bit because we have a bio exam on Monday). Can't wait!

Overall, this has been a good birthday. I've had the chance to reflect on my 20 years on this planet and I'm happy with what I've accomplished so far. I'm thankful that I have the life that I do and for the opportunities I've been given. I look forward to another 20 years as good as the last.

Making Friends

The other day, my friend Ryan made a friend in the metro. Ryan asked a stranger for directions and then saw the same person the next day in the subway station. The guy who gave him directions is named Josh and he's from Spain. On Friday night, Josh invited Ryan over to his apartment and said he could bring some friends. Ryan invited four friends, including me. Everyone was really nervous about going to a stranger's apartment, except for Ryan and me. I wasn't worried because there were five of us and there is safety in numbers.

Everyone has been telling me I need to make Spanish friends and Friday night was a good start. We arrived at Josh's apartment at around 11:30 pm. There were around 15 people crammed into the living room of a tiny apartment. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming, and Josh was a great host. I had a lot of fun  getting to know these strangers. We all spoke in a mix of Spanish and English. It was a good time.

Most of Josh's friends were from different parts of Spain. However, there was a girl, Nadine, from the Netherlands. She is in Madrid studying geography until July. Another person I met, Sergi, is going to the United States in April to backpack for 3 months. He's visiting Hawaii, California, Arizona, New York, and Miami.

Friday night was one of the best times I've had in Spain so far. It was really great to spend some time getting to know new people. I'm so glad that Ryan met Josh. I'm pretty sure we're going back next weekend.