The Golden Granada Days- by Ciara
After an emotional despedirse with our beloved hosts families and friends, we headed off to Granada, our new home for the next two weeks! The first 24hrs were rocky! Adjusting to sleeping arrangements within the dorms, different meals, and into our language classes proved to be challenging for most but it led to open conversations about problem solving and adjustments within the entire group.
Over the moon to see one of our beloved leaders return, Arturo surprised us on our first evening with a scavenger hunt in our neighborhood. This led to us exploring our surroundings while having the opportunity to utilize our Spanish. We asked the natives for directions and their opinions and own experiences with the economic hardships and artist culture of Granada, specifically the social commentary in the now popular form of public art, graffiti.
Now all settled in, the teachers of our classes taught us how to make traditional Spanish foods by asking for recipes from locals, who were also shopping for groceries. Later on Saturday we put our new knowledge to work and created a swell little party including homemade tortilla, sangria (non-alcoholic), and salmorejo!
Earlier that Saturday we were also able compete with awesome Spanish kids from Granada, who were the host families for our fellow American friends in Group A, in basketball and fútbol games! (Not to brag but my team won 2x at basketball although we did have some wipe outs on the courts!)
Although we still love and miss our own host siblings, our new friends have become a vital part of our team through sports, the beach, and our iconic day of “Deportes de Agua.” Capture the flag with globos de agua y surprise attacks from buckets full of water brought out our competitive sides to say the least but it also brought unforgettable smiles and memories.
To close off an already perfect day, the leaders reminded us that we would not have classes, but instead a sleep-in tomorrow until we head to the beach for some R&R! Throughout all the games and walking and classes, my personal highlight of the week was our visit to “Parque de las Ciencias.” From the boys being scarred by the Miracle of Life video in the Human Body exhibit to the eye-opening and personal look at animals from around the world, it is easy to say that we would have easily spend a night a that museum. -Ciara
