Despite the fact that Granada is 3,664 miles away from New Paltz, there are many similarities between both of these places that I call home. The most obvious thing being the atmosphere and the feeling I get while walking around. There’s parks here are filled with young people sitting with their friends, playing guitar, singing, juggling, hula-hooping, and just enjoying the moment. You can find these things on any quad on campus during the fall or spring. The people are also just as friendly and willing to starting conversation in both places.

The mountains and views are breathtaking from both places, and I can’t imagine living anywhere that doesn’t have these types of views. I’m in love with everything that I see when I’m walking around Granada, and it’s hard for me to imagine not living here. New Paltz is the place that made me fall in love with the mountains and showed me how easy it is so escape somewhere that is peaceful and healing. For this reason, I was very excited about going hiking in Granada and experiencing the same feeling an ocean away.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve done a lot memorable hikes and met a lot of great people along the way. My friends and I try to go hiking almost every week, and sometimes twice if we all have time. It’s an activity that allows us to bond and have a good time together. The friends that I made hiking or the ones I go on hikes with are some of closest friends I have here.

Hiking and yoga are the two things that I made sure I continued when I came to Granada. I was never really a fan of having routines because it always made me feel like I was living the same day over and over again. However, I like having activities that make feel like myself and that I enjoy. When I first got here, I joined yoga classes with the University and I’m glad I did. The classes were different than the ones I was used to in New Paltz, but I still enjoyed going.

Granada and New Paltz are two places I feel fortunate to call home, even for just a while, that have undoubtedly shaped me into the person I am and continue to do so. It’s amazing how much a city or a town can teach you about people, the world, and yourself.

As much as I love Granada, I also love exploring the cities that surround me and other ones in the country. It’s relatively easy for me to travel everywhere because I’m a short bus or a taxi ride to the train station, bus station, or airport. I’ve found that the bus is the best option for me because it’s cheap and convenient.

In the two months that I have been here, I’ve explored a good portion of Andalusia, the southern coast of Spain where I’m living. Andalusia has mountains and beautiful beaches, so I can’t really ask for anything else. It is also a very relaxed and laid back area where life isn’t taken too seriously. I admire the lifestyle and also love hearing local opinions that “Americans live to work, and Spaniards work to live”. It’s refreshing because it helps solidify the fact that there is more to life than getting a paycheck.

Some of my favorite cities so far have been Sevilla, Cádiz, and Málaga. Sevilla was the first city that I visited, and I absolutely loved everything about it. It was more modern and bigger than Granada, however, I don’t think I could’ve spent my whole semester there. I prefer the size of Granada and the fact that I am in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Another one of my favorite cities was Cádiz, which is a port city surrounded by the sea. I went in early February for Carnaval, which is one of the things the city is known for. Carnaval is basically a celebration or “street party” before Lent starts, and the whole city participates and dresses up in costumes. I meet people from all over Spain that came to Cádiz to celebrate, and it was one of my favorite weekends so far.

I loved Málaga and have visited three or four times. The beaches are beautiful even in the middle of January, and sometimes there are even people swimming in the ocean. One of my favorite things about this city is an indoor market called “Ataranzas” that sells fish, meat, cheese, bread and fruits and vegetables that are really fresh and cheap.

One of my favorite things about travelling so far has been staying at hostels and meeting tons of interesting people from all around the world. Most of the hostels that I have stayed at have meals or events that are meant to bring people together, and for the most part everyone is pretty friendly. I can’t wait to travel and explore more in the next few months!

So far classes are pretty different than what I’m used to at New Paltz, which is what I was expecting. I’m taking 5 classes in Spanish: one grammar class, one oral production and writing class, and 3 electives in culture and language.

The style of the classes all vary, as they do in New Paltz, but one thing that is different is at New Paltz you are explicitly told what is expected of you. Here, the first few days of classes we were assigned group projects and dates, and the topic and everything else is up to us. There’s a lot less structure and we are encouraged to be more independent, which I really like, it just took some getting used to.

In some of my classes we got syllabi, but not as detailed and thorough as the syllabi at New Paltz. We have the dates of midterms and finals, but other deadlines and outline of the class aren’t explicitly laid out. Which is fine, it just means I have to be more aware of what’s happening in class and be more independent.

The class size is small, comparable to size of the classes I was taking at New Paltz, but I find that the classes are more focused on group work rather than note taking. Sometimes I like to work in groups, but other times I wish we could work alone or have some lectures.

My favorite class is Civilización y Cultura hispanoamericanas (Civilization and Culture of Hispanic America). For this class we got to do a group project on any topic, so my group choice banned literature from four countries- El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. I love being able to do a project and present about what I’m interested in; it makes the learning experience more enjoyable. This class is really interesting and I love going in-depth about a part of the world I’ve only learned about briefly in the past.

So far classes are going really well, there are some differences which I expected, but in the end it’s not a huge drastic change. I’m really enjoying the content of my class and learning about Spain, the world, and the Spanish language. I know that this semester is going to be difficult, but all the work and effort I put in will be worth it.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” Alan Watts

The first time I was greeted by someone in Spain, they instinctively went to give me a kiss on both cheeks. Naturally, I was a little thrown off and I’m sure I made it very obvious that that was something I was not accustomed to. However, there’s not an awkward moment that laughing about can’t fix. Now, it’s no longer a strange or awkward concept, but a custom that I have adapted to and utilize when I meet new people.

There were many stereotypes of Spaniards that I heard about before coming to Spain, some hold more truth than others, but in reality you have to go into this adventure with an open mind. I learned that if you have an open mind about pretty much everything while travelling, you will always be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed.

Also, having an open mind allowed me to try new food that I may not have tried in New York. I’m staying at a homestay with a host family, which is just a host mom who loves to cook. She has her own garden and grows most of the food we eat, which I’m a big fan of. I love all of the food that I have eaten so far, which is a lot of vegetables and beans. I was nervous about the food situation coming here, since I’m a vegetarian and big part of the Spanish diet is meat and fish, but it’s been relatively easy.

I also love my homestay apartment because it’s in the center of the city, which is close to everything and a 5-minute walk to class. My apartment is uncommonly big for the center of a Spanish city; I share the bottom floor with a girl from my program and our host mom is on the floor above us. I was a little apprehensive that I wouldn’t like staying at a homestay, but I really think it’s the best option for truly immersing yourself in another culture. I get to practice my Spanish all the time while having genuine conversations, and I get to eat really good food.

One thing that I was expecting to be different about the Spanish culture was the schedule of their meals. We all eat breakfast at different times because of our own schedules, but we normally eat lunch around 2PM, then dinner at 9PM. I actually prefer eating dinner at this time, compared to the typical time in America at 6PM or 7PM.

So far, adapting to this new culture has proved to be an enjoyable learning experience. It’s true that the customs of the Spanish people are a little different than the people I am used to in New York, but I love noticing these cultural differences and comparing it to the norms in America. I can’t wait to learn more about this culture and way of life.