This year marked my second year in Spain for Semana Santa aka Holy Week, which marks the week leading up to Easter. As a Catholic country, Spain obviously takes Easter and Holy Week very seriously so there are a number of religious ceremonies held throughout the week. It also serves as the spring break equivalent for most students since there are no classes that week so it's a huge time for traveling both within Spain and within Europe in general.
With the way schedules happened to line up, Semana Santa was deemed the most convenient time for my friends to visit. The fact that they were coming during this week was particularly fortuitous because none of us had ever experienced Semana Santa in Granada before! When we were studying here in 2012, this particular group of friends had spent the week traveling in Italy and I had spent in Madrid and Bilbao. So while I was been able to get a sense of this Spanish tradition, I always felt a little guilty that I had never experienced the Granada version because southern Spain is especially renowned for their fesitivities. Well, now was my chance!
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There are few people in your life with whom you can go weeks, months, and maybe even years without speaking and then just slide back into a comfortable, familiar rhythm when you are back together as if no time had passed at all. For me, one of those groups (I suspect) will always be my group of friends from studying abroad in Granada. Our group was made up of six of us, each from different universities, different parts of the States, studying different things and in different phases of our lives. We were brought together solely by circumstance: we all happened to be studying abroad in the same program in Granada, Spain in the spring of 2012. And while that semester abroad was instrumental in each of our lives for distinct reasons, we all fell in love with Granada and we did it together.
After a very relaxing and educational long weekend with my friend in Cartagena, I was off to Valencia on my own to experience las Fallas! This was the first time I had traveled to a new, unfamiliar place by myself and I have to admit I was very hesitant about embarking on a solo journey but I was determined to see las Fallas, even if it meant I had to go on my own! Las Fallas are one of the most iconic cultural events in Spain, right up there with the running of the bulls in Pamplona and the giant tomato fight in Valencia. I mean, how could I NOT go?
Before resettling my roots back in Granada and buckling down for the long haul at the end of the semester, I decided to go on one last trip with one of my friends from GEMMA. For personal reasons, she would prefer for her identity to be left anonymous so we'll call her "Dawn" (and to respect her wishes I won't be posting any pictures of her but she was there! Trust me!). This particular trip resulted from an interesting compromise: I wanted to go to Valencia to see Las Fallas (see next chronological post for more details about Las Fallas) and "Dawn" was interested in taking a trip but couldn't be away from Granada during the actual dates of Las Fallas. So, we agreed to road trip halfway to Valencia together ahead of time for our own mini getaway and then I would continue on to Valencia on my own. Now, I have to confess I was absolutely no help with the planning process of this trip. Between all the traveling I had done last month, trying to stay on top of my workload, and participating in an intensive art therapy course I was pretty overwhelmed. Luckily "Dawn" is incredibly organized and put together an amazing itinerary for us!
Well, it's official - I've completed all my remaining "to do's" in Granada! Honestly I didn't think it'd be THAT easy or happen THAT quickly... I guess it just goes to show that when you are open to opportunities they really do just fall in your lap!
"La verdad, señora, empiezo a pensar que hay un placer todavía mayor que el de ver Granada. Y es el de volverla a ver." - Alejandro Dumas Translation: "The truth, madam, is I am starting to think that there is still a greater pleasure than seeing Granada. And that is to see it again." OK, I know my last post was all about homes and I am sure you are all ready for me to move on from the subject, but I have to confess that I am currently experiencing quite high levels of stress regarding this intense fondness I hold for Granada and I am finding it hard to think of anything else. The end of February marked the conclusion of the first academic semester here in Granada so the past few weeks have been a flurry of good bye's and hasta luego's as friends and colleagues have returned to their home institutions after their allotted semester abroad. Watching so many of my peers leave, I cannot help but reflect on the time I have left here in my beloved Granada.
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Meet the Author:Graduate student of GEMMA Eramus Mundus Master's Degree in Women's and Gender Studies. Currently living in Budapest, Hungary. Originally from the American midwest. Archives
October 2016
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