I flew first to Målaga and then traveled to Granada, where I will be for the rest of the time, studying a little and living a lot. It hasn’t been long, but one thing I have certainly noticed is that people love their fetes here, much more than in America. The schedule seems to be built to allow people time to celebrate and enjoy life. People wake up early, but quite a few shops and restaurants close at two for siesta. They don`t open again until around five, when everyone takes to the streets—literally, “a la calle,” as our professors keep saying. Dinner before nine is an oddity, and it tends to be a relaxed affair full of drinks and food. This is especially true in Granada where every drink you order is accompanied by a tree tapa. I do not entirely understand how this work economically, but it certainly makes for a fun meal.
This is, of course, a huge change from the completely work--orientated lifestyle of the United States. Here, people work to live rather than live to work. And after a week here, it`s something I think I could get used to. There's a love of living more than there is it at home. Meals are long, spent talking to family and friends, rather than hurried and alone at a desk. A drink is something to enjoy slowly rather than inhale as quickly as possible. In fact, according to our professors, even the homes are smaller because socializing revolves around going to cafes and bars rather than individual living rooms and kitchens. And to me, there is something very warm and happy about the whole idea.
If I’m being fully honest, the trip did get off to a rough start. I landed in Málaga, Spain at eleven thirty, and by four p.m. I had already broken my phone. I had been trying to put a Spanish sim card in, and while the other students carefully read the instructions, I simply shoved the card in and pressed the power button. I quickly realized that was wrong, but, as I had neither needle sized fingers nor a pair of tweezers, extracting the sim card proved impossible. Uh oh.