Fútbol, McDonalds, y más

Note: Semana Santa blog will come; it's a bit larger, so it's still under construction. In the meantime, enjoy the summary of my other shinnanigans I've been getting myself into.

Fútbol. Spain is crazy about it. Heck, most of Europe and the world is crazy about it. Us Americans just haven't really caught the bug yet (who needs soccer when you have big men hitting each other on a heavily commercialized and over-priced American football match?). Spain has more than two dozen teams, sorted into various divisions, but the two important ones are the first division and the second division. Granada is in the first division...barely. This year, and more importantly this game, they were fighting to retain their first division rights, which allows them to play with the big dogs, such as Barcelona and Madrid. The game we went to was against Raya (Real/Royal) Vallecano from southeast Madrid (Madrid is like the New York in terms of sports; they have a lot of them to varying levels of success, and also receive varying amounts of money ranging from absurd (Real Madrid) to a funding equivalent to a high school soccer team.

Alright, so it wasn't quite like this. Still, it gets pretty intense.
Source: Alberto Di Lolli / AP 

We arrived a little late due to bus mix-ups and the simple fact there was a larping convention next door. No, seriously; an anime/larping convention. Who said Spaniards can't nerd it out either?! Once we arrived and were oh-so-politely informed that tickets were 10 euro higher than expected, we got our tickets and rushed in. Inside, after being harassed by some drunk Spaniards trying to hit on our female friends (I was told I had "mucho suerte" (very good luck) by drunkard numero uno for having all of these attractive females by me.) and asking the staff to find our seats, we were told that our seats were already occupied by some others and that the police couldn't/wouldn't go down and forcibly remove them. You know Spaniards take soccer seriously when they have police dedicated to ejecting people sitting in the wrong seats.

After mumbling and grumbling, we ran into some fellow Americans from New York who had the same problem. We managed to snag some upper balcony seats, which admittedly weren't that bad given the stadium's size, and began watching the show that is a Spanish soccer game.

I mean, it ain't no Lambeau, but it'll do.

To put it lightly, Granada sucked. I was shocked, because not even two weeks ago, this small town team had shocked Spain and beat Barcelona, one of the biggest, most popular, and most well-funded teams there is in professional soccer. Here, they couldn't beat a pretty equal team from Madrid. They lost 3-0, and now they'll be in division two next year. *sighs* It's like Packer football; heartbreak when it should be easy, champions when there's usually no hope.

We left and went to the neighboring McDonalds and let me tell you, American McDonalds have some catching up to do. I could order and pay for my entire order at a kiosk right when I entered, and the food arrived relatively fast. It actually looked like a classy restaurant! We took the bus back after a meal of greasy indulgence, and that was the day.

Or so I thought. The day never ends here in Spain.

In Valencia there is a world famous festival called Las Fallas in which the locals construct massive sculptures of politicians, documents, and other important figures that they believe are the cause of problems in Spanish society. Then, after days of partying, they burn them.

Because you know what's more terrifying than clowns? Ones on fire apparently chasing you. Good job, Valencia. Nightmares for weeks.

I know, every pyromaniacs dream; legally burning a really big object in the middle of a city filled with millions of drunk partiers. What could possibly go wrong? Anyways, turns out they brought a mini version of it here in Granada, and it looks like they are going to burn it tonight (the 27th of April)! I'll have to go and satisfy my secret pyro desires.
In Spain, I've learned that even though they are a modern, first world developed country with a progressive outlook on life (Spain was recently voted the most gay-friendly country in the world), they have some ancient traditions that just make you question their sanity (bull fighting and bull runs, buddy horse racing, and tomato fights). The best thing you can do is simply participate and enjoy, because they are some of the most fun times you'll ever have, and can't be replicated anywhere, no matter how hard American might try. That's a part of experiencing the culture, and it should be relished and affect how you see these other cultures, no matter how different/similar they may appear.

Semana Santa blog is in progress, I swear. Stay tuned!

Jacob

One post, Two major trips, Three weeks too late - Post 1: Africa

Blogger tells me the last time I blogged was March 9th, more than a month ago. Yeah, I get distracted a bit sometimes. Whoops. One month left; I'll try to update a little more, because there is still a lot to do here!

Morocco 

About mid-March, my study abroad group and I crossed the big sea border and stepped onto an entirely different continent; Africa! This is my first time in Africa, so I had no idea what to expect. I gotta say, I'm impressed! It was an awesome trip, with countless memories (and pictures, of course) made with every experience.

On the ferry with the boys.

We had to first take a bus to the south of Spain in order to board an hour long ferry ride to Tangiers, Morocco. Some enjoyed the ferry ride more than others; we didn't have any pukers, though! Me? I was fine. No boat ride is gonna get me to puke! Then, we landed.

Yes, much like Columbus' first step onto the Americas, we had discovered Africa! For me, this was a huge deal, because of all the continents I was likely to visit, Africa was probably the least likely to happen due to obvious safety, health, and budget reasons. This weekend excursion, however, was included with my tuition to the University of Granada through my program, CEA.
Through a series of local connections via CEA, we had a brief (and rainy) intercambio with some local Moroccan students. It was interesting to me, because one of the first questions they asked me was "What did you think Africa would be like?", and honestly, I couldn't answer them. Obviously, we have our stereotypes of a run-down, poverty-stricken, dangerous Africa, and there are certainly still areas of the continent like that, but I was also aware there were perfectly safe and middle-class/upper-class areas as well, and we were clearly in the latter. That was the first lesson I learned; every continent has its good and bad areas.
But what is a trip to a new land without trying some local cuisine? Cush-cush (I believe that is how it's spelled) is a hodgepodge of lamb, rice, and some vegetables and spices, and it's pretty delicious and very filling.

Pardon me while I go curl up in a ball and just nap after eating this delicious meal.

We said farewell and embarked on another bus ride after visiting some of the markets and more of the city. Tangiers struck me as very industrial and not exactly the most touristy place in Morocco. Also, it was quite rainy the entire time, so we spent more of our time dodging water-filled pot holes than really admiring the scenery. Nevertheless, I still found it a very interesting place.
We hopped on the bus again and headed to the Cueva de Hercules (Hercules Cave). Legend has it, here is where Europe and Africa were once connected until that famous demigod Hercules split the two with his bare arms. What a guy, that Hercules.
Possibly considered the highlight of our trip, we then got to ride camels. Yup, authentic camels.

#camelselfie

Eric had a stare-down. The camel won.

In a little bit of a sad twist, we realized after that those camels were probably not treated very well and existed only for the reason to entertain tourists like us. Regardless, it was a fun experience, even if we only got to ride for about a minute or two. Camels in Africa - that's authentic. This means that next time hump day is a thing...I got the pics and resources to provide adequate reminders of the day.

Guess what day it is?!

We went to our hotel and had dinner; the hotel was possibly the nicest I've ever stayed at! We were all exhausted from our travels and bed time in Africa was definitely needed. The other good thing about the hotel: everything was in English! This meant we could actually enjoy our favorite programs and not have to translate. Seriously, in the U.S. we take our language for granted, but only when you're in a country filled with four main languages, English not being one of them, do you appreciate the comfort of your native tongue. 

The second day we awoke relatively early, had some breakfast, and set out to the road again. We went to another Tangiers-like town, Tetouan, but it was relatively the same atmosphere-wise; more industrial. After touring some more markets and local architecture with the help of our very useful and kind guide, we set off again. The drive there was spectacular. In an unexpected twist, we ended up watching the Queen of Morocco drive by with her 20 or so Mercedes-Benz's - that's when I realized we weren't exactly in the Euro-American republics we're so used to. 

Our stop.

We then continued to the real destination - Chefchaouen, the city of blue. This place was awesome.

Central Market

The entire city was quite full of tourists, which I really didn't mind considering I don't speak French or Arabic, and bartering was quite interesting (I'm not forceful enough to really argue the price down a lot), and we had lunch with more locals. They showed us around, and it was cool to ask them about the average Moroccan and how they live - not too differently from us, it turns out. They are quite fond of technology, just like us. The only downside was that, again, English was not spoken very much, so conversation was limited, or had to go through multiple language translations (English-Spanish-Arabic), so needless to say, I was a little tired at the end. The food, again, was delicious. Moroccans do know how to cook!

For our last night, we were treated to a typical dinner party for Al-Andalus, the ancient Arab Empire that once spread from Morocco up into Spain and almost France at points. Awesome music, dancing, and, again, more food made this probably one of the most enjoyable nights abroad so far. As with the aforementioned dancing, my table was one of the first selected to dance, and well, I figured why not. News flash: just because I'm in Africa does not make my whiteness go away, nor my inherited white dance skills. Regardless, I still thought it was fun!

We dorked around in the hotel for a bit, chilling in rooms, watching TV, and eating some more (I don't know how). The next day, we sadly said goodbye to our guides and geared up for a bus ride to the coast, a ferry ride back (again, some struggles), and one more bus ride back to Granada. I was more than a little tired, and I happened to lose my keys (again) in Africa, but it was an incredible adventure that I would do all over again if offered the chance.

Obviously, to describe everything that went on there in one blog post would be impossible; ask me if you want to know more. From the tiny, tiny percentage of the place I saw, Africa looks like an incredibly diverse, beautiful, and friendly place that has its problems, just like any other continent. Go if you can. You won't regret it.

Jacob