European Hair Cut

Thought I'd add some fun in the mix of my re-caps.  Last week, I got a MUCH needed haircut.  With the help of a phone call from my Spanish madre Ana, I was able to tell the hairdresser that I needed my dead ends ("puntos" en espanol) cut ASAP.  Shorter than usual but definitely a lot healthier! (and European?)

Lo que será, será. (Whatever will be, will be.)

Welp, I’ve officially failed to keep up with my goal of posting each week. With an intensive week of learning Spanish vocabulary, a number of applications due back in the States, and various weekend trips throughout Spain (with and without my GRIIS program), I’ve been blessed with wonderful adventures and very little time for filling in people back home with stories via blog.

To complement my lack of promptness, I decided to name this post after something my roommate and I learned from our new new Spanish madre.  It is an expression of the inability to control what life may throw at you. “Lo que Será, Será.”  In English it means, “Whatever will be, will be.”

And so, although I meant to keep everyone posted on a regular basis, my cliff note version of the last three weeks will have to suffice.   (And a great apology to all those hanging on the edge of their seats each week!)

Two weeks ago, our program advisors took us on a trip to a small city in Spain called Ronda.  About a five-hour bus ride away from Granada, the town is located west of Granada and near the southern tip of Spain.   Our visit was only a half a day and yet that was enough time for me to fall in love with it.  The city is simply beautiful.  Quaint, with incredible views of the countryside, it was the perfect place to spend the day with the entire GRIIS (Granada Institute of International Studies) crew.

One of the coolest parts of our trips was our tour of a bullfighting arena.  We were able to walk throughout the entire facilities, from where the bulls were held before fights to the field grounds (arena?) itself.  While touring the stadium, our advisor told us of the history of bullfighting in Spain, specifically in the city of Ronda.  We learned of famous bullfighters and roamed rooms filled with traditional bullfighting garments and captured bulls.  It was really cool to learn the significance of the sport and of course, to act out a bullfight with the other students in the arena J (not gonna lie, it made the trip 10 times better.)

With pictures of gorgeous views and crazy animal poses, I really couldn’t have asked for a more fun day.

Ronda. Ronda. Ronda.  A completely unexpected treasure.  Both beautiful and pleasant and a sharp contrast to our next group trip to Madrid (see next post).

Hope you enjoy the pictures of my visit! If you don’t have a Facebook and would like to see more pictures, please feel free to e-mail me (or post below your e-mail) and I can e-mail you a link with more photos!

Until my next post (which is hopefully soon), hasta luego!

Couldn’t get enough of the beautiful views

 

 Touring the bullfighting arena

 Gotta love the bull pics :)

 Walking around town

By far, one of my favorite places we have visited so far

Found this site on a walk after lunch