Travel Plans and News

It's a rainy, chilly day here in Granada, and I'm looking forward to curling up in my room and listening to the rain tonight! My American suitemates and I spent Valentine's Day eve out at for tapas and chupitos, which was very fun, if a little wilder than my usual Monday nights. Given my financial situation and recent discovery of tax amounts, that kind of night is going to be pretty rare for me.

Also knowing how much money I have has limited my travel plans. Originally I was hoping to go to London and Ireland or Paris for spring break, since I've never been and it's a great place to go for theater, obviously. Although I won't be able to afford that kind of trip, I'm looking at it as an opportunity: my parents' wise advice was that Spain and the Mediterranean are well worth exploring, and that people spend thousands of dollars vacationing here to see the sights. So for my spring break, I'm going to stay in the area and go to the beaches, not 2 hours away from Granada; spend a day skiing or at least in Pradollano (the Sierra Nevada Sky Resort); and do some day trips or overnight trips to local places, like Ubeda, Baeza, Ronda, and Grazalema. These are all towns not far from Granada that my program, API, recommends and offers easy travel info for. I am however still looking for someone to go with. I'm getting a new roommate in March, a woman named Anna (Ana?) from London as part of the Erasmus study abroad program, which may be a great opportunity to make a new friend and potential travel buddy.

Another direction I'm interested in exploring over break is theater, of course. Granada is the home and birthplace of the famous playwright Federico García Lorca, who lived in the early 1900's and was killed during the Spanish Civil War. During my time here I'd like to visit his hometown, Fuente Vaqueros, and to visit the museum in his name. I will be reading his plays, some of which I am already familiar with, and probably some of his poetry as that was his main forte. It would be incredible to work on one of Lorca's plays for my senior exhibition project back home next year; one of his famous trio (Blood Wedding, Yerma, and The House of Bernarda Alba). Saint Mike's also offers a whole class on Lorca's works. This is definitely a route worth exploring to connect my time here to my theater career!