Student Bloggers
Adjusting to the Siesta Lifestyle
Date
February 11, 2016
Class times are scheduled differently here because Spaniards take a few hours (around 2-4 pm) to go home, eat lunch, and recharge for the rest of the day. I'm definitely enjoying the new structure, although sometimes it's frustrating to make the half hour walk home from class, eat at home, and head back to class right afterwards. Lunches are the biggest and most important meal of the day in Spain and we eat around 2:30-3 pm. Breakfast is usually toast and coffee. Lunch is the main meal and usually the whole family gets together to eat. Dinner is smaller and usually at 9:30 pm. My host mom is a great cook and is really great at making vegetarian meals!
For my first free weekend in Granada, I wanted to explore the mountains that circle the city. My friend Kathryn, her friend from class, my roommate Diana, and I did a hike called Los Cahorros in Monachil, a 20 minute bus ride from Granada. It was so beautiful! We met very nice British girls on the bus and did the hike with them. I did not expect to find canyons, trees, and clear streams. The next day we took another bus to Beas de Granada and tried another hike. I don't think the rest of the group knew that they signed up for a 16 km hike, but we had a lot of fun and the views were incredible! We didn't see a single person for 5 hours and the trail took us right back into the city center.
On Sunday, I did an Olive Oil Tour with a few friends from Arcadia. We learned how olive oil is produced, it's history, and we got to taste test different types. I learned that Spain produces the most olive oil in the world. It was such a fun weekend!
I booked my first two trips of the semester. I am heading to Lanzarote in March and Mallorca in April! I'm already very excited for both of them!