Patrick and Sara en Espana!

These past 10ish days have been a blast for me because two of my best friends from college, Patrick Burns and Sara Zavadsky have been here in Granada, Spain!!!!


I can remember a couple months ago when I was talking to them that I joked about making a trip to come and visit me. Well, they took me seriously and a few weeks later, the tickets were booked! They found a really good deal on airline tickets, so they bit the bullet and booked them.


On Wedesday, May 18th, Patrick and Sara graced the country of Spain with their presence as they arrived around 6:00 that evening. I was like a little kid waiting for Santa to come and bring presents Christmas morning, just being happy and excited allllll day! I had Spanish class until 6 and after I was supposed to meet them at the stop where the bus left them off, just a little walk away from my apartment. I don't think I've ever power walked so fast in my life. I saw them sitting on a bench waiting for me and I about broke into a full out sprint. Screaming, yelling, smiles, and may hugs were given in the following minutes. You couldn't wipe the smile off of my face because this was the first set of visitors I've had since we arrived here in February. I walked them to my apartment, showed them around, and we went out for tapas that evening, talking, laughing, and just catching up life.


The next few days, I took them around to various places, hoping to give them a good Granada culture experience. They picked me up at my sports clinic on Thursday evening and met all those I had been working with at Clinica Deportiva Campoy. On Friday, we all walked up to the Albayzin and had some great Spanish food at the top in the Plaza of San Nicolaus. Lamb cooked in various sauces with olive oil, raisins, nuts, prunes, etc. It was delicious! I brought them to the first round of the indoor futbol play-offs game--they won! The team plays again in two weeks, I hope I can go! Sunday was a relaxing day, filled with a walk in the park and showing Patrick and Sara the chocolate con churros experience!


Sunday also marked a unique landmark in our stay here. As of May 22nd, we had officially been in Spain for 100 days! It still seems surreal to me.

Monday morning all of us got up early to go to Biomechanics class, even Patrick and Sara came! I thought it might be a fun experience to sit in on a true traditional college class in Spain. They said it was good, or at least they lied well. :) The beginning of the week also brought us yet another visitor, Karrie's best friend from high school, Kristin. It was funny because our friend Petra came over and asked to take a picture of our group including her friend Audrey from Chicago who was staying with her, because she had never seen so many Americans in one place, haha! It was fun to humor her and give her a little bit of grief about being so enthralled with Americans and the USA.

The next day I went to class at 12:30 and then I took Sara and Patrick put to Petra's apartment. She lives about 30 minutes out of the city center, so I thought it'd  be a good thing for them to see a different dynamic of Spain, apart from the hustle and bustle of city life. We laid outside on her terrace and relaxed, just talking and having a good time.

Wednesday I had to cram- I had the final for my Spanish class that afternoon! I  sad this class is over because I liked The Europeans I took it with and it really helped me with my Spanish. It's hard to believe that I'm finishing up a class already, where did the time go?!

Thursday Kristin, Karrie, Sara, Patrick and I took a bus down to Selobrena soak up some rays so our visitors could say they'd been to the Mediterranean. The weather wasn't as nice as we wanted it to be, but I did get some color so I consider the day a success! We had some lunch in the beach then walked back to he bus station to catch the bus, which ended up being 50 minutes late (some things in Spain never change). Before we left we bought an open ended bus ticket which meant that we got to choose what time/bus to return to Granada. What we didn't know, however, was that we supposed to go to the bus clerk at the station to confirm what time we wanted to officially book. So after waiting 50 minutes, they tried telling us that we couldn't get on the bus because we hadn't confirmed our open ended ticket, even though the bus only had about 5 people on it. The bus driver came to our rescue though, and talked to the clerk, allowing us time and permission to get everything figured out. We also had a nice guy from Barcelona who was waiting with us that stood build us ready to jump in and help at any moment. Thank God for good people! We got back to Granada sage and sound.

Earlier that week, Sara had tossed around the idea of going to Madrid for the weekend. We just decided to go for it, and within a few days had everything from the bus tickets to the hostel booked and ready to go! There was a lot that went on that weekend in addition to all the fun that was had, so I'm saving that little adventure for a separate blog (lucky you, two more blogs in ONE week!) Please try to contain your excitement.

Today (Monday, May 30th), my lovely guests are headed to see the Alhambra while I go to class and work at my internship. I plan on visiting the palace when my family comes to visit, so rest assured you will get a blog entry about that as well (I know you were worried you might miss out on something). Then we'll hang out and have one last night together before they head out tomorrow morning to get on a bus o Malaga to begin their journey back home.

I am so so happy that these two took the time and money to come and visit me. It was just the refresher I needed and I couldn't have picked any better friends (well, Brooke Kuster should have been added into the mix) to spend my time with. I am very grateful to have the friends I met during my freshman year of college and to be able to experience something like this overseas with them! As you can see, I have been all smiles throughout their stay. :)

First night in Spain!

We European-ized Patrick.

I took them to Petra's countryside apartment. What a view!

Beach day. Patrick's clearly lovin' it.

Relaxing!

Beach in Salobrena.

El Fin de Semana Con Clara! ^^

I’m actually going to be on top of my game for once and write not but one, but two whole blogs in a single week! Whoa! In all honesty, my body just to decided to be an insomniac, so I’m currently starting this blog at approximately 6 AM in the morning.

I wanted to give the events in this post some special attention because of how much fun I had. As mentioned in my previous blog (which I’m sure you all read with vigorous enthusiasm), I recently had been in contact with our classmate from Biomechanics class, Clara, a bit more. She is very hard-core into triathlons, so while we were at coffee the other day, I told her that I wanted to watch one of her competitions if I could. Well, it just so happened that this past weekend (May 14ish) she was going to have one near her home, which was near Malaga. After figuring out my plans, I asked her if it was still okay if I came along for the weekend. My inquiries were met with a resounding, “Claro que sí!!!!!” Mind you, plans weren’t finalized until Wednesday (obviously), so I packed my bags that night, met Clara after class on Thursday and away we went! Since she had a car, we were able to drive ourselves and arrive in around 1 hour and 15 minutes. We chatted the entire way there, in both English and Spanish, getting to know a little more about each other with each minute that passed. She lives in a town called Mezquitilla which is about 35 minutes away from Malaga. I was beyond excited to get away for a while, experience a real Spanish home, work on my linguistic skills, and meet more people! When we arrived we were greeted by Clara’s dad and dog, Duna. We unloaded our things and I was given a tour of their beautiful home, one that they designed with the architectures themselves. While getting a tour of the house, I noticed they had a piano. I told them that I took lessons a long time ago so they asked me to play. Clara's sister had a little sheet music so I sat down and played for a bit. Man, did that feel good! Yes there definitely mistakes made, but I've realized that I'm just a happier person with music in my life so
getting to plunk out a few notes was very therapeutic for me. After checking our e-mails, we gave my mom a call at school to introduce her to Clara via phone—fun! Clara’s sister Berta, who is my age, was also home. She is studying to be a translator at the University of Malaga, so her English was quite good. The two girls and I sat around the kitchen table for a while and chatted over tea, hot chocolate drinks and galletas. Around 8 PM, Clara took me to a town nearby called Torre del Mar, which is located right on the beach and is frequented by a lot of Europeans during the summer season. It is a cute little place that has many local shops, pretty scenery, and of course, the ocean. As we walked, she bought me Orchata, a drink native to Spain. This beverage is a blend of a ground up chufa nut, water, sugar, and cinnamon ingredients that create a cold, smoothie textured drink! This was a mighty tasty treat and I got to watch the waves roll onto shore—what a memory. Keeping in tune with the real Spanish culture, we headed back around 10 PM to have dinner with her family. Her mom, Lucia, is a pediatrician in Torre del Mar so the late dinner hour, suits her job perfectly. We had some lasagna that her mom had made the day before, and I was glad to see that other families indulge in leftovers like mine does! It was so awesome to sit at the dinner table with them and just listen. They didn’t hesitate to include me in the conversation either, which made me feel welcome and at home.

We woke up the next morning and had a traditional Spanish breakfast: coffee with a tostada with real ground tomato paste and olive oil. Clara thought it was really funny that I filled almost my entire mug with actual coffee, leaving just a bit of room for a splash of milk. I told her that Jen and my dad drink their coffee without anything in it and she looked aghast. After breakfast, we got ready and headed out for a little sight-seeing. First we went to Nerja and got some pictures, then she took me to Frijiliana, which is a traditional looking Spanish pueblo (town). It was located on the mountainside, complete with all white houses and cobblestone streets which was quite breath-taking. We returned home for lunch with the family at about 2:30, which consisted of main course lasagna, always a side of baguette-like bread, and her parents had a small glass of red wine with each meal. This was followed by siesta-ing, and finally taking a short run on the beach in Torre del Mar. Despite the fact that her ‘slow jog’ was probably my race pace, I think I kept up alright. We came back and had dinner with the family again at 11:00 PM! Late!

Clara and I worked on each other's language throughout the weekend. We both carried a pocket sized notebook around wherever we went and were continuously writing down new phrases or words we were learning from each other!

Saturday morning I told Clara I wanted to return the favor for making me Spanish breakfast, so I made her a little omelet with veggies and toast! It seemed American enough to me. J Then we were off for more Spain sight-seeing, going to Madrid for the day with Clara’s sister Berta. We ate at a bocadillo (sandwich) place and walked around the city, seeing different things like the Malaga Cathedral, some Roman theatre ruins, the newly refurbished port of Malaga with its astounding architecture and interactive play park, and a Tetería, or tea/café stop. We returned home, laid on the beach for a bit, then came home and relaxed so Clara could get some rest for her competition the next morning.

Sunday was race day! We woke up and were getting ready to go to the competition, when one of Clara’s friends called her, telling her that her race, which she was told began at noon actually started at 10:30! We kicked into high gear, grabbed the equipment she needed, and hopped in the car for the 50 minute ride doing my make-up and drinking my coffee on the way. After arriving, in less than 50 minutes mind you, she had to quickly leave me to get all of her things set up for the race. So, I wandered around aimlessly until I found her Mom and we went to the beach side to get ready to be Clara’s very own paparazzi. The entire competition was soooooo cool! Seeing these women brave the waves (you like that rhyming?!), then continue to bike and run was beyond impressing. Doing a triathlon has definitely been put on my bucket list for life!

After the triathlon, we all went out to eat at one of their favorite restaurants in Torre del Mar. Clara ordered for me because I had no idea what I was doing and I got to taste some fantastic authentic
Spanish cuisine including sarichozo, and more names of differently prepared ham that I have no clue how to pronounce or spell. We got home, relaxed a little bit, then packed up our stuff to head on home. I was sad to see such a wonderful end-I truly had a blast! The ride home ended up taking twice
as long due to traffic, but we couldn't be bothered because we were jamming out to a Glee CD I made for her before we hit the road. Much to my utmost horror, she had never heard of Glee and as most of you
know, this just can't do if you are a part of my life! No worries, she's been 'Gleeked.'

If you hadn’t noticed by the crazy amount I have written in this post, I had a GREAT weekend with Clara. I am so glad to have met her and know she will be a friend of mine for life. She’s even thinking of coming to visit when I return in July…YAY!

Torre del Mar

Orchata!

Frijiliana

Notice my hand is ahead. I win.

Duna the dog, soaking up some rays.

In Malaga with the girls for the day.

Malaga Cathedral

The interactive play park.

Clara y yo.

Ready, set, GO!

Whizzing by on the bike.

Headed to the finish!

My little tri-athlete.

I got to dive into the Spanish culture a bit more and attend a professional indoor futbol game. A few of the playeres come into get treated at my clinic, so Mariano asked me if I wanted to go see a game. I took both of the girls to the Saturday evening match and let me tell you, it was unlike any soccer game I´ve ever seen! It´s a lot more fun to watch a sporting event in which you know some of those who are playing. Indoor futbol uses a smaller field and the teams play 5 on 5. The ball itself is a little smaller, to coincide with the decreased playing field dimensions. This particular game requires a lot more explosive power and refined ball-handling technique. The rules are slightly different regarding yellow and red card regulations all while utilizing hockey´s power play rule after someone gets a red card. I can´t believe how intense this game gets! In total, there were 7 yellow and 3 red cards given throughout the match, along with a lot of yelling, cheering, and screaming from both the crowd and the playeres. The Granada team prevailed, however, winning the match 2-0 and ultimately becoming the champions of the league for the regular season! They play back in Granada in a few weeks and I´m planning on attending the game.

Things at the internship are continuing to run smoothly. I am starting to remember specific modality parameters for different patients, which in itself is a small victory since the words, ´paperwork´and ´documentation´ don´t seem to exist here. They are also giving me a little bit of free reign with patients and modalities. For example,  a soccer player came in with a grade 2 ATF sprain and his foot looked like a giant black and blue balloon. After inquiring when the initial incident took place, I discovered he was 5 days post-incident. I about lost it, but maintained my composure, knowing it´s not my place to question how his treatment plan was being executed. What I did do, however, was massage and ice him on elevation while educating him on the importance of using the classic RICE concept to get the blood and swelling out of the area. He´s slowly improving, but I´m not sure if he´s taking my RICE advice to heart! On a different, yet completely awesome note, I got to hold a 1.5 month old baby at the clinic this past week. She and her dad came in and, me loving the interaction with youngins as I do, I naturally walked over to her. After holding her for a solid 15 minutes, I came to find out she was the daughter of one of the professional outdoor Granada futbol players - COOL!

As a part of our attempt to internationalize Athletic Training, G had set us up for an interview with ´The Chronicle,´a magazine for higher education based out of Washington D.C. The two girls and I sat down and Skyped with out interviewer, Karen, to share a bit about our background stories, and experiences here thus far. In addition tot he article, they hired a free-lance photographer to get pictures of us in action working with the patients at the clinic. Let´s just say I never want to be a celebrity and deal with paparazzi! The photographer was at my clinic for the entire 4 hours I worked on Thursday and he was constantly snapping pictures of me. I mean, I like the spotlight just as much as the next person, but that was a bit excessive. Having the photographer there was also an open invitation for my co-workers to tease me all day about being ´famous.´At least I couldn´t understand all of their jokes. I took it all in stride and was a good sport about it, but I better get some good pictures out of the deal!

This past week we were hosts for yet another visitor, Jen´s mom! She arrived on Thursday and stayed for 6 days. Sandy came bearing many gifts, most of them in the form of food like Tootsie Roll treats, and ingredients to cook us dinner. We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with fajitas, beans, chips, salsa, guacamole, and to top it off, cervezas! Then the night before she left we got treated to a standard American dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, beans, salad, and some ice cream cake for dessert. If it´s possible, I miss home-cooked meals more now than when in La Crosse. Both of the dinners were absolutely scrumptious. On Saturday, Jen and her mom invited me to join them in going to Parque de las Ciencias, a well known museum in Granada. It has everything from animal to anatomy exhibits and it is HUGE! Even though a lot of the information was written in Spanish, there were quite a few displays with multiple languages including English, so I´d like to say that I did a fine job in culturing and education myself that day. I plan on taking my family when they come to visit in June, so more details of this great place will come then. (Actually, I just have waaaaay too much stuff to talk about in this blog, and I don´t want you all to have to miss out on life, or work, just to read this - unless of course that´s the kind of excuse you´ve been looking for, then by all means go for it!).

A few Spanish interactions have also taken place in my life over the last couple of days. First, I had to give my very first presentation completely in Spanish! **Note: if you´re still debating being late for work, like, or anything productive, I highly recommend you stay put because this next story is pretty entertaining, mostly at the expense of myself.** Well, this particular presentation was for my Theory and History of Sport class (Teoría y Historía de Deporte for all you bilinguals) and my two other group members, along with myself, had to give a presentation based on an article about Hely Hutchinson Almond of Scotland, who bought and made a name for the Loretto boarding school there. The article itself was in English (thank God!) so at least I was able to easily understand the section they assigned me to read and analyze. The difficult part, however, was to translate what I read back into Spanish, and have it make not only chronological and grammatical sense, but to have it not sound like I was a 1st grader speaking Spanish in front of an audience for the first time in my life. I created a Power Point with slides of what I wanted to talk about and then I proceeded to write out everything I was going to say on a piece of paper that I was planning on having in front of me while I was giving my part of the presentation. When the writing preparations were all said and done, I practiced speaking my part in front of Jen and Karrie for the next few days. The day of the presentation finally came, or so I thought. That particular Thursday, the professor decided to show up to class 15 minutes late and the group ahead of us felt like it would be a great idea to essentially have us read a book on the projector, rather then summarize their article on Power Point slides. Therefore, we ran out of time and I was to present that following day on Friday. We normally have class on Tuesday instead of Friday but the professor switched the days so the students could celebrate yet another Spanish holiday, La Día de la Cruz. Can you tell I was super excited to give my presentation on a Friday, when I usually have no class?! Anyway, Karrie was going camping and Jen was with her Mom, so I was the only one going to Theory on Friday. I arrived a little early so I could get some last minute practice in. I found my group members and we were waiting in the lobby of our building, and it just seemed like a ton of people were entering and waiting around like we were, so I asked my group member, Gustavo, why there were so many people. "Oh," he said, "because this is a make up class, both of the sections are meeting today." Wait, WHAT?! You mean that instead of presenting in front of the 50ish people that I'm already freaking out about, I will be standing in front of double that amount?! To make matters worse, I saw my professor start heading toward the auditorium. You mean that I have to present in front of twice the amount of people, in a room twice the size, on stage?!?!?! The fact that I didn't wet myself right then and there was a miracle in itself. Not only that, but we were the very last group to present our article, giving me a good hour to sit in my seat and do everything possible to prevent a nervous breakdown. We all know that I've been on stage numerous times before, but at that point I would have rather sung anything, rather than have to speak in Spanish. Finally, it was our turn. I stood up, held onto the podium for dear life, and began my part. It went okay with just a few stumbles here and there. I even got to say a quote by Almond in English! Our professor must have really liked it because we got the word, "Excelente!" said to us three times in a row. He also complimented me on how I presented the English quote. Yessss!

Just a couple more things, I promise. This past Sunday morning, Karrie and I ventured to the Sunday market for the first time. It's filled with a lot of brand name clothes and shoes for cheap, along with a lot of fresh produce! We're hoping to go back and peruse a bit more in a few weeks, when we get a chance. As you all know, and I'm sure celebrated, Sunday was also Mother's Day. I had the wonderful opportunity to Skype with my mother on that day after she ran her first 5K since 1980! I am so proud of her! I also got to chat with my fabulous sister, whom she ran with, and my grandparents. What a treat! Later on in the day, I was finally able to call the Weinberger's and talk with everyone in the family. It was so awesome to hear each of their voices since I haven't talked to them since I left. All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday! I also went to coffee with a classmate of ours, Clara, who knows English. A few weeks after we first arrived, she approached us and said that if we needed help with anything for our Biomechanics class, that we should not hesitate to ask. We then became 'Facebook official' friends and continued to keep in touch. On Tuesday, we decided to meet for coffee just to hang out! It was very cool to see how easily we were able to flip back between Spanish and English, helping each other with their respective languages. She and I also seemed to just click! I will definitely be spending more time with her.

Shout out to my brother and all those who are going to be graduating in a couple weeks. Hang in there - you're almost done!

Besos,
Nana

Penalty shot at the indoor game.

If this guy wouldn't have stood up to cheer, this would have been a great shot. Rafi doing his thing!

This is what I say when I looked out my apartment window one night after my internship.

Aerial view of Granada from a tower in Parque de las Ciencias.