Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! You may or may not remember me from my PMSLA trip to Mexico in January 2023, but if not, my name is Caitlin and I’m studying a Bachelor of Global Studies (International Relations and Business) and a Bachelor of Arts (Spanish) conjoint. And right now, for my exchange, I travelled to literally the other side of the world to Granada, Spain, where I’m studying Spanish linguistics with the University of Granada. (I’m pretty sure if you dig a hole straight down from NZ, you’ll end up in Spain but don’t quote me on that 😂).
In all honesty, I actually cannot believe I’m in Spain. I’ve been planning and wanting to do this exchange ever since I was 16! I started studying Spanish when I was in Year 9 at high school (because we all had to pick a language), and I don’t know what it is, but I absolutely fell in love with the subject: the language, the culture, and the friends I made along the way. So much so, that I decided to continue with it at UoA! But the main objective of all of this has always been to become fluent – hence why I’m here in Granada.
Now what can I say about Granada? Hot. Although, I guess when it has been 40 degrees, 30 degrees is mild, but for my Kiwi-self, coming from winter to such a hot summer has certainly been an adjustment, I’ve made friends with a few local students who swear it gets cold in winter (think Wellington cold), but after looking at the average temperatures here in Granada for the next 5 months, it really is only the month of September that will be quite hot. I also reckon that I’m starting to adjust a little☺️. After two weeks of being here, one week to settle in and make friends with the other international students, and the next week to start classes and build up a brand-new routine for myself, I will say that it’s been an absolute rollercoaster of a ride.
This trip is my first time living away from home, which I always thought wouldn’t be too hard until I’ve come to learn how close I am to my parents. from 26th August – 1st September, we travelled and played tourist around London, so that certainly helped my transition leaving home (and NZ!) and I had the most amazing time with them. So when I split off from them, I made myself busy. Luckily, I’m not totally alone here in Granada, there is another Kiwi from UoA studying with me, and the rooms in the Halls of Residence which we are staying in: we have our own room, our own bathroom, but the room are joined in the middle by a shared kitchen.
Here are a few photos from London!
So last week we joined up with all of the international student organisations. There are three big ones here in Granada: Best Life Experience, Erasmus Student Network and Emycet. These organisations hold stuff during the week which we turn up to to meet other students, but they are also travel agencies which have discounted prices for those who are members to take day trips to different cities in Spain. I’ve mostly been following Best Life Experience around, and through them I’ve met so many people, and we’ve already created a big friend group where anyone who is free can go and meet up with each other.
I took this photo on my first night here in Granada after I’d gotten back from some emergency bedsheet-shopping! There’s a monastery right next door to my Halls
Being a Kiwi also has its perks here in Granada! Most of the international students are Erasmus, which means they’re European, so when you tell people you’re from New Zealand, they immediately want to talk to you and be friends. The first thing I usually here is “man, that’s a long way to go!” 😂
I know there are heaps of photos 😬, so because Granada is built inside of a bowl surrounded by mountains, there are a few ‘miradores’ (viewpoints) which you walk up to and can see lovely views of the city! The very last photo is of the famous Alhambra, I haven’t been inside yet, but I’m waiting until it’s a bit cooler. The churros here are super yummy because they’re not covered in cinnamon and sugar, instead there’s nothing on them and you dip them in chocolate-custard flavoured melted chocolate ☺️. Of course I’ve also had Paella, because that’s an absolute staple that you need to try in Granada!
I also went on a trip to Lake Guejar Sierra, which while it was super hot and the walk down to the lake and back up absolutely killed my legs, I had a super amazing time and I didn’t realise how much I needed a swim just to clear my mind!
The only downside is that we all speak in English to each other, but this week with starting classes, which are 100% all in Spanish will change that. Mum and Dad have also been staying this week (11th-15th September), so in between classes I was hanging out with them by their pool at their hotel which is just down the road from my Halls! I had to finally officially say goodbye to them today which was sad, but now that I’ve got a routine (because one thing I will make clear, I love my routine), I’m comfortable about letting them jetset 30 hours back to little ol’ NZ.
Here are some photos of dinner I had the other night at this Moroccan restaurant called Palacio Andaluz with Mum and Dad. Because of the massive history Andalucia has with Muslim rule and influence, the food is also a reflection of this and it’s super yummy! Hummus, falafel and kebabs everywhere!
A highlight of last weekend was my day trip to Córdoba, which was run by Best Life Experience. It’s quite a bit like Granada but the history and the architecture of all the old mosques and palaces is super interesting. Also please be prepared to be bombarded with photos, because sometimes there are no words to describe absolutely everything that I’ve done these past two weeks. So for now, I will say welcome to my blog! Bienvenidos a España, and I hope that you come to enjoy my next semester in Spain as much as I will! Stay tuned for coming posts, I’ll talk more about getting settled and advice for going on a semester exchange!
