All good things come to an end

My time in Granada has now ended and I've returned to England which is just as grey, cloudy and rainy as it was when I left 10 months ago (to this very day).

In some respects 10 months seems like so little time and I can't get my head around how fast it has gone. It honestly feels like last week I was sat in bed, as I am now, blogging about how scared I was for the big move. That said, 10 months also feels like a lifetime. They say that Year Abroaders sometimes suffer with 'reverse culture shock' and although I'm sure that is more aimed towards students who have been living somewhere completely different to England, Spain might be a European country but it can be hard to readjust. To go from living in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain and always being out and about embracing the Spanish way of life, to now living back at home in my little town in the East of England ... well it's just a bit sad sometimes. However, I shouldn't be sad that it's over, but instead be grateful for the experience and all the amazing things I did. 

My last few weeks in Granada were brilliant, I did have exams (boo) some of which went well and others which didn't (2/10 was an absolutely gutting grade for a class I studied so hard for). However, once the last one was over it was straight on to enjoying the last couple of weeks. The weather was absolutely amazing and I just had a lot of fun. Some highlights were:

-16KM hike with Maddy from a small town over the mountains and hills that surround Granada. It took 4 and a half hours but the views were incredible.

-An impromptu Colombian party. After they won one of their world cup matches, Maddy's Colombian flatmate invited what seemed like every Colombian in Granada to their flat. I was taught how to dance Colombian salsa and reggaeton by a fellow from Ecuador called John and had traditional Colombian spirits forced down me all til 6AM. The dream.

-Discovery of the Piscina Universitaria. 2.50E a time for all day sunbathing and occasional dips in the pool. "I might do a whole length tomorrow". This has actually resulted in me returning home with a TAN. A pretty impressive one when compared with my white bits. I spent my whole last week their every afternoon with Frances. 

I left Granada on Sunday morning to go and meet my parents in Murcia, it was a sad bus journey admiring the beautiful landscapes I will miss so much. Even travelling by bus I will miss, I think I could count on one hand the amount of times I've travelled by bus in the UK, it's such a beautiful way of travelling over there. Anyway, luckily I had a 1 day mini holiday to compensate the sadness (or increase it) with my parents and their friends in a town on the coast in Alicante which was really nice.

And then before I knew it, I was on the plane flying home and my Year Abroad was officially over. It has been a year that I will never forget. There are a long list of adjectives I could use to describe it because you feel every emotion possible at some point or another,  but sometimes words just aren't enough. Granada is the most captivating city to live in and I am so so lucky to have had that opportunity, and who knows, maybe I'll be back living there once again in my lifetime. If this year has done anything for me it has made my love for Spain (and all Hispanic countries) and the Spanish language grow even stronger, made me want to travel and explore the world even more, and made me realise I can do anything with the independence and courage it's taught me. Maybe that sounds OTT and soppy but I do think it's true.

For now its a few weeks in my home town lounging about and seeing friends and family before I head off to Poland to teach English, and after that it's back to Canterbury to find a job and settle in before I start my final year of university in September. Scary. I hope you have all enjoyed my blogs, both whilst au pairing and studying in Granada, I will miss writing them but what a great way to have all these memories on record instead of just photos.

Besos,

Ellie

Here's a selection of my favourite photos/memories from this year

The view from my balcony that I will miss so much

 the Albaicín - gorgeous

La Alhambra in it's glory at night

Controversial but something I'm so glad I got to experience. A bullfight in Sevilla.

the breath taking flamenco at Le Chien Andalou

the view of Spanish landscape feat. Los Pirineos from Montserrat

the amazing Font Magica in Barcelona

my favourite view on a winters day in January

Crap photo but spending my 21st birthday staying in a cave! Pretty cool

ME SKIING! Who'd have thought it? What an experience

Fallas in Valencia - incredible

monkeys in Gibraltar - stealing Lizzie's purse ha ha

the amazing sunsets in granada. view from Mirador de San Miguel Alto

never will any of us experience a funnier taxi ride

My all time favourite view in Granada. Avenida de la Constitución feat. some snazzy flamenco dresses

the beautiful national park of Cabo de Gata

Color Run in Barcelona - amazing

The 3 Week Countdown

This time in 3 weeks I'll be reunited with my parents and their friends in Murcia and will be flying home the following day, I really cannot wait. Although I'm excited to go home, there are obviously heaps of things I'm going to miss about living in Granada/Spain in general, so here's my top 10.

1. Living in a flat

It sounds strange but apart from living in halls in first year (which is completely different) I've never lived in a flat before. There's no carpet,  it's all a lot smaller, we have no garden BUT there's something I just love about it. I'll miss sitting on my balcony in the sun watching the world go by with the view of the bullring. Luckily I'm moving into a flat for my final year at uni, which also has a balcony, but whether the sun makes an appearance is another question. 

2. Sun

Although I've just spent the evening complaining to my family about how hot and bothered I am, I know I am definitely going to miss the sun. Sunshine makes everyone happy and that's something you notice here in Spain. There's not really much to say about this one, the sun is great and England, you just doesn't make the cut.

3. Tinto de Verano and Cerveza

No list of mine would be complete without an alcoholic beverage. It sounds silly but these two drinks pretty much some up this year for me and my friends. I love being able to just order a beer, it tastes good and there's no faffing about what type of beer like there would be in England. And Tinto de Verano, well, whatever genius created the red wine and lemon fanta concoction I do not know, but it is genius. I'm not too sure they'll understand me if I order a 'hint of summer' in my local pub...Pimms it is!

4. Travelling

I always knew I wanted to see as much of Spain as possible when coming on my year abroad, and I feel like I've had a pretty good go at it. I may be coming back to the UK skinter than you can imagine but the memories I have from the places I got to visit and the things I experienced are all worth it. It's been amazing and a lot cheaper than it probably would be to do that amount of travelling at home, I'm gonna miss cheap(ish) public transport. 

5. A Mirador

So, a mirador basically translates to 'view point', I don't think I've ever seen anything sign posted as 'view point' in England but there you go. The Spanish, and myself now included, bloody love a good mirador. Spain has offered me some of the most breathtaking views of their landscapes and I will forever remember them, my favourite definitely being Mirador de San Miguel Alto which has the most incredible view of the city of Granada. Photos are good, but you have to see it to believe it.

6. Tapas

How could I leave Granada and not love tapas? I really underestimated the whole 'free tapas' thing when I first arrived but the truth is if you go to right place, you can literally be served a whole plate of food for 2 euros. The tapas culture is amazing and there's nothing better than enjoying a tapa or two with a beer and good comapny in this amazing city. 

7. Shopping

Now I'm gonna be materialistic but I don't care. Recently, on Martin's Money Tips he wrote a piece on how much cheaper Zara is over here (like I needed to be told). He basically said it can sometimes work out cheaper to get a ryanair flight to Spain and shop at the Zara stores here, than buy from the stores in England. Thanks to that, I now feel less guilty about the appalling amount of clothes I have succumbed to buying this year. I'm gonna miss the cheaper prices and conversion rates but I guess it's an excuse to come back to Spain when I need to top up my wardrobe...

8. Intercambio

Despite being a language student for two years before coming to Spain, I never once even looked into doing a tandem/intercambio at Kent which is very bad, I know. However, this year me and Adele sure as hell got our intercambio on and along the way met some interesting people. My favourite was probably the old Spanish man who made Adele read out a love letter from his American student pen pal lover...slightly awkward but hilarious. And of course, our lovely friends, Silvia and Laura, and our countless Wednesday tapas nights filled with laughter that I will truly miss.

9. Cheap life

The cost of living is just so much cheaper here. Rent is cheaper, food is cheaper, the only thing I've found that isn't cheaper is make-up and beauty products (Spain are seriously lacking a Boots). No wonder people go out and eat all the time, or meet up for drinks, it's so cheap that you can never use the 'I'm poor' excuse. I wondered how so many cafés and bars make enough to stay open but when you see how many people are out and about for tapas day and night it all makes sense. England's prices are going to be a shock to the system.

10. Living here

This last one sounds simple and it is. There's something so liberating about living in a different country, I've learnt a lot about myself, the type of person I am, and the ability to just say  yeah fuck it  YES to countless opportunities. I have really learnt who my true friends are which is something that didn't even cross my mind when setting off for 10 months, but I've equally gained an amazing new group of friends and we share some of my most special memories here. Finally, after this year abroad I've become more independent and confident than I ever thought and now the world is my oyster...

Getting dirty in Barcelona

A couple of weekends ago we went on a little trip to Barcelona. The main reason we went was to do the Color Run on the Sunday, but we also had the added bonus of seeing our friends and having a jolly old time.

#planeselfie

We split off and did different things on the Saturday, me Tara and Adele wondered around the centre of Barcelona and had some breakfast before going to Parc de la Ciutadella to meet Will.

Will is an old school friend who Adele and I studied Spanish with and it was so lovely (but a bit surreal) for us all to be hanging out in Barcelona. We had some lunch and chilled on the beach and it was just perfect. The only thing I didn't like about the beach was the Indian men coming round offering mojitos or beer, there were so many of them and they totally ruined the tranquil atmosphere. There were also thai women offering massages...sounds dodgy, I know, I sat this one out but everyone else indulged in a 5 euro massage on the sand, from a spectators view it was pretty hilarious watching Will all oiled up with some Thai lady slapping his back.

sleafordians reunited

After a quick turn around we all met up again in Plaza Espanya to watch the Font Magica and have some dinner and drinks. It was just as magical as last time and we got this pretty cool photo.

the gang

On Sunday, race day, we met up with Hannah and Lizzie to all do the race together. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible and we were so excited. The Color Run really was amazing, after every 1K completed there was an area where you just got covered in the paint. It was absolutely mental, music was blaring and I think we were all just loving life. When it came to the yellow colour section, me Adele and Will lifted our tops up so we got yellow bellies. That's only really funny to anyone from Lincolnshire because apparently we call ourselves Yellow Bellies. Didn't quite work but it was funny.

The whole thing was so fun and even once we'd finished there was a huge concert with more paint and music. After a while it was a bit tiring though and I just felt sweaty and dirty and wanted a shower. Luckily our lovely friend Inigo let us go back to his and clean up before we all met up for a farewell lunch.

clean

not so clean

the attempt of yellow bellies

Anyway, it was an amazing weekend and I am so happy we went. I'm now on the countdown til I go home, 6 weeks today I'll be back in Sleaford so depressed that this is all over.

For now, it's the last week of classes and the beginning of exams. A lot of my friends start leaving in the next few weeks so although that'll be quite sad, it also means before they go there'll be lots of fun. And lots of alcohol.

Summer Sunshine

There is no denying that summer has arrived here in Andalucía, mainly because the Spaniards have taken off their coats and scarves and that's a pretty big deal. The sun is shining and everyday we are graced with 28-31 degrees. I do love the sun but I'm just not used to living in this heat. All you people at home reading this might be feeling jealous (which by all means you should be) however day to day life in this heat isn't quite what you think. It's not a holiday, there is no beach or swimming pool and it's sweaty, sticky and often just quite uncomfortable. It still trumps England though..

So, you may have noticed my blogs are becoming less frequent these days mainly because I'm not travelling quite as much (every weekend like I was doing at one time) and there are a few reasons for this:

• I can't be bothered. With this heat I just want to be a pool and a sea not traipsing round a city sweating my **** off
• I'm poor. I thought I was gonna be minted this year with an erasmus grant and more student loan than usual. However, with all the travelling, tapas and let's be honest...trips to Zara, it's kind of ran out. 
• You're never going to be able to visit every place you want to on your year abroad. It's impossible. There's still so many places I want to see but realistically they are always going to be there...use it as an excuse to come back in the future. 
• I want to make the most of Granada. Granada is such an amazing, beautiful and mesmerising city which sometimes I've neglected because of all the other places in Spain I've wanted to visit. There's no doubt so many nooks and crannies still do be discovered in Granada and I have exactly 57 days left to do this.

Yes, that's right. The dreaded flight has been booked (thanks Dad) and I now know when I'm officially leaving Spain and going back to England. I have mixed feelings. I love Spain so much it's going to be horrible to leave. There are very few things I dislike about Spain, I've fallen in love and now we have to go our separate ways. On the other hand, I haven't been home since 2013 (31st December 2013, but still) and I miss it. I never thought I'd say it but I do. I miss my family, my friends and English grub. It's also going to be about 40 degrees here come July 7th so if I stay I think my body might actually just give up. It makes me a bit teary to think about going home, my year abroad has been and still is such an amazing year and one which I don't want to end. I've learnt so much, not only in terms of Spanish but so much about myself and what I am capable of. If you don't finish your year abroad feeling independent, you haven't done it right, it's only upwards from here because knowing you are capable to move to a different country and start a new life on your own is pretty incredible. 

Anyway, enough of the soppy stuff, next weekend is going to be so exciting.  We're going to BARCELONA. We've had this booked since February so it's nice that it's all already been paid for etc. On Sunday we're doing the Colour Run (google it if you don't know what it is).  I can't wait to see Tara, Inigo and the recently Catalan converted Will (who is even doing the colour run with us girls!!). We don't really get that much time in Barcelona given our flight times but we'll make it a great weekend I'm sure.

Besos,

Ellie

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Taken on El Día de la Cruz

Somos muy pequeñas...

The week after Semana Santa has not been an enjoyable one what with going to classes, getting grades back and all the other horrible stuff which comes with being an Erasmus student. Naturally, we decided to book a little trip to cheer ourselves up and celebrate Rosie's birthday. Cabo de Gata has been on the year abroad bucket list for a while now so we booked a hostel and off we went. 

Cabo de Gata is a beautiful national park about 3 hours away from Granada. We got the bus to Almería and then another to Cabo de Gata. Our hostel was in San José which is in Cabo de Gata. I assumed it'd be easy enough to get from one place to another. Wrong. 

We arrived in Cabo de Gata, a sleepy town with no one about but a lone man at the bus stop, we asked him how to get to San José and he said we had to get the bus back to Almería and then another bus from there to San José as it turns out they're not the same place. We didn't like his idea so instead we popped into a local bar and asked for a taxi number. The problem is that there were 5 of us and they generally only have 5 seater taxis. Luckily, the taxi driver read our minds and asked ¿sois pequeñas? (Are you small?). Yes, we said, very small. So he came and picked us up, the other 4 illegally squashed in the back and me in the front with my new best pal, Antonio. He even joined in with the selfies. He was a lovely man and told us all about the area on the half hour drive to San José. It was such a funny taxi journey, and it  was suddenly so worth getting the wrong bus from Almería. As we first set off he said, 'Si ves a la Guardia Civil, baja la cabeza!' (If you see the Guardia Civil, duck your head!). Of course, along these dusty and deserted roads there did just happen to be a Guardia Civil car on the side of the road. We panicked and they probably saw a lot of heads ducking...maybe we should of done a practice run of who was going to be the head-ducker. Luckily they didn't notice and in no time we were settled in our hostel. 

We picked very well, Albergue San José is a lovely hostel at only 12E a night and in a good location you really can't go wrong. It has lovely terraces with beautiful views and there were only a few other people staying there at the same time as us. The only suggestion I have is that they clarify as to what gender the bathrooms are for, turns out I'd been showering in the mens the whole weekend and I found out in an interesting way. 

We ate great food, drank great wine and it was the perfect weekend. The landscapes and beaches are incredible and so unspoilt which, for southern Spain, can be quite hard to come by. We swam in the very cold sea and stumbled across one or two very nudist beaches. Cabo de Gata would be great to revisit one day but perhaps with a car. You'd be able to access the more remote beaches that would take quite a while to get to on foot. The one we went to took us about 45 minutes to walk to over the mountains. We spent the afternoon in Almería on Sunday before jumping on the bus back to Granada which was a nice way to end the weekend, though somewhat sweaty when lugging a big rucksack around on your back...

Overall a great but tiring weekend. Luckily, we are in Spain and Thursday and Friday are bank holidays here in Granada. 3 day week and a big fat puente. Saturday is El Día de la Cruz which is set to be an explosion of colourful flowers throughout the city. ¡Viva España!

What a legend

San José

pale guiris

nudist beach

making Adele into a beautiful sirena

¡Viva España!

Spring has sprung

I have a week off uni  for Easter and the weather is beautiful, it's beginning to feel like spring with temperatures of summer. Although it's not 'hot' yet, it's certainly a comfortable weather for me, it's been mid-late twenties the past few weeks and I'm beginning to get scared for the unbearable temperatures which will come in June. I'm already on the antihistamines and factor 50...

Last weekend me and Rosie decided to go to  the beach in a town called Motril. It wasn't the most amazing beach in the world but it was about 13€ return on the bus and there was sun, sea and sand. The coolest thing about Motril is that, as it lies within the province of Granada, when we were on the beach and in the sea you could see the snowy mountains of the Sierra Nevada. 27 degree heat whilst looking at snow topped mountains was quite surreal but very unique. 

snowy mountains 

beer in the sun

This week I had a visit from my best friend Amy.  My favourite thing we did was the day she arrived, we trekked up to Mirador de San Miguel Alto where we sat on the famous wall where everyone sits, caught up and sipped wine whilst the sun set. The views are breathtaking and look right over the whole city. Another evening we went to a flamenco show which was, yet again, incredible. The times I have been before the singer has been male but this time she was female and it was a completely different experience. We had a perfect few days together and I'm so glad she got to visit.

El mundo a nuestros pies

 This week is also Semana Santa which is a pretty big deal in Spain. In England we just give chocolate eggs and eat hot cross buns (which I really miss). There are processions basically all day everyday in Granada and all throughout Spain. I went to one on Sunday with Maddy and Rosie and also caught a few whilst walking around with Amy. They really are incredible, photos don't really capture the experience. Tonight there is a procession in complete silence and the lights in the city are turned off. The only light comes from the candles that are held by the KKK cofradías.

The thought of going back to uni is, as always, not a nice one, how do they study in such heat? Another displeasing thought is how little of my year abroad is left. What can I do over summer to put off coming home? I love you England but I'm not ready to come back yet.