The Year Without Rafa

On Today's Menu: The Topic of Tennis

I didn't watch Wimbledon this year. I didn't see it on TV, didn't watch any live action feed on the internet, didn't read anything in the papers...nada. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is...well, it's a big deal. I haven't missed Wimbledon since I was twelve years old; come to think of it I haven't missed any grand slam tournaments since I was twelve. But Wimbledon...you must understand that in the world of tennis, Wimbledon is the paramount, it brings out the best of the best, the cream of the crop, it is the Mother Tournament of all tournaments. If you are a tennis fan in any way, shape or form, you don't miss out on Wimbledon. You just don't. It's like an unspoken rule.

I didn't want to miss it. If I was home, I would have spent the entire fortnight glued to the television set, spent every morning flipping feverishly through pages of any newspaper I could find, talking about it with anyone who will listen (which is pretty much limited to my Dad), made sure my DVR never stopped recording, and then set into motion the plan of spending the following weeks reviewing said recorded matches. Yes, I am that pathetic. You have more than enough reason to worry.

Anyway, my obvious reason for missing Wimbledon this year is because I am in Spain...where no one cares about tennis. Alright, I'll admit that last statement was a bit erroneous. Everyone here knows who Rafael Nadal is, mostly because he is a Spaniard and is (well, was) world number one, therefore they know a little bit about tennis. For instance, anytime someone asks me about my interests, I halfway get the word "el tenis" out and they immediately respond: "Oh, then you are a fan of Nadal?" They always say Nadal. It's a logical question, but I'm not convinced that means they know the game or who any of the other players are since there are at least five other Spaniards in the top 30. 

In all honesty people, I had trouble deciding how to feel about Wimbledon this year. It's my favorite tournament and if I was home I would certainly have gone through my yearly Wimbledon ritual. But this year seemed so predictable. I hate it when it's predictable. It's boring. The Friday before the tournament started, Rafa, who I will admit is at the top of my list of favorite players, pulled out with a knee injury...stupid knees...so disappointing. That was when I predicted who would win: Roger Federer. It was a no brainer. Rafa is Roger's only vice. When there is no Rafa, Roger always wins. Roger is the perfect player...I have watched him play since he began his career and the only time I have ever seen him flench is when Rafa is on the opposite side of the net. Against any other player he is so cool and so confident. I think that's why I like Rafa so much. He throws Roger off guard and shakes things up so much you just don't know what's going to happen.  But this year...no Rafa...hello predictions...I was right. (Side note: when Rafa pulled out I decided to pull for Andy Roddick, another on my list...did pretty well with that prediction, too).

I sound like a crazy, obsessed fan. If I had the same amount of interest in football, I would be the one wearing the official team jersey, jacket and hat embroidered with the team logo, waving around a big foam finger with one hand and blowing a foghorn with the other. When I found out Federer won today I was with my roommate and I was kind of disappointed about it (which is bad because it was such an historic moment in tennis). I started to tell her about it and stopped halfway through because I didn't want to scare her, but she was actually impressed...or so she said. She told me, "I have never seen anyone as passionate as you are. You take faith and things you are interested in so personally. You keep saying obsession, it looks more like passion to me." She continued on saying that I actually didn't come across as one of those "annoying lunatic fans" but more like someone who "sees a purpose and is passionate." I wasn't really sure what she meant by that last statement, and I really didn't know what to say. I just took it as a compliment and moved on to the next topic.

Anyway, you most likely understand now how much I like Wimbledon. I like Roger. It's hard to not like him. He's a classy guy and an incredibly gifted athlete. He placed a milestone in the tennis world today. I hate that I missed it...

Here is, though, the greatest thing about Wimbledon: There is always next year. I will be there...and hopefully Rafa will be, too.

Day 6

On Today's Menu: Experiencing Granada

I have been in Granada for six days now. My roommate and I were just talking about how it seems like we have been here longer than that...I think that is because this week has required us to adopt our respective daily routines. Now that we are comfortably situated into our "homes" and have regular eating hours, regular class hours, etc. we are all in agreement that our little vacation in Madrid seemingly happened a month ago. 

I like Granada. I hasn't really been too difficult to adjust to...not for me, anyway. Of the seven girls in my group, only two of us have travelled outside the United States (myself being one of them), and two others have never travelled outside of their home state. So, this is a whole new experience for them. For me, Granada is a typical European town: small cafes, narrow roads, crazy drivers, the usage of Euros...but it does have its own Spanish flare. Sometimes the high, wide mountains remind me of California, but the random billboards cut out in the shape of bulls indicate that I'm somewhere very different. I like it. 

Granada

Yesterday we visited the Alhambra, located in the northern region of Granada. This magnificent palace is what puts Granada on the map. It was the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, so the architecture is purely Arabic and so incredible I decided that pictures really can't do it justice. I tried...

Alhambra

but I'm not sure I succeeded. I do know that it was very, very, VERY hot. It is a different kind of hot here than the hot you experience in Kentucky. At home when you walk out the front door to go to your car you feel like you might suffocate before you get there. Here, there is no humidity...it's awesome. However, since Spain is at such a high altitude, the sun is so much closer. It feels like it is sitting right above your head and you can actually feel your skin burning. I understand now why they have become so accustomed to siesta time. That kind of heat just wears you out. 

Anyway, so far Granada is making a very good impression on me.

ESPAÑA

On Today's Menu: Catching Up....

I can't seem to get it to stick in my head that I'm in Spain. I'll be reading or brushing my teeth or doing any number of normal activities and all of a sudden I remember: "Oh right, I'm in Spain!" It's an odd feeling...I've been dreaming, planning, saving, working, etc. for so many months now, it's an indescribable sensation to actually live out a dream. 

On my way here I had a seven hour layover in Boston and another shorter layover in London. The whole experience was nerve wracking: I had to switch airlines, find my way around two very large airports I had never been in before, and try my best to suppress the anxiety mounting in my chest. The flight from Boston to London helped to ease my nerves as I ended up sitting next to a girl about my age who is a student at Yale University and is also studying in Spain for six weeks. We took turns expressing our true feelings on the situation and eventually found some level of peace as we moved on to other topics such as: favorite movies, music, and our thoughts on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody".

I arrived in Madrid Tuesday morning, local time, beyond exhausted and more than ready for a shower. I met another API student as I was going through customs and we eventually met our program directors at a small cafe inside the airport. There are fifteen people in the API Summer 2 program, seven of us arrived on Tuesday and the other eight are students participating in both summer sessions, so they were already in Granada. 

My little band of seven stayed in Madrid through Friday and left for Granada late that afternoon after a brief visit to Toledo, which is located just outside Madrid. It was a good couple of days...very busy and exciting. We went to the Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Palacio Real, Museo del Prado, Plaza de La Cibeles, walked La Gran Vía, ate lunch in Jardín Botánico, and more. It really is a beautiful city...

My hotel was located right in the heart of the city, next to Puerta del Sol, which I was facing when I took the above picture from the balcony of my room. There was a lot of construction going on so it wasn't too pretty, but still exciting to see. I thought the hotel was in a great location since we could get anywhere we wanted rather quickly. Most everyone here either walks or uses public transportation, so we walked everywhere we went and I really started to regret only bringing sandals. 

Palacio Real

Since I have only been here a couple days and have only experienced touristy activities, I'm still in the 'Honeymoon Phase' as my API directors call it. Now the honeymoon is over and I have moved on to Granada where I will jump into the next phase: settling into my dorm, beginning school, and dealing with the inevitable experience of culture shock. Stay tuned because I have a feeling things are about to change in the coming week...

Into the garbage chute, fly boy!

On Today's Menu: Becoming a Princess!

A couple weeks ago, I was introduced to a gentleman who lives in Madrid and is currently training to be an ambassador for Spanish students interested in studying at Western Kentucky University. I was fortunate enough to sit down for a meal with him and two of his Portuguese friends and learn a little bit about Spain and the European lifestyle in general. He was most informative...so much so that by the end of the conversation I felt my head was reeling and I that I would need to take a day off in order to sort through all the information rolling around in my brain. 

It was fun...I love new experiences, new people, new cultures, new restaurants (that was some good eating). Carlos must have felt the same way because he was curious about my lifestyle as much as I was his. He was fascinated by my name. Leah. Pretty simple name, I think. Apparently not that common in Spain. I'm not sure how common it is over here...now that I'm thinking of it, I guess it isn't one you hear too often. He kept saying it over and over, with a slight chuckle each time. It was, of course, said with a Spanish accent; so the pronunciation isn't what I am used to hearing. Instead it's amazingly close to the pronunciation of the one and only Princess any Sci-Fi lover, movie goer...well pretty much anyone who has been around since the year 1977...knows and loves. He went on and on describing the enormous obsession Spaniards have with Star Wars and then told me that: should I run into trouble, I should just shout out my name and "everyone will stop in awe of you." What makes it even better, he said, is the last name Powers...that's just going to blow them all away. Good stuff, I told him, but I seriously doubt that anyone will mistaken me for Luke Skywalker's twin sister. I just can't get my hair to stay in those bun thingies.

Well, Carlos is back in Spain now but I took his phone number and address with the hope that I can meet up with him at some point while I am there. It's comforting to know that I have someone to contact if I need to. He told me a lot of things, shared a few of his culture-shock stories, encouraged me to visit certain places and try out certain foods...but his best advice, which came out of experience, was this: studying and preparing is good, but the only way to really learn and grow is to just jump in. "Don't go back, just jump in and go for it. Remember this princess. That's what she would do." CLICK ME.

*Special thanks to George Lucas for making this metaphorical moment possible.

Say What??

On Today's Menu: Diagnosing

 

Yesterday I took my diagnostic language test online. I've been needing to take it for some time now but I was putting it off until I felt that I had found a moment of true bravery....yeah, well, that moment didn't come, so yesterday I decided to just go ahead and take it so I could get it off my mind. Apparently this test is designed to help API determine my level of understanding so that they can place me in the right classes once I get to Granada. For me, however, all it did was encourage the unrelenting flutters of the butterflies existent in my stomach. Fortunately it wasn't a long test, but it did include an ample amount of grammar and vocabulary I am not familiar with. 

I felt relatively comfortable with the reading portion. My orientation packet from API included a list of links to Spanish websites, so I have been following some Spanish newspapers online for the past few weeks and have found that I can translate enough to understand what's going on. (Take a look if you like: http://www.granadahoy.com/ is the site for Granada's local paper; and http://www.marca.com/ is a sports page I have glanced at a time or two). 

The verb conjugation and listening exercises were the two areas I really fought with. For one thing, there were no directions regarding the exercises. I was only given a list of sentences and I assumed I had to fill in the blanks with the correct conjugation of whatever verb I believed best fit with each sentence. Second of all, I'm not used to the Catalan Spanish dialect where 'c' is pronounced as 'th' and 'z' sounds more like 's'. I'm more accustomed to the Hispanic dialect that we hear in the States, which is spoken slower and with less slurring. Basically what I'm saying is, I can't understand spoken Spanish for anything...which I'm thinking could be a problem in the coming weeks...

Well, one thing is for sure - this is going to be an interesting adventure!

Two Weeks Notice

On Today's Menu: Orientating.

As of today, I have exactly two weeks left before I leave for Spain. That's right. Two weeks. This week I am working my way through an online orientation program and will be taking a diagnostic placement exam after completing orientation. 

So far there has been a massive amount of information on culture shock and adjustment. It sounds a little overwhelming. According to the speaker, (the program includes interactive video!) it typically takes a student a minimum of three to four months to adjust to a new culture and to begin to get a grip on the language. I will only be there until August, which is not even two months...so...I don't really know what to think about that. 

My advisor told me last fall when I applied to API that a six week class is the best way to begin a language program like the one I am interested in. These six weeks are good exposure and will help me decide if this really is the direction I want to go in, she said. I thought that was good advice, and I still do. I know myself well enough to know that I love to travel and experience new culture, people, language, etc. That being said, I already plan to begin applying to the various schools that offer such programs upon my return in August. I suppose it is still possible that I would hate this experience and completely change my mind, but I kind of doubt it.

Life Underground

On Today's Menu: Reminiscing

 

Lower Glide. That was the name of the hall on which I was assigned to my freshman year at Asbury College. It's pretty plain. Gray carpet. White cinderblock walls. Wooden doors. It can get pretty cold in the winter months. It can get pretty gross when the silverfish decide to come out for the spring season. It has a funky, moldy, musty smell that isn't afraid to hit anyone who dares to open the entrance door; and it certainly isn't considered unnatural to find a furry friend or two.

It's called Lower Glide because it is one of many halls in Glide-Crawford dormitory and it is technically considered a basement; which explains its slight situation underground. The halls above look completely different. More natural light. Less cinderblock. No weird smells and each room has their very own thermostat. At first glance Lower Glide doesn't look like much. And it certainly generated no valuable impression on me when I arrived as a freshman. Even now it really isn't all that impressive. Not much has changed, mostly just the students living there. 

When I was a student, my hallmates and I took so much pride in our hall. We did things like, decorate for the holidays by building Christmas trees out of Ale8 bottles, make a few too many hall t-shirts and devote possibly a little too much time to intramural football. We made the best out of the cinderblock and carpet; and the funky moldy stink became the smell of home.

But this isn't about a hall. It's about the people that made the hall. 

I hate sounding so commonplace, but it must be said. I spent last weekend in Louisville reuniting and reminiscing with my hallmates, my fellow "Undergrounders," as we still call ourselves, even though most of us probably haven't stepped foot on that hall in years. But it wasn't really about a hall. It was about the friendships made, the bonds forged, the knowledge that our unity can't be broken. 

I spent most of the weekend watching everyone around me. It was obvious that we have and are all moving in different directions, trudging down our own paths, pursuing our individual passions. It seems like a sad thought, but in actuality it isn't. It's captivating and magnificent that we can continue forward without loosing what we once had. My favorite moment came when we all sat down in a big circle and each person shared a little on what they have been up to since our last meeting. It was a unique experience, sitting with these wonderful women, looking back at what we were, looking presently at what are, and looking forward to what we are to become.