Remember last time when I said that there will be bad days, well I didn’t exactly have a bad day, but I did feel my first wave of homesickness and feeling down about myself and my progress. And it’s all because of a sandwich…let me explain.
El Catedral Real in Granada
Our group is spending a week in Granada, which is in the southern tip of Spain, where we will be touring the famous Alhambra and Catedral Real (Royal Cathedral) as well as taking intensive Spanish classes. A taxi was to pick us each up at our residences to take us to meet the rest of the group at the bus station. My taxi came early, and I was already nervous about bringing to much or too little on the trip, so I got all flustered trying to get out of the apartment quickly without waking the sleeping family.
Of course, as soon as I was dropped off at the bus station, I realized that I had forgotten to take the bocadillos (sandwiches) that Gloria packed me for the trip out of the refrigerator. My stomach dropped, because I knew what I had done would be perceived as incredibly rude. She had gone to all the trouble to make them, and I hadn’t even brought them. I had no way of contacting her, so I left for a trip knowing I had just offended her in some way.
Just this small thing opened the floodgates to all the rest of my negative irrational thoughts. I suddenly felt alone and missed my mom terribly, and the scary things about those types of thought are that they are toxic. I can’t go home, not for at least 5.5 months, so it’s unproductive to even let those thoughts in. I literally just need to fake it until I make it.
I tried to enjoy the bus ride, which was surprisingly nice with plush leather seats, TVs on the back of every seat, and a bus attendant serving meals. I plugged in my “Spain” playlist and tried to think of all the amazing things I had done the previous day.
I had explored Puerta del Sol, the most popular area for tourists, with quaint cafes on every street, and tiendas (stores) of every kind: carnicerías (meat shops), dulcerías (candy shops), pastelerías (pastry shops), etc. Ramiro pointed out to us the oldest restaurant in the world, Botín, dating back to 1725 as well as the Mercado de San Miguel, which features tapas of every kind, sangria, and wholesale food items as well.
El Parque de Retiro at sunset
Lunch back at the homestay was paella and ensalada con granada (salad with pomegranate), and for dessert pan de jengibre (gingerbread) left over from the German Christmas market that was in town a couple weeks before. It feels like life here can be boiled down to just the time between meals, so I spent that time trying to walk off a few calories in El Parque de Retiro with a couple friends whose homestays are nearby. The sunset cast on the monuments and the pond in the park made everything feel even more aweing.
Dinner was my favorite: mejillones (mussels) and tortilla de patatas (a baked potato dish). Pretty much the whole day had been perfect, so I really tried to focus on these thing instead of the forgotten bocadillos.
Mejillones, tortilla de patatas, and ensalada with my host family
That day after the bus ride I would go on to explore the narrow, Islamic-influenced streets of Granada where small storefronts sell beautiful mosaic glass lamps and Hamsa jewelry. I would stay and watch the sunset on the Renaissance style façade of the Catedral Real, which stands out in style. I would eat one of the best dinners of my life—tapas, tapas, y más tapas.
I’ve gotten closer with a few of the people on the trip, and I’m feeling slightly, only slightly, more comfortable in my Spanish. It’s been such an amazing experience so far, that I shouldn’t let one bocadillo bring me down.