This post is probably going to be an amalgam of a few thoughts I’ve had in the past few days, but I guess that’s a good representation of this experience of studying abroad. So many things happen each day that it’s really hard to put it into words, but I’m going to try.
On Tuesday, our group went to El Albaicín, which is the neighborhood of Granada known for its beautiful view of the Arabic palace, La Alhambra. The best view in the neighborhood is from the Plaza de San Nicolas. I’ll admit, I absolutely loved the view. Lights kept La Alhambra lit up even after sunset, and on either side of the palace I could see the snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains or the entire spread of the city of Granada. It was truly one of the most beautiful things I think I will ever see.
The view from La Plaza de San Nicolas
The view from La Plaza de San Nicolas
When I was trying to decide where to study abroad, I actually wasn’t originally very attracted to Spain, but I can’t explain how glad it is that I’ve come here. Everything about the lifestyle is appealing. The weather (a mild 60 today), the food (basically everything from the sea), the history, the culture of tapas and siesta. I didn’t think Spaniards actually took siesta, kind of like how I’m pretty sure rabbits don’t even eat carrots and dogs don’t bury bones, but they definitely do. When your largest meal is in the middle of the day, the 3pm slump is easily fixed with a nice nap. This leisurely, hedonistic lifestyle is probably why Spain has one of the longest life expectancies in the world. Ramiro also tells us its largely due to the Mediterranean diet of olive oil, wine, and fresh fish.
Then I compare this lifestyle to America, and I am truly baffled by why anyone would choose to live there. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been more relaxed than I have been since I was probably 8 years old. We have this culture of doing everything all the time, but Spaniards are comfortable with a little downtime, a little unproductivity. Spaniards take the time to appreciate their lives instead of just live it, and I see this difference between the Americans and Spaniards in the microcosm of the way that people acted both at the Plaza de San Nicolas and La Alhambra.
At the Plaza de San Nicolas, faced with possibly one of the best views in Spain, our tour group immediately began snapping pictures for Instagram and Facebook as if to not record the moment is to have the moment never have happened. I’m not saying that there weren’t other people snapping pictures, there definitely were, but I noticed the Spaniards sat and just looked with their eyes, not through a lens. They listened to the guitar players and just watched, meanwhile we snapped a few pictures, checked the Plaza de San Nicolas off our list and went on to the next site.
One of the reflecting pools at La Alhambra
I’d be hypocrite if I said I didn’t take pictures, but I made sure when I went to La Alhambra to take only a few and instead to soak it into my memory naturally. I touched the ivory walls carved into intricate patterns, smelled the greenery of the gardens, listened to the fountains drop water onto the long pools, and observed the angled archways and Arabic script. I made sure to listen to Ramiro our guide, who was an abundance of knowledge about the sultans who lived there and explained that Carlos V, wanting to reinvigorate the area with Christianity, mimicked the Roman style, building over part of the Arabic Alhambra. I can’t say that all of my fellow classmates were listening while they snapped hundreds of pictures.
It’s not easy to be present in a moment. At home, I would say between our phones, computers, and TV we’re present maybe 10% of the time. Travel is exhausting, because it demands that you’re present the whole time. I know that there will be times when I take too many pictures or watch a little too much American TV, but I think it’s really important as much as possible to experience life first hand and not just through the memories of photographs.