Grrrrranada

After about two weeks, my days in Granada became pleasantly routine. Up at 9, class at 9:30, out at half past 12. I used the time between the end of class and lunch at 3:30 to wander, sometimes stumbling upon a funky clothing store or, more interestingly, a fruteria with unidentifiable produce. Sometimes I would sit in the Puerta Real, one of the main plazas, and attempt to translate the slang which uniquely-dressed teenagers use in everyday conversation. After a leisurely lunch, my siesta would last until around 6, when I would either meet the group for an activity or go out for helado. Before doing either of these, I liked to employ the use of the fascinating coffee maker for a small, intense cup of (decaf) joe. Carmen’s son had to show me how to use it because before I realized its use, I had no clue as to what kind of kitchen appliance it actually is. The coffee and the water go in the bottom half, and as it brews, the liquid defies gravity flowing up the skinny spout. The dark coffee then spills out of the holes of the spout and into the top part of the machine. What’s left is an intense drink, screaming for sugar and milk. Great after a siesta!
My favorite group activities of the second half of the program were seeing a Spanish movie, going to an Arab teteria, playing soccer under the million-degree sun on a concrete field, seeing a Flamenco show in a very neat area of the city, and having a “mid-term party” in Amalia (the program director)’s penthouse. The movie we saw was a comedy called “Fuera de Carta,” or “Outside the menu.” The title has multiple meanings, as the plot followed the complicated life of a gay chef. I understood about half of the words, but all of the emotion. Slapstick humor defies language barriers!
The Arab teteria where I had the most watery chocolate “milkshake” ever, was located in El Albaicin, the last remaining Arab neighborhood in Granada. There are a few, dimly-lit, Arabian-themed teterias in this area. Most have similar menus of about fifty different types of tea, juices, overpriced food, and these “milkshakes,” that I continue to put in quotes because they are only milkshakes in name. I ordered the fab-sounding chocolate banana shake. But, what came was a glass of milk with a little Ovaltine-type powder, and hints of banana pulp. Other girls who fell for the same trick, expecting a cool-me-down ice cream drink, were also disappointed. Next time I’ll get tea.
The sun was so bright when we played soccer last week that I sweated my sunglasses off my nose. That was a little gross. Sorry.
The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Simmons, Diane Raymond, came for a short visit to see the program and meet the faculty. The second night she was here, we went to see a Flamenco show and have tapas afterward. The theater was in Sacromonte, the old gypsy neighborhood. Sacromonte is located on the side of a mountain filled with caves. Many years ago, the government pushed the gypsies to this area and they built houses around the caves. It has since been gentrified due to the wonderful location and view of the Alhambra. Chic restaurants, hotels, Flamenco theaters, and some residences now take up most of the mountainside. The gypsies have again been relocated.
The Flamenco was fun and lively, with much less group dancing than I thought. The climax of the performance is when the two best female dancers, the singer, and the Spanish guitar player stand in the middle of the stage in a half circle, improvising. One girl dances for a while, as the others cheer her on. Then, the next one dances completely different. Finally, the singer takes center stage and belts out his song. Every night, this part of the show is new, as it’s mostly improvisation. We went on a good night J.
To celebrate Dean Raymond’s presence, we had the traditionally end-of-program party in the middle. Amalia lives in an amazing penthouse apartment with a lovely balcony where we could look out over the city. She and her husband prepared a wonderful meal, beginning with olives, Manchego, and San Moreno soup, which is like gazpacho, but blended with bread to make it very thick and rich. Spanish tortilla, tuna empanada, salad, roasted peppers, bread, and Moroccan-spiced chicken made up the meal. Dessert was a soft almond cake and flan.
As I’m mentioning sweets, I believe now is a fine time to comment on Spanish desserts. To be honest, I just don’t think they are that good. Sure, I love the helado, but the pastries? Not so much. The cookies seem a little dry, the cakes could use more flavor, and oftentimes I think flan needs more oomph, like a kick of liquor or heavy syrup. The exceptions to this generalization make me change my mind, but they are so rare. I’ll stick to the cheese platter for dessert here.