¡Granada!

This week started out on such a high note! Coming off of a World Cup victory, the Spain National Team flew back to Madrid the day after and celebrated their win with a big parade! We got a very close-up view of the players (and of Lamine Yamal holding up the World Cup trophy)! I've been a FC Barcelona fan for such a long time so getting to see these players up close was one of the most surreal experiences. The parade ended at Cibeles Fountain where the team had a celebration filled with fun player introductions and live music. Watching Spain win the World Cup while actually being there was an unforgettable moment.

The highlight of this week was our trip to Granada. I've been to Granada before, but we got a very in-depth tour of some of the city's sights that were so interesting to see and learn about. My favorite site was the Alhambra, which was a palace and fortress during the time of cross-cultural interactions in Spain, specifically the prevalence of Islam. Inside, we saw both Arabic calligraphy and Kufic script inscribed along the walls. I read and write Farsi, so it was interesting to be able to phonetically read out a tiny bit of Arabic calligraphy!

We also had the opportunity to explore the other cultural components of Granada, such as the teahouses and Flamenco shows. The teahouse was so nice to experience. The different teas we tried we incredible (as was the baklava), and the furniture and lighting were very much meant to appear Islamic in design. After the teahouse, we watched a Flamenco show which was amazing. The dancers and musicians were incredible, and we watched it inside of a cave. The setting was very intimate because we sat alongside the walls and watched them dance along the center.

On another note, one thing I absolutely loved about Granada was the way they gave out free tapas with any drink order! I absolutely love it in Madrid, but it was nice to experience another city in Spain for a few days.

It feels so bittersweet that this is our final week in this program! I've had such an amazing time here so far and will be sad to leave it. However, I can't wait for all of the exciting things I get to do in the final week of the program!