Semana Santa

The week leading up to Easter in Spain is called Semana Santa, and is celebrated with elaborate religious processions every day throughout the city. Andalucia, and especially Sevilla and Granada, is the most famous part of Spain for this week, so I decided to stay put for my week off from school to soak up the culture (and avoid the spiked airline fees during this time). Here’s how I’ve been spending my free time:

My terrace has been encouraging a serious red-wine habit, as my friend Mauna and I have been spending several evenings sipping Mercadona’s finest while taking in the setting sun and/or rain. I freaked out the other day when I thought about returning to the U.S. without being able to enjoy an evening glass in such a serene setting, but then realize that I did in fact turn 21 here, and will in fact be living on the ocean next year…I’ll have to splurge a bit more than 99 cents on each bottle back home, though.

On Wednesday I visited my friend Javi in his hometown of Almuñécar, a city on the beach about an hour from Granada. I left my piso in the morning in the pouring rain, and arrived at the coast to pure sunshine and crisp Mediterranean water. Javi picked me up at the bus station on his moto, and it was the first time I’ve ever ridden a motorcycle/vespa/2-wheeled vehicle. Although I sort of thought I was going to fall off the whole time, I have to say it was a thrill, much to my parents horror, I’m sure. At the end of the day I actually convinced Javi to let me drive it. After he eventually consented, he showed me how to use it. I was just about to take it out when the whole thing started falling over, almost crushing me before Javi and his friend Luis came to my rescue. After that I decided it was best to keep it parked.

In Almuñécar we walked through the city, ate some great seafood tapas, had coffee on the ocean front, and met Luis in another café which serves board games along with drinks. I, the foreigner, won our game of Spanish Taboo (we’ll look over the fact that I got double the time each round). My time in Almuñécar was really relaxing and fun, and it was just another reminder of how much I’m loving my time abroad and the friends I’m meeting along the way.

The beach at Almuñécar

One Wednesday night I returned to Granada in time to see one of the most famous processions of the whole week, led by the Gypsies through the Sacromonte neighborhood. It was pretty impressive, with hundreds of musicians and hooded figures holding up massive sacred floats. It seemed like the whole city turned out to Sacromonte to see the procession. Being from the U.S., however, these processions are somewhat unsettling, because the participants dress up like this:

The first day that I saw children and adults parading in these outfits, I was seriously shocked, until I realized the KKK and Semana Santa are in no way affiliated. Still, every time I went outside and happened to cross paths with a small child dressed in a pointy hat, I was a little taken aback. 

A procession during Semana Santa

On Thursday one of my new roommates, Pitu, returned from the break along with her English boyfriend Alex and his parents. I hung out with all of them for hours, and they were all so generous. We sipped gin and tonics and discussed all sorts of things—I felt like a civilized British lady. I can already tell that I’m going to get along so well with Pitu—she’s incredibly welcoming and makes me feel right at home.

On Friday I headed off to Almeria (the province East of Granada) to stay with my friend Alina and her family for the weekend. When I pulled into the bus station Alina and her dad Jose were already waiting for me, and they brought me on a driving tour of the whole city, including beautiful views of the beach and Mediterranean. We then went to her house where her mom had lunch waiting, and in traditional Spanish style, we stuffed ourselves and spent hours and hours chatting. This is now the third family I’ve visited in Spain, and I don’t know what it is with this country, but each and every one has been absolutely amazing. They’ve all welcomed me in with open arms and cared for me as though I were one of their own. My time at Alina’s, however, felt different because my level of Spanish has notably improved from my other visits, so I could really understand, joke, and tell stories with the family.


The weekend was everything I wanted it to be—relaxing, relaxing, eating delicious food, spending time with such great people, and relaxing some more. Alina keeps telling me she feels like she was a bad hostess because we didn’t do much (which was my choice—I’ve forgotten I’m a homebody at heart) but I can’t tell her enough times that when you’ve been away from your own home for almost 8 months, simply being in one with such a wonderful family is all I wanted to do. I can go out to tapas, discotecas, and see all the old buildings I want to in Granada, but only on rare occasions am I so lucky to bask in such unimaginable hospitality and have real conversations with moms, dads, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles….you get the point. Plus, there’s nothing like spending two nights on a good quality mattress.

This week has been great, but now it’s back to the grind. Well, what little grind there is here in España!