In which Andy just sums it up and gets it over with (part 1)

Sitting in a square in the Albacine neighborhood,
with the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevadas in the background

Well, it seems we've come to an impasse as it were. There's a lot happening nowadays that I can't get write about in the blog until I finish up the backlog of stuff I have to write about, and I can't catch up on what I still need to finish! So, inspired by a recent post by a fellow Fulbrighter in Bavaria, I figured I'd just get it over with. It seems a little ridiculous to write about March halfway through May anyway. As a substitute for words I'll put up a bunch of photos (they tell the story quicker and better than I can at any rate).

A view of the Sierra Nevadas.

1) Spain. Granada was the next stop after Brussels, which is on the Southern coast of Spain (close to Malaga if you can find that on a map). One of my fellow Voicestreamers, Shannon (who is actually the soloist in this post, was studying abroad there for the semester, and I figured--since I had the time and inclination--that I'd head down there and visit! In short, Spain absolutely blew me away. Granada is right in the middle of the beautiful Sierra Nevadas, and the city itself is amazing. Plus it was really great seeing an old friend again! Some items on our itinerary: standard sightseeing around the city, tapas, a hike around the nature area near the Alhambra castle, a trip to nearby Nerja to lay out on the beach, among other things. I had an awesome time, and really want to see more of the country after having gotten this introductory glimpse into it.

The beach at Nerja.

2) The Fulbright Conference. At the end of my travels was the week-long Fulbright Conference in Berlin. Each year the Fulbright Commission hosts a conference for all the grantees in Germany, as well as all of the grantees in European countries. That is to say--four days of dinners, panels, concerts, and networking with some ridiculously smart people. It was a great opportunity to see everyone that I had met at orientation again and compare notes on how our experiences had gone. Activities included: some absolutely phenomenal dinners and breakfasts totally gratis (drinks included!), panel discussions with various figures in the Transatlantic political scene, a Q&A with the mayor of Berlin (especially cool to see), the opportunity to meet and chat with the German grantees going to America next year, and a concert featuring Fulbright grantees and alumni.

Street art in Granada.
The city is particularly famous for it.

A small town on the side of the road
between Granada and Nerja

The Park Inn Hotel in Berlin, where the
conference was held.

Me with Kiersten and Karl, fellow Fulbrighters.

Enjoying some street beers on the edge of the fountain in
Alexanderplatz, close to the hotel.

A shot of Albacine neighborhood.

Outdoor spice market!

3) Voicestream comes to visit! After all that running around I had about a week and a half to rest and recuperate, and then some current Voicestreamers all came to visit me in Hamburg! Willie and Casey (who were studying in London) and Shannon all came up for the weekend, stayed at my place, and we all got to reunite and do a little sight seeing! I had joked around with them back in Ithaca about doing a reunion trip like that, and it was so cool that we put a weekend together and actually did it! They hadn't seen each other since the previous semester either, so it was a great opportunity for us all to get back together and catch up. I took them to my school to introduce them to some classes, did my classic, well rehearsed Hamburg city tour with them, blew their minds with Currywurst and other German delicacies, and generally just had an awesome time and rehashed many tried and true ICVS stories and inside jokes.

Willie taking a picture in the park.

All of us in the observation deck of St. Michel.