The beach

I guarantee this is going to be one of the most fun and exciting summers of your life. We’re going to do stuff like going to the beach, of course! We’re going to go hiking in the Alpujarras of the Sierra Nevada mountains and go out for tapas (In Granada, and only in Granada, they’re free!).

The Alhambra

We’ll take a tour of the ancient Moorish palaces of the Alhambra. You won’t believe your eyes when you see the Alhambra. You’ll think you’ve stepped straight into a fairy tale land. By the way, did you know that the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, California was modeled after the Alhambra!

When you first get here, I’ll show you around downtown Granada. We’ll visit the cryptic Albayzin district, the ancient Arabic part of town, and catch a flamenco show while we’re there. We might also visit the caves of the Sacromonte where the mysterious gypsies live.

Free tapas in Granada

And while there’s no cooler place to be than Granada, we’re going to take trips to other places around Spain, too. We’ll head over to Sevilla to see the Giralda and the Reales Alcázares. On our trip to Córdoba we’ll take a tour through the Mezquita, the largest and most well-preserved Muslim mosque in Europe. Later we may stop by Madrid to check out the Prado Museum or maybe pop over to Barcelona to see the architecture of Gaudí.

And all this is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much to do in Granada that I guarantee you’ll never have dull moment. During the day you can experience the dramatic spectacle of a bullfighting match or chill out in the mellow atmosphere of an Arabic tea house or hookah bar. At night you can hit the nightclubs till the sun comes up and then grab some churros with chocolate sauce for breakfast before hitting the hay.

In class at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas

Wanna delve deeper into Spanish culture? Come to the intercambio, a GSE party where we bring the GSE group together with Spanish students to mix it up. Or if you’re interested in picking up some new skills, you can take classes to learn to dance Sevillanas, play flamenco guitar or cook Spanish food.

Julia Aguilar, GSE Program Director in Granada, Spain

Oh, and I almost forgot… Through the classes at the Modern Languages Center of the University of Granada you’ll master the Spanish language and take home not only a certificate and transcripts for those college credits but also an impressive bullet point for your résumé.

Long story short, you’re going to have one of the most amazing summers of your life.