Category: Semester in Spain Program – CCIS
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The Distance Between Then and Now: Seville, 1988–2025
Midday, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, Miami, Florida In the fall of 1988, I participated in the International College of Seville/College Consortium for International Studies’ Semester in Spain program. I lived and studied there for 12 weeks, immersing myself in the country’s history, government, culture, and (por supuesto) its language. At my home institution, Miami-Dade Community…
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3,000 Miles from Home: A Column from Spain
Originally published in Catalyst – February 2, 1989Written in Seville, Spain – November 1988By Alex Diaz-Granados, Columnist SEVILLE, Spain (CCIS Program)One of the most important aspects of an extended trip overseas, especially for young collegians studying abroad (like us here in Spain), is mail from home—and no ritual is more important than the daily search…
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Summer-like Springs, Rave Reviews, and Sleepless Nights
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Book Reviews, Books, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Life in Bogota, Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in Miami….Again, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Semester in Spain Program, Semester in Spain Program – CCIS, Spring 2025, Spring in FloridaAfternoon, Thursday, May 22, 2025, Miami, Florida Hi there! It’s one of those gloriously vibrant late spring days that feels like summer has arrived a bit early. The temperature is sitting at a toasty 94°F (34°C) under cheerful, mostly sunny skies—high for May, or at least higher than what I remember from my younger days…
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Time Marches On: Reflections on Turning 62…and Pushing the Novel Closer to Completion
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Beatriz Diaz-Granados, Creative Writing, Family History, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in Miami….Again, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Semester in Spain Program, Semester in Spain Program – CCISLate Morning, Thursday, March 6, 2025, Miami, Florida “Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened.” – Cora Harvey Armstrong Yesterday marked my 62nd orbit around the sun, and it was my first birthday celebration in Miami since 2015. Ten birthdays had passed since I last celebrated with family. My…
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On Blogs & Blogging: It’s Nice to Be Noticed – A Tempus Fugit Piece is Featured in a Sevilla-Based Study Abroad Program’s Blog!
Hello, again, Dear Reader. In my haste to write, edit, and publish my previous post, I totally forgot to mention a bit of good news. Not earthshakingly good news along the lines of “I met someone who is interested in dating me…” or “I shook off my irritating cold and wrote a review of Code…
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Tempus Fugit: Farewell and Adieu to You, Fair Spanish Ladies – Sevilla, 18 December 1988
But, I’m leavin’ on a jet plane Don’t know when I’ll be back again Oh babe, I hate to go. – John Denver, Leaving on a Jet Plane Another cold day in Florida…another weather-triggered memory brought on by low temperatures, beautiful morning skies, and a penchant for remembering anniversaries of events from the Land of…
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Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, December 17, 2022, or: Chilly Day in Tampa Bay Area Triggers Memories of Sevilla in 1988
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in Blogging, College Life, Family History, Florida Weather, Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in South Florida, Miami-Dade Community College, Miami-Dade Community College, Personal Thoughts, Semester in Spain Program, Semester in Spain Program – CCIS, Student Journalist, Student Newspaper, Winter in Florida“Fare thee well, and if for ever Still for ever fare thee well.” ― George Gordon Byron Today I woke up to an even chillier – by Florida standards, anyway – morning than I did the day before; the sun had only just risen, so it was still semi-dark outside, with temperatures in the low…
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Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, March 13, 2022, or: The ‘Spring Forward Madness’ Edition
Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s mid-afternoon here in Lithia, Florida, on Sunday, March 13, 2022. It is a cold-for-Florida spring day in the Tampa Bay area. Currently, the temperature is 66˚F (19˚C) under sunny skies. With humidity at 47% and the wind blowing from the northeast at 9 MPH (14 KM/H), the feels-like temperature is…
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October Reveries
“When you get homesick, it’s not something missing, it’s something present, a visit. People and places from far away arrive and keep you company for a while.” ― Erri De Luca, God’s Mountain Thirty-three Octobers ago, I was on the other side of the Atlantic, 4,362 miles from where I live now and 4,329 miles…
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Musings & Thoughts for Friday, December 18, 2020, or: My Last Night in Sevilla – December 1988
Hi, there, Dear Reader. It’s midafternoon on Friday, December 18, 2020. Here in New Hometown, Florida it is a cold late autumn day; currently, the temperature is 57˚F (14˚C) under sunny skies. With the wind blowing from the northeast at 8 MPH (13 KM/H) and humidity at 47%, the feels-like temperature is 57˚F (14˚C). The…
A Certain Point of View, Too 