Last Full Day In Granada

I have tons of emotions right now. Why is it that when you are going to leave somewhere, it just starts to feel like home? Everything is coming to a close. I started packing over the weekend, I wrote my last papers and finished my last finals today. Now all I have left to do is go out one more night in Granada, finish packing then I'm off to Madrid. I spend Wednesday and some of Thursday in Madrid and then I'm off to Italy. I think this trip is blinding some of my sadness for leaving Granada. I think it will start to sink in tomorrow and then when I get home to California. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to Vanessa my roommate and a couple other people around Granada. I really liked my program directors so it's sad to leave them too. But I am not going to be too sad to leave my family here, they were more like just around than friends. I guess it's easier that way.

Last weekend I saw my friend Victor play guitar with his friend at their concert at this local bar by our apartment. It was really cool seeing someone I know play a concert. It was small and intimate, but better that way. He put on a good show. I also ran around this weekend taking pictures of things around Granada. We also had our farewell dinner with our program. Today at school after finals, our university gave away free beer, wine and tapas. What a great country this is! (The photo is my school.)

Córdoba's Taste of Wine and Balcony Festival

Last weekend I went back to Córdoba for their 25th annual Cata del Vino (Wine Tasting) and the well-known Balcony Festival. These are two of Córdoba's most famous festivals. Initially I went for the day, leaving Granada at about 1pm, but decided later to stay the night in Sevilla with a friend. I met a few friends from Jaén in Córdoba for the wine tasting. The set up there was a bunch of tents with different local bodegas (wineries) where you can buy a pass that allows you to try up to five different wines. All the wines were either whites or sherry. I really liked one white from Hermanos Gracia. The weather was pretty dismal and it poured for about 10 minutes. We stayed there for a few hours then headed to Sevilla on the Renfe train. I love the Renfe because the scenery is beautiful and the train in really comfortable. When my friend Bonnie and I got to Sevilla, we went to her favorite tapas bar and had amazing steak tapas. Then we went out to Calle Betis, which famous for the bars where all the Americans go. Not my favorite but we met up with our friend who was having his 21st birthday. We all went bar hopping all night and eventually made it home. The next morning we had an early train ride back to Córdoba for the Balcony Festival. Residents decorate their walls and balconies with colorful potted plants and flowers. We saw one of my ISA Program directors there which was cool. The weather could have been better but we saw quite a few balconies and had another glass of wine before I headed back to Granada.

disabled weekend

This week has been a great effort. The problem with my ankle has proceeded to annoy me and become more painful because I am not exactly patient. This weekend was a 4 day Spanish holiday and also the Las Cruces weekend in Granada. This is special because the city is dotted with decorated crosses, music and flamenco. Everyone walks from cross to cross around the city. Todo el mundo (everyone) took tapas, drinks and ice cream. Naturally I had to join in the fun. I was depressed because I didn't want my foot to ruin the remaining time I have in Europe. The crosses were beautiful. I've spoken to a few Spaniards about it but none of them can tell me the significance of it. Oh well, another holiday to go out and about and enjoy the community and weather. Some friends of mine who teach English here in Spain and I went to Málaga again this weekend to catch some rays at the beach. It was gorgeous weather, but another annoyance for my ankle. I refuse to just sit in bed all day though. I hate using crutches because my hands are swollen and I go so slow. I just need everything to get better before Italy in less than 3 weeks. Last night I met some people from Italy and their friends from France. English was the one language we could all speak, although the Italians spoke Spanish as well. I think Italian is very close to Spanish and I can understand a little. I know I am not bilingual but I can confidently say that if someone speaks slow enough I can understand them and be able to respond. I just can't believe that I am only living in Spain a little longer and the next time I return I will be a tourist!

Ronda

I spent a few Saturdays ago in one of Andalucia's greenest cities. On the way, tall green grass moved like an ocean in the wind. Ronda is a place, like Granada, that was one of the last Moorish strong holds. The city is known for it's historic bridge, high cliffs and Arabic Baths. These baths were built centuries ago, but had advanced technology for the time. Donkeys would pull cranks that controlled the water pressure. They had many rooms for saunas, cold and hot baths and massages. They had areas for men and women. When the Christians came to invade Ronda and either drove out the Islamic Muslims or converted them, the baths were no longer used. The bridge now connects what is the modern city of Ronda to the old is vertically enormous. The middle of it used to be where extreme prisoners were held. The land and structures that Ronda is made up of sits on cliffs and overlooks gorgeous green valleys of rolling hills and beautiful flowers. There is also what looks like sandy rock that makes up the cliffs. Much of Andalucia is dry, but Ronda proves that there is more variety. Ronda is in the province of Málaga. It was the biggest and most important bull fighting city. The ring is now a museum dedicated to the history and culture of toreros (bull fighters) and the sport itself. We had a walking tour of the city and walked down the valley and then up again. We saw the white washed houses and so many great views. It's so crazy to think how old these places are and the lengthy history behind them. Christians gained control in Spain in 1492 and Ronda was already a bustling pueblo before that. I'll upload photos later!

Today Vanessa and I went to Garcia Lorca Park in Granada. The park is so varied and has a lot of beautiful landscape. Our señora said roses should be blooming soon. There is outside exercise machines, a small pond, fountains, a lot of grass and trees. From the park, Granada seems much prettier. You can see the snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevadas. The weather here is perfect. Sunny and warm.

Lagos. Portugal

This was one of my top three most fun trips while abroad. The wonderful combination of beach, beauty, fun people and parties was just what I called for. My adventure started early Thursday morning when I caught the three hour bus ride to Sevilla. My good friend Krystle studies there. Her señora let me stay there for free again. I got to Sevilla at about noon and went out on my own and saw some more of the city. Since I was there two weeks prior I kind of knew my way around. I went to another park, the Santa Cruz Barrio and Sevilla's Cathedral. The Cathedral has a tall tower that you can climb to see a 360-degree view of the city. Thirty-four ramps later, I made it to the top and snapped some pretty cool pictures. You can even see the river from up there! When I got down, Krystle and I met up and did some shopping, though I didn't buy anything, Sevilla has a lot of options for that! The weather was so nice, around 85 degrees. Things were looking up for Lagos. After that we went to an old Turk castle taken over by Christians and looked at their beautiful gardens. It was free which was nice. We went for drinks by the river since it was such a beautiful day. At about 8 or 9 we went home to get ready for a night a a discoteca called Buddha. There are three floors there: the first has hookahs and couches for people who aren't inclined to dance, the second floor was Spanish music and third was American. We danced on both floors. Thursday nights are known to be the most popular there and it was packed. We got home at about 6am. The next morning we left for Lagos on our 10am bus. We went with a company called Discover Sevilla which an American who studied abroad started. The trip was decent priced and they really made it easy. Everything except food was included. Even a beach party! Our bus ride was about 4 hours long and when we finally got there, I was stunned at the hotel. I have never stayed at a hotel that nice! The place had four pools, two outdoors, a sun roof terrace, gym, etc etc. Our room was a suite and we had a full kitchen. As soon as we got there we ran down to the beach. It was packed because about 250 people came with Discover Sevilla. The water wasn't bad and we played paddle ball and soccer. The beach has cliffs and rock formations. The weather was perfect. We stayed on the beach until about 8 and went back to the hotel for the best shower of my life! (I miss showers back home because the one I have here in Granada is the worst, maybe 20 drips per second.) We headed out with our group from the hotel to a cool local bar with a live band. We had burgers and great music. After that we all went to a party at a bar that played more music and it was all pretty wild. We met this Spanish guy wearing a costume and none of us really knew what it was or why. The next morning we woke up and went to the pool of our hotel and saw the same costume guy from the night before. He was there with 12 of his friends for his bachelor party weekend. All the guys were from Spain and most from Madrid. They were a blast! We all went down to our beach party where Discover Sevilla hooked it up with free beer all day. We played more soccer and swam. It was so much fun to be around Spanish people in Portugal. I actually missed Spain and knowing the language! There are words in Portuguese that are easily translated but it's a reminder again how hard it is to be clueless about a language. We took buses back to our hotel and ate the groceries that we bought for dinner. We hung out in the room with all our new friends, played music and cards. After that we took off for a another bar in Lagos. This is where the trip went bad for me. I tripped down the stairs and sprained my ankle really bad! It swelled up immediately, so painful. Krystle and two of the Spanish guys came back to the hotel with me and helped me ice it. They were all so nice and helpful. We ended up staying up really late and went to the early morning breakfast. Then I hit the sack, woke up and went to the pool. A friend I made on the trip was helping me ice my ankle and massaged it to check for any more serious problems. He made me feel so much better because I was feeling really down. That same day we left and made it back to Sevilla only to more bad luck for me. Our bus was late back to the city because of traffic and waiting on some people and I missed my bus back to Granada by about 10 minutes. I was reeling because I was stuck in Sevilla with an injury, a heavy bag and no place to stay. I couldn't stay with Krys again so I had to find a hostel. The first one I attempted was 85 euros. Things were not looking up. I got in a cab and told him to take me to one nearby and luckily they were open and had a room for 20 euro. The receptionist was so nice. He checked me in, gave me a room on the first floor, helped me with my luggage and gave me a wrap. Then next morning I got back on another bus to Granada. That was my crazy Lagos adventure!

Feria in Sevilla - pictures above!

Man do those Sevillans know how to party! Vanessa and I spent the two past days visiting friends in Sevilla. First I’ll explain a little about the city of Sevilla (Seville). It is the capitol of Andalucia (the Southern region of Spain) and I would estimate that the physical size of the city is four times the size of Granada. (I’ll refer to this again a little later.) It was a gorgeous big city with a major river dividing it. Sevilla is generally warmer than Granada because it isn’t surrounded by the Sierra Nevadas. There is an enormous park in the middle of the city that we toured around with my friend Krystle. The university buildings are beautiful old architecture and look like something religious with gothic design. But boy did we do a lot of walking. My feet actually hurt and I do a lot of walking in Granada every day. The city is lined with orange trees and has a lot of “paisaje” (landscape). I just loved it. Vanessa’s boyfriend Carlos was also in the city that week and we met his brothers and friends.
Feria is a festival in Spain that is right up there with the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Rich in tradition, it is a huge fair that is somewhat like the county or state fairs in the US. There are carnival rides with fair type food. I had two cotton candies! The other part of it is made up of “casetas” which are private tents that are rented out by families or groups. We got to go in a few through our friend Bonnie’s friends and Carlos’ brother’s friends. I’m glad we got to experience this part of Feria. Many bash this tradition because it is reserved for the privileged and if you don’t know anyone in Sevilla, you get left out of a lot of the fun. I agree, but I am glad we got to enjoy some time in the famous casetas. They varied quite a bit inside. Some were small and just had a dance floor, tables, a bathroom and a small bar. Others were enormous with a huge dance floor and long bar. We went in both. We drank a well-known Sevilla drink called Manzanilla. It is a type of white wine mixed with 7-up. Delicious! Our friends told us that it went down like water and I agree. After the casetas, we rode the bumper cars and this other crazy ride that made you feel weightless. I was shocked I didn’t get sick. It was a boat and you were locked at each end. It went up into a half circle and at the top you floated because of the pressure of going up and then falling down. It was so exhilarating, as well as the closet I’ll ever get to skydiving.
Carlos’s brother and his friends were awesome. They all spoke a little English. We all insisted that we would speak Spanish to them and they would speak English with us. It went really well and I had a great time talking with them! After this weekend hanging out with so many Spanish people, I really feel my Spanish has improved. To me, many people in Granada aren’t as open to foreigners but the people of Sevilla were so warm, helpful and excited to talk with us. It was refreshing. Bonnie’s friends were really nice too. None of them spoke English so it was a little more of a struggle, but when they spoke directly to me and a little slower, I probably got about 85 percent.
Another great aspect of Feria was the Flamenco style. The traditional “traje de Flamenco” are colorful dresses with various prints. Some were red with white polka dots, others were neon green garnished with blue ribbon. Many women wore flowers on the tops of their perfect hair or picks with cool designs. There were huge dangling earrings of all colors and fringed shawls. They all had their makeup done and looked gorgeous. Women of all ages wore the dresses from about six months to 80 years old. I found myself every 5 minutes looking and gasping wow or saying how much I liked them! I can’t imagine how they all walked around Sevilla and Feria all day wearing heels. There is a traditional dance called the Sevillana and I learned a little how to do it. However, I felt a little out of place trying it when I wasn’t all dressed up.
This one Spanish woman was so funny. She was grandma age and was walking in front of us and we were all admiring her striking crocheted shawl. She turned around and pointed to her hair. She pulled out a plastic fork and told us that instead of a pick, she had a fork! Her friend pointed out that this way she could eat her way through Feria! She was so cute!
Krystle took us to the shopping district and to the Cathedral. It was huge! I didn’t go to the top though because it was 7.50 Euro! Then we sat and relaxed in a plaza and enjoyed the weather with ice cream. We took a walk along the river and saw the Plaza de Torros (bull fighting ring). Later we cruised Plaza de Espana. This famous (and now a touristy place in Sevilla) used to be a military building of some sort. It was awesome. It had kind of a half moat with bridges garnished with tile. There were benches with different art for each city in Spain. Of course we took a picture at the Granada bench. All around the city we kept seeing horses and carriages and the horses were all dressed up for Feria too. Muy precioso!
Feria goes from about 9am to who knows what time at night. The second night of Feria we left at about 6am to walk back to the apartment. It took more than 45 minutes! Whew I was so sick of walking!
Overall, the people were marvelous and the city was beautiful. I can’t think of my favorite part! All I know is this is somewhere I want to come back to!

A Day at Garcia Lorca Park

Granada in my opinion doesn´t have a lot of vegetation. But, last weekend on a very sunny Sunday, Vanessa and I went to Garcia Lorca Park to study. This park is huge and was home to the famous Spanish poet Garcia Lorca. There are fountains, exercise paths, many trees and flowers and children´s areas. We had a good time sitting out in the sun and walking around.

Jaén

Vanessa and I took a random one day/one night trip to a province of Andalucia called Jaén. It's a small city that is basically known for the olive trees. (I guess Bob Dylan is going to play a concert there and promote the olives, haha.) We visited our friend Pete who teaches English there. Jaén is about an hour bus ride from Granada, and we had a coffee with a guy we met on the bus. The people there were nice! Pete gave us a short tour of the city, saw the castle on the hill (which was a Moorish strong hold) and the Cathedral. The weather was beautiful and the town was much more lush and greener than Granada! Then we went out to a cheap dinner and hit a couple bars and a discoteca called Heaven.

pictures of nerja

Nerja

Spanish is continuing to be half struggle and half triumph. Every day I go back and forth on being successful and happy to frustrated and distressed.
The other day my roommate Vanessa and I went to a friend's house with 8 or 10 Spaniards. I like many of them because they can be really nice and understanding. However, for the majority of the night I had no idea what was going on or what they were discussing. I picked out some things but it's so hard when people get into their conversations, using slang and talking really fast. I hate feeling so foreign and alienated. Depending on the context sometimes I can get the gist of what is going on but with certain people I can't understand them at all. Vanessa and I try and talk to each other each day in Spanish and she gets very annoyed that we can't talk as fluently as we could in English. I am much more laid back about the process. I have come to terms with my possibilities and what I can conquer and since realizing this I can do better and absorb more. Last night it was Saint Patrick's day and we met a guy from San Diego. Small world.
Last weekend Vanessa and I went to Nerja, a tourist beach town with a lot of beautiful places. It was a nice get away and I had a great time laying in the sun. The weather was perfect. Nerja is a common retirement place for many English and German. The hostel we stayed at was operated by a family from Holland. The woman was very warm and welcoming. Our room was really nice and very cheap. It was the best hostel I've stayed in yet. It had a back yard and a kitchen we could use. The family spoke Dutch, Spanish and English. I enjoy meeting people who know more than one language. It gives me hope that I can learn.

our trip to alpujarras

Last weekend my group and I headed to the Sierra Nevadas for a weekend away at a set of villages called Las Alpujarras. I was not anticipating a great adventure because the weekend was rumored to be all about hiking. This is not a favorite pastime of mine, to the chagrin of my mom. So we headed out on the bus at 8:30 am, early as usual. I received an email prior about how the roads are curvy and might cause some people to feel car sick. Me, being a sufferer of this, mistakenly didn't heed the warning. So when we got to the site, I rushed out of the bus in the middle of my director's hotel registration speech to throw up. Then I felt much better! We started hiking right away. The air was fresh but the scenery was not impressing me much. We had 4 hours ahead of us, but the time passed quickly because I was trying to speak a lot of Spanish with my directors and learn new words about the environment. We got about 3 hours into it and the scenery was quite charming. We walked along a little stream and through small farmlands where people live in the remote countryside. We eventually stopped to eat sandwiches that our families had made for us while enjoying the sun. I can't really describe the terrain because I don't know the specific biome or landscape's name. However, it wasn't much like anything I've seen before. There were natural lawns with trees and chaparral. The views from this part were awesome. What was cool about this hike was we came upon a natural spring with agua con gas (carbonated water). It is natural and safe to drink and we all filled our bottles. It was delish! We also saw an ancient tree that has been alive for almost a thousand years (I don't know how they approximate this stuff...) We finally got back to a little town where you could see posters and banners that had taken over the city advertising the Spanish election. All the towns in Alpujarras are made up of white wash houses and small businesses. They were all scarcely populated and tranquil. Finally we returned and I crashed asleep after a glorious shower. (The reason I take such pleasure in the showers at hotels is because mine back in Granada is the worst.) That night, I ate at the hotel's free buffet and then studied a little Spanish with friends.

The next morning it was another early day and we headed out for another 4 hour hike. This is so strange for me! Usually I DON'T like extensive hikes. My muscles were so sore and I had a little sunburn on the back of my neck. We took off and it was immediately more interesting and beautiful than the prior hike. Right on the road out of the hotel we noticed a phenomenon that clouds form in the mountain. They sit amidst mountains and look like cotton floating. It was so pretty. We did the tourist thing and took a million pictures and poked around another village in the Alpujarras. We kept walking and saw more meadows and a waterfall. We climbed, we descended. The terrain was quite rugged. We got to a plateau where we took a giant group picture. I think there are about 50 kids in our group. We walked through a man's backyard and he had a dog and a chicken. He also had a solar panel on the roof of his stone house. We got to another plateau where we saw a shepherd. He has 700 sheep! We saw part of the flock below us. He also had two donkeys and 10 dogs which delighted the entire group. Everyone took a long break to play and take pictures with the animals. This lifted everyone's spirits after many hours of walking. We finally descended for the last time and reached the end of our hike in another village. We had a lunch in the town and then took off back to Granada. The way back a girl in my group (who happens to be from ASU) gave me a Dramamine. Yes! I was much better. The rest of my Sunday was spent relaxing and a little studying. Back to school.

I think the reason I enjoyed this weekend so much is because I got to practice Spanish, was removed from a city setting and got to know people as I passed the hours walking. I liked the hikes a lot and was happy to see the country of Andalucia.

pix

Barcelona

Barcelona:
Our trip to Barcelona was absolutely wonderful. It has to be one of my favorite cities thus far in my travels and in the US. My four friends and I flew out of Granada in the evening - our plane was an hour late. We got to walk out to the plane on the tarmac, always a favorite. We got to the airport, except the airport we booked was one of three in Barcelona and not the one in the city. So we had to take an hour or so bus ride to the city. We got to Barcelona itself and took a short cab ride to the hostel. We were in a hostel with 4 bunk beds in it and we were sharing the room with three German girls and two Americans. Our hostel was very centrally located and not bad for the price. The shower was amazing! We went out for some Chinese and started realizing already how much more expensive it was there than what we are used to in Granada. After dinner we met up with some other friends who were in Barcelona for a beer. Then my friend Krystle and I went to a club and met up with my friend Max who has been studying in Barcelona since August. I know him from ASU. He loves it so much that he is intending to come back to stay premaritally. He got us in free to the second club we went to, but the drinks were super expensive so we only got one. Krystle and I went back to the hostel. In the morning we woke up and went to breakfast with two of the German girls in our hostel. We had great pesto sandwiches and fresh OJ. Then we headed out to tour some of the city. We got Metro passes ( I love easy and fast city transportation!) and saw the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. This building was so impressive and has been under its initial construction for over 200 years. The architecture was intense!! There was a dog park and little food stands throughout. Mom- I got LEMON ice cream! We saw one of Barcelona's opera houses which was another beautiful building. Then we went to one of Barcelona's parks called Parque Gaudi. It's up on a huge hill so we had to climb a ton of stairs. It's such a huge hill that there are even outdoor escalators. We got to the top and could see a lot of the city. It was such a beautiful and sunny day! The park is enormous and is famous for the mosaic art. There were performers and all sorts of cool sculptures and buildings. We spent about two hours there. We headed back to one of the main roads, Las Ramblas and had a coffee and specialty pastries. Later that night we all headed out to a club called Catwalk. It had two floors, one playing house and techno music and the other playing American hip hop. Someone pick pocked my front pocket some Euros. I was so mad, but realized that there was nothing I could do about it and to make the most of the night. The club was so cool. At one point in the night they dropped bubbles on all the dancers. We took the Metro home at 5am and settled into bed. The next morning we woke up early, but Krystle and I were the only ones not hungover and ready to do more sight seeing. She and I went to an open air market where many fresh and specialty foods were sold. Giant eggs, artesianal chocolates (which we bought a few of...), meat, fish, smoothies, fruit, lettuce and veggies galore. Krys and I bought chocolate, bread, fuet (a type of meat similar to salami) and cheese and went heading to the beach. On the way we saw a protest against animal cruelty where people we walking down the middle sidewalk with their dogs. We went to a park by the beach and ate our food. Everything was amazing, but the chocolate was phenomenal. One was apple flavored and my favorite! Then we met up with the others to go ride the gondolas over Barcelona. It was on top of a mountain and had an amazing view. We ended up at the Olympic park where the 1992 games were held. On our way home we saw the History museum and a famous Catalan dance and music performed in a plaza. It was all very romantic and interesting! We topped off the night by waiting around for our bus to the airport at 3 am. We were so tired because we had been up since about 11am and had gotten less than 15 hours of sleep in the last four days. So what happens to me? On a full bus, I get stuck next to a guy who was throwing up the entire time. He not only was throwing up, but didn't have a bag, so it was going all over the window, the floor and himself. I felt like I might be the most unlucky person on the bus. However, there was someone else throwing up in the back. So we finally made it to the airport at about 5:30 am and had a snack from the cafe. We go through security and get to the line and they tell us we have to go pay some sort of fee because we were using American passports or something. (It's often so hard to understand because of the language barrier, and in Barcelona it's not Spanish, but Catalan...). So finally we are running to the plane at the "urgent last call" and my friend Bonnie's carry on luggage is too big! So we cram and stuff her's into each of ours and make it onto the plane.
Over all, the trip was awesome and I practically loved every minute of it. We met awesome international people, got to experience more Northern Spain as well as much of what the city had to offer! I loved it!

Fun weekend

I had a blast this weekend. A couple friends (Krystle in the pic) came in to Granada from Sevilla and we went out shopping, walking, had lunch, coffee and went clubbing in the evening. The lunch we had was Mexican food! It was so amazing to have rolled tacos and guacamole. It started raining which was a bummer. We took our friends to what's called the Botellon. It's a huge park where everyone brings drinks and socializes outside until the clubs open at 2am. Later in the evening we went with our Spanish friends to this club called Cambodio. It was so awesome! It was high in the hills of the Albycin neighborhood with a gorgeous and unblockable view of the Alhambra and all the lights of the city. The lower part of the club was in caves then you could walk upstairs outside and there were tables to sit at with the view and inside was a bar then a huge dance floor with all windows and the view. I had a blast! The music was great and tons of students from around Europe were there. I met a guy from Granada who studied a year in New Castle, England. I think we are going to go out sometime soon. I've started reading a book that I really like called Lovely Bones. The only thing is it's in English...

comida - feb. 21

I finally want to go in depth about the food here. There are things I feel are prized here more than I've seen in the U.S.
1) Jamon - ham (and all things ham flavored. ie: ham chips)
2) café con leche - half coffee half steamed milk
3) chocolate con churros (not like Mexican churros; less sugar)
4) Tinto de Veranos - red wine with lemon soda *can't wait to make these back home
Beer and wine are cheaper and many times come with free tapas. Granada is known for this, because it's really the only big city in Spain that gives them free. Tapas are varied. A tapa can be anything from bread with ham to a piece of cheese to rice.
Things I miss:
1) Mac and cheese
2) tortilla chips
3) Mexican food in general (What they call a tortilla here is like an omelet with potatoes)
4) Dr. Pepper
5) Mom's salad dressing (even though all dressing here is made with oil)
6) Ranch dressing

For all you peanut butter fans, there isn't any here. Not a problem for me.

Things I have started to eat that I have never liked before:
1) Potatoes (still not mashed)
2) Runny eggs-are they called sunny side up?
3) Hot drinks: tea, coffee and cocoa.
4) Jam and marmalade

My señora is always trying to get me to eat vegetables, but I can't like everything !!

Breakfast is always very small and limited. Every morning I have two pieces of toast with jam, a glass of cocoa and juice. This is the only meal of the day where we are allowed anything other than water.

Lunch is served around 2:30 and is always huge. I feel like my stomach has stretched while I've been here! I receive at least two plates worth of food, plus salad and bread. Fruit is served for dessert. In the house, we don't eat sweets.

Dinner is almost as big as lunch and similar food is served. Around 9-10pm is when we sit down.

We have the son living with us and he constantly makes fun of my roommate and I how we eat and what we eat as Americans. Everyone here thinks all Americans eat is BBQ, pizza and fast food. My señora thinks that I am going to have diseases early because I don't eat veggies. My brother says that I am going to have a huge butt before I'm 30.

Meals outside the house are different than the states. People here don't have the same mentality when it comes to service as we do in the states. When you go out to eat, be prepared to allot at least and hour and a half for your meal if not more. Waiters aren't tipped so they are not always fast or attentive. But it is also the European mentality of socializing and taking your time. And it's rare to see people eating or drinking things on the go. Spaniards also don't get things in doggie bags when they don't finish their meal. No one really eats alone.

Breakthrough

Things are coming together more and more for me and Spanish. Of course, my capability varies day by day but I have a couple cool eureka moments I have never experienced until now. For example, the other day when we were on the bus home from Córdoba, my roommate and I were talking to one of the directors using a mix of both Spanish and English. She asked me to repeat what he said and I told her and she explained she didn't understand what he meant because the sentence was in Spanish. But I could have sworn he said it in English. So, that seems like my mind is starting to incorporate Spanish seamlessly. Very exciting! Another thing that happens to me a lot is Spanish words will just pop into my head while I'm talking and I say them before I even check in my head if it translates. And the word is indeed what I intended to say. These are mostly words that I couldn't necessarily think of if someone asked me what it meant in English, but they come out naturally. But I don't want to get too cocky with my progress because by no means am I anywhere near fluent!

The picture is of Vanessa (my roommate) and me!

Córdoba

This weekend our group went to Córdoba, Spain. It is another city in Andalucia, the southern region where Granada is as well. We left early Saturday morning and first went to the ruins where the old Arab king tried to build early Córdoba. When the city was being conquered by Christians, they ruined everything they could of the ancient and rich city. We saw ancient Arabic baths, old marble flooring, where they used to bring food into the city and views of the hills of Córdoba. Then a couple girl friends and I went to our hotel and got a great lunch of tapas and sangria. Then we had a tour of the Mezquita, which is the Córdoba Cathedral (Catedral). This is a famous mosque gone cathedral in the city. It is grand and made up of over 800 arches inside. It was very colorful and grand. They also had a round room with paintings on each wall that reminded me of the Haunted Hotel in Disneyland! Our tour guide was hilarious. We then toured the Jewish quarter and saw the old temple that is the only original one still standing in Spain. We walked around the city and saw the Avenue of Flowers and learned about a famous bullfighter who died in Códoba. Adrian Brody is now starring in a movie about him (Manolete). We got some wine and snacks at this weird grocery store like was as big as Wal Mart and was inside a mall. It was so weird. But you could get wine for as cheap as .50 Euro cents! Then we all went back to the hotel and partied a bit. We went out but the city was pretty boring at night. Then we woke up today and saw the main puente (bridge) of the city and toured Alcázar de Los Reyes Cristianos. This place was SO beautiful. There were gorgeous pools of water with catfish swimming in them, ponds, fountains, many manicured gardens and bushes, orange trees and moss covered rock. This was my favorite place on the trip. It is a palace where Isabel and Ferdinand lived for about 8 years. On the way back, we made a pit stop to use the bathroom at an olive oil store. We learned that Spain in the biggest olive exporter. Many times though, it is distributed by Italy because they have the stronger commercial market set up. So when you buy Italian bottles in the states, the olives have most likely come from Spain! The drive home to Granada was so beautiful. So many green rolling hills with cherry blossom and olive trees. Then the snow capped Sierra Nevadas! It was a great view.

Meeting Vanessa- the new roommate

Vanessa and I met last night. We went out to a trendy bar and met up with Jose and his friends. She seems very nice and I think we are going to get along great. She is from San Antonio, Texas and has never left the US before. She and I are both social and like to travel so I think she will be the perfect roommate. I felt that we could have talked for hours, and we did. This morning she went to Carnaval, but I wasn't feeling up for it because I just came from a long bus trip. I am kind of sad I didn't go because it's importatn fiesta in España, but sometimes you can't travel travel travel. She gets back tomorrow morning I am going to watch the Superbowl on Sunday at 1am our time here!

Malaga

After Morocco, Jessica and I went to Málaga. It is Picasso's birthplace and has a famous bull ring. We took a bus from Gibraltar which isn't really worth mentioning. (Gibraltar was strange, an English owned region of Spain that felt like a tourist twilight zone. Málaga is very beautiful. The beaches are plentiful and near the beach are gardens. The people in Málaga seem more laid back than the people in Granada. We went shopping, walked around the garden, collected shells at the beach and snuck into the bull ring for photos. We also had sangria in a beautiful typical Europe alley with a man playing accordion and people walking slow. We went to the Picasso museum. Then we ran to the bus station and got back to Granada in the evening.

Morocco adventures

My friends Kelly, Jessica and I took a train to Algeciras, Spain to go to Tangier, Morocco the next day. The ride was very comfortable and the landscape outside was pretty with rolling hills, rocks, some sheep and olive trees. After four hours we got to Algeciras, a port city that links ferries to Morocco. We got there after dark, found a hostel and noticed there were no women anywhere. It was strange. We woke up early the next day and rushed to the ferry but still missed it. We made the 10 am ferry and got to Tangier at about 11am with the time change. We met our private tour guide that Kelly found online. He was polite, professional and spoke English. First we rode around the outskirts of Tangier, saw the beach and rode camels. It was all so beautiful! There were green rolling hills leading to the beach. We also went to the most north west tip of Africa to a lighthouse. Our camels were cool too! It was weird riding them. From the street, we saw the king's palace. There were guards at the door. The king is the first king in Moroccan history to show his wife's face to the public. We also stopped to take pictures of the Saudi Arabian king's summer palace. Then we went to Hercules' cave which is a natural cave carved by the ocean where the light cast inside the cave comes through a shape of rock that looks like Africa. There was wishing water there as well for those who are superstitious. Then we left the cave and went to the city of Tangier. It was bustling and so different than anything I have ever seen. Our guide said there are four main religions and languages in Tangier. The two main religions are Sunni and Shiite and the languages most people speak are Arabic, French, Spanish and English. I was impressed because everybody I spoke to whether it was a rug salesman or peddlers on the street, they could all speak four or more languages. I asked our guide why four and he said that as a country they couldn't survive without knowing the others. He said that the city lives in "perfect" harmony with the different religions. Many people wore traditional dress but many were Westernized. He said however that some days people may choose to look western and wear jeans but other days will cover their head and wear the shawls. Tangier was established as a city owned by many other countries and has various styles of architecture everywhere. That is also another reason for the four languages. There was a French area, and Italian district and even a California section where there were tons of Eucalyptus trees and the houses were huge and stucco. When we went in a bazaar we were shuffled into a room with hundreds of Moroccan rugs and given the biggest sales pitch of my life. We were told to sit down, they gave us mint tea, and they told us all about their handmade rugs. I felt like they were car salesmen. Since our guide told us that Morocco's national sport is negotiating prices they figured they could go low enough to catch our interest. They were wrong. However, if I ever need a rug from Morocco I know where to go to get a good deal. So I wanted to give this whole negotiating thing a try so when we went into a jewelry store, I saw a beautiful ring I had to have. I told the guy I would give him five euros for it and he laughed and said he would give it to me for 260 euros. Oops! My expensive taste... Then I got a Henna tattoo of a flower and we went to the fresh markets. All sorts of food was there, meats, fish, fruit, beans, everything. We went for a three course meal at a local restaurant that served typical Moroccan food. I LOVED it! We had kabobs, salad, fruit, coos coos and a chicken pastry with powdered sugar and cinnamon on top. It was all so delicious. I must find a Moroccan place when I get back to the states. The whole trip ended up being amazing, but I can see why people think Morocco can be dangerous. We stood out emmensly and our tour guide had to shoo away many overly persistent men following us. We had an awesome time and I am glad we could go!

26-01-08

Last night we went bar hopping to a salsa place and a couple other normal bars. We met two Aussies and hung out with them all night. They were great, so nice and we learned some Australian phrases. My roommate Vanessa comes on Wednesday but I won't be here because I will be in Moruecos. I am so excited to do some traveling! Last night I talked to Jose for the first time on the phone. It's so hard without body language and being there in person to understand Spanish! I had to ask what maybe five times. But I guess I'm learning. I'm studying this weekend and taking it easy. I took these pictures of where I live. This is my street and my building is 154. Not the best to look at but I like living on a main street because it's so convenient and I can walk without cobblestones everywhere.

Last night and amiga's 21st

Last night I went out with the vet I might at the discoteca last Friday. His name is Jose and we get along really well. He is very sweet, smart and very cute~ We went to an Italian place and to a tobacco manufacturing factory that has been converted into a bar/music venue. I had a great time and he is the nicest guy I've met in a long time. I am still a little wary because it's hard to get to know him like I could know an American because of the conversation difficulties. He speaks little English so sometimes it's hard to talk! A bunch of times we wished we could elaborate on what we were talking about. Next time I am bringing a dictionary! We are going to see each other again soon.

The night before, my American friends and I went out for my roommate from Madrid's 21st birthday. We went to a flamenco bar where I learned what flamenco is. I really had no idea. It is a very expressive dance with a very particular type of singing. The singing is not my favorite because it sounds like crying in a way. The dancing is very cool; the dancer stomps a great deal. It reminds me of a fusion of tap and tango. The bar is located in a cave so it was all very festive. 

Then we went to a chupeteria (a shot bar). Shots are only a Euro and they have about 100 kinds. Adrienne (the birthday girl) got a free shot glass that said Feliz Cumpleanos. I guess that makes up for not turning 21 in the states.

I'm happy, next Tuesday is my final for this month's class. I should do ok. I need this weekend to study so I don't think I will be going out! Next Tuesday I am off to Morocco with my friend Kelly. I am excited to see the Straight of Gibraltar.

Trip to the Sierra Nevadas, etc

The restaurant we had lunch at. It had best food since I've been here! I had a burger, fries, guacamole and sangria. 

Yesterday some friends and I went up to see the snow and ski at the Sierra Nevadas. Most of us ended up not skiing and just walking around the town, eating a a great restaurant, eating and drinking sangria. The weather was absolutely fabulous and it was great to get out of the city. The snow was so beautiful but it was actually about 70 degrees F. We took a bus ride up the mountain and for there and back it was under 10 Euros. The ride was about an hour. We could not see Granada from the mountain but the view was amazing. It was cool to see all the snowboarders and skiers. Made me wish I was better at that! I didn't want to go skiing because I'm not very good and the last thing I want to do is break something this early on. Plus it was about 70 Euros and I would rather save my money for something I'm dying to do. A friend and me went on a ride there though which was like a roller coaster in the snow. It went so fast and I learned that "frenar" means to break! haha. We were behind a woman who was crying! It was hilarious! The ride was like little cars on a smooth rail. 

Then last night a bunch of us went to a local pub to watch the Chargers game and then the Giants/Green Bay. The Chargers lost, but I was glad to watch because I felt a little closer to many at home. I  haven't watched television in English for almost a month! I'm dying to rent a movie or something. Lucky for me I can download television shows from the US when I get really bored or lonely. Don't want to lose my English :) !

Discotecas in Granada are nuts!

Last night we went out to the bars and a discoteca. The music wasn't techno or house like many of them. It was two stories and so much fun! I wish I could remember the name because I would like to go again. I met a Spanish veterinarian that caught my fancy! He speaks little English so it was a great practice session. The hard part about bars and clubs though is it is so hard for me to converse because I need to hear every word and try hard to understand Spanish. 

Today, a friend Kelly and I went to a shopping district near the Albycin, which is the Arab district. There are lots of little stores with all sorts of nic knacks. (Is that how you spell that?) I haven't done much else today because I got home after the sunrise this morning! 

Getting better!

The last couple days have been really good. Last night my senora told me I am learning Spanish pretty fast! I guess I am, but it's still a struggle. But that comment made me really happy! Yesterday we went to the Cathedral in Granada. Like many, it is very grand. It's in the middle of Granada and took 180 years to make! Also when I was on the bus yesterday I saw the Sierra Nevadas. They are capped with snow and looked breathtaking. It reminded me that I am in a beautiful place and need to soak it in more. The culture takes some getting used to. What's weird to me is that when people walk on the streets, the DON'T smile, they don't say excuse me or sorry, they just bump into you. Pushing people isn't considered rude here though. You have to make your way, it's every (wo)man for themselves! I guess that is what a big city is like, but I hate feeling like a foreigner if I choose to smile at someone as I walk by! Another thing is animals over here are looked at differently. A lot of people don't walk their dogs on leashes! And no one cleans up their poo poos! Also, MANY older women wear fur coats. Animals aren't as goo'ed and gaa'ed over. I think my foolish love for dogs is looked at as weird. 

I like riding the bus here compared to the US. Everyone either walks or takes public transportation. So it's faster and cleaner. I don't think I've ever waited longer than 7 or 8 minutes for a bus at any time. 

The television here is so much more sexual though! Last night on the news there was a bare chested lady's picture on the screen. I was like WOAH! haha. Things are more sexual on tv here but less sexual in public, besides kissing. 

It's also funny to me that the police wear the same outfit as garbage removal. It's hard to distinguish who is who!

I asked a French boy to watch the Charger's game with me on Sunday. A little of home and little international flavor!

Shopping is the best drug

Yesterday I went shopping! All the sales are great. Things are still expensive, but I knew I was going to do a little while I was here. What a great feeling! I did homework yesterday and hung out with the familia. It is so hard to talk but I´m getting better! Today I went to class and had lunch with my family and then went jogging around the Universidad de Granada´s campus. I really want to play futbol with some locals or international students. I don´t really know much about soccer but it´s such a big deal around here and I love getting excercise. Tonight we are going to a local bar called Poé. Tapas instead of dinner.

This weekend I hope to go to a discoteca. They don´t open until 2am. Also, we want to go skiing in the Sierra Nevadas!

wireless with wine

12-01-08

I am sitting at a bar with wireless right now with a glass of wine. Nothing really to do until tonight. My senora went to Nerja, the beach, today with the senor and her sister. I like the independence. My hermano Alberto is around. But he doesn't eat with me so it's kind of weird. Last night my senora made me pizza but it was huge and she expected me to eat it all and a piece of pork and fruit. It's so much! And she gets made when I waste food because she won't save leftovers, which is really annoying. Anyway, last night we went to a few bars. This one called Tantra is new and I really liked it. The drinks were a little more expensive but the atmosphere was awesome. We went to an Irish pub and it was kinda boring and their idea of tapas were chicken wings with olives. Good but not traditional Spain. Another place we went was a terrible American bar with a bunch of drunk American girls dancing really poorly and they were all loud. I see why Spaniards don't prefir Americans~! Tonight we are hopefully going to a discoteca. They don't open until 2am. I went shopping today but didn't get anything. There is so much to buy. I thought Americans were consumers. I feel like all the people do in Granada is shop, go out to eat and go out at night! The prices here are reasonable for going out and taking cabs late at night so that is good. But it's not scary or weird to be out walking at 2am. All people do here is walk! I feel like I am already losing pounds in my derrière. I still have a few hours before dinner (9pm or so) so I don't know what to do. My hermano just sits around and watches tv (Family Guy in Spanish.) I am starting to feel a little closer to my family. Yesterday I showed my senora pictures of family and friends. 

pix

on the way home from the bars in front of store with sales "rebajas"

class week

9-01-08
I feel like I have no words for the situations that I am in. I want this or that, or feel this way or that way and I am dying to express myself, but I can't learn fast enough. I guess it's foolish, but before coming I figured I would just learn magically. I didn't think I would need to study as much because I have the mentality learning by doing. I spoke to my señora today and I couldn't ask her what I wanted. I barely get by with the present tense. It's all driving me nuts. On top of all this, I wore boots the first day to class and did about 5-6 miles of walking. The balls of each foot are blood blisters that hurt extremely when I walk. I took the bus today which took much longer to get home and I was late to lunch. My señora was by herself at the table all finished when i walked in. Part of me hates having a family because I am expected to be here at a certain time and it's so hard to make friends and do what I want when I have these obligations. So far I don't really like being part of a family because they are not like mine at all. One is enough. Furthermore, I miss my parents so much more than I ever do in the states. Last night I spoke with them for the first time with a webcam and cried at the cafe. I couldn't stop for some reason. I don't want to be a baby but I feel alone and stupid.

10-01-08
Today has been a lot better. Last night we went on a bar crawl to four different places. We ate a lot of tapas, popular appetizers in Spain. Granada is known for free tapas with drinks. They may be small, but they are huge plates. The cheapest drink I had all night was a beer for 1.80 euros (about 3 ish dollars) and the most expensive was 2.20 euros. I love this place! The first place we went was crowded but not packed, the second was packed with Americans and cigarettes. The last place was the best, me and another girl Alicia, talked with two Spanish guys and we talked about cooking and communication. They explained to us the difference in ham here. Spain is huge on their ham! Today I had class again for four hours and it went well. I met a French guy in my class and I think I like him! Haha, time will tell. Tonight we are hitting up the bars and discotecas again! The nightlife is really where it is at. My senora today told me that she doesn't want me to have visitors in the house. Something else to make me feel not at home! Oh well, that is why I love to go out!

alhambra

Granada time

Yesterday I had a really hard time getting used to the situation. My family seems nice, but my senora was sick and couldn't take me around the city. I got really lost at one point and was frustrated. I don't like to pull out a map and look like a tourist. I finally found where I needed to locate, a meeting point for my group the next day. My house is about 35-40 minutes walking distance to my school. It's a whole another mindset over here. Everyone walks everywhere. An hour is longer, not 40 minutes. My classes start at 9am though, so that is not going to be as fun as it could be. Today I went to my school for the first time and I took my placement test. I am in intermediate, which is what I predicted. Tomorrow I start classes. We walked around Granada. I am not having as much fun as I thought I would because I am fairly lonely. It's hard living with adoptive parents and not being able to say what you want. It will really help me become better at Spanish. I can see the positives building but right now it is an uphill battle (literally and figuratively!)
We saw views of the Alhambra today from the Albycin, an Arab neighborhood. The views were fantastic.

toledo january 6th

Today we explored Toledo. We started out in a bus tour to see the city's panoramic view. ¡Que bueno! The city is beautiful and very rich in history. It was built I believe around the 800's and has been conquered and re-conquered. The city is known for the blend of three religions: Christians, Muslims and Jewish. I learned a lot about how they worked together and churches turned to mosques and then temples and vice versa. We went to all three. We walked everywhere. I'm beginning to really see how much Spanish people walk. I like it. The city was very hilly and streets were cobblestone. We saw many plazas, a Greco painting (very popular in Spain) and a church that has converted into a dance club. (The Prime Minister is not very happy about that.) We saw some tall doors that had knockers that were about 7 feet up. They were made for the times where people rode horses and then could reach them without getting off the horse. I tried mazapan (marzipan) which Toledo is famous for. We also went to an Arabic food and I loved it. I love sitting down and a restaurant and ordering a beer and no one questions any of it. I also had an orange chocolate liquor. Tomorrow we go to Granada and meet our families. I am so anxious but really nervous. It's strange to move in with someone and barely speak their language. What am I going to say?!

days before granada

january 5th:

Today we went to Santa Cruz Del Valle de los Caidos near Madrid and went to a large cross perched on a hill of sliced rocks. The basilica below the cross was breathtaking inside and held Franco's tomb. The cross and basilica were in the middle of a forest surrounded by green trees and mountains. Fog hid a lot of the scenery.

The monastery we went to later called El Escorial near Toledo was awe inspiring as well. The architecture was phenomenal and built around 400 year ago. The ceilings had so much detail and color it looked like what I imagine the Sistine Chapel to be like. I decided I want to name my son Luca (if I ever have one:) ) after the artist that painted a lot of the art. Everything was made of cement and granite. Our tour guide Victor was knowledgeable and was very funny. There was a library there where books hundreds of years old could be looked at and the only monastery with a working library. Only church members like monks (monjes) or nuns (monjas) can borrow the books. There at the monastery is where the kings and queens were buried. However, they were not technically buried, they were decomposed for 25 years in a special room and their bones were put into marble coffins for the people to come view. The last interesting room was an acoustic room that was set up as a dome. There were four corners and if someone was in the corner talking the other on the opposite corner could hear them clearly. If you were in the middle of the room you would miss the whole conversation! It was a physical masterpiece! Que bueno. We also saw the grand chapel where the kings and queens of Spain would go to mass. Their bedrooms are next to where the priest would speak, incase they were sick and couldn't get out of bed to hear mass. Spain is more religious than I thought!

Then it started to rain. We had lunch at a nice cafe and had two hours free time. Toledo was a beautiful and quaint town. Me and two other girls went walking in the town and up into the hills where the homes were. We were impressed by the architecture. It rained more.

There was also a life size nativity set up in the square in the town. It was quite extensive going on for blocks. Today is Spain's version of Christmas. It is Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day). Spain celebrates Christmas (25 Dec.) but only because of America.

By the time we got back to the bus we were soaking wet (mojada). We took an hour bus ride to our hotel in Toledo. We are on the second floor and have a great view. We are resting for an hour and then going out to check out the city, have some drinks and stroll around. We plan to come back tonight to go to the discoteca at our hotel. We have another day in Toledo and Monday we meet our familias and see our new home, Granada!!

madrid - dia dos

Madrid is AWESOME !!! I´ve learned some Spanish already and am using it more and more. Today we went to the Prado museo and Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, the museum that hold Picasso´s Guernica-it was guay (cool). We saw Salvadore Dali y a Diego Rivera.

I woke up today at 8:30 and got a great breakfast at the hotel. They had a huge spread of all types of cheese. It was interesting. I met a girl that is going to Barcelona but she goes to state and we know some people in common. Small WORLD. My roommate Adrienne is nice, she is from Penn. We went to the Prado, a museum here in madrid and saw all sorts of paintings. our tour guide was really nice and spoke only in spanish. Not bad...

Then we went walking in Madrid and went to the Plaza Royal, where kings and queens lived centuries ago. It was magnificent and so detailed. There was one room i really liked. We just got back to the hotel it was starting to get cold. we have a meeting at 6 and then we are going out to the bars!