A plethora of emotions

The time has come....


For me to bring myself back to reality, my actual life. Each day and night I've advanced forward with my life until it's finally hit me. It is May 13, 2009. I have just spent the last 4 and 1/2 months of my life in Spain, away from my family, friends, home, school and life. But what I've started out here in Spain has been entirely amazing, is it time to end my life in Granada so soon?

"Donde fueres, haz lo que vieres"

My professor taught me this quote today. It means that one eventually adjusts and becomes accustomed to a situation or circumstance. In one way or another, I think this was a message for me...There is no sense in complaining about what you have, especially when people would kill to have this great life. And surely I haven't complained. I couldn't be more thankful to be where I am in my life, but something inside me has made me feel sad to return to the United States. Why? With so many great people and aspirations to tend to, I should be ecstatic to see those who love me and revisit where my life has been for 20 years. I have clearly become accustomed to my life in Spain and most definitely will become re-accustomed to my life in the United States. So back to the origin, why do I feel melancholy when I think about my departure date: one week from today....


I recently had a conversation about this and it was brought to my attention that I seem to live in a world of dreams. Is my study abroad experience just another ingredient to the recipe of life? This past semester spent in Spain has been incredible and I'm about to abandon it. From here, I may transition into another part of my life, possibly the new "dream" in my life....another ingredient to add to the recipe. I am at the point of realization and my life is in my hands. So I must decide where I want to go, regardless of what society tells me. It's likely that the reason I feel sad to leave Spain is the fear of never returning. Am I living up the old saying "The grass is greener on the other side." Maybe 5 months has teased me with a sample of the "other side". Yet, somehow, I think my direction in life will bring me back to Spain. I've found a new level of happiness here and maybe that's a sign.


But for now, I must look ahead with enthusiasm and back with nothing less than pride in who I've become. A lot has changed in five months, who knows what the future could bring.

Bonjour Paris.

On Wednesday night, I met my friend Steff, at 12:30am to catch a taxi to the bus station. We caught our bus at 1:30am to go to Madrid. We took the bus to the airport and arrived at 6:30am and found somewhere to sleep on for a while. It was slightly startling to wake up to a group of Spaniards starring at us....We had a long time to wait since the flight wasn't until 1:50pm!! Que malo, no? We finally made it to the airport located an hour outside of the city of Paris....Thomas met me with arms wide open and we hoped on a bus to find our hostel. We arrived at the city center and grabbed a quick dinner, kebabs (of course!). We eventually arrived at the hostel which was nearly a joke. They were rennovating it and we were unable to use to elevator to climb 7 flights of stairs. We reached our room to find a lovely stench. The people at the desk spoke poor French and no English, which seemed to contradict the French and American flags outside the hostel. None the less, we dropped our bags off and went to Sacre Coeur which was a beautiful overlook of the entire city. A gorgeous cathedral was at the highest point and we could see the Eiffel Tower lit up in a distance. We enjoyed the improvised music people were playing, which complimented the clear night. We took a neat little elevator/metro down the hill and headed back to the hostel for the night.

On Thursday, the three of us woke up and ate our "French" breakfast at the hostel. We headed to the "Arc de Triumph" and "Trocadera". As we walked around the downtown area, we stopped to take pictures at the Louis Vouiton headquarters and walked Steff to the train station. Afterwards, Thomas and I went out for lunch (where I pretended to be French hah). After lunch we went to the Eiffel Tower and climbed the first two stories of stairs, 686 steps to be exact. We had to take the elevator the rest of the way to the top. It was breath-taking. After the Eiffel Tower, we walked to the "Louvre" but we couldn't go in to the museum to see the Mona Lisa so we went shopping and out for a pasta dinner. After dinner we walked around Moulin Rouge and headed back to the hostel where I taught Thomas card games :)

On Friday, Thomas and I had breakfast and went to Saint Michael's Fountain to meet up with a free tour group. We saw Pont Neuf, the Louvre (again!), Concorde, Champs - Elysees, Petit and the Grand Palace....The tour guide was from Australia and told us some interesting stuff about the city, telling quirky jokes here and there. I had to traslate for Thomas because it was dificult to understand her thick accent! haha. After the free tour, we went to Dijon by train and I had to sit next to the cat-lady. Naturally her cat wouldn't stop trying to climb all over me!!!

I enjoyed the rest of the weekend in Dijon with Thomas and his parents, and also Thomas' friends. We went to Le Chat Noir, black cat club, on Friday night, which was the "best" club in Dijon because it was exclusive (I'm still not sure how it was exclusive because I got in...?) Anyways, Saturday afternoon, Thomas showed me around the downtown area of Dijon and I got a haircut, possibly the most uneven haircut of my life?? Afterwards, we returned to Thomas' home and ate dinner with his parents. His mother was absolutely lovely, always intending to make conversation with me, although she spoke not one word of English....After dinner, Thomas and I went to a "gay" club and met up with some other friends, Joaiquina, from Granada! We had fun in the beginning of the night and as it progressed, is seemed to be a little "too gay" for us....We left and went back to Thomas' to sleep for a couple hours before I headed off on a train Sunday morning at 7:45am.

On the return to Granada, I must have been mistaken for a terrorist because every airport tried questioning me or searching me. I got searched in Paris and then in Liverpool for our layover, security questioned me as if I were going to illegally move to Liverpool! After 5 minutes of questions, I passed through until I got searched to enter the gate for our flight. I got pulled aside again for a search and this time, they removed my shoes and frisked me! I have never had someone scan the bottom of my barefeet....Once I reached Malaga, as I passed through Passport Control, the man didn't believe my passport belonged to me! I made a joke in Spanish asking me if he was calling me ugly and he laughed and let me past. Steff and I took the 10pm bus from Malaga back to Granada and finally returned by taxi at 11:30pm. Long travels, but well worth the visit to Paris and Dijon, France. =)

Spring Break in Lisboa, Faro, & Lagos

For my spring break, during Semana Santa, my friend, Ashley and I went to Portugal. We decided to couchsurf for our very first time. We found a woman from the US that lived in Lisboa and a guy in Faro. Couchsurfing is basically sleeping in a stranger’s home- trust me, its way better than it sounds….well sometimes. ;)

We arrived on Friday evening, April 3rd, in Lisbon after a long ride on a superbus from Granada to Sevilla to Lisbon. The woman we were staying with was named Heather, and she picked us up. It was pretty comical (kind of how the entire trip was) because I ran out of money on my phone and couldn’t make or receive calls because I was in another country. So Ashley and I walked around looking for someone that might have been looking for us….Finally a woman powerwalking down the sidewalk calling out “Heather?” caught our eyes. We were greeted with a hug and she brought us to her home about 20 minutes outside of the city. She lived in an apartment with her Portuguese husband, Victor. They were so very nice to us, offering their home as if we were family! We had our own room and unpacked and went to sleep. The next day, Saturday, Heather drove us up the coast to “Casa da Guia” in Cascais and we had our Portuguese 2nd breakfast – pastel da Nata (my favorite!!) and walked around. When we drove in to park, we had to pay a guy on the street that “guided us in the parking spot” 1 EURO….If we didn’t he would have scraped the car with his key. From there, we drove up to Guincho where we might have been in the background of a movie! We watched kite surfers on the beach and then continued driving to the Windmill Restaurant, Don Quixote. We had a very funny waiter who offered to let us wash dishes or pay tomorrow because we thought we didn’t have enough cash.

Afterwards, we drove to Cabo da Roca – the most western point of Europe. We bought souvenirs and drove back stopping to admire the kite surfers again. We drove home to Carcavelas and went shopping for dinner and bought green wine, the only place in the world you can find green wine! We came home and Heather made us brie with fig jam. We took a walk to buy cheese, witnessed an accident, and gave a rubber chicken to a dog.  We walked back home and Heather cooked us bacalhaou, codfish. We also had magic salad….yummy! Heather was a cook on cruise ships for quite some years, so Ashley and I were delighted to have such a great meal cooked for us! Later that evening, after two days in Portugal, we found out that we were an hour behind! Hah

On Sunday morning, Ashley and I went to the beach early in the morning before church to watch the surfers. We joined Heather and Victor at Riverside International Church and went for lunch after mass at Capriciossa. We enjoyed eating pizza on the beach, tried anchovies for the FIRST time (!), and had white sangria. We also enjoyed observing how slow Portuguese people were. The restaurant was so busy and they slowly walked around without a care in the world. After lunch, we stopped by Victor’s daughter’s apartment and met the family. It was fun to see a “traditional” Portuguese family eating together. Afterwards, we drove to Lisboa and saw where Heather works at the American School of Languages. We walked to the downtown area to buy tickets for the hop-on, hop-off tour bus. The bus driver, rather unaccommodating, although a typical Portuguese Heather said, wouldn’t let us on the bus and made us chase him. Anyways, while on the bus, we got to see Belem, torre, a cool monastery, and a bridge that was built by the same architecture of the bridge in San Francisco. We saw the Plaza de Toros which had an interesting Arabic influence. After we got off the bus, we drove to Sintra and wow, it was a gorgeous drive. We shopped and went to Piriquita to eat travesseiros (good pastries) and somehow, Heather managed to confuse bug spray and lotion. When she reeked of bug spray, we couldn’t stop laughing….No wonder why the store owner was staring at us! Haha. We bought roasted chestnuts on the street and drove up to the palace, picked some calalilies on the way home before we managed to get lost.

On Monday morning, we woke up and went to the beach again to watch the surfers for the last time. We took the Metro with Victor and said our goodbyes. We took a train to beautiful Faro…NOT. Faro was a very small, unattractive town and when we got there, we took a bus to Jumbo to buy groceries. We missed the last bus to take us to the island of Faro because we didn’t know that you have to flag down the bus if you want it to stop….It drove right past us. After we realized we couldn’t take the bus, I attempted to hitchhike, however, that got us nowhere. Finally, we got a taxi to meet the famous, Bruno, the guy we were couchsurfing with. He picked us up wearing no shoes, cigarette in his mouth, in a hurry to get back to his flat. In the car Bruno said, "I hope you don't mind, I've got a couple of friends over. I don't know where you will sleep, but we can find something." We tried to be optimistic as we entered his house with over 30 wild people. Many of them had dredlocks (not to stereotype or generalize) and they all stared at us. We didn't quite fit it but tried talking to some of them. They were nice but we were exhausted from traveling and Bruno had left us and told us to mingle. His flat was rather small and filthy. We went to the bathroom and when we washed our hands, there was a tube from the sink to drain into the shower. There were no doors in the house, just draperies hanging to block off the “room”. We tried dancing with them, but were kind of freaked out when they were interrogating us about if we thought they were pirates. They insisted they were good people and we had nothing to worry about (which just made us worry more.) Finally, Bruno saw we were tired and offered for us to sleep in his friend’s house since he had no idea when his friends would leave. We agreed to sleep in his neighbors but we hadn’t brought sheets or blankets. We slept with our beach towels and were shivering! In the morning we woke up and knew we had to get out of Faro. With only 3 hours of sleep, our bodies aching from shivering, and feeling filthy from the flats, I rolled over to see Ashley, thinking the exact same thing. We quickly got up, packed our things, and ran out of the neighbor’s house to go get our groceries we had kept in Bruno’s flat. I agreed to run into Bruno’s room and get the bags while Ashley scribbled a quick note to let him know we were leaving. As Bruno was rolling over, we RAN out, only to find his friend’s had the munchies and helped themselves to our food…those dang pirates!

We couldn’t have been happier to get out of there but then realized we needed to find somewhere to stay for the next two nights. We ended up checking into our hostel 2 days early in Lagos and thank goodness they made room for us, because they were actually full. The first night, Ashley and I shared a twin size bed. Lagos was really great, the weather was beautiful, and we were excited to meet our Spanish girlfriends who came on Thursday. Once they arrived, we also decided to stay 2 days longer with them, so we didn't leave Lagos until Sunday afternoon. We went to the beach almost every day and made a day trip to Cabo de San Vicente. It was a lookout point with beautiful cliffs, overlooking the ocean. Ashley and I also enjoyed kayaking through the caves. We mingled with people from all over the world in our hostel and while we were out at night. We met many people from Australia, and lots of Americans on holiday that are studying in various parts of Spain. Ashley and I had so many laughs and learning experiences on this trip to Portugal and really had a great time, despite our not-so-best friend, Bruno. On the way home, we were finally able to laugh about our encounter in Faro with Bruno…A spring break I will never forget…

What I Will Miss Most....

So I was talking to my sister yesterday, and she asked me, "So what are you going to miss most about Spain?"

She raised a great question and I pondered my last 4 months in Spain....Had it really already been 4 months? Am I leaving Spain in just 5 weeks?

But at the same time, it seems like years ago since I've been in Chicago, back at school...so here are some of the things I thought about as I really analyzed my sister's question:

My life here.

I have a different way of life now, I’ve changed a lot. I am so independent and able to do whatever I want without consulting anyone or thinking about it too much. Life is simple here. I hardly look at the clock, I’m much more laid back, and I don’t even always wear makeup like I used to….

My family here.

I love my Senora and Roberto because they are so kind and open to have me in their house. Of course, I miss my real family at home, but here is different. I have a brother I’ve never had….We go out together and he lets me hang out with him and his friends. My Senora smothers me with kisses on the check telling me “Que guapaaaaa” nearly every day.

My classes here.

I love my classes because every class is relaxed and taughy by Spaniards who have a lot of passion for what they teach. They aren’t just teaching for the money, but to educate us. I find the teaching to be much different than the U.S.

My travels here.

I am literally able to pack up and leave any moment, Thursday thru Sunday. I can hop on a bus to the beach and either find a hostel or take a late bus back. I am so lucky to say that I’ve been to Italy and Portugal (and Spain)….and going to France. I’ve done my share of traveling within Spain as well. I have learned so much about global perspectives on life and can understand and have a more intelligent conversation with someone from another country.

My new friends here.

I have made friends from Barcelona, Granada, Canada, Australia, other parts of the U.S., Denmark, Norway, France, Portugal, etc…We all come from different walks of life but somehow manage to blend well. We all exchange info in hopes that maybe we can meet again. I hope this isn’t the end of my travels in life. It’s hard to make such strong ties with people and know that I may never see them again. Although my Spanish friend, Pilar, is coming to Chicago in June! :)

My eating habits here.

Okay, so picky Heather is no longer picky. I know that seems odd, but its true. On my holiday in Portugal, I tried bacalhaou, a type of fish, anchovies, salmon, and hummus. I usually eat everything my Senora gives me with the exception of a couple things. If something has onions on it, I no longer cringe and push it away immediately. In addition, I LOVE tapas, when you get food with a drink, the Spanish tortilla, jamon York, postre de nata, sangria, café con leche….

My nightlife here.

In Spain, they have a saying about how they don’t wait until the weekend to go out and have fun. Now, Spaniards, they really know how to enjoy themselves while still acting classy. Going out for tapas on a weekday is the norm. One night, I was out with friends and going to come home because I had class the next morning at 8:30AM. My friend, Victor, said, “Heather, you’re in Spain,yes? Maybe you are here for the only time in your life so enjoy it and make the most of it. It’s only class on the morning.” Victor has literally the mentality of any Spaniard I have encountered.

My Spanish of course.

I will miss learning about the language and culture of Spain. I find it so intriguing and feel like I have really bettered my Spanish. I came here and was a Spanish speaker of very few words. I have learned to communicate better and hope to use Spanish in my life once I return to the States. Spanish is something that is important to me now, and I like knowing that I can communicate with people in two languages. When my parents came to visit, I enjoyed playing translator when they didn’t understand something.

I don’t say this to offend anyone, but I think my thoughts and perspectives have changed a lot. I’m like a hippie, I love life and making the best of it. I feel like people in the US are so much more close-minded now that I’ve seen the US from outside-in. This is absolutely an experience I will never forget.

Miss and love you all.

Last couple weekends

Ahh its been awhile, so here's my attempt at playing catch-up on the last couple weeks....



Three weeks ago, my friends and I decided to take quick weekend trip to the beach in Malaga. The weather was finally getting nice enough....So I did my best to invite all the girls I'm closer with in, from our program. Long story short, we invited some Spanish boys and they were interested in going, but invited us to one of their Grandma's beachhouses. We took them up on their offer, but since there was 7 of us girls and 6 of them, we didn't have room in the 2 cars to drive there. Two of my friends and I went by bus and layed out on the beach until we met up with them later. We walked around Malaga a little bit and then squeezed into cars to drive to the beachhouse. We went to the supermarket to buy food and drinks and cooked paella. The beachhouse was absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed hanging out together in a "house setting". (That hasn't happened since I've arrived to Spain...) The next day we went to the beach and just enjoyed laying around. We took the bus back home on Sunday.



The following weekend was my last full weekend with my French roommate, Thomas. He said he really wanted to go to the beach, so we took the bus for a day-trip to Nerja...2 hours away. The beach was absolutely beautiful. I went with all my French friends, so I was a little out of place when they spoke so much French. None the less, I had a great time! We stayed the entire day and brought our bocadillos. The town reminded me of visiting my Grandma in Arizona. Everyone was very kind. We walked around until our bus left at 7pm.



The following Thursday, I had to say goodbye to Thomas as I left for Barcelona to meet my parents! Thomas walked me to the bus stop and I was on my way to Barcelona...(really Girona, which is 1hr. and 20min. outside of Barcelona)



I finally arrived in Girona, no problems. I took a bus into the city and from there it was slightly complicated figuring out the Metro system. My friend had given me maps and I knew the route I needed to take. I didn't realize there was underground and street-level metro stops, but after talking to many people, I was directed in the right direction. I arrived at the hotel to meet my parents around 9:30pm and we went to the consigiere suite to have a drink before dinner. We left for dinner and went to a nice authentic Catalan restaurant across from our hotel. The next morning, we walked around site-seeing. We saw the two houses built by Gaudi and walked down by Plaza Catalunya. We found La Ramba, possibly one of the most famous streets in Spain (said my Barcelonean friend)...As we reached Subway, I couldn't help but want to eat there. We stopped for lunch and continued walking around. We went back to the hotel and as we were enjoying happy hour, we met people from Philadelphia, whom my parents continued to run into everyday. We talked so long with them, that when we went for dinner at 11:30pm, nothing was really open. We found a cafeteria open and ran in to get served before they closed. We liked talking with the Arabic owner who was quite well-traveled.



The next day, we decided to take a trip to Parc Guell. As we followed all the signs, we took escalators outside to get to this high point! It was a park full of mosaics. We had lunch in the park as well. We enjoyed drinking sangria outside and we got calamari (sooo good!) , pasta, and desert! We walked back down and went to the part of the city where the Olympics were held. We saw a fountain with music and light show. We returned to the hotel and I went to meet my friend, Uwe. Uwe and I met in Rome when we were both traveling back in January and staying in the same hostel. He took me to a sausage/ham place and then brought me around the city. He showed me the Roman ruins and I got to meet 2 of his friends. We had a good time and hopefully he will come to Granada to visit us! The next day, we went to the Truimphi, the highest mountain in Barcelona. We looked at the cathedral there and enjoyed the look-out over the entire city. We took the bus back to the city centre and left for the airport. We got to Granada and went out for a quick dinner after my parents checked into the airport.



Monday, I showed my parents my university and after lunch I met with them to walk to the Albaizin. When we reached the higher point overlooking Granada, there were hippies playing flamenco. That evening, we enjoyed going for tapas with my Senora Rosa. My mom did her best to converse with her, while I translated for my dad. My Senora invited my parents over for a nice lunch on Wednesday. The next day, I met my parents to go to La Alhambra, the site where the Jews were driven out. It was a huge monument we walked around for a couple hours and then had lunch up at the top. That evening, we had dinner while we enjoyed watching a flamenco show. My parents got to meet my roommate, Dorothy. The show was great, especially since there was only 2 other tables at the restaurant! On Wednesday, I met my parents after school to bring them to my apartment for lunch. My Senora had gone all out cooking paella, little fritter balls, and cheese cake for dessert. My parents got to meet my brother, Roberto too. When they were introduced, it is customary to give two kisses, one on each cheek. EXCEPT, for males, you just shake hands. We all got a kick out of my dad trying to kiss my brother while he was shaking hands and giving an awkward hug. HAHAHA, he didn't know any better. We stayed for about 2 hours talking and enjoying lunch and then left to walk around towards the Universidad de Granada. We went in the small shops and went to eat kebabs for dinner (my favorite!!!). It seemed like the visit was too quick, before I realized it, my parents left this morning. :(



They are headed to Madrid and will be headed back to the US on Saturday. We had such a nice visit, I can't believe we are half way through our trip in Granada! Midterms are next week and I leave a week from tomorrow for Portugal!!! WOOOO

My "trip" to England and my first family dinner :)

Thursday was the day of my planned departure for Leicester, England. My flight was scheduled to depart at 8:10pm so I left my house in Granada at 3:30. I had to take one city bus to the bus station in Granada. I bought a bus ticket to go to Malaga, where the airport is. Due to the first bus running late, I missed the 4pm bus and waited until 5pm. At 5:15 the bus left for Malaga and it was supposed to take 1hr and 2o minutes, but somehow we didn't arrive in Malaga until 7pm. I hurried off the bus to catch the connecting city bus to the airport. It was supposed to arrive at 7:05 and didn't come til after 7:15pm. (Are you seeing a trend with the Spanish bus transportation?) I got on the bus to go to Malaga and we were in standing traffic. I didn't get to the airport until 8pm. I ran through the airport, it seemed like a clip out of a movie. I found someone to help me and she confirmed that I wouldn't make my flight and directed me to the next person to help me. I went to the help desk to try and get on the next flight. Unlike the U.S., they aren't as willing to help you. I was crying and couldn't have been more relieved when they responded to me in English (although I spoke to them in Spanish...) They told me that there were no more flights for the day and I could wait until the morning and pay 75 euro to change my flight. I panicked and began calling all of my family members. I got through to my sister, Melissa, although she couldn't help me much. What was she supposed to say? hah. Anyways, I chose to leave the airport and go back to the bus station and buy a ticket to come back to Granada. As my luck continued, I missed the bus to the bus station. Once I got to the bus station, I saw the bus labeled MALAGA-GRANADA. I ran over to the bus driver and asked him how long I had til the bus was leaving. He told me I had 2 minutes, so I sprinted inside the bus station to buy my ticket and of course, there was a huge line of 10 people in front of me. I bought my ticket for the next bus which didn't leave until 12:30am. :( I had to wait in the bus station, which seemed like a sketchy place, for 3 1/2 hours! I got back to Granada at 2:15am and took a taxi home. 11 hours later, 4 buses, 1 taxi, 115 euro, and I was back where I started....Marvelous.

On a lighter note, I was able to text my brother and he let my Senora know that I would be home for the weekend. On Saturday, she had many visitors and they were all in the living room. I haven't quite been introduced to the family, so I just kept to myself. It was boring being around the house because Thomas and Dorothy were gone for the weekend and my Senora was busy entertaining. So I decided to go out on Saturday night with the "French" kids. We went to a discoteca in the caves and had a riot. They were playing hip-hop music and I enjoyed it too much. I was goofing around and dancing like a rapper and before I knew it, I had (black) guys coming over to me and telling me I was a good dancer! They started showing me all their moves, and I had really tricked them. I couldn't keep up! haha....It was fun though.

On Sunday afternoon, my Senora came into my room and invited me to lunch with her family. I was absolutely delighted to go eat at the dining room table. It was probably the most authentic Spanish meal I have had here. We ate with her son and daughter and their partners and two older people I was never introduced to. We ate paella, and in the center of the table was all this food that everyone just helps themselves to. There was shrimp, cheese, potatoes, and OCTAPUS. The woman next to me encouraged me to try the octapus and as I was eating my paella, I was examining the ingredients. There was chopped up octapus in my paella! As we ate, the family was pretty comical. They don't take turns speaking and they speak SO loud! I enjoyed listening to them bicker about things such as the bus system and how the price of the tickets went up. They were all very inviting to me and I was pleased to eat with company. It was a nice end to my weekend although I wish I could have made it to England.

Mi cumpleanos en Cadiz, y Peluqueria

Ahhh, the weather is getting so nice here in Spain!!!

Over the weekend, 9 friends and I celebrated my birthday in Cadiz. We met the bus at Neptuno (along with 500 others) at 12 noon to drive to Cadiz. As usual, everything was unorganized (I think everything is much more organized in the US...) We didn't leave until 1:45pm and it took 4 hours but we took a break halfway. Once we finally left Granada, I had to laugh when the bus driver started playing party music! We had fun on the bus but we very relieved to get there! Cadiz is kind of like an island, and they have beautiful beaches! We got off the bus just in time for sunset on the beach. We took lots of pictures and walked around and met up with some French friends at La Catedral. This was where we pretty much stayed the entire night....It was a huge gathering of all kinds of people dressed in ridiculous costumes. It can be best described as Halloween for EVERYONE. There were young kids, early in the night, and then also old people! It was fun to see how creative people could get! Some people were mimes, others were cookies....It got too crazy when people were drinking too much later in the night. (We took the bus but didn't have a hotel because it left to return to Granada at 7:30am. I thought I could make it, but I was practically falling asleep!) We walked around a lot to see the different costumes and some people played music. Some marched around in bands. It was quite a site.
It was finally time to leave, and we were all on the bus anxious to go home. Of course, there were 2 people missing (both on my bus!)....We waited 1 1/2 hours for these DRUNK people and they never showed up. Finally we left them in Cadiz, and told them to find a bus back to Granada. Our bus was driving around, looking for these irresponsible people. It was fun to go to Cadiz, although I think it was a little too loco for me. It was nice to go to Cadiz, the biggest Carnaval festival in all of Spain, but I don't know if I would go again, given the opportunity.

Today, Thomas and I decided to do errands. We both needed haircuts badly, so we walked around and found a Peluqueria....:( We went in and told them we wanted haircuts. I had an older man cutting my hair and I told him I only wanted a little trim. Apparently, I didn't say pequito enough times, because he cut my hair MUCH shorter than I wanted. In fact, he gave me a whole new style! Now my hair is longer in the front and shorter in the back. Thomas didn't like his haircut either...It was uneven. bummer.

The weather is beautiful and we went to the park again after we got our bad haircuts. Ashley and I have been planning our spring break trip to Portugal. We are very excited we found someone that is letting us couchsurf with them! It is an older couple and they are originally from Atlanta, Georgia! Also, I am leaving this Thursday to fly to England for the weekend! Wish me luck, it's my first travel alone! ahh

January 28th

So today, we had our last day of class and Matt and I decided to get together to study. As we have found, it is rather difficult to meet one another, so we went to a small pub close to his house. He had been there quite a few times before and the owners were very nice to us. They wanted to see our notes over what we were learning and we had quite a long conversation with them. After a while, an older couple came in a sat right next to us. They didn’t understand Spanish very well, and heard us speaking English. It turned out, they were on vacation and were from Finland. They didn’t speak English very well either, so conversation was very difficult but they were extremely friendly and excited to talk with us. We translated what the waitress was saying to them and after about 45 minutes, the husband tried to buy us drinks. I think we nearly insulted him when we said we didn’t want anything. We knew we had to get out of there if we wanted to get any studying in, although it was nice to talk with the couple and practice our Spanish with the owners.

(I think I have a way with older people because when I was at another restaurant booking our Italy flights on my computer, I met an older couple from Scotland and they talked my ears off! They gave me their website in case I ever wanted to visit them in Scotland….they owned a bed and breakfast.) Anyways, it was an eventful night, as all are here in Granada!

January 27

We have had a very enjoyable past couple days, this weekend. Both Thursday and Friday night, Dorothy and I went out with Roberto for tapas. On Saturday morning, we woke up at 6:45am to start off our day-trip to Cordoba. We met about 25 other students and a teacher/tour guide and took a coach bus to Cordoba which is beautiful drive through the mountains about 2 ½ hours away. We first reached Al-Andalus which was the political and administrative capitol of Old Andalus Granada from the 10th century. It was basically ruins of the buildings and we walked around taking pictures and learning about the buildings. Then we got back on the bus and drove to the heart of Cordoba to see the Mesquita. The Mesquita is known for the Christians taking over the Muslims and inside, it has beautiful pillars and murals. As we walked around, we saw both places of worship for Christians and Muslims. Every detail was symbolic of something such as trees and pineapples. There were many trees and pineapples which represented the growth of life. The walls and ceilings were beautiful and very representational. There was also a gorgeous church. Once we left the Mesquita, we took a break for lunch and met back to walk around the city. We walked through a festival in which everyone was dressed up like Medieval Times people. They were all selling lots of jewelry and I learned that Cordoba is the number one creator for jewelry in Spain. Once we walked through the festival, we walked to the synagogue, one of the only synagogues left in the world. It was small and very simple, but each wall had a different meaning. For example, the east wall represented the construction of the synagogue and the creator. We left and took the bus back to Granada. We ended our night by having tapas with some friends at a cute bar, Poe. We got shiskabobs!

Sunday morning we spent nearly an hour trying to figure out the bus schedule. The buses are so difficult, but we finally found the bus we needed to take to the mercadillo, the flea market. As we walked up to the mercadillo, it was very overwhelming. There were quite a lot of people walking around and all the vendors were shouting out their prices over their neighbors. You could find anything you desire at this market, from shoes to nuts to fruit. We had made it through about ¼ and it started pouring and everyone rushed to pack up their goods. We were forced to call it a day and took the bus back soaking wet. Dorothy and I went to Neptuno, an indoor mall, to eat lunch at Bocatta. It was the closest thing to American food, we loved it! On the way back, we stopped at Pan Y Dulces and picked up a desert. Yum! On Sunday night, we finalized our hostels for Italy and completed part of our itinerary for our Italy trip.

This is the last week for my class and my final is on Thursday. My Senora told me today at lunch that all the students who study here worry too much about their finals. She said I shouldn’t be worried….This test is worth 65% of my grade! For lunch, we had bean soup (yuck) and a salad. For dinner, we had potatoes, beans, and carrots and fish soup (it was horrible, I couldn’t eat it…) After lunch, I booked my flight to England for the end of February. This will be my first trip alone to go visit my friend, OD. I am anxious for this week to end so I can go on my trip to Italy!

January 22nd

So the other day, Dorothy and I were walking home and this guy came up to us on the streets and started talking to us....He asked us if we speak english and Dorothy said "Yaa" and he was so confused. He started speaking German with Dorothy and English with me, but he was Spanish. HAHA, we got a kick out of him....anyways....
On Tuesday, we watched the Inauguration of Obama in class. Our new president has been the top conversation starter for many and everyone in Spain is a huge fan of him. The French kids are also pretty enthusiastic about Obama, which is great to hear, since some of them don't really favor the U.S.
Other than the inauguration, I have been very busy planning for our trip to Italy. It is in almost a week and we decided we are flying into Milan and staying for a night. Then we are going to Venice for 2 nights, Florence for 3 nights, and Rome for 3 nights too! We can't wait and Dorothy has looked up every historical monument and site in the cities we are going to. I have been working to set up cheap hostels. I am also looking into visiting my friend, OD, in England in February. As we have been trying to plan all of our trips, we feel like we are running out of time. These 5 months are going to fly!!!!
In class, we have been learning more phrases to help us understand the language. I have really enjoyed my class and we have our final test next Thursday. I'm hopeful to go skiing with Roberto next Friday, although Granada has been getting sooo much rain! We heard that they haven't had this much rain in a looong time. Granada is used to having a drought....

January 18th...Flamenco Show, Hiking, and Church.

I finally feel like I am fitting into the culture here in Granada a little more. It is much easier for Dorothy and I to make our way around the city and we have enjoyed very much, going out with our brother, Roberto, and his friends. On Thursday night, we went to an Irish pub with some French friends to sing karaoke. After, we met up with our brother at a pub and walked to a discoteca, where Roberto’s professor was the DJ. The boys were so fun and very kind to us. On Friday night, we met our friend Ashley for tapas, which are just little appetizers and a drink. We had a low-key night so we could rest up for our hike into the Sacramonte Mountains on Saturday morning. A group of six of us started at the foot of the mountain, tucked away in the Albaizin, a rather unsafe neighborhood. We hiked through the small trails, past the caves of real people! Some of them stopped us, and were curious to know how we found their reserves. They wanted to cook for us, and in return, we could pay them. They were very interested in where we were from. Apparently we looked too much like tourists. We hiked to the very top where there was a small school for the children of the 100 person “town”. We crossed over the top and walked down through the streets, where it was much safer. Our senora packed us “bocadillos”, so we had our bag lunches outside in Plaza Nueva. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we walked around for a couple more hours.
Dorothy and I headed back to our apartment to get ready for the Flamenco show, which was also in Albaizin. The show was much different than we had expected. It was held at a gypsy school and the back-drop looked over the city of Granada and the Alhambra lit up at nighttime. There was only one man who played the guitar, two women who clapped, and a man who kept the beat on a box. Eventually, a woman came out and danced. She was phenomenal and had so much emotion as she danced. After the show, we went out for tapas, and then Dorothy and I headed to Mae West. We were hardly dressed up, and we can’t seem to understand why the Spanish guys are so attracted to us Americans. We have heard every pick-up line….”Do you have a lighter?” and “Can you take a picture of us?” and “I think I know you…” and “Oh My God, Que Guapa!” We even walk down the streets and cars honk at us. We just don’t understand what makes us so different from the Spanish girls…..? Dorothy and I are sick of it. It is so much better going out with our Spanish brother and his friends because then no one bothers us...grrr!
We are trying to plan the rest of our Italy trip, although it makes it difficult that we can’t always meet our friend, Ashley. It is not very acceptable to have friends visit the home. Therefore, we have to meet at café’s and pubs to use their wi-fi and plan our trip. This afternoon, Dorothy and I went to La Catedral for mass. For the most part, we were able to understand and follow along until we thought we were supposed to go up to the front for Communion and it turned out to be a special blessing. We were very confused and had to turn around infront of everyone and walk back down the aisle to our seats. About five minutes later, Communion was served and we had to go back up. The church was beautiful and there were nearly 15 alter servers, 2 deacons, 1 priest, and a cardinal! The mass was also televised!

January 11th

Wow, what a weekend I have had….On both Friday and Saturday night, a couple friends and myself went to a discoteca called Mae West. It was this huge dance club and cost 10 euro for the cover. It was so much fun dancing and I attempted to learn the flamenco the first night. On Saturday night, my host brother, Roberto, and his friend Oscar, brought us out. They were so much fun showing us how to salsa dance. It was much better going with Spanish guys because not as many Spaniards were trying to talk to us. We stayed out until 4am and woke up this morning to go on a tour of the Albaicin. Dorothy and I met our two other friends at the Plaza Nueva and went on a two hour tour! It was absolutely breath-taking. We walked up the ancient neighborhood streets and were able to look across to the Alhambra and over the entire city of Granada. We learned about the war with the Romans (FYI, Romans won). It seems like pictures couldn’t even explain the beauty of Granada. Each day, I find myself learning so much more, even just by people watching.

Here are some things that I’ve found different from the U.S.:

· It is “fashionable” for girls to wear baggy pants with baggy underwear sticking out. (gross) But apparently it originates from the hip-hop trend in South America.
· They have a Dunkin’ Coffee because the word “donut” was already copy written.
· They have state-funded churches which have caused many problems amongst the people because they used to be such strong Catholics and now a small percentage attends church.
· It is also “fashionable” for the guys to wear scarves.
· Coca-cola is really popular here, so popular, they serve it on tap.
· It is rude to walk around the house without shoes on.
· While walking or shopping, it is very common for Spaniards to bump into you and not say anything.
· Cross walks and street lights are set differently and the roads are crazy! Cross walks are located quite a bit before the street lights.
· I am pleasantly surprised that the people are so kind to us Americans. So far, I haven’t had any situations where I felt un-welcome.

Today for lunch, we had soup with all kinds of vegetables. It didn’t taste very good, but then we had mashed potatoes with tuna and a tomato sauce. It was delicious, and then for dinner, we had meatballs with peas in sauce, steamed cauliflower, and rice with the tomato sauce. Our Senora puts tomato sauce on everything it seems like, but it is slowly growing on me. Before dinner, Dorothy and I went with Thomas to meet some of his French friends. They were extremely kind and spoke pretty good English. We went to Neptuno, which is a huge indoor mall, but we could only window shop since all the shops are closed on Sundays. The worst adjustment since coming here has been the temperatures. I had not been expecting such cold temperatures, and since resources are scarce here, we have a space heater in our room and can only keep it on during the day and while we are home. There is also one in the living room, under the table, where everyone puts their legs while watching TV.

January 8-9th....My new home for 5 months.

After 5 hours, we took taxis to our host family's apartment. To our surprise, we had received a new family and live somewhere different than the address you have...this is my new address:

Manuel de Falla 12, 3*I Izquda
18005- Granada

Her name is Rosa Perez Rodriguez and she is probably in her 50's I would guess. She is separated and has two boys and a girl who is married. Her daughter and older son don't live with her. Her son has a child and lives with his girlfriend. Her younger son, Roberto, I think, lives with us but I haven't met him yet. Dorothy and I are hopeful he is around our age and takes us to meet his friends. They were all so friendly and kissed both of our cheeks when they met us.
Our apartment is cute, and our host mom cooked lunch for us and is an amazing cook. She likes to have dinner around 7pm so she can spend the rest of the night preparing the next day's meals. She is like shorter than 4ft and loves touching us! haha. Soo sweet. She has had students live with her for the past 16 yrs and this is a source of income for her. Our apartment is in prime-time location, just a block from the main street with all the stores, restaurants, bars, hotels etc. I think I will have an easy time finding you and Dad a place to stay when you come and visit. Also, we are very close to my friend ashley, which is a relief because before we were on opposites sides of each other.
Her son works at a ski shop in town and I'm hopeful to borrow some clothing to go skiing maybe this weekend with my new friend Matt that I met. Yesterday was the first day of Rebajas aka HUGE SHOPPING SALES! The sales were insane and they have really fashionable things out here....The streets were mobbed with shoppers and the sales last until feb. 28th! We went shopping today, and my dad already told me that I'm starting to look euro. They are huge boot wearers, so I think I'm going to buy a pair, they are cute and practical. There is an H&M, Zara (which is really popular here), Burberry, Lacoste etc.
My mom was already worrying about me because I wasn't dressing warm enough. She said that if I start to lose weight or get sick she thinks it is her fault and that she isn't feeding me right. She also requested that for the next month or so, we wear a scarf always because the weather gets really chilly at night. I bought two scarves in Madrid but I think I'm going to need some more because it is much cooler than I expected.
After seeing Madrid, I didn't think there was anything prettier, but I can't believe Granada. All the buildings and cathedrals are awesome! We took a practice walk to our school yesterday with the girl from Accent and my friends and I picked up a brochure with trips that the school offers us. Some of them are free for students and others are discounted such as the Alhambra. We are going on a tour to Albaicin which explains the origins of Granada on Sunday and es gratis! (free)
Yesterday, we got a new member to the house, Thomas, from France. He is absolutely hilarious and extremely friendly. He sat in our room tonight for hours talking about the U.S. and music and everything! Also, yesterday, we met the youngest son who lives here with us. He is 25 and seems like he can show us a good time! Classes start tomorrow and I have class 4-8 Monday thru Friday for 3 weeks straight. At the end of January, my friends and I are hoping to plan a week-long trip probably to Italy.

January 7....and it begins...

This morning we left from Hostal Persal, our hostal in Madrid to take the train to Granada and we will be meeting our host families in a couple hours. In Madrid, it seemed like everything we did was such a learning experience. The flight into Madrid from the U.S. went pretty smooth although we were completely exhausted. It has been difficult to get used to the 7 hour time difference but we are getting better. The first night we stayed in and the next morning we had a meeting with Accent. We learned a little about Spain and were taken to go buy cell phones if we wanted. A group of us went shopping at El Corte Ingles, which is the top department store in most of Europe. We enjoyed walking around the streets of Madrid and then went out for a dinner. We came back and got ready to go out to check out the nightlife.
We went to several bars and discotecas. I went with 6 other girls and felt safe although I could immediately see a difference in Spanish and American males. They were very social and aggressive. Many of them insisted on kissing our cheeks, besas, and they were good dancers. They were dancing salsa, I think. We went out around 12:30am and were nearly the only people at the bar. It didn’t get busier until after 1am and we didn’t get back until 3am, although it seemed like the party was just beginning! The Spaniards were extremely interested in talking to us because they wanted to practice their English. They humored us with their English phrases, “Don’t worry, be happy” and one guy on the streets tried to sing Akon to us, “I wanna love you..” Everyone was very kind to us and helpful when we walked around to find La Catedral, El Museo Del Prado, and La Besilica de San Fransisco. Monday night was especially busy because they were celebrating the Epiphany, which is most like a mix of Christmas and New Years for us. Children got gifts in the morning but they had big fiestas with their families and drank a lot. On Monday night, there was a huge parade celebrating Los 3 Reyes, the 3 Kings. Tuesday, most stores were closed so we walked around to site see.
There is a smaller group of us that is anxious to start planning our trips to other cities in Spain and Europe. Right now, we want to go to Morocco, Italy, Valencia, England, France, Portugal, and Ireland. We take our placement test tomorrow and hopefully I will go skiing with Matt at the Sierra Nevada next weekend. Sitting on the train, we are all very excited and nervous to meet our host family where we will be living for the next 5 months…..