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.