Well, it sure has been awhile… this will probably be my last (current) post, although I may go back and fill in the entries I never wrote from Semana Santa, Germany, my homecoming, and all that jazz. >>

Overall, life at home has been… interesting. My summer was uneventful, and just kind of weird to tell you the truth. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, probably because I was expecting it to be the most horrible thing ever. You know what I mean? Like, when you set yourself up for the worst-case scenario, chances are you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And I was.

That’s not to say coming home was easy. I think I cried more on the day I spent traveling home than I ever have in my life. But readjusting to life back home was much easier than expected. I fell back into my old routines, and everything just sort of worked.

Back here at college, I’ve thrown myself into classes and as many clubs as I can fit into my schedule. I’m excited for my core journalism classes, but I miss speaking Spanish. I’m taking a 2-credit Spanish class this semester, and when my professor started speaking Spanish to us… it took a minute to register. The last time I heard Spanish was from native speakers, and in Spain… it just doesn’t seem right, or authentic, or something, to be speaking it here. I almost feel like a fraud.

I miss, and think about, Spain every single day. Some days it doesn’t feel like more than a dream, but then I look at the Spanish flag hanging up in my room, or the posters and pictures I have plastered on my wall, and I’m reminded of the dream that was fulfilled this spring.

Everyone I met there, whether we’re on speaking terms or not, is still close to my heart. A huge piece of advice from someone who’s learning the hard way: don’t burn the bridges you built abroad. The people you depended on most to get you through the homesickness, the people you trusted most, the people who made your time abroad worthwhile… those will be the people you miss most when you’re back home. They will be some of the few people who know exactly what you’re going through when you forget how your life ever made sense before studying abroad.

Me, I’ve lost some of those people. And honestly? It sucks. I feel hated by so many people, and I don’t even understand why. I don’t fight with my friends, and I am THE last person to ever hold a grudge against anyone. We depended on each other, and while none of us were perfect friends to one another, we tried. I always thought that was enough. Trying to figure how I’m supposed to deal with the reality that my closest friend for 4/5 months abroad doesn’t want anything to do with me is anymore, to say the least, difficult. But I’m working on it.

But anyway, this entry isn’t about my personal vendettas… I just thought I’d give you an update on how life is going since leaving Spain. Look out for backposts coming in the future, and take care, everyone.

oh, and if you get a chance… I have to keep a blog and twitter for a class this semester, and we get extra points if we have lots of followers. I’m doing mine on Spain, surprise It’s going to be kind of a mix of a travel guide to Southern Spain, and I’ll probably be elaborating on things I talked about here. But I’ll also talk about news out of Spain. Please go follow me, check me out, tell your friends, whatever… I’d really appreciate it

roadtripespana.blogspot.com
twitter.com/roadtripespana

Hey all~
Buona Sera, from Italia! I’m not sure if I ever mentioned that I had traveling plans after my semester ended… I’ve been here in Rome with my uncle this weekend, and tomorrow I’m leaving for Germany for 10 days! I feel EXTREMELY lucky to have this opportunity and I’m looking forward to it! I’m having a good time here so far, but first I’ll let you know how saying goodbye to España went…

Wednesday, my last day in Granada and the date of my last entry, was… intense. I had a mild breakdown (okay, maybe not so mild) due to stress, half of it caused by yours truly, naturally. Thank goodness for long-distance calling cards!! I had two exams that day, my hardest one at 5pm that I only ended up studying for on the walk to school, for about 15 minutes. Whoops. I was also stressing out about packing, mostly because I had started at… 8:30 that morning, before my first exam. Whoops again. I haven’t been great about giving advice this semester, so here’s some if you’re looking for it: don’t do either of those things!!

Not to mention, I was just trying to deal with the reality of leaving. When I woke up that morning I could do nothing but just shake and cry. As I said… I just couldn’t believe it was happening.

As if all that wasn’t enough, I was faced once again with drama involving two people very close to me: my roommate and my host mom. This drama was never about me, but throughout the course of the last 2-3 weeks or so, I have been expected to pick sides and on various occasions, it has shifted to *my* shoulders; since I’ve been trying to stay objective and as far out of it as possible this whole time, apparently I’m the best one to solve it? Which makes sense, but every time the subject comes up I get an instant headache, and on Wednesday I was more than ready to let it pass and just forget about everything. It has taken a toll on all three of us, severed friendships and tarnished reputations and… it was pretty much the last thing I needed on Wednesday.

Thankfully I calmed down after talking with my mom several times that evening. I got my packing situation figured out, my exams came and went and I tried my best, and I gave my opinion on the drama situation and was able to more or less let it go. I had my last dinner at home: chicken noodle soup without the chicken (that’s the best way I can describe it!) and a ham and cheese bocadillo. I went out with a few friends for an hour or two; had my last bowl of Spanish gelato (a mix of raspberry and dark chocolate) and went to my favorite salsa bar, Mi Habana, for the last time. I felt like a Dancing With the Stars contestant for the last time, dancing with a good guy friend who teaches salsa, and said my goodbyes (or “hasta ahoras”, better said!) to my girlfriends.

Saying goodbye to my host family and to my house was absolutely heart-wrenching. We have all been through so much on various occasions, both good times and bad. Mamache and Rafael really have been like my Spanish parents this semester, and I just couldn’t get it through my skull that I was leaving them. I turned the lights off to my empty room and said goodbye to our guest dog that’s been staying with us for a week now (and is such a lovebug!). I gave Rafael a hug - he is the sweetest little old man, and I’m going to miss him constantly asking me how to say something in English or telling me crazy jokes. I lost it then, and when it came time to say goodbye to Mamache, we just couldn’t let each other go. I tried promising myself I wouldn’t cry but I just couldn’t help it. With a quick “te quiero, hasta AHORA” I was out the gate and in my friend’s car. That was it.

My friend drove me to the bus station, and I ended up seeing Antonio and Samantha there, too. I was happy to see them and say goodbye. The bus ride up to Madrid consisted of about 45 minutes of pure bawling, followed by immediate comatose. I listened to flamenco music (or had it playing while I was sleeping) the entire 5-hour ride.

What hurt the most, I think, was knowing that things are never going to be the same. I am never going to be at this point in my life again; once I step foot on American soil, this chapter is closing. I’m glad to have the drama behind me, but setting that all aside, this semester was everything I could have dreamed of, and even more. I have met amazing people this semester from all over the world, and I have seen more incredible things than I can count on my fingers and toes. I have learned SO much about Spain and other cultures, about myself and about those around me… I can’t say whether I’ve changed yet, because I’m still not home. I’ll definitely keep you updated throughout the summer, though

I arrived at the Madrid airport much more confident and fluent than I did last time. I actually carried on the entire conversation at the check-in desk in Spanish, which was a goal I made for myself upon arriving in January! The attendants didn’t even look at me like I was crazy or even speak English to me right away I was also talking to someone from the US while boarding the plane, and he asked me, “You understand any of this??” (referring to the flight attendants and everyone speaking Spanish - he just had a connecting flight from Boston, his final destination was Rome). I tried not to beam too hard when I answered, “Actually, I’m proud to say I do. After spending 5 months living here, I sure hope so.”

I met my uncle when I arrived on Thursday afternoon, and we hit the ground running. While I haven’t been feeling 100% this weekend - 10 bucks says it’s at least partially due to the stress from Wednesday - we’ve managed to hit up pretty much every tourist attraction in town: the Colosseum, the Basilica and Vatican Museum, the Pantheon, the Trevvi Fountains and a fair share of just walking around the city. We also got to see some Catacombs and Ostia Antica, an entire city made of ruins, about a half hour away. Since my uncle is a priest I’m staying with him at the church - which means free lodging - and not to mention, I have my own tour guide! I’m so happy that I ended up coming; amidst the panic on Wednesday I had considered delaying, or even canceling, the trip. We’ve been taking it easy lately though, and I knew I was back to almost completely myself today because I was able to gobble down an AMAZING mixture of Italian gelato: Strawberry, Pineapple and Peach! I’d argue it to be the best 4 euros I’ve spent so far. And, not to worry, I have also indulged myself in pasta, pizza, lasagna, and plenty of delicious wine!

Moreover, I’m really really thankful to have 2 weeks “rest” (so to speak) between leaving home and coming home… traveling with family will definitely be the perfect transition I need to dull the culture shock I know I am going to experience upon returning to Wisconsin. My uncle is fluent in Spanish (and English, of course!), and since he has spent many years living in Spain, I’ve been able to vent to him about the cultural differences I’m going to miss or that I’m looking forward to. It’s helped make the transition from “fluent Spanglish” to “occasionally throwing in a Spanish phrase” easier. And it’s also really cool that he’s fluent in Italian; it makes ordering at restaurants a whole lot easier, and it’s exciting for me too, since Italian is a language I would love to learn someday. I’ve been asking him a lot of questions and once I get French down, Italian is next!

Tomorrow morning I leave bright and early for Frankfurt! I’m meeting another uncle and another aunt there tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll be touring Frankfurt, Berlin, Heidelberg and Munich for 10 days. I fly back to the states on June 4.

I should probably get going… I started this entry several hours ago, but my uncle and I went out awhile ago and I was able to get my last bowl of Italian gelato: Stracciatella (chocolate chip) and chocolate, YUM. Now it’s quarter to 11 and I’ve still got to shower and get all packed up. No stressing this time, though! I’ve got some green tea here to soothe my aching throat and relax me, and hopefully when I wake up at… 4:15 tomorrow morning?… I won’t be too cranky! I’m not sure whether I’ll have internet in Germany but if I do, I’ll try my best to update. If not, talk to you again in the states! Take care all!!

Okay, every entry I say that I’ll write about all the other stuff I need to write about, and that’s why I haven’t been writing much lately. Does that make sense? It’s the procrastinator’s mentality within me, heh. While I’ve decided that I DO still really need to talk about everything that’s happened over the past month, I’ve just decided to write them next chance I get (which will probably be at home :[) as backposts, and continue writing about the present, because I have plenty to talk about anyway.

A good friend of mine just gave me a bunch of Spanish music tonight! And while this song is probably one of the few songs I actually can’t stand to listen to, I can’t really deny the lyrics… here’s one verse:

”
Cuando el sol se va
se le escucha hablar
paseando su amargura por la Alhambra
recordando y llorando por Granada.
“

Which translates to: “When the sun sets, talking can be heard, passing bitterness through the Alhambra, remembering and crying for Granada.”

Seeing as how my bus leaves at 1:30am on Thursday morning/Wednesday night… I feel like I can relate to this pretty well. I will admit that I have already done my fair share of remembering and crying for Granada. There was a little piece of me that never really even expected this week to come, and now I have begun counting down the hours until I leave. It all seems so surreal.

It all started last Wednesday; I was in my Civilization and Culture class, which I have NEVER liked, to tell you the truth. My professor has always come off really arrogant to me, and the class just wasn’t what I expected; many times, it seemed to be a waste of time more than anything. But I digress…. anyway, last Wednesday was our last real class period. We actually had a halfway decent class, because we had to get into small groups and talk about food, YUM. Maybe not the best activity for college students with empty stomachs, but it was something out of the ordinary, at least. We spent the class period laughing, listening to our stomachs growl and sharing recipes. Once class ended and we begun packing up, our professor actually said goodbye to us. Even though it wasn’t my first last class of the week, he was the first professor to actually say goodbye:

“Well, this is the last class… I hope you’ve had a good semester, and I wish you the best of luck in everything, EVERYTHING that you do in the future. I know I’m your professor, but now that the semester is over, come have a beer with me sometime…”

I never even LIKED the guy and I just sat there, completely dumbfounded. I felt like I had been hit by a bus or something, that’s how hard the sadness hit me. I was fine for about 5 minutes until I saw my friend Elisa. I told her what happened, and I just lost it. That feeling stuck with me for the rest of the day, and I’ve rid myself of it until today.

I just can’t believe this is actually happening. I want to come home, but I don’t want to leave.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been majorly slacking on updating you, and for that I immensely apologize! Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. April flew by like nobody’s business, and here I am with final exams starting a week from today! I can hardly believe it!! I’ve been keeping myself busy between classes, salsa dancing and traveling! I actually don’t have much time to write right now, either - I’m off to have coffee with Moti, our Japanese roommate who left us a month or two ago, but is still in Granada. I haven’t really talked with her since she left, and I’m excited to hear about how she’s doing! Here’s a cliff-notes version of things I need to talk about (read: mostly so I don’t forget!)…

~Semana Santa Processions in Sevilla, and the city itself
~La Alhambra (You’ll be happy to know that I FINALLY made it! It only took me 4 months!)
~Día de la Cruz
~Barcelona!! I’m leaving tonight with 3 other girls and we’ll be there until Sunday night. Even though the weather is looking a little iffy, I’m still really excited!!
~More random Spaniard-isms that I’ve been noticing, but never get the chance to talk about
~And of course, pictures! Not something to talk about, but once I get everything sorted through and uploaded, I can’t forget to post links for you.

Alright, I’m off… que tengas buen punto!!

Well Semana Santa is over (and has been for a week now, oops!) and it was by no means easy to go back to classes! I was happy to be back in Granada to see my host family and friends here! The girls (other Amanda, Samantha and Ellie) brought a couple guys and we went out salsa dancing last night to celebrate being back together, since we all went our separate ways last week. That was much-needed and, as always, a ton of fun!!

As for break though, I’m not sure I could have enjoyed myself more, traveling around to so many beautiful cities! I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity!! I think my favorite part, apart from just being able to experience Holy Week here, was seeing so many landmarks and places related to people I’ve studied in class. For example, the Roman Aqueducts and Alcazar in Segovia, a convent founded by several Spanish writers in the 16/17th century and churches or statues dedicated in their names. I’ve never been a huge fan of history class; putting it in the context of literature makes it a little bit more interesting and relevant for me. But when I actually see it in front of me, and imagine what it looked like when it was first built, what the city looked like… knowing that I’m walking on the same ground now that they did even 2 or 300 years ago, always gives me the chills a little. Pretty much every city you’re going to visit in Europe has an incredible lineage of history and influences from other countries or old empires, and I love being able to see that with my own eyes.

I don’t have too much time to update today; I’ll talk about Sevilla, Semana Santa celebrations and processions in my next entry. For now, I’ll share the links to pictures from Cordoba at the end of March, and the first half of Semana Santa: Madrid, Toledo, Avila and Segovia. Enjoy and take care!

Cordoba
Madrid
Madrid: Botanical Gardens
Madrid: 100 Hours of Astronomy (!!)
Toledo
Avila (1)
Avila (2)
Segovia: The Drive
Segovia: Churches/Cathedrals
Segovia: Alcazar
Segovia: Alcazar & Aqueducts!

Hey all -

This is just a quick post to let you know how things are going. I haven´t fallen off the face of the earth, I promise!

Cordoba last weekend (or the weekend before? Don´t remember haha) was wonderful! I got lots of great pictures that I´ll post later if I can. My midterms all went well - I know I got an 8.5 on two of them, which is and A! I´ll find out the rest of my grades when classes resume after Semana Santa.

Right now, I´m writing from Madrid! My uncle used to live here, so he has friends whom I met several summers ago. One of them, Maite, was kind enough to let him and I stay in her home this week, and to take us around to cities like Toledo, Segovia, Avila and Sevilla! I am extremely excited because I still feel like I haven´t gotten to see enough of the history and culture part of Spain. I also spent the weekend touring Madrid and it actually went very well. I´ve had some bad luck in the past with that city, but I enjoyed myself very much! I got to see the Prado museum, the botanical gardens and a HUGE and absolutely gorgeous park called El Parque del Retiro. I also saw the Guernica, one of Picasso´s most famous paintings, at the Reina Sofia Museum. This was probably the one thing I wanted to do more than anything, because I remember learning about it in high school and it´s just always stuck with me for some reason. This painting is absolutely enormous and mesmerizing. I probably spent 10 minutes just gaping at it. Here´s a link to wikipedia to see an image and a little bit of the history behind it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(painting)

Also while in the city, I was able to celebrate 100 Hours of Astronomy!! I probably spent half of Saturday at the Planetarium, looking around and seeing one of the shows. Lucky for me, everything was free, in celebration of 100 Hours!! They have several exhibits and movies to watch, and a few different shows in the dome. I saw the one about Julio Verne´s universe, author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth and a few others about the moon. It was basically a briefing of Dynamic Earth, Astronomy and Oceanography rolled together into 45 minutes and was really interesting. After the show I went back outside to do some quality stargazing, and was that ever intense. Madrid´s Astronomy Club had about 20 or 30 telescopes for the public to look through, and hundreds of people showed up! This made me really happy, since I am involved in WSU´s Astronomy Club and used to maybe 20 people showing up on any given night. I got to see the moon and Saturn (my favorite!!) through the telescopes, and hear a little mini-lecture on the moon, the planets, etc. I unfortunately couldn´t stay very long because I had to catch the bus back to Maite´s village, but overall I was extremely excited to have been an Astronomy nerd for the night! Here´s more information on 100 Hours: www.100hoursofastronomy.org

Well I should get going… we are going to Toledo today and should be leaving pretty soon, so I´ll sign off for now! Have a great day everyone!

As a follow-up from last entry, I ended up not going to Fiesta de las Fallas (this would be when I direct you to Jhonni’s blog - a fellow BlogAbroad-er actually studying in Valencia!). I wasn’t feeling so well those few days anyway, so it was probably best I stay home.

Despite being disappointed about missing another cultural opportunity, I have been having lots of fun lately because I’m starting to go out with Spaniards more. As much as I love everyone from WSU, I am here to speak and learn the language and mix with the culture, so I have been extremely excited to meet such nice and fun people! This past weekend was hands-down the best I’ve had so far. While I don’t remember what I did on Friday, on Saturday night, I met up with pretty much the same group of Spaniards (and Ellie) who I went out with last weekend. We went out for tapas (and actually found a place before midnight this time!) and then went to what is quickly becoming one of my favorite discoteca/bars here, Mi Habana! It’s a Cuban Salsa bar, and while it isn’t very big, the music is (usually) great and I love the atmosphere. All of us were dancing and laughing the entire night; upon leaving around 3am, my cheeks and stomach were actually sore from smiling and laughing so much! Samantha and her Spanish friend Antonio dropped by for a little bit as well, and since Antonio has a car, he drove us home. That was quite the experience!! I think I’ve mentioned how narrow the streets here are, and how crazy the drivers are despite that fact… Antonio was no different! It was especially frightening because we were actually IN the car with him. I’m surprised I’m not currently in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. I will give him props for his music, however; he listens to techno, volume UP and windows down!! That actually made me miss home somewhat - I miss being able to drive.

On Sunday morning, Antonio picked Samantha and I up at our house (yes, I did get in the car with him again… I’m a brave soul!), went to pick up Ellie and her son, and he drove us to his family’s house about 20 minutes away from the city. It’s up in the hills, and the view…!!! Of course, I was in such a rush when we left that I forgot my camera. Ellie and Samantha got some good ones though (see links below)! We got to meet Antonio’s parents, his uncles and cousins… that’s just how family is here. They all live close to each other and get together on the weekends. I think it’s really cute! It was neat too, because they own a bunch of horses as well as a couple dogs! I was excited to finally get my dog “fix”, and they let us ride an older horse too!! We were there for most of the day, just enjoying the view and hanging out with the family. We had lunch there too: delicious paella! I was really happy that we were speaking Spanish most of the day, and it was fun to ride a horse, which I haven’t done since middle school. Overall, a very successful weekend! 

Now, the only thing hanging over my head are midterms. I’ve heard they’re not as bad as exams in the states, but I don’t want to take any chances. Although I am extremely excited to take a trip with the CLM to Córdoba on Saturday, I will probably be spending the rest of the weekend studying. Oh, joy.

I will leave you, once again, with some pictures from March! The first three links are my pictures; the fourth link is to pictures that aren’t mine, but ones you should see, from these past weekends; and the last link is to Samantha’s pictures - take a look at all the pages. Enjoy, y hasta luego!

My pictures: March
My pictures: Grafitti, page 3
My pictures: More grafitti!
Not my pictures - start at the end of page 2
Samantha’s pictures

Before I tell you about this weekend, I have to tell you what I have been waiting for since last year!! This is totally nerdy but I don’t even care, I was so excited - I can’t believe I forgot to mention it in my last entry. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Spanish music!! I go so far as to look at the Spanish charts on iTunes to see what music and songs the Spaniards are buying! For some reason, everything to me just seems so much better in Spanish. Anyway, my favorite Spanish band, La Quinta Estación, released a new CD last week Tuesday!!! I had class at 8:30 that morning, so as soon as it was over, the first thing I did was go out to the multiple CD shops I have had my eyes on, compare prices and buy it!! Surprisingly enough, it was cheapest at Corte Inglés - normally everything there is several euros more expensive than anywhere else. Nonetheless, I have their new disc Sin Frenos and have been listening to it almost nonstop since I bought it!!! So yes, this makes me very happy

This fin de semana [weekend] has been an exciting one, filled with lots of Spanish speaking, new experiences and more beautiful weather (but unfortunately NO dancing :[)! It all started on Thursday night. Amanda, Ellie and Ellie’s friend Nelson and I went out for tapas! We wanted to go dancing and even went to Havana, a Cuban salsa bar, for awhile. But we left because we were all tired and my stomach was feeling funny. I was a vegetable for most of Friday, but it was sunny outside at least! Mamache and Rafael left, I think, to go to a friend’s beach house for the weekend? They left Maria José, their daughter, and her husband in charge of us. When they were leaving it was so funny because Mamache was showing Maria José what was all in the fridge and introducing us.. I felt like we were being babysat! But it wasn’t too bad. Friday evening, I went with Samantha to meet with her intercambio, Javier. Intercambios here are through the CLM, and it’s basically a way to meet other people who speak Spanish, be it native Spaniards or other Americans. You meet with them every week or so to just talk, walk around, whatever you guys decide. Samantha has been meeting with Javier since the first weeks of the semester, so it was neat for me to meet him. He’s an older man and seems really lonely, but very friendly and helpful! He took us up by the Alhambra and showed us where he lived as a kid. I also told him how much I was interested in all the graffiti around here, and he showed us some awesome art in places I would have NEVER found. It was really cool, and we were talking almost the entire 3 hours in Spanish!

Saturday was Maria José’s Barbeque/Birthday Party! I think her and her sister, Helena, went all out because Mamache and Rafael were gone. You should have seen all the beer and bread they bought!! The kitchen was almost unable to be used because all their food was spilling out from every crevice. People started showing up around noon and were there, steadily, even when I left to go out around 8. Samantha and I felt a little awkward because we obviously didn’t know anyone, but Jesús, another one of Mamache’s kids, was talking with us for a lot of the time. The food was delicious as usual, and it was nice to be outside for awhile! I wish I would have taken pictures of all the people there. It was fun just to people watch. Around 8, I left to meet Amanda, Ellie and a bunch of Ellie’s friends (she is very popular, haha!) to go see a Flamenco show!!! It’s been awhile since my last one and I was extremely excited. It was at the same venue as last time, so I figured it would be the same show. Definitely not!! It turned out to be a theatrical/dance version of Aladdin!!! It was a mix of flamenco and modern dance, using songs right from the Spanish version of the movie. It was a little weird at first, but by the end it grew on me! I would definitely recommend it. Ellie and I were definitely in the mood to go dancing afterwards, but were hungry first! A few of Ellie’s (Spanish) friends apparently knew of some pretty awesome tapas places… unfortunately, we didn’t find them until after 12, and here they stop serving tapas after midnight!! So that was a bummer. BUT!!! We found a place with shawarmas, and I tried my first one and LOVED it!! It’s like a pita pocket or those pita sandwiches from Quizno’s, but so much better. And bigger! And delicious. YUM. At this point, we were on the complete opposite end of town from all the discotecas, and it was almost 2am by the time we left anyway (a lot of discotecas/bars close between 2-4) so we just decided to call it a night.

Then Sunday was a beach day!!! I went with Samantha, Ellie and her son, Amanda and 2 of my friends from intensive month. We went to yet another new beach for me, Almuñecar. It’s less than an hour and a half from Granada. It’s a pretty small town and the beach was very easy to find! The thing about most of the beaches in Granada, though, is that they are generally very rocky. They can also be dangerous because the tides tend to be strong, and they get very deep very quickly. We were going more for the sun though, not the swimming! We found an area more like sand, laid out our towels and just relaxed. It was heavenly! I’m not sure what temperature it got up to, but I was laying out in my bathing suit the entire day and was never cold! We waded in a few times to cool off, because the sun did get pretty warm. I even went swimming for a few minutes - I was the only one brave enough to go in all the way, because the water was definitely cold!! But, as I said, it’s no worse than Lake Michigan! I went to bed extremely early yesterday - it’s so funny how much being in the sun all day tires you out, even if you’re doing nothing but laying there!

This week is Fiesta de las Fallas, up in Valencia. I’m not sure exactly what’s all going on there, but it’s supposed to be a big deal. I’m debating whether I want to go - one of Ellie’s friends wants to go, so I wouldn’t be alone. The only thing is that I think it’s from Wednesday-Friday? So I would have to miss a bunch of class. I know, I know, I’m in Spain, and this will be the only time I get to see it! I’m kicking myself for not going to Carnaval in Cadiz as it is. I just don’t know whether or not I trust other people to take notes for me, and I’m worried about making work up (though I hardly ever have homework). So, I’ll let you know what happens! Until then, take care and hasta luego!

Happy Friday 13th, for the second time this year! You know what’s funny, is that Friday the 13th doesn’t mean anything here! For Spaniards, their day of bad luck is Tuesday the 13th. I also learned last month in intensive month that another superstition/luck thing in Spain is that if you step in dog poop on the sidewalk, it’s good luck? That explains why the sidewalks are never clean I guess!

I’m sorry I’ve been slacking on writing lately!! Nothing much has been going on around here lately, except classes! Although we did have a barbecue last weekend, which made me miss home a ton! It was all meat though - I think we grilled at least 4 different kinds? It was SO good. Plus the weather was gorgeous! I think we’re going to have another one tomorrow afternoon for one of my host sister’s birthdays, so I’m looking forward to that for sure!

A few more things about Spain: I have never mentioned this because I never really realized the full awesomeness of it until these past weeks. Mamache and Rafael eat dinner in their salón, their family room, on the couch in front of the TV. They have a table set up there, and underneath the table is a space heater! The table has a tablecloth on it to trap the heat. It’s so simple but it’s so ingenious! I’m always a freezy cat as it is, so to be able to eat dinner on comfy couches with warm legs and feet is heavenly. Plus, after dinner I always get tired anyway, and since they eat so late here, you just sit back and fall asleep right there on the couch for awhile. Like I said, pretty much the most ingenious thing ever, and something that will definitely be in my house someday!

Also, with the warm weather (it is supposed to get up to 70 tomorrow? winter?? what?!), I have of course been wearing my sandals more. Anything above freezing at this time of year feels like paradise to me! But apparently the Spaniards aren’t as amused. Apparently they take seasons more to heart than I do, because I have been getting some pretty disgusted looks on the street! All the Spaniards are still all bundled up in their boots and scarfs and here I am, miss California USA (almost all Europeans assume all Americans are either from California or New York, haha!) wearing my jean capris and sandals. I can’t help it, I see the sun and go crazy haha. Hopefully by the end of the month I won’t look quite as out of place!

Speaking of the end of the month, I have been making more traveling plans! This time, though, within Spain. I am taking a trip to Córdoba with the CLM on March 28, just for the day! I have heard it is a beautiful city and I really can’t wait to see more of the history of Spain, since so far I’ve only been to the beach, haha! I’ve also made plans for Semana Santa, and I must say I can’t wait!! My uncle used to live in Madrid, and has some friends there. He will be in Madrid for Palm Sunday and won’t be returning to his current home, Rome, until after Easter, so I’ve decided to take a bus up to see them on April 3rd!! I’m going to try and get in touch with a few old friends that live in Madrid and see them the first weekend, and then during Holy Week we will hopefully be traveling around to other cities nearby to see their processions, like Toledo, Segovia and Sevilla! My uncle’s friend has a car and connections so hopefully it won’t be too expensive. I feel very fortunate to be able to travel with people (and family, even better) who have lived here and know the country - it’s like my own personal tour guides! So that will definitely be a good time

Well I am off to enjoy the beautiful weather (sorry I can’t stop ranting about it! I just can’t get used to it, haha!), but take care!!

Well, our Japanese roommate Moti is leaving this weekend. I can’t believe it’s been a month since she’s arrived! Her Spanish has improved SO much, I am so proud of her. And I’m glad she’s just moving to another apartment in Granada, so I’ll still be able to see her every once and awhile. I also can’t believe that I’ve been here for 2 months, almost exactly… oh, how time flies!

Nerja last weekend was fun! It is an EXTREMELY tourist-y town, however. My friend Elisa and I heard as much English as we did Spanish! On Friday night we were also looking for a restaurant to eat dinner at, and found one right on the beach around 9pm. We had a craving for paella, and went to ask the waiter if it was on their menu… turns out they were out because the restaurant was closed. At 9pm!!!! I literally asked him if we were still in Spain, and he just laughed [we eventually did find Paella at a different restaurant not far away!]. Even though it was rainy on Saturday, we were still able to enjoy the caves and the beaches. Pictures below!!

It has been raining here for the past few days, which has been kind of a downer, but hopefully that means that spring will be that much prettier, right? I’ve finally had time to upload pictures of my life here over the past couple months, and of many of the things I’ve talked about. The flamenco show last month, the inauguration, baking adventures a couple weeks ago, and finally, a picture of Mamache and Rafael! Take a look and let me know what you think.

Also, if anyone is interested, I have posted a few blogs from before I left as well, starting in February of last year [I apologize profusely, again, for the Twitter spam that was caused by this action!!]! If you’re wondering what I was thinking/going through before I even knew for sure that I was going, the first 5-10 entries of this blog (also tagged Preparations:backpost) are now those backposts!

Well I am off to eat lunch fairly soon, so adios for now!

The last of the pictures from my holiday!
Nerja - Mostly the beach
Nerja- Mostly the caves
Updated: Granada Graffiti (Starting at the end of page 2)
Granada Randoms Jan.-Feb.; Baking Adventures + Mamache & Rafael on page 3!