The Alhambra

Went to the Alhambra today. It was so beautiful I almost wanted to cry. Being there and seeing such beautiful and ancient history and buildings really expanded my world and made me realize that I am part of a world that is so much deeper and more complex than I have ever imagined. Traveling and seeing other parts of the world that I have never been exposed to is starting to broaden my perspective little by little and the weird thing is I can feel the change happening.
I can’t even explain how seeing the Alhambra was. The tour was so long because the Alhambra is said to be it’s own city. It was one breath-taking thing after another. I will have to post some pictures of it so you will understand only a fraction of what I’m talking about (even pictures don’t capture what your eyes see). The gardens located throughout the tour are lush, modern lines, and filled with many fountains. We found a little garden with benches and orange trees to eat our bocadillos (sandwiches). Sitting there eating our cheese and olive oil sandwiches (so delicious!) and taking in the peacefulness of the garden was absolute heaven!
On our walk home in the rain with our umbrellas we stopped at the cutest cafeteria/heladeria (café/ice cream shop) and had delicious, rich ice cream and a pastry filled with a little bit of chocolate and honey drizzled on top. So yummy! It is so funny because Tammy and I were talking about how we think about the next meal before we even finish the meal that we are eating. The food is so amazing here. Good thing walking is our transportation! I am so tired because our days are packed with fun things and of course we walk EVERYWHERE so I think I might take advantage of the siesta they have here. :)

1-20-09

I am actually feeling like I kind of belong here finally! I still don´t have my luggage (it was sent to Grenada, Florida instead of GRANADA!) which is not fun but everything else is falling into place. I got a phone today and found an internet cafe so having those things doesn´t make me feel so lost.
We were placed into our classes today for the orientation. I am in the intermediate level, which I am happy with. the class is grammar and conversation to get us started and ready for the rest of the semester which oficially starts on Feb. 11th.
We (Tammy and I) walk to school everyday and I love it! It takes about 20 or 25 minutes and I see something new everyday. Everything I mean EVERYTHING is beautiful! We are going to the Albaycin. It is so nice that we have some excursions and trips included in out tuition for the program. We are seeing the Alhambra this weekend and next weekend we are going to Madrid. After orientation is over we have about 8 days free before our classes for the semester start. I am trying to figure out where I want to travel to maybe Barcelona and one other place...It is going to be so exciting to travel all over Europe!
Tammy and I are staring to explore Granada more and more as we get to know our way around. It is the simplest things that amaze me and I am blown away by the absolute amazing ones!

January 18th

Wow! is all I can say. Today was my first full day in Spain. I had many complications on my flights over here. I have never been that stressed, worried, scarred, tired, and helpless in my life. First of all my first flight from PDX to Denver was 2 hours behind so they changed it from PDX to DEN to PDX to Chicago in order for me to even have a chance at making my flight from London to Malaga. Well of course I missed it because London Heathrow airport is so big and confusing and you have to take a bus from terminal to terminal. So because I missed the flight from Heathrow I had to convert some money to pounds which was sooooo expensive, go through customs, take a 45 min. bus ride to London´s other airport. Then wait for 5 hours or more for my flight. As I was waiting I realized that my flight into Malaga comes in too late to catch the bus to Granada. I had to call my parents multiple times to figure out where to send my lost luggage and where I was going to stay in Malaga. It was a nightmare!!! Thank goodness I had contact with my parents (even though most of it was filled with tears and sobs!) because if I didnt I seriously would have died. Then in the morning I woke up to take the 2 hour bus to Granada. I didnt sleep very well because I was worried that they guy at the front desk (who didnt speak any english AT ALL!) wasnt going to call at the right time so I kept on waking up. But I made it to the bus station and to Hotel Melia in Granada okay!
I have never been so relieved to see American people in my life. It was nice to meet people and get some kind of idea of what to expect and how things were going to be. After the meeting we saw who we were living with and met our host family. My senora is Julia, she is pretty trendy, older i think around 60, very bubbly, and talks really REALLY fast! I like her a lot, I just need to get used to speaking because at this point it is really hard to communicate. The girl that is living in Julia´s house with me is really nice. I am so glad I got paired with her. Her name is Tammy she´s from Iowa, a junior at central college, spanish major (so she´s really good at spanish!) It´s a big relief to have a good host family and roomate. Once everything settles down and I get everything in order and in a routine, it will be perfect!

Getting Ready!!!

It is so crazy that I will be in Spain in less than 10 days!!! It has come up so quick. I am just now staring to get some items together and planning what I need to bring. I think packing is going to be a lot harder than I thought. They tell you to only to pack for one week! ONE WEEK FOR SIX MONTHS?! That seems crazy to me but I'll try...

I fly out on the 16th and arrive in Malaga, Spain on the 17th in the afternoon. Then I will take a bus ride about 1 hour and 30 minutes into Granada. That will be interesting because I have heard a couple of stories of people getting on the wrong bus and ending up in a different town! Cross your fingers that doesn't happen to me! haha. The night of the 17th I will be staying with another girl in the same program in Hotel Melia. We start orientation the next day at the hotel. Orientation lasts for 2 weeks which will help us get acquainted with the city and get into the swing of speaking spanish. Then after the orientation we will take a placement test to decide what level of classes we will be taking. Just thought I would give you a little overview of what the plan is for the few weeks. Next you'll probably be reading about how I am freaking out in Spain!!!

Hasta Luego!