Hola,
Yesterday was our first full day in Granada. Boy was my mind blown. First off everyone walks everywhere here, which explains why there are very few overweight individuals. Our day started at eight o'clock with my Senora rushes us through breakfast and out the door, telling us to walk fast, very fast. She is wonderful, in a full of energy, never stops talking kind of way. Although I don't understand everything she has to say, it really is not a problem because with a simple head nod or a "Sí, sí" she is on to her next long explanation or tangent. It's great. At some point I am determined to end her long dialogues and turn them in to conversations. I'm confident my roommate and I can do it, but it certainly will take some time and getting used to. So after we were whisked out of the apartment, María Carmen (my Senora's name), walked us to school like little first graders on their first day of school. It was precious. I loved every minute of it. We met up with four other girls in our program on the way to the IES Center who coincidentally live in our apartment as well. I also found out later that one of the boys from Grinnell lives right down the hallway also. Crazy! Following our walk to school, we spent the day in Spanish class, working on the basics and simple survival tactics in Granada, as well as touring the IES Center, which is gorgeous and had the most amazing view from the rooftop terrace.
At 2 our classes ended and we headed home for our lunch prepared my María Carmen. It was a yummy creamy soup, chicken, salad, and fruit. We eat so much fruit! It is amazing. Apart from the typical apples, pears, bananas, oranges, we eat fresh figs (which beat fig newtons any day!) these small yellow plum things (not sure what they are called), and several other interesting and fresh fruits that grow here in Granada. After lunch we happily engaged in our first siesta! Boy do the Spaniards have is right. Not only are naps in the afternoon socially acceptable, but they are the social norm and everyone takes them. How wonderful! After our siesta, my roommate and I hit the streets of Granada. She needed a computer charger, so we set out to find one. Our first true test of navigating the city all on our own, with no idea where we were going. We successfully found the Mac story, with some help from some employees at El Corte Ingles and a map of course, only to find it closed because we were on the tail end of the daily seista when most stores are closed. Go figure. Such a different and interesting concept. After our adventure came to a halt we navigated the streets back to the IES Center. where we were to meet for our tour with our Professora. We toured the area by the Center. which is an Arab community in which many gypsies live as well. This was my favorite part of the day. It was beautiful. This area is a steep winding labyrinth of gorgeous white houses, or Carmens as they call them here, with amazing wooden front doors and beautiful courtyards. They are absolutely amazing and I would love nothing more than to live in one someday. At the top of the labyrinth was the most beautiful view of the city and of the Alhambra, which is a humongous Moorish palace and fortress. Breathtaking is all that can be said to describe this view and tour.
After our amazing tour, we traveled back down the winding streets and headed off for some tapas, such a great concept. Here in Spain, if you buy a drink, say a beer, wine, or even coke, you get a free tapa, which is kind of like a little appetizer of some sort. I got two drinks and two tapas for 4 euro last night. Granted, this doesn't quite fill you up, but it is very cheap and a nice way to spend your evening. After tapas, which I would like to add, typically range from about 9 to midnight in Spain, we headed home to get ready for our night which started at midnight. The crazy thing is midnight is actually an early night to go out in Spain. I have heard some clubs don't even open until 2 or 3. A handful of hours later we ended a wonderful day.
All I can say is that, as the Granadadinos say, "En Granada, todo es posible." I couldn't agree more!
xoxo,
Ashley
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