The most beautiful place in the world.

"Dale limosna mujer, que no hay en la vida nada como la pena de ser ciego en Granada"

 I started writing this about the Alhambra on September 27th! Needless to say, I have been terribly busy ever since! The Alhambra was amazing and the view of the city of Granada from the Alhambra was out of this world! This quote above roughly translates as "Give me a tip woman, because there is no worse penalty in life than to be blind in Granada"

This is one of the many beautiful views of the city of Granada from the Alhambra. The view was surreal. Anyways, we left for the Alhambra around one and didn't return home until about eight! We walked around ALL day! Yikes! There was so much to see at the Alhambra which translates from Arabic as "the red fortress", I think the guide had said it is known as "the red fortress" because the stone that it is made of is red stone (duhh...). Also, the Alhambra is where the kings used to live. It's sort of like a royal palace (I think!). It was a very cool/very long tour and our tour guide was pretty sweet. He spoke in Spanglish the whole time, it was pretty funny. I don't know if I really even remember much of what he said because he talked for SO long, sorry I couldn't give more information about the Alhambra. Sorry for the terrible post everyone, but at least it has beautiful pictures. Thanks for reading! I now have to post about Paris and Lagos, Portugal! eeeek. (:

View of the city from the Alhambra.

Emily and I!

Federico Garcia Lorca

En el Parque Garcia Lorca. Que bonita!

I recently started a bucket list for Spain. Things that I want/need to do over the next couple months. By the time that I leave here in three months, I want the list to be very extensive and complete. (: One of the easy things I put on there was to visit the house of Federico Garcia Lorca. Which is in the park very close to where I live here in Granada. Wednesday's are free to get into the small museum for a tour! Garcia Lorca was a playwright and poet, Granada is where his summer home was. 

Garcia Lorca's home

      He was arrested just before the Spanish Civil War an was assassinated in 1936. I don't know much about his life really (the tour was in spainsh!) but I did tell the tour guide that I would see her next wednesday! Why not right? It was only about a 20 minute tour and it was a cute little house. Maybe after I go through the tour a few times, I will completely understand what the guide says. (: Anyways, despite a couple minor weird occurances, the park is one of my favorite hang out spots, its so beautiful and peaceful, and I really am excited to go back next week for another free tour of the summer home of Garcia Lorca!

 "Then we can spend all summer together, as I must work hard and it is there, in my Huerta de San Vincente, where I can write my plays with the greatest serenity." -Federico Garcia Lorca

After the tour we walked around the park a little bit and came across a few kids from Michigan who had set up some rope (the kind you use for rock climbing) between two trees, and were walking on it like a tight rope! I tried it out, it was very difficult but really cool! Very hard to balance! In this picture to the left is a girl named Paige, I hope I run into her again sometime here in Granada!

Los Cahorros

Granada is a beautiful city, as I have said many many times and there is so much to do and so many things surrounding the city! Yesterday, we (Tara, Roee, Machi and I) took a bus to Los Cahorros in Monachil, Spain, about a 30 minute bus ride from Granada. Los Cahorros is some sort of mountain range at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas (Atleast that's what people tell me). After the 30 minute bus ride there was about a 30 minute up hill hike just to get to Los Cahorros! I was not expecting that at all! Also, the way to get to Los Cahorros from the bus stop is very interesting, you walk on a big road, then past a bunch of houses, past a little restaurant, you make awkward turns and are really going straight up hill and then you finally get to Los Cahorros! Which is such an amazing place! Once we actually arrived at Los Cahorros, the hiking wasn't that bad at all. Nothing that we don't have at Atwood...haha. There is a river, a couple bridges, some trees, some plants, basically the same as Atwood and by that I mean, it really was nothing like Atwood. The river is in a deep winding valley, there are no prarie plants and the biggest bridge has a sign right before it saying "Danger, only 4 people at a time!".

Beginning of our journey!

When we started the hike we were on top of a huge mountain. The day was perfect for hiking! It was sort of hot when we first began but once we headed down into the valley closer towards the river, the temperature dropped quite a bit. It was very refreshing. We started off in Los Cahorros Altos, meaning, we decided to go up. We went up a little bit and then saw the trail that started leading down into the valley. The trail is not really marked but guarded by janky fences that seem to fall into the river every so often. It is really easy to get off the trail because there are so many places that have been worn down by people wandering near the river bed. When we first started, we stayed on the trail.

Paul and Meir

We ran into Paul and Meir who were rock climbing. When they had first got to Los Cahorros they decided to wander off the trail to the river bank and they ended up a little off the trail climbing up a really big rock when we ran into them. They suggested for us to follow the river to go the other way, majority rules and we ended up following the river (Thanks guys...haha). We followed some sort of path that looked like some people had been on before, then we ended up crossing slippery rocks in the river and having to walk through a bunch of thorn vines and burrs! All in all it was quite the adventure, we ended up having to climb basically straight up a little ways to get from the river to the trail. We could see the trail from down on the river banks but it was so high up! Aren't I glad that I used to rock climb at CER? While rockclimbing at CER I learned that even little spaces on a surface that don't look like they will help you on your way up, really do help you! I definitely wasn't trying to climb up a rock like my friends did though! I just wanted to get out from the river and onto the real trail! It was pretty awesome though hiking through the river and getting to really climb back up to the trail! It was crazy, nothing I would ever have done before now, or even thought of doing. Most of the time I just like to stay on the trail. A lot safer that way. When we left, (Tara, Machi and I) we left Roee with Meir and Paul, so that they could have fun climbing up mountains and playing in the river, and hitting eachother with sticks, or whatever boys do for fun. We started heading back to the bus stop and our friends called and told us that the last bus had left for Granada, so we began walking to Granada. Oh it's only a 3 hour walk...eeeee. We walked a little ways and pretended to hitch hike. Then saw some hikers driving past that we had seen in Los Cahorros and waved to them. They pulled over and gave us a ride to Granada. We made it home alive! They were named Manolo and Paula, they were both scientests living in a city near Monachil. Paula said she was from Sevilla, I think. Paula works in a lab as a chemist. Manolo is a microbiologist. Woah! They were pretty awesome and we were so happy that we didn't have to walk home from Granada. Thanks Manolo and Paula! Where ever you guys are in the world!

Manolo y Paula!

Real Life.

Parque Garcia Lorca (Stolen from Abby)

I am having a hard time accepting that this is my real life and that I am actually spending my days in Spain! Walking to class and seeing the beautiful mountains in the distance, coming home for a siesta (yes, people actually do that!), going out for tapas and spending the evening hanging out with friends in this gorgeous fairytale land! There are so many different places to go in this city, we have been here for a couple weeks and have only just begun discovering everything that Granada has to offer. One place that we have discovered is Parque Garcia Lorca which has turned out to be a pretty cool place to hang out, run and do homework. It is beautiful! There are so many great spots here just to hang out and appreciate what is going on around you. The people here are definitely on their own time for the most part, they are in no hurry to get anywhere fast and that lifestyle fits perfectly into the scenery around them.

Rosas en el parque Garcia Lorca. (Stolen from Abby)

Summer no más.

Wedding in Waseca, MN.

Hello 26 inch pizza in Nisswa, MN!!

Where did summer go? My summer was spent working 60 hour weeks, deciding what to bring to Spain, packing for Spain, working out, laying out, swimming, partying and shopping. Not necessarily in order of importance or frequency. Not to mention the longest week in Minnesota ever, at the lake, Mall of America and a beautiful wedding! Here in Granada, I think that it is still technically summer, and it sure does feel like it! The weather has been between 80 and 90 degrees every day since I have been here, which is perfect! I am not sure how much longer this perfect weather can last though! Over the past week the nights have started to get a little colder, not cold enough to make me want to wear a coat but I am definitely noticing the difference. Last night it actually rained! Well, I don't think that I could actually consider it rain, it lightly sprinkled for about 3 minutes. There weren't any puddles on the ground but it was so nice to feel rain! (No, I didn't get to use my umbrella during the sprinkles Courtney...). Anyways, from what I have understood from my professor, summer is supposed to go until about mid-September. If we are lucky, it could last up until the end of September! (Cross your fingers!). Fall starts technically in mid-September and lasts until about mid-December according to my professor, which is fine with me! That means that when I get home from Granada, the cold weather of Illinois is going to be horrible because I won't even be close to used to it! Anyways, I had my first full week of classes this last week. 10am to 2pm every day! Talk about a killer! Que horrible! Well, I guess it isn't actually that bad because I like both of my teachers, Rosana and Augustina, but four consecutive hours is just rough, no matter the language! Rosana is from the Basque region in Spain (I think that's what she said!). Augustina is from Andalucía, which is the part of Spain that Granada is located. Augustina has triplets! They are both really cool teachers, basically the whole first part of the class with Rosana is just speaking and working with a partner, answering questions that she asks, learning about basic things like how real Spaniards would order something in a restaurant, or not saying "Lo siento" every time you bump into someone, Spaniards say "Perdona". "Lo siento" is something that is only used when you really do something bad. Also, Spaniards don't say "gracias" the way we use thank-you. They say "gracias" when someone does something that is unexpected or unnecessarily nice. You don't say "gracias" when someone passes you the water at the dinner table or when the teacher gives you a piece of paper. At a restaurant you don't say "gracias" after the waiter brings out each individual part of the meal, only once at the end when leaving. Spaniards also don't say "gracias" when someone cooks them a meal, because it is expected of whoever did the cooking and she/he doesn't expect a thank-you. Thinking about it, it makes sense, are we really that thankful for everything all the time? Thank-you in the English language doesn't have as much of a sincere meaning as it does in the Spanish language. A person might say that we use it to be more polite, but would anyone consider the general population of America overly polite? I wouldn't exactly say yes on that one! Spaniards are blunt, I definitely wouldn't say rude, but hey, if you're not cute today, someone will tell you (:

Has anyone wondered where I am living?

I am guessing that a few of you are curious as to where I have been living for the past couple weeks. Well, the first couple of days we lived in hotels, one, in Toledo, which I have already posted a picture of the beautiful view. The other, in Madrid, I did not take pictures of! It was about a five minute walk to the Prado Museum. Pretty awesome! After living life in luxurious hotels for a few nights we departed for Granada, which for those of you who have not caught on, is where I will be living until mid-December.

My bed!

I am living with a roommate, Mikaela, and my señora. Mikaela and I share a room. Its about the size of a dorm room. Both of our beds are the same size with plaid blankets on them. We have one desk and an armoire to share. We also have Wi-Fi here! Which was something that neither of us were expecting, but both of us were desperately hoping for! We each have a little night stand and the floor is all tile throughout the apartment. Oh and about those posters on the wall, those were here when we got here (: On Mikaela's wall there is a mapa del mundo. It is very silly. In this apartment there is an entrance hallway which is wide enough for one person, and the kitchen, which is also wide enough for one person, then the bathroom, our room, the living/dining room, my señoras room and another room that I am not quite sure what it is. Wait wait. What do I mean living/dining room? It is what it is. In the living room there is a couch and two arm chairs and a table. The table isn't a coffee table, it is a kitchen table, where we eat every lunch and dinner. My señora spends most of her time on the couch in the living room watching Telenovelas (as I told you in an earlier post) and talking on the phone. We sit down with her and eat all together for every lunch and dinner, which is pretty typical in most spanish homes. My señora said that sometimes people will go out for lunch but for dinner it is not usual. The family always eats together. Which to me is a total shock, who has time for that?! Here it works out very easily though. In the morning I just eat an apple and a yogurt and when I get home around 2:30 it is lunchtime. We have been having mostly different types of soup for lunch. Also with lunch we always have a piece of bread and some sort of salad, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, stuff like that and for dessert, a piece of watermelon or white melon, some type of fruit. I am not sure what the white melon is but they have it everywhere around here. My señora always chats with us about what is on the TV during meals, we are really getting into the Telenovelas (atleast I am!). The telenovela that we watch during dinner is called Arrayán! I love it! Dinner here is at 9:30. We have been having a complete variety of food.

Our desk!

She gave us hamburgers the other night...it was weird. We have also had some really good traditional Spanish food. After dinner we usually go and explore around the city. Usually we explore the city before lunch too, most of my time here is spent wandering the streets to find new bars and shops and whatever else there is around here! There is a little bit of everything. teterias, librerias, bibliotecas, bars, cafes, hair salons, tabacco shops, Nike shoe store, supermercados everywhere, pescaderias, fruterias, you name a store and there's probably one like it in Granada. Anyways, at my homestay, my señora cooks for us and does our laundry. She does the laundry once a week, she washes it and then hangs it on the clothes line to dry (even my skivies!). Also, while showering we turn the water off and on. It is definitely different! We aren't supposed to have lights on during theday and we definitely do not leave things plugged into the wall! Electricity and water are both really expensive in Spain so most people do as much as they can to try to conserve! Also, I live on the 7th floor! Looking down from our floor to the bottom is very scary! So far, I love my homestay and I am having a great time here! I am getting used to walking around all day everyday and I definitely am getting used to the different eating schedule! This place is such an adventure and I can't wait for all the things that there will be to discover in the next couple months.

Our clothes hanging!

Looking down the center of the apartments!

Domingo en Granada y a little bit about school.

Sunday in Granada is something people might call desolate. It was not something I was expecting! Walking through the streets with my friends at 5:00 is usually crowded and crazy! On a Sunday there is no one! This picture on the left is one of a normally really crowded street! On the far right corner is a popular store called Zara, usually there are people walking in and out, standing around, everywhere! There are also little shops on both sides which are all closed on Sundays. When I asked my señora if shops were open on Sundays she said "Todos estan en la playa! No trabajan!" (Translation: "Everyone is at the beach! They aren't working!"). I didn't believe that EVERYONE was at the beach but really, EVERYONE is at the beach! Sunday is such a lazy day. Usually meant for homework and sleeping, but we did spend a good majority of the day exploring the city of Granada. Which is so beauitfully peaceful while everyone is gone at the beach! We discovered a great place to get yummy desserts and a neat garden with a big fountain. I don't think we ever discovered the name of the garden or park or whatever it was. It was beautiful though! We hung out at the fountain for a while and then headed back through the town to find our way home! We are still discovering Granada, it is very fun to take different routes to discover what different streets have to offer. On the way somewhere you can take one route there and take a completely different route on the way home, not even taking any of the same streets.

Sunday in the park

On the way to school today I took an interesting route and thought I was lost! Turns out that I actually made better time and I got to see a bunch of new things! Granada is full of twists and turns that I don't know if I'll ever find a place again if I was actually looking for it. This city is so fantastic that I don't think I ever want to leave! The slower paced lifestyle is really starting to become so easy. (: During school I am supposed to have class from 10:00am to 11:50am then have a 20 minute "pausa" (break) and then class again from 12:10 to 2:00 but during the first class we have been getting a "pausa" (break) around 11 and the middle pausa has been about 25 minutes each time if not more and then the second part of the class there is a pausa around one. It is great, the professor will just be in the middle of teaching something and then be like "pausa?" and the whole class says "si si si!", what does the professor really think that we won't want a break? Everyone in Spain is so chill. You can tell us Americans out when we are running late and trying to power walk to get somewhere on time...on time is not something that Spaniards do. 30 minutes from a set time is the norm for them. For us we would be calling, "where are you, you are late!, what are you doing?!" For them, it's whatever. I like it.

Amigos.