Revolutions

29 de enero, 

8:53 p.m.

Things have been running smoothly this week, despite MORE cold rain. Good classes, several delightful dates with my bombero, and more interaction with the city and its inhabitants. One such interaction was a particularly rousing conversation with an older gypsy woman with no teeth in a bar we frequent for tapas. However during our conversation, unbeknownst to me, her darling gypsy toddler was stealing my cellphone. We discovered this right after they made their hasty exit, but it was too late. Soooooo that happened. Afterwards we (Caz, Robert and I) made our way to the Plaza Trinidad to meet some others for a pool tournament. It was a blast, and I'm pretty sure our team won!!! (if only by default in every single game).

Today was phenomenal- (SUNSHINE!!!) all of the students and most of the teachers went to Antonio's country home to pick olives (acetunas!) This was a process that involved laying nets down, then taking giant 15 foot poles and whacking the branches as hard as possible. Afterwards, we would sort through the nets and pull out all of the greenery and go through and handpick all of the remaining olives from the tree (which occasionally led to me climbing up to the tops). Afterwards all of the olives went into

 buckets and sacks to be taken to be pressed into oil (Acite). We worked for most of the day taking snack breaks for tostadas and then a phenomenal lunch of rice paella with conejo (rab

bit) and an incredibly tasty tomato/acite/oregano concoction. The house had the most amazing view! We could clearly see all of the Sierra Nevadas and miles and miles

 of other vineards and olive groves. Unbeliveably breathtaking! We all left feeling fantastically full and happy and exhausted. Tonight Robert, Caroline, Anita and I are making tacos and partaking in a gallon jug of red wine.

SABES QUE.....

That a forest fire traveling up a hill moves 60 TIMES faster than a fire on flat ground?

Me... I'm in Spain!!!! (for emily)

<------- (Paul, Gillian, Me, Anita and Blanca making dumplings for the Chinese New Year) 

26 de enero, Midnight:34.

AMAZING weekend!!! On Thursday we all went to a discussion about olives, olive oil, making olive oil, etc. Did you know that Spain is the largest exporter of olive oil (acite) in the world? Later that night a bunch of us went up to the far corner of the city to a tiny hard to find, unmarked basement bar for some live salsa music. It was great because we were definitely the only non-locals and everything was so casual (everyone dancing was in normal clothes and a lot of it was improvised). The music was amazing!! I am completely in love with it. It was also at this concert that it really hit me- I’m in Spain!!!! Until now I guess it just hadn’t set in. Anyway, we stayed pretty late, making for interesting classes on Friday. After classes we all went out for drinks and tapas as a farewell to William, who is returning to Taiwan. Lots of fun- about 6 hours worth until it was only me, Caz and Rafa left. We also met a gorgeous Californian firefighter (bombero) named Robert. After a dinner consisting mostly of jamon and queso, I headed off to meet up with some Spaniards at a bar near my house (Including Miguel Angel from the post office and Coralie who I’ve been emailing). They were a blast! More or less 15-20 people in this group of ages from late 20s to 50s. We went to several bars including a Spanish karaoke bar which was incredibly entertaining! We also did a little dancing. Finally around 4 a.m. I was exhausted so Miguel Angel dropped me off at my house on his scooter/motorcycle (in the rain, the whole time I was a little nervous and thinking I was very glad my mom couldn’t see me).
Saturday I woke up early to go search out markets with the ingredients I need for my guacamole. After I whipped up a batch I headed to Paul and Gillian’s GORGEOUS new house for a party celebrating the Chinese New Year. I had another “wow I LIVE here” moment when I ran into someone I knew (one of the professors) in the tiny streets of the Albyzin. At the party, Blanca (the one from China) had been cooking since 7 a.m. and we all jumped in to help her make these delicious little beef/onion dumplings. After we all finished our feast we sat around reciting/singing poetry, nursery rhymes, songs, etc from all of our various countries. When I left their house I got a call from Robert (the caifornian) wanting to meet up for drinks so Caz and I invited him to join us. We went to a fancy bar and made friends with some other Spaniards who bought several rounds of drinks and were absolutely HILARIOUS. Then Caz, Robert and I walked down to a bar called “Voulez Vou” where we had some questionable chupitos and lively conversation. Despues, Robert and I did a little dancing at a bar across the street.
Sunday, we met back up for walking around in the rain, discovering a few old buildings and chocolate and churros (a lot different than mexican churros- no cinnamon, the chocolate is this beyond-delightfully-think dipping goo.) Very romantic.

SABES QUE.....

Last year, an average of more than 80% of fires were caused intentionally in Spain.

Esquiando la Sierra Nevada

22 de enero, 2:32 p.m.

A Haiku for AKF:

Muy Divertido

Skiing on the Perfect Day

Tumbling Down the Reds

Yesterday most of the students and I went on a little ski trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains- about an hour or so drive on steep winding roads full of cold bulls.

It was a GORGEOUS day- 100% visibility, sunny, not very crowded- etc. 

It has been quite a few years (more than 10) since the last time I had skied so I was a little nervous, but picked it back up very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that my first "seems like a good idea" of the day was to attempt a Red run (the level below black) on our third journey up (completely skipping over the blues). I made it down in record time- mostly using the "flailing tumble" method, much to the amusement of Caz. (I was totally asking for it, on one of our rides up I had mentioned to her that I found it pretty funny when people completely wiped out). After a GIANT lunch that included a cerveza (the 2nd "seems like a good idea" of the day) we went on a couple more runs, but I ended up spending the last hour of the day in a cafe with Miguel and Gillian at the bottom of the slopes for cafe con leche. All in all, a FANTASTIC day- I can't believe I let so many years pass without skiing!! 

I've started getting emails from new friends in Spanish, which have been fun to try to figure out, but I am nervous about what I am sending in my replies. (Example: "tengo calor" means "I am hot", but "estoy caliente" means "I am horny"). These are things that are important to be aware of) . 

Speaking of emails and mail in general, Leo has requested that I don't receive mail at her house, so if you send me anything, please send it to: 

Castila, Centro de Estudios Hispánicos
Aljibe del Gato, 1. 

Granada 18010 España

SABEEEEEES QUE... (I always hear Marly's voice when I type that)

That the most popular radio station here is "Kiss FM"!? I had no idea that it was worldwide! It features hit songs from the 80s through now in both English in Spanish, but I have surprisingly heard more Bob Marley on it than anything else. 

A Nod to the Italian Neighbors

20 de enero, 9:43 p.m.

¡MAS LLUVIA! (y un poco nieve!!) I seriously think today was the coldest it has been in 20 años or so. Except for a short period in the middle of the day when it was pretty nice and sunny. During this part Paul, Caz and I went out for drinks y tapas- A place that Paul had been to before that was decorated in a medieval fashion. The wine was good (and muy barrato!) and the tapas were giant and tasty! (Round one consisted of jamón bocadillos, French fries, etc. Round two was some sort of tuna burger, pasta, and something crablike and fried.) I am getting very used to being fed little surprises when I order a vino tinto or a cerveza- I think the States need to step up! And speaking of the states, I was a very bad American today and didn’t watch the inauguration of Obama- instead I participated in Spanish film night (todos los martés), only tonight it was actually an Italian film with Spanish subtitelos (not confusing at all). It’s called “Il Postino” in Italian and “El Cartero (y Pablo Neruda)” in Español. As the title implies, it is about when Neruda lived in exile in Italy and his friendship with his postal worker (these European Postmen sure are friendly!) It was a beautiful film with beautiful music, and I think I followed the plot alright (no way to be sure). Meanwhile one of the Australians, Gillian, watched the American happenings. I will have to watch the highlights online tomorrow.
In continuation of Italian day, I made myself a nice little dinner of Spinach Ravioli and opened one of my cutest little juiceboxes of red wine. As I took my first sip Leo casually mentioned that it was actually cooking wine, which was confirmed nanoseconds later when I caught a taste of it. Too good to be true, I suppose, but I guess that means the market for manufacturing lunch-time vino is still available!
In other food news, my curiosity finally got the best of me and I purchased a bag of “Tex Mex” flavored Doritos. I’m sorry to tell ya’ll this, but we are MISSING OUT. They are delightful and taste just like Texas. I ate the entire giant bag before I even made it home from the store. (All of my self-control is otherwise occupied by all of the Zapateriallas I’m not going into). I also tried a tasty little chocolate éclair thing today, and Caz got this entire cakelet thing that was cute as the dickens and pretty tasty (however, not a fingerfood, it turned out). 
My first class today was just a conversation between Antonio and I about all sorts of stuff, trying to incorporate as many reflexive pronouns as possible. We somehow ended up with me attempting to explain the concept of “tubing” (Or toobing, if you’re Andy of Canyon Lake) which was a fairly entertaining conversation. I think this is a sport that the Spanish would immensely enjoy—Anyone want to come on over and help me introduce it to them this summer? (LT09…?)


SABES QUE….
Instead of having a “brainstorm”, the Spaniards have a “lluvia de ideas”.

"Tres cosas hay en la vida: Salud, Dinero y Amor"

I like that song. 

Todavia, not much change in any of those aspects in mi vida. Although I did make a new friend in the post office yesterday- MiguelAngel. I may or may not be having coffee with his friend/sister/someone he knows on friday (the details of the conversation were lost on me). We did end up talking for quite a while and now I have a hand-drawn map to various things (bars or restaurants maybe?) Anyway, as a result of that trip to the post office my phone is now working!!! (yay!) Last night some of the otra estudiantes and I met up for conversation y tapas y sangria at the escuela and discussed possible activities for this week. Tomorrow we hope to go skiing, which could be quite a disaster. 

SABES QUE...

75% of Spaniards never go to the teatro!!! Muy triste! 

http://sarahlynninspain.myphotoalbum.com

A Nueva Semana

Segundo Lunes.

The concept of not liking Mondays appears to be universal. On the other hand, everyone seems to have had a good weekend. Mine was pretty laid-back, mostly a lot of walking around. On Friday, the otra estudiantes y professors and I went out for vino y tapas, and then "lunch" around 5:30 p.m. It was Dia de San Antonio this weekend so we all tried the corresponding stew, which was pretty good. There was also a platter of various meats, I think I mostly ate cerdo costillas (pork ribs) but really not 100% sure. It was all very good, especially some crazy dessert we all tried. (Like a little paradise of chocolate, whipped cream and very soft graham crackers). I was VERY happy to have my luggage finally arrive.

On Sabado I received a nueva roommate- Michelle from Champagne, Illinois. She is a junior at the University of Illinois, and is very nice. She joined me for part of my walk on Saturday on my quest to buy more minutes for my phone. (Still unsuccessful, but I have high hopes for today). On Saturday night we tried some new bars, but as we only went out at 11 not many people were out yet. We found one that we liked a lot- it was called something along the lines of "Van Gogh" and had good Spanish musica. 

Today in class we learned about verbos reflexivos and cultural differences. This included words like "desnudarse" (to undress) and led to sentences such as "No tienes verguenza" (you have no shame). Fun day. 

SABES  QUE....

In Spain, whoever invites people for a meal pays for everyone, even if the other invitees do some additional inviting. 

I've added a few more photos: 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37143739&id=9201279

The forbidden fruit…. Oranges?

15 de enero

11 p.m.

Granada is full of orange trees but I haven’t seen anyone pick or eat any of the oranges. After asking some other students, we discovered that none of us know if it’s illegal, or frowned upon or what the rules are regarding this public fruit. I think I will have to investigate further this weekend.

Big day. Grammar classes were challenging, but then in one of the afternoon classes, we played Spanish Scrabble and I won!!! (by three points with the word “jugosos” or something like that.) After classes Jillian, Paul, Anita, Blanca, William and myself took a bus up to a little town called Dilar right outside of Granada in the hills for a little horseback riding. It was gorgeous! I was a little disappointed because in the bus they played the fine musical sounds of Madonna, Britany Spears and ABBA. I finally did come across some street performers playing some Spanish guitarra which was very enjoyable! Despues, Anita and I went out for tapas and some laughs. She unknowingly provided me with today’s “SABES QUE…” :
“It’s not unusal to come across pig feet in the streets of Spain.”

(I have not experienced anything like this yet.)

This picture is of the door to mi escuela. 

________________________

16 de enero, 11:33 a.m.

MY LUGGAGE IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uno Mas "SABES QUE"... 

The inside of a banana peel will work for an emergency shoe shine. (Segun Miguel)

__________________________

2 p.m.

The mystery is solved. The public oranges are not like normal oranges and taste bitter and possibly make you enfirma. I wander how many people watch for tourists to try them. 

Also, any of you ladies looking for a new musical theatre audition piece, I recommend one of these lovely Spanish 80's tunes (which we learned in class today):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3REPMDSCh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puhu2AyImq8

The thermometer in my bedroom reads -5 degrees Celsius.

14 de enero

23:41 (I’m feeling too lazy to count on my fingers what time that is in civilian world. 11:41 pm?)

Shivering in bed. Just had a conversation con Leo about how she prefers frio weather to calor and I’m just the opposite. Also talked about otra things, most of which I knew what was being talked about. Then I started asking about different pictures she has of people and she told me about one friend of hers and then said that he had died recently and it got really awkward.

I am still going strong with the cafes con leches. I never would have thought I’d be a coffee person but it is delicious here. I understand your Costa Rican addiction now, Marly, although I think the coffe is not as strong here, and much sweeter.

Today was a good day. After clases Caroline and I walked all around Granada, including through the park of Frederico Garcia Lorca (one of my favorite playwrights, born in Granada). It was a beautiful park full of people, even some kids who told us we were pretty. We also stopped at a place for a snack (mas tostadas con tomates y queso para mi, una bocadillo para ella), a clothing store where C tried on a few dresses and I bought a sweater for tomorrow since I’ve already worn all of mine 2-4 times and I still don’t have my suitcases. I was able to speak with the girl who worked there for quite some time and I’m finding myself thoroughly enjoying the chances usar this language. I also bought a phone charger but it was the wrong one despite muchos assurance that it would fit. So I’ll have to head back there soon which is fine because we’ve already discussed the “I want to return this” vocabulary in class con Miguel. Another stop we made was a Supermercado so I could get a picture of the little wagon basketlet, and we also bought two little bottles of what I thought was just orange juice but ended up also having chunks of strawberries in it. I’ll just say that it was a really good thing Caroline was the one to take the first sip. Once we figured it out and got used to the idea it wasn’t half bad. The last stop we made was a little bar near her house called LA TORTUGA (!!!) which was dark green and full of interesting art and American music. (Not at this bar, but elsewhere I have heard a lot of American songs with the lyrics in Spanish. Some in particular make me giggle.) Across the street from LA TORTUGA was a “sex shop” and although neither of us wanted to go in we did look in the windows on the door to see little private film viewing cubbies. Also we noticed that all the dirty words on the sign and advertising posters were in English. What’s that about? Finally we headed back to her house that she shares with Anita (from Switzerland) and had some photo show and tell time. Caroline’s Bulgarian boyfriend is very hot, and Anita has some absolutely stunning photos from her travels- very artistic. Most of the pictures I have on my computer are of mi perro and recent ones of me and friends drinking. Way to perpetuate an American Party Girl stereotype. (Cara O’Fay: right away Caroline commented “that one looks very Irish”.)

I have really enjoyed the fact that there are so many of us from different countries- there are even 3 continents represented in my class (Paul- Australia, the instructors and Caroline- Europa and me with the “EEUU”- estados unidos). I am not only learning about the customs and culture of Spain, but things about all of these countries, and even things about countries the others have lived in/visited, which is a surprisingly high number.

[SABES QUE…
That in Australia the rules for football are completely different than in America or the rest of the world?]

I also really like that for the most part no one knows what they will do when their time here is over (some don’t even know when that will be). I’m a big fan of this laid-back attitude. And also the flexible time rules. I thought I was going to be a few minutes late this morning so I ended up running half of the way up the giant cobblestone hill and I was still the first person there. Manaña I will stroll. (pasear).

El Sol es Aqui!!

It is much warmer today than it has been. I decided to stay in last night and ended up just hovering over the furnace for 6 hours before going to bed early. Today was exciting though, in class we learned all sorts of new and hard grammar stuff and then had some rousing conversations about politics, vegetarians and abortion. (In general the Spaniards agree with the Texans about the necessity of eating meat). Because of the rain ayer our curricular schedule is a little bit messed up. Today we were going to go horsebackriding and tomorow we were all going to skip class and spend the day at an olive farm (orchard? plantation?) but now I think we're just doing the horsebacking riding manana. 

Yesterday I had my first experience at a Spanish Supermarcado. It was very similar to a typical grocery store, but there was one difference I am a big fan of: You can use either the normal shopping cart or a basket like in the states, but these baskets have the option to carry or they also have a long handle on one side so you can pull it like a wagon. I made several loops around the store with my wagon basket before I could focus enough to buy anything. I think I left there with some adorable little muffinlets, a couple pounds of spanish cheese, some cereal and milk, and these PRECIOUS little juice-boxes of red wine. I will have to start packing a lunch now. 

I'm told my luggage is at the airport in Granada, but for some reason I can't go get it yet..? Hopefully I will get it tomorrow. Hopefully. 

I've posted some pictures: 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37118383&l=79289&id=9201279

Hasta luego!

SABES QUE... 

It is very typical for Spaniards to live in their parent's houses well into their 30's?! 

Dia dos.

I WAS FINALLY WARM!!! I slept very well last night and was comfortably toasty when I woke up. Then I successfully (mas o menos) found my way to school with my map and after consulting 3 passers-by. In the morning we have two hours of grammar (just Paul and I in this class) and then a break with cafe con leche y tostados con queso y tomates y a veces jamon, and then Caroline joins us for two hours of conversational spanish in the afternoon. In the first hour Victor led us through a discussion where we described things that were happening in a comic strip. The comic is about a man named "Candido", it's pretty funny.  Then in the second hour, Miguel taught us about shoe shopping (apparently there are more Zapaterias in Granada than any other kind of store. Oh the test of will power.) We got to take turns acting out the vendor and the shopper and asking all sorts of questions and such. Apparently the biggest sales of the year are in January (another test of will, especially since I am without all of my clothes and shoes for the 3rd day in a row). I did buy one cheap shirt, but it was out of necessity. Anyway, I feel very good about my progress in class and very confident attempting to speak Spanish to strangers. Caroline and I both were tired today but didn't feel as bad as we really should have after mixing wine, beer, and a few shots. I still plan on taking a nap when I get home though. 

Oh also in the first class this morning I asked what the word "freir" meant (to fry, as in food) and we ended up talking about what foods people fry in different countries and I think I disgusted and confused Paul and Miguel trying to explain the State Fair of Texas. haha, their faces were priceless. 

SABES QUE.....

Did you know that William Shakespeare and Migel Cervantes died on the same day? Also the word for "bottom/butt/rear" is "trasero" or "culo". 

Settling in a little

Dia Uno: 12 de Enero, 2009

1 p.m.

Una dia bueno- este cuidad es adorable! A good day. This city is ADORABLE! After 12 hours of sleeping (freezing my rear off, there are no heaters in my apartment except for one space heater I promised not to leave on while I slept) Leo woke me up with 3 minutos to spare before we left. Which was fine since I was already wearing everything I have here and only needed to brush my teeth. Then we walked uphill about 15 minutes to the Albacin- the old town up on a hill overlooking the city- where my school is and where she works as a cafeteria lady for an elementary school. There are only about 7 other students currently, whom I met after 2 hours of a ridiculously hard test. After that test, I was placed in the beginner’s class with an Australian named Paul and a girl named Caroline (I think) from some Island that’s a British territory (she must have told me 5 times but I can’t for the life of me remember). They are both very nice but I think I surprised the instructors because I was above the level they expected of me from my test. I have some conversational skills, but no grammatical training that I can remember. So I think I will be moving up pretty soon. Today we talked with our first instructor, Miguel, about food and our second instructor, Victor, about clothing. (Men’s underwear is “calzoncillos”. Victor likes “biquinis”.) Later on today we are going out for tapas and Spanish games, none of us were quite sure what that means. I also met a nice girl from Switzerland and another from Holland, and there are two more I haven’t met- one from Thailand and two from China. Paul, the Australian, has a girlfriend/wife/partner named Jullian who I also like a lot. They are going to be here for 6 months total.

Last night after I arrived and found my apartment and the internet café, I bought myself a slice of cake from one of the two bakeries NEXT DOOR. Seriously. I brought it back to my apartment to share with Leo and a friend of hers, Miguel, who I am sure Nabeel will look and act exactly like in 40 years. The three of us ate something Spanish (a tasty little treat about the size of a golfball wrapped in wax paper, apparently a left-over navidad confection) and the cake and had this AMAZING tea. Leo made fun of me for drinking 6 glasses of it. I am still super dehydrated. Then Miguel gave me a birthday present, it’s like a computer bag he got at work? Maybe? I was a little confused. I think he works as a gardener but not entirely sure. Anyway he left and I showered and went to sleep. My favorite thing about my apartment is that Leo has constructed this genius set up in the salon, a big table covered in thick blankets that go all the way to the floor, and underneath is a heating coil so you can put your legs under there and toasty up a bit. I also have a thing on the outside of my bedroom windows which is kind of like a garage door and makes them completely dark.

Still without todos mis cosas- Although the word is that they found one of my suitcases in Madrid and the other is still missing. As soon as a flight takes off from there to here, it will arrive but with the pilot strike it could be days. I got my phone working again but I am without charger and without minutes, so hopefully sometime this week I can remedy that. I am hoping for the best but just in case I bought an extra shirt for tomorrow- a hot pink turtleneck sweater. EVERY Spanish woman in her 20’s and 30’s, and some in other decades are wearing pants tucked into tall black boots, so I am feeling right at home in my black stingray cowboy boots, despite the fact that my feet are sore and swollen. (Not enough to ruin my good mood or keep me from walking around a lot though).

2 a.m.

I’ve just returned back to my apartamente. A lot of the students and I went to a bar with lots of games. After my second cafe con leche of the day (and year) we started to play Trivial Pursuit en Espanol- my team suffered an embarrassing defeat- it was me and a girl from China (Bianca, married to William) And although I knew all of the questions asked about Teatro Espanol y liturature espanol we kept getting the science questions. Anyway, it was a good time and we all had a few beers (a Spanish brew called “Damm”, very strong) and then everyone left. I went with a girl, Caroline, to her flat that she shares with Anita (the girl from Holland) to have some wine and celebrate her birthday which is today. The wine ended up being from California, which I found hilarious. I also made each of them blush as I asked very personal questions about their love life and past relationships- in my opinion sharing this sort of information guarantees fast friendship, and in this case I was not disappointed. After we killed the bottle, we went out for tapas y vino at a bar recommended to us by Miguel, our professor. The platter of tapas we got was very good- i tried everything on it. There was some jamon, some potato-y/bready/quiche-y thing, some chorizo, some tomatoes and corn, bread, olives and some white stuff i tried which ended up being some sort of mayonnaise with tuna (sick). We all got a good laugh when I accidentally ate one of the discarded olive pits thinking it was a pistachio. The bar was pretty empty so when we left I asked some passer-bys where the action was and we ended up following them to an irish pub not far from there. I ended up practicing my Spanish with three pharmacy students from here (my new favorite word is "callarte", which means “shut up now” and I used it very very liberally throughout the evening) and we also made friends with some irish folk who have been here for 7 or so years. I was surprised at my proficiency at bar-talk, and it is apparently the best sort of Spanish I know. Caroline (the birthday girl) and I bonded, and I am happy she will be here at least for 6 semanas. Tonight I was corrected in saying that I have “cowboy boots”, which is very similar to the phrase “a lot of body hair”. This caused some disgust at the bar, but now I know, and knowing is half the battle, si? 
Now I am off to freezing bed again. I hope my luggage comes tomorrow but if not, it’s ok, I believe it will make it eventually and it is too pretty a town to get upset over luggage.

Buenos Noches!!!

(In honor of Marly, I am going to include a “Did you know…” in each entry (“sabes que…”)

Sabes que…
That there are establishments here that are half bar and half heladaria? (they have the normal wall full of bar things and liquor but also the case of ice cream!!!!!) I am a BIG fan. I will hence forth think badly of bars that don’t come with some form of tasty treat.

Okay Emily and Jennifer, I'll blog.

This first entry is the compilation of emails I sent from the airports, etc while I tried to get here. I figured I'd include them to be thorough. 

"And I'm Off.."

Jan 9
So I'm currently enjoying a fine smoothie concoction at the airport in Newark waiting for a flight. There were some hiccups earlier- it turns out I forgot some essential stuff (like flight information, etc) but for the most part I got packed. The limit for bags is 70 pounds (you can't even pay to take bags heavier than that) and guess who's luggage checked in at EXACTLY 70.0 lbs? that's right.
Then my flight was delayed to the point that I would have missed my connecting one so the lady at the check in desk put me on the earlier one... which was already boarding. After she finished handwriting all of my baggage information ("the Spanish airlines don't use electronics" hmmm) I finally made it to the plane as the doors were closing and sat between two niceish businessmen. Anyway, I made it this far! I'm told that I might not be allowed into the country without already having a return ticket, so there's a small chance I could be returning to Texas a little sooner than planned, but keep your fingers crossed for my luck to keep up with the way it's going!
Anyway, I'm excited, a little nervous, a little sad, and more excited but I love all ya'll and keep me updated on all of your shenanigans as well.

_____________________________

Jan 10
I made it to Madrid! I had actually mentally prepared myself to endure something along the lines of a day at travelhost so it really seemed like the best flight ever! (the walls were still grey but it was only 6 hours instead of 8, i got a window and was allowed to listen to music, movies and even (gasp) talk!!! I was also sitting next to a really nice woman who was born in san diego but has been teaching ballet in madrid for 30 years, she invited me to come stay wth her. I also met a ¨Canadian¨ who was coming here to buy a horse. Anyway, good flight, easy entry into the country-no questions asked- ive had several sucessful spansh conversations and i even managed to find my way through a giant spanish airport to a bus to take me to another terminal to the ONLY flight to granada that wasn´t cancelled today. And now i´m on this lovely computer with a metal keyboard that includes separate keys for emoticons: :-) :-( €. (i also like this fancy euro button).

I haven´t slept any but despite the surprisingly tasty airplane food I am off to find a churro. And maybe some water since i haven´t piddled since leaving my house yesterday morning (perhaps too much information, but it definitely adds to my good day that i managed to avoid the airplane bathrooms).

My phone is activated now too- the number is +34 634 158 682. My address in Granada is
Calle San Juan de Dios, 10
sexto, izquierda
Granada Espania 18001


p.s. Emily: the sirens here are cute as the dickens, kind of a ¨bloop-DEEEEE-bloop¨

p.p.s. Mom- whenever you come visit you are absolutely not allowed to rent a car. there are roundabouts every half mile or so.

_______________________

Jan 11
Hola!!!!!
I am Finally in Granada!!! Apparently there is some sort of pilot strike on the iberian airways and every flight from Madrid to Granada has been cancelled for at least the past three days (but only after saying it´s delayed for 6 hours) so after a lot of sitting in the airport, and 9 flight attempts later, I finally took a plane to Malaga and then a bus to Granada. My luggage is completely missing, my phone is broken, my pinky toe is messed up, I wasn´t sure where to go when I got here but I am happy to report that I successfully navigated myself to my addreses walking with a map and finally was let into my building to find that I have a pretty nice set up. I´m on the 6th floor of the building, and I have two windows in my room- one facing the alhambra and the other just looking over a bunch of other pretty buildings. It is much warmer here than it was in Madrid, but still warranted a coat as I set out to find this internet cafe. Leo seems cool, she´s a tiny little woman probably in her late 40s and speaks no english, but she´s just cheerful and not over the top. I like her. The apartment is nice, narrow but very long with a nice kitchen and living room, balcony and tons of windows, and apparently we´re being joined by another american in two weeks. I have a couple new friends from the madrid fiasco- three american girls who have been living here for various reasons- my favorite is a girl from new mexico who was a spanish\theatre double major. Also a fun couple from Madrid who were trying to go skiing in Granada, but we ended up talking for several hours. The girl in particular is a hoot. The boy kept calling me ¨birdseed¨ because i was snacking on some trail mix. At 5:30 this morning a Brazilian truckdriver bought me breakfast (a chocolate croissant of course) and we looked at all 563 photos on his camera (mostly taken while he was driving).
So overall it was quite the journey, but I am so happy to be here finally!!! And from what I can tell this town is adorable. I live pretty near the Plaza Triumfo which is a prettly little parklet thing.

Alright, I am off to buy myself a pastry, sing myself some feliz cuplianos and shower and go to sleep.