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Published: August 29th 2005
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Cathedral
A nearby cathedral, lo siento no recuerdo la nombre ... Hola!
Before I being writing I just want to say thank you to all the people who have helped me get here. People who were kind enough to write reccommendation letters for me: Alejandro Maya, Ellen McWhorter, & Joan Chan- Gracias! And, of course- my mom- Kathy for her unconditional love-- and funding.
So, for those of you who don´t know- Bridget & I were in a car accident in Evanston the day before we left. Neither of us were seriously hurt (my thighs are just really sore and I have bruises on them from the airbag) but her car was smashed in. So, that was an upsetting way to leave the states but jeez, did it feel good to finally leave!
I don´t have internet access at home- no one does- so we have to use the computers at school (free but weird hours) or go to internet cafes. Only 1.50 euros an hour where I am now.
No, my mom did not cry when I left- but she couldn´t stop hugging me-- : ) After spending 9 hours in flight, 4 hours of lay over time, and travelling with the French, Men´s Cycling team we
Siesta on Thursday
Siesta on Thursday at this nearby restaurant- the waiter was hilarious! He gave me a flyer for this club that he wants us all to go to. finally arrived in Granada around 2 pm Wednesday the 24th. Miguel Angel (the RD here) instructed us not to sleep, so we could adjust, until bedtime- so I was up for about 32 hours before I got to sleep. For siesta, (the main meal of the day- around 2:30-5) a group of us Illinois students traveled a few blocks to this place that said ´PIZZA & PIZZA & BEER´yes, PIZZA twice. Most people got bocadillos (their sandwhiches) but I wasn´t sure if my stomach could handle that at the moment- they didn´t have the most appetizing photos on the menu (& you people know I´m not picky so it must have been bad ...) so I went the healthy route and have fries and a guiness.
Most of the money that I´ve spent in the past few days was just on bottled water-- two days ago I began to slowly get myself used to the drinking water here. It is clean but apparently there are just different bacteria that we have to get used to. Oh, and most paper here is either plain or graph paper and it is hard to find lined paper (I just went school supplies
amy and i
Amy and me near a Christopher Coumbus statue shopping during my siesta).
Oh- and we can´t where flip-flops here. Sure, believe it or not it is socially acceptable (along w/ jeans) but the cobble stoned and slippery bricks streets make it easy to fall. I´ve almost gone down several times.
I begin flamenco dance lessons today, Tuesday 30th. Also, if I have time I hope to get an intercambio student to practice my Spanish with and her or his English- but that probably won´t be until the 60,000 University of Granada students come back to town at the beginning of September.
I set up my phone- my cell phone number here is= 617823395. Feel free and call me-- it is free for me if you call... I suggest you use a calling card. Good hours are 1:15-3 and anytime after 9:45 Spanish time- 7 hour diff (if you can´t tell- I still don´t know how to use the keyboards here.) Also, if you want to send me a package, letter, or postcard ... you have to send it to my school´s address and put my full name on it.
CEGRI
Sacristia de San Matias 12
Granada E18009 Spain
I took a 4 page
monolo
Monolo- our tour guide for two days spanish test, which I was not prepared for, to asses which classes I´ll be in. I am only one of two sophomores here so I am behind mostly everyone. They are just putting me in the same classes and calling them advanced for me and whatever grade I get I automatically get a grade higher-- it´s pretty sweet. I am taking: Grammar, phoenetics and pronunciation, converstaion, art (we travel!), and culture of Spain.
Haven´t had much of a nightlife so far. Once school,
CEGRI, (the language school in Granada) starts (Mon 29th) and people get into some sort of routine I think we´ll all be going out regularly. There are so many more clubs here. The routine is- go to a bar and get free tapas with your drinks, then a club, then a discoteca ´til about dawn.
I have been doing a lot of reading here because I have had so much time to just sit back and chill so far. I finished my 4th Winterson and just started _Women_ (Pulitzer Prize Winner).
Mercedes (52) is my Spanish mom here. When I first met her (Saturday) she was like "OH! GUAPISIMA!" Mercedes is very outgoing and
group
Taking a break- in Sacromonte. The view is of La Alhambra and Granda. Left to Right (front row): Evan, Nicole, Emma, Rachel. (back) Me, Bridget. is very helpful when it come to correcting my Spanish. I brought her flowers- she seemed to like them very much- purple and white marigolds. Apparently Mercedes just moved so I am in a new apartment on the 2 floor (really the 3rd). It is pretty nice- they are four bedrooms and I have my own big room with huge windows and with more closet space than I can handle! I have only spent one night there so far. The three meals I have has with her so far have been overwhelming- I don´t really have the option of surving my own food so I´ve been given enough to feed a linebacker at each meal. I was so afraid that I´d accidently stretch or yawn (looked down upon here) at the table and give a bad impression but so far I´ve kept myself in check. I have been instructed to keep my room very very clean. I have to wear shoes around the house (it is disrespectful here if you don´t). We watched the news during siesta (lunch) and afterwards discussed politics. Before we began talking she asked me what I think of American politics. Let´s just say that we
B & I
B and me with a view of La Alhambra in the background get along ...
I actually have a lot more I could say but realize that this is a bit long. I will write a seperate blog for my 5 hour walking tour of La Alhambra later-- it was so beautiful and I have a lot of photos! Believe me, I have done/seen a lot more than I ever have time to write about. And these photos do not capture how amazingly beautiful everything is ...
hasta luego, besas y abrazos fuertes,
Alejandra
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Cassie
non-member comment
Sounds like you are having a great time.
I want to go to Spain too! It sounds like you are having tons of fun...more adventures will be coming soon I am sure. So weird thing...I also got in a car accident. It happened Aug. 20th. Weird...anyway I am glad to hear you are ok. I love reading about everything that is happening with you....take care!