Only 8 more days 'til takeoff!

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Buenos todos!

This is my first entry of many I will be making once I'm studying abroad in Granada, Spain. I will be away from Aug 23rd - Dec 22nd. I will be travelling during the last three weeks but while I'm in Granada I will be living near the Universidad de Granada with my host Senora, Mercedes, and studying at CEGRI.

As some of you may know- I've been in search of the 'perfect' travelblogging site for a while. I tested out a few and really-- didn't feel comfortable. But- this one I could almost marry because they use "diary" and "journal" throughout the site.

As a child, I kept a book which I called my "diary". My diary was lavender and had a beautiful, Lisa-Frank-style, white unicorn impressed inside a white frame on the cover- you know you had one, too. Flipping through the hard pages filled with size 50 font handwriting (in purple pen) I noticed that not only did I write about events that took place but I also wrote about my feelings (you know- about swooning over boys I don't remember). Never really knowing the difference between a diary and journal (besides the fact that boys DO NOT write in Diaries!) I decided to look them up.

I decided to consult my favorite online education source- Merriam-Webster for help in the matter.

Journal: An account of day-to-day events, a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use.

Diary: a daily record of personal activities, reflections, or feelings.

This didn't help. As you can see- a journal is by definition "private" and a diary says "OR feelings". I feel like you can't have a good diary entry unless feelings are always included.

All this diary-journal comfusion made me think of when I attended a David Sedaris lecture this past year in Champaign (off campus) and he noted that he wrote in a "diary" and was comfortable with calling it that, despite its schoolgirl connotation. And, as most of you may know- I'm very into feminism and so I decided that NO, I'm not going to RECLAIM "diary" nor will I venture off into calling it a "journal" in an attempt to be more like the dominant-- but-- I shall combine the terms to help dilute the notion that gender titles are natural because they are a SOCIAL CONSTRUCT--- so--- this is my "DIARY-JOURNAL" (words in no particular order).

Bienvenidos! Welcome!

Have a good day and check back in to catch up on my experiences in Granada and when I begin traveling ...

Miss you all!
besos y abrazos,

alex orozco

p.s. I promise that I will add new photos once I have some!

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Photos

La Sagrada Familia
This is just a practice photo of La Sagrada Familia. I took it when I was in Barcelona earlier this summer with my mom.

La Sagrada 2
Another photo of La Sagrada with some Barcelona in the background.

Comments

[Marion]

I miss you already
I didn't know you were into feminism... geesh the stuff you keep from me Alex Orozco

[Lynn]

Yayyy!!
Wonderful wonderful... I see you're over the top excited, cannot wait to start your new semester in Spain. I would be too if I were you! Thank you for counting me in so I can be updated with your exciting adventures in Spain ;) What a great way to keep in contact too. I wish you the best. Have a blasting semester ahead, have fun (and I know you will without a doubt have more than ever), learn loads, and most importantly Take Care, my dear munchacha!! (is that how you spell it??) Hugs, Lynn

[Jackie (distant distant, and even more distant cousin)]

my words of wisdom: if you see a crowd of people wearing white clothes and red scarfs, run the other way! they're most likely being chased by bulls. there's no need to mess around with that. take care woman and have a good time!

[Julie Bauml]

Alex is HOTT
Alex, I miss you!!!!! Where are you? Where is Granada???? That sounds made-up! Just kidding. Make sure you take lots of pictures so that you can show them to me later...especially at nude beaches. I'm not sure if that means take pictures at nude beaches or show me your pictures at a nude beach. Either, or, or both is fine with me. PEACE--JULIE P.s. You are awesome.