This weekend was nice and relaxing. Saturday we woke up to go shopping at 10. I would have preferred to go later, but since stores close at 2:00 for siesta, we started earlier. Spain had two big sale times, in January and February, and in August. Every store you walk by has “Rebajas!” (discounts) in the windows. Absolutely everything is marked down. I figure I should just get all my shopping done now then I won’t have to worry about it later. The streets were a lot more crowded than I’ve ever seen them. Of course, it was the weekend, but it was also such a beautiful day. I have started to notice signs that the weather is getting better. Restaurants are setting up their outdoor seating areas, and more people are walking around, and hanging ... read more

Our excursion to the Albaycin today was difficult to wake up for, but well worth it. I wasn’t really sure what exactly the Albaycin was before we went; I thought maybe a monument or castle like the Alhambra. But I found out it’s just an area of Granada. We walked along the Rio Darro on the way to Plaza Nueva. The river is called Darro because it is similar to the old word for gold. Gold was in the Sierra Nevada and pieces of it would flow down with the river, so when the sun shined, the gold was reflected in the water. We walked to the Plaza Nueva where you can see up the mountain to the Alhambra which is a castle and fortress from the 9th century. It was hard to really see it ... read more

Another sunny day in Granada. If it gets cold again, I don’t think I’ll be able to deal with it. Especially since it’s still freezing in our apartment. My fingers, nose, and toes never get warm in this house. Except when we eat dinner. The living room is also the dining room, so there is a table in front of the couch and chairs. It has a blanket over it that goes to the ground with the tablecloth on top. When you sit down, you put the blanket over your legs and are basked in warmth because there is an electrical heater under the table, and the blanket holds the heat in. These are my favorite times at home. This is a very common thing for Spanish people to do. Now you may be thinking, fire ... read more

Last night was freezing! They told us that it gets cold at night, but I was not prepared for it. My blankets were really thin, so I woke up in the middle of the night to put on socks, my sweatshirt, and lay my coat over my legs for an extra layer. ¡Qué horrible! We woke up at 9:00 to eat breakfast. There’s not much to say about it because it’s basically the same as a normal breakfast: we had toast, fruit, yogurt, and tea. They did have an assortment of various cold meats and what I assume was cheese. It’s very different from China, where everything was foreign. We were supposed to meet at the Hotel Melia at 12 for our orientation session and meeting our families, so we left at 11:30 to give us ... read more

I can’t believe it’s our last night. The last week has been crazy, hectic, and slightly stressful. It’s hard to even remember everything we did. We got our lasts all finished: last dancing, last KTV, went to a Chinese movie. By the way, the movie was called The Flowers of War, with Christian Bale, and about the Japanese attack on Nanjing. It was an incredible movie, but so difficult to watch. The plot centered on a group of young girls and their priest who was trying to protect them from the Japanese. I would recommend it but be warned, it is very disturbing. We had our final on Tuesday and I think I did pretty well. With that finished, I expected to be able to relax for the last week, but instead I was rushing around ... read more