February 7-9

This week has been filled with more new experiences.. I wanted to fill you all in before my 10 day trip because I won't be updating very often while I'm traveling.

One of my favorite classes so far has been my Culture of Spain class since I'm living in the moment exactly what I'm learning.  A requirement in this class is to volunteer for at least 2 hours each week somewhere in the community for the opportunity to get to know "la gente" (the people) better and immerse yourself in the culture even more.  Last week we had a priest, Juan Carlos, from a nearby church come and talk to us and ask for our help in teaching some of their followers English.  He is a priest in an impoverished area in Granada (about 45 minutes by bus from where I live) called Almanjayar.  Kelly and I decided to sign up together and we were placed in a classroom with 4-7 year olds.  The same day we signed up we were asked to begin our first day!  Basically each week we have to come prepared with an hour long activity for the students to do... clearly it's something easy since these kids are only 4-7 years old.  The first day we introduced ourselves and asked the kids questions in English such as "What is your name?" and "How are you?" They thought we were pretty cool coming from the United States (they couldn't believe it was ALL the way across the ocean) and their little accents were absolutely adorable trying to pronounce all the words correctly.  This experience is going to be very rewarding since I know I'm making a difference in their lives, even if its for only an hour each week.  The kids don't receive adequate attention at home, so you can imagine what a classroom full of these students is like, each trying to stand out (sometimes even if it means them getting in trouble).  And, to be perfectly honest, their teacher didn't seem to have the necessary patience for the kids either.  Kelly and I both agreed her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, always yelling and punishing the students.  We're going to turn this classroom around, let's hope!

Tuesday was open mic night again at Hannigan's with the crew... basically when us Americans take over the bar for the night.  Esteban and Zach did their standard "rap", this time basing it on Granada... if I can find the video of it I'll post it, it's pretty funny.

Today, Wednesday, my senora invited me out to cafe at her favorite spot in Granada after siesta.  It ended up being high in the hills at a hotel called Alhambra Hotel Plaza and we had to take a taxi there because my senora said she couldn't climb up that high... I didn't blame her after seeing how steep it was to get up there!  The hotel itself was a gem; very elegant and antique... my senora said it was around even before her parents were alive, over 100 years ago!  We passed through the hotel and went outside to an outdoor patio balcony overlooking the entire city of Granada, including the mountains, cathedral, and even the highways leaving the city to get to the beach.  I could instantly tell why it was her favorite spot in all of Granada to relax with a cup of coffee.  We ordered drinks and sat there and talked for some time.  She took pictures to send to her sister (who lives in Los Angeles) since they are pen pals back and forth.  On our walk home she showed me where she was born and the church where her parents were baptized.  I didn't take pictures of the inside because there were people praying and I didn't want to be rude, but it was once again so pretty inside.  I feel like I say that about pretty much everything here but it is the truth.  After I got home from our afternoon out, I met up with Lauren and Caroline to plan more of our trip to England and Paris.  Since we missed dinner at home we decided to go out to dinner and took the advice of a secretary at Cegri to head to Plaza Principe since they are known to have good food.  Long story short, we sat down and had the best tortilla espanola (omelette type thing) and paella we could imagine... until the bill came.  Guess we'll know better next time that bread isn't always free, and when they say "paella for a minimum of 2 people" it means they charge you PER person and not a flat rate that's on the menu... oops! :)  We didn't regret it too much though because it was one of the best meals we've had out in a while.

The view where we drank our cafes!

      

Where my senora's parents were baptized

My senora, what a cutie!

As for the rest of the week, tomorrow I'll be trying to pack 10 days worth of clothes and toiletries into a regulation size carry-on for all these dumb airlines - aka IMPOSSIBLE.  I swear I can fit about one pair of jeans in this thing but I'm going to have to make it work somehow.  I leave Friday morning bright and early again, but this time I'm taking a CAB to the bus station instead of the 33... never again.

Good news!  I found an app for my iPhone that people are able to text for free.  My "new" number (ONLY while I'm in Spain) is 630-447-8986.  Feel free to say hi whenever, it doesn't cost either of us anything!  The only thing is I can only access this when I have WiFi, so if I don't respond for a bit don't think I'm ignoring you, I usually only have WiFi when I'm at school or at a random cafe that offers it... and if I'm lucky the hostels while traveling.

Missing you all, please comment if you're reading this - that's the whole fun of blogging!