before jetting off to Dublin and London

Just wanted to update with a quick post before i head off to Dublin (Fri-Mon) and then London (Mon-Sat).
Last night after classes I went with a friend (Jill) for cafe con leche and to research a little before heading to Dublin. After coffee she got a call from her girl friend who was in town from France (UofI student) and wanted to meet up for a drink. So we went to meet up with Jill's friend and turns out she was with a good friend of mine! I knew Chris was abroad in France for the year, but had no idea that he was going to be in Granada this week! Insane. It's not a small world... it's really just a big bar :) So I had a great time catching up with Chris and enjoyed the night with his friends as well. We'll be meeting up for tapas again tonight before I leave with two other girls to go off to Dublin.
thanks again for all the emails and valentine's day cards!
sending my love from Granada!

Granada: un ciudad de gitanos, perros, discotecas, y la Alhambra Granada: a city of gypsies, dogs, discotecs, and the Alhambra

First weekend I have stayed in Granada, well first weekend where I know where I’m going since I’ve been here. It’s been over a month now; it’s starting to feel less like a vacation now and more like I do live here. Strange feeling, I love it. This past week I spent some quality time with my host mom, Ana and her best friend who comes over every night, Paritu (spelling? No idea). Paritu has 3 daughters, all of whom still live with her. On Thursday night we all went out to dinner together. We all piled in Ana’s little car to enjoy a meal together. It was great hearing them tell me how well I speak. They asked me a lot of questions about Chicago and the states. It was so much fun to talk about all the differences between Spain and the US. Two of the daughters are close to my age (21 and 23) so it was great getting to ask them questions about the nightlife here and what they do for fun. We then drove to another bar for a few cervezas (Ana only drinks non alcoholic beer). This bar smelled like the incense from church, in fact, it was like walking into a church. From the floor and covering the ceiling there were Jesus and Mary posters, Jesus sculptures, Mary relics, santa semana posters and more. They were playing songs from santa semana processions and midway through our drinks the owners turn off all the lights except for the candles and sing a prayer to the throne they have for Mary behind the bar. Obviously I did not know this song, but Ana and Paritu did, and they sang it loud and proud. Amusing little old ladies. After our night of fun Ana was nice enough to even drop me off where my friends were so I didn’t have to walk by myself  Saturday afternoon we went to a market together also with one of Paritu’s daughters. I bought a pair of purple walking boots for only 12 euros! So much fun to check out all the crazy things, although I did feel like a good deal of the items for sale is stolen merchandise. Either way, I got a good deal. We went out for lunch together after and café con leche at a trendy little club where apparently all the juventud likes to hang out. So it was me, two little old ladies, and Fani (21) surrounded by 20year olds. No pasa nada. After talking about our families, I found out that Ana has a brother that lives in Germany and works as a cross dresser in touring shows. This finally makes sense why there are so many framed pictures of a transvestite in our hallways! Although slightly unnerved, I think my response was polite enough, “Que divertido” (How fun) when she told me all the photos of the women is her brother. But in all seriousness, I do like my host mom and I always get a good laugh at the end of the day. The other night she was asking me how tall I am. After explaining that I don’t know the meter conversion, she comes back with a measuring tape and asks me to stand against the wall so she can find out. In the meantime, Paritu is guessing numbers as if she were making bets. I think I function as their daily entertainment, aside from the countless telenovelas they watch. Either way, it’s amusing to hang out with these ladies. I have plenty more hysterical encounters with Ana and Paritu, so if you want some more good laughs email me and I’ll send you the story of the day haha

When in Africa…

Sorry it’s taken so long to update about my weekend in Morocco! Definitely a memorable trip, that’s for sure. We started traveling on Friday afternoon, a 3 hour bus ride to Algeciras followed by an hour ferry to Ceuta (Spanish territory in Africa). I even got to see the rock of Gibraltar. We had to go through Moroccan customs at the border then followed the coast to our hotel in Tetuoan. The hotel was surprisingly great. Turns out the Dream’s Hotel (I think someone goofed on the punctuation because this implies that a man/woman with the last name Dream owns the hotel) is a four star, two-year-old hotel. Not too bad. (pics to be uploaded once Spain starts believing in high speed internet) Additionally, all meals were included. I’m not going to lie and say that Moroccan food is great, but free Moroccan food is. Cous-cous is delicious as well as these cookies they kept serving us all the time that were kind of like shortbread gingersnaps- strange and scrumptious. Saturday was the big tour day. We spent all day touring the markets of Tetuoan and Tanger. It was like seeing an entirely different world. It definitely smelled like another world. But in all seriousness I have never seen such a difference in lifestyles and cultures firsthand. It was rare to see a woman on the street without children; it was as if single women don’t exist. As much as we were watching and looking at the people in the bazaars, they were staring at us. I did manage to find some neat souvenirs from the trip. Although tempted to buy a carpet and engraved daggers for cheap, I decided to pass this time around. The final day of our trip we visited a much less touristy town of Chefchaouen. The bus ride up into the mountains was worth it in itself. This city built between two peaks was actually clean and well maintained and had smaller markets that had much more friendly people that didn’t beg for money. Our guide for the day will soon be the mayor of the town; he was a very intelligent guy that spoke Arabic, French, Spanish and English. I did discover that I don’t like haggling for low prices with old foreign men. That’s not to say I didn’t barter for good prices, it’s just an entirely frustrating process. When we were in Tanger the one shop owner followed us out of the store and continued to hassle my one friend about not buying a necklace until we got on the bus. Yeah, a bit much.

I came home to find my senora waiting for me. After dinner, she said she had a gift. Ana gave me a pair of orange pajamas with hearts and bears on them. Absolutely hysterical. Even better, she made me try them on to make sure they fit and then proceeded to take a picture of me in them. Meanwhile this entire time of me modeling my new pajamas, Ana’s best friend who comes over every night (Paritu) is just laughing away. When I asked Ana why she wanted a picture, she explained to me that she needed a picture of me to keep so she could show the next student. So, the student that will be staying with Ana next semester will definitely get a good laugh at the girl with the ridiculous pajamas. I just hope they’re not from U of I haha
I just got some letters in the mail! Thanks for the cards!!!!!!!!!!

In front of the Palacio Real
At Chic-Atocha the first night in Madrid.
Plaza Mayor
Palacio Royal
Lunch on the Plaza Mayor

i finally found the outlet in the bathroom and a long overdue Madrid recap

Yes, this past weekend and week has been wonderful. I left for Madrid with 6 other chicas for our first weekend of travel. Madrid is only a 5 hour bus ride from Granada. For everyone that has ever traveled with me in a car for trips longer than, oh about an hour, know that I always fall asleep. This time I couldn't fall asleep even if I tried. The ride through Granada, Córdoba, Jaén and Madrid was more than amazing to see. Actually seeing a windmill in Spain just might inspire me to take a second look some DonQuixote chapters, maybe. The 7 of us arrived to Madrid and took advantage of the beautiful sunny day by walking around and snapping photos of just about everything. I will post soon! We ate lunch and enjoyed a few glasses of Sangria on the famous Plaza Mayor. We continued on to the Reina Sofia. I was impressed by Picasso´s Guernica with an entire room dedicated to just his enormous masterpiece. After a brief confusion of north and south we found a restaurant to relax. It seems where ever pretty American girls go, we are accompanied by a free round of drinks and snacks. God bless the USA.
Saturday we all woke up early for breakfast at the hotel and spent the rest of the day in the Prado. Jamie, you would be so proud of me: I saved on the entrance because I remembered my student id, AND I took the audio tour haha Even learned a lil something along the way.
After a much needed siesta, dinner and then getting ready for the posh discoteca Kapital Teatro. Kapital is 7 floors of different music and themed rooms. I have never ever seen anything like it. Probably one of the best Spanish cultural experiences yet :)I definitely plan on traveling through Madrid several more times. There is so much more I have yet to see there!
I came home to find two French students that have been staying with Ana and I through the week. Neither speak Spanish nor English. Watching Ana trying to explain the showers and when breakfast will be is quite the comical event. Yesterday after making fun of the French girls, Ana said she can already see my Spanish improving! I think definitely bonded over her detest of the French culture LOL
Thanks for all the Superbowl updates! Watching American football here just isn't the same.