Hola.I decided to put all my pictures and stuff on a blog because it seems like everyone does that for their family and friends and its not a bad idea, so that my parents and maybe even grama can look at the pictures, not just facebook fans. Sooo here is my time in Spain so far in a nutshell.Im living with a host family that has a mother, two daughters, a son and a dog. One daughter, Natalia, is my age. Sara is older and so is Alberto, it’s hard to tell how old because here they live in the house for so long….but they are probably late 20s if that. People in Spain also age vey well. Anyways, the dog’s name is Bubi or Buvi or something, something that you pronounce “booby” so it’s a little funny, but he is very cute. Everyone is soo nice and sometimes I like to stay home just to hang out with them and talk about their lives..show pictures to my host mom or talk about Natalia’s cosmetology job or talk about the night life with Alberto or my house in the states with Sara. The mom is absolutely adorable and is always trying to make sure I feel comfortable. It’s still kind of weird being here, I mean it has only been a week…but I feel like I already have a sort of schedule and am a little more into the flow of things. The city here is gorgeous, the buildings are old and many are in the baroque style, so very extravagant. There are parts left over from the Muslim era as well that are like gorgeous sturdy monuments with beautiful views, the pictures just don’t do it justice. It’s surprising how much of a role the history has, since it is such a historical place. Granada was the last place in Spain to fall under the reign of the Christians, so the muslim influence here is the most recent. I can’t wait to go to the Alhambra, it looks gorgeous. So far for classes I’ve only had like review classes that I was placed into depending on this test. We are taking it again at the end of this week. I tested pretty high, above average, but now I am in a class with people that speak Spanish very well. It’s actually very intimidating, and a lot of the stuff that seems like review is stuff that I have never learned. I am trying to push myself because I would rather that than be bored in class, but I also feel like I’m not learning enough because I am more stressed out in the class. However, they wouldn’t place me somewhere where I would be overwhelmed, hopefully. I am getting much better at understanding Spanish, and though I’m having a hard time speaking it, I can understand the majority of what the teachers say, and I am also starting to understand my family more. It is very hard to understand them because they cut off all the s’s and also many syllables. My host brother asked me if when I learned Spanish in the states they pronounced everything, and I was like yes that is why it is so difficult to understand you guys haha. We have had some good conversations so far, like Alberto asked me if the South was dumb like family guy says. Natalia and I compared the beaches of Spain to the beaches of Connecticut, and found my house on google maps. Marien, the madre, loves big brother and the ocean, and is an excellent cook.Some of the meals I’ve had – cocido, Spanish stew- ours had garbanzo beans and green beans, and a really good broth. They tend to put lemon in their soups just like at dinner we put lemon in our water, kind of weird but it always tastes good. I’ve had a lot of mushrooms, meat, salchichon – like sliced sausage, kind of like pepperoni, alberto made fun of me for eating it with my hands. I have had a lot of eggs, including in chicken soup, vegetable soup, omelets, this delicious tortilla casserole kind of thing that had cheese and eggs and jamon (ham) in it…one day she rolled up ham and cheese and deep fried it, when we had fried whole fish she made me a pizza hah but the fish wasn’t actually that bad. I have tasted everything so far and nothing was really bad at all. We had one night rice with eggs and jamon and onions and peppers all together. There is always bread, not wine surprisingly, but I guess it would get expensive since the family is 4 people. The meals are so different here. When I wake up I have breakfast, which is usually toast or a croissant and coffee, then lunch isn’t till 2 or 3. Lunch is the biggest meal here. Then there is siesta after that, until like 7-ish or whenever you want, and then dinner again anywhere from 9 to 11. We eat more like 10:30, which is pretty late, but doesn’t bother me. Then people go out and stay out forever and just make up for their sleep during siesta.AT night I go to the bars or the clubs, el barros o los discos. Ive been to some awesome places, there is an irish pub next to my school, this place called el tabernacle, which is decorated with catholic paraphernalia, realejo, where we met a bunch of Spanish guys who are so much fun, Granada 10 which is pretty much a big theatre that they turn into a club at night and it has all swanky furniture and a big dance floor and a bar, dolce vita which was your typical bar I guess but nice….last night I went to this place on Ronda that all the kids from the university go to to drink and hang out, it’s the only place where you can drink in public. It was literally just hundreds of kids hanging out drinking and talking, they all brought their own glasses haha and on the way I bought tinto de verano for 1.80 € which was awesome, everything is so cheap here. Then we met up with those Spanish guys who eventually wanted to go to this club Mae West, which is like the best in Granada. The line, however, was all the way down the stairs and out the door, I wish I could have taken a picture of it. But the kid Guie that we were with was apparently V.I.P. so we got to cut the whole line ha SO WORTH the 10 € to get in. Ana and I went together. It was extremely crowded. I guess Lunes - Miercoles it is free and less crowded so we want to go back then. They don’t think I can really speak Spanish yet so they keep talking to Ana hah and then will try to talk to me in English but it’s easier for me to understand when they just speak Spanish and not half and half hah. So I guess that’s pretty much it so far, I miss everyone, and check out the pictures.
