A Brief Post

Sorry guys, I have a lot of work due this week, so I have no real news or interesting thoughts on my experience as of yet. The problem with turning this blog into a traveloque-book is that it would be sooo boring. Of course you guys are interested in it, you KNOW me, but other than that, well, who cares?

Anyways, Spain right now is well, settling around me like the clouds around the mountains, fogging my view of reality. I know the Stock Market is A´plummeting and that everyone has gone CRAZY, but I am here, drinking cafe con leche and worrying about papers. I feel bad being so distant and in such a pricey place. A real brat.

I miss you all and hope everyone is doing okay!!

Also I hope everyone had a wonderful Jewish New Year! Shanah Tovah!

I did not eat apples and honey, but I did eat chocolate for a sweet new year...haha

Continuing on my theory

Its more of an art thing, art has been lifted to high culture and taken from the people to the museums and now, we, as people, in response, have brought it down into our world. Where was art in the past? In churches, in the places where we visited everyday.

look at hip hop and slam poetry. The poorer levels of American culture brings art to the streets, with graffiti, with poetry. Its undeniable that hip hop and slam poetry are so closely intertwined, and that their roots burst from the poorer levels of urban American culture, a response to the elevation of poetry out of the hands of the average and into the arms of the elite.

In some ways, when looking at the Graffiti of Spain, one sees themes that run the gamut of Spanish culture. Imagery of Arabian style building feferencing its moorish past, African faces, the new immigrants of Spain, and a repeated image of the swastika crossed out, as much a response to Anti Nazism as it is to Anti Facism, as Spain was under a dicatorship well past the time of the of Mussolini and Hitler. Images of Roman numerals, possible a reference to the time before, the time of Roman Catholic Rule, the golden age of the Spanish Empire, and many references to violence and sex, themes that run throughout any culture, but more boldly in Spain.

I will try to photograph and analyze this graffiti and its place not only with in Spain, but its literal location in regards to Granada.... that is my goal.... let´s hope it works.

Allllllright,

now, beyond my lil thesis I got working here,
I am doing alright, the rain is still falling and the chilly breeze has finally woken me out of my slumber. The past few days I have been feeling like a zombie, walking the streets but not living in them. My homesickness had really entered my soul and ruptured my spirit, shaking me to the core and making me act in ways I usually do not. I am now back, normal, or atleast normalized, and drinking a little cafe con leche to perk me up.

There is something inherently romantic about rainfall, something I love deeply. While walking past my favorite mural, overlooking the city of Granada, I could see not only the Alhambra surrounded by gentle rain clouds, but the rolling Sierra Nevadas, being softly caressed by the pillowy clouds of misty rain. The breeze did nothing but to shake me awake, alive, aware, here I am. Living in the place to beautiful and yet, so dirty.

I have had many people here, fellow students, discuss there dirtiness of the city, see it as a downfall to the beauty of Granada. Maybe its me, or my personal taste, but I feel that a city should be dirty. The grime is closely related to life, that dirt says experience, says freedom, says ¨hey, this is what it is, we´re not going to clean it up for you, because then we would be lying.¨To me, the dirtiest parts of Granada are the most beautiful, why? Becuase they are LIVED in. Yes, the Alahambra is amazing, its idyllic location and decoration, its history, its everything, must be cleaned to be appreciated, but when it comes to a city, I like dirt. I like edge.

uff. Its been a while, no?

Well, sorry for the brief interruption in writing, I guess I fell of the horse, but I have dfixed my saddle and am back on for the long haul. Its been raining all day today, that light, misty rain that just covers everything gently and without a care. Its so sublte the rain, something I find surpising, and before you know it, the tiny, almost misty drops, have soaked you to the bone.

Its gotten cooler here, the weather less mild and more cold. I am happy about that but I just miss being home. The home withdrawl symptoms are peaking uop, I miss home and I miss everyone. A lot.

On to more exciting things,

So, as I mentioned earlier, the streets here are covered in graffiti, something I am trying to analyze in relation to the city of Granada. The graffiti here is so extremely descript and layered, bold colors, heavy lines and imagery that brings alive the streets.

So, I have begun to think about Spain´s culture, and why Granada would have such a bustling Graffiti culture. Well, here is my theory. Please note, this is a theory, tear it up if you like, it is just my opinion....

I was speaking with my señora´s daughter and we spoke for a while about the Spanish Culture. What it comes down to is that in Europe and Spain, the idea of culture is so much more defined, the elitism much more extreme than in the United States, maybe an outgrowth of years of culture definition and rigidity. It seems that all things culture, Art, Music, Theater, Film, have been refined to such standards that in many ways the Art of Spain has been taken away from the control of Spainairds.

Whereas in the United States there are constant influx of immigrants and our culture is effected by that influx, from the amount of bagels there are to the fact that I am learning Spanish, it seems that immigrants do define and redefine our culture. Even Art or Music or Theater has a more family friendly approach, with direct and clear drives to draw in the average American (atleast, while working at the Art Institute, I worked specifically in trying to draw in families to something that many would argue is not a very family friendly insistution. Bringing art to everyone is something that still seems relatively American in definition.)

In Spain, where immigration is still more minimal, and where the culture has been forcefully refined since 1492 when the Reyes Catolicos enforced the Christian Culture on Granada, the idea of Spain Culture and High Art is Defined and Elite. Take, for example, Bull Fighting, here it is, 2008, at time when violence is frowned up and yet, in Spain, not only does every city have a Plaza Del Toros, they still have bull fights, and although they are not as popular as soccer games and the society is split on its ethics, it is still on national television, and matadors are on entertainment shows. It is their culture, and they are proud, and I have absolutely no issue with that, please do not take offense to this. A nation, with such a clear culture and lifestyle should hold on to those elements, because no one should be white washed, ever. The only drawback, it seems, is that now, there are new immigrants, ones struggling to maintain a place in the Spanish Culture, and with its economic problems, there are Spanish citizens with Spanish blood who still maintain a distinct feeling of being an outsider in a culture in which they were raised. I feel, that is is these people, who create this art, who bring back music and paint to the streets, who readopt what was once their and renew for modern time, using spray paint and bricks. This is my theory, and I hope to prove it.

i hope you all understand what i am trying to say, its a bit conviluded, but i hope to use this and my experiences in spain to address and understand the graffiti art. i wanted to go to spain to learn about art in context, and i can truly say that it is the best way to understand the roots of goya, picasso and valezquez...

thanks. love you.

me

Sorry

Sorry about the last post, it was a little boring and annoying.

Well, I found a round trip ticket to London for a total 30 euros. Yes, that is it.

After our flight to London, we plan to fly out somewhere else. Where? Well, I have yet to figure that out!


Anyways,

I am here in Spain, and all is well.

Yesterday, I accidentally went out for tapas with one of my friends. Wandered around the University Area and got some sweet free tapas. A thing around that area is that you can choose your free tapa from a list, so just pick one! Its pretty great, but when you don´t know what anything is, its a bit of a gamble. There are sandwiches, I got some pizza, a salad, its all a bit of a surpise.

But great news! Its finally getting chilly!!! I get to wear sweaters and pants without looking crazy! Its been raining, but so far, I actually like it, becasue I get to frustrated with the heat and the sun!! haha. I am such a weirdo. but still, I am excited!!!

Well, thats all so far, I have my first class today, as in I am teaching English. Sometimes it feels good to be here and know that I am still not a mute and have mastered my one language! haha.

So This Whole Semana Blanca Thing

So, I am a planning my Semana Blanca, and it has become the most difficult thing in the world.

See, the reality is, Ryan Air offfers some unebelievable flights, but the locations are random at best.

I am really really confused.

Honestly, I do not want to complain and I do not want to spend too much money, but I have a lot of time to burn and I do not want to waste it.

Oh man, I have no idea.

So lost.

Stockholm is cool, but a whole week? Or Lyon? or Oslo...no, to expensive. Liverpool? London?

AHH!!!! SO LOST!!!

On Why I`m Okay With Being Jewish In Granada, or How People Are Really Racist Towards Others Here

So, does anyone remember that relatively famous picture of the Spanish basketball team in preparation for the Beijing Olympics? The whole line of players (jugadores de baloncesto), fingers pulling the skin near their eyes to imitate the Chinese eye shape, a racist motion in the United States that we may have done once or twice as kids and then grown up and felt guilty about? Well, here, its completely okay.

Infact, there is a bus ad that I see every day, advertising Chinese classes, and although it comes in various forms, the image remains the same, a Spanish child, often dressed in traditional Chinese garb, pulling their eyelids and smiling shamelessly. ¨Look!¨ they seem to say, ¨¨We´re Chinese now! hahaha!¨

Yes. Seriously, its totally not even weird. And when learning how to say almond shaped eyes in one of my classes, my teacher called on me, and I could not explain what the word meant (I knew it, but I could not explain it). So she kindly did that thing, where you imitate the eye shape!

Seriously, its shocking. Its not even offensive.

And then there are the Chino Shops, thats what they are called. Often owned by Chinese immigrants, hence the name, they line the streets of Granada and are filled with candy, soda, and booze, a bit like a 7-11. I have been maintaining a struggle with those stores because ALL of them offer a wide variety of chewy candy (and very little in the realm of chocolate minus two or three kinder eggs) that one can purchase per piece. So, you can go in, buy 50 cents worth of candy, and be very satisfied with the amounst of chewy goodness. Needless to say, I have recently quit them. I hope. They are my enemy! SO MUCH CHEWY CANDY!!!

And, the African population!? A new group of immigrants? Well, all they seem to do is sell illegally copied CDS or DVDS on the streets. You don´t see then doing anything else. And you don´t see anyone buying them. Its really upsetting.


When it comes to street vendors, it is completely okay and acceptable for them to walk up to you and sell sell sell. If you are sitting outside of cafe drinking coffee, they will come up to you and the owner will not stop you. If you are sitting INSIDE a restaurant, they will enter and sell to you and no one will stop them. Its bizarre.

And Gypsys? Well, they are randomly spread about town, performing or selling, forcefully, some palm readings. Very pricey, and useless if you don´t speak Spanish.

So, all in all, life is tough for the obviously different.

And I miss you guys! Until Next Time...aka, tomorrow

So What Is Granada LIKE?

In my book, Granada consists of four main parts.

There is the HISTORICAL part, the Alhambra, towering over the city, a looming artifact of past Muslim rule, the star attraction of this mountain town, and really, the only thing you can find on the postcards being sold in every corner of town. Near the Alhambra there is the Albaicin, with its old school narrow walk ways and white washed buildings, then Old Muslim Quarters, that have now become some homes and a few streets selling North African themed goods (did someone just say Aladdin pants and hookahs!?). There are also teterias, the Spanish always at teria to the end of anything. For example, cafeteria-teria=cafe place. Panaderia-deria=pan. Ferreteria-eria=not a place where the sell ferrets, I was sad to find out, but instead a key store. So, a teteria? Tea place. Decorated in the Morrocan-Moorish style, all ornate decoration, and jumnly music.

Alright what other parts? There is the new part. The clean part. The plaza part. Where my school is, where the Royal Cathedral housing Ferdinand and Isabella´s tombs are, where there is hustle and bustle and a lot of ice cream places. There is also a few streets that are essentially an outdoor shopping mall, smaller streets with plenty of stores and even more people walking around them.

The third part is what I call home, the third part is real Granada. Slightly crappier, noticably more graffiti, new building and lots of cafes. Chill and alive depending on the hour, its where the University of Granda is, and where I live. Its got lots of cheap stores. Something interesting here, there are what you call, Chino Stores here, no joke, its just like the term. Well, these stores, are essentially dollar stores, lots of candy and soda and beer, and bigger ones specialize in just selling random things for low prices. They are often owned by Asian immigrant families and have a great supply (to my demise) of chewy candy that you can mix and match.

And the fourth part? Crappy Ghetto Granada, the outskirts I have yet to visit-maybe never even will. Really Scary. Not supposed to go there. Haven´t.

Techno Remix

Currently there is a techno remix of the Barney I Love You song playing in the computer lab. The lyrics are different, but it is definitely that song...undeniable.

So, about this whole living in Spain thing. I have been here for over a month know, and its quite the experience. Today, my goal was to do my homework, I read a book instead. I still have time to do it tonight. And I know I will.

Sort Of...

So, the thing with Spaintime is that it functions very differently from America Time. For one thing, a half an hour usually means forty five minutes, and times are different for everything. You start going out at midnight, and the discotheques don´t open until about 3am...or atleast the don´t get good till then. I have yet to go to one, but that is what I have been told. Yesterday, I went out, but got a little bit of a headache and left early, I came home at 230am...ahhh Spain Time.

Granada is covered in graffiti, a thing I hope to take many pictures of and devote an entire posting to as soon as I can remember to bring my camera. Everywhere you go, the down town area, the university area, the Albaicin area, you will see grafitti scrawled on the walls. What we are all left wondering is, when do people do it? If people are out and about in Spain at 4am, when does one grafitti? Our most reasonable logic has been during siesta, about 2-4pm. People are indoors, eating or sleeping.The light is bright and allows a good view of what you are doing. And no one is around to stop you.

Let´s talk about the siesta, a little more indepth, because I think it should be analyzed more. Okay, its like this, at two o´clock, the world shuts down. You can wander pretty far and not see anything open. Its like a ghost town, and you think to yourself, why the hell am I even outside? No one else is.Then at six, the world explodes with people. There is as much hustle and bustle here as new york city. Even the tiny cafes near where I leave have people sitting in them. It is the most bizarre experience for me, and I am still trying to accept it.

On the clothes. So, sometimes I leave the apartment in which I live and thing, hmm...maybe this outfit is too much, and then, it seems, I see a woman at least twenty years older than me wearing something similar.For example, when we drove to Portugal,I work a long button down and leggings, and as I left my apartment, I thought, well, is the leggings as pants style okay in Spain? Not more than thirty seconds after I thought this, a fiftish woman walks past me rocking the same style.

I have noticed that in general, there is not such things as age inapproriate clothes, everyone can wear miniskirts if you have the legs, etc. etc.

Outside of that. All is well, lots of wandering today, getting lost and then finding my way to a part of Granada that I did not think I was walking towards...that was funny. I have finally gotten to learn the map of this crazy place, so I think I will be prepared for some tours come a few months from now.

Well, I miss you all! I am doing well!

And papsky, I am jealous of your message leaving abilities, they are making my posts look bad!!!

Some Pppiiccctttuuurrreesss!

Look, its me! I´m alive! And squinting because its sooo darn sunny in Lisbon. Thats Eunice to my right and Aarika to my left...I think. I´m bad with left and right rememeber, not their names!!!
I don´t know if you can tell but thats Kentucky Cigarettes lying discarded in Portugal...thinking of you Allison!!!
A Panorama shot of a square!! NIIICCEEE right?
There was a lot of decorative tile on the building of Lisbon, this was in Belem...in the older area.
See!? Like San Francisco! This is right outside the Parliament House...so bright!!

Portugal, Kind of Like Spain, Only Different

I would like to apologize for my previous post´s misnomer, I got very lazy and did not explain the title. When I was in Portugal, we were in Lisboa for one day, two nights, and then in Lagos, a coastal town for one night and two days. When we swam in the waters off the coast of Lagos, we all discussed how surprised we were that the Medditerean was so cold. Later, we were informed that it was infact the Atlantic Ocean, not the Med, and feeling like stupid geographically disabled Americans, we laughed and laughed. So, there is the reason for the title. Also, I know, I won the geography bee in Junior High, I should know that, the shame! Oh the Shame!!

Continuing about Portugal, well, there is so much to be said. Alas, I overslept today and while running out of my house, I forgot to pick up a cord to connect my camera to the computer, so no pictures today. Tomorrow, if I remember, I will do it. I apologize but I am trying my best.

So, Lisbon was beautiful, hills and old buildings. I always imagined Portugal to be very dreary, shades of blues and grays, but yet charmingly dirty buildings, aged in a Romantic sense. Although one did see this, the grays of dried water dripping after years of rain, the cobblestones barely holding ont the ground inwhich they are buried, the majority of Lisbon was surprisingly bright and colorful. Yellow buildings, clean, starchy white walls, and a warm sun that reflected off the coast. A good way to describe Lisbon would be if San Francisco and Paris had a baby. There are sprawling plazas, much like the one in front of the Louvre, and there are colorful buildings built on hills, much like San Francisco. The streets are tiny and winding, like Paris, and the buildings are designed in a very neoclassical style. As soon as I can, I WILL post pictures! I promise!!


Let´s talk about Hostels and how strange they really are. The hostel we stayed in in Lisbon was first, inexpensive, about 17 euro a night, and also, nicely located, off of what appeared to be the Michigan Avenue of Lisbon, lined with Louis Vuitton and Ferragamo. Do not think that this was a shady or risqué area, because it was not. It was clean and new and the entire hostel was filled with Ikea furniture down to those mugs that we have in our kitchen, the green and black ones. The people in the hostel were friendly, a few people from America, a lot of Austrialians and some Spanish and Portuguese people. The average age I would guess was about 24 but one woman appeared to be about 40. I slept in a room with eight people, all sleeping in one place, and not knowing eachother, and listening to half the room snore. I realized, if you are a light sleeper, do NOT stay in a hostel. It is impossible to sleep. There were two showers in the entire place and about three toilets, there were about 25 people staying in the place per night. That made the morning schedule a bit tedious and frustrating, but all in all, it was not as strange as I expected. There was also a free breakfast of coffee and bread with jam. Some very delicious portuguse bread.. (side note: I did in fact have car sandwiches, my señora packed me some for my drive to Lisbon and I ate them happily! haha..the rest of the trip, I munched of bread but I was too cheap to buy cheese or meat!) Well, all in all the hostel was nice.



I saw a lot of surprising things in Portugal, primarily a transgender prostitute outside our hostel. Yes. You heard me right¡. I don´t know why, but I feel like I saw a lot of strange things in Lisbon. I saw two homeless men snort lines of coke while I was walking with my friends (everyone says the same thing upon hearing this: "that´s why they´re homeless!"). Well, I guess that is really about all, but it was odd nonetheless. Do not worry about my safety, by the way, although there were some shadier people, I was always walking in well lit, highly populous areas with large groups of people. Although it seemed like I stumbled upon some higly risky activity I did not get involved with it...obviously! (haha...this is clearly for the parents, I don´t think anyway else is worried about me, more laughing at the oddity of it)...


Yes. That was Lisbon...I need to post pictures.

Alright, A little SPAIN news. I have a job! For my Culture of Spain class, I am required to work outside of my class with Spanish people. And I got a job tutoring Spanish kids with English. I think I make 5 euors an hour, for two hours a week, so not much, but hey, money is money!!! I guess that is about all.

Uff...I´m sick of typing, but soon, I will return and tell more more more!!

Miss you all! Love you all!!!!

Swimming in the Atlantic While Thinking It Was The Mediterranean

So, here I am, back in Granada after a very long and exciting weekend in Portugal. I have a LOT of things to say about Portugal, about driving, about living in hostels, and about traveling to a country without any knowledge of its language or culture.

Let´s begin with Portuguese language and people, thats a good starting point. Well, the language can be imitated pretty easily, just say ¨¨ShlishShalishShloosh¨ Needless to say there is a lot of SH in Portuguese. One could describe it as is French and Russian had a baby, or if someone who speaks English tried speaking Polish. The language is pretty throaty but somehow is spoken almost like English in its harsher vowels. Needless to say, it is pretty funny. And also, pretty impossible to understand even with a base of Spanish. There were plenty of times where we just asked ¨Habla Español?¨and spoke in Spanish with people. I was impressed with myself when that happend.

Now, Portuguese people are very tan and very brunette. I would also venture to say very good looking. They are kind of what I expected Spanish people to look like. They are all incredibly tan with dark, romantic features. As always, my "porcelein" skin stood out in the crowd and being with people who were blond, you would get a lot of weird looks. It was pretty strange. Photos were taken of us foreigners just because we stuck out so much!

Alright, the food? Well, to be honest, because we were living cheaply so there was a lot of grocery shopping. WE went out to eat at two restaurants, one I mentioned earlier, the other a Chinese reatuarant which served American Style Chinese food but WORSE. Anyways, that I really can´t discuss in great detail. I can, however, tell you, that the bread is Portugal is better than the bread in Spain.

What else, what else? Well, I heard Nelly Furtado (who is of Portuguese decent) three times in POrtugal, which I deemed a lot considering she has no new music out. Also, I heard a surprisingly large amount of what America would deem Indie Rock. The Kooks were playing in the McDonalds, MGMT was blasting out the window of a house party, and I heard techno remixes of Santogold and José Gonzalez. I liked it.

Oh The Things I Have Seen

So, What did I do in Lisbon, Portugal?

Explored. I am set to leave in the next few minutes, but alas, I will try to explain what I have done. We began our one day out walking to the coast, we leave more inland. Although there is plenty of coast in Lisboa, there is no beack, just fyi for those wondering. After wandering through some adorable streets, we stumbled upon an old elevator, pretty muching standing alone in the middle of a street. We rode it, it cost 2.80 euro, but gave us the best views of Lisboa one could dream of. Later, we continued our walk and made it to the captial buidling and then an old church, where there was a WEDDING!! So, we went in and politely crashed a Portuguese wedding. After that we went out for food, I got potatoes, a huge piece of fish and BROCCOLI for 5.50 euro. It was great. After that? We took the tram down the coast to Belem, the old neighborhood, where we stumbled upon the tomb of Vasco De Gama (even though, I cannot for the life of me tell you what EXACTLY he explored...) and we sat on the coast and watched as GIANT swarms of fishs swarm eagerly near the rock. It was actually kind of scary.

In Belem, I was able to call my sister and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY I-I-IEhkA!!!) and walk down the tiny twisty street. We returned to our area of town only to stumble upon people from my program who were also visiting Lisbon (we had been planning on meeting later, but instead met up earlier) amd so, we talked for a while and went out. The streets of Lisbon are PACKED at night and most bars are essentially outdoor bars because ALL the patrons spill onto the streets. Its was amazing seeing so many people, all out drink from little cups and talking in Portuguese.

So, descriptional information will come later! I have to get going, we're driving down to Lagos, a little beach town on the south. Talk later! Miss you all! Happy sandwich day, l-l-lEH!!!

In Lisboa

Well, we were supposed to leave at 8am. We got out car at 11. We had to go back to Granada, and only really got on the road at 12:30. We arrive in Portugal at 10:30 pm. The drive is supposed to take 7 hours. From begining to end, it takes almost 12. Why? Well, our drive through Granada (one of my friends forgot her passport) added some time, AND we got lost in Lisboa for two SOLID hours.

Lisboa is built on four hills. I drive stick. Its a large city and we were driving around on a Friday night. It is also an old city with tiny, swirling streets. Needless to say, I think I deserve a reward for my driving skills.

I have plenty to say, but I am so tired!! Im okay though!!!

Love you all, miss you all!!!

I´m Going To Portugal!!!

Thats it, the plans are set! We´re going to Portugal!!!

So, the plan!?
Tomorrow, at 8am, I leave Granada and drive 7 hours to Lisboa!!
I spend two nights at the Lisboa Central Hostel, walking around and exploring the capital.
Sunday Morning, wake up early and drive 3 hours to Lagos!!!
All of Sunday will be spent chilling on the beaches of Southern Portugal, and then we will spend the night at the Rising Cock Hostal (sorry guys, that is what it is called)...
On Monday morning, we´ll wake up and drive 5 hours back to Granada...And then probably collapse from so much ADVENTURE!!!

I am really unbelievably excited and I have absolutely NO IDEA what to expect. I am nervous to drive, but I will take on the task at hand and DOMINATE THE ROADS....yeah!

Well, outside of that, Spain.....

I have just been living life. I went out for drinks with a few of my friends, and we got some olives and pickles for tapas, a cheap tapa but .. I didn´t hate the olives. Apparently, I am growing as a person. Wow.

Here, there is a drink called tinto de verano, a half glass of red wine and the other half, lemonade. The Spanish version of an Arnold Palmer. Its delicious, but definitely a kiddie drink. Really, its wine for babies!! Yummy!!

Its still warm. Classes are going strong. I am doing alright. I miss you all!!

One of those Mornings

Isn´t it the best feeling to wake up in your bed and hear the storm settling over your home? You listen to the pitter patter against the windows, hear the chilly winds spiraling outside, while you lay there, warm and comfortable, hours before any need to remove yourself from the cacoon of blankets and pillows. Well that was me this morning, as the first storm settled over Granada, thundering and blustering through the neighborhood. The only difference: I woke up eight minutes before my alarm was set to go, and would soon be thrust out into the rain, a downpour of gray, forced to walk to school at least half an hour away.

Well, I walked, and it rained, and Granada, a mountain town built, I think, specificically for people to fall, was covered in smooth and beautiful but also incredibly slippery stone walkways. There I was, sliding to class, a fell into a puddle, and quickly attempted to recover, knowing that about twenty people saw the foreign girl fall into a murky pool of water of the edge of a street. I came into class, wet and dray, my umbrella protecting parts of me while leaving others (like my backpack) exposed to the harmful rain. SO, this has been my morning, and now, I sit, typing away in the computer lab, wondering, when or if the rain is going to stop.

Now, onto more exciting adventures. After many days of discussions, and shifts of groups of people and caravans, I have officially rented a car with three other girls and we are headed to Portugal!! The plan so far is a short drive to Lagos, a coastal beach town, for a day of (I HOPE) sun, then a drive north to LIZBON (okay, its Lisboa, but c´mon...c´mon) for a few days of meandering. The most exciting part about this whole thing is that I know NOTHING about Portugal, I have no idea what to expect. And there is something incredibly exciting about that fact. I know one word, obrigado, thank you, in Portuguese. I know is is on the Coast of the Iberian Peninsula and that it produces Port Wine, I know family that has gone there and loved it, and I know that for some reason I imagine it to be blue tinted, kind of like CSI New York, but more romantic. I hope its chillier there, the heat is killing me and I am ready to wear some fall appropriate clothes. I hope its cheaper there, although I have been living relatively inexpensively, I wouldn´t mind any cut in costs. I hope its alive there, because since I am now used to siesta and children playing in the park at 11pm, I expect life to bubble up out of nowhere in Europe. I hope a lot of things, but I expect NOTHING and that is what is the most fun.

Ofcourse, I am nervous. I am the only one driving, and European driving is a whole new experience for me, I have seen it done, but I have never done it myself. I guess, I just have to be both SAFE and CONFIDENT while FOCUSING ONLY ON THE ROAD. Well, cross your fingers for me!!

I mean, all is well, one of those, ¨I feel like a brat for complaining, my life is so great and I still manage to find reasons to sulk¨ feelings, is floating over me. Its hard being away from home, but having the oppourtunity to travel so much and to experience life, well, I will never have that again. So I am here to live, DAMNIT, and to explore, and to do things that I would never do otherwise (only if reasonably priced and safe, which may be why I won´t go to Greece) and to see the world. Its almost like one of those Grand Tours in the Victorian era. Take a trip around the world, experience culture, see things, meet people, go to museums, etc. etc. I am here to see what is around and to test myself emotionally and to, I dunno, drive to Portugal. ha.

Spain is weird, its different, and its hard sometimes to feel so alone. Yet, it is also something that I love and will never forget and try to cherish every moment. Know that I miss you all! I love you all!


Now, some side notes:

In Spain, bras are always OPTINIONAL, no matter how large you are or how old.

In Spain, there are always two light switches in a bedroom, one by the door and one next to your bed, so no need to get up out of bed if you´re falling asleep with the lights on.

In Granada, a free tapa is expected. And if you order a second round of drinks, you will get another one. The tapas I have seen: entire baked potatos, tuna salad and bread, paella, a fried egg with tuna and lettuce in between, sitting atop a piece of bread with tomato sauce, deep fried mystery fish, and, russian salad (yes, ensalada ruso) which consists of potato, some other cut up veggies, all tossed together in a mayo sauce...sounds familiar, no?

In Spain, if you order a cheese sandwich, you will get bread and cheese. That is all.

In Spain, Olive Oil goes with EVERYTHING.

In Spain, sometimes its okay to have a mullet.

Alright,
I guess thats all for now.

Miss everyone!

Love Love Love,
Me

A Few Days Later

So, here I am, a few days after the hike, relaxing back at school. The summer sun still beats on us every day, and the sun still rises after I leave the house (I don´t leave early, only around 8:15, but because of the mountains, the sun doesn´t come out until about 9). My classes are nice, so far so good.

I mean, honestly, nothing exciting to tell. After the hike, I came home and slept for about 12 hours, solidly. I woke up and read some of my book and did some homework and went out with a few classmates for cafe. A nice and LAZY sunday.

I really don´t have much to say today, but hopefully, tomorrow, I will have more exciting news.

I guess, I am just finally settling into Spanish life, slow, lesiurely, incredibly hot.

I´ve been reading everyone´s messages and responses! Its so great to hear from all of you!! I miss you lots!!! I feel bad not responding to anyone specifically, but I am trying!!! I´m glad this whole blog plan worked out, and being able to share with you all my stories as soon as they happen is great!! I want to hear about whats happening back home!! What is GOING ON!!!?? I know all about the wallet incident now (all I can say is WOW WOW WOW !!!) and how the general life is, but seriously, I feel that everyone should maintain a blog. I will religiously check all of yours and see what is happening back home... Its a great way to stay involved in the lives of those we love...oh behold the magic of the internet.

Well, I guess that is all for now. I truly love and miss you all!! Its still tough sometimes being here, and seeing all the posts and knowing you guys are thinking of me as much as I think of you is great to know!! Sorry, this is growing increasingly cheesy, so I will stop now, but hope all is well!

Miss you lots, Love you more,
me

Hiking, or Oh My God, Liza finally posted PICTURES!!???

Blurry picture of the Alhambra lit up at night. This was the first night of my entire trip. IT was amazing.
A Little Artsy Shot of Inside the Alhambra
One of the many white-washed mountain towns I walked to in the past two days. Correct, CLIMBED to...like, for real.

So, now that I lured you in with my advanced photography, let me tell you why I have been away for the past two days.

I am in no way a nature person. As a kid, I lied to myself, walking through a rough and tumble prairie shortcut on my way back from school, coming home bruised and cut by the grasses that were often talled than me. As I aged, I found myself drawn to the hustle and bustle of city life, the roaring crowds of people, the chirping of taxi cab horns, and the gusty blows of the L zooming past you. I am not an outdoorsy person. I have, some how, managaed to climb two mountains, never really on purpose, never really wanting to, and yet, somehow, there I stand, on the peak of the giant monster of earthen gravel, wondering, how the hell am I gonna get back down?

Well, so, I signed up for a hiknig trip, a bonding thing with my classmates, why not, right? I can handle nature, and sometime, if I accept that the world is my bathroom, I even enjoy it. But, then, I came, a pair of jeans, a urban outfitters printed tshirt, an old pair of pumas who were more decorative than logical (but still the best shoes I got for the job) and sunglasses, to walk the mountains. When I was in South Africa, our professor warned us, this will be intense, you don´t have to go if you don´t want to, blah blah blah. As a challenge to myself, I did it, and I was greatful. I felt this trip to the Sierra Nevadas would run along in somewhat the same way.

Oh was I wrong. Before even starting our hike, the usual bocadillo reserved for about 2pm was devoured. Hmm...thats a lot of carbs before noon, I thought, but I brushed it off, blaming the Spainairds love of carbo loading. Then our guide came, about 5'2'', she was a tiny, almost sprite like woman, who was tan, and tiny, smaller than small, and yet somehow, undeniable healthy looking. I began to grow increasingly nervous.

So, we began, our walk, up and down and up and down and up the mountains. And, after six hours of hiking, I thought to myself: exercise can be rewarding, but right now, I would be okay with just never doing this again. What was it like, you may ask? Well, while our hikes uphill were tiring, as an uphill trek will be, our downhill times were a master class in agility, and for someone who lacks any agility, it was really a simple means of darting death. The paths were not those I myself am used to, these were made mostly of rough large rocks that had an innate ability to wobble nervously underneath you when you least expect it. The walkways never had railings, instead there were many sheer drops, where one could easily fall and never return. Walking miles and miles uphill, often in sweltering heat, and stopping only every so often to make sure that no one had fallen to their death, or so far behind that death was probably immenent. And our guide, the little sprite, just skipped and ran along as if she was a three year old running in the park. I hated her, I truly, strongly hated her, more than any other living person in the entire world. I suddenly began to believe in the devil, this woman, jumping and skipping, tralilila, while all of us stumbled and slipped and skidded down the rocky mountain ¨path.¨ Yes. It was hard. Really hard. And my focus, so centered on not dying, left me little time to breath in the mountain air and love life and do all those things that hiking is supposed to do.

We came back to our hostal, yeah, apparently no camping for me, and I devoured swordfish. At least that was nice and surprisingly fancy. All of us were drained, discussing not only the horror of another day in the mountains but the logisitcs of the entire thing. We, all inexperienced hikers from the great plains, placed into what seemed like an advance hike, were being draggged through paths so unruly and wild that all of us were still nursing our wounds. Scrabs, bruises, cuts, sores, sitting as an open reminder of the adventures of the day. How was this legal? How did no one DIE? How could one women be so evil!?

Then came day two. The night settled over me while my feet throbbed in pain, and I woke up to aches all over my lower body. So, then, I climbed again. This time almost two hours of straight uphill climbing. We walked, and walked, and the roads kept zigzagging, and we kept moving higher and higher, and the high altitude reduced our oxygen supply, and I was going to die, the higher we walked the steeper it seemed to get, and we tried to make her stop, and we hoped she would let us breath, and then, suddenly we were at the top. Yes, the tippy tippy top. Although we were fifty miles away, we could see the Medditeranean, and we could see everything, and there, in the distance, a white blur of houses, was our starting point. We had climbed to the top of a mountain. Somehow I had managed to make it all the way up (and not the last person to do so!), I had conquered my second mountain top, and I was impressed with myself. I also did not even want to think about the fact that I still had four more hours of walking ahead of me. But I did it, and I didn´t die, but wow, did I come close, and wow, did I think I was going to.

All in all, I mastered some mountains, but I also came close to crying not once, but twice. And you know what? I NEVER EVER EVER want to do it again. Towards the very end of our walk, a girl slipped and twisted her ankle. I felt awful. It could so easily have been me. Well, now I am back in the city, and I am happy, and I will sleep tonight knowing I had one of them most intense workouts of my entire life, and that I have truly climbed a mountain, and that tomorrow, I don´t have to do any of that crap.


Now, some more pictures.....


We ran into some sheep while hiking through the mountains. Just for clarification, this was the nice, leisurely, post mountain climb walked where everything was flat. Don´t call me a baby, trust me .... it was STEEEEEP.
This is my bedroom. Yesterday, my señora actually asked if I would like the picture of the Saint weeping taken down from above my bed. I said it was okay, I am fine with it, it doesn´t bother me. I actually have a desk across from my bed. But, just so everyone understands, when I sleep on this bed, my feet hang off the edge, it is designed for midgets or something.
These are the mountains we climbed, just to give you an idea, see that little white town in the center we climbed from there to where I was taking the picture. And that was only the first half of the first day!
A view of the town of Granada from the top of the Alhambra.
The main square and meeting place for people who live really far from Granada.

Hrm, what to say, what to say....

I would like to begin by saying that I have had three apples so far, and each one has been incredible. I know that is no of value, but a useful tidbit none the less.


So, what do I have to say that I have not already said!? Hrmm....

Well, yesterday I went to a cafe with a few friends, had a drink and got a free tapa of a plate of fresh shrimp. If I ate seafood, I would be all excited. However, I do not. It was still impressive though. My goal now, is to find someone to try boquerones with me, which is fried ANCHOVIES. I have actually found that Spain surprisingly really likes to deep fry. I mean, more power to them, but its still a pretty bad for you life choice.

I finally pinpointed a way to describe this place, it is half way between Italy and Miami, there is gelato and cafes on every corner, people smoke and are really tan and wear skimpy clothing, and eat deep fried things. There is no McDonalds or Starbucks, but there is a Pizza Hut and a Burger King. I find it wierd that they imported such gross restaruants here, Pizza Hut, really!? Even Domino´s is better. Its extremely hot, but not steamy. The dry heat actually lets my hair dry significantly faster. I was impressed by that.

Walking to school today, I realized that naming my dog Pablo is cool, but naming it Ignacio is even better! I will call him Nacho, and it will be grand.

The weekend after this one, I will have four days off. I have heard some talk of driving to Portugal, so I may get into this whole idea. We´ll see. But, seriously, it would be incredible.

I will try to post pictures on Sunday, if possible. I have only taken a few, but I hope to catch up in the next few weeks.

Sorry. I am just rambling right now, but I hope all is well and I miss everyone so much and thats about it!

Love Love Love,

Me.

Some Description ....

First, we shall start with the food. Since everyone seems to be interested...what am I eating? Well, a lot of carbs. A LOT! My host mom prepares a light breakfast that I had already mentioned. I have a two hour break between my classes at 11 and 1, so I usually go out for coffee, sometimes a small baked good is ordered. Yesterday, we had, what I always thought was a traditional Mexican dish, but is actually of Spanish origin (unlike nachos or burritos!): churros and chocolate (as in cho-co-la-tay, hot chocolate) Splitting an order of churros seemed like a good idea. Ordered together at Cafe Futbol, about one block from my school, first came the chocolate. The consistancy of hot, melting pudding, it was pretty rich and creamy, but definitely had some gelatin for thickener and was not as sweet as I had imagined. The churros, well, I expected we´d each get one, about a foot long, and an inch in diameter, a la the US Churro stands. But alas, its was completely different, a plate of about ten churros came out, the size of a hot dog. They are really just fried soft dough that isn´t even sugared, like a donut, but less sweet. So the chocolate is a neccesity if you´re craving something sweet. Overall, a very delicious and traditional snack. Also, extremely healthy. haha.

My senora packs me bocadillos to eat if I don´t get home for siesta hours, and a bocadillo is..... A SANDWICH!!! WOW!!! So unique. Yesterday, I had some chicken noodle soup that was homemade, and a grilled tuna sammich...yupp!! What surprises me is that my señora gives me huge portions! I got a huge bowl of soup, and one and a half sandwiches. Yeah. A LOT. Also, a huge plate of cut up melon, and brie cheese and crackers, and bread. All for our SMALLER meal. I´ve had chicken fried up with french fries, a salad of pasta, tuna and fresh cheese, a potato omlette with fried eggplant, and well, that´s all I can remember. Yeah, the thing that surprises me is the portion my Señora gives me, and that she takes approxiamately the same amount and finishes it all and still remains a normal size. I do not exactly understand how this happens, but it does, so I hope that I can somehow follow in her footsteps.

In general, there is a lot of ice cream here, and a lot of bakeries and croissanteries. Unfortunately, Spain does not seems to love candy as much as I do, but thats okay because I get to have some croissants whenever I want (although I have yet to really have one!). I live right next to a bakery and pass it every morning on my way to school...but so far, I haven´t actualy gone in. I also pass about four during my walk to class.

My House:
I live in a sky rise, for Granada standards, so about 7 stories, a little outside of the actual city, near the train and bus stops. I walk through the new part of town, near the University of Granada, and it takes about 35 minutes for me to get home. Its more difficult than its sounds because there is little shade and the hottest part of the day is also the time I walk home. Yay! My apartment is nice, there are marble floors, and plenty of space. The living room is really clean, actually all of the place is really clean, so I am always on my best behavior. The walls are painted in fun colors, my room is blue, the living room is the exact same color as my parents bedroom. There are paintings and prints, and also, A LOT of Christian memorbilia. A picture of Mary weeping lies directly above my bed, which makes me feel a little uncomfortable, but I´m pretty much over it.

Getting Lost:
I used to think I was good at directions, and had a pretty natural sense of which way is up. I no longer feel that way. Although I have been given numerous tours of our school-area, I have yet to have any idea where I am. I am hoping that I by getting lost I will inherently learn how to get around. We´ll see how that pans out.

======================================

I originally started this post as school, but I am back at the internet cafe and felt I should add some things. Today, I ate pasta with tomato sauce, and croquettas, deep fried dough with a chicken base, pretty good, pretty healthy. Seriously, how do these people remain normal sized!? I then sat around with my señora and told her about Jewish holidays, she asked and was interested. She told me how she is interested in the culture and believes in Christianity more than Catholicism and that she doesn´t really thinks it a big deal that I am Jewish. Seriously, I was really happy to hear her say that, and also, pretty surprised. Seeing as Spain is a really really Catholic nation, you really never know what to expect with people. Also, a REALLY funny thing happend.

Today, my senora told me to eat more, when I politely declined, she said something along the lines of ¨Am I not your Spanish mom!?¨ To which I replied, yeah, you are....Haha!! She is now my madre! Its over, sorry mom!! (PS She hates cats too, she would have a dog if she didn´t live in an apartment) Yeah, turns out, I like my señora, she´s really nice and friendly, and understands how stupid I truly am with Spanish...haha. WAY BETTER THAN MY REAL MOM!!! Obviously, totally kidding, I miss you momsky!

Yeah, just to clarify, no one speaks English in the house except me. That is in response to question, I am not trying to impress anyone, because trust me, I suck at Spanish. Takes a trip to Spain to realize how much I truly blow at the language. Oh well, I am here to learn, no?

My host mom had one student before, her name was Amanda, she was from Wisconsin, and was apparently pretty fat. My host mom kept telling me about how much Amanda ate, and how I little I do in comparison, and that Amanda came looking for a Spanish boyfriend, and how there was one for a day, and that she ate a lot of sweets, and that her dad had never left Wisconsin, and that she was always eating. Yeah, I think thats about all. She really reiterated how big Amanda was, and I kept thinking, ¨I am not that skinny by any standards¨ but whatever I guess. I feel that maybe a reason I am not cleaning my plate, also because a giant bowl of pasta now scares me. SO MANY CARBS!!! Side note: They love the candy I brought them.


Everyday on my walk to class, a guy hands me a free Spanish newspaper, so I read that now. Did you know that 20% of Spainards admit to being racist toward latin american people, and 77% don´t like muslims!!? CRAZY stuff.

I am really surround by computer nerds here, seriously, its all dorky Spanish guys, who look eerily similar to dorky american guys, down to the ´too comfortable´clothes. Also, I really need to take more pictures, I keep only taking a few, and thats pretty lame. They are pretty much all of the Alhambra, which was pretty much life altering for me. This weekend, I am going on a required group camping trips in the montañas of Spain, and let´s just say, I am not looking forward to it. I am not a nature person, but I guess we´ll all bond, or something. I dunno, I guess thats about all.

I miss everyone so much its not even funny. I have simaltaneous feelings of awe and amazing, c´mon now, I am LIVING IN FREAKING SPAIN!!! And sadness that the only way I can experience it with those I love is through words on this damn blog. I really hope that plans to visit me work out, because I am already planning walking tours and finding good bars and doing everything!! I mean, this will be my city by then, at least I hope.

Adios! Besos and Abrazos!

A Little Less Scattered

Hey Guys,

I feel like my last post was a little scattered, so I hope this one is clearer. I am actually at my school right now, waiting for another, I dunno, two hours, until my next class. I would like to apologize for NOT answering yesterday, I kept not hearing my phone in general, and at one point, I went to answer, and as I picked up the phone it said ¨missed call¨, pretty sad right!? Well, happy birthday!!!! I´ll try again today and hopefully I will be on it and you´ll answer!

Alright, well, yesterday I actually went out and explored Granada at night. I few fellow classmates and I wandered about the town. Its still amazing to me that at ten at night, there are children still getting ice cream with their parents, and that the streets are flooded with people of all ages. From tiny babies to tiny old people. I got a melon gelato, sorry, couldn´t deny it, and walked a little less than two miles to meet with some people. Stopping in a few bars for some drinks, we got some pretty sweet free tapas (a small tuna sandwich and olives) but I just wasn´t very hungry, so I didn´t actually eat it. Now that I think about it, it could have easily been the grossest sandwich in the world, but hey, it looked nice!

It was a nice chill out, I went home and to sleep at around three am, when a few other people actually kept going and hit up a discoteca. I am actually happy with that choice, because, although I did take a two hour nap yesterday, I still don´t think three hours of sleep is ever a good idea! The whole time thing here is really different to what I am used to, but I am slowly acclimating, which is good.

Every morning, my senora wakes up especially to make me a cafe con leche, and throws me a few madalenas(I don´t know if that is spelled right). Its pretty much mini, super sweet muffins. Apparently, there is not nutella and toast here in Spain, its madalenas, which is cool too, I guess. I kind of was excited to have nutella. To furthur clearly describe cafe con leche, one must know that it is much creamier than a latte. I am fairly sure its half weak espresso and half cream. Yes, that seems about right. Although I have had at it many a restaurant, I would still have to say that I like my host mom´s version the best. Funny, no?

My walk to class is about 40 minutes, and I am actually not walking too slow. It takes me past through, well, nothing special, seems like I got screwed on the pretty views of the city. Today, in an effort to shorten my trip, I got lost but thats okay, I found my way back, and that is what is more important.....????


I guess thats about all for now. Miss you all!! Love you all (unless I don´t know you)

Surrounded by Computer Nerds

So, I have returned to BitWeb, my internet cafe of Choice, which is currently packed to capacity with computer nerds! Yeah!

Well, I had my first day of class today, and it was okay. I mean, our classses are small, and intimate, which definitely makes speaking less intimidating. Other than that, nothing special. My teachers seem nice enough, and everyone is okay.

It is incredibly hot, and I live very far away, so my walk today was a little worse than I expected.

In between classes, I actually had a cafe con leche with a few classmates in a little plaza in Granada, it was incredible. Sitting in the shade at noon in Spain, people and dog watching (there seem to be a lot of dogs here in Spain) we just spent a few minutes breathing in what was now our life. It was amazing, and then, a lady carrying a tiny amplifier, a microphone, and wearing high waisted green pants (sounds fashionable, was definitely not) showed up and began to sing. Right infront of where we were sitting. Then, after she sang, she asked for money. But during her concert, she just sang and sang, for what seemed like no apparent reason. That was a bit funny.

Ohh, MADONNA IS PLAYING. It seems like everywhere one goes in Spain, be it a internet cafe, a regular cafe, a nice restaurant, a discotheque, the music remains the same American hits and Dance beats mix. Seriously, this is the soundtrack of Granada Spain if there ever was one.


Also, I was speaking with my host mom´s daughter, my host sister, and she told me about Spain´s feelings toward Portugal, and I realized something...

Portugal is Spain´s CANADA!!! HILARIOUS!!!!


Also,


HAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
BBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHDDDDDAAAAAAAAYYYYY
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!


the end for now!!!