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