So there were some things that I had to edit from my previous long journal post because of the surpise. In a nutshell, they were that the week before I left I exchanged Christmas presents with all of Victor's family. They all loved the pictures of their kids in frames I made for them and I gave Emilio Season 1 of Camera Cafe, which came with a matching cup which he also loved. I also got some really nice gifts from them.
Then after Victor's lunch with his work friends in Malaga, I spent 25 hours traveling to San Francisco where my sister picked me up on her way home from Long Beach. We then drove to my Grandma's house where Christmas Eve tamales making was underway ans suprised everyone. They all started screaming and crying and it was perfect. So we finished up the tamales and then I finally got to go home, take a shower and go to bed after who knows how long!
Sunday I went to chruch and suprised some more people, Monday was Christmas Eve at my Grandma's and I got to share a lot of the treats I brought home, Tuesday Christmas Day at our house, Wednesday I had breakfast with Katie, Chemo with my mom and church in the evening, Thursday was a Spanish lunch with Kahryn and Dave, and Friday I had coffee and an amazing visit with Tessa and Alicia and we left for Taft, where my other Grandma lives and had dinner with the fam and watched some Twilight Zones. The gaps have been spent reading, watching some much-missed American TV, talking on the phone with people I'm not going to be able to visit in person and otherwise relaxing and enjoying Christmas Vacation. I'm also always tired. I guess that has something to do with the time change. I got a lot of wonderful presents but the best part has just been being home.
Now I'm going to try and upload a lot of pictures!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Operation Christmas Suprise-prise
Saint Nick has delivered the package. Or in non-code, my sister picked me up from the airport yesterday and brought me home! Yes I am in California for 2 short weeks, until January 4th! Yay for Christmas suprises! My old cell phone is up and running so give me a call and we'll hang out! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Love, Rachel
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Finals Week and Christmas Vacation!
OOOOKKKK here we go! Last Friday, I had one more class, and still went home an hour early because the teacher wanted to give back and exam. Then I made lunch and ate it and went and had my Friday afternoon class. Something I realized was that I don´t really know the kid´s name. I´m not sure how that happened, but I just don´t know his name. I thought it was Alfonso like his dad´s, but then his mom called the younger brother Alfonso. So if anyone has any suggestions on how to get out of that pickle, you know how to reach me. Then I picked up some pictures I had processed, came home worked on presents and probably cleaned and Victor got to Granada and we ate dinner with the family. I spent quite a while taking pictures of Nachete so I could complete my Christmas gifts and then we left. Victor had said he was going to go out with his friends, so I made plans with Michelle and Samar who were going to go out with some other people. In the end, Victor fell asleep, and I went out. I met up with the group, which turned into a big group, which made for a bad time, and we wandered around Calle Elvira, from one place to the next, going in and out of bars, fighting the cold and all 12 people not agreeing. In the end, about 5 of us went to some different places, and finally a pub called Agora, which I really liked, and would like to go back to. When it closed at 4, I went home and went to bed.
The next morning, Victor went shopping for my Christmas present and I went for a run. It was really cold, and I ran into Nacho and Alicia in front of the house, and chatted with them for awhile before the run. Then I showered and went to drop off the pictures of Nachete and then to Victors house. That day Victor was eating lunch with the friends he was supposed to go out with on Firday, but I still ate with the family and helped crowd control with the babies. Raul and Patricia were there with Adriana, and Alicia and Nacho had dropped off Marina when I ran into them that morning. Then I went to my house and took a much needed nap, and later went on a walk with Victor. We picked up the pictures again, I was taking pictures of the beautiful Christmas lights all around the city and we visited the giant Nativity Scene in front of the Corte Inglés. Then we ate dinner and went to Santi´s house to hang out for a bit with him, José, Pepe, Antonio, Cristiana and Bea. We were there for a while, and later I went home and Victor went out with Pepe.
Sunday I went to church, which was borring, but not ridiculous for a change. Then I came home and had paella again. In case you haven´t noticed, its kinda a Spanish thing to eat paella on Sundays to which Victor´s mom holds to almost religiously. I like it a lot but, how many weeks have I been here for now? Then siesta relax time and all of a sudden, Alicia my old roommate calls me. She says, "Hey do you know where I am?" I said, "ummmm,,,,, Granada?" and she says, "nope, but I´m on a plane heading there to suprise you!" Well that was good, but I decided to clean the house. haha So I started to clean, and as I finished, Victor and José came over and visited for a bit, and we gave José his birthday present. His birthday was monday, and he loved the gift, a leather bracelet. (I am really good at picking out gifts!!) Then they left, and Victor went to have dinner with Nacho and Alicia. I finised up my Christmas gifts, and then Alicia got there. We chatted and went out to get schwarmas. Then we went to a teteria (tea house), and got a crepe, tea, and chocolate milk. Then we were walking around looking for this flamenco place Alicia had been too. It took us a while to find, and when we got there they were going to have a concert. That was cool, but it also meant we had to pay the cover. But also Alicia seemed to think that she had to treat me to everything since she was staying at my house, so that was good for me, although I felt bad after a while... So then a cool flamenco concert, except for they crammed as many people as possible into a tiny place filled with tables and chairs and we had people smoking right behind us and a couple making out and flipping their hair in my face right in front of us. Then at the end we took a taxi home because it was so freezing!! Then we chatted with Adri for a bit and went to bed.
Monday, I slept in till 12! which was amazing. I never sleep in anymore so I was loving it. Then we made chocolate chip cookies from a Betty Crocker mix Alicia had bought in the Dominican Republic. Baking American products in a gas oven that measures degrees in different sized dots is always an adventure. The first batch was black on the bottom, but the second turned out pretty good. Rosa got home and Adri woke up as we were finishing so we all ate cookies and chatted for a while. Then shower and Alicia and I went to eat at Il Gondoliere, a delicious Italian resturant and Alicia´s favorite. Then we went and watched The Golden Compass, stopped by the Corte Inglés and bought a few things, and went home. Then at 8 I left and went to a second interview, whic Veronica from Nachete´s English academy, had called me for, while we were in the movies. She wanted me to teach some classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and one on Tuesdays. It was all kind of a shock, and rushed, but I´m officially hired for the Tuesday class and start right after Christmas break. Its a little difficult because pretty much all private English tutoring/classes are smashed into monday- thursday afternoons, let´s say 4-7. I´m pretty content with my current schedule, and while more classes mean more moolah, it may also be saying goodbye to low-stress. Anyway, we´ll see how it all goes. Then I went and had class with Nacho and Alicia, where I also eat dinner, and when I got back home, I went out for tapas with Alicia. So yes, since she arrived in Granada, we mostly just talked and ate. We stopped by a bar on the way home where she used to work and visited some of her old friends and then went home. We watched tv and visited with Adri and Rosa and then went to bed.
Tuesday morning we had to get up early so she could catch the bus to the airport, and then I got ready and went to guitar. I was late, but started the lesson by giving Antonio his Christmas present, which made up for being late and not practicing again. haha Thing is, he goes into another room and comes back with a present for me. Wrapped in the same paper I just gave to him. It was a silver brooch/pin thing of a pomegranate (granada) with red jewels on it. I´m not sure if it was his wife´s or if all granadians keep a stash of those on hand to hand out as gifts to return unexpected favors. Victor´s mom gave me a similar one when I left Spain the last time and gave her an unexpected present. Anyway, then guitar class, then some errands and a bit of chill and internet time at Pepa´s and Emilio´s. Then I went at 6 to watch a class at Nachete´s school, so I would be prepared for after Christmas, and then rushed to my regular Tuesday night classes, which I had asked to be pushed back. Thankfully, Mari Angeles had cancelled on me, but I was still there with Carlos and Marta till pretty late as I got there late and spent an extra 20 mins with Marta who was working on a giant English project she saved for the last minute. (A girl after my own heart) Then I came home, stopped by Pepa and Emilio´s per request and then talked on the phone to my mom, made dinner and ate it, visited with Rosa and her supposed ex-boyfriend José Manuel who was visiting again, watched Shrek on tv and the next thing I knew it was past 12! I then went to bed.
Wednesday morning, work. One of the first things I did was talk to Carmina who told me that the was going to be activities for the kids, instead of class, starting tommorow at 3rd period, right when I start work. Long story short, I didn´t have to come to work the next day. Yay! So it was like finals week ended early and christmas break was here at the end of the day! That was especially nice to hear, because I didn´t have any finals this week, just work! That´s probably the first time in 10 or so years. woot! Nonetheless, Christmas break being so near was delicious. Michelle and I were giddy crazy! I had 1 hour of class with teachers, and one of them, Fernando, told me that Michelle and I had to go see the princapal because we were in trouble. I didn´t belive him and was hoping he was going to give us a Christmas bonus. During recess we went there and he gave us a big envelop with a pottery platter in it from the Granadian ceramics place near our school. Its really cool and then there was a smaller envelope with it. I was so excited, because I knew it was a check or cash! It wasn´t, it was 2 ugly bookmarks. At least I really like the plate. So then, 1 more hour of class with teachers, which I love, and then 1 hour with students, which went pretty bad. It was the whole group, and they did not want to hear about Christmas in America. But then it was over and Michelle and I said goodbye to everybody and went to cash our checks. It was nice to finally have a pay period not end in frustration with the banks, although I was really nervous walking home with all the money I´m going to get in a month in my pocket. Then I came home, ate lunch with Pepa, Emilio and Raul, and completely swallowed Raul´s story about him being in a kite surfing video on the internet. I think the fact that he was messing with me like that was another step in the direction of closeness. So then I had class with Conchi and Valentina, went back to Inglés Divertido to pick up a book and to Antionio´s because he made a wall calendar with my picture on it for me. Then I hung out with Rosa and her friend Raquel as they got ready for their school´s Christmas dinner. Then I went out to take a few picture of the lights, came home, made dinner watched Los Serrano on tv and went to bed.
Today I woke up and went running, deposited the cash in the bank, showered, ate breakfast and then Emilio took me to the bus station. Right now I´m here in Malaga, spending some time with Victor, since I´m finally on break, and to go to his company´s Christmas luncheon tomorrow afternoon. So then I was on a bus for 2 hours, got to Malaga, Victor picked me up, and we went to eat at this delicious seafood place. I had grilled octopus and he had grilled squid. It was really good. Then we came back home, I met his roommates, and Victor had to go back to work. I´ve been internetting and listening to music since. And that´s the story morning glory!
The next morning, Victor went shopping for my Christmas present and I went for a run. It was really cold, and I ran into Nacho and Alicia in front of the house, and chatted with them for awhile before the run. Then I showered and went to drop off the pictures of Nachete and then to Victors house. That day Victor was eating lunch with the friends he was supposed to go out with on Firday, but I still ate with the family and helped crowd control with the babies. Raul and Patricia were there with Adriana, and Alicia and Nacho had dropped off Marina when I ran into them that morning. Then I went to my house and took a much needed nap, and later went on a walk with Victor. We picked up the pictures again, I was taking pictures of the beautiful Christmas lights all around the city and we visited the giant Nativity Scene in front of the Corte Inglés. Then we ate dinner and went to Santi´s house to hang out for a bit with him, José, Pepe, Antonio, Cristiana and Bea. We were there for a while, and later I went home and Victor went out with Pepe.
Sunday I went to church, which was borring, but not ridiculous for a change. Then I came home and had paella again. In case you haven´t noticed, its kinda a Spanish thing to eat paella on Sundays to which Victor´s mom holds to almost religiously. I like it a lot but, how many weeks have I been here for now? Then siesta relax time and all of a sudden, Alicia my old roommate calls me. She says, "Hey do you know where I am?" I said, "ummmm,,,,, Granada?" and she says, "nope, but I´m on a plane heading there to suprise you!" Well that was good, but I decided to clean the house. haha So I started to clean, and as I finished, Victor and José came over and visited for a bit, and we gave José his birthday present. His birthday was monday, and he loved the gift, a leather bracelet. (I am really good at picking out gifts!!) Then they left, and Victor went to have dinner with Nacho and Alicia. I finised up my Christmas gifts, and then Alicia got there. We chatted and went out to get schwarmas. Then we went to a teteria (tea house), and got a crepe, tea, and chocolate milk. Then we were walking around looking for this flamenco place Alicia had been too. It took us a while to find, and when we got there they were going to have a concert. That was cool, but it also meant we had to pay the cover. But also Alicia seemed to think that she had to treat me to everything since she was staying at my house, so that was good for me, although I felt bad after a while... So then a cool flamenco concert, except for they crammed as many people as possible into a tiny place filled with tables and chairs and we had people smoking right behind us and a couple making out and flipping their hair in my face right in front of us. Then at the end we took a taxi home because it was so freezing!! Then we chatted with Adri for a bit and went to bed.
Monday, I slept in till 12! which was amazing. I never sleep in anymore so I was loving it. Then we made chocolate chip cookies from a Betty Crocker mix Alicia had bought in the Dominican Republic. Baking American products in a gas oven that measures degrees in different sized dots is always an adventure. The first batch was black on the bottom, but the second turned out pretty good. Rosa got home and Adri woke up as we were finishing so we all ate cookies and chatted for a while. Then shower and Alicia and I went to eat at Il Gondoliere, a delicious Italian resturant and Alicia´s favorite. Then we went and watched The Golden Compass, stopped by the Corte Inglés and bought a few things, and went home. Then at 8 I left and went to a second interview, whic Veronica from Nachete´s English academy, had called me for, while we were in the movies. She wanted me to teach some classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and one on Tuesdays. It was all kind of a shock, and rushed, but I´m officially hired for the Tuesday class and start right after Christmas break. Its a little difficult because pretty much all private English tutoring/classes are smashed into monday- thursday afternoons, let´s say 4-7. I´m pretty content with my current schedule, and while more classes mean more moolah, it may also be saying goodbye to low-stress. Anyway, we´ll see how it all goes. Then I went and had class with Nacho and Alicia, where I also eat dinner, and when I got back home, I went out for tapas with Alicia. So yes, since she arrived in Granada, we mostly just talked and ate. We stopped by a bar on the way home where she used to work and visited some of her old friends and then went home. We watched tv and visited with Adri and Rosa and then went to bed.
Tuesday morning we had to get up early so she could catch the bus to the airport, and then I got ready and went to guitar. I was late, but started the lesson by giving Antonio his Christmas present, which made up for being late and not practicing again. haha Thing is, he goes into another room and comes back with a present for me. Wrapped in the same paper I just gave to him. It was a silver brooch/pin thing of a pomegranate (granada) with red jewels on it. I´m not sure if it was his wife´s or if all granadians keep a stash of those on hand to hand out as gifts to return unexpected favors. Victor´s mom gave me a similar one when I left Spain the last time and gave her an unexpected present. Anyway, then guitar class, then some errands and a bit of chill and internet time at Pepa´s and Emilio´s. Then I went at 6 to watch a class at Nachete´s school, so I would be prepared for after Christmas, and then rushed to my regular Tuesday night classes, which I had asked to be pushed back. Thankfully, Mari Angeles had cancelled on me, but I was still there with Carlos and Marta till pretty late as I got there late and spent an extra 20 mins with Marta who was working on a giant English project she saved for the last minute. (A girl after my own heart) Then I came home, stopped by Pepa and Emilio´s per request and then talked on the phone to my mom, made dinner and ate it, visited with Rosa and her supposed ex-boyfriend José Manuel who was visiting again, watched Shrek on tv and the next thing I knew it was past 12! I then went to bed.
Wednesday morning, work. One of the first things I did was talk to Carmina who told me that the was going to be activities for the kids, instead of class, starting tommorow at 3rd period, right when I start work. Long story short, I didn´t have to come to work the next day. Yay! So it was like finals week ended early and christmas break was here at the end of the day! That was especially nice to hear, because I didn´t have any finals this week, just work! That´s probably the first time in 10 or so years. woot! Nonetheless, Christmas break being so near was delicious. Michelle and I were giddy crazy! I had 1 hour of class with teachers, and one of them, Fernando, told me that Michelle and I had to go see the princapal because we were in trouble. I didn´t belive him and was hoping he was going to give us a Christmas bonus. During recess we went there and he gave us a big envelop with a pottery platter in it from the Granadian ceramics place near our school. Its really cool and then there was a smaller envelope with it. I was so excited, because I knew it was a check or cash! It wasn´t, it was 2 ugly bookmarks. At least I really like the plate. So then, 1 more hour of class with teachers, which I love, and then 1 hour with students, which went pretty bad. It was the whole group, and they did not want to hear about Christmas in America. But then it was over and Michelle and I said goodbye to everybody and went to cash our checks. It was nice to finally have a pay period not end in frustration with the banks, although I was really nervous walking home with all the money I´m going to get in a month in my pocket. Then I came home, ate lunch with Pepa, Emilio and Raul, and completely swallowed Raul´s story about him being in a kite surfing video on the internet. I think the fact that he was messing with me like that was another step in the direction of closeness. So then I had class with Conchi and Valentina, went back to Inglés Divertido to pick up a book and to Antionio´s because he made a wall calendar with my picture on it for me. Then I hung out with Rosa and her friend Raquel as they got ready for their school´s Christmas dinner. Then I went out to take a few picture of the lights, came home, made dinner watched Los Serrano on tv and went to bed.
Today I woke up and went running, deposited the cash in the bank, showered, ate breakfast and then Emilio took me to the bus station. Right now I´m here in Malaga, spending some time with Victor, since I´m finally on break, and to go to his company´s Christmas luncheon tomorrow afternoon. So then I was on a bus for 2 hours, got to Malaga, Victor picked me up, and we went to eat at this delicious seafood place. I had grilled octopus and he had grilled squid. It was really good. Then we came back home, I met his roommates, and Victor had to go back to work. I´ve been internetting and listening to music since. And that´s the story morning glory!
Friday, December 14, 2007
A Day in the Life
This week has been busy but fairly normal. Monday afternoon, post blogging, I talked to my mom on the phone and bought a few more postcards and Christmas gifts and went home later. Its getting really cold in Granada, so home is nice. Then I had a good class with Nacho and Alicia, came home and went to bed.
Tuesday I was going to wake up early and go running, but I didn't because its just too cold, so I showered and went to guitar. It didn't go so well because I hadn't touched my guitar since my class a week ago, and then I left. Then I went to get my legs waxed again, and to the mall to see if I could finish up my Christmas shopping, which I almost did. Then I stopped by a store where a friend works, visited with her for a while, went to the Corte Inglés, and then home and made lunch. I rested and watched friends with Adri and Zore but then I went downstairs to use the internet for a bit when Adri and Zore started fighting. Adri always seems to bring up controversial topics or something that he and Zore don't agree on, and then they get into a big argument. Today it started innocently enough, with me saying "I love Christmas!" and Adri saying "I hate Christmas!" and then I said he didn't have a heart. It was all fun and games but for some reason Zore got really upset because she really likes Christmas and Adri thinks its just commercial. So I stayed for a while but then I left early, used the internet downstairs and then went and had only 2 hours of class with Carlos and Marta, but not with Mari Angeles. Then I went home, wrote some postcards, hung out with the roommies and went to bed.
Wednesday I went to work in the morning. Two hours of class with teachers, and one with students. The main teacher I work with, Carmina, had changed things up quite a bit. Now what we are going to do is I stay with the 8 or so students who are good at English, or want to learn, and she takes the rest of the degenerates and teaches them. It works fantasticly. They are so much quieter with so few students, they pay attention and she did a good job of picking the kids who want to learn! So that class went pretty well. Then I walked home, ran a few errands on the way, and came home and ate arroz con huevos with Rosa and Zore. I heard them talking about what they were going to eat that day, which happens to be one of my favorite Spanish foods, so I asked if they would make some for me too. I brought them dessert and the whole thing was delicious! Conchi and Valentina had canceled on me for class that afternoon, but I was glad because that mean that I could go to Nachete´s Christmas Pageant! While I was getting ready, Zore, Adri and I started talking about abortion. Another light afternoon topic. This time it didn't end in disaster, since we all remembered yesterday, but it was interesting none the less. Then I went with Pepa and Emilio to Nachete's school program. I was so excited and he was so good and adorable. I'll post the pictures as soon as possible. So that was a good time, then I came home and practiced guitar, ate dinner, wrapped presents, watched tv and went to bed.
Thursday, my first hour of class got cancelled, so I got up early to go running, decided it was too cold, showered, bought some goceries, ate breakfast and went to the mall again to drop off some photos for processing. Then I walked towards work and stopped by a few places searching for the last gifts and finally went to work. It went pretty well, with smaller classes again. I also got to give a lesson about Christmas! yay! Then at 2:30, Michelle and I went out and got some tapas and this neat bar and talked for a long time about love, life and the looming future. We got kicked out of the bar around 4 and I went home. I had a snack, watched tv with Zore, who told me that she is leaving this weekend and not coming back till after Christmas break and then I went to the post office and guitar class, which went a little better. Then I came home and talked on the phone to Victor and Magdalena, visited with Zore who convinced me to not go out and work on my last errands, but stay and watch TV with her. Since it was cold and her last evening in Granada I consented and spent the rest of the night watching tv and talking to her. Then I went to bed.
This morning I had to get up early because for the first time since I've been here, I had to come the my regularly scheduled Friday class. Difficult, but I still arrived early since my first hour is really the second hour of the day and starts at 9:30. Then I had 1 class, and I've been visiting with Michelle, the teachers and internetting for the past hour and a half and I still have one more hour till my next class because an exam gave me another free hour. So yeah, that's pretty much it. This weekend, Victor is coming, but we don't have any set plans...
Tuesday I was going to wake up early and go running, but I didn't because its just too cold, so I showered and went to guitar. It didn't go so well because I hadn't touched my guitar since my class a week ago, and then I left. Then I went to get my legs waxed again, and to the mall to see if I could finish up my Christmas shopping, which I almost did. Then I stopped by a store where a friend works, visited with her for a while, went to the Corte Inglés, and then home and made lunch. I rested and watched friends with Adri and Zore but then I went downstairs to use the internet for a bit when Adri and Zore started fighting. Adri always seems to bring up controversial topics or something that he and Zore don't agree on, and then they get into a big argument. Today it started innocently enough, with me saying "I love Christmas!" and Adri saying "I hate Christmas!" and then I said he didn't have a heart. It was all fun and games but for some reason Zore got really upset because she really likes Christmas and Adri thinks its just commercial. So I stayed for a while but then I left early, used the internet downstairs and then went and had only 2 hours of class with Carlos and Marta, but not with Mari Angeles. Then I went home, wrote some postcards, hung out with the roommies and went to bed.
Wednesday I went to work in the morning. Two hours of class with teachers, and one with students. The main teacher I work with, Carmina, had changed things up quite a bit. Now what we are going to do is I stay with the 8 or so students who are good at English, or want to learn, and she takes the rest of the degenerates and teaches them. It works fantasticly. They are so much quieter with so few students, they pay attention and she did a good job of picking the kids who want to learn! So that class went pretty well. Then I walked home, ran a few errands on the way, and came home and ate arroz con huevos with Rosa and Zore. I heard them talking about what they were going to eat that day, which happens to be one of my favorite Spanish foods, so I asked if they would make some for me too. I brought them dessert and the whole thing was delicious! Conchi and Valentina had canceled on me for class that afternoon, but I was glad because that mean that I could go to Nachete´s Christmas Pageant! While I was getting ready, Zore, Adri and I started talking about abortion. Another light afternoon topic. This time it didn't end in disaster, since we all remembered yesterday, but it was interesting none the less. Then I went with Pepa and Emilio to Nachete's school program. I was so excited and he was so good and adorable. I'll post the pictures as soon as possible. So that was a good time, then I came home and practiced guitar, ate dinner, wrapped presents, watched tv and went to bed.
Thursday, my first hour of class got cancelled, so I got up early to go running, decided it was too cold, showered, bought some goceries, ate breakfast and went to the mall again to drop off some photos for processing. Then I walked towards work and stopped by a few places searching for the last gifts and finally went to work. It went pretty well, with smaller classes again. I also got to give a lesson about Christmas! yay! Then at 2:30, Michelle and I went out and got some tapas and this neat bar and talked for a long time about love, life and the looming future. We got kicked out of the bar around 4 and I went home. I had a snack, watched tv with Zore, who told me that she is leaving this weekend and not coming back till after Christmas break and then I went to the post office and guitar class, which went a little better. Then I came home and talked on the phone to Victor and Magdalena, visited with Zore who convinced me to not go out and work on my last errands, but stay and watch TV with her. Since it was cold and her last evening in Granada I consented and spent the rest of the night watching tv and talking to her. Then I went to bed.
This morning I had to get up early because for the first time since I've been here, I had to come the my regularly scheduled Friday class. Difficult, but I still arrived early since my first hour is really the second hour of the day and starts at 9:30. Then I had 1 class, and I've been visiting with Michelle, the teachers and internetting for the past hour and a half and I still have one more hour till my next class because an exam gave me another free hour. So yeah, that's pretty much it. This weekend, Victor is coming, but we don't have any set plans...
Monday, December 10, 2007
Road Trip!! Part II
Ok so now I´m back. We woke up early Saturday morning at 8 and drove to meet Deanna´s friends and teachers who go hiking on the weekends at 9. It was cold and we met everybody and went in cars to La Alberca, a pueblo about 1 hour away from Salamanca. Then we started walking. Today there was going to be a hard hike and an easier one. The leader guys recommended that Victor and I not go on the more difficult one since it was our first time. I paid attention but Victor didn´t. I should have gone on the more difficult one because it went to a cool monastary way up on top of a hill but oh well, I´ll do it next time. I had a great time with De, walking and talking on our intermediate hike. We started walking around 1030 or so and stopped at 2. We walked to La Alberca and visited a museum about the forest and trees in the natural park. Then we explored the town, which was really unique, but typical of the area. I had never seen anything like it. There was a ton of people there as it was a holiday weekend, but it was really cool. The whole group met back up and then we ate lunch in this nice resturant. It ended up being really expensive, because they just split the bill between everybody, even though we didn´t get drinks or desert or as expensive things, which was unfortunate. I felt/feel especially bad because it was mainly me who wanted to eat there. (Sorry again guys. :( ) But I also bought a magnet and it was a much needed rest. Then we started back. So the cars were exactly where we had left them that morning, but we weren´t going back the same exact way. Regardless, we walked for at least 2 more hours, first down and then straight uphill for a long time. I got really determined at the end that these 2 French girls were not going to beat us, and De and I ended up being the first girls and the second group of people to finish! Yay USA! haha Anyway, then we loaded back up into the cars and drove the hour back to Salamanca. It was an amazing day, a beautiful hike and although I am super sore, I am so glad we went because it was great to experience what Deanna does and what her life in Salamanca is like. So all in all, we walked for about 6 hours, and did around 18K which to my calculations is 11.25 miles. We were exhausted so when we got home we just showered, looked at pictures and listened to music, Victor and Deanna made pizza and salad for dinner, I did the dishes, we watched tv and went to bed. My mom and sister also called me and I was bummed because I was such a zombie I could barely talk to them. :(
Sunday morning Victor and I woke up early to start back to Granada. It was sad to leave Deanna. Its really funny because whenever the 3 of us are together, it seems completely normal, even though its truly rare that we are all in the same place at the same time. I love Deanna and it was great to see her. We left at 8 or 830ish and got there at 230, with 1 stop in 6 hours. It was a good trip back, we were both really tired, but we made really good time. There was beautiful scenery in the morning and we didn´t even hit traffic in Madrid. When we got to Granada we ran into some of Victor´s old friends and Adri and his friend in front of our house. We chatted for awhile then went upstairs to eat paella with Victor´s mom and dad. Then nap time, this time I took the couch. The rest of the afternoon was composed of unloading the car and getting things in order and then Victor left for Malaga around 8. My roommate Zore had come back Friday for a job she had found and Rosa also came back Sunday night after 8. We all went out for tapas with their friend Raquel who is a character. It was good to hang out with them, but Rosa and Zore have the tendency to talk nonstop about their friends from home and not really include me in the conversation. Sometimes that´s frustrating. Then we we got home, this boy called Rosa and she put him on speaker phone for us to hear. Then afterwards I listened to the two of them talk about that conversation for quite a while. I said it was like watching The Rosa and Zore Show, but that I had seen enough episodes for the day and was going to bed.
This morning I woke up and listened to some music for my guitar class and then went running, ate breakfast and took a shower. Then I went to the bank, and then to the CLM to use the internet. I left early because Rosa and Zore were making lunch for me, Raquel, and their 2 friends from home who were stopping by to visit. They made a yummy pasta with meat, but it was a lot more of listening to other people´s stories instead of being included in them. Then I rested and watched Friends and finally came back out to use more of the internet and this catches me up! Photos soon to come. Love and miss you all, Love, Rachel
Sunday morning Victor and I woke up early to start back to Granada. It was sad to leave Deanna. Its really funny because whenever the 3 of us are together, it seems completely normal, even though its truly rare that we are all in the same place at the same time. I love Deanna and it was great to see her. We left at 8 or 830ish and got there at 230, with 1 stop in 6 hours. It was a good trip back, we were both really tired, but we made really good time. There was beautiful scenery in the morning and we didn´t even hit traffic in Madrid. When we got to Granada we ran into some of Victor´s old friends and Adri and his friend in front of our house. We chatted for awhile then went upstairs to eat paella with Victor´s mom and dad. Then nap time, this time I took the couch. The rest of the afternoon was composed of unloading the car and getting things in order and then Victor left for Malaga around 8. My roommate Zore had come back Friday for a job she had found and Rosa also came back Sunday night after 8. We all went out for tapas with their friend Raquel who is a character. It was good to hang out with them, but Rosa and Zore have the tendency to talk nonstop about their friends from home and not really include me in the conversation. Sometimes that´s frustrating. Then we we got home, this boy called Rosa and she put him on speaker phone for us to hear. Then afterwards I listened to the two of them talk about that conversation for quite a while. I said it was like watching The Rosa and Zore Show, but that I had seen enough episodes for the day and was going to bed.
This morning I woke up and listened to some music for my guitar class and then went running, ate breakfast and took a shower. Then I went to the bank, and then to the CLM to use the internet. I left early because Rosa and Zore were making lunch for me, Raquel, and their 2 friends from home who were stopping by to visit. They made a yummy pasta with meat, but it was a lot more of listening to other people´s stories instead of being included in them. Then I rested and watched Friends and finally came back out to use more of the internet and this catches me up! Photos soon to come. Love and miss you all, Love, Rachel
Road Trip!!
So Wednesday night after blogging Victor arrived, we ate dinner and went to bed early because the plan was to leave on our road trip to Salamanca very early in the morning.
True to the plan we left Granada about 8AM, Thursday morning and hit the road. We had all our stuff, snancks, music and I was pretty excited to be going on a road trip, since it had been a long time. Victor also has a tomtom, which is my new best friend, a GPS thingy. It gives you turn by turn directions, speaks, tells your where your are, how much longer you have to go in distance and time, what time you´ll arrive, if you are obeying the speed limit or not, where all kinds of points of interest are along the way, everything!!! For a map fanatic like me, I fell in love instantly. So yeah, we stopped twice, hit some traffic in Madrid, but otherwise made it, without any problems in 7 hours, by 3:30PM. It was great to see Deanna and we unloaded the stuff and then went out for a walk around the town. We were just walking and looking for something to eat and after getting turned down by a couple resturants, ended up getting pinchos, which are what they call tapas in Salamanca, then some coffee and a lame attempt of churros and chocolate at a cafe where an art teacher from Deanna´s school has a lot of his work on display. It was pretty cold and we were pretty tired so we went home and took a nap. And that meant Victor slept and De and I rested and talked over his snores. hehe! Then we went to a movie theater really close to Deanna´s house and watched Bee Movie, which just came out here and is really cute. We want to see it in English because I bet its completely different with the different voices. Then we went back home, chilled some more and went to bed.
Friday we woke up and got ready and went out shopping and looking at more of Salamanca. The city is pretty small, and both Victor and I had been there before, so we didn´t go really crazy touristy like, just looking at things from the outside, and going in places you didn´t have to pay. We also went shopping, and I bought a new jacket I had been eyeing from Zara. Its really adorable. We also did, well I did, while my wonderful friends were paitent with me, some souviner shopping. I bought the perfect magnet, and a necklace and earrings of Castillian silver, all of which I love. We also ate lunch at one of the places we tried to eat at the day before, and went home for the siesta. This time we all fell asleep, and I woke up whem my mom called me. We chatted for a while and then Deanna and I convinced Victor to take us to Valladolid to visit my friends an hour away. We left Salamanca about 730 or 8 and got there around 9. No one was home, even though I called them and said when we would get there, so that was quite frustrating, and we went and walked around. It was kinda akward because Jesús said he would be home in 20 minutes, but it took him longer than that to call me. So by the time he did we were way out in the middle of Valladolid, and no one knew where anyone was, Carlos said he would call me back and he didn´t, it was cold, should we get somehting while we wait, etc, etc, etc,,,,,,, But after a bit we went back to their house, visited with Jesús, Inma, and Inma´s sisters and one of their husbands. Then we ate a delicious dinner with appetizers of meats, cheese, chips and olives, then salad and special lamb chop things, very delicious and typical of Castilla-León. We all had a good time talking, catching up, talking about wines, making fun of how Rachel speaks Spanish, (not my favorite part as usual) etc. Carlos came home for a bit and then we left around1230 or 1. It was late and we wanted to go out a bit with Carlos in Valladolid, but we had big plans for Saturday and in the end, ended up going home. It was good to see them again, but it was slightly awkward as usual. I was glad we went. Then we finally made it home through the fog and went to bed.
Now I´m going to post this and try to continue later. :)
True to the plan we left Granada about 8AM, Thursday morning and hit the road. We had all our stuff, snancks, music and I was pretty excited to be going on a road trip, since it had been a long time. Victor also has a tomtom, which is my new best friend, a GPS thingy. It gives you turn by turn directions, speaks, tells your where your are, how much longer you have to go in distance and time, what time you´ll arrive, if you are obeying the speed limit or not, where all kinds of points of interest are along the way, everything!!! For a map fanatic like me, I fell in love instantly. So yeah, we stopped twice, hit some traffic in Madrid, but otherwise made it, without any problems in 7 hours, by 3:30PM. It was great to see Deanna and we unloaded the stuff and then went out for a walk around the town. We were just walking and looking for something to eat and after getting turned down by a couple resturants, ended up getting pinchos, which are what they call tapas in Salamanca, then some coffee and a lame attempt of churros and chocolate at a cafe where an art teacher from Deanna´s school has a lot of his work on display. It was pretty cold and we were pretty tired so we went home and took a nap. And that meant Victor slept and De and I rested and talked over his snores. hehe! Then we went to a movie theater really close to Deanna´s house and watched Bee Movie, which just came out here and is really cute. We want to see it in English because I bet its completely different with the different voices. Then we went back home, chilled some more and went to bed.
Friday we woke up and got ready and went out shopping and looking at more of Salamanca. The city is pretty small, and both Victor and I had been there before, so we didn´t go really crazy touristy like, just looking at things from the outside, and going in places you didn´t have to pay. We also went shopping, and I bought a new jacket I had been eyeing from Zara. Its really adorable. We also did, well I did, while my wonderful friends were paitent with me, some souviner shopping. I bought the perfect magnet, and a necklace and earrings of Castillian silver, all of which I love. We also ate lunch at one of the places we tried to eat at the day before, and went home for the siesta. This time we all fell asleep, and I woke up whem my mom called me. We chatted for a while and then Deanna and I convinced Victor to take us to Valladolid to visit my friends an hour away. We left Salamanca about 730 or 8 and got there around 9. No one was home, even though I called them and said when we would get there, so that was quite frustrating, and we went and walked around. It was kinda akward because Jesús said he would be home in 20 minutes, but it took him longer than that to call me. So by the time he did we were way out in the middle of Valladolid, and no one knew where anyone was, Carlos said he would call me back and he didn´t, it was cold, should we get somehting while we wait, etc, etc, etc,,,,,,, But after a bit we went back to their house, visited with Jesús, Inma, and Inma´s sisters and one of their husbands. Then we ate a delicious dinner with appetizers of meats, cheese, chips and olives, then salad and special lamb chop things, very delicious and typical of Castilla-León. We all had a good time talking, catching up, talking about wines, making fun of how Rachel speaks Spanish, (not my favorite part as usual) etc. Carlos came home for a bit and then we left around1230 or 1. It was late and we wanted to go out a bit with Carlos in Valladolid, but we had big plans for Saturday and in the end, ended up going home. It was good to see them again, but it was slightly awkward as usual. I was glad we went. Then we finally made it home through the fog and went to bed.
Now I´m going to post this and try to continue later. :)
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Sun, Leaves, Rain and Frost
So true to my predictions, the rest of Monday was spent doing a lot more shopping, till I went home at 9:15, after having been gone for 9 plus hours, made dinner, watched tv and went to bed.
Tuesday, I woke up at 5:30 and couldn´t go back to sleep. So after about an hour or so of fighting it, I woke up and wrote a bunch of postcards and called my dad. That took me to about 8 and I showered and left to go to guitar early and went to the post office and a store before! Then I had a really dissapointing lesson, because everything Antonio asked me about, I hadn´t practiced. He always asks, "Did you study blah, blah, blah?" And I sheepishly reply, no.... This time he said, "Good, I don´t want you to study." Oh dang, that hurts. Anyway, then I went home and went out on a walk with Emilio. We were out for 3 hours again. That guy does not know how to give short tours. Once again, we didn´t go anywhere I had been before. All new stuff. I don´t know how it seems that Granada just keeps getting bigger... We went to through the Albayzin, to a palace, and got a coffee and a cake in Emilio´s favorite place. I told him I didn´t like coffee, and he assured me I would like this coffee. He was wrong but I drank it all anyway. I was so tired and starting to feel the fact that I had woken up at 5:30, but we finally made it back and I ate a huge delicious lunch with them. Grilled squid, asparragus scramble, green bean and red pepper salad, and clams were on the menu. I couldn´t say no. Then I went upstairs and took a nap for 1.5 hrs. Then later in the afternoon I went and had 3 hours of class with Carletes, Marta, and Mari Angeles. I really like all of them and the classes we are having. They are all such nice, pleasant people, and its just great. Then I talked to my mom on the phone for a long time and my friends in Valladolid. Then I finally made dinner and ate it and went to bed.
Today I woke up and went to work, which was pretty easy. Only 2 hours with teachers, which are another favorite group. Then I came home and made lunch and spent the afternoon watching Friends, resting and using the internet because I borrowed the computer from Emilio and Pepa. Then I went out and bought some groceries and supplies for the road trip, and now I am back in my house blogging. Tomorrow we are leaving for Salamanca, and while this mini update catches me up, it was not the main purpose of this blog entry.
On the contrary, I have been wanting for some time to write about the changing weather here in Granada. When I go for a walk or a run, I always think of things that I want to write about the city, but then I forget, or don´t have time or spend 3 hours writing about what I did and it gets left behind. So I wanted to say that when I first arrived here in Granada, it was warm and sunny. Unusually so from what I remember of last October and November. But that changed around the middle of November when it started to get colder and the leaves began to fall. Anyone who has waited for the shuttle with me outside the Parkside Dorms, been my sister in Newcaslte, or walked with my anywhere where foilage had fallen on the pathway knows that I really like to crunch leaves. I had some amazing runs and walks here in Granada crunching piles of yellow leaves to my heart´s content to the stares of Spainards. Then it started to rain a lot and the leaves didn´t crunch anymore. The winds and the street sweepers took them all away and it got cold. Now there is frost on the grounds in the morning when I go out and it seems really cold to my wimpy Californian body. That´s all I have to say about the weather.
Tuesday, I woke up at 5:30 and couldn´t go back to sleep. So after about an hour or so of fighting it, I woke up and wrote a bunch of postcards and called my dad. That took me to about 8 and I showered and left to go to guitar early and went to the post office and a store before! Then I had a really dissapointing lesson, because everything Antonio asked me about, I hadn´t practiced. He always asks, "Did you study blah, blah, blah?" And I sheepishly reply, no.... This time he said, "Good, I don´t want you to study." Oh dang, that hurts. Anyway, then I went home and went out on a walk with Emilio. We were out for 3 hours again. That guy does not know how to give short tours. Once again, we didn´t go anywhere I had been before. All new stuff. I don´t know how it seems that Granada just keeps getting bigger... We went to through the Albayzin, to a palace, and got a coffee and a cake in Emilio´s favorite place. I told him I didn´t like coffee, and he assured me I would like this coffee. He was wrong but I drank it all anyway. I was so tired and starting to feel the fact that I had woken up at 5:30, but we finally made it back and I ate a huge delicious lunch with them. Grilled squid, asparragus scramble, green bean and red pepper salad, and clams were on the menu. I couldn´t say no. Then I went upstairs and took a nap for 1.5 hrs. Then later in the afternoon I went and had 3 hours of class with Carletes, Marta, and Mari Angeles. I really like all of them and the classes we are having. They are all such nice, pleasant people, and its just great. Then I talked to my mom on the phone for a long time and my friends in Valladolid. Then I finally made dinner and ate it and went to bed.
Today I woke up and went to work, which was pretty easy. Only 2 hours with teachers, which are another favorite group. Then I came home and made lunch and spent the afternoon watching Friends, resting and using the internet because I borrowed the computer from Emilio and Pepa. Then I went out and bought some groceries and supplies for the road trip, and now I am back in my house blogging. Tomorrow we are leaving for Salamanca, and while this mini update catches me up, it was not the main purpose of this blog entry.
On the contrary, I have been wanting for some time to write about the changing weather here in Granada. When I go for a walk or a run, I always think of things that I want to write about the city, but then I forget, or don´t have time or spend 3 hours writing about what I did and it gets left behind. So I wanted to say that when I first arrived here in Granada, it was warm and sunny. Unusually so from what I remember of last October and November. But that changed around the middle of November when it started to get colder and the leaves began to fall. Anyone who has waited for the shuttle with me outside the Parkside Dorms, been my sister in Newcaslte, or walked with my anywhere where foilage had fallen on the pathway knows that I really like to crunch leaves. I had some amazing runs and walks here in Granada crunching piles of yellow leaves to my heart´s content to the stares of Spainards. Then it started to rain a lot and the leaves didn´t crunch anymore. The winds and the street sweepers took them all away and it got cold. Now there is frost on the grounds in the morning when I go out and it seems really cold to my wimpy Californian body. That´s all I have to say about the weather.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Una Guitarra Desafinada Es Como Una Mujer Sin Arreglarse
Ok so last Monday after blogging, I probably ran some errands, came home and practiced guitar until it was time to go to have class with Nacho and Alicia. The dinner that night was a delicious Mexican feast that included the Spanish version of nachos and soft tacos, including, guacamole and sour cream. Nothing really like the true taste but close enough to be amazing. We had a good class and then Nacho took me home and we rocked out to Queen´s Bohemian Rapshody all the way home. Then I probably did some more stuff and went to bed.
Tuesday, November 27th I woke up, also was too lazy to go running and went to guitar. Then I mailed some more postcards and stopped back by my house and now the details are all so fuzzy. So yeah more running errands and shopping. I think I did some serious Christmas shopping that day. I pretty much go crazy Monday and Tuesday since they are my only days off. Tuesday after lunch I had a full evening of class. From 6-7 with Marta, 7-8 with Carletes and 8-9 with Maria Angeles. So they all went pretty well and then I came home pretty tired, talked to my mom on the phone, watched some tv and ate some dinner and went to bed.
Wednesday, I went to work, 2 hours with the teachers, and then 1 hour with the kids that just went so - so. It had been a long time since they had had real English but it got over soon enough. Then I walked home, made a pizza, and got ready for class with Conchi and Valentina. They kinda come whenever they make it out there so its always a suprise and a little frustrating. But that went well too and it also got over soon enough. Then in the evening.... I don´t remember anymore except for practicing the guitar and posting the pictures on my blog. Then Kyle XY with the roommies and bed.
Thursday I actually had a pretty good day at work. My classes went well and the kids were pretty good and seemed interested and I think we all had a good time. It was fun because I told them a joke in Spanish but made them learn the vocabulary in English and translated phrases for them like "I´m the bomb" or "I rock!" which they care more about learning that other vocabulary. They can talk about whatever they want as long as its in English. So it suprisingly went really well. Then I came home pretty late, made and ate lunch, rested and went to guitar. My guitar teacher is a character and either Tuesday or Thrusday he said this epic quote, the title of this blog, which my feministy friends will love. He more or less said, "An untuned guitar is like a woman who leaves her house without getting dressed up." When he said that all I could do was smile and laugh. And then he tried to explain himself more. You gotta love 70 year olds. Then I bought some stuff on the way home and then watched tv and went to bed really, really early.
Friday morning, I woke up and somehow made myself go running, ate breakfast, got ready and went to work. It was just an ok day, but shorter because I didn´t have to go in for the first hour. At the beginning of the one class where the girls drew the note/drawing of me, (featured in the last photo blog) they came up and apologized to me for how they acted during that class. I think that was very nice of them even if I´m sure a teacher made them. In the last hour of class the teacher never told me what we were doing so I didn´t prepare anything. Then on the way to class she said we´re gonig to correct some exercises and I said fine... But by that she meant, you´re going to correct the exercises you´ve never seen and I´m going to sit in the back of the class while you look stupid because you don´t really know what you´re doing... That was fun and I was glad we ended 10 minutes early and that my dad called me right after so I could talk to him the whole way I walked home. So I got home really late, cooked something and rushed to the class I have at 5, which thankfully repeated with me even though I charged them 15€. YEssssss!!! :) So then when I was walking home I saw a store that had FREE MASSAGES written all over it and I went in to check it out. They were selling these massage beds and let you try them first. It was pretty cool. Any free massage is a good one. Then I came home, visited with Pepa and Emilio for a bit. I stopped by to tell Emilio that I couldn´t go with him to this Grand Opening of a Factory for somethign with his work. He had invited me but I really didn´t want to go because there was really no reason for me to be there except for me to be awkward, but Emilio feels I need to break out of my circle of what I usualy do, because students in Granada don´t do anything worthwhile, and do more things with him. Anway, I just stopped by to tell him that I couldn´t go because I had plans, and excuse I had made up, but they trapped me there for a while untill he left and I could finally break away from just Pepa. Its kinda like lions hunting in a pack. Its easier to escape from 1 than from 2. So then I went upstairs and practiced guitar and did some other stuff and then Victor made it from Malaga and the Grand Opening thing. We were going to go over to Nacho and Alicia´s for dinner and I stopped by the 7th floor again. Raul who was back in Granada for his Master´s class and came with us to hang out and give Nachete his bday presents. I was a little nervous because it was going to be all the Bullejos Brothers together for some bonding time and that was the first time we were all going to hang out like that. We had a really good time, playing with the kids, talking, joking and eating. I feel like I had a breakthrough with Raul, who scares the crap out of me, that now that I´ve hung out with him and his brothers, I´ve seen a different side of the super serious guy he is with his parents, slightly less serious, and capable of joking around. He still scares me to death, but Friday night was a step forward. Raul went home pretty early, and then the kids went to bed and the 4 of us left watched a movie on tv, then we went home and went to bed.
Saturday Victor and I had some serious shopping to do so we went out to do it in the morning. All 3 of his nieces and nephews have birthdays in December so we had to buy at least 6 toys, 3 for bdays and 3 for xmas. We drove to this big toy store next to Toys-R-Us, called Jugetelandia and were there for hours picking out the perfect gifts and wrapping them. I had a ridiculously good time as I love Christmas, and shopping for presents, and wrapping and everythng!!! It was really, really fun and I think we did really well with our final choices. Then we came back and ate a really good lunch with Victor´s parents and Raul, chatted and watched tv and then Raul left to go back to his home and after a while Victor and I went back out for some more walking around and Christmas shopping. Victor is almost completely done, because I´ve helped him so much, but I still have a ton to go... We also stopped by this cool photography exposition that showed old pictures of Granada. Then we came back and bought tickets to go see Blade Runner at the theaters. We watched the soccer game on tv and had some tapas before the movies. I didn´t really know what Blade Runner was about, only that it had Harrison Ford in it, and it was a Sci-Fi thriller, so I thought it was going to be good. It wasn´t and I don´t really reccommend it to anyone. Then home and bed.
Then Sunday I went to church and they had a lady preach. She talked about demon possesed people and how we should pray for them. Then I went home and Victor and I made lunch for ourselves. Pepa and Emilio had left for the beach to visit thier other granddaughter, but not before leaving us stuff for lunch. We had bread, fried potatoes, delicious meat, mandarins and even Tiramisu for 2! Spanish moms are ridiculous! We watched tv, I fell asleep in the chair again for siesta time, chilled around in the house for the rest of the day till we went over to Nacho and Alicia´s in the evening to give Nachete his birthday present. His birthday is on Tuesday, so we wanted to give him his present when we could both be there. When we got there, eveyone, except Alicia, had just woken up from a nap and was in a really bad mood. So Nachete opened up the giant bucket of 168 pieces of legos and put it in his toy box without playing with it. I was a little, ok extremely, dissapointed at his reaction after how excited I was about his presents but hopefully he will like it a lot more later. We stayed there for a while, then came back and Victor packed up to go back to Málaga. Then he left, I ate dinner with Pepa and Emilio, as ordered, and went upstairs and did some laundry, wrote some more post cards, watched Camera Café and more tv with Adrian and Violeta his girlfriend and then went to bed.
This morning I slept in a bit and when I woke up I had a really hard time going running but I didt it anyway after wasting tons of time. Then I showered and wasted some more time but made it on time to meet up with Samar and Jenna to pick up or resident cards! Yay!! I finally have it and it should be the last time I have to go wait in line at the police station. Then we split up to run some seperate errands, I went with Jenna and Samar met back up with us again and we had some tapas. Then we parted ways and I went shopping and came here to use the internet. Now I plan on doing some more shopping, going home, eating dinner and doing more stuff. Tomorrow I have guitar and another cultural outing with Emilio and classes in the evening. Wednesday 2 hours of work and then its another puente!! Victor and I are planning a road trip to visit De in Salamanca, so I´ll write more later!
Tuesday, November 27th I woke up, also was too lazy to go running and went to guitar. Then I mailed some more postcards and stopped back by my house and now the details are all so fuzzy. So yeah more running errands and shopping. I think I did some serious Christmas shopping that day. I pretty much go crazy Monday and Tuesday since they are my only days off. Tuesday after lunch I had a full evening of class. From 6-7 with Marta, 7-8 with Carletes and 8-9 with Maria Angeles. So they all went pretty well and then I came home pretty tired, talked to my mom on the phone, watched some tv and ate some dinner and went to bed.
Wednesday, I went to work, 2 hours with the teachers, and then 1 hour with the kids that just went so - so. It had been a long time since they had had real English but it got over soon enough. Then I walked home, made a pizza, and got ready for class with Conchi and Valentina. They kinda come whenever they make it out there so its always a suprise and a little frustrating. But that went well too and it also got over soon enough. Then in the evening.... I don´t remember anymore except for practicing the guitar and posting the pictures on my blog. Then Kyle XY with the roommies and bed.
Thursday I actually had a pretty good day at work. My classes went well and the kids were pretty good and seemed interested and I think we all had a good time. It was fun because I told them a joke in Spanish but made them learn the vocabulary in English and translated phrases for them like "I´m the bomb" or "I rock!" which they care more about learning that other vocabulary. They can talk about whatever they want as long as its in English. So it suprisingly went really well. Then I came home pretty late, made and ate lunch, rested and went to guitar. My guitar teacher is a character and either Tuesday or Thrusday he said this epic quote, the title of this blog, which my feministy friends will love. He more or less said, "An untuned guitar is like a woman who leaves her house without getting dressed up." When he said that all I could do was smile and laugh. And then he tried to explain himself more. You gotta love 70 year olds. Then I bought some stuff on the way home and then watched tv and went to bed really, really early.
Friday morning, I woke up and somehow made myself go running, ate breakfast, got ready and went to work. It was just an ok day, but shorter because I didn´t have to go in for the first hour. At the beginning of the one class where the girls drew the note/drawing of me, (featured in the last photo blog) they came up and apologized to me for how they acted during that class. I think that was very nice of them even if I´m sure a teacher made them. In the last hour of class the teacher never told me what we were doing so I didn´t prepare anything. Then on the way to class she said we´re gonig to correct some exercises and I said fine... But by that she meant, you´re going to correct the exercises you´ve never seen and I´m going to sit in the back of the class while you look stupid because you don´t really know what you´re doing... That was fun and I was glad we ended 10 minutes early and that my dad called me right after so I could talk to him the whole way I walked home. So I got home really late, cooked something and rushed to the class I have at 5, which thankfully repeated with me even though I charged them 15€. YEssssss!!! :) So then when I was walking home I saw a store that had FREE MASSAGES written all over it and I went in to check it out. They were selling these massage beds and let you try them first. It was pretty cool. Any free massage is a good one. Then I came home, visited with Pepa and Emilio for a bit. I stopped by to tell Emilio that I couldn´t go with him to this Grand Opening of a Factory for somethign with his work. He had invited me but I really didn´t want to go because there was really no reason for me to be there except for me to be awkward, but Emilio feels I need to break out of my circle of what I usualy do, because students in Granada don´t do anything worthwhile, and do more things with him. Anway, I just stopped by to tell him that I couldn´t go because I had plans, and excuse I had made up, but they trapped me there for a while untill he left and I could finally break away from just Pepa. Its kinda like lions hunting in a pack. Its easier to escape from 1 than from 2. So then I went upstairs and practiced guitar and did some other stuff and then Victor made it from Malaga and the Grand Opening thing. We were going to go over to Nacho and Alicia´s for dinner and I stopped by the 7th floor again. Raul who was back in Granada for his Master´s class and came with us to hang out and give Nachete his bday presents. I was a little nervous because it was going to be all the Bullejos Brothers together for some bonding time and that was the first time we were all going to hang out like that. We had a really good time, playing with the kids, talking, joking and eating. I feel like I had a breakthrough with Raul, who scares the crap out of me, that now that I´ve hung out with him and his brothers, I´ve seen a different side of the super serious guy he is with his parents, slightly less serious, and capable of joking around. He still scares me to death, but Friday night was a step forward. Raul went home pretty early, and then the kids went to bed and the 4 of us left watched a movie on tv, then we went home and went to bed.
Saturday Victor and I had some serious shopping to do so we went out to do it in the morning. All 3 of his nieces and nephews have birthdays in December so we had to buy at least 6 toys, 3 for bdays and 3 for xmas. We drove to this big toy store next to Toys-R-Us, called Jugetelandia and were there for hours picking out the perfect gifts and wrapping them. I had a ridiculously good time as I love Christmas, and shopping for presents, and wrapping and everythng!!! It was really, really fun and I think we did really well with our final choices. Then we came back and ate a really good lunch with Victor´s parents and Raul, chatted and watched tv and then Raul left to go back to his home and after a while Victor and I went back out for some more walking around and Christmas shopping. Victor is almost completely done, because I´ve helped him so much, but I still have a ton to go... We also stopped by this cool photography exposition that showed old pictures of Granada. Then we came back and bought tickets to go see Blade Runner at the theaters. We watched the soccer game on tv and had some tapas before the movies. I didn´t really know what Blade Runner was about, only that it had Harrison Ford in it, and it was a Sci-Fi thriller, so I thought it was going to be good. It wasn´t and I don´t really reccommend it to anyone. Then home and bed.
Then Sunday I went to church and they had a lady preach. She talked about demon possesed people and how we should pray for them. Then I went home and Victor and I made lunch for ourselves. Pepa and Emilio had left for the beach to visit thier other granddaughter, but not before leaving us stuff for lunch. We had bread, fried potatoes, delicious meat, mandarins and even Tiramisu for 2! Spanish moms are ridiculous! We watched tv, I fell asleep in the chair again for siesta time, chilled around in the house for the rest of the day till we went over to Nacho and Alicia´s in the evening to give Nachete his birthday present. His birthday is on Tuesday, so we wanted to give him his present when we could both be there. When we got there, eveyone, except Alicia, had just woken up from a nap and was in a really bad mood. So Nachete opened up the giant bucket of 168 pieces of legos and put it in his toy box without playing with it. I was a little, ok extremely, dissapointed at his reaction after how excited I was about his presents but hopefully he will like it a lot more later. We stayed there for a while, then came back and Victor packed up to go back to Málaga. Then he left, I ate dinner with Pepa and Emilio, as ordered, and went upstairs and did some laundry, wrote some more post cards, watched Camera Café and more tv with Adrian and Violeta his girlfriend and then went to bed.
This morning I slept in a bit and when I woke up I had a really hard time going running but I didt it anyway after wasting tons of time. Then I showered and wasted some more time but made it on time to meet up with Samar and Jenna to pick up or resident cards! Yay!! I finally have it and it should be the last time I have to go wait in line at the police station. Then we split up to run some seperate errands, I went with Jenna and Samar met back up with us again and we had some tapas. Then we parted ways and I went shopping and came here to use the internet. Now I plan on doing some more shopping, going home, eating dinner and doing more stuff. Tomorrow I have guitar and another cultural outing with Emilio and classes in the evening. Wednesday 2 hours of work and then its another puente!! Victor and I are planning a road trip to visit De in Salamanca, so I´ll write more later!
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