Last Week Of Work

Monday morning I slept in as much as I could and stayed at home, cleaned my room and finally went for a little run. Then Pepa had given me a toque so I went down to see what she wanted and got convinced to stay for lunch, even though I didn't want to. Then I went upstairs and showered and went to have my last class with the babies. Veronica came to take their pictures, and the class went pretty well. They were all there and then a mom came to pick up one kid. Then it was 5:00 but none of the other parents came, so on and so forth, till 5:20 when I was running really late and rounded up all the kids and went downstairs. There Pachi, the director lady says, "I thought it was strange that you didn't come down." I said how none of the parents came, and that I had to go and she explains, "well yeah, there is a birthday party today, and the parents aren't coming till 7:00." Thanks for letting me know 20 minutes late. I was so upset because I had switched my Friday class with Pablo to that afternoon, from 5 to 6, forgetting about baby class. Then I told them that I would be late, leaving at 5. So now I wouldn't get there till really late. Also since there was a bithday party going on, the kids scattered right at the bottom of the stairs and I didn't get to say bye. Even though I hate those little brats, they are so cute and I love them. Also someone could have thanked me for putting up with them since January. So that's how that ended, me leaving upset, with out saying goodbye to the kids and barely waving goodbye to the stupid director, who thinks I should already know everything. Then I rushed and had an hour of class with Pablo 45 minutes behind schedule. Then I rushed to a Trovadores Latinos concert, Antonio my guitar teacher's band. I got there late, but saw most of the opening act, a play from old people. Here in Spain they have a lot of day centers for elderly, or retired people so they don't get bored. So the opening act for the concert was a play that was wierd. I didn't really understand it because it was about women throughout history, starting with Eve cave women, ancient greeks hippies etc. and how men mistreat them and finally they react and mistreat the men with a role reversal. So that would make sense, but then.....God and an angel comes out and says it was all Eve's fault. Ok. Yeah I didn't get it. Then Antonio played which was really good, but I feel that I had seen it all before, from his other concerts. But it was good times, good memories. Afterwards I went and talked to the people in his band who are really nice and like it when people like their music. Then I came home and talked on the phone to Victor and my family and went to bed.



Tuesday I went early to guitar at 9:30 and had guitar till 1. It actually went really well and we got a lot accomplished. Then I went to the post office and then for a run. Then I made lunch and showered and used the internet. Then I had to stop by Inglés Divertido to return stuff and get paid. It was nice because she paid me for the class I went to last week that didn't happen. Then I went and had class with Carlos and got out an hour early because Marta had a huge math test and was stressed out. I had made plans with Michelle after that but since I got done early, I went to El Corte Inglés and bought a cd. Then I read a book at Puerta Real and waited for Michelle. Then we went and got tapas at D'Cuadros and Samar and Kristen met us later. After a few rounds of tapas I went home and went to bed.

Wednesday May 28th was my last Wednesday of work. I went there, used the internet as usual and then went downstairs to make some photocopies and get paid. I had to resign all the papers I had signed saying that I had been paid becaues they were using the wrong document, and it all hit me how quickly the past 9 months have flown. Volando... Then for class with Fernando, he treated me to breakfast, fresh squeezed oj and toast with tomato and olive oil and salt. Yum! Then we went upstairs because the teachers were scheaming something. All the teachers who were our students had gotten together and given Michelle and I each a box of Lindt chocolates, a book with black and white photography of Granada, another book about something Spanish, and 3 book marks. It was really sweet of them. Then we had recess and I went down and had another oj with Michelle and the teachers. Then I had my last class with Rafa and Javier. Jose Antonio didn't come again, and niether did Javier. So Rafa and I just chatted in Spanish which was really nice. I really like him a lot and at the end he started tearing up. Then I went and had my last class with some kids and Carmina. It went fairly well, we talked and sang songs in English like Umbrella, Bleeding Love, No One and Time of Your Life. Then Michelle and I went and cashed our checks and I went home. Then I ate lunch and took a nap and oversletp. But thankfully I woke up in time to go make up the hour of work with Marta. Then I rushed home and watched my sister's graduation on the simultaneous webcast. Everything was going well until right before they were going to start calling the names of her Department and the internet cut out. I started freaking out because it didn't come back and ran downstairs to Pepa's and Emilio's, who weren't home. Then there in the stairwell, I shut down and restarted the computer and finally got the internet to work, but I didn't know if she had already gone past yet or not so I called my dad to find out. Thankfully she hadn't and just then I got to see her walk across and get her diploma!! Yeah sissy! I´m so proud of you! So that was great and then I went for a run, and then went to the 7th floor to use the phone and talked to all my family. Then I changed really quickly and met Samar, Kristen and Samar's (and mine's) friends Victor and Jose. It was Victor's birthday so we got tapas at a place called Casa de la Alpujarra (specializing in ham of course) and the a place called Poe. Then I went home and went to bed.

On Thursday I went to work and had class all day with the kids. I also finished the translation with corrections, once and for all. Classes were good, the same singing as the day before. Some kids were sad, some said goodbye, a few kids who I thought hated me (like the one who threatened to sue me) suprised me by coming to shake my hand, some gave me kisses, most just ran out the door at the end of the period but that didn't suprise me. What was really sweet was a girl who came to the office especially to give me a note and say that she really enjoyed my classes and would never forget me. I also ran into Javier and asked why he didn't come to class, if he just didn't like goodbyes. He said no, that he seriously got really sad as he basically ran away too. So that was school for the day and I got a ride home from the photography teacher, who was really nice. I felt bad ditching Michelle for our last walk home together, but got home way earlier. Then at home I ate a quick salad and practiced guitar. Then I went to guitar, which didn't o quite as well as Tuesday but we did get some stuff accomplished. Then I talked on the phone to my mom, went for a run, cooked dinner, watched tv and used the internet. Rosa told me that she was having some freinds over for dinner who were still not there after 11. They finally did get here and were loud but I was able to fall asleep.

Friday I went to work early and hung out with Michelle even though I didn't have class. Instead I wrote a paragraph of our dual memories of the year for the yearbook or something. We also got free pencil cups that someone had made. We hung out, talked, internetted, ran around doing stuff and I made more photocopies. During recess Michelle and I got chocolatey treats with Javier who I had come to breakfast with us in a non-official goodbye. Then Michelle left and I had my last 2 classes, ever. They went ok, they were probably my least favorite groups but oh well. Then I walked home and ate lunch. Then I made 52 peanut butter cookies. Then I changed and got gussied up. Then I talked on the phone to my mom and went to meet Michelle for a snack with our teachers. We went to Blanca's house a little after 6 and made tortilla de patatas. We chatted and snacked and waited for the other teachers to arrive. They finally did closer to 8 and we set the table and started eating. We were having a really good time, and they gave us a real TOUS pearl bracelet, a really expensive, popular brand here. We finally had to go around 11 and go to the last potluck which was ending at 12 at Jenny's. We got there around 11:30 and Victor met me there shortly thereafter. Jenny's roommates had to study so we all got kicked out and went to meet Brad and say goodbye to him. Then Victor and I went home and I went to bed.

El Corpus

The week of May 19th - 25th is the Corpus in Granada. It is the week that Granada has its fair and week long celebrations. The celebration is about Corpus Cristi, the body of Christ, but I´m not sure why Granada decided to make that the week it celebrates its fair, but it does and this is about my weeklong vacation.

So Monday May 19th I slept in till 1PM. It was great and just what I needed. I had planned to go on a walk with Emilio, but Pepa had called me around 9 and said he had to go do something for work and couldn't go. So I just kept sleeping. When I woke up I went for a run and then I had lunch with Pepa and Emilio because they invited me and I didn't have any food or wanted to cook. Then I went upstairs and showered and went to have class with the babies, only to get there and there were no babies. The director lady told me, "Oh I forgot to tell you, there's no class today because of Corpus, Oh well, more time for you to rest, right?" Hmmm well, I was not very happy about this, obviously, because 1, I had been resting all day, 2, I would have had more time to rest or do soemthing else if I could have planned for it, and 3, All my other students were doing the same thing to me, and I just wanted some money! So I called Veronica to stop by earlier, because I was supposed to take the kids pictures that day, for their end of the year certificates. So I went by and did my part of the certificate and then came home and talked to my mom on the phone. Then I went and got juice at a tetería with Michelle and then she came over for a bit. We talked and listened to music and then she left. Then I ate some dinner and blogged till about 2AM and went to bed.

Tuesday I was obviously really tired, and still sick and had a really rough voice, so instead of going in a half hour earlier to guitar as planned, I sent Antonio a message, (which he didn't get) and kept sleeping. I finally woke up a bit and showerd and went to guitar a bit late, which went well but I couldn't sing. Then I came back home and took the bus up to school. I thought we had set a special meeting for the 5th period to go over the translation I had been working on. There was the bus strike and some sort of demonstration going on in the center so the bus was taking forever. On the way, Michelle sent me a message, saying that everyone was there going over the translation the 4th period, so I continued on my way to school, got there for the last 10 minutes and then left. Apparently I didn't understand. But it was ok, because I obvioulsy wouldn't change my translation anyway. So then I hung around for a bit and looked for Fernanado to make sure we weren't having class the next day and walked back home. Pepa had invited me to eat lunch with her at the fair. The fair is made up of 2 sections: the rides and normal fair attractions you probably think of when someone says fair, and the Spanish section casetas. Casetas are booths for eating and dancing. Some are public and some are private. Pepa's friend from the gym had invited her and her friends to go up and eat with her on Tuesday and Pepa invited me a long. I was hesitant to go because I knew it would be awesome, but also awkward to spend so much time with Pepa and her friends. But I hurried home and we went to wait for the bus at the Palacio de Congresos. The bus never came, so we tried to take a taxi. There were 6 of us, so we couldn't all fit in 1 taxi, but found 2 other ladies to go up with us. Getting a taxi at that time of the day, when everyone is going up to the fair was next to impossible, but finally after almost 45 minutes we did and went to the fair, which is also fairly far away. Then we met up with the other 2 ladies who had gone before, and went to eat lunch. The food was ok, and the ladies were really funny. All fancy and dressed up, but nuts as well. There was one who said she went to bed at 5AM the night before because she was partying at the fair since Sunday. So it was fun, and I was glad I went, but I felt bad because I was late to my class with Carlos and Marta because we left so late, because we had gotten there late, etc, etc, I sent them a message telling them I was going to be late, which they also didn't get. I got to class about 30 minutes late at 6:30 only to find that Carlos was sick and going to the doctor, so I had 1 hour of class with Marta. Then I talked on the phone with my mom and Victor and walked around a bit and met up with my friend Jenny. We chatted over tapas in a couple different places and ran into Jenna and Raul at a tapas place and had a round with them. Then they left and Jenny and I had one more round and talked and went home and went to bed.

Wednesday morning I woke up early and went for a run. I didn't have to go to work because I only had 15 minutes of class with Fernando, which I had cancelled with him the day before, before they cancelled the rest of the classes because of the holiday. Then I showered and got ready and went to see Pepa, because she had given me a toque. I told her I was going to see La Tarasca parade and she invited herself along. La Tarasca is a silly parade for children, with a dragon that explodes and shoots confetti, huge Catholic and Arabic kings and queens, large headed figures, and finally a manequin lady, riding on another dragon, whose hair, clothes and makeup are done by leading stylists in the lastest fashions of the year. We got there a little early, but there were tons of people in the streets. We found a little spot relatively close to where it was going to pass by and tried to hold our own. We were in the sun, and with a group of people on a corner where a lot of people wanted to cut through. The people around us, didn't want to let people cut through as it was annoying and bothered their kids so they tried to not let people pass. For some people that worked, but for others, it just made them angry, and through the course of the hour and a half we were there waiting, children started crying, people were yelling, a lady pushed through like a psycho and at the end of all the madness, Pepa and someother people got fed up and went home. I stayed, since I had already battled for so long, but of course, right as the procession was about to pass by, tons of people pushed in front of me, including tall dads with kids on their shoulders. So I didn't see a whole lot but I lasted and then walked home. At home, I tried to start getting things ready to cook lunch for my friend Jenny, who I had invited to lunch. Rosa and Zoriada had left last Friday but came back Tuesday and went straight to the fair, so I hadn't even seen them till I got home and they were making lunch. I told them that my friend was coming over for lunch, but they didn't tell me that Raquel and Mari were also coming over. So I did as much prep as possible and waited till they were out of the kitchen, and finally started cooking. Then Jenny came over and I finsished cooking and we chatted and ate with Adrian, over the din of the other 4 ladies. Then Jenny who is a bike enthusiast helped Adri patch a flat in his tire. Then I played the guitar for her for a bit and then she had to go and I took an hour nap. Then I went out for a 3ish hour walk around the city. I looked in Plaza Bibrambla at all the Corpus festivites going on there. I also got crapped on by a bird again. I was walking around and all of a sudden I was like, oh no it didn´t, but 2 seconds later it was confirmed. The main drop hit almost on top of my head, and then hit lower in my hair with the black part. Then there was a huge drop on my shoulder, then at my waist on my tshirt, hit 2 of my fingers and a final drop on my shoe. I couldn't believe it. You may think that I am exaggerating, but I am not. Its hard to believe it was only 1 poop, and not thousands, but I´m pretty sure it was just one bird with a vengance and paerfect aim that had to drop a huge load. Thankfully the plaza I was at was right next to Soufian's store so I went straight there and asked him for some napkins, which he found somewhere and I used a mirror to try and fix the damage. Then I went to the town hall where they big heads and La Tarasca and kings and queens from the parade that day were on display, along with a potted plant, bonsai, and caged birds competition. Then I just kept walking around the city, and I ran into 5 students. They were actually all really nice and friendly. They are nice kids when you don't have to teach them anything, or make them do something. So I walked from around 7:30 to 10:30 and went home and ate some dinner and maybe tv and internet and went to bed fairly early....

Thursday I woke up kinda early, went running and showered and went to the parade, later than I had planned to. Todays procession was of the Santísima Corpus Cristi, or the Very Holy Body of Christ. I started out in the sun, more or less where I was the day before but I ran into Alfonso, Isabel and Alfonsito, Pablo's family, the kid I have class with on Fridays. We went up to the town hall and found some shade and chatted and waited for the parade. We waited a long time, and the parade consisted of the same stuff as the day before, lots of the groups from semana santa, minus the suits, music and lastly a big silver thing with the communion bread in it. Also the mayor of Granada and a bunch of priests and people singing. It was good to be with Alfonso because he also knows a lot about Granada, and they are very religious, so he could explain a lot of the things like that. The parade ended around 1:30 or so and I had to walk a long way to the bus station, and back track a bit as I ran into the parade again. I took the bus to Michelle's house where we were meeting up with Jenna and Samar to go to the fair. We walked there and ate lunch at a public caseta resturant and shared a tomato salad, potatoes and steak and fried eegplant iwth honey. Brad also came and shared with us. Then we walked around and visited some of Jenna's friends from school then Jenna and Samar went to see the bullfight, and Brad, Michelle and I went to Brad's student Isidro's caseta. They treated us to everything and Isidro and his girlfriend and everyone was so nice. We stayed there for quite a while and finally left and left the fair. Then we stopped by the bus station and bought tickets for us all to go to La Herradura, Victor's beach pueblo for the next day. Then Brad went to meet some other freinds and Michelle and I went to her house where she changed and we ate a snack. Then we took the bus to my house where we went to visit Emilio to ask for the keys to their beach house. Pepa wasn't there so we shatted for a bit, and then came upstairs and made dinner, Kraft Mac and Cheez. Then I showered, changed and packed to go to Michelle's. Then we stopped by Pepa's again, got the keys and the house instructions and took the bus to Michelle's. Then we waited to meet up with Brad and Jenny and went to the fair. We went straight to Isidro's caseta where they were having a Mexican themed party. It was really fun and once again we were treated very well. Around 1 or 2, they decided to go for a walk to all the other casetas to show off their great costumes. Thankfully we were arriving when the casetas were giving out free snacks and drinks. We got this milk and flour snack with black honey on top with crunchy things and in another one, ham sandwiches, cheese sandwiches and gazpacho. My personal favorite!!! Then around 3 after our route we went home, Our group had grown and shrunk to include Jenna and Samar and Kristen but now it was just Kristen, Michelle, Brad and I. We went home and Kristen went to catch the bus, and the 3 of us had planned to spend the night at Michelle's. Later Kristen called saying that her bus never came and if she could sleep there too around 4.

Friday morning we woke up and got ready and went to the beach. Kristen went home. We met Samar and Jenna there, took the bus there and visited the bakery, for some delicious, fresh, snacks. Then I went and showed off my amazing beachfront house, which they all thought was amazing. Then straight to the beach where we stayed untill about 6 o'clock. We ate sandwiches and sunbathed till we couldn't anymore. Then we cleaned up the house and left, stopped by the bakery again, and the equivilant of a 99cent store. Then we caught the bus back, got home at 9 and I went home. I showered and Victor came over for a bit, we went downstairs for dinner and used the computer and then I went upstairs and went to bed.

Saturday I woke up and cleaned my room a bit and then went to meet Kristen, Brad and Nick to go to Las Alpujarras, the mountain pueblos of Granada. I had never been and had wanted to go for a long time. We drove there in a car Nick and friends had rented and we first tried to find El Suspiro del Moro, but I don't think we ever did. Then we drove to Lanjaron. At each pueblo we stopped, looked around, I bought a magnet and had a good time. At Lanjaron we got tourist information for the rest of the pueblos. Then we went to Pampaniera, then Bubión, walked to Capiliera ate lunch and back to Bubión. Then we drove to Trevélez which has delicious ham which I bought some for Victor and his parents. It is also the highest pueblo in Spain. We had a great day and I had a really giddy time and a lot of fun. We got back to Granada around 9 and I showered and went to meet Victor and some of his friends at the Andrés Calamaro concert. It was pretty good, once again I didn't know all the songs, but at least I didn't have a fever this time. It started really late so we didn't get done till 2 AM and then we went home and I went to bed.

Sunday I didn't feel like going to church so I showered and cleaned up a bit and went out to enjoy the last of the Corpus festivities I hadn't seen yet. I walked around a pottery fair for a while and then Plaza Bibrambla again. Then I went over to Brad's for a bbq. Samar, Jenna and Michelle also came over. It took a long time to get the coals going but in the end we had delicious bbq chicken and hamburgers, tortilla and potato chips, guacamole and salsa and mixed nuts, which we mostly threw at people from the balcony. It was pretty good and later Victor came and picked me up and we talked before he left for Malaga. Then I came home, cleaned the house, talked on the phone to my dad and Samar and went to bed. That was the end of my week long vacation, celebrating Christ's body.

I Have A BackCake And A StomachCake

Monday I woke up early and went to to doctor. I was still having dizzy spells and now the strange problem taking deep breaths. In about 2 seconds she felt my back and neck and said that I had a big knot in my back and wrote me another prescription. Then I went to a salon place where Alicia had reccommended I go to her freind Freddy for a massage. She said if I mentioned her name, I would get the best price. I got an appointment for that afternoon. Then I went to the grocery store, then home, then the bank and the pharmacy and then another bank to try and cash the check from Nacho. I finally did, and came back and deposited the money in my bank. Then I think I had lunch with Pepa and Emilio and Abuela. Then I went to work, the academy and had my chiro-massage. It was really good, but short. It was more a medical thing, than a relaxing massage. I felt better, but not all the way, and I´m not sure he cut me a price break. They tried to sell me a bono, but I decided against it, since its still expensive and went home and practiced guitar. Then I went to bed early.

Tuesday I woke up and went to guitar. Then I came home and shortly thereafter, Alicia my old roommate and her friend Toni got here from Madrid. We went on a walk around Granada that included a stop at Soufian's shop and lunch on calle Navas. Walking down the street, trying to choose a resturant, a felt a hard small ball hit my shoulder. I looked around trying to see who would throw a golf ball or a níspora at me and seeing nothing, I reached back to touch my shoulder where it had hit, only to feel a grainy substance and I knew that my worst fears had become a reality. Some bird had crapped all over my shoulder, the biggest crap of his life. It was horrible and disgusting, but thankfully, Alicia and Toni were there to clean it up with their wetnaps from the plane. Then when I was all clean, we ate lunch and came home and watched tv and took naps. Then I went and had class with Carlos and Marta while Toni and Alicia were still sleeping. They had both just flown in from different countries and were exhausted. Class went well, and afterwards I came home to get a jacket. Toni and Alicia weren't there, so I called them and Alicia's phone was off. So I went to where we were going to have dinner, but it was closed and they weren't there. Then finally they called, they had gone all the way home to get my number, which they had incorrectly saved in Toni's phone. Then I waited for them, when they finally called. I also ran into Dani, Victor's friend and talked to him for a bit. Then when I met up with them, we went and ate a schwarma, which usually is one of my favorite things to do, but I was still really full from lunch and it wasn't that great after all. Afterwards I was stuffed. So then we went on a walk to El Mirador de San Nicolas, and then through Sacromonte. Toni is from Mallorca, and had never been to Granada so all these Andallucian things were more or less new to him. In Sacromonte, we found a flamenco show about to start and Alicia treated us all. It was pretty good, a little made for tourists but oh well. Then we got a taxi home and went to bed. Zore let me sleep in her bed which was really nice of her.

Wednesday morning, Toni and Alicia got up really early (they left the house at 6:30) to go to the Alhambra. I slept in a little longer and went to work. I found out that the bus drivers were on strike because the prices have gone up, but not their salaries. Which makes the people suffer, instead of their employers. So my bus finally came but was packed with people and I got on only by a miracle. At school, work went well, class with Fernando, then Rafa and Javi, which ended up being mostly in Spanish, then with the kids. We did a lesson on illnesses and ailments, in which I learned that Spanish children pronounce ache "cake." Then I went to meet Toni and Alicia for lunch and El Gondoliere, a fancy, nice, Italian resturant for lunch. I was hungry but after like 3 bites, full. But I kept eating, which was good but I felt so full afterwards. Then home and they concked out for a nap and I chattend online and started blogging and waited for them to wake up. They finally did and we got ready and went out for a walk. It was by now really late but we walked around through San Juan de Dios and ended up in Plaza Einstein for some tapas. I was still stuffed and the tapa we first got wasn't very good so I didn't eat anything. Then we switched bars and got more tapas and I barely ate anything. I was also really tired as I didn't take a nap. Then we walked up to a tetería and got tea and juice and then home and to bed. We all stayed in the same room, since we were getting up at the same time.

Thursday I woke up and showered and we all got ready and left. They went to catch the bus back to the airport and I went to catch the bus to work, which didn't give me any problems. Work was fine, I was a little tired and my stomach and felt so full and gross still, but I mostly worked on finishing the translation I had been working on. Then after work I walked down with Michelle and took the bus home. Then I ate some cereal and went and got my legs waxed. Then I came home and rested a few minutes and went to guitar. Then I came home and worked on my paper scrapbook (I think) and ate some salad and went to bed really early. I barely ate anything for dinner if I ate at all.

Firday I woke up early and went to work, finished the translation and on the way home, stopped by hippy coffee. Samar and Jenna were there and we worked on weekend plans. My stomach didn't hurt but the cold I had been fighting was winning. Then I walked home with Samar, ate a salad for lunch and went to have class with Pablo. Then I came home and instead of going running I used the internet for a while. Then I showered and Victor got there. We were talking and hanging out and Jose came over for a bit. Then we went downstairs and had dinner with Pepa, Emilio and Raúl. It was really funny because Raúl was in a really funny mood and a little tipsy so we were all laughing a lot. I was pretty tired but ended up going out. Victor took me and we picked up Brad and Samar and he took us to Plaza Nueva. Then we walked up to Camborio. They were having an Erasmus party there and even though I didn´t feel like going out at first, it was a really good time and stayed till 6:30 in the morning! There were a few strange incidents with freaky guys but everything turned out ok. Then home and bed at 7. Victor ended up going out as well and got back at 8!

Saturday I woke up about 11:30 and treid to stay in bed an hour longer, till 12:30. I was feeling pretty miserable because of my cold, and felt a little better after I showered. Then I stumbled downstairs for lunch. Victor had to be woken up for lunch,obviously. Lunch was good, full with Abuela and Raúl. Then afterwards we went upstairs to watch a movie, but Adrian was there watching a tennis game on tv. We watched that with him for a bit, Victor left and said he would be right back, and in the meantime I fell asleep. When he did come back, he had bought LOST season 2. I made popcorn and brought out some candy and we finished up the tennis match with Adrian, then watched LOST. We watched 2 together, then Victor fell asleep for the next 3 that I watched. Then I got ready to go out and woke Victor up. We were chatting for a while, and then I went and met my friends for tapas and drinks. We went to 3 different places, and Victor ended up going out with some of his friends nearby. When my friends all went home, I stopped by and hung out with Victor and his friends till they went to a club, but I was too tired so I went home and to bed at 4. I still had a pretty bad cold, which obviously wasn't getting any better.

Sunday I woke up and went to church. Then came home and cleaned and then Victor and I went and had lunch with his parents, grandma and aunt and uncle. It was a delicious lunch and pretty funny as all the people in Victor's family are such characters. We ate a ton and then came home. We were trying to decide what to do for a long time until finally Victor took me to meet Jenna and Michelle for hippy coffee. We were there for a bit and then went to Triunfo. Then they went to watch a movie and eat chinese food, and I walked home and took a shower. Victor had gone for a run, and when he got back we watched another episode of Lost, I had already seen it but Victor hadn't because of his nap. Then he went and packed up his things, and headed to Malaga. I used the internet a bit and cleaned the house. Then I went to bed around 1.

Totally LOST

Saturday May 9th I slept in, showered and cleaned up my room a bit and dinked around being really lazy until I went downstairs for lunch. We hung out there, ate lunch and then I went to Mercadona and bought some stuff and dinked around at home. Then after a bit, Victor came over and we watched LOST. It was all cloudy, but it hadn't rained all day. So the plan was to watch a few episodes, go out for a walk and get out of the house like normal people do. But in the meantime it started raining. So the 2-3 episode plan turned into a LOST marathon that went from around 4pm to 3am. Around 10 we went downstairs to hunt for food, which was successful. We brought back a booty of a frozen pizza, chips, soda and a chocolate filled croissant. So we watched about 12 episodes straight as the rain poured outside and called it quits around 3am.

Sunday I went to church and then we ate lunch downstairs. I think Pepa was babysitting Nachete and Marina so almost right after lunch, we went upstairs to finish the last 4 episodes. Then Victor packed everything up and we went over to Nacho and Alicia's house, who were hanging out with some friends. We played with the Wii and watched tv, while everyone ate Burger King, I ate some cereal when I got home that night. I also picked up my check for the translations I did for Nacho. I wasn't feeling that well as all day I was having trouble breathing deep and still felt feverish from Friday and Saturday. So then we went home, Victor dropped me off and went to Malaga. I had my cereal and I´m pretty sure I cleaned the house and went to bed.

Qué Pereza

So last Tuesday I don't really remember anything I did of interest. I internetted, worked and then came home. I ate some dinner and stopped by Pepa to help her and then went on a long walk. I had sent out text messages to see if anyone wanted to go with me, but no one did, so I went by myself. It was a nice walk. Then home, tv and bed.

Wednesday I worked, came home, made and ate a yummy lunch with a new recipie I had for honey soy sauce chicken, tv and went to meet Samar who asked for a rain check on the walk the day before. We walked and got juice at a tetería, then it started raining on us, and Nacho cancelled class on me because of an important soccer game, so I went over to Samar's and she made a delicious tortilla de patatas, or Spanish omelette, we ate and chatted and then I went home, watched the rest of the game, wrote some thank you notes and went to bed.

Thursday work, lunch practice guitar and then go to guitar. It went pretty good. Then that evening I made soup for dinner which was delicious, suprising myself. Then I watched tv and went to bed relatively early as the next day I had big day ahead of me. Before falling asleep my old roommate Alicia called me and we talked for a long time.

Friday I got up at 6:15, showered and went to work early as I had to be there by 8:30. Michelle and I were accompanying the 7th graders on an all day field trip to Isla Mágica, a theme park in Sevilla. The bus was late picking us up, and the 3 hour ride there was filled with psycho kids screaming and yelling and standing up and running around. We would yell at them to sit down, untill they did, and we turned around so they would stand up again. So that 3 hours there, then Michelle and I went on a bunch of rides. We had a pretty good time, took it easy, since it was free for us, and I didn't barf all over the place. All definite plusses. So we went on most of the major rides before lunch, and then ate lunch. Which was a 3 course meal. Spain doesn't really know how to do the hamburger and hot dog buffet thing that the States executes so well. I can't complain. So we had a nice long lunch with the other 2 teacher chaperones, and then walked around a bit more and it was time to go. Waiting for lunch, right after I had gone on the hugest roller coster, I started not feeling so well. I felt better after lunch, but exhuaseted with the sun and food and probably dehydration. So on the bus back I slept a bit, talked to my sister on the phone and then Michelle the rest of the way, between screaming at the screaming kids. Then we got back to Granada around 9:30 and Victor picked us up and we brought Michelle home. Then we stopped by my house and I changed in 5 minutes and we went to the Pereza concert. It was pretty good but ok because of the circumstances. I felt like a zombie and like I had a fever, and Victor liked the band more than I did, so I didn't know hardly any of the songs. Also he knows most of the older songs, but not the new ones, which they were playing. So for parts of the concert we were a little dead which Jenna and her friend Raúl, who we saw there, couldn't understand. After the show we brought Bea, Jose's girlfriend, and her friend home and when I got home I went straight to bed, exhausted.

¡Puentástico!

So last Tuesday I went to work which went farily well, Carlos, like most 10 year old boys, is way to energetic and not so focused onthe studies but oh well. So then I went and waited for Michelle for about 30 plus minutes because I didn´t want to go home. So I got in a serious session of people watching with the main event being the young couple next to me acting like complete, twitterpated nutzos. Then Michelle got there and we met Jenna for three consecutive scoops of free Ben and Jerry's ice cream! It was so delicious and even better because it was free. Then we also met there Samar and Kristen, and afterwards, we went and got a tapa, except Kristen and Brad met us there. Then home and some stuff and bed.

Wednesday I got to work and internetted, had class with Fernando, and then class with Rafa, Jose Antonio, and Javier. Then my next class was cancelled because of an exam, so I got my check, cashed it, and deposited it. Then I had a salad for lunch and started translating. Nacho had sent me a translation the week before, for his work, saying I could get to it whenever I could. So that for me obviously meant after my birthday week and the puente. But he called me Wednesday morning saying he needed it by saturday, along with the other 3 he just sent me. So I wanted to get it all done, before the holiday. That was going to be impossible. I worked from 3 to 4:30, went to work with Pablo, which was really frustrating because he was being a complete turd and didn't want to do anything. Then I came home and worked from 6:30 till around 9 or so when Victor got there, and I was still on the first translation! By now I was in a really bad mood, because I knew this was going to be hanging over my head for the wonderful 4 day weekend I had planned. But Victor and I went and picked up schwarmas for us and Nacho and Alicia, and ate dinner and watched the soccer game with them. Then Victor dropped me off with my friends and we went and got a tapa and walked around a bit. Then I went home and went to bed.

Thursday I woke up and went running. Then I went to Victor's house and we ended up watching LOST. I gave him the first season for his birthday and he was watching it from the beginning. I never liked Lost, because it was always too confusing, and couldn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with it. Well my mistake was watching the first episode, which turned into 7 straight, and another television addiction of mine. So, we were watching Lost, took a break, I showered, Victor went running, then we may have watched another one and took a walk to get a tapa at Las Titas. Then we came home and made lunch. Pepa and Emilio were eating at their house in their pueblo, Los Ogíjares, so we made lunch and ate it while watching Lost. Then few more episodes, Victor fell asleep, and by now, Pepa, Emilio and Abuela were back, so things were getting a little crowded there. So I took the computer and went upstairs to translate and did so from about 6 or 7 till 11. Victor went to go visit a friend, ended up running into several more and got tapas with them. Then he came back, destressed me, because I was again super frustrated at how slowly it was all going, and how I feel like I do everything mediocre, but nothing well. Then we took a walk and went to his freind's Pepe's house and hung out there for a while. Then we came home ate something and I stayed up translating till about 2. I was now halfway through the third one. Then I went to bed.

Friday morning I woke up at 8 and started translating again. I also made 18 triple berry muffins. Then I showered and got ready and Victor and I headed out to an American brunch at Michelle's house. It was fun and delicious, but took forever to get there on the bus because the traffic was horrible. So we got there and I was wearing a cute new outfit, and we had, scrambled eggs, hash browns, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, french toast, banana bread, strawberries and whipped cream, my muffins, oj and mimosas. It was really yummy and fun and long. We were there from 1 till 5! Michelle almost killed me uncorking a champagne bottle. Then Victor, Kristen and I took a bus back into the city center and Victor bought some new shoes he has been wanting. Then back to Victor's house. So for the 2 days Victor had been there, he had barely been in his house or with his mom, who like all moms was getting upset making us feel guilty. She also wanted help with her homework, for computer class. And by help, she meant us to do it for her. She had to practice typing a letter, and didn't want to because it would take too long, and wanted us to do it for her. I told her no, and so did Victor, and she got really mad, saying she would do it for us. So I felt bad but I had to translate, so Victor asked her if I could take the computer and she said yes. I went upstairs to work and Victor went running. Then he got back and I was in a really bad mood again, because I had forgotten my camera at Michelle's and everyone had plans with other people, and I was working on a Friday night, of a holiday weekend and I was on the verge of a breakdown. So Victor came back, and said he was going to hang out with some of his friends. He was there for a while, and then left to eat dinner and I tried to keep working but lost it. Then he came back, because he had actually heard me crying from his house (embarassing) and tried to console me. He ended up not going out afterall, but reading while I finished the translations. I finished around 12 or 1, and then we ate some dinner, watched a Lost and I went to bed.

In the morning, Saturday May 3rd, it was El Día de la Cruz. I´m not sure why, but the typical celebration was that you decorated and set up pretty crosses all around the city. They are really elaborate with a ton of stuff and decorations all around. People also wear the typical flamenco gypsy costumes, which is the long polka dotted dress for women and the black round hat for men. So people walk around in their outfits, look at the crosses and dance Sevillanas, the typical dance. What they used to do was set up bars next to the crosses so people could have a drink while hanging out and dancing. In Granada, over the years, that turned into a complete drunk fest where the costumes and the crosses got consumed by the drinking. If you remember from my blog when I was here last time, it was insane and enormus. Well the two years after I was here in 2005, it got so out of hand that the mayor prohibited drinking all together. So this year it was very different. It was interesting to see the two sides of the holiday though. So in the morning, I woke up and went running. Then I was going to go to Michelle's to get my camera when Victor came over to tell me that Nacho and Alicia had brought the kids over dressed up in their mini gitano costumes. Now I was really angry, because the one time I didn't have my camera, I was missing the opportunity to take the cutest pictures in the world. Nacho took some, so I´ll have to get them from him, but I was still furious and in a bad mood from my breakdown the night before. So I hung out downstairs for a while, and then went upstairs to finish getting ready. Then I got all pretty and went to see if Victor wanted to go with me to get my camera, and then walk around, but he had gone swimming, so I went by myself. Today the bus took even longer to get there because the traffic was horrible, but I finally arrived and talked with Michelle a bit. Then I headed back and got off the bus a little earlier to walk home and see all the festivites in the street. I took a few pictures and came home and ate. Pepa had made a delicious lunch and afterwards I wanted to go out and walk around some more. Victor didn't want to so I went alone and met up with Michelle and Jenna. Kristen me up with us and we went and walked around looking at crosses. We were in Realeajo a bit, and met up with Brad, Samar and a bunch of Samar's friends. Then we all continued wandering and went up to the Albaycín. I saw a ton of students there. So we hung out there and found a place that was having a little bbq and bar and then walked down. Jenna, Michelle, Jenna's friend Emilio and I went to Jenna's house and ate dinner at a cafe near there. Then we went to Ray's house where he was having a beer pong and flip cup party. It was fun, but drinking games aren't as fun if you play with water. Then around 2 or so I left to go meet up with Victor. He was up in Plaza Nueva with some friends. We weren't there for very long, but it was fun and then we walked home and I went to bed.

Sunday I woke up and went to church. I got there late because I woke up late, and I left early because they were having comunion so it was really short. Then I came home and baked a cake and took a shower. Then Victor and I went to Los Ogíjares where the paella was being served that day. We ate with Abuela and Nacho and Alicia and family. Then after a bit, we came home and I had to take my soaking load of laundry to Pepa's because the mahince broke in the middle of it. Then we went to Nacho's houes and played with the Wii and I took a nap. I woke up as Nachete hit me in the head (on accident) with the controller and we left to pick up Pepa and Abuela and a computer from Los Ogíjares. Then home and I frosted my cake and got ready for Brad's birthday party that night. Then Victor and I went there. I brought a cake, and olives, Fanta and mixed nuts from my birthday party. It was a Mexican themed party and we had taco meat, Brad's famous and homemade chilli and tortillas and chips with all the fixings. It was delicious! Victor couldn't stay very long because he had to go back to Malaga and work. So the party was pretty fun, I wasn't really in the right mood and finally around 2 we all went to go to Mae West. But the bouncers there are famous for being jerks, and when they saw a huge group of drunk forgieners, they didn't let any of us in. Then I knew that the night wasn't going to get any better so I went home with Kristen and went to bed.

Monday I slept in, woke up and cleaned the house. None of my roommates where there which kinda of suprised me, but it was nice as for the first time I could play music while I cleaned. So I cleaned, made and ate lunch, Kraft mac and cheese, and watched a bit of tv and took a shower. Then I took a nap because I was tired and woke up and went to work. It went pretty well, no more ridiculous accients and then I came home, organized some things and went to the academy. Then the post office and stopped by the 7th floor. I wanted to use the computer but then my mom called me and I talked to her and my dad for an hour. It turned out being so long because Victor Perez officially cancelled class with me, bringing my private class load from 10 hours to 3 a week. Also with only four weeks left of paid employment, and no further plans, I was starting to panic. Then I used the computer a bit, helped Pepa, and then took it upstaris because I had to wait for someone. At Christmas, I brought back some dentist thing for Mada and Jose and their friend was finally coming to pick it up, after 4 months. Then since I have been so busy with my birthday and the puente I spent the rest of the evening chatting online to De and emailing, myspacing and facebooking. Also my roommates were there with Raquel and Mari and talking so loudly there was nothing else I could do. I had a sandwich for dinner, talked to Victor for a bit, and went to bed.

Today I woke up on my own and went running. Then I went to guitar which went well, but I suck because I never practice and came home and have been using the internet and blogging since then. So thats the puente and that's that.