La Vuelta a España

Granada -- Agustín Lara

2008-10-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

Granada, tierra soñada por mí

Mi cantar se vuelve gitano cuando es para tí

Mi cantar hecho de fantasía

Mi cantar flor de melancolía

Que yo te vengo a dar.

Granada,

Tierra ensangrentada

En tardes de toros.

Mujer que conserva el embrujo

De los ojos moros;

Te sueño rebelde y gitana

Cubierta de flores

Y beso tu boca de grana

Jugosa manzana

Que me habla de amores.

Granada,

Manola cantada en coplas preciosas

No tengo otra cosa que darte

Que un ramo de rosas,

De rosas de suave fragancia

Que le dieran marco a la virgen morena.

Granada,

Tu tierra está llena

De lindas mujeres

De sangre y de sol.

Photo Recap: California Christmas -- Spanish Summer

2008-10-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Ok here are some photos. The way blogger uploads them is totally confusing so try to think of them as reverse chronological order every 5 photos. Sorry but I hope you enjoy!

Christmas dinner with the family: The one picture I have of Taft. My sister took the rest and didn't give them to me:
Family New Year's Eve:
Visiting Matt and Laurel:
New Year's at Sarah Stafford's house with Sari:

With Uncle Mark: Christmas morning!:
Mattie should have gotten coal in her stocking this year but Santa was nice and brought her a giant bone:
Christmas day with our new Tous jewelry from Alicia and Victor:
Sister, mom, grandma, great-grandma and me:

Christmas Eve with the cousins: Spanish treats for everyone:
Family portraits:

Uncle Mark brought us these Russian hats from China:

Adrian dancing with Violeta before his Salsa dancing show I went to: Adrian and his group getting ready to perform:
On a walk with Emilio, Pepa and their friend, Paco (I think):
Inside Carmen de los Mártires, finally:
Rosa, Raquel, Zore and me:

A trip to Guejar Sierra with Emily:
We went out with my roommates and their friends. From right to left, Dani, ??, Maribel, Rosa, Zore, her mom, Raquel, ??, Emily and myself in front. Raquel and Maribel are the 2 sisters I didn't like at all:
Zore and her mom, who were actually both very nice:
Marina being adorable in her favortie place to play. Pepa's kitchen with syran wrap and foil:

Emily and me at a school dinner: Michelle and I who always seem to get preggers ar social dinners:
On a walk with Emilio. I was glad someone else was getting the phone in the face 3 hour tour instead of me:
Exploring Realejo:
My feet on Cuesta de los Chinos:

The big mess at the end of the night: A bigger mess at the end of the night:
Heff and Rachel:
Free Chenoa concert:
My Valentine's roses from Victor:

Hugh Heffener and his Playboy bunnies getting ready for a wild night of Carnaval in Cádiz: Samar and I:
Michelle and me with our 15 year old student who somehow tricked his parents into letting him come on the trip. He couldn't hold his alcohol either as the bus had to stop for him to puke on the way back. Hopefully he learned his lesson:
The bunnies with a guy giving out free mamograms. All you had to do was put your boobies in the box on his head. Thankfully ours were balloons:
Jenny and Juan as Superwoman and Superman:
A weekend in Malaga with Victor:

On the beach photo shoot:

The lights for carnaval:
Eating lunch with Michelle at El Mirador de San Nicolas:

More penetentes: I think its more points with God if you walk barefoot. Keep in mind its cold and takes almost all day:
It takes a lot of people to lift up the heavy christs and virgins:
A little kid in the band:
Me on the bridge going to my house at night:

The Christ for this procession: These guys were dressed up like kings or soemthing for this procession:
Little girls in teh procession:
The Virgin:
Penetent people, not the KKK:

Monsul beach, the famous one where Rambo, Indiana Jones and Goonies was supposedly shot: Raul's house in Mojácar, specifically his cactus garden:
Me standing next to the Indalo, the good luck symbol of Almería:
A lady dressed up and walking in the Semana Santa processions:
Priest incense guys in the procession:
Also in the town of Mojácar:

Driving on our road trip:
Sitting on the beach:
The beach in Mojácar:
More of Raul's house:

These are really out of order but ohe well. The birthday spread of food. The Spainards realized that its cooler to have a party with a lot of food, rather than just alcohol:
The city of Mojácar where Victor and I went for Spring Break:
A picture of us in La Parrilla a weekend that we went to the beach:
My friends from this year, on Brad's last night in June. Jenna, Samar, Brad, Michelle and me:

Jenny crowning me the birthday queen: Nachete, Marina and Pepa coming to inspect the birthday preparations:
Jenna, Juan and Jenny:
Happy surpise birthday party!:
Joker, Dani, Diego, Rafa and Charif:

I loved my visit with Katie: But I think the Spainards loved it even more:
WWE in the bullfighting ring:
Iñaki, me and Michelle:
A whole fried octopus:

My 2 and 3 year old students. Warning: They only look sweet and innocent: Michelle and me and our older students:
Rafa and me:
My students paying attention:
Sacramento, Carmina, Blanca and me:

At the Mexican party at the feria with Michelle, myself, Brad and Kristen: Jenna, Brad and Michelle at La Herradura:
The Alpujarras with Nick, Kristen and Brad:
The mountain pueblos of La Alpujarra:
Victor and me in front of the main cross: Brad and the cake I baked him for his birthday:
Michelle and me at Isla Mágica field trip:
Alicia and Toni when they came and visited me in Granada:
The body of Christ carrier for the feria:

Marina dressed up in traditional Spanish dress. The main reason I want to have Spanish kids is to dress them up like this ;) : Alicia, Marina and Nachete at Victor's house:
Brad and Kristen at brunch at Michelle's house for Las Cruces celebration:
Spanish horse and people:
A cross:

From the rooftop of random dude's high rise appartment in Madrid Night visit to La Alhambra:
Dani and Wali playing and singing flamenco:
People climbing all over the fountain when Spain won a game:
The celebration in Malaga when Spain won the championships with Victor and Brenda:

Blanca driving us to Segovia: The aqueduct of Segovia:
Touching the magical rocks of the church that supposedly gave us power:
Michelle and I on a rowboat in the Retiro park in Madrid:
Dude we traded English lessons for a boat ride and dinner in Madrid:

Guanche and Magdalena: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria:
Volcanic sand:
Sergio, me Mada and Koki:
Some dude, Koki, Mada, Jose, some other dude, and me dressed like peasants:

Baleric lizzard: Me swimming in the blue cave:
Alicia, Rosa and me:
The accident:
Giant paella in Canarias for Mada's birthday:

Tim, Jolene and me: In Father Junipero Serra's hometown:
Pamboli, breakfast of champions:
Toni:
The beaches of Mallorca:

My trip to Guadix and the cave houses there: Mini ice cream cones with Jolene:
Tim and I in Athens in front of the Acropolis:
A pelican and Tim in Mykonos, Greece:
Red Beach in Santorini, Greece:
Try not and throw up in your mouth at this mullet:

Michelle and I all dressed up with somewhere to go:
Enchiladas!!!!:
Probably the best picture I have taken of La Alhambra:
The sunset in Granada from El Mirador de San Miguel:

Welcome flowers:

My sister in her stalker outfit:
Beached dock:
Overpriced buy yummy fish dinner:
The cave houses on my walk with Bea and Antonio:

Fly Little Firefly Fly, Fly Luciérnaga Fly

2008-10-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

After security I headed to my gate which was nearly boarding. The flight to Dublin went well, I was shocked when I arrived in my short sleeves and sandals to find that we would not be exiting through a jetway, but right down some stairs into the freezing night! I was hit by a chilling wind, which I never warmed up from. I tried to manuever my way through customs and figuring out where to go, making sure my luggage was safe and that I was doing the right thing. Usually I never see my luggage nor do I have to leave security and go through it again with a connecting flight. This time, my luggage came out and I wanted to make sure I didn't have to pick it up or take it anywhere and I had to leave security. After wandering around a bit I found the main airport where I would have to check in some time in the next 8 hours. Unfortunately all the good sleeping spots were taking but thankfully I looked up and saw a cafe waiting area through a window above me. Determined to get in there I finally did and was wandering by an area with tables and chairs and a tv when I heard a sound that stopped me in my tracks. It was the "Dun-dunh" of an episode of Law and Order. I couldn't believe it! I stopped and found a place to camp in front of the tv and put on some socks. I watched tv for the next couple of hours and tried to sleep. Then I checked in for my flight and used my last 6 euros to buy a muffin and some hot chocolate. I had been freezing to death all night because for some reason, it is 28 degrees below zero in airports at night and I was very much underdressed for Ireland. Thankfully I had the socks and a little sweater with a hood. Otherwise I might not have made it. Then I wandered around some shops and looked and took another nap in front of my gate. From what I saw of the airport, I think I would have really liked Dublin. Finally after 8 eternal, cold hours, I boarded for my flight to San Francisco. I was so lucky and chose a seat where no one sat next to me. So I took my 2 blankets, 2 pillows, raised the arm rest and snuggled in for the rest of the flight. I ate the meals but barely watched the movies because they weren't very good and I was so tired anyway. So I slept my way to San Francisco and woke up there the next day.

Sunday 7 Septermber I made it through customs with no problem and all my suitcases. My parents were there to greet me with hugs, smiles and flowers. I got lots of complements on how blonde my hair was and how tan I was. The benefits of being on vacation in Spain for 3 months. We went upstairs to get somethign to eat and all of a sudden a screaming black blob ambushed me! It was my sister who had flown up from Long Beach to suprise me! It was the best suprise ever and I was so happy to see her since I thought I wasn't going to for a bit more! She even had flowers for me too. It was so nice. We ate and headed back to Newcastle and after a long time I had finally reached my destination.

It was a crazy few days, my return and having lots of visitors coming up to see me, my sister going back, so much going on. It really sunk in a few days later when everyone had gone back to work and I was home alone. I have been going running with my dog every day and one morning after our run, I got some breakfast and turned on Sesame Street. They had this song about fireflys that they sung in Engilsh and then in Spanish. I had this moment watching Luis Rodriguez, who has been a character on Sesame Street since I was little, sing just like he always did. I learned a new word in Spanish I had never heard before, here in Newcastle. Tele and Baby Bear were cathing fireflies in a jar but then they let them go because they wern't happy when they wern't free. It has been crazy since I've been back. I had to rest and recover from jet lag. I finished up my paper journal and met up with some friends in the area. I made a trip down to South to visit my grandma and friends in Long Beach. It has been great to spend more time with my family who I love so much and enjoy Newcastle. I love nature and my hometown is a very special place for me. I've seen it turn from summer to fall and hint at winter. I've been looking for work and relaxing and figuring out what to do next.

I ended my last blog with "I'll probably write one more entry of closing thoughts sometime later..." I never did. I tried, I really did. But it never really came to a close for me. This is my best attempt at closing thoughts now, but I know it will fall short. I cannot close because Spain has become a part of who I am. I don't know if that will ever be able to close. I don't know what's next, what's right, what I'm supposed to be doing, what God wants or what His will is. All I know is that I love speaking Spanish. I love Spain and Granada. I love Victor and his family. I love God. I was very sad to leave and I feel a longing in my heart for what I left behind. Only time and God will tell if I will ever volver a volver.

My Favorite Place In The World

2008-10-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

Friday 5 September I woke up. Well I tried. I don't know at what time I finally woke up but it seemed really early. Then I got into my running clothes and took a garbage bag of clothes down to donate. I saw Adrian leaving and we said goodbye again. Then somehow I managed to go for my last run through Fuente de La Bicha. I showered and got all ready and packed and then went to visit Emilio again. Raul had forgotten his wallet yesterday and I had to get it to take it to him at the beach. I got the wallet from Emilio and said goodbye again. I was hoping he would volunteer to take me to the bus station but he didn't. He was going walking. Then I went to the store and bought my favorite breakfast snack, sobaos. They are like little sponge cakes and really delicious dipped in chocolate milk. Then I ran into Emilio again on my way back in as he was going out for a walk, and said goodbye again. Then back at home I loaded everything up, a backpack, suitcase, purse and my poster and headed down the road to the bus stop. On my way I saw Adrian coming back, since it would be our upteenth goodbye I just told him that he couldn't say goodbye to me even if he wanted to. Then I took the bus to the bus station and bought a ticket to La Herradura. I had some problems with the automatic machine and I was really afraid that the 2 or so tickets left were going to be sold out by the time I waited in the long line. Praise the Lord they weren't and I got my ticket and took the bus to my favortie place in the world, to be with my favorite person. I got there and let myself in and opened up the house and turned on the water. Then I went to the store and bought water and chocolate milk. Then Victor got there. He had arrived from Rome early that morning and after a few work errands headed to the beach. It was the strangest day and so strange seeing eachother. We barely spoke but just gave eachother a hug. Then we went to El Chambao de Joaquín for lunch. We didn't really know what we wanted but ordered a few sides and a main dish to split. We got barbequed octopus, fried baby squid and a fish I don't know what its called in English. We knew it wasn't the cheapest resturant in the pueblo, but we didn not expect the 83 euro bill they slammed us with at the end. Except for that, and the overhanging sadness, it was a pretty nice lunch on the beach. Then back at the house we rested and I cried because we were both really tired. Later Raul came by for his wallet. After he left Victor and I headed down to the beach. It was really windy weather and the waves were enormus. So much so that the floating dock with the slide and diving boards on it had broken loose and was being washed up on shore. We laid out and looked around and took pictures. Then we walked to the video rental place and got "Night at the Museum" and "Stranger Than Fiction." We went back and watched "Stranger Than Ficton." Then we went out for a walk and some tapas. Our favorite tapas place was really full so we walked around some more, but it never let up. So we ended up getting some pretty yummy tapas and an avocado salad at another place I had never tried before. It was yummy. Then we walked down to La Cochera where the greatest rock group from before was going to have a concert. It was of course way too early and there was no one in there and the band was just barely setting up. We sat on the beach for a while and then walked back home.

Saturday 6 September we got up really early because Victor had to go back to Malaga for a meeting. We ate breakfast on the balcony as the sun was rising and then headed to Malaga. I got dropped off at Victor's house and he went to his meeting. I organized the last few things into my suitcases, straightened up the room and gathered up some things for Pepa. Then I headed to the post office to try and mail my poster home. I didn't want it to get bent in my suitcase but the post office didn't have any mailing tubes and neither did the paper store. It was really frustrating but I went home and caught up on my daily notes (otherwise I NEVER would have been able to remember all this!) and fell asleep for a little nap. When I woke up, the sad feeling I had had since yesterday was gone and I was in a really peaceful mood. Victor got home and we headed back to La Herradura. We went and ate at another special resturant for us, La Parrilla and got the special menu. It was really yummy and had all the Spanish favorites. Ham, paté, olive oil, shrip, deliciousness. I also love the blue glass water bottles they have and took the one they gave us. Then we headed back home and watched "Night at the Museum." Well, I watched it, Victor fell asleep. Then we headed down to the secret beach, my favorite part of the beach, which we don't go to very often. The waves were still huge but I wanted to go swimming anyway. After getting smashed by the waves, we got out and laid on the beach for a while. Someone had drug the big floating dock to the secret beach and tied it down there. I also brought the snorkel but it was impossible. We just talked and watched a parachuter come in for landing a ways down the beach and spent all afternoon on the secret beach. Then we went back and I showered and got all ready. Then we drove back to Malaga and to Victor's house. We were pretty much running short on time, as usual. At Victor's house we loaded up all the suitcases and headed to the airport. Everyone else had already checked in so there was no line, but they wanted to charge me domestic extra baggage fees (almost 300 eruos) instead of international (85 euros.) They thought I didn't know what I was talking about, but finally realized I was right and I was thankful that had all worked out. Then I gave Victor his card and pictures. He gave me a Chambao cd, a group he always gives me the cds of. It was really sad, but for some reason I still had an overwhelming sense of peace that everything would be ok. We said a very tearful goodbye and when I just couldn't wait any longer I walked through security.

La Última

2008-10-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Monday 1 September I woke up early and went downstairs to make sure Victor was getting up to go to work. It's a good thing I did because his alarm didn't go off and he was almost late. He once again had to drive to Malaga, park his car, drop off my two huge suitcases, get a taxi to the airport and get there in time to catch his flight. After he went on his way, I went back to sleep for a while. Then I went for a run and showered and Michelle came over. We went and bought packing tape and then went to Emilio's to package up my box. We got everything ready and put the huge box on Pepa's shopping cart and rolled it to the post office. When we got there, it was a mess. There were huge lines and it was taking forever because their computers had crashed or soemthing. People started leaving so I wanted to see if i could stay, in case they started working again. They never did, but the people were nice enough to let me leave the box there and come back and pay for it when the compters were running so I didn't have to lug it back home, and then back again! On our way home we stopped at a grocery store to get stuff to make a huge salad. We loaded up all the leftovers I had, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, olives, pasta, eggs, avocado, lentils, the works and had a huge salad with bread and cheese and some ranch dressing I made. It was really yummy and I had been wanting to do that for some time. Then we rested and Michelle had to go get the keys to her new place and I wanted to return my guitar to Antonio and go back to the post office. I went back to Antonio's and gave him the Bonet de San Pedro cd I had found in Canarias and returned the guitar and got my deposit back. It was sad saying goodbye to him. Then I went to the post office and got ripped off as they charged me a ton to mail the box back. Then I went to Michelle's house and helped her pack up the rest of her stuff. She was almost done but we forced it all into 1 trip. Then we hauled it all downstairs in several trips, and to the street in another few. Then we called for a taxi. He came and loaded her 3 suitcases, 4 XL bags, backpack, computer and a few smaller bags and a beach umbrella into the taxi. At least we got it all in 1 trip and only paid for 1 taxi ride. Then we went to her new house and unloaded everything, and started setting stuff up so she could sleep there that night. When she had things semi-under control, we went back to my place for more salad dinner or leftover enchiladas and watched TV. Michelle was pooped from such a crazy move and later she went home. Then I had to change rooms officially and finally. The next day Sara, the girl who was moving in was coming. So I took everything out and moved into Rosa's old room and Jenna's new room. I felt like a guest in what used to be my own house.

Tuesday 2 September I woke up and went for a run. Then I showered and got ready to go to the beach. Michelle and I were going to Salobreña for the day. I ate the leftover salad as and early breakfast lunch and picked up some empanadas on the way to take the bus to the bus station. I finally got to the bus station and met Michelle there. We got our tickets and got right on. Salobreña is the closest beach town to Granada, but I had never been to it because I had always had the privilidge of being shuttled to better beaches, but I had always wanted to go. We got there and set up camp. We spent all day on the beach and in the water. After a bit we moved spots because a big daycare group left and we went into the now empty space. Also Michelle ran into a friend she knew and we chatted with them a bit. It was a good day, nice weather, nice water, nice beach. We also saw some crazy dude with a really impressive mullett bury himself right in front of us. That was hilarious. Then later in the evening we went and I bought a magnet and we got an ice cream. Then we caught the bus back home. I went home and showered and met Sara, the new roommate who had moved in. Michelle also came over and we made tacos and the 3 of us had dinner. It was a nice dinner and we watched a little tv and went to bed.

Wednesday 3 September I woke up and called my dad. I woke up in a really sad mood because of all that was happening but I was trying to ignore. We talked for a long time and I finally went for a run. Then I went to Maria's office to say goodbye to her and return a book to her. It was nice visiting, but also sad. Then I wandered around El Corte Inglés looking for some card or gift or something I could give to Victor and his family. Dissapointed I left and went to the tourist office for some free posters. I also made some copies of some recipies and print off my ticket, which was a hassel becasue I had to go to several different places. Then I met Michelle and we finally went to Buen Gusto, the Chinese resturante I always ate at with my girls the last time I studied abroad. I had been watning to go back since I got back, but never had the opportunity. The food was exactly the same. Then we went back to my place and I dropped off my posters and stuff. Then Michelle and I took the bus to her house and carted a bunch of stuff of mine that she was adopting. Michelle was still setteling in and organizing so I helped her by falling asleep on her bed. Then she was really tired too so she took a nap and I left to go visit and go on a walk with Antonio and Bea. I took the bus there and walked all the way up to their house. When I got there Santi was there too. We visited a bit and had tea. Then Santi left and the three of us went to explor the old city wall and the caves where people lived. There were some really nice caves, that looked like luxury houses and some really crappy caves that looked like hovel dumps. It was all so neat and something I had been wanting to do a long time, but had never known how to get up there. After a bit, Floren called us and came too. We looked all around and could see Sacromonte and just had a nice time. It got sad though because Floren didn't know I was leaving and I had to try and explain when he found out. I almost started crying becuase I was so sad. It is impossible to explain why, when I don't understand either. We hung out inside for a while and had chorizo and bread and visited. Then I left with Floren and walked down to Michelle's house. She got her stuff together and came over and spent the night. We had dinner and watched tv.

Thursday 4 September I woke up early to go to the bank and close out my account. It was closed for some reason so I came back. Michelle had left early to get her residency card and paperwork taken care of (The reason she spent the night, I live much closer to the police station.) I used the internet a bit and while doing so, she came back. Then I went back down to the bank and closed my account. Then I went for a run while Michelle did internet stuff. Then I took a shower and Michelle went with me to drop off some pictures I wanted developed. I had the idea to write nice cards to everyone and print off cute pictures of the kids for them. Michelle had helped me pick them out the night before. So we went and dropped off the pictures to be printed and then I went to the Corte Inglés and bought nice cards. Then Michelle went back to her house and I went back to the tourist office for a better poster of the Alhambra. I found out mine from the day before was ripped when I got home. Good thing they are free. Then I found a covered doorway where I could sit and not bother anyone and write my cards. I had to write Emilio and Pepa's, Nacho and Alicia's and Raul and Patricia's all before lunch time. So I camped out and there was a mini, freak rainstorm, so I was glad I was under an awning. I wrote the cards until it was time to pick up the pictures, which I was really thankfull would be ready before lunch. Then I went back to my building, but I couldn't go to my house because the landlord was supposedly coming that day. I went straight to Emilio's and put the pictures in their respective envelopes, went down and brought bread for Emilio and then went to Los Ogíjares for my last, big family lunch and to say goodbye. Raul and Patricia had come up for the day just to say goodbye to me. Nacho and Alicia were there too with the kids. It was a sad, strange day. I hung out with everyone and helped feed the kids. Nacho wasn't going to be able to make it for lunch and Raul was late. While we were waiting they had some presents for me. Nachete and Marina and Marcelo, their cousin, had drawn me pictures and written me notes. Nacho and Alicia bought me a cute purse. Their note said, "This isn't goodbye, this is a see you later. Know that you are leaving behind a big family who loves you very much." For some reason I didn't start crying, (which I have everytime since, then that I read their note, including now when I type it.) Raul and Patrica bought me a nice necklace. I gave them their cards, which they really liked and like the pictures. Pepa was crying and sniffly all day and so I just set her card aside and told her she could open it when she wanted to. Then after a long wait, us ladies ate with Emilio. Then Raul came home and he ate. Pepa and I visited as Emilio and the kids had gone down for their naps. I spent all day there. It was nice but awkward. I wanted to leave because it was so uncomfortable, but I never wanted to leave because it would be the last time. I took care of the kids, Pepa finally took her nap and we just spent all day there. I told Pepa that she should open her card to look at her pictures, that she didn't have to read it, but she read it anyway. She of course started bawling. Emilio went back to Granada, but he was rushing my goodbyes so I stayed. Then Raul and Patricia left, but they were stopping some place before going back and couldn't take me back. Then finally Nacho came home, and I got to see him. After a while, I said my final goodbyes, and forced Pepa to say goodbye to me. She went and hid upstairs but I found her. It was so sad and tearful. I didn't cry at all, probably because Wednesday was my crying day. Then Nacho took me home. It was really sweet of him and he gave me a huge hug. We talked on the way home and had one more listen to Rock And Goal, the best rock/soccer radio station in the world. I stopped by Emilio's really fast and said goodbye too. Then I was back and had said goodbye. I started writing and finishing up my cards for Michelle and Victor. Michelle was on her way over and I gave her her card. After finishing Victor's I got ready and we went to Michelle's place and dropped off the last of my stuff she was adopting and then out for a last walk and tapas around Granada. We got three rounds of tapas at La Bodega and then went to Hannigans. Adrian came and met us there. We talked and hung out with this one girl who leeched onto our group. Then we went to Granero, a different bar. It was really fun because they played really great music and all these wierdos kept talking to us. I just thought it was really funny because they were mostly talking to Michelle and I was just laughing my head off. There was one guy who looked like a vampire and another whose pants fell off they were so baggy. Finally Adrian, who was visiting some friends in a bar next door came back and saved us from the vultures. We got free passed to go to Metro and later I said goodbye to Adrian and he went home. I made Michelle go with me but we were so early (around 3 AM) that no one was there! We got our passes back and started the walk home. I had to say goodbye to Michelle which was really sad. Then I said goodbye to the pomegranete tree in front of the post office like Emilio told me to. Then I had one last night time walk thought the city center, past my favorite walkway in Granada, my favorite park, the monkey bridge and river and home to my house. It was really emotional. Then back at home Adrian was still awake. I still had a lot of stuff to do, like getting everything ready for tomorrow, packed and on its way. I said goodbye to Adrian again when he went to bed and then stayed up finishing "The Davinci Code" so I could give it back to him. I finally fell asleep just 2 hours before I wanted to get up. Like I always say, "You can sleep when you are dead, or don't live in Granada."

La Penúltima

2008-10-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Monday 25 August Victor got up really early to go to work. His vacation had officially ended and he had to drive all the way back to Malaga, to catch a plane to Dublin. Pepa was up making him coffee and after Victor left I just waited around for Emilio to take us all back to Granada. Back at home I went to the other side of town to pay a parking ticket Victor had gotten that weekend. It was funny because as I paid it, the banker said, "Don't do it again." I looked at him perplexed because the paper clearly said Ignacio Bullejos (Victor bought the car from Nacho) and I obviously wasn't him. He lauged and said "I know, but still..." Then back at home I played on the internet until Michelle got to my house from her tutoring job. She was tutoring my old student Pablo everyday in English and would stop by on her way home. We made ourselves a yummy little brunch of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, juice and milk and ate it on the balcony. Then we just hung out and did nothing, napped, watched tv, etc. and in the afternoon went and looked for more appartments for Michelle. We did that all afternoon and evening and then I came home and went to bed.

Tuesday 26 August I woke up, went for a run and Michelle came over after her class. She hung out in my room with me while I took all the things down from my walls and started getting things in order. Then she went home for lunch and I made lunch too. I had leftover chicken and yummy sauce from Sunday. I also made mashed potatoes. Then I washed up and kept going through stuff in my room and deciding what was staying, going, being donated or thrown out. I made several trips down to Victor's, brought stuff up, went through it and then took what I was taking back, back down to Victor's and started again. It was quite the process. Then I went with Michelle to visit a piso that only cost 120 euro! We went with Sergio, her special friend, and saw a ton of our students in Triunfo, which was rather embarassing. It was her dream piso, but the girls said they would call her to see if she could have the room, but she really, really wanted it. Afterwards, they went to get some tapas, but I went home and watched tv and went to bed. I was going to continue packing but just couldn't.

Wednesday 27 August I woke up and went for a run, showered and cleaned out my room. It was really strange because someone rang the doorbell but only once and I didn't answer it. I had been slightly nervous about the landlord just stopping by and finding me there again. Adrian had said that he didn't stop by once during the 3 weeks I was gone and didn't even come by the day I left to check and see that I had moved out. He only called Adrian who told him I had left. So I had cleaned out my room and moved a lot of my stuff into what would be Jenna's room. (Brad and Jenna were still planning on moving in.) She got the stuff that was still usable but I wasn't going to bring it back to California with me. The rest of the stuff had gone downstairs. When Michelle came over we both went downstairs and I started the actual packing process. We bought down my laptop and Michelle was playing funny comedian videos and stuff online the whole time. That was the only thing that got me through the packing process, I was completely distracted. We also had Emilio there all day. He had gone to buy bread and bought us a loaf. He left to go for lunch and finally we got hungry enough to stop. Just as we were about to go up, I got a text message from Adrian saying that the landlord was there! The mystery doorbell ringing had been him. We waited till Adri sent me a message that he was gone, which was a long time, an then went up. We had been waiting so long that we ate th entire loaf of bread while waiting. That ruined our appetites but I made a little salad for Michelle and I and we watched tv with Adri. He said the landlord looked a little puzzled about the 2 rooms looking slightly inhabited, but didn't say anything. I had successfully dogded the bullet. Then we went back downstairs and finished packing. We were watching America's Funniest Home Videos and afterwards went upstairs and continued for a while. Then we headed to Michelle's so she could get ready to go out with Sergio. On the way there, Alicia called me to see if I wanted to come over and make pancakes for them. Pepa and them had been working finally moving houses. They had been cleaning the old house and doing a ton of work. They had to get ready for the renters to move into their old house, and move themselves into Los Ogijares, untill their new house would be ready. I said yes and bought some oj, grabbed my stuff and went over there with Emilio. I made pancakes, with syrup, scrambled eggs and bacon, with milk and juice. I was pretty nervous to be cooking for them, but Alicia helped and Pepa set the table. It turned out to be a huge success! I was so happy and proud (and lucky!) I told them that now I only owed them 574,328 more meal and we would be even. The best part was that Pepa had seconds... wait for it... and THIRDS!! I was so happy to be able to do something nice for the people who have done so much for me. After cleaning up, we were all so pooped we went to bed.

Thursday 28 August I woke up early and had breakfast with Pepa and Alicia. Then I went with Alicia to her old house to pick some stuff up and take it to their new house, which I hadn't seen yet. It was sad to say goodbye to their old house, (also my old house when I lived with them) but it was nice to see them finally moving into their new house, because they had been through a horrific house buying ordeal. Then back at home I waited for Michelle to come by, but she didn't because of a miscommunication. So I went to the post office and bought a huge box to ship stuff home with. I saw a really cute puppy on the way home too. He was just a little bit bigger than a Beanie Baby and I wanted to take him home. Since Michelle was doing other things that day, I went with Emilio back to Los Ogíjares for lunch. I took a nap there and came back with Emilio after he was done with his nap. Then I went and met Michelle who was out looking for more pisos in the blistering sun. We walked back to her place and watched "Knocked Up." After hanging out some more and maybe going for a walk, I went home and went to bed.

Friday 29 August I woke up and went for a run. Then I went to the store and made sure I had all the stuff to make enchiladas for Michelle and Adrian and stew for Pepa and family that weekend. I started with the preperations for the enchiladas and made guacamole and the sauce. I cooked all morning and made a really impressive lunch for us. It was really fun and I wanted to have a special meal for 2 of my closest friends in Granada. And I made some freaking awesome enchiladas and I was so proud of myself. So I washed up and Michelle and I went out looking for and at more pisos. She was so frustrated because she hadn't heard from the 120 eruo one and it was almost the end of the month. We stopped to rest in Triunfo and just then the 120 place people called her to say that she could move in! She was estatic and we both screamed and hugged like big freaks in the middle of the park while everyone stared. Then we headed back home to get ready and celebrate. On the way I bought a University of Granada sweatshirt which I had been wanting to buy since I studied there. We got dressed up really pretty and walked to an outdoor theatre in Zaidin to see a movie. When we got there, we didn't want to see antyhing that was playing and walked back and got some tapas on Alhamar. It was nice and we talked the night away. Then after 3 rounds of tapas, we headed to Hannigan's where her old roommate worked. We hung out there for a while and I said to her in English, "I wish some guys would talk to us, I'm bored." Usually in a Spanish bar, 2 American girls wouldn't have a chance, but this evening everyone was ignoring us. Right after I opened my big mouth these two, ugly, annoying guys started chatting us up. They spoke perfect English and I'm pretty sure they heard me, so I brought it upon myself. They were ok at first, but then got annoying, asking me if in life I was a pirate or a sailor. I was in no mood to discuss my life that evening with an ugly stranger, so I told him he was a hippy. Then he got upset and asked Michelle if she had had plastic surgery for some reason and we left. Thankfully Victor had called me and we went to meet him where he was. He had arrived to Malaga from Dublin around 10 and drove to Granada. He was going to meet us at Hannigains, but went to the wrong one, (since there are 2.) On his way to the one we were at, he ran into Santi who was on his way to hang out with most of the people from the beach who were botellóning nearby. Victor called me and we headed that way. It was fun to see eveybody all together and we had a really nice time. Michelle went home early, and then Victor and I did. He was a little tired since he woke up in Ireland that morning.

Saturday 30 August I despite going to bed late, I woke up early and started prepping everything for the stew. I peeled and chopped veggies and made biscuits, and made sure I had everything I needed. Then I made Victor take me to Los Ogíjares and I started cooking everything. Pepa was freaking out, and wanted to help me and I gave her a few things to do but otherwise told her to relax and leave me alone. That was impossible but oh well. It took a long time, but I finally prepared a big yummy salad, biscuits, stew and dumplings for 6 adults, 2 kids and 1 grandma. They said they all really liked it and I tried to tell them thank you for all they had done for me. A stew dinner doesn't even come close to sufficing the debt of grattitue I owe Victor's family, but I tried my best. Then we cleaned up and of course, had a siesta. Then Victor and I went to Bea and Antonio's house where the group from last night had been having a bbq. They live in a neat part of Granada that I hadn't really explored before. They invited us to the bbq the night before, but I already had stew plans. They had been hanging out all day and when we got there we hung out too, went swimming, hung out some more, ordered pizza and told jokes till 2 AM or so. Then we all parted ways and went home.

Sunday 31 August I woke up and went to church. Then Victor and I went to the pueblo for migas. Migas are a typical Spanish dish that is like cooked bread crumbs served with fruit, ham, fish, sasuage and all sorts of other things. They are really good, but the first weekend I got to Spain, I got sick after eating them and haven't felt the same about them since. Victor's uncle and aunt came for lunch too, so we had a huge group for my last Sunday meal. Soon after eating, Victor and I headed into town to see "Una Palabra Tuya." It was the movie we were going to see the week before. It starred 2 really funny actresses from our favorite shows, "Camera Cafe" and "Aqui No Hay Quien Viva." The previews made it look like a sweet, light-hearted movie, but it was far from it. It was a good movie if you were mentally prepared for a depressing, serious, twisted, drama. But if you were expecting a comedy to make you happy on your last day with Victor in Granada, you were going to be sorely dissapointed. After that we drove around a bit, talking and went back home and loaded up my suitcases. It was really difficult for us both. Then we drove up to the Mirador de San Miguel. This is a new mirador I had never been to. It was by Antonio and Bea's house and really cool. We watched the sun set over Granada, soaked up La Alhambra and took pictures to try and hang onto the memories. After that we drove around a bit more and tried to get tapas at this one place, but it was closed. Then back at Los Ogíjares we ate dinner, Victor packed his suitcase and did some things online for his trip to Rome the next day. Because all the rooms were filled up in the pueblo because of Nacho and Company, we went back to Granada and slept there. You couldn't help but notice the bittersweetness that permeated everything.

Back in Granada

2008-10-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

Friday 22 August, back in Granada we stopped by the pueblo for a late lunch. Then we went back to my appartment and Victor had to do some stuff. I caught up with Adrian and went on the internet, since it had been a while. Then I went with Michelle and we looked at several appartments she was looking at moving into. We walked all over looking at the signs in the area she was looking for. Then we went back to her place and made dinner and watched "A Knight's Tale." After a while we went out to walk around and enjoy the finally cool weather. It was so hot during the day and only cools off around 10 or 11 PM. Finally around 2 or so I went home and went to Victors house to get my sheets since I had moved everything out of my room. I talked with Victor for a bit and then went upstairs, made my bed and talked on the phone to my dad before going to bed.

Saturday 23 August I woke up and played on the internet some more and then went for a run. Then I showered and Victor picked me up to go to Los Ogijares for lunch. After lunch and cleaning up, Pepa said she wanted to show me something. I started getting nervous for some reason. She pulled out these towels that had this handmade, crocheted fringe on it. I recognized it as what Pepa is always working on in her free time. I said, "Oh how cool," and she said, "Do you like it?" I said "No! Did you make them for me?" because I knew she would give them to me, even if she didn't make them for me. She replied, "No, I didn't make them for you." "Oh good, well I like them then they are very pretty." "I tricked you, they were for you! I wanted you to have something to remember me by." I burst into tears like I never had before. Pepa wanted to get them embroidered with my initials but didn't know if I wanted R or RG. Somehow between my tears we decided on R and I gave her a big hug. I kept crying for a while and Pepa went to take a nap. Victor and I kept talking for a while and went back to Granada to take advantage of the air conditioning and cable tv for a late Spanish siesta. Then we went to El Corte Inglés so Victor could get his haircut and shopped around and found some stuff to make for dinner. We ended up getting stuff for salad and chicken with a sauce that tasted exactly like gravy. It was so delicious, I wanted to eat the sauce like a soup! After watching tv for a while I went upstairs and went to bed.

Sunday 24 August I woke up and went to church. It had been a while since I had been and at the end I made sure to talk to the pastor and his wife and thanked them and said goodbye since I didn't know if I would come next week. They are very nice people. Then Victor and I went to Los Ogijares and went for a swim. Victor had told his mom that we were going to eat out on Sunday, but since we ended up buying a dinner to eat in the night before, we both felt like swimming and Sunday paella. So when we showed up, Pepa almost killed Victor, because she had only made lunch for her and Emilio, and it wasn't paella. Of course, Pepa being a Spanish mommy, only had to take the paella mix she had already prepared and defrost it. So we had my last Sunday paella afterall. Then we all fell asleep there for another glorious siesta. We were going to go to the movies, but slept too long and so we went back to Granada for Victor to pack up his suitcase for Malaga. Then back at the pueblo, we ate dinner, chatted and all went to bed.

More Beach Pictures

2008-10-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some beach pics in random order. I love La Herradura:

Adriana in one of her adorable moments:

The view from Ana's pool/house. The way the pool is set up it feels like you are swimming in the ocean:

The cameleon. It was so cool to visibily watch it change colors: Victor, Floren and me in La Cochera. Notice Victor's beard:
The octopus!!!!:
Currucos! Really gross looking but edible:
A cool shot from inside the Nerja cave. It's cooler than this, but this was the best picture I had:

Week 3: The End

2008-10-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Monday 18 August, since the night before had been an earlier one, I woke up early to say goodbye to Pepa and Emilio, who were going to eat with Patricia and her parents before heading back to Granada. We were happy to have the house to ourselves and ironically celebrated by spending all day on the beach. In the morning we went snorkelling with Santi and Floren. It was really cool especially because Santi caught an octopus for us to see. We were there a long time and later went to get some tapas. At tapas we ran into Walli and Jose El Mei. They had been out diving all morning. Mei is almost a professional diver. He and his whole family are really into it. He can hold his breath for 4 minutes, go down really deep and fish all sorts of animals out of the ocean with his hands. So Victor, Walli, Mei and I all went out swimming and looking at stuff. we saw an octopus, but the main objective of our mission was to hunt currucos. I have no idea what they are called in English, but you hunted them by swimming way down to the bottom of the ocean where its sandy, then you see the little holes where they are breathing from and stick your hand into the sand and get them out. That is if you can stand the water pressure, cold temperatures and hold your breath for long enough. Still trying to not get anymore ear infections, I wasn't even trying to get them but did swim all the way down once just to touch the bottom. Between all of us, we got about 20. Thankfully, we also had 2 - 8 year old tag alongs with us who were in love with Mei and his diving knowledge who were also the nephews of the chambao we usually got tapas at. So the kids took our catch and since they have all the waiters and cooks at their beck and call, ordered them to cook them up for us. Unfortunately they were disgusting and full of dirt. I still ate like 5 just to make sure I didn't get a wrong first impression. The cleaning and cooking process says a lot for currucos. Then Victor and I went home and had a snack and headed back to the beach in front of La Cochera. Then that evening we ate a delicious potato salad that Pepa had made for us. Then we went to the outdoor movie theater at midnight. We saw WallE the Pixar movie. It was fun because I had never been to an outdoor theatre before and that had an intermission, which I thought was funny. After that we went and hung out with the gang on the beach for a while. We were tired so we went home early, but Victor's friends Walli and Hori had asked to spend the night, so they wouldn't have to go back to Almuñécar that night. They called and woke Victor up at 5AM or so to be let in and then woke up really early to go do stuff and woke us up too. It was pretty funny.

Tuesday 19 August since we had been woken up early by Walli and Hori, but it wasn't a good day to go to the beach because there were huge waves. So we finally finished up Season 3 of LOST. I was sad that we didn't have anymore to watch, but at least they lasted us 2 weeks. Then after that we ate and went down to the cochera to use the internet. Then we drove to Almuñécar to go to the aquarium. It was a really cool aquarium, especially after doing so much snorkelling and recognizing a lot of the animals we had seen in the wild. Then we went on a search for a magnet. For all the times we had been to the pueblo, I had never bought a magnet. There wasn't a lot of good selection, but Victor was really patienet with me and I finally found one that I liked. Then we stopped by a craft market thing and then went and had some tapas for dinner. Then back at home we cleaned up and Floren came over and watched tv with us. By now a lot of the gang had left and nobody wanted to go out as much.

Wednesday 20 August I went grocery shopping in the morning and then Victor and I headed to Las Cuevas de Nerja, or Nerja Caves. I didn't really know what to expect but we encountered a magical, enormous cave that was a combination of The Goonies, Disneyland, Indiana Jones, and all the awesome cave movies you have seen in your life. It was so surreal because I had never seen anything like that in real life, only in make believe books and movies. We went all through the cave and then I bought a magnet. Then we went to this special beach called Cantarriján. You had to hike down a hill for 1.4 KM to get there. It was really cool and special. The water was still pretty choppy but it was a nice afternoon. We also ran into Ana and her cousin there which was slightly awkward. Then we had to hike back up the huge mountain to get back to the car, but it was good. Since we had exhausted our LOST supply we went and rented 2 movies for the evening and ate dinner. We rented "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and "Habana Blues." We hadn't even finished Chuck and Larry when the doorbell rang. Floren and Nacho (Dani's little brother, not Victor's) came over to play. We just hung out and played cards till they left. Then we finished the movie.

Thursday 21 August after breakfast we headed to the beach and I did some snorkelling. I found a little clam shell and made a suprise for Victor with it. After a lovely morning, we went home and I made spaghetti for lunch. We watched Habana Blues and then went down to La Cochera with Floren. Alicia had come to the beach with the kids so after a while we walked down the beach to look for them in front of Alicia's parent's house. We found them and it was a really sweet reunion. Nachete went running into his uncle's arms and started to play with him instantly. Marina on the other hand didn't recognize her uncle with 3 weeks worth of beard on his face and clung to me because she was scared. They were all so cute, blonde and tan after a summer on the beach. Then we went back home and had dinner and watched Camera Cafe with Dani who came over. Then later we met up with the gang but left them and went and got a drink with Alicia, who had put the kids to bed and got her mom to watch them. I probably hadn't seen Alicia since May so it was really good to catch up with her. The conversation went a little South though when she asked me why I was leaving?, when I was coming back?, and told me I had to come back, no matter what. All in all it was good to talk to her after so long and once again we closed out La Cochera. Then Victor and I kept talking as we walked home, took a midnight swim, stopped by the bakery and finally called it a night.

Friday 22 August in the morning Victor and I started talking about what Alicia had said and we both got really upset. We cleaned the whole place from top to bottom to put Pepa's hosue back in order and headed back to Granada early. Although our last day of vacation in La Herradura was rather tramautic, it was ok because it wasn't our last day ever. All in all it had been a wonderful 3 weeks of vacation in paradise.

Beach Time: Week 2

2008-10-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

Monday August 11th. Sometime since we had arrived the sink water was backing up into the diswasher and making a huge mess. I now remember that made getting for company the night before very difficult because we had a huge pile of dirty dishes we had to scrub in the washroom sink which is really small. So early in the morning the plumber came, which was also difficult since we had people over till who knows when the night before. Then after he left we got ready to go to Malaga for a few days. When we got there, we stopped by Victor's place and then headed to the mall so I could shop at H and M and look for the sunglasses I had been searching for all summer. They obviously werent' there since over 3 months had passed since I had seen them, but we shopped all around and I also looked for a watch I wanted from another store. We ate lunch at the mall and watched the Olympics on tv. Then we headed to the city center and got an ice cream from a really good place. Then we went to another store where I had seen the watch I liked and it was there and I got it. I was glad it was still there. Then I tried on swimsuits and bought a purple one, my favorite color. Then we met up with Wali and Fabiola, the main reason we had come to Malaga. We kept shopping and walking around and ended up meeting with Kike, Wali's brother and their other friend for tapas. It was a long day and evening but fun. Then we all went to our respective homes and went to bed. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep. It was really hot in Malaga and uncomfortable. On top of all that, the toll of a month of island hopping, beach living had taken a toll on my ears. I had the most horrible pain I have even felt in my life. I don't think I had an infection but it was so bad that I was crying and wanted to go to the emercengy room. I had been feeling uncomfortable all day and before that but this was the absolute worst. I think I took about 4 Advil and somehow managed to fall asleep.

Tuesday August 12th. Victor's roommate Jesus is a doctor so we were going to ask him to look at my ear before he went to work and sent him a text message so we could talk to him before he left. He left anyway and when I woke up I felt better but went to the pharmacy to get some medicine. It helped but not too much. We also went to the post office so I could mail a suprise home to my mom and sister. Then we went and picked up Wali and Fabiola and went to lunch at a very famous place in Malaga, El Tintero. It is famous because you go and sit down and all the while waiters are walking around with their arms loaded up with plates of food, shouting what they have. So octopus guy walks around shouting, "Octopus! I've got octopus!!!" If you feel like a plate of that you flag him down and he gives it to you. This goes on with salad, lobster, shirmp, fried eggplant, the works. Then at the end when you and your party have had your fill, the guy with a notepad who has been walking around yelling, "I'll charge you! I'll ring you up!" comes by and counts how many plates, pitchers, etc. you have on your table and charges you for that. Back in the day when the beachfront resturant had a sand floor, people would hide the plates in the sand to get a free dish or two. Unfortunately now its a regular floot and we had to pay the full, rather expensive price. Kike had met us for lunch too and afterwards we all parted ways. Kike had to go back to work and the four of us headed back to the beach. We went straight to Almuñécar to drop them off and ended up changing and going to the beach there with them and their friends. Dani had also gotten to La Herradura that day and caught a bus over to Almuñécar and hung out with us. After a while the girls all went to a girly store and I went with them for a while. The boys went to this place where they played flamenco music. Then Victor, Dani and I went back to La Herradura, stopped at the bakery, cleaned up, had dinner and later Dani and Santi came over. I don't know if we went out or just stayed in but we did something with them according to my notes. I think we probably went out and got a bottellón against my will.

Wednesday 13 August, I got up and went for a run before breakfast. Then we went to the beach. Then we went home for lunch and I think I made chili. That was from another special spice packet from home that I combined with Spanish beans and tomato/vegetable mix in order to made some really awesome chili. We ate it in chilitos (burritos made with chili) and it was really good. Then that evening after our normal schedule of LOST and the beach we probably went out in the evening and followed the normal schedule.

Thursday 14 August, I woke up and went for a run again and then we went to the beach. After Floren left, Santi, Victor and I went and got a few tapas. Santi then went home for lunch and we went to our favorite bar and ordered a rosco for lunch. We had gone to Almuñécar and made a huge purchase the week before, but now all that food was gone. We hadn't really bothered to restock because Pepa and Emilio were coming that day and I knew she would bring lots of supplies. So we just bought lunch and watched LOST. We didn't stay too long because we knew Victor's parents were on their way to rain on our parade and take their house back. We headed to the beach and hung out with the gang till really late. Even when everyone went home we shoppped around a bit because we just didn't want to face the reality that Pepa and Emilio were waiting for us back at home. We finally could avoid it no longer and headed home. We said hello and had to shuffle stuff around as Emilio took over the master bedroom and Pepa took over Victor's room. After cleaning up we had dinner all together. It was a little awkward, but as predicted, Pepa brought tons of delicious food, stocked us up and we talked about the menu for the rest of the weekend. After dinner we got ready and went out. Tonight for some reason there were a ton of people in town and we all went out together. They were mostly Victor's old friends and I didn't really know them that well but it turned out to be the best night of the summer for me. At La Cochera there was a concert and while the boys were on the beach botellon-ing I went inside and listened to the concert. The group was this really cool rock/ska group that had such a unique sound and I loved it! They also played some really great and popular cover songs. It was so good and after a bit some of the guys came in to listen too. Now thing thing I like about going out is not the dancing in and of its self. I've never been a good dancer. But what I do love is singing my favorite songs and dancing around with friends, just being crazy. This band was the perfect music to do so to. It was really fun and funny and I spent most of the evening trying to get Victor's shy friends to go and talk to girls, being the ultimate wing woman, and making Victor, and equally bad dancer, dance with me. It was amazing night and we closed out La Cochera. Then we headed home and stopped by the bakery for delicious treats and went to bed completely content around 5AM.

Friday 15 August I woke up to the sound of Victor's niece, Adriana running around the house. Raul and Patricia had come for lunch and I stumbled out of the bedroom to say hello. We had Pepa's favorite, paella, for lunch and then hung around a while visiting. Then Victor and I went to the Cochera beach and hung out with the gang. Then back at home we had dinner, showered and went out again till 5AM. It was fun but nothing compared to the day before.

Saturday 16 August I slept in again until lunch time. Pepa made a delicious baked fish with potatoes and shrimp and deliciousness. It was really good. Then I fell asleep for a little siesta and Victor and I went down to the beach with Pepa. We were supposed to go with her in the morning, but we were sleeping and she didn't wake us up. So we all hung out on the beach and chatted. Pepa also treated us to an ice cream and later Dani came and hung out with us too. We were there for a long time, Pepa went upstairs and we stayed even longer. Finally we went up and ate dinner and showered and went out again.

Sunday 17 August I slept in again and woke up when Raul and family got there. Today we were having Cuban rice, which was white rice, fried eggs and tomato sauce all mixed together. It sounds gross as I write it but it is one of my favorite dishes. Then after lunch and naptime, Pepa, Patricia, Victor and I went and got an ice cream. Then Victor and I went up to his friend Ana's house. Ana is nice, but not my favorite person. Regardless, she has one of the most impressive houses I have seen in my life. Her family is from Madrid and her dad spared no expense to build his dream house. Its huge, amazing and has everything you could dream of. We hung out there for a long time, because since it is up on a hill, the pool gets sun till about 10PM. Then we went back down and had dinner with Raul and Patricia and Pepa and Emilio. We had roscos and then Raul left. That evening we went down to the beach with Dani and he played guitar.

Más Personajes

2008-10-14T17:14:00.001-07:00

Santi and Victor inside La Cochera: Santi, Victor and Floren on the beach in front of El Chambao de Joaquín. Santi caught an octopus and it was in his snorkel mask:
Bea and Jose, the Jose who lives in my building. They look a little possesed but they aren't:
Another Bea and Antonio. Antonio and Santi are brothers:
Another Jose or El Mei. We went snorkelling/diving and got those big clam things out of the sand, but that story is later:

Personajes

2008-10-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

I basically just stopped posting pictures, but wanted to do a mini recap of the characters in my Spanish life, so you could see!

Michelle and I in her birthday crowns: Not the greatest picture but this is Walli, or Javier, (the one with the beard) at the BBQ at Maria's house we went to with Michelle:
This is El Gallego, another Javier, in the red shirt, and Fabiola, Walli's girlfriend in the forefront:
Santiago, or Santi in the front and a better picture of Javier, El Gallego:
Daniel, Dani or El Baco (Victor and his friends are way too big on nicknames), Santi, Victor and Florentino or Floren. we are currently on the beach in front of La Cochera:

La Herradura: Week 1

2008-09-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 6th August, after dropping Michelle off at the bus station, Victor and I headed back up to the bbq. By the time we got there, it was winding down and people were leaving. So we all headed back down to the beach and went swimming in front of La Cochera. We were all there for a while, and when it got dark, we took Wali and Fabiola back to Almunecar. Then back at home, Victor and I made dinner, watched LOST and then bed. Our 3 weeks of vacation in paradise was off to a great start.

Now I wasn't very good at keeping notes on what I did during these 3 weeks. But I think it will be ok because we mostly did the same thing for 3 weeks. Victor is so tired from traveling so much that when he gets a break he just wants to veg out and do nothing. Fortunately, his parents own a lovely beachfront apartment in the perfect pueblo for doing so. The first few days may be more descriptive than others as I introduce all the La Herradura vocabulary, but then, maybe closer to the end, it will become more concise.

Here is a mini recap of what was usually our daily schedule. Normally people wake up, go to the beach, eat lunch around 2 or anytime thereafter and then go back to the beach around 5 or so. But since we were on vacation and staying out late everynight, sleeping in everyday, that pushed our whole daily schedule back as well. I would wake up around 10 or 11 or later, Victor woke up even later, usually when I went into his room to wake him up. Then we would have breakfast around noon and go down to the beach maybe around 1. In the mornings we would go right out in front of the house or in front of the Chambao de Joaquín. A Chambao is a resturant on the beach. Joaquín's chambao was on one end of the beach that had good snorkeling nearby. We would usually meet Santi and Floren there in the morning. Unfortunately, Floren would leave to go to lunch soon after we got there, and Santi a bit later. The nice thing about going down to the beach after everyone has gone to eat was that it was quiet and not crowded. Then when we got hungry around 3 or 4 we would go home, make lunch, watch several episodes of LOST and relax. Then around 6 or so we would head to La Cochera. La Cochera is the most awesome bar/cafe in the world. Every year they give it a new decoration theme, mirrors, 1st communion pictures, etc. and its always awesome and unique. It has WiFi internet, an outdoor terrace under the shade of many trees, and people go there in the afternoons for their afternoon coffees, shakes, teas, your beverage of choice to catch up and play cards. Sometimes we would meet people there, or go straight to the beach in front of La Cochera, depending on what we felt like and what time we got down there. Most of the time we missed the cafe part and showed up for the beach part. Then swimming and sun till the sun went down around 9:30 and we would head back home. Shower up, dinner and more LOST and then whatever plans we had for the evening. Victor's house was right in the middle of town and became the unofficial, and at times unwanted meeting place, wether we watned to go out or not. So the gang would all meet at our house, usually around 11 or 12, and head down to get a botellon, or go to a concert at La Cochera. If it was a good evening we would stay out till 4 or so and on our way home would stop by the bakery which was opening up and selling the freshest and most delicious baked goods on the planet. Then with a full tummy after a day of greatness it was easy to fall asleep, sleep in and repeat the process the next day.

Back to the calendar: Thursday 7th of August I woke up and tried to organize all the stuff that I brought and just dumped everywhere. Between the two of us, I also had to do a load of laundry as well. By then, Victor had woken up, or I woke him up and we warmed up to the day by watching a few episodes of LOST. We are totally hooked and had most of the second season to finish and the whole 3rd season waiting for us. After that we headed down to the beach for a swim and some sun. Victor would swim out to the bouys several times a day to practice and I would go about halfway. There are also these really cool floating platforms just off the shoreline that have diving boards and a slide on them for everyone to use. They were really fun. After a while we came home and I made fajitas which turned out delicious! We watched Lost and then went and hung out with the gang at La Cochera, went swimming and then probably came home, ate dinner, watched more Lost and then did soemthing in the evening. My notes have a question mark and then say "no idea." :)

Here are my notes for Friday August 8th: "Same, cochera @ nite, jose." So yeah some of my notes are really bad. What this means is that we repeated the same beach process and in the evening went to La Cochera. It was nice because our good friend Jose, who was not on vacation and hanging out with everyone got off work and was able to come down and hang out with everybody. I remember it was fun. :)

Saturday 9 August we did the same thing. I remember I didn't really feel like going out much in the evening but we did because it was the last night El Gallego was going to be there. El Gallego, or Javier is a friend from Galicia, who comes there every summer.

Sunday 10 August we did the same. That evening though, at the beach in front of the Cochera, Antonio and Bea had the idea to have dinner at our house. It came from me suggesting and inviting them to lunch several times when I was going to make fajitas or some other special American dish I had been saving. So they invited themselves over for mexican, but unfortunately it was Sunday evening and nothign was open, so I could not do Mexican. I even went on a motorcycle ride with Antonio to see if the campground store was open but it wasnt. We invited them over anyways and I delegated stuff for people to bring, mostly drinks and snacks. We then went home and showered and started getting stuff ready. Victor went and ordered pizzas, I made a salad and whipped out some deviled eggs (my first time!) I don't know how we did it but we made a huge salad, cleaned up, a dozen deviled eggs and were ready to have company in record breaking time. We had a good crowd, Antonio and Bea, Santi and Floren and Victor and myself. Dinner was a success and afterwards I showed them how to play Uno and Pit. It was so much fun! They loved Pit and it was seriously so fun. I love sharing American stuff!! It was a really good evening.

Michelle's Beach Birthday

2008-09-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

So still the evening of Monday, August 4th after a crazy day on 3 hours of sleep, Victor and I packed up the car with a ton of stuff and Michelle and headed down to my favorite place in the world, La Herradura. We got there and unloaded the car which only moved the disaster of stuff I had brought from one place to another, but it sufficed. Then we went to the best bar in the pueblo, La Barrica. We got tapas and a rosco for dinner. The bar was packed as always but we totally succeeded and got a table and 3 chairs, because of positve thinking and because it was Michelle's birthday eve. After dinner we then headed back up to the house and freshened up. It had been a long, stinky, hot day. Then we were invited up to Santi and Antonio's house for a botellon. They have a beautiful house right on the sea cliff so its always nice to go there. It was pretty fun, but after sitting for a while, I started to feel the effects of 3 hours of sleep and such a hectic day and I was getting really tired. It was also the first time all the summer beach friends were reunited so they had a lot of catching up to do that left Michelle and I a little out of the loop. We were there till probably 3AM, before going home and going straight to bed, all in all a wonderful welcome back to the world of La Herradura.

Tuesday August 5th Michelle and I woke up and I finally let her open her present. She put on her birthday crown and really liked her gift. After opening it up, we wrapped it up again so that she could open it up again when Victor woke up. Then we went to the bakery to get some delicious baked goods for breakfast and woke Victor up to eat with us. Then Michelle and I headed down to the beach for a bit. When Victor finally headed down for a swim, we had to go to the grocery store to get food for lunch that day. We made tacos, with some of my spices that Aunt Lisa had sent me for Christmas, which turned our really good. I had been saving all my American treats to share with Victor and Michelle because I knew they would appreciate it. After lunch and Michelle reopening her present for Victor, we took the mandatory siesta and later headed back down to the beach. When it got dark, we headed up and showered and ordered some pizzas for dinner. We were going to go out to La Cochera for a drink and some music, but Michelle got hooked on Criminal Minds and we ended up watching around 3 hours of that and going to bed. It was good and hopefully a really fun birthday for Michelle.

Wednesday August 6th, I woke up and went to the store. Victor's beach friend, Maria, had invited us to a potluck bbq at her house that day and I had volunteered to make potato salad. After getting the ingredients for the potato salad, Michelle had woken up and we went to the bakery again for breakfast food. Then Michelle headed down to the beach, and I made the salad. Then we all went down and we met up with Wali and Fabiola, who were also going to the bbq. Then all 5 of us headed up to Maria's huge, impressive house and enjoyed the bbq and pool. There were a lot of people there that I knew, but also a lot that I didn't know. Thankfully, my potato salad was a huge success!! Lots of people kept going back for seconds or thirds and there was only a little bit left at the end of the day. I love it when people enjoy American dishes that I make. There was a lot of delicious food there, meat, fish, and salads. Unfortunately, we had to take Michelle back to the bus stop so she could get ready and be back for work on time, so we did that. As we were leaving we saw a really cool cameleon walking across the driveway and saw it changing colors. Back down in the pueblo, we stopped by the bakery, one last time, and dropped her off at the bus stop. I love Michelle and I know it was hard for her to spend a lot of time alone in Granada this summer, but I really hope she had a great birthday weekend with us at the beach.

The Voice of Oligra

2008-09-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Nacho's company is called Oligra, the first video I did. The second part of their company is called Fergamar. This is a little clip from the second script I recorded. It's silly but it's pretty cool to be the voice of Oligra. :)

Mayhem

2008-09-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Monday August 4th, despite going to bed at 5 or 6 AM, I was up at 9 and called to get a waxing appointment, which thankfully they had later on in the morning. I started a much needed load of laundry and used the internet for a bit. I took a shower and was in my room getting ready when the doorbell rang. I figured it was Pepa and as I was getting ready to go answer the door, the door opened. I instantly knew it wasn't Pepa and I also knew that Adrian was in his room asleep. There was only 1 other person who it could be: the landlord. Fear struck my heart. I'm not sure what I posted in my blog about what had been going on with the landlord since I left but heres a recap. Near the end of June, the landlord came and gave us all our deposit back. I told him that I wasn't coming back next year, but I didn't tell him that I wanted to stay there all summer. He told Adrian that he could stay there during the summer and just pay the utilities. I told Adrian that I would split the utilities with him, and he said that was fine, the landlord never stopped by anyway. So then Rosa and Zore moved out and stole the bed which ruined everything. The landlord was there all the time with Adrian trying to sort things out and therefore noticed that I hadn't moved out. Adri told him I left on a trip and would move out soon. Well we don't know what made him want to stop by on that particular morning I had just gotten out of the shower but he did. So I was in my room, scared to death and listening to see what he was doing, praying he wouldn't come in. I called Adrian and sent him and text message but he had his phone on silent so he didn't hear it. I heard the landlord walking around, lower the shades in the living room and then I didn't hear anything. I stayed trapped in my room for a while longer trying to hear. I finally convinced myself that he was gone, and if he wasn't I didn't care. So I ventured out to explore and to my relief he was gone. I was so scared and didn't know what to do. Michelle came over, after having been friend deprived for so long and we went to my waxing appointment together and chatted. I got something to eat on the way home and back at home we entered the living to find the landlord sitting there reading the paper!!! I asked him what he was doing there, and he said he was just in his house taking a look around and asked what I was doing there, since he had returned my deposit and that meant that I was no longer living there. I explained that I was a guest of Adrian and had just returned from a long trip, which he didn't buy. I got tired of arguing with him and he said that in a little bit he would wake up Adrian and we would all talk. Michelle went and hid in my room for a while, shocked at what had taken place. After a bit, I moved my laundry to the dryer, called Victor and Michelle and I just left without saying goodbye. We went and saw Michelle's new house she had moved to while I was gone and visited for a while. Then Victor called me and picked me up from Michelles, we stopped by my piso for a last minute laundry fix. There I saw Adrian and he told me that the landlord had woken him up and left me a note on my door. It said that I had to be out by that evening or we could work out a reasonable amout to pay. I grabbed my note and ran downstairs to where Victor was waiting in the car. We went to Los Ogijares for la quick unch with Pepa and Emilio and then back to Granada. Then before 4 we headed to another pueblo in Granada. Nacho had called me while I was in Greece about an English speaking job. Victor had called the people while I was gone and set up an appointment to do it that afternoon, before we headed to the beach. So we went and did that. I was recording the script into English that I had translated earlier in the year. The guy was a friend of Nacho's and really nice and we got the first video done and then took a break. We watched a video Nacho and Raul and a bunch of his friends made as a gag. It was really funny. Then we recorded the second script which went much smoother than the first and then we went home. Back at my place we frantically started shoving stuff into garbage bags and suitcases and carrying it downstairs. So I invaded Pepa's house with all my junk completely unorganized. I thought it was going to be much worse that it was, but since all we had to do was grab everything and since I didn't actually organize anything, it was over pretty quickly. Then I grabbed a bunch of stuff I wanted to take to the beach, including food. Michelle came over and after a crazy day of mayhem we headed to the beach!

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

2008-09-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday 26 July I slept in a bit, woke up and went and had breakfast with Mada and Jose in the kitchen. I took a shower, got ready and we loaded up all the food and gear necessary to make a giant paella on the beach. The whole family, Jose, Mada, Guanchi and me loaded up into Jose's orange Volkswagen van along with several surf boards, the food, towels and gear to set up camp. We headed out on the town and drove through windy roads for quite a ways. We finally got to the special beach we were going to and started to set up camp. Jose has an awning that attaches to his van and we set that up. Then Mada and I climed over the volcanic rocks to the water's edge. Then we laid out on the rocks and chatted and sunbathed. Then Sergio and Koki got there and more and more people eventually did as well. The paella was underway, cutting and cooking. It's a long process, but Jose was the master chef. Mada and I went down to the beach for a bit, also pitch black sand and sat with other people. Finally around 5PM the paella was ready. It was pretty good, especially since we were all so hungry. Someone had brought a special chocolate cake for Magdalena, since chocolate is her favorite food in the whole world. After lunch people took naps in their vans, cars and on the rocks and beach. Eventually people started leaving and we cleaned up and left too. It had been a long, fun day. Back at home we unloaded, I talked on the phone to Alicia and Victor. We took a shower and we ate a light dinner while watching Eddie Murphy's 1988 movie, Coming to America. Afterwards I went to bed.

Sunday 27 July I woke up again and met Jose and Mada in the kitchen for breakfast. Jose had to go meet with his dad and there wasn't really a plan for the day, so I just watched tv. Mada had told me, after telling me I could come whenever, that the dates I did choose weren't really good for her. Jose works two jobs and she is busy getting her her dental laboratory up and running with Sergio. It's not that I was a burden, she just wasn't going to be able to entertain me and run me around and show me things like she wanted to. I assured her it was ok and planned my trip to include 2 weekends to take advantage of. I was a little dissapointed that on a Sunday I was watching tv, but oh well. We walked the dog and then got ready to go to their friend's Sunday morning concert. It was pretty good, a Spanish band that sang in unintelligable English, but it was fun to go to a concert, like I used to in my old college days. Then afterwards we came home and Mada cooked up a pasta and we watched the Gooonies on tv, and slipped into a siesta. After that, Jose went to exercise or something and Mada and I took Guanchi to la Isleta, the little island off the coast of Las Palmas, which is now connected by a big bridge. We drove around a bit, rented a movie with George Clooney in it, Michael Clayton. Then as per the usue at the end of the day, I went to bed.

Monday 28 July I woke up and was all alone at home. I dinked around most of the morning doing goodness knows what, and finally showered and left the house. I used the map I picked up in the airport to get to the nearest tourist information office, which, because Mada and Jose live far away up on top of a mountain, was about 30 minutes away. I got all the info I could want on Las Palmas and headed to the bus stop that would take me to Triana, the shopping district of the city. I found the park where the bus stopped, looked around and got on the bus. It took a while, but when I saw an H&M I knew I was there and got off. Unfortunately, they didn't have the sunglasses I wanted so I kept shopping. I found a cd store and bought a cd for my guitar teacher Antonio and a Jarabe de Palo one for me. Then I found a Bocatta and had a nice salad, sandwich, yougart with a drink meal deal. Then I continued on to Vegeta, the historic area of the city. I visited the cathedral, the mueseum inside it and took the elevator up to the top of the bell tower. By this time I was pooped and took a nap on a bench in a square in front of the cathedral. Then I wandered around some more, and talked on the phone for a long time to my mom and dad, bringing them up to speed on some of my more recent adventures. Then I headed into the Casa de Colon, or Christopher Coloumbus' house. I know that dude has more birth and death places and places of residence than any other famous person, but he has a house in Las Palmas too. It was actually a pretty cool museum about his journey to the Americas, with a lot of old cool maps and interesting, nerd, touristy stuff I just love. After that I looked around in more shops, stopped by a church, bought a bus pass and finally headed home. When I got back Mada and I walked the dog, made and ate dinner with Jose, watched tv, I talked on the phone and went to bed.

Tuesday 29 July I woke up early because their cleaning lady came over. I took a shower, ate breakfast and got a waxing appointment at a salon next door. Then I tried to buy some milk but gave up and because it was overcast, decided to go to a nearby mall. Victor had asked me to get him a specific t-shirt in Greece, which despite my best efforts, I never found. I searched for the appropiate gift in Mallorca and was once again unsuccessful. I had also been looking for some beach cover-ups for my mom sister and I. So I was on a mission and had to complete it in Las Palmas. Mada had told me there were some cool souvenir/ traditional Canarian stores in the mall I went to every store in. I missed them or she was mistaken, because it was just like every other mall in the world, nothing typical or traditional about it. Slightly frustrated I headed towards el Pueblo Canario. Mada and my tourist info told me it was a small area set up like an old time pueblo of the Canary Islands, that had cute resturants, and lots of shops with great gifts in them. Maybe because I got there close to closing time, or because the tourist book had to exaggerate to get people to go there, it sucked. There was 1 really expensive resturant and 1 really crappy store and a museum I didn't feel like going into. Also by this time, the sun had come out. During the month of July Las Palmas suffers from La Panza del Burro. Where all the clouds get trapped between the mountains and keep it cloudly and chilly almost always. Taking this into consideration and the gloomy weather the day began with I planned on doing indoor touristy things, both of which flopped at an early stage in the day. Now I was really upset. Giftless, swimsuitless and foodless, I took the bus back, got ripped off by ordering a way too expensive salad and wandered into an internet cafe. I bought a 3 hour internet card for the rest of the week. It had been so long since I had used the internet and I was so frustrated, that I used up all 3 hours at once, checked my 85 emails and chatted with Michelle online. Sometimes you just need to spend a day on the internet. Then I headed back home. Mada's housing complex has a pool, gym and sauna and she said she was going to show me where they were. Otherwise there was no way I was going to find them. Her housing complex was a maze of houses, but this provided a challenge. No one tells me I won't be able to find something. So I changed clothes and set out to find them, which, of course I did. I went for a run on the treadmill overlooking the water, went for a dip in the pool and then a session in the sauna. I went back home and showered and started working a bit on my Greece blog. Then Mada came home and we made dinner watched tv and went to bed.

Wednesday 30 July Mada woke me up for a change of plans. The original plan was for me to wake up when I wanted, (I was planning on running again) and then calling Mada for her to come get me and take me to work with her. Turns out she was going to go in later so I could go with her, as in right then. So I went with her to the laboratory, which was really cool to see. She hadn't let anyone see it yet, but since I wasn't going to be around for its opening, she let me see it early. So I saw it in like 3 seconds and then used the internet in her office. It would have been great had I not spent 3 hours the day before on the internet. I still had emails to read and can always waste more time on the internet, but since her computer was a Mac, I coudln't bring up the document I had worked on the day before for my blog. So that's what I spent my morning doing. I went and had breakfast with Sergio, who treated me at a nearby cafe, but other than that just used the internet. Then we went home and had lunch with Mada and Jose and watched tv. That afternoon, Koki picked me up and took me to the beach with him. It was a neat beach and I laid out while he surfed. I swam a bit, but the waves were pretty big and not really swimming water. The bummer part was when a large group of adolescent hooligans next to me decided to get in a large scale sand fight and didn't apologize or say anything when I got caught in the cross fire. After a bit Koki came back and we headed back to his house. I used the internet a bit and bought a ticket to the Painted Caves of Galdar the next morning. Then we went down to the beach and had a drink and a tapa on the waterfront. Mada came and met us when she got off work for round 2. Then Mada took me home, I showered and we watched tv, ate dinner and went to bed.

Thursday 31 July I slept in, went for a run and then swam at the pool. Then I came back for a shower and met Mada and Jose for lunch. In the afternoon, Jose's sister Laura took me to Galdar to the painted caves. Even though I had bought a ticket for the morning, the night before when she offered to drive, I changed my plans and went in the afternoon. We got there a little early, bought tickets and walked around. I was on the lookout for gifts but had no luck. The caves were pretty cool but had a 3D video which I can't stand. The caves are the old home of the aboriginies that lived on the Canary Islands. It had their old hosues and had a lot of information about how they lived and when the Spanish came and took over. The main event is a cave where you can see their cave paintings. It was pretty cool, but I was a little underwhelmed. After that on our way to the car, this guys stopped Laura in the street to hit on her. It was amazing! Then back at home I went on a walk and to a small shopping center near Mada's house. I talked for a while on the phone to my dad and then when I got home talked to Mada. She was feeling sick and not hungry, and didn't know what to make for dinner so I offered to make dinner for Jose and myself. I made scrambled eggs with cheese and tomato sandwiches. He liked it a lot or at least faked it really well, and we watched tv and went to bed.

Friday 1 August I woke up and went running, took a shower and went to get my legs waxed. It turned out to be a huge dissapointment as the girl did a horrible job and wouldn't do what I wanted her to do and charged me a ridiculously expensive price for such a bad job. I was so angry I called Michelle to vent and asked her to look up the number for the place I got to in Granada so I could make another appointment. Then I stopped by the internet cafe for a quick minute and headed on the bus to Triana. I looked around a few of the tourist shops and finally found a gift for Victor, a cool painted plate, typical of the islands, and a magnet for me, Jose and Mada and some honey rum. Then I visited the Museo Canario, which was actually really cool. It had a big section of mummified bodies and skulls, where they could see evidence of them having cut holes in their skulls for medicinal purposes. It was pretty cool but the guy working there was quite rude. Then I talked on the phone to my mom while shopping for lunch at a grocery store. I finally bought sandwich stuff and headed back towards the beach on the bus. I went to the beach closest to Mada's house, which in the hub-bub of the week I had neglected to go to. I left to got back to meet Mada to go pick out costumes for a party we were going to. On my way up the mountain, I actually ran into Mada and Sergio in the car. I hopped in and we went shopping. I ended up finding 2 cover-ups for my mom and sister, but not one for me. We bought Mada's costume and some shoes and Koki met us. Then we went to Jose's mom and sister's house and picked up a costume Laura was letting me borrow. Then the 4 of us went to this really awesome cliffside cafe and had a few rounds of drinks and tapas. Then we dropped the boys off and went home, showered and went to bed.

Saturday 2 August we woke up early and Mada and I headed South to the touristy beaches of Maspalomas. This was the area of the island that is all hotels and bungalows and tourist-town. We had to park the car in a paid parking lot and went to the beach. We also bought some cold water. Then we headed to the beach. It was really hot and the tide came up really fast. So fast in fact that it caught us by suprise and soaked our towels. It was a long beach with a lot of sand, a big row of the pay umbrellas and seats and then the water when the tide came up. So our only choice was to move back behind the pay chairs into the scoarching desert sand. We tried that for a while, till Mada said she would treat me to a drink from the Kiosk. As with most things in tourist areas, it was really expensive and after paying for it, Mada realized that she didn't have any more money. I also only had about 5 Euros. We were going to get sandwiches and ice creams too, but realized we had to pay to get the car out of the parking lot too. So we decided to go, sans lunch, and had barely enough money to get the car out. We headed home, stopped by an ATM, and I ate some leftover spaghetti for lunch. We showered and got ready to go to the Romeria. Mada did my makeup, always an adventure and we dressed up like peasants. We were going to la Romeria de Santa Brigida. The festival of a nearby town. We were having a private bus take us and 40 other friends there at 4:30, drop us off and then pick us up at 3:30 in the morning. Our costumes were ridiculous but awesome because everyone dressed up. The romeria was fun, lots of people, food, dancing, a procession and craziness. I had a good time telling jokes and hearing them as Koki and Jose are joke masters. It was really fun and nuts, the only bad part was trying to order sandwiches, which took over an hour because of all the people. Mada and Jose left early, kind of ditching me, but I was still with Sergio and Koki. We stayed till the bus got us as 3:30 and then when it dropped us off again in Las Palmas I took a taxi home and called Mada to let me in. Exhausted after a great night of Spanish ridiculousness, I peeled off my peasant clothes and crawled into bed for some much needed sleep.

Sunday 3 August despite my non-alcoholic hangover, I woke up at 8 to pack, organize and transfer my pictures to Mada's computer. Jose brought us churros for breakfast and said goodbye as he had to go meet with his dad. I visited with Mada and she showed me her pictures and I showed her ones from the last year and my family. Then I had to shower and get ready to leave. She took me to the airport and dropped me off. I was sad to say goodbye. Then I checked in and went through security. I had a lot of time to shop and sample all the types of Canarian food they were trying to sell. Tasting all the different types of Mojo Picon they sold ended up being a bad idea after romeria food and churros. I bought a soda to settle my stomach and walked up and down the airport shopping. My flight was late and I was getting more and more frustrated with Vueling. I had originally chosen my flight to leave at 8AM, so I could arrive in Madrid at 12, and then to Granada at a decent hour after that. But they changed it to leave at 3, pushing my arrival to Madrid back to 7 which meant I had to book it to the bus station to try and catch the 9:30 bus. It seems like I would have more than enough time, but I had dealt with airports, the Metro in Madrid and the bus station enough times to know that it was going to be close. So my flight left almost an hour late. When I got to the airport, I called Alicia and made plans to meet her in the Metro. She rode with me and we chatted to the bus station where I rushed to the ticket counter by 8PM. To my dismay, but not necessicarily to my suprise, all 3 9:30PM busses to Granada were sold out. I almost started crying as I bought a ticket for 11:30PM. Victor called to see what time I would be in and I told him the sad truth. 4:30AM. Alicia and I tried several times to go to the shopping center next to the bus station and finally succeded in escaping from the maze of the Metro/bus station. We went and had dinner at the Corte Ingles and then shopped around for a wedding gift for her friend. Then we had some more time to kill in the It was really great to spend some time with her as I knew I wouldn't see her again before I left. She sent me off on the bus and I headed off on my last 5 hour journey to Granada. I read the Davinci Code as I was trying to finish it so I could give it back to Adrian. It seemed like the longest trip ever but I finally made it back to Granada and Victor picked me up and took me home. It was so great to be done travelling and living out of a suitcase and to be with Victor again. Little did I know what the next day had in store for me...

Mallorca

2008-09-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

So Monday 21 July we got up really early and walked to the airport. My flight left at 6:50 or something like that so it was a really early morning. Our little group was Rosa, Toni, Alicia and me. Rosa and I waited in the long line and checked in, and then Toni and Alicia went to see if they could hitchhike with our plane there, since that is what pilots and flight attendants do. Thankfully they could and we all went to Mallorca. We got there and Toni drove us to Petra, the birthplace of the founder of California. I didn't know who the founder of California was so he told me Fray Junipero Serra. I was shocked!! Father Serra was also the founder of several California Missions, including the Carmel Mission, which I had visited, studied, built a model of, and written a report about! And I remembered. I was really excited to be visiting his hometown. We were going to eat breakfast there, but unfortunatly it was the morning after an all night party for the town so everything was closed. We walked around a bit, saw a famous church, where supposedly on the inside has all the cities and saints of California in order, example, San Diego to San Francisco. It was closed as was the house and museum where he was born and another church. Apart from everything being closed, my experience was slightly ruined by Alicia and Rosa, who could care less about podunk pueblos, but I really liked it and thanked Toni for taking me there. Then we stopped to eat breakfast at a truck stop place and had the typical island breakfast, Pamboli. Pamboli is several large slices of bread with tomato, pickled vegetables and your choice of toppings. I had good ham and cheese. It was delicious! I also loved hearing Toni speak Mallorquin, the dialect used there, which we would hear all throughout the trip. Then we stopped and bought a melon and headed to Toni's house. It was a really nice house in a great location in another pueblo, La Colonia de San Jordi. He is in the process of remodeling and fixing it up, as it it his secondary home, so Alicia and he started to clean and put things together. Rosa and I went to the store and got water and few other things, and then while they were cleanign we fells asleep for a nap. Around lunchtime we woke up and we went to get lunch. Then we went to a beach, which was really nice. The beaches in Mallorca had white sand and the wather was really warm. It was great for swimming and playing around. Also behind you, there was nature, bushes and trees, a change from the buildings typical to other parts of Spain. So after a bit on the beach we headed home and Toni and Alicia showered. They had to head back to Madrid (hitchhiking on another plane) to work the next day and left. Rosa and I then showered, ate dinner, watched tv and went to bed.

Tuesday 22 July I woke as someone rang the doorbell and came into the house. Turns out it was the painter, who was under the impression there was no one there. He felt horrible, but I told him not to worry and to continue with his work. I went for a run, went to the store and bought some cereal and milk and came home and ate breakfast. Rosa finally woke up and we went to the port to reserve our tickets to Cabrerra the next day. Then we walked to the beach and were there for a while. Mallorca has a high population of Germany tourists, and two little German boys came up to me and said something to me in German. I told them I didn't speak German and they proceeded to stare at us the rest of the day. Rosa and I tried to play paddle ball, but we're both horrible. Then after a bit we went home and bought something for lunch at the store. The painter came back and we headed back to the beach. On the way home, we stopped in a few shops, got home, showered and went to bed. Things were going well with Rosa. It was strange to be on vacation with someone I barely knew, but we got along well enough, despite a few differences in what we wanted to do.

Wednesday 23 July we got up early and headed to the port to go on our trip to Cabrerra. Cabrerra is an island off Mallorca that is part of a National/Natural Park. You can only go on these special trips and so we headed off at 8 or so. When we got there, the first thing we did was head up to an old castle, used for Moorish defense. It was a difficult walk in flip flops, including towels, water and food, but we made it and there were pretty views from there. One thing that was cool was seeing a ton of Baleric Lizards. These were little black lizzards native to the Baleric Islands, and since there were no cats or predators in the National Park, there were tons of them! Then we went and headed to the beach. I got bored after a while and headed up to a museum about the island, and a monument to the French people who died there. The island had a long history of different uses, from farming, to wars. One of the things I was really looking forward to was a snorkeling tour, where they gave you a waterproof MP3 player. The tour was cancelled for the day and when I got back to the beach, Rosa was out snorkelling. She got back and we ate lunch and she went out snorkelling again. We only had 1 snorkel to share, which was a little frustrating. When she got back I went out and discovered that there were underwater signs for a self guided tour. There were 5 or so big signs that were placed in different areas and described the different types of sea life that lived there. It was getting close to the time we had to leave so I swam really fast to see all the signs and get back. It was a little freaky because I was by myself, and in Mallorca there is a lot of seagrass, so at some parts I was almost touching it, which is always kinda freaky. So I saw the whole tour and booked it back, which was not the best idea because I had just eaten. I started feeling sick about halfway back, but forced myself not to barf because I didn't want fish to come and attack me to eat my barf. I finally made it back and we rested a bit before packing up and going back to the boat. I never threw up, but felt sick. On the way back, the boat stopped at the Blue Cave. It is this cave on the side of the island that for some reason the water is a deep, rich blue color. The boat stopped there a while and let people jump off and swim if they wanted. It was amazing and such a neat experience. I snorkeled a bit there too and got back in the boat. Then we headed back to town and back home. There were 2 guys on the boat staring at Rosa, who is a little boy crazy, and I tried to get her to talk to them, but she was too afraid. At home we showered and took naps and then went out and shopped a bit. I bought a magnet for the pueblo we were in and we talked as we walked around the walkway that takes you from he beach to the port. Then back at home we fixed dinner, watched Ever After on tv and Alicia called us to say that she was coming to suprise us. I made dinner for her and she got there late. We chatted for a bit and watched tv and then all went to bed.

Thursday 24 July we woke up and packed sandwiches to go to another special beach. It was a protected beach where you could only drive there if you were from the pueblo or walk about an hour there. So we trekked to the beach and laid out, swam and played paddle ball. All of a sudden it started to rain. So we frantically grabbed all our stuff and huddled under a sign that had a tiny roof on it. Just as suddenly as it got cloudly and started to rain, it stopped and the sun came out. By that time we were upset and didn't want to set camp up again, so we ate under the sign, packed up and headed home. On the way home I stopped by the aquarium which was really cool. Rosa and Alicia didn't want to go, and they had been getting on my nerves by calling me gitana all week, which means gypsy, and translated culturally, something like thug. Apparently they think I have a low cultural level and find it hilarious to call me on it. Anyway, I enjoyed the aquarium and a break from the girls. Then I got home and showered and we got all ready and dressed up to go out. We were going to go to Palma, the capital, which I wanted to do to visit the cathedral and see some of the sights there. I knew they just watned to go to party but I figured I could at least see it. So they other girls finally got ready and we all headed out, Alicia driving Toni's new car he just bought from his Aunt 2 weeks ago. The radio was blasting Kylie Minogue and Alicia was pulling out onto a street, when I noticed a green box car coming towards us. I said, the Spanish equivilant of "Oh crap!" as I watched in slow motion the car crash into us. The car hit our passenger side front bumper and spun us around 90 degrees. It was scary but no one was hurt and Alicia instantly started crying hysterically. As in most small towns, there were quite a few passserbys and people looking on. One of which told us to shut off the car and get out in case in exploded, which we did. Apparently Alicia had turned the wrong way down a 1 way street and therefore didn't see the non-existant signs that should have told her not to pull out into the street. People were so nice and comforting telling her that she ran the stop sign, and then when they figured out what she really did, telling her that. It really is strange how rude and dumb people can be when they feel like they have to share their opinion. Then we waited for the police to come, Alicia all the while in hysterics, with no chance of calming her down. So began the event of the rest of the evening, and ruined our trip to Palma. The police came, Alicia had to call Toni, who was on horseback riding trip in the mountains of Colombia and wouldn't be back to the hotel for several hours. It was a huge mess because the police filled out the forms as Alicia driving Toni's car, and the other driver driving his brother's car. My favorite part of that was Alicia asking Toni, who she has been dating for about 6 months if his name was Toni, Antonio or Antoni, because she didn't know. A close second favorite part was when she had to fill out the liscence plate number for the car. She didn't know it, so I went over and picked the liscence plate off the ground and brought it over to her for her reference. I could only laugh because it didn't happen to me. After everything was taken care of Alicia called the guy to see if they could fill out more forms putting Toni as the driver and the brother if the wanted. So we sat in a cafe and waited for Toni to get back to the hotel, to figure out how to tow the car without using his insurance's towing service, since they couldn't have Alicia tow the car for an accident Toni had while he was in Colombia. She also has barely met his parents or family, so didn't want to call them to help because that would be too embarassing. So finally, his sister just happened to walk by, and she called her mom, who arranged for a tow truck to come. It finally did, and towed the piece of mangled metal that used to be Toni's car to the mechanic. Then we went and ate dinner at an Italian resturant, where the waitress spoke to us in German. Then we stopped by an internet cafe so Alicia could print up pages to fill out other reports fro the next day. Back at home, I packed up and got everything ready to leave early in the morning. Now that we didn't have a car to take us to the airport, we were going to have to take a bus to Palma, and then to the airport. Thankfully Toni's parents offered to take us to the airport, so we had time to do stuff during the day. We finally went to bed.

Friday 25 July, I still got up early because I wanted to go running. I did so, ate breakfast, showered, and got everythign packed up. Then Rosa and I went to the port and I bought a magnet for Mallorca, then we bought a bottle of water, which was more expensive because it was cold and walked to another store where I bought some shoes. They are red and the typical sandals of the islands. Then we came home and watched tv while Alicia tried to sort out her life. Turns out the other guy couldn't meet to sign the paperwork so she was going to have to stay behind and work everythign out. Toni's parent's convinced her otherwise and took us all to the airport. We checked in and ate an expensive airport lunch. Another great part of the morning was that Rosa woke up with a small bite on her eyelid, that made her whole eye swell up. Throughout the day her face kept getting bigger and more swollen. Our flight was really late taking off which at first I wasn't worried about because I had almost 2 hours to make my connecting flight. Turns out I got there pretty late and after asking, I found I had to go halfway across the airport to my gate, which was already boarding. I said a hurried goodbye to Rosa who now looked like Sloth from the Goonies and ran to find my gate. Alicia was able to come back to Madrid with us and was also trying to take my flight to Las Palmas for Magdalena's birthday. She got denied because the jerk pilot said he didn't take flight attendants from other companies. So I got on the flight and left Alicia to decide what she was going to do. We said goodbye, not knowing if it would be our last. I got on the plane, exhausted and a short while later my SpanAir flight reached Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Magdalena, my old roommate came and picked me up and we talked the whole way home. It was great to see her and catch up. She was pretty tired because she works so much but we got home and walked Guanchi her giant presa canaria, an enormus beast of a dog. Then she started making dinner for some people to come over for her birthday. Jose, her boyfriend came home and then her friends Sergio, who I knew from Granada and Koki came over. Later Jose's mom and sister came over to give her presents. I also gave her some presents from Alicia and me. We all chatted and later the boys went out for a drink, but Mada and I were tired so we stayed home and went to bed. So ended my adventures in Mallorca and began my time in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Greece

2008-07-30T03:40:00.000-07:00

I clearly have a lot to catch up on. I have kept really good notes and hopefully they help me to retell my adventures instead of just bullet points. Here begins my Greece trip.

Saturday July 12 I woke up and made 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, took a shower, worked on my blog, went to the bank and got everything in order. Then Victor took me to the airport and I spent 5 long hours on the bus to Madrid. Thankfully we stopped midway and I bought a magnet. I have stopped at the same spot every time I go to or return from Madrid on the bus and I finally found a magnet. It only says the name of the region, instead of the city but I think that’s ok since I have stopped there at least 5 million times. Then I took the metro to the airport and checked in and spent a decent amount of time shopping and talking to my mom while I waited for my gate to be announced. I also ate a sandwich because I was starving and wanted to save my second sandwich for the plane or when I got to Athens since I knew I wouldn’t get food on the plane. Then I got on my flight and we left and I did get dinner! I was a little bummed that I had just spent money on expensive airport food but oh well. Then I got to Greece. For some reason I was so nervous to travel and be there alone and figure out how to get to my hostel. Since it was so late, I decided to take a taxi. How much could it cost right? I knew it was a smart thing to do to talk to the taxi driver and decide on a price first. That’s what I was going to do but the taxi driver grabbed my bag and just said “meter! meter!” so I just got in the car and shut up. First off, he didn’t know where my hostel was, so had to stop and ask someone. He only spoke a few words of English but somehow we communicated. He pointed out a few landmarks along the way and found out that we were both not married. Everything was going well, but the airport was very far away and the meter had surpassed 25€ and I just hoped it wouldn’t go over 40. Then things started getting weird. George started offering me a free tour of Athens. “No meter, no money. George good. Show whole city. No people. Whiskey. No meter, no money.” So that came out in bits and pieces and I tried to laugh it off, and kindly say no, all the while wishing I we would just get to the hostel already. I have no idea how long it took, it felt like an eternity. Finally we got there, the meter read just under 40€ and I gave him the money and told him to get out my bag, which he did all the while still pleading that I go on his “not payable with money late night tour” with him. I could not get in the doors of the hostel fast enough. After talking to the receptionist I paid for and went up to my room. I finally relaxed and was so glad to be locked up in my safe room and couldn’t wait for Tim and Jolene to arrive. I checked the free internet, showered and went to bed. A while later, I heard someone calling my name and went to the door. It was Tim and Jolene and it was so amazing!! We gave each other some much needed Tim, Jolene and Rachel hugs and chatted for a bit in a rushed crazy way. Then we all went to bed again.

Sunday July 13th we all slept in a lot and then got ready and went out for a walk. We found a lot of things that were new an different and shortly stopped for a gyro lunch, to be the first of many. A bit later we stopped for ice cream and shortly after that we stopped an got a huge waffle with ice cream. The waiter was really, really nice and gave us free waters when we left. That was the first of many greeks to be extremely nice to us! They are such nice people and so many people were just super nice to us, random strangers. We just walked around all day, saw some cool National Gardens, the Olympic Stadium and wandered back to the hostel. There we rested a bit and after a bit went out for another walk and dinner. I loved Greek food and I think that night I ordered a cheese salad, which turned out to be a cheese spread. That day I also discovered mini ice cream cones from bakeries, which should be made all over the world they are so good. Then after dinner we walked back and went to bed after getting our welcome drink from the hostel’s bar and chatting with other wandering strangers.

Monday July 14th we slept in again, but not as late, got up and ready and headed out to the acropolis. We stopped in a few other ruins and souvenir shops along the way and I bought my magnet. We saw a lot of ruins including the ancient agora, acropolis, and a bunch of altars and temples. Then we ate lunch and walked around trying to find a movie theatre which didn't exist anymore. We stopped in an H&M, shopped and got a really large ice cream which was delicious and headed back to the hostel to plan out our next moves. We ended up a little frustrated because it was difficult to plan out the rest of our trip, and we went out for a large delicious dinner, came back, packed and went to bed.

Tuesday 15 July we woke up early at 5AM. We got ready and walked to the Metro, and took the train to the port so we could pick up our tickets for the ferry that left at 7:35AM to go to Mykonos. We got on the ferry and slept, did word searches and I worked on my paper journal. It was a looong ferry ride as we didn,t get there till 1:30. When we got off the ferry we were met by a ton of people from hotels trying to get us to stay in their hotel. We already had reservations and someone helped us to find Maria, the nicest lady in the world. She took us to our hotel in her van and explained how everything worked. She was really, really nice. We got to our lovely villa hostel, which was like a bungalow, dropped off stuff and walked to a nearby grocery store to buy food for lunch. After lunch we took a nap and later when things opened up again, Jolene stayed to continue napping and Tim and I walked down to town. Our first stop was a travel agency, to figure out the rest of our itenerary. We actually had to stop at several since no one wanted to help us with a flight, but finally found a nice guy who did and after weighing all the options, we bought ferry tickets to Santorini, and I bought a flight from Santorini to Athens for my return. The flight was the only way I could leave Tim and Jolene on the day I had to leave Athens and not a day early and alone. So that out of the way, I drug Tim all around the little town in search of a magnet for Mykonos. We explored, I found the perfect magnet and we saw the windmills, a giant pelican and the really cute town. Then we headed back up to see if Jolene was feeling better. She was and wanted to go out for a walk, so we all headed back to town. We got some dinner and explored. Then we went home, I showered and watched tv and went to bed.

Wednesday 16 July we woke up and enjoyed a delicious breakfast Jolene made us. Then we went on a long dangerous walk to Paradise Beach. It was a beach inside a campground and while it was pretty, it wasn't very nice because it was so artificial. There was a big bar and a lot of beach chairs. We laid down and I mentioned how it was great the chairs and umbrella were free, since in Spain you would have had to pay for them. We enjoyed them and a swim and after a long while a gruff Greek guy came and told us that it was 16 Euros to use the chairs. We instantly got off. We were there for a while longer and I made a fort out of the chairs I couldn't lay on. Then we took the bus home, went to the store for snacks and showered. Then we headed into town, ate dinner, explored, chatted with and Argentinian coin cutter and came home and went to bed.

Thursday July 17th, we woke up early, packed up and Maria took us to the port. Next to our hotel there was a little church and the bells were ringing all morning. Maria told us it was a holiday for the church and they celebrate it once a year. She also gave us delicious cookies as a send off gift. We got to the port very early and soaked up the sun while waiting for the ferry. The ferry was called Highspeed 2, which we would later use during the trip to describe our adjustment to our Greek food diet as Highspeed Number 2. The ferry took us to another island, Naxos, where we got off and waited an hour. I bought a magnet of a famous arch thing you could see from the port. Then we got back on another ferry and went to Santorini. There we were a little nervous because we didn't have a place to stay. We got attacked by all the people trying to get people to stay in their hotels and Tim found a good place, near the capital, that would take me to the airport early Sunday morning. So we loaded up with our really nice guy and he took us to his hotel. I felt like we were his prizes from a sucessful fishing trip. When we got to the hotel we got settled and rested a bit and then went out for a walk. The town was really cute and had a lot of nice shops and resturants. I bought a magnet and then we had dinner which turned out to be really expensive but good. Then on our way home I got a baklava and ate the whole thing which was a lot of delicious sweetness but almost too much. Then we went to bed.

Friday 18 July we woke up at 8, showered and ate breakfast at the hotel. Then we walked to town and Jolene bought some good shoes. Then we headed to Oia, the other big town on the island about a 3 hour walk away. We were walking from about 10 to 3, taking our time and stopping. It was a really neat, long hike, and it was hot. Even though I put on sunscreen I got burned. We saw a great view of the island churches and the cute town at the end. Our original plan was to get to town, take a bus back to the capital, and then take a bus to a beach. So I had been lugging around a towel and all my sunscreen all day. Well, when we got there around 3 we did take the bus back, and decided to go back to the hotel. I was mad I carried that stuff around all day but oh well. Back at the hotel I went down to the pool with Tim. The water was freezing but I cooled off and we napped in the sun. Jolene stayed upstairs for her nap. Then we showered and tried to get dinner closer to the hotel instead of going into town. We got a little confused and ended up walking around in the middle of nowhere, and back to a resturant close to the hotel. That evening there were some seismic activities coming from Tim's part of the room that didn't come from the earth. It was really funny and we all went to bed.

Saturday 19 July we woke up at 8 again, got ready and ate breakfast and took the bus to Red Beach. We got off before reaching the beach because the bus driver told us that was the stop for a prehistoric city that Tim wanted to check out. Turns out, it was closed and had been for a long time but he just didnt feel like telling us. We walked down to the beach and it was an amazing beach made of red and black volcanic rock including a few floating white stones I found. It was beautiful. I found a guy to make me an ankelet from black volcanic rock beads and green stones which is really pretty, and I had been looking for all over. We were there for a while, Tim and I skipped stones and after a bit we headed back to the bus stop. We chatted with some other tourists who the bus driver had told the same lie about the prehistoric city. Back on the bus, I told him that it was closed and he either didn't understand or ignored me. Then back at Fira the capital, we took another bus to a black sand beach. It was a little dissapointing because it wasn't really black but grey. I swam a bit and then we just laid out and relaxed. We went for a walk, found a place for our last dinner and took the bus back to Fira. Then walked back to the hotel, dropped off stuff and headed back to an internet cafe. We swapped pictures and used the internet a bit and headed back home. Then we stopped by a bakery for the last mini ice cream cone, took a shower, packed and went to bed.

Sunday 20 July I woke up really early, got ready, said goodbye to Tim and went with Jolene and the hotel guy to the airport. He dropped Jolene and I off and I checked in for my flight. We had to say goodbye and that was sad, and Jolene headed back to the hotel for her morning walk/run.

While I realize that my retelling of our adventures here omit so many stories and details that I shared with Tim and Jolene that made this trip so special, I really want to say what an amazing trip it was. Tim and Jolene are such special friends to me who I feel are always so loving, caring, listening and accepting. We understand eachother really well and just have a great time together doing stupid stuff. We got to see so many amazing things, beautiful things, ate a ton of gyros and sweets and it was just a dream vacation to be in Greece with them. We had talked about it for so long, throwing out random ideas and plans and I was so happy to be able to see them while they are in Africa and actually make it happen. It made me think of a pinky promise Jolene made to me that she kept. I can't express with words how great this trip was with them.

So I headed back to Athens at 7AM and got there around 7:30AM. I had the rest of the day to wait to check into my flight back to Madrid at 2. I wrote and mailed a ton of postcard to my family and Victor's family, updated my paper journal, and read quite a bit of The Davinci Code. I had to wait a long time for them to open up the check in and while waiting I watched 3 kids eat the foam blocks surrounding the pointy edges of a statue in the aiport. I wanted to smack them but I figured their parents who weren't paying any attention whatsoever would get upset. When the lines finally opened up I chose the wrong one, several times and it took forever. I finally checked my bag and went to wait for my flight. My seat was really small and uncomfortable because it was behind the emergency exit so I was in a really bad mood. I finally got to Madrid, talked to my parents on the phone, and took the Metro to meet up with Alicia and Toni. She said she was going to meet me there so I was a little upset she didn't, ontop of all the frustration in Athens and the flight. So I got there and started dealing with some of Alicia's stress. Originally, she was going to be going with me and her friend Rosa to Mallorca and the Canary Islands. Then she became a permanent employee and would have to work a trip to Costa Rica during our girls week in Mallorca. She offered to treat me to her trip to Costa Rica, but I couldn't go because then I couldn't use my ticket to the Canary Islands. So I was going to go to Mallorca with Toni her boyfriend, spend a couple days by myself and then she would be back Thursday to go with me on Friday to the Canary Islands. So I get there and she checks her schedule for the next week. They had totally changed her 4 day trip to Costa Rica to an 8 day trip to far away. That meant she couldn't go with me to Mallorca or the Canary Islands. So she started freaking out and trying to change her schedule which was really difficult. She finally did and we went to pick up Rosa from the Train station. We went to a shopping center and ate dinner at McDonald's, where they didn't understand my English pronunciation of Deluxe. We then went and saw Hancock at the theatre, went home, showered and went to bed for 3 hours. That was the end of my Greek adventure, my interum in Madrid and the beginning of my adventure in Mallorca.

Andalucía te quiere

2008-07-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

This week has been an intersting one. I have been alone the whole time. Monday I spent all day on the couch, internetting, looking at 100 pages of bumper stickers on Facebook, all while watching the horrible daytime television Spain has to offer till 9PM. Then I decided to it was time to move and I went for a run. Then I showered, made and ate dinner and then watched more tv and internet before I went to bed. Not a lot of movement or anything interesting but a L'Oreal day, because I'm worth it, is good for everyone now and then.

Tuesday I woke up and more or less followed the same plan as the day before. A little bit of breakfast, internet, tv, ect. But the difference was that I started working on my paper journal which I had left abandoned for a while, at least 2 months. I wanted to get it all taken care of before going on my trip so I did that before lunch. Then I made and ate lunch and watched tv for a bit. Then I took a break and packed my suitcase for Greece. When I was all done, I went for a run. I walked a little extra bit since I had the time. I was also deciding what the heck to do the next day. I felt like I needed to go somewhere and do something but I didn't feel like it or feel like spending a lot of money. I was enjoying being at home, making lunch, using up food, inventing recipies from what I had to use up. I still want to go to Murcia, Lorca and Águilas but I didn't want to go there. I decided to go to bed and decide in the morning.

Wednesday I woke up and decided not to go anywhere but to take advantage of Granda and Andalucía, since there is so much to see right in my own neighborhood. I started out with a walk/run through Fuente de la Bicha, the cool trails by the river by my house. I went for my 20 minute run and then kept walking. I saw the fuente, a spring. Then I kept going and found myself in an olive tree grove. Then I kept going and I made it to the gas station in Cenes. All of a sudden I realized I had a lot of time and a goal to make it to the next pueblo, Pinos Genil. So I crossed the freeway and kept going. (I had already been going for an hour.) Then I kept going and going and found myself on a tiny path overgrown by weeds in the middle of a forest. It was really funny because the path was consuming me. So I kept walking untill I got to a river with huge ducks in it. I knew I had gotten there and turned aroudn and walked all the way back. I was really tired and hungry and my back hurt but I finally made it back by 1. I started at 9:30. A good morning, all in all. Then I did a few things around the house before going downstairs to go with Emilio to Los Ogíjares for lunch. We stopped by the post office and then went to the pueblo. There I talked with Pepa and helped set up for lunch while we waited for Nacho. We had a really good lunch. Then I took a nap and when I woke up went and laid out by the pool. After a while Pepa came out and swam and talked with me. She told me all sorts of stories about Victor's grandparents and family. I love stories and swimming. Then Pepa walked me to the bus stop and I took the bus back to Granada where I showered, watched tv and internetted and made and ate dinner and watched tv. It was a good evening and then I went to bed.

Thursday I woke up and watched San Fermín during breakfast and got ready. Then I went to the bus station and got on a bus to Guadix. Then we had to all get off a bus and on to another one. Then about 20 minutes after we left the bus broke down and we waited on the side of the road till another bus came and got us. Then we got on the new bus and finally got to Guadix an hour late at 12. I saw this girl who looked like she had also come by herself to be a tourist and I was going to ask her if she wanted to be tourists together but she sprinted off the bus so I figured the answer was no. Then I went and walked around down to the cathedral and went in. It was small but interesting. Then I bought a magnet and went in search of the cave houses. I finally found them and this one lady who would let you go into hers, to the dismay of her children, who were trying to have a normal life inside. Then I went into the cave house museum, and got a really nice, personal tour from a man who was born and raised in the cave houses of Guadix. Then I got really lucky as I was walking back and caught the bus by 3 seconds. I got back to Granada and took a nap, woke up and watched tv till it was cool enough to go outside and went running which was difficult. Then I ate dinner, watched more tv and internet and went to bed.

Friday I woke up really early to see the whole San Fermín, or Running of the Bulls, boadcast. It is very cool and only available in Spain so I figured I should make the effort to see it. It was actaully the encierro where the least people in history were hurt so I was a little dissapointed. (For a lot of people San Fermín is similar to hockey or car races where the fun parts are the fights or the crashes.) Thankfully they had a little section called, "Tomorrow even your eyebrows will hurt" which showed people being stupid with a little bull and getting tossed around. Then I went running and did a load of laundry. Then I showered and went to Guejar Sierra, the pueblo I went to with Emily but didn't buy a magnet from. It was a fun drive because it went parallel to the path I walked Wednesday to Pinos Genil, so I rode all what I had walked before and saw how much it actually was. When we got the the pueblo, the bus dropped us off and I ran to the souvenir store, picked out a magnet and got back on the bus by the time it had turned around and was ready to go back to Granada. Then I got back and waited for the bus to take me to the cementary. I've found out that all the cementaries in different countries are different, and I had never seen a Spanish one so I decided it was time. More bus ride, then I got there and looked around. I didn't see a very large really old section, most of it seemed rather new or modern, but it was still interesting. Then I left and waited for the bus again and came home. Then I went with Emilio for lunch at Los Ogíjares where I swam, ate, swam and sunbathed again and then we went home. I also had a tearjerking conversation with Pepa because I had to tell her that I bought a ticket home. Then I gave her my 2 cds I had made and she started crying even more. I was just going to give them to her for her birthday but I guess it was a bad time. Then back at home in Granada I showered and Victor got home from Valladolid. We talked and bought tickets to go to see Kung Fu Panda, which came out that day. Then we took Pepa back to the pueblo and stopped for some tapas on the way. Then we went to a bar that Victor's friend owns and ran into all sorts of people there. Old classmates of Victor's and Charif and Soo-Soo his girlfriend. It was a pretty nice evening, and then we went to the movies. The movie was also good, but I was really tired by now since I woke up so early. But when I got home I still had to finish packing which took me untill about 3:30 and then I finally went to bed.

Today I woke up early to make sandwiches, and get ready and blog before I leave for Greece!!! I'm catching the 10 o'clock bus to Madrid and then my flight leaves at 6:30. I'm really nervous since I haven't been out of Spain of the US basically since August 2005 and I don't speak Greek. Also it has been difficult planning and communicating with my travel buddies, Tim and Jolene, since they live in the middle of Africa. Also this is a really long trip, since after Greece I go straight to Mallorca and then to the Canary Islands. Oh well I bet and hope it will be wonderful. I'll do my best to communicate but I'm not going to make any promises! I am taking a notepad to jot down all the things I do so I can come home and write 18 pages of blog wonderfullness for you all to read! Untill then... :)

Only in Spain

2008-07-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I woke up and showered because I was burning up. Then I used the internet and blogged for a while. Then I went and got my legs waxed in preperation for my big island hopping trip. Then I came home and Brenda and I went out for a walk. We saw a bride and a wedding. Brenda said that, unlike a black cat, if a bride crosses your path, you will have good luck. We were really in for it since yesterday a bird crapped on us. Another ridiculous bird managed to crap at the perfect diagonal to hit the top of Brenda's head left to right, hit my finger and land on my purse. Truly impressive. And I must be really in for a streak of good luck as that was the 4th bird to crap on me in the last 9 months. Aftere a short walk we went over to Pepa's for paella. It was good but slightly awkward. Then we watched tv and napped till around 6 or so. Then Victor and I went to Nacho's house where he downloaded a game and I printed off all my info for my flights etc. Then we went back and hung out at Victor's for a while. Victor left to hang out with Dani and after a bit more we went and got an ice cream and sat in my favorite park and ate it and played "I Spy." We were that bored. Then we walked up to Paseo de los Tristes and sat for a while. Then we found a flamenco concert that was about to start and I called Victor to invite him and Dani. Thankfully he told me that he was in front of the cathedral and there was a free flamenco show. That was much better than spending 8€ and we went there and stopped by Los Italianos on the way. On the way we saw another bride on her way to her wedding. I really hope the good luck comes sooner than later. When it does I'm just going to go crazy. The concert was good, such a cool experience, an outdoors, free, summer concert in front of the cathedral and it was really warm out. Then we went and bought stuff for a botellón and went to Plaza de los Carvajales. It was really nice talking and there were people playing music, great weather and I also ran into several students, who pretty much died when I went to talk to them. Brenda and Dani were hitting it off pretty well but then she wanted to go home. So we did around 2 or so and went to bed.

Sunday morning we woke up early and Victor and I took Brenda to the train station. Then we came back and ate breakfast and packed our bags to go to the beach. We stopped by Los Ogíjares to get a suitcase for Victor and ended up with a home cooked meal to take and prepare there. Pepa has us spoiled rotten. Then we hit the road. It was such a nice day and a pretty drive and so nice to go back to the beach. We got there and set up shop and went down to the beach with Santi. There was a lot of wind so there were huge waves. The temperature was nice but not the water. We laid out and later Santi's brother Antonio and his girlfriend Bea came. We all left around 3:30 and they went home and we did too. We started cooking our delicious beef in a sauce with potatoes and bread. It was amazing and we ate it all. I know suprise suprise, Victor and I ate a lot. Whatever. We watched Lost during and after but Victor fell asleep. Then I took a shower and we packed up and went to Almuñécar to a hotel to see Wali's (another of Victor's friends) art exhibit. Then we headed to Málaga. We unloaded the car and went to get an ice cream for dinner and sat outside and ate it and talked. Outside there is always a nice breeze that doesn't seem to get inside the house. We took a little walk, went back home and Victor packed his suitcase and we went to bed.

Monday morning I woke up at 5:12 because I was dying of heat and took a cold shower. Then I rested for a bit more but not really as I had to get up. We got all ready and called a taxi. Thankfully Victor was heading to Valladolid on the train which is right next to the bus station. So he caught the 7AM train and I caught the bus. I talked to my parents and read a book on the way here and when I got home bought a ticket back to California for September 6th. That was a problem because my card got denied again and I had to go down and use the phone at Emilio's, which took less time that the last time but still forever. Then I had to listen to several songs from the Spanish military that Emilio would not stop playing for me. Then I finished up some things on the internet and took a nap. When I woke up a few hours later I talked to Adri for a bit and then made lunch. I have been here blogging since. I guess this week I'll be packing and getting ready. I may take a small trip if I get my act together but otherwise I'm just here in Granada...

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T02:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night we did go to the classic rock cover band Apache's concert in Mae West. It was once again awesome. There is nothing like a flamboyant Spanish dude jumping around the stage in a tank top, leggings and a stratigically placed handkerchief belting out some of the most amazing songs in history. After the concert we came home and went to bed.

Thrusday morning I woke up and went running for the first time in a while. Then I went to the post office and picked up my package and mailed some post cards for Brenda. Then I rushed to the store and bought laundry detergent and fabric softener so I could do laundry. Then I came home and Brenda went out shopping. We did things like this so that someone would be home if her package came. I stayed home all day and from 12 to about 5:30 I just used the internet, watched tv, ate breakfast made and ate lunch and cleaned the bathroom and house. Mostly unproductive. But her package did come and after all that mess and ordeal getting it, the guy shows up, gives it to me, I sign for it and as he is heading back to the elevator he turns and says, "you're brenda?" I say yes and he walks away. I couldn't believe it. All that to just hand it over to anybody. Then Brenda got home after her shopping spree and showed me what she bought and I took a shower. Then at 8:00 we left the house again and went to Corte Inglés to look at a purse she wanted a second opinion on. She ended up seeing another one that she really liked and buying that. Then we went and had churros and chocolate at Cafe Futbol and sat there for a long time. Then we went on a little walk and headed home and watched tv for a bit and went to bed.

Wednesday I woke up at 8:30 when Victor sent me a text message telling me Happy 4th july¡¡ I thought it was 9:30 so I got up and used the internet. It wasn't till a while later that I realized what time it actually was but I was too awake to go back to bed. Then I went running which was horrible. I felt like I had wooden Barbie legs. Extremely heavy, creaky and limited knee mobility. But I finally finished, came home ate breakfast and took a shower. When Brenda was ready we went and visited the Capilla Real, the Royal Chapel where the Catholic King and Queen Fernando and Isabel are buried. I had been before but it was still cool. Then we went to the cathedral. I had also been before but didn't remember it very well, so it was nice. Then we walked up to the Mirador de San Nicolás, then to Plaza Larga and Brenda treated me to an ice cream from Casa Pasteles. Then we walked to the Mirador de San Cristobal and then down through the Albayzín again. We ended up on Calle Elvira and went and got a yummy tapa. Then we walked up Cuesta de Gomérez and did some souvenier shopping. I bought a Granada key chain for Victor, a Granada bag for my self and a coin purse with a sweet map of Spain on it. Then we went to explore Sacromonte. Brenda doesn't like walking very much but she wanted to see it and I warned her. It was a huge walk and I made her walk all the way up to the church at the top, the Abadía de Sacromonte. We got there just before it closed and went on the last tour of the day. The lady was talking really fast because she wanted to go home, but we saw this room with stuff in it, the church and some holy caves. There was a lot of history around the place and I understood some of it. So somehow somebody found out that there was something buried up in that area. Digging they discovered it was the burned up remains of several saints, including San Cecilio, the patron saint of Granada. So the sacred mountain turned into Sacromonte and they came and built a school and chruch and priesty thing there. It was really important throughout all Europe and they do wierd rituals there on San Cecilio's day, February 1st. Like unlock the remains and kiss them. We also saw the caves where they found the ruins or where they were burned to death, I´m not sure and a white rock and a black rock which were found next to some special lead books with mystical writing on them. So the rocks got magic powers from the magic books and if on the day of San Cecilio you kissed the black rock, you'll get married within the year. There is usually a line. And if on the day of San Cecilio you kissed the white rock you would become unmarried within the year. But you had to be careful becuase they weren't talking about divorce or getting seperated but death, the only acceptable way to end a marriage according to the Catholic church. And the legend wasn't specific on who would die, the kisser or the spouse. That was the end of the tour and then we started walking down. Brenda isn't used to walking so much and was about to die at the beginning of our walk. Afterwards she couldn't take it anymore and we stopped and waited for the bus and talked with a lady from Bolivia. Then we took the bus down, walked to Misako where I wanted to buy a bracelet I saw the week before but it wasn't there anymore. That always happens to me. :( Then we went home and I showered and got ready and Victor came over. We listened to the Star Spangled Banner on YouTube and saluted my Old Glory American flag t-shirt. Brenda doesn't like 4th of July. Then after a bit we went and ate dinner at Burger King. It a small immitation of the last 4th of July I spent in Spain where Victor, Emily and I went and ate dinner at McDonald's. It's the closest I could get to a 4th of July bbq. Dinner was good, I do like Burger King and I got a Whopper, fries and Sprite, what I used to get when we went every week after softball games when I was a kid. After that we walked home and Brenda started packing and organizing her things. I went to Victor's house and talked to my sister and dad and Victor for a while. Then I came upstairs and went to bed. Before I fell asleep, I remembered that I hadn't set of any fireworks so I reached over for my pathetic Spanish version. A lighter. After a few clicks I went to sleep. The 4th of July here sucks.

Caminante No Hay Camino

2008-07-03T03:31:00.000-07:00

Caminante no hay camino -- Antonio Machado

Todo pasa y todo queda,
pero lo nuestro es pasar,
pasar haciendo caminos,
caminos sobre el mar.

Nunca persequí la gloria,
ni dejar en la memoria
de los hombres mi canción;
yo amo los mundos sutiles,
ingrávidos y gentiles,
como pompas de jabón.

Me gusta verlos pintarse
de sol y grana, volar
bajo el cielo azul, temblar
súbitamente y quebrarse...

Nunca perseguí la gloria.

Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.

Al andar se hace camino
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.

Caminante no hay camino
sino estelas en la mar...

Hace algún tiempo en ese lugar
donde hoy los bosques se visten de espinos
se oyó la voz de un poeta gritar
"Caminante no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar..."

Golpe a golpe, verso a verso...

Murió el poeta lejos del hogar.
Le cubre el polvo de un país vecino.
Al alejarse le vieron llorar.
"Caminante no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar..."

Golpe a golpe, verso a verso...

Cuando el jilguero no puede cantar.
Cuando el poeta es un peregrino,
cuando de nada nos sirve rezar.
"Caminante no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar..."

Golpe a golpe, verso a verso.

Here's one for my Spanish readers, which I don't think I even have any. I will translate the reason I posted this poem. This was the closing song Brenda and I heard at the free flamenco concert last Saturday in Plaza Nueva. Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. This means, Traveler there isn't a path, the path is made by walking...

So... What Do You Want To Do?

2008-07-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Monday 30 June 2008 we woke up in Málaga late after a night of insanity. Then around 12:20 we took the bus to the center. I had never done that before so it was good to do so and figure things out a bit. We found a tourist office and got info for the day. Then we went and visited the cathedral, which I thought I had never done. Then it turns out that I had, but didn't remember it very well. Then we shopped around, I was looking for a Málaga keychain for Victor's Málaga keys. He has a habit of loosing keys. Hopefully with some new keychains they will help him keep track of them. Or at least feel worse about loosing them. I also just love souvenier stores. Then we went to the hosue where Pablo Picasso was born, which was free for students. Then we backtracked and did some more souvenir shopping and then we went real shopping. Mostly Brenda did the shopping since I didn't want to look so I wouldn't find anything and spend money. Then we rested and got granizados de limón, which is like a lemonade slushie. It was really good and we just sat on a bench a long time resting. Then we went and walked around some more, shouvenir shopping and exploring. Then we sat on a bench again and waited for Victor to come and pick us up. We watched a mime get ready and saw a ton of preteen malaguenos all dressed up and hanging out, basicallly overtaking our bench. Then Adrian called me to tell me that the girls had officially moved out, took the shower curtain and mat and that Rosa had literally stolen the big bed, under the pretense that Magdalena had given it to her. (sure) At that moment, Victor got there and we went to the bus station so Brenda could buy her tickets to Sevilla the next day. Then we went and drove to the beach and walked around La Malagueta. We walked down the beach and ran into Ignacio, Victor's co-worker who I have heard a ton about and even talked to on the phone but never met. Then we walked back and ate dinner at a nice beachfront resturant. We had yummy create-your-own-salads. Then we walked back to the car and went home. There we watched tv and bit and went to bed.

Tuesday morning I woke up to help Brenda with the hot water heater, but she had already showered. Then she was all ready and went downstairs and I called a taxi for her. Unfortunately right at 10 when I called the taxi strike started. Perfect. I had no idea what to do, called Victor and the only other way was to take the bus, which the day before took us about 40 minutes to get into the center. Brenda couldn't remember where the bus stop was so I got dressed and went with her to find it. Unfortunately, as we were leaving the appartment, I saw the bus coming towards us, but we were between stops. I ran to try to stop it, but it was was too late. Brenda didn't feel like running. Then we waited 15 more minutes for the next bus. By now it was 10:30 and her bus was leaving in 30 minutes. I didn't know what she was going to do but I was all stressed out. So I sent her on the bus and went back upstairs and used the intenet where I got an email from Alicia explaining she was stuck in Cuba and basically had to work all the days we had planned for vacation. I also didn't know what to do about that. I called Magdalena who said it was ok for me to stay with her, it was just a bummer because she was going to be working all the time. At least I don't have to get a hotel. Then I went to Mercadona and got food for lunch and dinner. Then I came home and went swimming and hung out at the pool for a while. It became parents and kiddies time again so I went up early and started making lunch. I had bought stuff to have french fries, a salad, yummy marinated meat and bread. It was really good and we had really good conversation over lunch about what the heck is going on with us. We didn't really arrive at any conclusions, but it was good to talk. Then Victor had to go back to work and I was a little bored. I don't know what I did all afternoon but it went by really fast. Very similar to the morning where I did nothing but it was gone in a flash. So I watched tv for a while, which was still all about winning the EuroCup (and it still is.) Then I took a nap and then went and sent a fax for Brenda so her stupid UPS package would get here. Then I took a shower and used the internet for a bit, but ended up talking to my mom. Then it was already 7 and Victor got home! Then we went out shopping for the first day of the Summer Sales!!! We went straight to H&M and went nuts. Me of course more than Victor. It was awesome because I found birthday presents for Michelle and a brand new suit for myself! I have always wanted a pin strip suit for interviews and stuff, which now I will have to do, if I want a job. So I got the whole thing for 50% off. I spent 57 bucks all together, 15 on Michelle and 40 on the pants, jacket and blouse. I'm pretty excited. Its grey and I bought a baby blue blouse to go with it. Then we went and had a drink and a tapa upstairs in the foor court area and went and picked up Brenda at 10. She had missed her bus but thankfully they refunded her ticket and she ended up leaving at 1 and coming back at 7:30. A short trip for a 2.5 hour trip each way. But she said she had a good time. Then we went and drove to the Parador and looked around and then to the castle. It was a really nice evening, then we went home. We ate cereal for dinner and watched tv and went to bed.

Wednesday we slept in and woke up late. Then we got ready and Brenda took a shower. Somehow she ended up flooding the hallway all the way into Jesus' room and under his bed where he kept some extra matresses. Then we had to clean that up. I took out the trash and straightened up the house. Then we left at 12:40, got to the bus station around 1:30 and got tickets for a bus at 2. I looked one last time for a keychain in the Málaga bus station and strangely enough found the perfect one! I had looked all over the city and only found ugly ones, but finally found a cool one in the ugliest of stores! It was awesome and I´m really excited. Then we got on the bus and left. But because of the horrible traffic, it took us over 30 minutes to get out of Málaga. I started writing a blog on the way home, since I had the laptop and we got back to Granada around 4. Then the bus home. Then we came home to see our gutted house. I went through thier rooms and found a few interesting things like loose change and the like, (I know I'm a scavenger...) Among some of the interesting things I found was a scrap of a tampon wrapper. Strangely it was the same kind I use, which I brought with me from California. I don't know how they knew where I keep mine or how long Rosa had been stealing them from me, but its clear that I should have been the one to put a lock on my door. Then Brenda and I went to have lunch/dinner at a schwarma place. It was ok. Then we went and walked around Realejo, Campo de Príncipe and my old school the CLM. Then we went to the grocery store, stopped by home and went to the post office, which was closed. Then we came back home and have been resting since 8:00. Adiran came home and re-told me the whole bed stealing scandal. We also discovered that the pile of dishes in the sink weren't ours but left for us by the girls. Thankfully Zore wrote me a really sweet goodbye note, but apparently Rosa is just a terrible person. We have been watchign tv, blogging and I went and visited Pepa for a bit. Now were are going to go to a concert at Mae West. I guess I'll post this blog since I'm all caught up now, even though I was planning on saving it for the rest of the week. Enjoy!

¡ESPAÑA, PODEMOS!

2008-06-24T04:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday I slept in till really late and then went to Victor's to have breakfast. We watched Lost while eating breakfast and lazed around. I know something new and different for us. Then we went out into the blazing heat and bought him 2 polo shirts. Then when we got back home we packed up and too food to Los Ogíjares for lunch. When we got there we swam for a while to work up and appetite. Then we ate lunch and watched Lost during and after. It was really fun. Then we started hearing noises and Nacho, Alicia and the kids had come over to swim as well. Then Pepa and Emilio came over because they heard that everyone else was there. Then Nacho and Alicia's friends. So we swam some more and then Nacho and friends left, and then Pepa and Emilio did. We stayed and watched a bit more Lost and then packed up and went to Michelle's for dinner. We were there with Samar, Jenna and Michelle and Victor watched the game which was really good and we ate a hodge podge meal made up of food people needed to use before leaving. We had crepes, pasta, asparagus and tomatoes and steaks. Then we sat around and chatted and went home. At home we watched more Lost and snacked and then I went to bed.

Sunday I woke up and showered and went to church. It was pretty good. Then afterwards we went to pick up Victor's grandma from her house to take her to Los Ogíjares for lunch. We parked and Victor went up to help her with some stuff to bring down. Turns out it was bags of food, clothes, random junk, a walker, a bird in a cage and a ton of stuff. That took a long time and I was smashed in the back seat next to the walker with the bird in my lap. Then we got there and had to unload it and I helped Abuela put the food in the fridge and get things settled enough to go eat. Then we had paella and went swimming. After a while I saw this rat, and we tried to scare it away but it wasn't moving. We figured it was sick and tried to catch it but couldn't. Then we swam some more. Then we went in and ate some ice cream and went home. We watched Lost but Victor fell asleep and as I was, Pepa and Emilio came home. Then Victor left, rather early because he wanted to make it back to Málaga for the quarter finals game of the EuroCup that Spain was playing in. I was bummed he left so early and that we couldn't watch the game together. My roommates had been home all weekend so I was avoiding my house as much as I could and so since it was burning up, and my roommates were home, I stayed in Pepa's air conditioned house and used the internet, ate dinner and watched the game. It was a really good game, tied all the way to the end and through the 30 minute overtime. Spain beat Italy in penalty kicks, which it hasn't done in 88 years. (Beat Italy at all!) So then people started going crazy! They were running and screaming in the streets, honking their horns, it was insanity. Then I was on the phone for a bit with Victor and my friends trying to nail down a game plan. I ended up walking to Calle Elvira to meet Samar and Cristiana in a tetería. On my way I passed through Puerta Real and Fuente de las Batallas which had tons of people in it! Even kids on the tippy top part. It was insane. The people had stopped traffic, cars and motos were honking and waving flags, pure insanity. Then I met the ladies at a tetería and then we walked around a bit. I ran into Dani and Wali, who were with Jorge, Wali's cousin from Florida, and 3 American girls they had picked up. They were going to Dani's workshop to play flamenco music and sing. I went along and Samar and Cristina went home. It was a really fun night because the house is in a huge old carmen in the albayzín, totally run down, but with amazing views of la alhambra. Dani plays the guitar very well and Wali sings well too. I love flamenco and it was awesome to get in in the local jam session way. Also it was fun for me because the 3 other American girls could barely speak Spanish, so I was the translator and in on all the inside Spanish jokes. We were there for a while and finally went out and I went home and got to bed around 4.

Monday I obviously had a terrible time waking up, took a shower and went to work with Pablo. Then when I got home I made the mistake of signing online and talking to Michelle. My next mistake was mentioning to her that no one had sent me any bumper stickers on Facebook for a while (something she is particularly good at.) So then we started sending bumper stickers to eachother and completely wasting time for at least 2 hours. Then I decided to switch things up and go watch the Simpsons. Meanwhile I was trying to plan a lunch date with Samar and Jenna, but no one could decide or commit so the plan didn't come to anything and I went and made myself lunch and ate closer to 4. Then I took a mini nap for about 45 minutes till my mom called me, used the internet some more, suffered in the ridiculous heat, sent out a few resumes, got frustrated and finally went to meet Michelle at hippy coffee. We were there for a while, talking with Mohammued, Michelles roommate-to-be and other randome people who gave constant opinions about what I should do with my life. One guy, Antonio, was pretty nice and sincere at least. Then we went to meet Samar and Jenna at Fresco, a buffett like Fresh Choice. It was really yummy but there was this girl who was staring at us constantly, which made me uncomfortable and self concious about going to get more food. But she finally left and I did. :) Then after dinner we went to a tetería and the girls got a hooka. It was really hot in there and I was getting really claustrophobic but everything turned out ok. Then we parted ways. It was June 23, the eve of Saint Juan's day. There are many traditions around this holiday. Most have to do with water, maybe because its Saint John the Baptist? So in Lanjaron, there is a huge water fight, and all along the coast, they have huge beach bonfires. You can jump over the fire and ask for a wish, or write a wish on a piece of paper and throw it into the water. Then at midnight you go down to the water and put your feet in. Pepa told me to wash my face with lots and lots of water at midnight so that I would be beautiful all year. Sea water was better, but Granada water would do. So I had heard there was a bonfire up on paseo de los tristes so I went looking for it. On the way this huge drunk Spanish guy started messing with me/hitting on me in English. Then I heard this other guy say, "Rachel!!!" I looked and it was Dani, Victor's same freind from the night before. He explained to the big guy, Paco, that I was Victor's girlfriend. Victor's nickname is Ligre, the Spanish version of Liger. So Paco goes, "Oh la ligresa!" or "Oh the ligeress" (as in female liger.) That was pretty funny and he called me that all night. So then we walked to Plaza Nueva and hung out for a bit. I never made it to look for the bonfire, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't there anyway. I got tired and went home around 2 and washed my face with lots and lots of water and went to bed.

Tuesday morning, exhausted as usual I woke up and showered and went to work. I had a pretty good class with Pablo and then came home and picked up my room, which was a mess. Then I went to pick up my friend Brenda. She had just arrived to Granada for a 2 week visit and I picked her up at the Palacio de Congresos. Then back at home she showered and I blogged for a bit. (I have been working on this blog since then, but it just keeps getting longer.) Then we went and met Michelle and Samar at the University Dining halls, which I had always wanted to try. Unfortunately, you have to prove that you are going to the university of Granada to eat there which none of us were. So we gave up and went and got tapas near Plaza de Toros. After that we went to hippy coffee and had lemonade and juices. Then I took Brenda home and went to have my last class with Carlos and Marta. When I rang the doorbell, they asked who it was and went "Oh, Rachel..." in a dissapointed voice and I knew they had forgotten again. Mari Paz had let the kids go swimming with their friends and forgot to tell me. The good thing was that they still paid me and we chatted for a bit. They go to La Herradura for the month of August too so we'll be able to see eachother then. Then I came back home and talked on the phone to my parents, took a little nap and then Brenda and I went to the grocery store to buy some food for the week. We made a sandwich for lunch and then walked up to Plaza Nueva, met Michelle there and then walked to Paseo de Los Tristes. I didn't see any evidence of a bonfire from the night before. We sat and talked for a long while untill we saw some gross doggy porn. These 2 dogs were getting it on right in front of us and no matter where we moved they kept following us. We left and walked down toward the cathedral and Samar called us. Michelle went home and Brenda and I went and met Samar and went to the comedy show at Mae West. It was pretty funny, but I was tired from so much walking. Then we went home and went to bed.

Wednesday June 25th, 2008 I woke up and showered and went to work. Then I came home and Brenda and I had sandwiches. Then we went up to the Alhambra and walked around that from 1-6. It was of course blazing hot and really tiring as it was a huge walk up there and constant walking there. Then we walked home and visited with Emilio for a while and talked to Pepa on the phone to get the keys to Los Ogíjares to go swimming the next day. Then we went home and rested for a long time. I translated my resumé to Spanish and sent it out a few times. Then I went and visited with Pepa and got the keys and then Brenda and I went and had dinner at Samar's house with Michelle. We had strawberry balsamic chicken with onions and rice. It was good. Then we went home, I used the internet some more as Brenda took her night shower and then went to bed.

Thursday I woke up and had my last class with Pablo. It went fine, I don’t think he was too upset to see me go. Then I came home and Brenda was still getting ready and went out for a little walk. She ended up shopping at El Corte Inglés. At 12 we were having a roommate meeting with the landlord. I guess he was freaking out about something, I woke Adrian up and the four of us chatted a bit to get our stories straight before he got there. Then he did and it all hit the fan. To make a long, horrible meeting short, we owed money for the last utilities bill and he wanted to calculate what we would spend for the rest of the month and charge us that too. That plus when he originally rented out the apartment 2 years ago, the deposit was only 150€ each, and we had all paid Magdalena 160€. Obviously he wasn’t going to give us back what she basically stole from us, so that was our problem. So that was a lot of fun, getting charged 50€ for calculated expenses and loosing 10€ to supposedly my friend who I’m pretty sure isn’t dumb enough to do such a thing on accident. There was a lot of yelling in-between because our landlord is insane and that’s it. Then Samar came over, then Michelle, then Brenda came back. Then I had to go to the bank and deposit money so we could go on our Lorca trip on Saturday. Then finally, an hour and 15 minutes behind schedule, we went down to get the finaly directions from Pepa and Emilio on how to get to their house in the pueblo for some swimming. We got on a bus to go there and a lady told us to get off 2 stops after she got off. So I was trying to orient myself and realized even though she was still on the bus we should have gotten off at a stop I was watching shrink away in the distance. So I tried to remain calm and trust that the lady knew what she was talking about. We asked her again and she seemed to get upset, answered and then moved to the back of the bus. So Then we got off 2 stops after her and started wandering around Los Ogíjares, asking people if they knew were Calle Huerta de Belén was. We asked several people and after I don’t know how much walking finally found the house. It was amazing!! Nice and cool and a pool all to ourselves. We swam and sunbathed and ate lunch and then a little later, Abuela came over to see what we were up to. She just sat there and talked to us and finally left. Then Samar had to leave to go to work and then Michelle, Brenda and I left around 6:30 or so. We wandered again trying to find a bus stop to take us back to Granada. We found one and waited and thankfully a bus came right away … and … went right past us without stopping. Apparently that wasn’t a stop for that bus. So we walked ahead a little further to the next stop, which would be. We were bored and knew that the next bus wouldn’t be by for a while so we started trying to hitchhike. Most people just waved, laughed or gave us a thumbs up too. Then this one car stopped with 2 young kids in it. At first they said they were going to Granada, then they said they weren’t and wouldn’t take us. They were jerks anyway. So we kept at it and then this other guy stopped. He said he could go out of his way a bit to take us. I was surprised as he had 2 car seats in the back of his car and mentioned that he was a little full already. But no, he got out and moved a car seat so we could all fit. His name was Sergio and he was really nice and we chatted and he dropped us off at home! I know dangerous, but it turned out all right so no problem. It was also free and faster than waiting for the next bus. Then at home, Michelle left and Brenda went to the pharmacy and I went downstairs to send a fax for the Lorca trip, return the keys to Pepa and tell them about our Ogíjares Adventures. They thought I was crazy. Then I came home and Brenda still wasn’t back from the pharmacy and I was a little worried so I went down to look for her. She wasn’t there so I went to the store and bought munchies and junk food for dinner and to watch the game. Then I got home and Brenda was back, she had gone to a different store and bought stuff for dinner. So she made turkey burgers and I just ate a patty. Then it was almost time for the game to start so I took a record breaking fast shower and then we watched the game. This was the semi-final game of the Euro Cup against Russia who we had previously beat 4-1. But you never know with sports. It was a good game and Spain won 2-0 I think. Samar and Michelle came over and we had a huge delicious spread of food to munch on. It was really fun and afterwards we cleaned up and went out to celebrate. Everyone was really tired so our celebration consisted of walking to the fountain in Puerta Real which was once again covered with people and destroyed. Then we walked Samar home and Michelle to Plaza Einstein. Then Brenda and I walked up to Gran Via, got and ice cream on the way and then home. It was pretty fun and crazy seeing all the people celebrating on the streets. That would never happen in the States where the whole country celebrated something together. Granted the States are much bigger but… Then we came home and went to bed.

Friday we slept in and got ready and went and walked around the Cathedral and Brenda did some shopping. We visited Soufian’s store and chatted and I got a little coin purse. We looked all over and were going to visit the cathedral but it was closed. Then we walked down to Samar’s house and went with her to a place to get lunch. We got Moroccan tapas which were really good. Then we walked back up to Gran Via, got an ice cream at Los Italianos, and walked back down to her house. Then Samar went to have coffee with some friends and say goodbye and Brenda and I stayed at her house, drank water and I made plans with Michelle online and took a little nap. Then Samar got back and then Michelle came over. We chatted, helped Samar pack, and I cleaned out her cupboard with all the food they were just leaving in the apartment. Then we all had to say goodbye. Michelle was leaving that night to go work at a summer camp in Barcelona for a month and Samar was going to Brussels to spend time with Luis before heading back to Puerto Rico. It was sad but surreal so it didn’ t really sink in. They are the last of my friends to go so now I am here all alone, except for Brenda. Brenda and I then went and printed a paper for the Lorca trip the next day and then went home. I took a shower and then Victor got there. We all chatted a bit and then went out and got some tapas. It was pretty good but Victor was tired and went home early. Then Brenda and I walked around some more and tried to find some flamenco much at this one place that supposedly always has it. But it must start much later than when we got to hear it because we’ve missed it 2 times. We sat in a different café for a while where there was this homeless looking gipsy guy kind of playing the guitar and chatted. Then back at home everyone was there. Adrian was watching tv, Rosa and Zore and Miche, her special friend were there moving things, Brenda took a shower and Victor and I talked. Then I let Brenda sleep in my room, since there would be so much noise in the living room and I went and slept in one of the extra bedrooms in Victor’s house. It was good to spend time with and talk to Victor as it seems like I hadn’t all week. Then I went to bed.

Saturday June 28th I woke up early and showered and we went to go on La Ruta de Federico García Lorca. Federico Garcia Lorca is a poet from Granada who was unjustly assassinated during the Spanish Civil war. He is very famous and I have studied him quite a bit over my academic career. We started out almost missing the bus as we were in the wrong spot waiting, but thankfully the guide called me and we found them. Then we went to the Lorca family’s summer home, in the FGL park right in Granada. I had recently been but it was interesting because the guide mentioned different things than the guide I had just had. Then after that tour we got back on the bus and went to the pueblo where he was born in Fuente Vaqueros. There we got another tour of the house where he was born and lived in until he was 7. The guide was also very interesting there too. Then we went to another pueblo were he lived from age 7 to whenever they moved into the city of Granada. It used to be called Asquerosa, which means disgusting, but its now called Valderubios, for the tobacco that they grow there. Once again, we enjoyed a very interesting house and tour. I saw and old enema giving device which scared me. In between all the pueblos, our guide who went with us on the bus gave us long detailed explanation about everything. She talked a lot, which I love stories and information but I was so tired I kept falling asleep. P.S. I forgot to mention that we were on this tour with only 2 other old couples. It was funny. Then we drove to Alfacar and had a delicious lunch. I ate every single thing they bought us. I felt like I had been hungry since Brenda got there since she barely eats anything so a huge salad, a big plate of pork, potatoes and green beans and mushrooms with bread and mine and Brenda’s delicious huge flan was exactly what I needed. I felt a little embarrassed about eating every scrap of food on my plate when everyone else left something but oh well, I was hungry. It was also interesting listening to out beautiful, skinny, blonde tour guide talk. Her name was Sole and she had been all over the world traveling and knew so much about so much. I kind of want to be a tour guide when I grow up. I just don’t know how to do it. Then after lunch we went to the FGL park in Alfacar. There we saw where he was supposedly assassinated and buried. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the subject, since he was murdered unjustly, along with the other 400,000 victims of the Civil War between Alfacar and Víznar. (A very short distance.) Also his family has always opposed to exhuming the remains. Then we went to the Víznar gorge, el barranco, where is he was held before being executed and another possible burial spot. It was a mine and they just shot people and they fell down in there. It was pretty moving, educational, and good experience. I really liked it. Then we went home. Apparently the last museum we were supposed to go to was closed, but it was so dang hot that I didn’t really care. Then we got home around 5:30 or 6 and Brenda and I went downstairs to chill in the air conditioning. We watched TV and cooled off till about 8:00. Then we went out for a walk as Victor had to help his grandma move more stuff to Los Ogíjares. We went to the Corte Inglés and shopped around and went to a tetería. We got juices and Brenda ordered a chocolate cake, which the waiter forgot to bring for a while. Because of that he treated us to a hooka, which was unfortunate because neither of us smoke. Then we were going to go home but ended up seeing a free concert in Plaza Nueva. There is a music and dance festival going on and a lot of the shows are in La Alhambra. The cool thing was that they set up a big screen and chair in Plaza Nueva and transmitted the concert there for free. So we sat down and watched a really cool flamenco/Moroccan music blend concert. When it got over we started walking home and saw another free concert. This was some random, not very good cover band in la Plaza del Carmen. It was fun music though, but the best part was the 100 or so old people dancing there. Spaniards are different from Americans, but the best part is that it doesn’t matter how old they are, they are all the same as they were when they were young. Then when that ended we went home and watched a concert of El Canto del Loco on TV with Zoraida. Then Brenda showered and went to bed in my room again and I went downstairs and to bed. Victor was out playing video games with his friends until 4 in the morning.

Sunday I woke up, showered and went to church. It was fine. It was about forgiveness. Then I came home and bounced between my house where Brenda was slowly getting ready and Victor's. Then when we were all ready, the 3 of us went to Los Ogíjares for lunch. We had paella and saw Raul and Patricia and Victor's aunt and uncle, Conchi and Antonio and his cousin, little Antonio came over too so we had a full house. There was a little crisis because Emilio forgot to bring his pills, so Pepa called Victor to bring them, who also forgot them. Then Emilio got really mad and Victor had to go back for them. So Brenda and I just waited and chatted with everyone. Lunch was good, as always. We didn't stay long afterwards because we were going to Málaga that night and wanted to get there before the game. So we came back and packed and rested and watched tv and then hit the road. It was nice to go in a car instead of a bus. We got there and unloaded the things and started to watch the big Euro Cup final! I had brought the pizza we didn't eat Thursday and a bag of chips to munch on for the game. It was a really good game. Nerve-wracking because Germany was such a good team. Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute, so it was stress untill he scored and stress after hoping Germany wouldn't score. Then finally the time ran out at the end of 90 minutes and Spain became the CHAMPIONS OF ERUOPE! Their slogan, PODEMOS (WE CAN) became true, because they did! It was so exciting, Victor went insane. Everyone was yelling, honking horns, the usual insanity. They had an awards ceremony and then we got ready and drove into the center. That was even crazier than the insanity in Victor's neighborhood. Traffic jams, people hanging out of cars with flags, madness. We found a parking spot as quickly as possible and then walked through the craziness to the city center, the nucleus of the craziness. It was nuts. We were there celebrating for a while, I found a street cone to use as a megaphone and hat and had a lot of fun with that. It was insane. Saying so doesn't really describe what it was like, but its the best I can do. Then we went home and went to bed.

¡Aye Qué Caló!

2008-06-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

As of this moment, I don't know what to title this blog. This week was good. Ridiculously hot and miserable. Half vacation, half work, unique, but like all the rest...

Monday I slept in till 12, woke up and used the internet a bit. (I'm clearly addicted as anyone can see.) Then I started laundry and washed my sheets. Then I went for a run, ate lunch, showered and went to work. Today was the first day of my intensive class with Pablo. It went really well actually and then I went home. It was really hot. Then at home I used the internet and cleaned the house and talked on the phone to Victor. I spent a long time cleaning as no one had done it in a while and I decided to do it well. Everyone commented on how well and how nice it was that I was cleaing. I hoped they would follow my example. (They of course didn't.) Then I went to meet Jenna and her 2 friends who were visiting, Nate and Adam. Adam was insane but Nate was really cool. I ended up getting a sandwich and a soda which totaled almost 6€, which was frustrating for me. That's why I didn't want to go out in the first place, to not spend money. It was a good night but i went home relatively early because I was tired and had to get up early. Then I went home and talked on the phone to my mom, dad and uncle and went to bed.

Tuesday, 17 May 2008, I woke up and went to guitar. I was there from about 9:30 to 1 or so. It went pretty well and he gave me a t-shirt. He is so sweet. Then I came home and went for my run, ate lunch, showered and went to have class with Pablo again. It went well again. Then I went straight to have class with Carlos and Marta but I entered in a war zone. Carlos was yelling at his dad. Marta was off getting ready to go out. Apparently when I talked to Mari Paz last week, and she told me to come Tuesday at 6 like always, she didn't mention it to anyone else and Carlos had to do another project and Marta had other tests to study for. I ended up having an hour of conversation with Marta and agreeing to come back the next day. Then I went home and internetted a bit, talked to my dad on the phone, and then watched an episode of Kyle XY with Zore. Then I went and met Nate and Jenna for a tapa, we met briefly with Adam and some of his friends and then parted ways. Jenna and I went to Mae West and watched the comedy show with was pretty funny and free! Then afterwards I came home and went to bed.

Wednesday I ran before work, showered and went and had another good class with Pablo. Then I went across the street to Parque de las Ciencias. It is a science museum that I didn't go to the first time I was in Granada, nor have I gone all year. It was pretty cool and I was there for 4 hours. The first thing I saw was an exposition on Science in Al Andalus, or Arabic Spain. It was pretty interesting as it covered all their inventions, irrigation systems, tools, tons and tons of stuff and how Granada was as a city in their time. Then I explored a section that was like experiments demonstrating scientific rules and then another one showing the development of old inventions like the phone, calculator, etc. My favorite was the enormus solar calculator which was probably larger than a tv. Then another experiment exposition. Then I went to the main event, what I had been wanting to see for a long time. The temporary exhibit was called, Veneno Animal, Animal Poison! It was AWESOME! It brought me back to my childhood days where I loved bugs and scorpions. There was a lot of information and the actual animals, bugs, frogs, snakes, jellyfish and they also had rocks, mushrooms, plants, everything. I spent 4 hours there and was pooped when I left. Then I came home and ate a late lunch, used the computer and watched tv with Adrian and went and had class with Carlos. It went well and he asked his parents if they could have class next week too because they like me so much. :) I guess this year was worth it for them too. Then I went to Antonio's house and gave him his present, an owl, which he collects. He said he loves me as if I were his daughter and that I have to invite him to my wedding. Then I stopped by the post office and went home to watch the game and talked to my mom on the way. Spain was playing Greece in the final game of the EuroCup first round. It was a pretty good game and I watched it with Zore and we ate sunflower seeds. Michelle came over around half time and watched the second half with me. Spain won 1-0 I think. Then we went to meet Jenna and Nate at Druid's a bar on Pedro Antonio. We were having a good time talking and then ran into a group of guys who hit on Jenna. Turns out one was American, and the 2 Spanish guys, Sergio and Antonio, wanted to learn English. So we all exchanged numbers, and they sat down with us and we talked the rest of the night in English and Spanish. We stayed at Druid's till it closed and then walked up to Granada 10. It was a really funny, spontanesous, unexpected night. Michelle fell twice and almost fell a third time in a giant lake. We stayed at Granada 10 till 6 or so and I finally went to sleep at 6:30.

Thursday I woke up early because I heard the butano truck coming by and we had run out. I knew that if I didn't get it then, no one would (Adrian is in Norway for a short visit, and my roommates don't even know how to get butane.) So I woke up and got that which helped me get up and get going for work. I showerd and went to work. I was supposed to meet my friend María, the director of my old program, but she was feeling sick so she cancelled. That was actually perfect for me because I came home and slept till about 4. Then I woke up, used the internet a bit, cleaned my room up. (Remember how I washed my sheets on Monday, well I still hadn't even put them on my bed and had just been sleeping on my mattress.) Then I made lunch and watched an episode of Kyle XY with Zore. Then Michelle came over and we went together to Pablo's because she is going to be taking over the class for me when she gets back from the summer camp she's working at the end of July. That went well, Alfonso the dad talks a lot, must be a Spanish thing. Then we came back home and watched Ice Age and ate this homemmade orange ice cream thing I had made with the leftover filling for the stuffed oranges I made for Victor's dinner. Then we got ready and went to meet the rest of the group for dinner at El Agua. It is a really nice resturant in the Albayzín with a terrace where you can see the Alhambra. We got 2 cheese fondues, a meat one and 2 chocolate ones. It was all verrrryyy yummy. Unfortunately it was expensive, but that was no suprise. Then we walked around a bit and I went home, exhausted and ready to go to bed. When I got there my roommates where there, still up and talking. Rosa was only wearing her underwear. She said she would be like that all the time if we didn't live with Adrian. Adrian is definitely one of the best things that happened to me this year. They were waiting to go with their friend to some natural hot springs, Las Termas de Santa Fe, right outside Granada. They invited me to go along and since I had never been I went. I was really tired and we still had a while to wait for their friend to get off work but we left around 3. Waiting at the door I saw Jose coming home. The hot springs were really cool. It was obviously very hot, and not too cool outside, but sweet none the less. What was a bummer was that there were 2 Moroccan guys there who had loud music playing and were being annoying, splashing and perverted. On the other hand, with the swimsuits my roommates were wearing, you couldn't blame them. We were there for a while and then came home really relaxed and I think I went to bed around 5.

Firday I slept in as much as I could but María texted me at 9:30 to meet at 11, since we didn't meet the day before. Then I realized that Pepa had called me but I didn't call her back and tried to keep sleeping. Then she came and rang the doorbell. She had to give me Victor's keys as they were going to a wedding and not coming back till Saturday. Then I tried to sleep some more and later went and talked with María and got a travel book on Greece. We had a good chat. Then I came home and avoided the heat. I had lunch, watched Kyle XY, worked on my paper journal, internetted of course and did nothing all afternoon. While online I talked to Alicia and I asked her if she had gotten the email I sent her with all my flight info etc, for our trips this summer. She said yes and that there was a problem. She was going to have a 6 month vacation because her company wasn't going to renew her contract in order to not make her a permanent employee. Well suprise, suprise, they made her a permanent employee, so now she didn't have a vacation, I didn't have a place to stay, nor someone to hang out with in Canarias, while Mada was working all day. I bought my tickets online, so they are pretty much unchangable. I was really upset and in shock. I talked to my parents and then Victor and took a shower. Then Victor got there. He was tired so we just talked and raided his parent's fridge for dinner and watched LOST. Then I went to bed.

I´ll call this blog, "Ugh it's so hot." in the Andalucian dialect. Even though it seems even hotter this week... I'm running out of creative ideas.

Granadina

2008-06-15T15:56:00.001-07:00

So Friday the 13th I woke up, went running to complete my second week of 5 days a week for a while! I was pretty proud of myself. Then I made some breakfast and chatted with Zoriada when she got home. Then I showered and went to get my legs waxed. I went to the same place I usually go to, which is 10€ cheaper than the place I went to last time. I once again was reminded that you get what you pay for, which is an expensive price to pay in waxing. Then I stopped by the grocery store on my way home and bought a lot of groceries because I had absolutely no food. But, this being the 5th day of the strike, it was pretty slim pickings. Thankfully I was able to get the essentials and go home. I made lunch, watched tv and used the internet a bit. Then I went and had class with Pablo. Its getting hotter in Granada and I noticed it walking around the city. Then I came home and cleaned up and got everything ready, including myself. Victor got to Granada and crashed at home and Pepa called me to come get him. We had tickets to go see the Alhambra at night, and were running late because he was sleeping. So I woke the beast and we rushed to the Alhambra, which was a difficult task as of course it its on top of a hill. So much for showering and getting cute, but finally gross and sweaty we arrived and got our tickets and were on time. Then we relaxed and walked around and enjoyed the precious view. It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. Then we went in and it was just magical and sacred. So old, so quite, so huge, intricate, amazing. It really left us both speechless. At one point I almost started crying and could barely breath because I remembered being there with my family and I wished that they could see what I was seeing. I also regretting letting Katie, Tim and Jolene leave Granada without seeing the Alhambra. You guys have to see it. It was amazing. Then we got kicked out, and Victor was exhausted so we walked home, ransacked Pepa's kitchen and Victor fell asleep and I went to bed.

Saturday I slept in, which was wonderful. Then I ate some breakfast, folded laundry, showered, straightened up my room and internetted a bit and went downstiars for lunch. It was just the four of us for lunch and we had delicious stuffed squid with rice. It was so good, as always. Then everyone took a nap and Victor and I watched Marathon Man, a movie his co-worker had lent him. Then we watched the Spain soccer game against Sweeden. It was a great nail biter which we won in the second to last minute of overtime. It was really good. Then I came upstairs and started preparing a dinner I had planned for Victor and I. Victor went running and then to the Corte Inglés to see about buying some polo shirts his mom all of a sudden was convinced he needed to buy for some unexplained reason. I made stuffed avocados for the first course, stuffed oranges for dessert, and took a table and chairs up to the rooftop of our building. Then I got all ready and pretty and cooked soy sauce and honey chicken with rice for the main course. Then Victor came up and I thought he was ready to eat dinner but he had to take his mom to Los Ogíjares for a bit. I practiced guitar and washed the mountain of dishes I had destroyed the kitchen with in my 2 hour cooking frenzy. Then Victor showed up, with a fresh shirt and nice hair and was totally confused when I gave him the laptop (for music) and lead him out the door. He had no idea where we would be eating dinner. I brought him up to the roof and he couldn't believe the little table and candles I had set up. He really liked it and we had a nice special dinner together. The food turned out pretty good as well. After a while we went downstairs for dessert and then went to a movie theatre really close to our house and saw Indiana Jones. It was good, too unrealalistic, but I enjoyed it. Then we came home and said goodnight. Then I went to bed.

Today, Sunday I woke up and showered and went to church. It was nice as I hadn't been in a long time. Then I came home and internetted a bit and then went to meet Victor to go to lunch in Los Ogíjares. The whole fam came, Nacho and Alicia and Emilio's sister (the doctor) and her husband. We had partridige with bean soup (that's my best translation) and salad. It was delicious and I ate a ton. We also had melon and ice cream for dessert. Then we stayed and chatted a bit and went to visit Nacho and Alicia. We thought they were napping as they didn't answer their phones so we left. We came home and watched an episode of Lost and napped too. Then Victor packed up and we left and did visit Nacho and Alicia. We were there for a while and then Victor had to go back to Málaga. I then went by Pepa's and Emilio's and used the phone to call my dad and talked to most of my family for Father's Day. It took me a while to get through but I finally did. Meanwhile, Jenna had called me and I called her back. Then I ate dinner there and went home. Then I started with the internet and my regular Sunday night tv and Jenna came over. We had a nice chat and then she left to meet her friend. I stayed here with my tv and laptop and caught up on my blog. I was going to clean the house, but I really don't feel like it. I think I'll just go to bed and clean tomorrow. That was my weekend here in Granada.

Malagueña

2008-06-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Monday morning I woke up and finally bought a ticket online for the bus. Then I went running and went to the post office and mailed my things. Then I used the internet while Zoriada showered and then I showered. Then I went downstairs for a delicious lunch with Pepa and Emilio and then I finished packing, watched a bit of tv and headed to the bus station. At the bus station, I ran into Jenny, who I thought I wasn't going to get to say goodbye to. She was heading to Malaga to spend a day with a friend before leaving officially. So we chatted the whole way there and I talked to my mom on the phone which made the trip go very quickly. Then we said goodbye after chatting with her friends and I went to where Victor usually picks me up. There were a ton of cars and people there and I didn't see Victor. I did see this tall guy in a lavander dress shirt who totally looked like one of those Spanish business men I see all the time in the street. I still couldn't find Victor so I called him and then I saw the guy in lavander walking towards me, which I thought was wierd and then to my shock I realized it was Victor! I didn't even recognize him as I usually see the weekend Victor who doesn't shave and barely changes clothes Friday - Sunday. Then we went and walked around a beach and then to this mountain top resturant next to the castle for a drink and then to buy butane. Then we got home and went to get a schwarma for dinner, which wasn't really that good. Then we came back and I went to bed.

Tuesday I slept in and Victor went to work. Then when I woke up I went for a run and looked for the Mercadona. Then I got money and went back to Mercadona to buy groceries. It was a little difficult because here in Spain there is a truck driver strike going on. It started Monday and truck are blocking roads, not delivering groceries and its actually pretty frightening. There weren't a lot of groceries and there were a lot of people wandering around. Then I went home and showered, used the internet, and tried to talk to someone about getting my money back for the first ticket I bought and cancelled for Malaga, with no success. Then I started lunch and Victor came home and we finished it together. We had a tomato and onion salad and fish and rice cooked with garlic, onions and lemon. It was the first time I´ve ever bought fish from the seafood place and cooked it so I was pretty proud of myself. Then we washed the dishes and Victor had to go back to work. Then I did a translation for Nacho which took me the rest of the afternoon. Then I talked to my parents on the phone and at 6 Spain played in a European Cup game. Miguel Victor's roommate was there and then Victor got home. I finished with my parents and the translation and went and watched the rest of the game. Spain beat Russia 4-1. Then we drove into the center and went to a tea shop called, La Tetería Invisible. It was strange and really hippy and I realized later because it was in a casa de ocupa. Some times in Spain, hippys break into houses that aren't being used and take over. This group in Malaga decided to set up a tea shop in theirs. I had a really good juice drink and Victor had a yummy tea. It was interesting, but probably not my favorite spot. Then we walked around some more and got some tapas, which were just ok, at a different bar. Then we looked at some art in a plaza and then got a really yummy ice cream, sat by the cathedral and went back home. We watched the first part of a movie, Gurky Park and then I went to bed.

Wednesday June 11th I slept in again, went for a run, used the internet a bit and headed down to the pool. Victor's appartment complex has a nice pool which was amazing. Then Victor came home from work and we made a huge salad and some meat that he had left over. It was really yummy. I had brought the salad ingredients from Granada, from Pepa, from Patricia's dad's garden! yum! Then we washed the dishes and Victor had to go back to work. Then I used the internet a bit and went back down to the pool. The a little bit before 6 I came up because it had become time for all the little kids in the world to come down to the pool with their parents. Except for the one awkward teenage boy. It was clearly time to go. Then I came up, showered and updated my blog. I also talked a bit with Victor's other roommate, Jesús. Then Victor picked me up and we went to his soccer game. I watched but I enjoyed it because I had an image to go with him telling me he had football everyweek. Also the team coming in to play at 9 was a riot. They were all quite white trash and hicks and the first thing they did was get a beer. Then they got another one and rolled a joint. The perfect pre-game warm up. Then after soccer we went home and had ham and cheese sandwiches and cereal for dinner and finished the movie. Victor fell asleep during it and then I went to bed.

Thrusday I woke up early, used the internet, went running and to a few stores nearby to get a few things for lunch and toilet paper. Then I took a shower, cleaned up and packed. I also hung a few pictures in Victor's room he had been meaning to do for a long time. Then I used the internet for a bit more and started lunch. I got olive oil all over my new purple shirt (of course) but prepared everything and cleaned up. I wanted to get everything ready so that after we ate and washed up, Victor would have time to take me to the bus station before he had to get back to work. I made a pasta with tuna and gula, which is baby eel, but the fake stuff like imitation crab. It was pretty good and I suprised myself because it was the first time I cooked gula too! It turned out delicious and then we washed the dishes and Victor took me to the bus station and dropped me off. I stopped in H&M before heading to the bus station, but didn't see anything I liked. Then I went to get my ticket and it was great because I was 30 minutes early for the 4:00 bus, but I was able to catch the 3:30 and walked right on. Then on the bus ride back, I read a new book called Veronika Decides To Die. Then I got home and practiced guitar because no one was home. I also unpacked, took a break to put some money on my phone and then went and met Jenna and Michelle and some of her friends from the gym for an improv comedy night. It was interesting, but cost 5€, which I was dissapointed about. It was funny but a little difficult to hear and understand what was going on. A lot of chaos. Then Michelle went home and Jenna and I went an met Samar for a drink. We had a good time catching up and venting and I went home and went to bed around 3. I had a difficult time falling asleep but finally did.

Like A Rolling Stone

2008-06-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Blanca's children apparently like Bob Dylan as he was on two of the tapes we listened to on the ride home. One of the songs that played was this one. I felt strangely identified by some of the lyrics.

Like a Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
Nobody has ever taught you how to live out on the street
And now you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
A complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're all drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Weekend of Aprovecharing

2008-06-12T00:06:00.001-07:00

Aprovechar -- 1. To make the most of 2. To take advantage of

Aprovecharing -- A Spainglish term for making the most of or taking advantage of clearly used as a gerund

So Friday June 6th after running around all morning I took the bus to school and met up with Michelle and Blanca at school for our road trip to Segovia and Madrid. We didn't end up leaving till 3 or so, which was frustrating since I didn't go to the post office so I would be there by 2:30 as specified. Oh well. Then we left and started on our way. So Michelle and I were totally aprovecharing the free car ride. What we didn't think about the free car ride was the fact that our 70 year old teacher would be driving. And no matter how spunky and young she seems, she still is 70 years old and drives pretty bad. We both thought we were going to die, but you get what you pay for. Then we stopped for coffee halfway and I got a coke and chips which was way too expensive. Then we continued on again and got a little lost in Madrid. To get to almost anywhere in Northern Spain from Southern Spain, you usually have to pass through Madrid. There are several ways to do so, on the outside ring of freeways, avoiding more of the city traffic or on the inside. Blanca accidently got on the inside one and we were looking for a way out when my old roommate Alicia called me. We were also going to aprovechar her piso Saturday night when we stayed in Madrid. Unfortunately she called to say that she had to work suddenly as did all of her friends from whom we could get the keys. Soooo that was a problem and once again you get the kind of hotel you pay for. But I had the great idea that since we were lost on the freeway near the airport, by where she lives, to stop by and get the keys. That was a small fiasco with Blanca driving through all the ridiculous streets and freeways of Madrid. Praise the Lord, we finally met up and got the keys, said hello and she showed the house and what was hers to use. Then we continued on our way to Segovia. We got there around 9 and Blanca gave us a little driving tour of this city which was just precious. We got a good overview of all the major sites and visited a magical church where birds don't make nests and toched the rocks of the main tower which Blanca's husband said always gave him strength. Then we went to her house, which turns out was ridiculouly huge for being in the center of Segovia and right in front of the aqueduct and having its own personal pool. We dropped off stuff, unloaded the car and made up our beds. Michelle made me make mine with 2 top sheets and then unmake it when she realized she didn't want to make hers with 2 bottom sheets. Then we went out for a little walk and had some dinner. We ate chorizo, giant white beans and garlic mushrooms. It was good but I was really hungry and would have liked to eat more, but it was 15 bucks as is. Then we walked home and went to bed.

Saturday morning we got up early because I wanted to walk around Segovia as much as possible. But it was chilly, and we were tired, and the front door was locked from the inside. The key was next to the door but we didn't try it, or know if Blanca was going to get up or we were going to get breakfast together or what. So we ended up laying in bed talking for a while untill someone came and rang the doorbell and Blanca woke up. Then we got ready really fast and went out. We stopped by a bakery and I got an apple tart and a juice for breakfast and we walked around. I had to stop in the stores and look at all the magnets and we walked past the aqueduct, cathedral and down to the castle, which apparently Walt Disney used as inspiration for a few castles. We didn't go in because we didn't have much time but walked back up to the cathedral where I bought typical earring from there just like the ones I got in Salamanca but smaller so now I have a nice set, and a sweet magnet. Then I paid to go into the cathedral but Michelle went and walked around elsewhere. Then we headed back home and met up with Blanca, cleaned up and left. We got to Madrid and Blanca went to her sister's house for lunch. We took the Metro to Alicia's house which took like an hour and dropped off our stuff and I showered. Michelle had an unfortunate encounter with Alicia's roommate Carlos, who we met the day before, where she saw him picking his hairy butt. Then we went and got a very overpriced soda and sandwich in a cafe nearby. Madrid is soooooo expensive. Then we headed into the center to Puerta del Sol and went shopping at H&M. I found a bag that I really like and bought it. Michelle found several things to buy but her card got denied when she went to pay for them. That was the only card she had so we went to see if we could take money out of the ATM with it. It didn't work on the first try, so she tried again and the machine ate her card. That was bad news as the bank was already closed for Saturday afternoon, and would not open the next, Sunday, when we were leaving. So she called the bank and more or less got that figured out and I loaned her money for the rest of the weekend. Then we were wandering and got directed to a tourist information office in Plaza Mayor. On our way therein Plaza Mayor, this guy stops us and asks if we speak English. He then explains how he needs to practice English for his job and if we would walk around with him and see the sights. We talked it over, he seemed nice and sincere enough, but Michelle was in a really bad mood because of her card and didn´t want to. So we told him no, but in that persistant Spanish way, he kept talking to us and didn't leave us alone and ended up going with us. We got info at the tourist office and headed towards the Prado and the Retiro park. We got info at the Prado for the next day and then stopped by St. Jeronimo's church. Strangely enough, there isnt a main cathedral in Madrid, which I never realized. Then we went to the park and walked around. I bought Michelle and I and ice cream which Carlos, the Spanish dude didn't want to buy for us. Then we did convince him to rent us a row boat to take out in a big pond in the middle of the park. That was really fun, Michelle rowed and it was really cool. Then after that, Carlos invited us to his house for dinner. We had a conference and decided that since we were together, nothing bad could happen and decided to go. We took a bus to his house, on which my sweet grandparents called me. I felt horrible because I couldn't hear anything they said and I couldn't tell them that I was on a bus going to a complete strangers house for dinner because they would worry. Then we got to his house which is right in the middle of downtown business district really expensive Madrid. We stopped by a store for some drinks and then went up to his place. He first showed us the 17th floor terrace and 18th floor pool. It was a pretty sweet view, but I started feeling nervous because now we were in his territory and he controlled the situation more than when we were out in public. Then we went to his place which he paid 1,000€ in rent for and started making dinner. We had ham and cheese and bread to start, asparragus and tomatoes as a first course and pasta with a salmon cream sauce as a main course. It was pretty good and then we had ice cream for dessert. Then we left. He seemed pretty upset. He said that was the first time he had ever picked up tourists to practice English and I'll take his word for it, but you never know with crazy people. He walked us to the Metro and we went home and went to bed.

Sunday we woke up early and showered and picked up Alicia's room. Then we made eggs and toast for breakfast with an orange and chocolate milk. During breakfast Michelle's phone rang and we figured it was Blanca calling about leaving that day so she answered it. But it was Carlos wondering if we were at the Palacio Royal yet and said to call him when we got there. He called again later and we obviously didn't answer it and he got the point. Then we took the metro to Blanca's and dropped off our stuff and then headed into the center. We went and visited the Royal Palace, which I thought was really cool. It had a lot of furniture and elegante things, really extravagant and beautiful and over the top. One of my favorite parts was the royal pharmacy and imagining them getting the medicines. It was a huge complex with tons of bottles and vases with complex names and a distillery. Then we walked to the Prado museum and saw a cool Goya exhibit. It was rather dark as it focused on 25 years of his carreer when there was a war going on but I liked it since it was different from the typical religious or portrait art that usually seems to be in museums. Then we were really tired and it was about 3:30 and we found a café and got another sandwich and croqueta rip off but it was good. Then we got one more ice cream, walked around and headed back to Blanca's to go home. We watched the end of a tennis game championship which a Spanish guy, Rafa Nadal won. Then we headed back to Granada. I took a little nap but woke up with a jolt of the car and then tried to keep Blanca company the rest of the way as Michelle slept in the back. We listened to old tapes she had in her car and made it back to Granada around 9. We dropped Michelle off and then I got dropped off by Blanca's house, really far from my house. I walked home and talked to Victor on the phone and unpacked and used the internet for a while while watching tv. The house was really messy from a party they had had for Rosa's bithrday, which was really frustrating and I could tell that they had been using my toothpaste, which enfuriated me. Then I tried to buy a ticket to Malaga the next day, but it bought the wrong one so I tried to change it with no luck and so I cancelled it and tried again but still no luck. Then I talked to my mom on the phone and went to bed, rather frustrated.

So About Being Unemployed...

2008-06-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

Monday June 2nd I slept in and woke up and got dressed for when Brad, Jenna and Tania this Spanish girl came over to look at the appartment for next year. I talked with Adri a bit and cleaned up before they got there. Then they were there for a while and of course fell in love with the appartment and wanted to move in. Adrian said yes of course. I actually felt quite stressed knowing that now I would not have an appartment starting in September. Then I changed back into pjs, made and ate lunch, used the internet for about 2 hours, took a 2 hour nap and then went for a run. Then I took and overdue shower and went and met a large group of people for Brad's official goodbye. We got 1 tapa and ham and cheese and La Puerta de las Alpujarras, and then got 1 more at a different place. There was a huge group of people so it was difficult to get ahold of Brad and split the check and everything but in the end our little group had a nice moment to say goodbye just us. I wasn't that sad, because I don't get sad over those types of things, but some people were. Then I went home and went to bed.

Tuesday I woke up early to go on a walk with Emilio. I enjoyed the walk but wanted to kill myself or Emilio during it. Our plan was to go to Cuesta del Chapiz and Sacromonte, 2 places we haven't been yet. But Emilio likes to repeat things, and review and tell me the same things over and over again, and about the monuments and things I pass on a daily basis next to my house. Then we never get to what we were planning on doing because he gets tired and it gets hot. We did see a sweet photography exhibit at the School for Arabic Studies on Cuesta del Chapiz and accomplished one of our goals. Then we wandered through the Albaycín down to the center and saw the Mariana Pineda museum which I didn't even know existed so that was really nice. Then I came back to their house and ate used the internet until lunch was ready, which was a while as we ended up waiting for Raul to come. Then I stayed and watched the news a bit and went upstairs to take a nap. I napped for about 30 minutes until my roommates woke me up because they thought no one was home. I told them I was home and going to take a nap, but couldn't fall back asleep. Then I was using the internet and Nacho asked me to do a translation for him as a personal favor. Since I didn't have anything better to do I did it. It ended up being a 40€ translation and he says he's going to take me to dinner. But I figure for all the times he already has fed me in his house I was paying off what I owed. Then I looked online for tickets to Greece and found the perfect flight at the perfect price and bought them! I'm going July 12-20! Then I changed and ran to Samar's house where she had Jenna and I over for dinner with her and her friend Cristina who is visiting for about a month. We had a good time and a yummy fish and potatoes dinner. Then after a while I ran home and was about to practice guitar when my roommates all came home. I was too embarassed and did some more stuff on the internet untill I went to bed.

Wednesday I woke up and went for a run. Slightly difficult as I had just ran the night before, and then I showered. Then I took the bus to meet the girls for hippy coffee at 12. Our favorite coffee place, also the favorite of most of the hippies in Granada. I had oj and half a toast. It was Kristen's second to last day in Granada so then we went and walked around Calle Elvira and shopped in all the little Moroccan shops. It was pretty fun just wandering and exploring. Samar had to go to work but Cristian stayed with us. We walked around most of the day and then Jenna and Michelle went home. Cristina, Kristen and I went to visit Soufian and his shops and did some more shopping by the cathedral. Then we went and got a schwarma/kebab in Puerta Real. Then the 3 of us went to Parque Federico García Lorca, a big park in Granada. Federico García Lorca is a very famous poet from Granada who was killed for being a revolutionary. His family's summer home is in the park and on Wednesdays it is free to enter for the tour. It was a really great tour and so interesting to see. I have studied Lorca quite a bit over the years and so it was very interesting to see his house, and where he wrote his poems and where his family lived and I loved the whole thing. Afterwards, Cristina left to go home and Kristen and I went to Neptuno and shopped around in a little market outside. We asked about a concert that was going to be there than night. Then Kristen came over to my house and used the internet and then I went over to her house and Michelle and I took all the stuff we wanted from what she couldn't take back with her. Then I walked home and talked to my sissy for an hour which went by way too fast and we didn't even talk about all we had to talk about. Sissys need to talk a lot. Then I used the internet for a bit and finally practiced guitar for a bit. Then I went and met Samar, Jenna, and Cristina for a concert at Mae West. Every Wednesday, an awesome cover band comes and plays concerts of all the amazing classic rock songs. It was sweet but started late (as usual in Spain) Samar and Cristian went home really early, and there were way too many drunk Spanish guys there. One came up and stood right in front of me, to be annoying so I would therefore think he was funny and go out with him. Apparently he doesn't know that's annoying and made me hate him and his ugly shirt, and his wing-man with a flat face even more. Then there were these two guys who came over and said "We came over to see what was going on in heaven, and why all the angels were falling?" I laughed so hard I almost cried. It was really funny and so were they, then they went away. The concert was good over all and then I went home and went to bed.

Thursday I woke up early to go to guitar at 9:30. Unfortunatly, Antonio did not. He had forgotten and answered the door in pjs and was like, we have class at 5? Then he remembered later but we were still a while in getting started. Unfortunately, even though I had practiced, it didn't go so well. These last 3 songs I'm working on are difficult. I got rather frustrated and went home afterwards. Then I made a picnic pasta salad and went to have lunch in Triunfo with the girls. It was nice, I stayed out of the sun because I got burnt the day before at coffee and also talked to Victor for a bit. Then afterwards I walked and talked with Kristen home towards the Corte Inglés. We said a final goodbye and I went and bought Rosa's birthday present and my dad's father's day present. Then I went and had class with just Marta as Carlos had a birthday party he went to. Then I came home and started looking up tickets for the rest of my summer travel. I bought one from Madrid to Mallorca, a Baleric Island, and then bought a second one from Mallorca to Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands but on that one, my credit card got denied because of so much foreign activity. Ironic, some people have credit card spending problems and for the 1 time I use mine all year it doesn't let me. So I got this email saying I had to call before 8:30 but it was already 9PM but I went downstairs and called anyway. No luck, then I called my dad, who called the bank and I tried to call the bank. No luck. Then I bought a 3rd ticket home with a different card. By now Raul was home and Pepa came home too and it was 11. I denied several offers for dinner even though I was starving and at 11 went running. Then I tried to call the bank again, and called my dad and ran into Jose at the front of the building. I saw that the 7th floor's light was still on so I went back upstairs and was there till 1 and after everyone went to bed calling the bank and my dad and the operated several times untill I actaully got through to the bank and was able to get the hold off my card. I ransacked Pepa's kitchen and finally got some dinner and went upstairs. Then I packed and went to bed.

Firday morning I woke up early and called the company and re-paid for my reservation. Now I think everything is a-ok. After Greece I am spending 5 days in Mallorca with Alicia and after that 8 days in the Canary Islands with Magdalena and Alicia. I´ll be back on the main laind August 3rd. Then I went running which due to lack of sleep and having gone just a few hours ago was really difficult. Then I showered and went to have class with Carlos at 11. Then I came home and finshed packing, ate some brunch and packed a sandwich and tried to go to the post office but the line was too long. Then I caught the bus to school and met up with Michelle and Blanca.

As you can tell, being unemployed in Granada is a really difficult lifestyle...

Brad's Last Weekend

2008-06-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

So Brad is our first friend to leave, so this was his last weekend. Apparently by going home early Friday night I missed a wild and crazy night but that`s ok. Then Saturday I hung out with Victor in the morning but then went to Malaga with Jose, Samar, Jenna, Brad and Michelle for Victor's birthday party. (The Victor and Jose from Wednesday, not mine.) There were 6 of us in the car, 4 in the backseat and Michelle was not doing too well. So on the way down I got caught up on the events of the previous night and we snacked on leftover pb cookies. There at Victor's parent's house in La Araña, Málaga, they had tortilla de patatas, salmorejo (similar to gazpacho but with other ingredients added on top) bbq meat and watermelon. It was really good and we were all very hungry. We were there for a while, and around 6 took a bus to the center, and walked to the bus station, and tried to get tickets. There was a big mess because they didn't know how many tickets were left for the 8 o'clock bus which left in 30 minutes. Michelle and I asked for them first. Then 2 other people came and when they found out how many were available (2) one of the people who came after me cut and got the ticket and I gave the one I bought to Michelle who had felt like death warmed over all day. I bought a ticket for 9 and Brad, Jenna and Samar for 9:30. Then I went shopping in H&M a bit and bought a red t-shirt and some socks as a present for Samar who told me she only has 5 pairs of socks. Then I said goodbye again to Brad (I originally hadn't planned on going to Malaga) and went and caught the bus home. Then I rode the bus home, trying to figure out if the big chick across from me used to be a dude. I´m pretty sure it did. Then Victor picked me up and the bus station, I changed clothes, and we went to Pepa's to eat something. Then we went and met up with Wali and Fabiola for tapas and drinks. It was really good. It was nice to hang out in couples, instead of all girls and Victor or all guys and Rachel. Things were great till this really chatty couple from Sevilla, who Wali had met in the hotel he works in, came and kind of dominated the conversation, which makes it difficult for a little American to get a word in edgewise and I kind of got ignored. We hung out with them for the rest of the night till we went home. Then at home we ate more food and I went to bed.

Sunday morning I hung out with Victor and showered and got all packed to go to Murcia with my friend Jenny and Juan. Jenny and Juan are dating and he lives in Murcia. Jenny is leaving for the United States next week and it was their last week together before a long period of long distance dating. I wasn't sure why she invited me but after several asking her and reaffirmations, they were sure they wanted me to come. Ok, I´ll take a free ride to and a place to stay in a city I have never been, any day. I had switched all my stuff around to be able to be gone, Sunday -- Wednesday and was packed and ready to go. Sunday morning (actully before packing) she called me to confirm the leaving details, and told me that she had gotten engaged the night before! Whoa, congratulations, so does that change the status of me spending part of your last week with you and your fianceé? No, no, no, not at all, are you sure? Yes, no problem. So I pack and get everything ready and we go downstairs to have lunch with Victor's family. During lunch, Jenny calls me and asks me not to hate her but she would rather spend the whole week with Juan alone. Completely understandable, but now I didn't know what to do, and I was really bummed. But I took a nap, spent the rest of the day with Victor, we went and ate dinner with Nacho and Alicia, bathed the kids and then Victor left. Then I cleaned the house (really quickly and barely) and went over to Brad's with dried nut mix for one last Sunday night at Mae West. The rest of our group goes more often than I do. We hung out at Brad's for a while, talking and laughing, and throwing frutos secos, pasta and potpurri off his balcony at people. We have done that before but tonight 2 guys got really angry and started rining the doorbell. We're not sure how they knew which house we were throwing from but they stopped after a while. Then a couple hours later we headed to Mae West (a big club) and they were down there waiting for us!! All they did was say "so throwing maccaronis at us hey, throwing macaroni hun?" We clearly didn't answer or wait around for more of an explanation. It was pretty freaky though, they probably didn't beat us up because we were a group of 5 girls and one guy. Then we went to Mae West, which was ok, and got better as the night went on with lots of scandlous drama. Then I went home and went to bed and 20 to 6.

Last Week Of Work

2008-05-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-05-06T03:26:00.000-07:00

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.

Semanita

2008-04-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

Monday I woke up and showered and went to have my last session of laser hair removal. Then I came home and stopped by Pepa's for a bit of internet. Then I came upstairs, made a saladfor lunch. I had been feeling stuffed all day and didn't eat dinner the night before so a salad was just what I needed. I also had made homemade crutons from some leftover bread, which turned out great! Then I washed my dishes and took a nap. Then I woke up and went to work with the babies. It was an especially interesting class. The lesson was going to be about a birthday story and since I had just had a birthday, I brought in candles and a lighter as visual aides. Everything was going as planned until the one kid who always acts up, jumps up to blow out the candles I was holding in front of my face and spits all over me. Then I spilt hot wax on my hand. Then later a kids asked if he could go to the bathroom, I of course said yes, and bent down to tie the bad kid's shoes. As I was doing so, at the exact moment I looked up, he sneezed and sprayed all over my face. Then another kid completely took off his shoes and socks. Then I realized that bathroom kid had never came back, so I went to look for him and found him sitting on the pot, soaked to the socks in pee, with a huge puddle at his feet. I left the kids alone and went to find someone to help the pee kid, since I don't get paid to clean up pee, nor did I have any resources to help him. The teacher said she would be right up, which in Spanish means, I'll do something else till I get off work and then leave, leaving pee kid sitting on the pot, still soaked. So, then grandma came to pick up no shoe boy and almost left without realizing he wasn't wearing shoes or socks, then she got upset because he had a cold and was going to get worse if he was barefoot. I told her he did that by himself, after I told him not to and I was trying to deal with the other kids running around the room peeing on things. Then the last dad came to pick up the last 2 kids and I asked him to please remind someone to come help this kid. He did, but they didn't respond so I went down and asked again. Once again a different lady said she'd be right there. Then she came up and told me to leave. Then she went downstaris with me, still leaving pee kid upstairs, alone, soaked in pee. I just left and went to the academy to get more materials. Then I came home and practiced guitar and then went downstairs to get the computer. Then after a bit I brought it up here and internetted while watching tv with Zore. Then Rosa and Raquel and Mari came over to watch the finale of Fama, which pretty much ruined my night. When they watch tv, they talk constantly, which is somehting I don't do at all. I take tv very seriously. But anyway, I ate soup with crutons for dinner, since my stomach was still upset and I was still feel enh and watched Fama from 10:15 till 2 AM. I am so glad its over and that I can have my life back. It reminds me of that saying that sin will take you father than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay. And Fama isn't even a sin! So then I obviously went to bed.

Today I woke up and went to guitar. Then I came home, ran into Alicia and her mom and Nachete and went running. Then I started internetting and have been doing so ever since. I haven't showered, but I did eat lunch, another salad with crutons. Now I am going to go to work, and then meet Michelle for free Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone day, which hopefully will go well. I am pretty excited because tomorrow is my favorite day of work and the last for the week as Thursday and Friday are a holiday. That's why this blog is just about a little week, because vacation starts tomorrow night!

More Birthday Fun

2008-04-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

So I was born on Earth Day, as well as Easter, and Victor was born on Book Day in Spain. There has been a big book fair all week because of that. I called Victor Tuesday night at midnight for his birthday and then went to bed.

Wednesday morning I woke up and went to work. Fernando ended up cancelling class on me so I used the internet and printed off some birthday invitations. Also everyone kept coming over to tell me Happy Birthday, and the teachers in the English Department gave me a present with three perfumes. They don't actually smell very good, but it was really sweet of them. Then I had an hour of class with teachers and then an hour with kids. Then I went home and ate lunch and watched Fama. As of Monday I had stoppped taking the dizzy medicine and I felt pretty well. But since I had taken almost all last week off from running it was really difficult to get back in the swing of things. So I reluctantly went running and practiced guitar and then went to have dinner with Nacho and Alicia. On the way I talked to Victor again for his birthday. I had again eaten a salad for lunch because I usually have a yummy dinner with Nacho and Alicia. Our dinner was yummy, but light, so I was still hungry. It was ham and cheese and bread. We ate dinner and chatted but didn't actually have class. Then I came home, did some things for school and the party and went to bed.

Thursday I went to work, talked with Michelle about last minute party details and life, as she had a cancelled class when I had a break. Work was fine, the normal except for my last hour of class got cancelled so I got to leave and hour early. I did some shopping on the way home, made lunch, watched Fama, and went to guitar. Guitar went well and when I got home I helped Pepa with the internet a bit. She has started to learn how to work a computer. The first time I helped her I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. She didn't even know how to move the mouse or turn it on and off. That got old really fast. Now, each time I go over there there are a lot of questions and me trying to explain why and how her email gets to her box, and not mine, etc etc etc... So all in all, I didn't get what I wanted to get done because I was helping her and went to see Antonio, my guitar teacher's chorus practice. He has been inviting me all year and I have never gone, so I thought I would finally do it, even though I had a lot of other things to do. So I went to that and then came home, ate dinner and went to bed.

Friday morning I woke up and went to work. I spent the first hour translating and talking with the French aide who was distracting me. Then I tried to use the internet but it was broken. So I just waited for class to start and kept translating a bit. Then class, all normal and I went home, stopping by a few stores on the way. I ate a quick lunch and drank a coke because I was tired and knew I had a long day ahead of me. I watched a little bit of Fama and then went to have class with Pablo. Right at the end of Fama I had him turn on the tv and pretended to talk about it in English, unfortunately, his mom came in shortly thereafter and caught us, so I felt stupid. But I stayed a little extra, and his mom didn't seem to care so then I went home and started shopping. As usual I had left everything for the last minute for the party, some because of circumstances and others because of tiredness, but I had a lot to do. I went to at least 4 or 5 stores, buying coke, sprite, orange fanta, mixed nuts, olives, plates, cups, bowls, candles, etc etc etc. So then I stopped by Pepa's to ask her to make ice and she made the mojo picón, a spicy dip. I was really hungry and she had made potato salad for dinner, and while I was there Raul came home. I thought we were going to eat dinner then, but we didn't so I went to my house. There I snacked and then thought of going down to use the computer to download pictures, and maybe then we would have dinner. So I waited a bit, and got drugged into helping Pepa more and finally we ate dinner. I know I'm bad. Then I came back upstairs and baked a cake, baked cookies, washed dishes, moved furniture, cleaned and moved it back. I was supposed to talk to Jose that night about the final details for the suprise but he was no where to be found. I finally went to bed around 1, exhausted. I didn't go running Thursday or Friday.

Saturday morning I woke up early and went running. Then I spent the morning, cleaning, helping Pepa, who was making the empanada and tortilla, and watching the kids and taking the trash and this and that and showering and hair and trying to get in touch with Jose. Victor was a little late that day and I finally talked to Jose around 2 o'clock and we concocted a half-baked plan for the suprise. Then Victor got there and we all ate lunch. Then he came over to my house and I gave him his birthday presents, a sweatshirt and season 1 of LOST. He really liked it and then fell asleep. He had been in Valencia all week and in a meeting all morning. So the plan was going perfectly. All I had to do was keep Victor in at home, his or mine untill 7:30 or 8, Jose would come and get him and then I could get ready and Michelle and Jenna could come over to help set up. Well for some unknown reason, when Victor woke up, for the first time this year, he felt like leaving the house! I don't know why, and as much as I tried to stall, or dissuade him I couldn't. So we went for a walk, and I was freaking out wondering how Jose was going to contact him, since Victor had left his cell phone at home. Then I saw Michelle and Jenna, all dressed up, loaded with supplies for the party. I was hoping Victor woudln't see them, but of course we did. We chatted for a bit and they said they were going to get a tapa. It is impossible for me to lie. Then I convinced Victor that he should get a haircut in the Corte Inglés, and as we were about to go in, Jose called me. He talked to Victor and told him to call him as soon as he got out of the haircut. So while he was doing that, I called Michelle and Jose, and gave them the scoop. Thankfully, it wasn't too difficult to get Victor to go back home to see what Jose wanted, I also said I wanted to change shoes if we were going to continue walking. Then at Jose's, he invited us to hang out and I politely declined, saying they needed guy time, and that I could call Michelle and Jenna who were close by getting a tapa. Instead I went down and started moving furniture and setting stuff up. Then Michelle and Jenna got there and started helping. I was going to jump in the shower but then Pepa and the 2 kids came over to see the decorations, which hadn't been set up yet. They were there for a while, and I finally told them that I had to get in the shower, as it was already 8:30 and that's when I told people to start coming over. So I started getting ready and a bit later the first guests came. I was having the girls help me with my outfit and finished getting dressed and did my make up. Slowly the people started coming, the last ones came around 9:30 and we had a pretty good group. All of my friends were there and a lot of Victor's friends. Not all of them could come, but a lot of important ones did, and it was a great group. Then at a quarter to 10 I gave Jose a toque and he told Victor that I sent him a message that they should go down to my house. Everyone was quiet and in the living room with the lights off, I answered the door and Victor said, "Why are you dressed like that?" I said I was going to go out with Michelle and Jenna, he said ok and Jose started to go towards the living room. He went in, then I did, and then I turned on the lights and Victor came around the corner, peeked in and went in and eveyone yelled, "SUPRISE!!!" or actually "SORPRESA!!" His mouth fell open and his eyes got big and round and he didn't say anything. After a while he said something like, "Forget all you guys!" and turned and walked away, he was so shocked and almost crying (almost for Victor, who never cries, so not that close for normal people). Then he came and said hello to everyone and he loved it. It was the perfect suprise and we had a ton of food and people and balloons and it was great. It was a perfect suprise party, I unfortunately forgot to get a picture or video of the suprise, but oh well. We were there for a while untill the group windeled down to a few of Victor's friends, and Michelle, Jenna, Brand and Samar. We didn't really know where or what we wanted to do afterwards and Victor's freinds went to hang out in their homemade music studio, but we didn't and couldn't decide. Untill we decided that we would go there too. It was a small group and kept getting smaller throughout the night. We were just there, hanging out and listening to and playing music. All of Victor's friends there either play the guitar, the cajón, or sing flamenco. It was cool, one of those experiences that not all study abroad kids are privy to. We were there till about 4 and came home, ate leftovers and went to bed.

Sunday morning, Victor came over to help me clean which we did till a little after 2 when lunch was ready. Then even though I wasn't hungry since it felt like I had just eaten, I ate a huge plate of paella, which was a delicious mistake. Then in typical Spanish style, we watched tv and I fell asleep for over an hour. My dad called and I had a 1 minute conversation with him between dreams. Then Jenna called and her, Brad and Samar were going to come over after their hippy coffee time. Victor went for a run and I kept cleaning up a bit, waiting for them to get there. They finally did and we chatted and munched on leftovers, which for me was another mistake. Then Victor came over and we all hung out for a while. Everyone loves my appartment and its views and Jenna wants to live here next year. Then after everyone left, Victor and I went to Nacho and Alicia's for a bit and played with their new Wii Fit. We were there till after 10 and then Victor took me home and went back to Malaga. I tallked with my mom, dad and sister, watched the second to last Fama and finished cleaning. Then around 1 I went to bed. It had been a perfect weekend and a great birthday week.

¡Virgen Santísima! ¡Que Los Pillara!

2008-04-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

So I started off my birthday with a call from Victor. Then I went to bed. In the morning, I set my alarm and woke up early to open my presents. I had a package from my parents, a card from my grandparents, a package from Deanna and a card from my friends Melissa. I opened it all in about 5 minutes. They were all really nice, but honestly I was a little dissapointed. I was so excited it was my birthday, and it was all over in 5 minutes. I had only asked for money, and that's what I got, but not even the actual bills. Just photocopies. Especially since Victor's gift was the sunglasses I picked out, and Pepa's was the shoes I picked out. So after 5 minutes of opening, the birthday suprise and excitement had ended. So I reluctantly went running, ate my favorite breakfast of sobaos (spongey cakes) and chocolate milk that I had bought for myself. Then I went to guitar without changing or showering, which went ok and came home. I went downstairs to use the internet and figure out how many kilos or grams was 2lbs of meat. There I talked with Pepa, and Patricia called to wish me a happy birthday. I also talked with Victor's grandma, abuela. When I told her how old I was, she said, "Holy, Holy Virgen! If I could be that young!" More or less a translation of this blog. It was so funny. I had a good conversating with her. She is 83 and really old. She was telling me about when Victor was a little kid and all the other crazy things that old people talk about. Then I went to the grocery store and bought all the food to make beef stew for my roommates. Then I started to cook, I made the salad, cut up all the vegetables, and then started with the meat. Only then I realized that the meat took an hour to simmer, and that I should have made everything backwards. I had told everyone to be ready for lunch at 2, and I started the meat at 1:30. So then my roommates had gone shopping for my present that morning, then came home and got it ready. Then Adri's girlfreind came over and gave me a pretty silver necklace. Then I decided to start boiling the veggies in a different pot to save some time. While we were waiting for the stew, I opened my presents from my roommies. They really suprised me with three candles, a pink one for Rosa, a brown one for Adri, and a green one for Zore. Also a mug with a bull on it for Taurus, and a nice white blouse and the best was a really nice brown watch. I was really shocked and suprised and it was so sweet of them all. Then in the mail, a package from my Uncle Mark and my Uncle Phil and family, so I opened that with my roommates too. Then I put in the dumplings and took a quick shower. Then finally the lunch was ready and we ate. Everyone pretty much liked it. Violeta didn't eat very much, but Rosa cleaned her plate. I thought it was delicious and I was so proud of my self. Then I watched Fama and washed the dishes between phone calls from my grandparents, mom and dad. Then I went to work for 2 hours with Carlos and Marta and during the last hour, Katie called me. Then I ran a few errands and talked with Deanna and Katie again. Then I went and waited for my friends to go to dinner at Chile Grande, a Mexican place I have been wanting to try for 2 years. While I was waiting I sent text messages for the party and a strange Moroccan lady came and talked to me and offered me some of the ice cream she was eating. Finally my friends got there and rescued me and we went to dinner. We were waiting for everyone for a bit and looking at the menu. We got nachos and I got a chimichanga and then chocolate cake. Michelle and Jenna gave me a present with a crown, a screaming monkey, a brownie, a big balloon and Samar gave me some candy. My dad had sent me 6 individual cups of peanut butter which I decided to give out as party favors. Everyone absolutely LOVED them. They were so excited to have a little bit of the states and everyone started planning how and when they were going to eat it, Michelle's plan included licking it on the way home. During dinner my sister called as did Nacho. My sis's gift didn't get there and she apologized. I also got a call from Alicia earlier in the day. Then I went home. When I got home, I saw another package on my bed and it was from my sister! She gave me a book and a cd and it was the perfect end to a birthday that got better as it went on. Then at midnight Icalled Victor to wish him as happy birthday as it was his birthday! Then I went to bed.

Malaga and Monday

2008-04-23T02:39:00.000-07:00

So Saturday as previously mentioned I woke up and used the internet, hacked into Victor's computer to plan for Victor's suprise party I was throwing next week, showered and did stuff until Victor came home just before 2. We went to eat lunch at a seafood place and got our favorite fried baby squids, a sole filet and friend octopus. Usually when you get octopus, it's cut up in pieces, or it's just the legs, but they gave us a whole, entire octopus! It was awesome! It came on a plate with scissors to cut it up! The whole lunch was so good, especially because I was starving! Then after lunch we went to Mercadona to get supplies for the weekend, and then to the mall. We went straight to H&M and spent the next 2 hours there. Well I did, Víctor spent the first 20 minutes there, and then walked around the whole mall, and then some more time in H&M, all before I was done. I totally scored. I bought a purple t-shirt, a green one, a black halter top, and a white halter top, a teal strapless top, a teal dress with white polka dots, and 6 socks all for 77€! I was very happy and pleased because I was going to use the teal top as my birthday outfit and I really liked everything, and for all the stuff I got, that was a great price!! Then we went back home and rested, watched tv and talked before going out again. We went to a different mall, called Plaza Mayor and saw Fuera De Carta, a funny Spanish film about a resturant owner. The shopping center was cool, it was set up like an old Spanish ranch with resturants and plastic animals all around. Then we went home. At home we watched a documentary about the shooting at Columbine and then the first half of Bowling for Columbine. Then bed.

Sunday, since we had stayed up so late, we slept in till almost noon. Then we got ready and packed and went to lunch at an Italian place. I wanted to get some red meat since, I almost never cook that for myself, and I saw this dish called beef cappriccio with parmesean cheese and rucula. It sounded delicious and the waiter recommended it to me. Turns out, it was an appetizer, it was really big and came with bread and a garlic pesto olive oil to put it all together, but it wasn't a cooked dish, it was a type of dried meat, with the cheese and a few green weeds on top. It was good, but I felt stupid eating a whole appetizer as my lunch. Oh well, then after lunch we met up with my friend Ghizlaine, who was Deanna's roommate when we were studying here. We got tea at a tetería, which is like a café that serves tea. In Granada they are in he Albaycín and cool little nooks that take you back in time, but in Malaga, they are more or less normal and borring but serve tea. Then I had to catch the bus back, finished the book I had started on the way there and walked home in the rain. It had been bad weather all weekend and even worse in Granada. I ran into Jose right as we were both getting home and he came over to help me plan the party. Then I un packed and went to bed.

Monday morning I woke up and brought a bunch of stuff down to Pepa's and she volunteered to make a ton of food for the party. Then I went running in the rain a bit and showered and cleaned the house. Then I went shopping and bought a necklace I wanted for that weekend, and shoes that I wanted, that Pepa had given me money for for my birthday. Then I came home, ate and went to work. Then after work, Victor had canceled class on me so I practiced guitar and went to dinner at my friend Jenny's house. I had eaten salad for lunch because she's always talking about how much she likes to cook, so I was excited to have someone else cook for me. Turns out her idea for dinner was a large salad. I was starving. Then I came home and ate a snack and watched tv. At midnight, Victor called me because it was officially my birthday!

Don't Call It Fake, Dangit*!

2008-04-23T02:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the promised blog entry written by my friend, Brett Warren Huff, about WWE. Enjoy.

"As many of you know, I am a wrestling fan. And as a wrestling fan, I get a lot of heat from people who do not understand the appeal of the squared-circle. They tell me that it is fake, it is not a real sport, and the acting and storylines are terrible. And I don't dissagree with them. But if that is all you are looking at, then you really don't see the real art of professional wrestling.
Wrestling is not about sport. The winners are decided well in advance. But there is a competition that happens in the ring that not everyone sees. Wrestlers who win matches don't win because they beat their opponent up. They win because the company has confidence in them to entertain the fans. Usually this means that they are good at creating the illusion of what we see as fighting. Pretending to get hurt almost hurts as much as actually getting hurt. I know that sounds funny, but these men inflict pain on themselves every day, but they inflict just enough to make it believable and not enough to put anyone out of commission. This takes a great deal of skill and practice, much like any real sport.
The acting is usually terrible, but what else can you expect from these guys? They are paid to get hurt and get a crowd excited. The acting has to be over the top in order to generate a response in front of a live crowd, just as stage actors act differently than those in films or on television.
I know what you're thinking: maybe I can believe the part about the wrestlers being athletes, and maybe I can understand the bad acting, but why should I find it entertaining? The answer is this: two of our societies favorite pastimes are sports and drama. Wrestling combines both of these. All it is is scripted sports, and what could be better than that? During real sports broadcasts, the broadcasters are always trying to find some drama in the game that will intrigue us. Example: Shaq and Kobe. Ooooooo, can't you feel the tension between them? Or when Ron Artest went into the stands and attacked fans. That was in the news for weeks and we just ate it up. Or how about that episode of Friends where they play football on Thanksgiving day? That's one of the best episodes they ever did. Combining sports and drama is one of the best ways to entertain people.
So don't tell me wrestling is fake. It is no more fake than the rest of the shows you'll watch on television. That's like telling someone that those people on Lost aren't really the survivors of a plane crash. And any injuries those characters suffer aren't real. But wrestlers hurt themselves everyday to entertain us. They will even cut themselves when you're not looking in order to make it realistic (Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels do it on a daily basis, I think). Tell them its not real. I'm sure you'll get a knife edge chop accross the chest. Woooooooo!"

* Edited from original version.

Vertigo

2008-04-16T02:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday I started feeling dizzy again. Monday I still felt dizzy all day. After blogging I ate lunch with all my roommates. Rosa and Zore made a big pasta and asked if I wanted some, and Adrian ate with us too. It was kind of strange as we had just had such an awkward week last week and now everything was so normal. But I guess that's better than it being awkward because no one is talking or something. Then I showered and went to work with the babies. It went well, but I was still really dizzy. Then I went to the Academy, got materials, talked on the phone to my mom and went shopping with Michelle until I had class with Victor. It went well but he decided to only have 1 hour of class a week. Then I went to the grocery store and went home. No one was there so I practiced guitar for a bit till my roommates came home. Then I made dinner and watched a bit of tv, organized some papers for my classes and went to bed, still really dizzy.

Tuesday I woke up and thought my dizziness was gone, and then I sat up. I was by now a little freaked out and instead of running, decided to go to the doctor. She gave me a few little tests for vertigo, none of which made me dizzy, of course, and said that it was a very mild vertigo. She then gave me a prescription and said it would be gone by the end of the week. I went to the pharmacy and got it, went home and ate breakfast. Then I went to guitar, which didn't go so well because I don't practice enough, and I felt like crap. Then I came home and even though I still didn´t feel well, I made myself leave the house. I returned a book I borrowed from María's office and visited with her for a bit. Then I went shopping and bought the rest of Victor's birthday present and looked for a cute outfit for me, but I didn't find anything. Then I went home and made a lentil salad with hard boiled egg, green and red pepper, garlic and lentils. It was pretty good, but a pain to cut up all that pepper really small. Then I went to the school I no longer have class at to give the kids their English Frog nametags we had been using all year. I thought they would really appreciate my effort because they loved their nametags and always wanted to take them home before. One kid wasn't there, the other said thank you and gave it to his mom, and the little, quiet girl I mainly went for, because she almost cried the first time I took it back from her said she didn't want it and didn't talk to me. That's what you get for being a nice person. Then I walked all the way back home and watched tv and rested a bit before going to work again with Carlos and Marta. It went well and then I came home and I visited Pepa and Emilio and used the internet for a bit. Then tv and things at my house till I went to bed. I didn't go running that day either.

Wednesday I woke up, still a little dizzy, and went to work and used the internet in the morning. Fernando called up to the teacher's lounge and said he was too busy to have class, so I just kept using the internet for the first hour and during recess. Then class with Rafa and Jose Antonio, and 1 class with kids. I made plans with Michelle to go shopping that afternoon and rushed home. I ate a quick, light lunch and then went and practiced guitar for an hour. Then I was going to go running because I had to if I was going to recover all the missed days, changed, and then realized that I was nuts because I still didn't feel very well, and was still dizzy. So I changed again and went and watched TV with Adri. Then I went and met Michelle for shopping. We shopped all around and Michelle bought a ton of stuff but I didn't find anything that I liked. Or what I did like, didn't fit. Well I did buy one cute pair or shorts, but those aren't for my birthday. Then I went home and dropped stuff off and went for class with Nacho and Alicia. The kids were still awake so things were a little more hetic. We ate fajitas for dinner which were really yummy, and halfway through Nacho said he was tired and officially changed the language to Spanish. So then Alicia put the kids to bed, and Nacho fell asleep and I watched the soccer game for a while till Alicia came back out. She lent me some cute clothes to try on since I hadn't found anything. Then we woke Nacho up to take me home, which he did. I did some things at home and went to bed.

Thursday I didn't have to go to work for the first hour so I slept in late, woke up and did some things around the house. Then I went running in a light rain. I only went for 20 minutes, but its better than nothing. Then I ate some breakfast and took a shower. As soon as I turned off the water I heard the doorbell ringing. I rushed to answer it and it was the mailman with my birthday package from my mom and dad. I saved it for Tuesday. Then I finished getting ready and went to work. Work went pretty well and I was in a pretty good mood. Then Michelle and I walked down together and I went home and made lunch. I made a delicious chicken fajita salad. It was really good. Then I watched Fama with the roommies and went to guitar. It went pretty well as well. Then I came home and dropped off my guitar and went to meet Michelle for WWE RAW WRESTLRMANIA! The original plan was for me to go with Nacho and Nachete, but Nachete was sick and Nacho thought it was going to rain, which it didn't and so he said I could have his tickets. So I invited Michelle, and we tried to sell the other ticket, which was impossible. Then we went to her gym and tried to sell the ticket to all the body building fanatics there, but no one wanted to stop working out. Finally, we found this one guy, Iñaki who wanted to go, but couldn't pay, so I gave up and gave it to him. Then the 3 of us went. It was really fun, filled with lots of screaming, and ridiculousness. We ate sunflower seeds till we couldn't anymore and enjoyed the wonderfullness that is WWE wrestling. If you don't appreciate WWE, I soon hope to post a blog entry written by my childhood freind, Brett, which should clear up all of your doubts. So then after the fight I walked home which took really long as the bullfighting ring is very far away from where I live. Then I was so tired and went to bed.

Friday morning I woke up at 7 to go to work. I tried to pack a bit and get a little organized, since I knew I had a full, full day. I got ready and went to wait for the bus. Since it was earlier, there was more traffic and since it was raining pretty hard, the buses were full. I waited 10 minutes for mine only to have it pass by and not even stop because it was so full. Then I was really angry. I get a little frustrated with the buses sometimes because mine comes every 13-15 minutes but not on the hour. So I am always missing it, or waiting for it as I watch the other buses that run every 5-8 minutes pass by. So by now I was going to be late, but decided to get another bus, get off at a different stop and get the 7 where there would be less people. Thankfully my plan worked and I made it to work just barely on time and didn't get soaked, like most everybody else. Then I had an hour of class, which went really well and was really funny. For some reason I got the giggles and could not stop laughing, which got the kids started too. I was almost crying, but from laughter. The first time that's happend all year. Then I prepared for a class I was teaching all by myself for an hour and a half with Rafa's techy help. Then I corrected some papers and went to another class. It also didn't go very bad and then i finished grading papers and returned them to the kids and went to another class. They were supposed to be working on an oral exam on a book, but most were starting to read the book, so I was able to buy my ticket to Malaga, for that night. Then I had the class I was teaching all by myself where I brought in a song to listen to. Then the teachers were having another meal. This time it was habas with ham. Instead of being cooked like Pepa usually makes them, they were just the raw beans, and the cut ham. There was also lots of bread, cheese and olive oil for dipping. It was so delicious, and I ate way too much. The habas were ok, I prefer them cooked but I was in heaven with the meat, cheese, bread and oil. It was so Spanish! Then I had to leave early again and took the bus home. I had to switch buses in the middle again because the 7 comes so infrequently, but made it home, stopped by Mercadona, the grocery store to buy Adri some cheese I borrowed from him and shaving cream. Then I rushed to work with Pablo which went well as he still had the second half of his trip to France to tell me about. Then I rushed home, finished packing, visited Pepa and got some stuff to bring to Victor and then came back upstairs, repacked and Adrian took me to the bus station. I had been going all day! I read on the bus and Victor picked me up. Then we went home and dropped off my stuff and went to get a pizza. He had just gotten back from Madrid that day and by now I was pooped so we ate the pizza and calzone and went to bed.

This morning Saturday April 19th, he had a meeting and I have been using the internet. He should be home soon and I´m staving. My big plan for coming to Malaga this weekend is going to H and M, a store we don't have in Granada to look for a new birthday outfit. Other than that I don't know what we're going to do. I still am feeling dizzy, but each day is a little better. It's only when I lay down and sit up. And I haven't gone running at all this week except for Thursday. I'm a little dissapointed to break my record that I've had since Januray, (minus Spring Break) but I've been sick. Ok I guess that's it! :)

Gloomy Week

2008-04-14T02:55:00.000-07:00

Monday April 6th was a regular day. I woke up and went running and then came back and used the internet for a long time. I ate lunch, returned the computer and went to work in the afternoon. Then I went to the academy, got more of the story about what had happened with the class, got more materials and came home. I talked on the phone to my mom and then went and had class with Victor Perez. Then I talked on the phone to my sister and went and met Michelle and her two uncles who were visiting, Jenna, Kristen and her dad. We had two rounds of tapas and then I went home. I think when I got home, Raquel and her sister were there with Rosa and Zore. I went in my room and cleaned and got organized for my classes. Then I went to bed.

Tuesday April 7th I slept in more than I should have, but decided to get up at the last minute and run before guitar. Then I also decided to shower, at the last minute. So I went to guitar at the last minute, actually a little late. But it was good and I talked with Antonio about what I wanted to do, and guitar goals, that didn't include all the things he wanted, and we looked up stuff on the internet. So it was a good class since I hadn't practiced before. Then I came back and ate something and went out shopping. I bought some stuff for Victor's birthday and our anniversary and I finally found some acceptable salad tongs to replace the ones of Pepa's that I had broken. Then I came home and ate some lunch, Raquel and Maribel were still there and then watched Fama. I was going to go to my old class and give the kids their necklaces, but I didn't because it was raining. It was really sunny and warm the whole weekend, but that ended Monday when it was overcast and cold and it started raining Tuesday. It was bad weather the whole week. So then I went to class with Carlos and Marta but Marta wasn't there so I only had class with Carlos. At some point during the day I went grocery shopping. Then I came home and talked to my mom on the phone, ate dinner, tv, used the internet and Jose came over for a bit and then I went to bed.

Wednesday it was really raining, and I went to work. I was pretty tired and the rain was a huge downer. Especially because Michelle and I had plans to take sandwiches to El Mirador de San Nicholas and eat them with her uncles. I had brought a sadwich but when we got out of work and it was pouring down rain, that's not exactly when you want to go to a plaza and have a picnic. So we hung out for a while, and I started eating because I was starving. Finally the rain let up a bit and she went to meet her uncles and I went to catch the bus home. The bus was a good idea at first because I didn't want to get soaked, but then there was a ton of traffic and more and more people got on and I started to not feel so well. I finally got off and went home. By now I felt really bad. I went to Pepa's and ate some soup she had invited me over for and then went upstairs. I watched Fama for a bit and asked my roommates for the money they owed me since I had been the only one to buy anything for the house in a while. I hate being petty because between 4 people it turns out to be 1 or 2 €uros each but all together, its 8 or 10 for Rachel. Then I went and layed down and tried to sleep. I finally fell asleep amidst all the noise, and when I woke up no one was there. Michelle was going to get tapas again with her uncles, but I had class with Nacho and Alicia. But during my nap I got text messages from Victor Perez, cancelling class, Alicia cancelling class and Michelle cancelling tapas. The rain was ruining everything. So I had absolutely no plans. So I practiced guitar untill Zore got home, and then went running. I went a little bit further out and walked back more since I had time to kill, but during the last bit, it started to rain again, so I started to run again. Then I came back home and no one was there so I got into my pjs, ate dinner, wrote some postcards, and watched tv. Then Rosa and Zore came home and went straight to their rooms. Then they came out in the middle of my program and asked if they could change the channel. I said yes, but a little annoyed, as I was obviously watching a show. They after a bit they left and said I could switch back. Then, on a commercial break when I got up to do something, Zore asks, really excitedly, 'Are you going to bed?!?' I was really caught off-guard and said, 'Do you need to watch something on the tv of something?' They said no, no, no, don't worry, but I felt really bad, like they were just hiding in their rooms waiting for me to go to bed. So a bit later, after midnight, the program ended and I did go to bed. 15 minutes later I heard the doorbell ring and Raquel come over. Then Adrian came home and everyone was talking. Then around 1 I thought I heard someone knock on my door. I said, yeah? but no one was there. Then I got up and no one was at the door, but there were people in Zore's room next door. I asked them if they knocked but they didn't hear me because they were all talking. Then I opened the door a bit and asked louder. I was a little taken aback to be in my pjs, half asleep and to find 2 guys I didn´t know in their room. They all just looked at me like I was crazy and said no so I said goodnight and went back to my room. So because I came out they all started whispering and shut the door of the living room, but I could still hear everything as Adrian went to bed, they opened the door for something, smashed the bag of ice on the counter to break it up, the tv, everything. I was still awake at 2, 3, and 4 AM. I was so angry I started to cry, I didn't want to go out again, because I didn't even know what to say I was so angry and half asleep and furious. I didn't have anyone to call or anywhere to go, because everyone was sleeping or in another country and I felt completly alone and so upset. I guess sometime after 4 I fell asleep until 6:40 when the party was breaking up and people were leaving or going to a bedroom.

Then at 8:20 Thursday morning, my alarm went off and I was still furious. I wanted to make a ton of noise or go in a actually wake them up, but I restrained myself, got ready for work and left. Then I had a horrible day at work because I was in such a bad mood. I talked to Michelle for a bit, but she was really busy and distracted as she was leaving for Portugal that afternoon. So after work I walked home, still fuming and thinking about what I was going to say to them when I got home. When I got there, only Adrian was there and he asked how I was. I couldn't really answer, but he could tell I was upset and said 'What? did the girls keep you up last night?' That was his only mistake. Then I started crying and unloading how upset and unhappy I was with the girls and this house and how horrible they were. He more or less agreed but they weren't there. So we ate lunch together and watched Fama and I talked on the phone to my dad and Victor and then I went to guitar. Guitar went pretty well and then I came home. Then I went running and then came back and waited for Rosa to get home. Then when she did I went in and talked to them. They were pretty defensive and said they weren't making noise, didn't put on music and don't do half the things they would like to here in the hosue because of us anyway. So it was awkward, but I think I handled it pretty well, and it was better I had waited so long to talk to them. Anyway, then Adrian came home and he talked to them too, which didn't go as well but thankfully I had already taken care of my business. I´m still unhappy with the cleaning schedule, but I didn't feel like continuing with the conversation. So they left to go out and I went to bed, at last.

Friday I was still pretty tired but much better. I went to work and translated for the first hour, instead of going to class. Then lots more class. I forgot to mention that last week, Kate, the girl from Nigeria, had asked me to help her with some English/Spanish homework. And by help her she meant give me 3 pages of a Spanish story, and translate it to English for her. Thankfully, Carmina was with me when she asked and helped me get out of it. I told her that I would help her, but I wasn't going to do it for her. So sometime during this week I helped her on a few words she didn't know. Then after work I came home and ran into Nacho at the door, he and the family were eating with Pepa and Emilio. We went up in the elevator together, and he asked if I wanted to come in, I said, 'unnn,,,, no, and you didn't see me ok?' He understood immediatly and I went upstairs, made myself a ceasar salad, watched Fama and after a short hour went to work. Victor had been in the Ukraine for the week and was coming home that day. He woke up at 3:30 and if everything went well would be in Granada around 6 or so. As I was on my way to work, I was going along the main road you take to get to our house from the freeway. All of a sudden I heard this car honk and thought that a car was honking at another car. Then I thought maybe it was honking at me, but I ignored it. Then I thought that it might be Victor, and I turned around and saw his car pulling over and him waving. That was a nice suprise, but it made it harder to go to work. Work went well, and then at home I stopped by Victor's and then I went running, washed my dishes and then Victor came over again. We talked for a while and then he was so exhausted he fell asleep. Then I went out and met Kristen and her dad, Kia, Meghan, Samar and Brad for tapas. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, they were leaving. thankfully, Samar and Brad weren´t going home like everyone else, so we got another tapa. At this place where we were there was a big group of normal looking guys, with 1 guy wearing a blonde wig, a white dress and bunny ears. It could of been a bachelor party, that would have been more normal, but, there was one thing we couldn't understand. Along with this group was a transvestite. What was it doing with them? It was really funny. Then we went to another bar and hung out there with a ton of high schoolers and some of Brad's friends we ran into there. Then we went to this salsa place where we were meeting other friends of Brad's but we were all tired and not really feeling the salsa groove. So we left and walked home. Then I went to bed.

Saturday the 12th was the day Victor and I decided to celebrate our 3 year anniversary, which was Thursday the 10th. So we went to a Hamman, or an Arabic bath. Our appointment was at 12 and we walked up there. It was also really nice because for the first time that week, the sun came out. Although it wasn't really hot, at least it was a beautiful day. We walked up to Plaza Nueva and to the hamman. Inside you change into a swimsuit and put your stuff in a locker. Then inside, its dark and smells good, with relaxing music playing. There are 3 different pools that you go and switch around to. The first one is smaller in size and not very deep and filled with cold water. We started there. Then we went to a larger but shallower pool filled with hot water. Then we went to the third pool which is the biggest and deepest and filled with warm water. Then you just go switching around, and I guess the process is to go from hot to cold, my least favorite but apparently its' good for your circulation and leaves you feeling relaxed. My favorites were the hot and warm pools. Then while you are there bathing, they call your number for a 15 minute massage. It was an amazing morning and we both left feeling completely relaxed and lazy and like gelatin. Then we walked around and went and got a tapa and then went to a new resturant to eat. We had a delicious lunch with a salad, giant meatball and croqueta appetizers and then Victor had a giant chicken kabob and I had a special kind of shrimp with ham in a sherry sauce. It was all amazing and so delicious and then we finished it off with cheesecake for dessert. Then we walked home, completely content. Then Victor went to meet up with some of his friends, and I took almost a 3 hour nap. Then he came back and we watched tv a bit and I took another shower and got ready. Samar had called me and we were going to do somehting that night but we didn't know what. Victor was going to do something with his friends, but mine ended up not going out and he ended up not calling his, so we went out for a walk and shopped around at the Corte Inglés. Then we went home and ate dinner with Pepa and Emilio and watched tv untill I went to bed.

Sunday I woke up and went down to Victor's for breakfast and watched tv. Then I came up and showered and went to church. It was pretty good. Afterwards I came home and ran into Victor who was going out for a drive and he asked if I wanted to come. I said yes, and we went out. We ended up going to this cool place outside of La Zubia a pueblo close by where I used to teach English. It was all of a sudden out in the forest with beautiful mountain views and it was really naturey and nice. We got a tapa out at this resturant that showed up and then came back. Then back at home I thought we were going to eat lunch, but Victor wasn't hungry as he had been snacking on the spaghetti his mom had made for us all morning. Pepa and Emilio had gone down to the beach to visit Raul and their family. So I waited a bit and then ate by myself. Then Victor fell asleep and I blogged the Kaite blog, and then I took a nap. Then after a while we woke up and cleaned up, Victor packed, and went to Nacho and Alicia's. Pepa and Emilio were there too, bringing fruit and stuff from the coast to them and to visit the other grandkids. We all hung out there for a while, Pepa and Emilio left and then Victor and I did. Victor left for Malaga and I talked on the phone to my dad. Then I stopped by Pepa's to get my fruit and ate some more fruit till my sister called me. I talked to her, got the computer and internetted and watched tv till I was tired and went to bed. I was going to clean the house but I didn't feel like it at all. So I chatted with Deanna and took it easy. Then I went to bed.

This morning I slept in and woke up and cleaned the house. Then I started blogging. I haven't gone running , I´m not sure when I will. I have class with the babies and Victor Perez this afternoon and all the regular activites. At least now its sunny.

Katie Kraziness

2008-04-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Monday March 31st, I woke up and did some stuff around the house and then ran to my friend Jenny's house, where we had the potluck Saturday to pick up my roommate's bowl and Pepa's serving tongs. Come to find out, one of the tongs were broken. I knew Pepa wouldn't care, but I was a little terrified nonetheless. So we talked for a while and then I came home. Then I went to the bank to find out why money was being taken out of my account. Then I cleaned. Then my roommates came home. Then I finished cleaning and showerd. Then I ate something for lunch and went to work. It went fine, and then I went to the academy, home, practice guitar and class with Victor Perez. I don't really remember what I did after that, but I think I went to bed early because I was pretty tired.

Tuesday I knew I had a lot to do so I set my alarm early to run and shower before guitar. That turned into snoozing a lot untill I reset my alarm untill 9:30. Then I went to guitar. Then after guitar, I changed to go running, and ran to the bank where I have to cash my checks. Then I came back home, deposited that and then showered. Then by the time that was done, I went downstairs to eat lunch with Pepa and Emilio, Nacho and Alicia and the kids and Raul and Patricia and Adriana. I was working on the stuff for my classes because I hadn´t done anything the day before or that morning and hanging out with all the people. We ate a ton and then I had to rush to work. At work I went to get all the kids, but their parents were there to pick them up and tried to gather them up for class and one mom tells me that her kid isn´t coming any more but not why, even when I asked. Then I finally wrenched half and explanation out of one dad whose child wasn´t going to continue either, who said he didn´t like being lied to, it wasn´t me, and that none of the other kids were going to come either. I had no idea what he was talking about, was about to cry since 4 out of my 6 kids all stopped together, and I figured I was the common thread. So I tried to have class with the two quietest kids left and halfway through saw another mom and talked to her for a bit. Apparently, this is the whole story I have pieced together through various half- baked accounts. Nikki the old teacher had to quit in December because she had to go back to the States to get another visa and didn't know when of if she would be back. Apart from that, Veronica didn't like how she was running things so she hired me. I started in January, and continued through March. Veronica never explained to the parents why a new teacher came. Also a few parents tried to get in contact with Nikki through Veronica and she said she didn't know anything about her. Somehow, Nikki and the parents found eachother. Apparently 3 or 4 weeks into January, Nikki came back and asked for her job back. Veronica said no (I just found this out after the fact, as far as I knew, she was still in the States.) So 3 or 4 parents all decided together to pull their kids out of English at the same time, depriving their own kids of English class, as well as the 1 or 2 that wanted to stay in my class, and me of a job. All in all a great example of a loose-loose situation. I agree with Brian in that the stupid people in the world should not be allowed to get together or reproduce. Anyway, then I finished class and had cancelled my classes with Carlos and Marta because that day Katie was coming!! I called her and tried through text messages to meet up with her. Rushing to get there I finally found her wandering around Calle Recogidas. We headed towards home and dropped off her bags and chatted in the living room for a loooooong time. Then we continued talking constantly as we went and got 3 rounds of tapas at Bar Europa. Then we kept talking and walking around starting our tour of Granada. Then home, rest, and a little bit of Los Serrano, meeting the roommates and bed.

Wednesday morning I woke up early and went running. Then I showered and Katie and I went to work. We started off the morning with a coffee in the cafeteria and the usual catching up with Michelle. Then I had my normal mini class with Fernando and then more talking during recess. Then Katie came with me to class with Rafa and Javier. She is such a good teacher. Waaaay better than me. She was so nice and sweet and beautiful and all my students just loved her and talked to her. I was pretty proud of them because they did a good job, so at least I had taught them something. But I also felt kinda stupid because Katie was such a natural at teaching and talking and all that stuff, I fel bad for my poor students who have been suffering all year with me. So we had a good class and then went to a class with kid students which went pretty well as well. Then we left and walked to El Mirador de San Cristobal, then through the Albayzín, stopping at Plaza Larga, El Mirador de San Nícolas, Plaza de los Carvajales, and down the tetería streets. Then we got a schwarma, mint lemonade and arabic sweets for lunch. Then we passed through Plaza Nueva and headed up cuesta de Gomérez to the Alhambra, we looked all around there at all the free stuff and then went to the Hotel Alhambra Palace, Carmen de los Mártires, which was closed and then down Cuesta de los Chinos, talking the whole way. Then we walked down Paseo de los Tristes, back through Plaza Nueva and then to the Capilla Real, the cathedral, and then to do some serious souvenier shopping at Soufian's shops. Then we enjoyed churros ancd chocolate in Plaza Bibrambla, some more shopping, and headed home first stopping by Corral de Carbón and the Town Hall. Then at home we touched bases with a friend we were making plans with and took an hour and a half nap. The we tried to wake up and get ready and we finally succeeded. Then we took a taxi to meet up with Jenny, Meghan, Kia Eammonn and Fiona for some giant tapas at El Reventaero. We had a good time and convinced Jenny to go out with us that night. So we went to D'Cuadros for a drink and then Emilio's, a bar that serves drinks in these funny pouring bottles you have to pour in your mouth, creating a huge mess. Then after a bit there, Katie Jenny and I headed to Mae West. It was free to get in and ridiculous once we did. Going out in Spain with your georgeous, American, friend who is almost 6 feet tall plus high heels is an amazing experience. We hadn't even ordered our first drink before a group of guys was taking pictures of her. Then caught me giving them a dirty look and that started our first session of getting hit on. Then as soon as we ditched the group of guys from Salamanca, the Hardy boys moved in on Katie. They were 2 friends who would switch off hitting on her and trying to dance with her. My favorite part was when I had to translate for the unluckiest one to whine to Katie, 'You abandonded me.' :( awww it sucks to suck. haha Then we ditched them on our way to a new spot got attacked by crazy, old pistol man. This guy invited us to his house in the mountains for a weekend of skiing, was really annoying and stupid, and kept playing with a toy pistol I don't know why he had. When he made fun of me I decided it was time to move. Then later Eammonn and Fiona met up with us and then Katie saw her opportunity with the the most beautiful man in Spain (after Victor in my opinion.) Apparently I am an excellent wingwoman, and being bilingual helps a lot. So I stopped the three guys and entertained the two friends while Katie got her groove on with the most beautiful man in Spain. We were there for a bit, and went to get more drinks, in the process we lost those guys for a while and found a Frenchman. Then when he went to get another drink, we saw the MBMIS again and went and talked to them. He was being wierd so we gave up and went back to the Frenchman again, who was a loser as well. By now it was 4 or so, we took 1 or 2 more laps around and decided to go home. But the night would not be complete without finishing up with a schwarma which we ordered as we got hit on my some psycho grandpas. Then a taxi ride home, where even the taxi driver tried to hit on my sister. Then, since I didn't think it was a good idea for me to eat 2 schwarmas in 1 day, I made a ham sandwich and we went to bed at 5.

5 hours or less later I was up and on my way to work, Thursday morning. The good part was that I got to go in a little later. We had a meeting and then 2 hours of class, which obviously didn't go so well. hehe Then I met Katie for lunch and we had paella and then home for a big nap. We slept a long time and then obviously had a hard time getting up, but we finally did. Then Katie packed her suitcase, we went and visited Emilio a bit, but Pepa wasn't there. Then we went and bought stamps and earrings, then looked at the view from my roof and headed out for the last tapas. We tapaed and talked and Michelle came and joined us. It was really nice. Then we went home and finished packing and Adrian was there. I asked him if he would take us to the bus station to save us the taxi ride and he agreed. Since we went by car, we got there faster and had a lot of time to kill before her bus left. We talked and saw a ton of other people who were getting on the same bus outta town, including Samar. So then the time came and I had to say goodbye to Katie, but it was an amazing visit. Then I came home with Adrian and went straight to bed.

Friday was also another difficult day at work, since I was still exhausted. So work all day, and Michelle was there so that was fun. Normally she doesn't work on Fridays, so it was nice to have a little distraction and company. Then afterwork I came home and ate something and took a nap. Then I went to the post office, running, rented a movie and came home. Then I cleaned up and Victor finally got there. He worked late, and so he didn't get there untill around 10 or so, we ate dinner and he fell asleep. I was exhausted as well so went to bed too.

Saturday morning I woke up and went running and then to the grocery store. Then I showered and went downstairs for lunch. Raul was there and it was a really good meal. Then after a bit, since it was a really nice day, Victor and I went out for a walk. I bought a sweater at Zara and we continued walking and shopping. For my birthday Victor said he would buy me some new sunglasses, since my old ones I´ve had for 3 years cost 5€ and are a mess by now. So we were shopping for new ones. We actually stumbled upon the perfect glasses, they are Caramelo, a really fancy, expensive, Spanish brand, they were blue and sliver and really cute. They were also the only ones like it and the only ones left, so we decided to get them. Then we continued walking and shopping and came back home. We ate dinner with Pepa and Emilio and then watched Big Fish on tv. For some reason I started bawling at the end, which was particularly embarassing. Then after a bit I went to bed.

Sunday April 6th I woke up and went to church and then came back home and went with Victor to Nacho and Alicia's house to pick up something he needed. Then back home we had paella for lunch. Then we went up and watched the movie I had rented Friday. Then Victor started packing and getting ready to go. He wasn't going to be able to stay late as he was going to the Ukraine very early the next morning. So he left around 6 and I took the movie back and went to meet Michelle, Jenna and Brad who were having their Sunday hippy coffee. We sat in Triunfo and watched hippies playing hackey-sack and chatted till it got too cold to stay and I walked home with Brad. Then at home I started cleaning the house and my room and watching tv and eating a little dinner. There was talk of going out that night, but no one called and I watched a movie on tv, finished cleaning and went to bed.

Back To The Grindstone

2008-04-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

So after a really easy week at work and 11 or so wonderful days of leisure filled vacation, I had to go back to work. I don't really remember many details except that it was borring and extremely difficult to go back and that I was exhausted the whole week and every morning snoozed way too long before actually getting up. Monday morning was spent trying to go running after taking a whole week off and cleaning the house. As usual I had a lot of things I wanted to get done, but all I did was run and clean and get ready to go to work. Then after lunch I went to work and the Academy then had a little bit of time to practice guitar and then another class with Victor Perez, probably home, tv and bed.

Tuesday 25 March I slept in till the last minute to go to guitar, went, came back and ran and showerd. Then I went to Pepa´s and asked her how to make lentils and she told me and I went up and made them. they turned out pretty good and I was so proud of myself for cooking a real meal. I also had a craving for chicken ceaser salad and looked up a recipie for that on the internet. So that was my project for the morning till work in the afternoon with the kids. I talked to my dad a bit who could hear the complete chaos in the background. It went really long because all the parents were talking instead of picking up their kids, and then I had to talk to 2 of them because their sons are horrible. Then I rushed totally late to work with Carlos and Marta finished went home ate dinner, tv and crashed.

Wednesday I went to work and talked a lot with Michelle about our spring breaks and life. Things were pretty much the same except Jose Antonio came back from his 3 month trip to Africa and he rejoined out class which was also filled with the student teachers again. On the way home I went to all the stores and bought my sister a special birthday present. Then I came home and made my delicious chicken ceaser salad which was absolutely amazing and rested and watched Fama. Then I walked to the post office and mailed my sissy's package and from there went on my run. All my afternoon classes had cancelled on me so after my run I practiced guitar and then went to Nacho and Alicia's for class and dinner. That night we were having schwarmas, which I was really excited about. We stuffed ourselves of these giant schwarmas and french fries, but it was ok because I had only had salad that day for lunch and it was only my 4th schwarma since I have been back here in Granada. Then we watched Sin Tetas but Marina got sick and so Nacho took me home in the middle and I finished it at home. Then I went to bed.

Thursday I went to work and all was the same, except for this one girl Kate, who is from Nigeria asked me for my phone number. There are 2 Nigerian girls at my school, they both speak English, and their own language but little Spanish. So Kate asked me for help with some English/Spanish translating. The sad thing about these girls, and a lot of the immigrants in our school is that no one really knows what their past is. They don´t want to talk about their families. They even suspect they might have been rescued from a prostitution ring. So yeah, I was a little caught off guard and didn't give her my phone number but said I would be willing to help her at school, I was here Wednesday through Thursday. Then I went home and made another salad for lunch, went to guitar and then went running. After running I met up with my friend Jenny and had tapas, and then another schwarma! We hung out and talked for a long time. We have similar situations in several areas of life and around 12 I went home and went to bed.

Friday I woke up and went to work which I was so tired for. Then finally when it was over, I came home and ate something for lunch, watched Fama and then took a 2 hour nap. All my Friday classes had cancelled on me as well. So after my nap I went for my run, showered, cleaned up and got ready for Victor to come. He got off work later so he didn´t get here till much later. As usual he was exhausted and fell asleep after dinner with his parents. Since I was all dressed up with no place to go, I called Michelle to see what they all were doing. That Friday was la Fiesta de la Primavera, the Spring Party. To celebrate the arrival of Spring, someone organized a Macro Botellón. A botellón, big bottle, is when instead of going to a bar and paying for individual drinks, you buy bottles of your favorite drinks to mix and enjoy in the street with your friends. Before you could have a botellón anywhere in the city, but now its restricted to the open lot next to Hipercor, a big department store on the more outskirts of the city. So for the Macro Botellón, it started around 12 noon and included 17,000 people. I wasn't aware that it started so early, and got there around 12 midnight. Victor dropped me off and it took me a while to find Michelle and the group among 17,000 or so. I finally did and they were with Jenna's friend Emilio and his friends. It was a huge disgusting filth fest. The ground was covered with trash and slime from 12 hours of drinking and eating sunflower seeds and making due without any bathrooms. All in all and excellent time was had by all. We were there till around 4:30 or 5 and I finally went home. It was a long walk, and there were no taxis in sight. On the way home I almost got attacked by a black guy who was too drunk to catch up to me at a light jog and a Moroccan guy in a car. It was freaky but nothing serious. More serious was how bad I had to pee. At least nobody stole my boots, which is what happened to Michelle on her walk home. Then I finally made it home, peed and went to bed.

Saturday morning I slept in, obviously. I think I pretty much slept in so much that all I did was wake up, shower and go downstairs for lunch. Then after lunch we hung out for a bit resting and napping till I went to the grocery store. I bought stuff for a potluck that night where I decided to make a larger version of my fabulous chicken ceasar salad. So I talked on the phone to my mom for a bit, then went to work creating my salad work of art. It was delicious and huge. The Victor come upstaris and we had an important conversation. Then we went to the potluck and Jenny´s house. It was really fun, there were a lot of other Auxiliares there, Emilio's friends from Almería, and it was just really fun. We missed most of the good food because we got there late, but we got a full dose of drama, matchmaking and manipulation. We were there till 2 or so untill Jenny's roommate came home and got really angry when she wanted to sleep. Everyone loved my salad and it completely dissapeared. Then I left my dishes there and we went to Metro, a club near my hosue that is really good. We were there for a long time and then home and bed around 4 or 5. It was a really, really, fun, amazing night.

Sunday morning I woke up around 11 or so and stumbled around the house trying to wake up. I ate some breakfast and watched The Simpsons, which I was excited about because they were showing an extra hour of episodes, starting at 1. I had already seen it so I decided to shower instead of watching it. As I got out of the shower, Victor gave me a toque (ring once and hang up), which is usualy the signal to come down to eat. I thought that was wierd as it was 1:30 and Spanish people don´t eat before 2. So I continued getting ready. About 10 or 15 minutes later, the doorbell rang. To my suprise it was Victor saying it was time to eat. I was completely confused and asked why we were eating so early. He told me it was Daylight Savings and that it was actually almost 3 instead of almost 2. I knew about it, had known for about 2 weeks, and had completely forgotten. So I finished getting ready and went downstairs, where everyone had already started eating without me! I was pretty embarassed, but no one really cared. Then we did the typical Sunday routine of eating, nap, packing the suitcase and dinner at Nacho and Alicia's, and then Victor left, from what I remember. I was going to clean but didn't and watched TV until I went to bed fairly early as I was exhausted.

Siesta

2008-03-30T14:58:00.001-07:00

In case you thought that the idea of afternoon siestas in Spain was just a myth, here are the cold, hard facts.

There you have it. After lunch people really do take a nap.

Spring Break 2008!

2008-03-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

Friday I slept in and went running and dinked around doing who knows what. I always have the best intentions when I don´t have to work to be productive and accomplish a lot that turn into me doing everything except what I was going to do and being late. But thats ok. I took a bus to go meet my teachers at 12:30 for a drink and tapa. About 1 stop later people started looking around and yelling at the bus driver that smoke was coming out of the back of the bus. So we stopped, waited and finally all got off the bus and I had to pick another one, making me even more late. I also didn't get off at the right stop and had to back track. So I finally made it and they thought it was funny I was running on Andalucian Time. So we chatted, mostly about problem children, and drank and snack and after and hour or so the party broke up and we went home. I made some food for lunch and watched Fama until I had to go to class with Pablo. Then after class I don know what I did, probably more dinking around and TV until Victor got there in the evening. We had dinner with his parents and Raul and watched a movie on TV about Cameron de la Isla, a very famous flamenco singer. Pepa had made torrijas, a typical Easter food, which is kind of like fried french toast. Raul gave us the keys to his house in Mojácar and a long list of instructions, do's and don'ts. Then bed.

Saturday morning I slept in, woke up and got ready and packed for our trip. We didn't leave till about 1 after a late breakfast of more torrijas. So we started on our way to Mojácar. Before we stopped there we stopped at a place called Mini Hollywood. It is a place in Almería where they filmed a lot of the old John Wayne Old West films. I had wanted to go for a long time. Unfortunately, it cost 18€ to get in! They have showed and a zoo there too but all I wanted to see was the mini old west town, but we didn't go in. I took some pictures though. I'll go back when I'm richer. Then we continued on to Mojácar and finally there around 4 or so. We were pretty hungry by then but couldn't really find a place to eat so we decided to find the house and then worry about food. Raúl's house is huge and amazing! It has 3 large floors, 2 full bathrooms, 1 half bathroom, 3 bedrooms, a huge kitchen and living room tons of closets and lots more rooms waiting to be finished and furnished. The house also has a fireplace that sticks in the wall, beautiful sea views, a pool, a cactus garden and a yard with 2 palm trees in it. So I explored the house and then we went looking for a grocery store. We finally found one and started to buy groceries for the week. Then we came home and made spaghetti (from my special sauce packets that have been sent to me) which was really good. I like sharing my American food with Victor or people who appreciate it, since my roommies mostly don't. Then we rested and watched Tv and then went out to rent some movies. We got Shrek and The Kingdom of Heaven. Back and home we started Kingdom of Heaven but Victor fell asleep and went to bed so I finished it and then went to bed too.

Sunday we rewatched Kingdom of Heaven (Victor for the first time) and then went to get lunch at El Tropiko, a resturant everyone had reccommended to us. It ended up not being that good. We got a salad, fried baby squids and two plates of fish. First they brought us the salad, then Victor's main dish, then our squid appetizer and then my fish. So Victor's had gotten cold and mine ended up not being very good. So we didn't leave a tip and left. Then we went and explored the town a little bit. It is really cute and small and touristy, so I had a ball looking in all the souvenier shops and buying my magnet. Then we left and drove down to a beach and walked around a bit. Then back home and watched Shrek. Then returned the movies and got 2 more, The Prestige and 300. We got home and ate dinner and instead of watching the movies, ended up watching Camera Cafe and Aída, the usual Sunday night shows, and then bed.

Monday we woke up and drove to a beach called Monsul. First we stopped at a pueblo that Victor thought was a beach he had been to before, but it wasn't exactly what he remembered. It was another little touristy town so I dragged Victor to all the shops so I could buy a magnet, a necklace I really like and earrings. The symbol of Almería is the Indalo, which is this ancient cave drawing that I really like. Then we finally made it to Monsul. It is a very famous beach, out in the middle of no where and parts of The Goonies, Conan the Barbarian, some movie with Jane Fonda and Indiana Jones have been filmed there, and certainly others. Everytime I talk to somebody, they tell me another movie that was filmed there. Then after Monsul, on our way back we stopped at a tiny, tiny pueblo called Agua Amarga, Bitter Water. It was really peaceful and quiet and we hung out on the beach for a bit before continuing on. It was so tiny that it didn´t really have any magnets, so that was a bummer. Then we stopped and got gasoline and a bag of ham flavored Ruffles for lunch. Then finally at home we stopped by the grocery store and bought some more food and went home and made dinner. We had chicken and rice and we were really hungry. Then we watched 300 and then The Prestige. I was the only one who watched The Prestige though as Victor fell asleep. Then we returned the movies came back and fell asleep after a long talk.

Tuesday we hung out at home in the morning and then around lunchtime we went to Vera to visit Nacho and Alicia. They were getting there and invited us over for lunch. They have a cute tiny appartment and we hung out there with them and the kids and had lunch. Then naptime, and then Victor and I drove to Lorca, Murcia. Rafa at my work had told me that they have a really amazing Roman Semana Santa with cool processions, so I was hoping to see something like that. We drove in and up to this big castle, that was closed so we just barely looked around. Then drove down through the city and left again. We didn´t see any processions and it was almost kind of pointless to go there as we drove for an hour and then were there less than 1 and then drove back for an hour. Then on our way home we drove through the town of Vera, which turned out to be another disaster as it was dark and creepy. Then we stopped back by Nacho and Alicia´s place and visited for a bit before going home, eating dinner, watching House and going to bed.

Wednesday we got up and got ready and cleaned the hosue and washed sheets and towels. The washers and dryers here take a loooong time to run so we were waiting for a while to leave. We made some pasta which was kinda gross for lunch and I ruined a new shirt opening a can of tuna. I got oil all over me. Then we finally left and drove to this beach called Cabo de Gata, Cape Cat. It was very beautiful and solitary and we took a nap there. Then we drove to the city of Almería and walked around and looked at things. It was a pretty cute and small city but I was going a little bit crazy because there were no magnet or souvenier stores and I really wanted to find one. We asked around and finally found the only souviener kiosk in the whole town and I bought my magnet. Then we left and drove back to Granada. We made the mistake of driving along the coast, which had horrible traffic. It took us a long time to get back but we finally did. There we showered and ate dinner, Pepa had left us a big pasta salad, before she went down to the beach. Then I watched Sin Tetas No Hay Paraíso. We had come back from the beach to see La Procesión de Los Gitanos, or the Gypsy Procession during Semana Santa. But as we went out around 12:30 PM or so, it was raining, which meant that the procession was cancelled. So we went and hung out with Santi, Lucía, María and this other girl in Liberia. It was fun and we were out till about 3 or so. Then home and bed.

Thursday I slept in and then Victor and I did absolutely nothing. We just sat around allllll day, watching TV and being really, really lazy bums. So we watched tv all day till we ate a pizza and pasta salad for lunch and then took a nap and watched more tv. Then around 9 PM I showered, ate a little sandwich, and we went to Lucia's house and hung out with her, Santi, María and her boyfriend Buitre. We were there for a while, just chilling and then we took Santi home and Victor and I went out to see the Procession of Silence. It was pretty cool, its completely silent, no music and they turn off the street lights where it passes. Some people wear chains on their legs and you can just hear the clanking as they walk through the streets. Its the most somber procession as its the one where Christ is crucified. Then we went home, watched House and I went to bed.

Friday was more of the same, tv and no movement all morning. We got lunch from McDonalds and just ate a ton of junk food. It was good but I felt gross as soon as I finished. Then around 4 or 5 I had showered a little earlier and we went and watched the procession that left from Los Escolapios, the church and school next to my house where Victor went to school all his life. It was cool and then at the end my sister called me. Then we came back home and I talked to her on the phone for a long time and then we went back out for a walk. we saw a lot of processions right in teh city center as they all converge there and there is like a traffic jam of them. Then we walked around and down to Plaza Einstein, had a few tapas and then walked home and watched a documentary on killer hippopotami and I went to bed.

Saturday when I woke up I was really dizzy and I fel that way all day long. I tried to eat a little breakfast, watched some Tv but then we had to clean the house because Pepa and Emilio were coming back. So we cleaned, Victor made a rice and tuna dish for lunch which was really good. So I showered and the house was all clean and the dishes done and we watched TV till Pepa and Emilio came back. I was still feeling dizzy and not so good, so when they came home, I went up to my house and watched tv there with Adrian. We talked and he told me that he didn't want me to leave because he liked me so much. Victor was running some errands and getting a hair cut but then stopped by later and I think we went downstairs for dinner. Then he went out with some friends, I used the internet at home till the power went out in the whole building and I went to bed.

Sunday morning I finally felt better and I woke up and got ready for church. As an Easter miracle, Victor went to church with me! We went to the new one close to my house, which Victor seemed to like more than the other one. Its much more calm and laid back. It was a good service and we both sang. I was really happy that he went with me and we had a pretty good time. Then we came home and ate paella with the family and Nacho and Alicia and their family and grandma. I shared some chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs that Carmina had given me with everyone. After lunch everyone fell asleep except for me, Alicia, and Pepa, so I took pictures of them. I also talked to my mom and my dad on the phone. Then I don't think we really did anything in the afternoon because everyone slept so long, but I think Victor and I went to Nacho and Alicia´s for a pizza dinner and then he left for Malaga. Then I probably went home and watched TV and went to bed. And that was my Spring Break 2008! :)

Totally Random

2008-03-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

Ok here is a quick update of the last couple of days:

Tuesday I finished off the day with class at the school, then with Carlos and Marta. Marta showed me her Semana Santa ball of wax that she collected off all the dripping candles after years and years of Semana Santas. Then I think just home and bed. Nothing special.

Wednesday was another great day. I was going to get up early and run but nixed that idea when the alarm went off and slept a little longer. Then I talked to Michelle at work. Last week Emilio went to Huesca and brought me back 6 rolls of bread and 12 other pastries. He didn´t seem to think that that was a lot, but I did. I have been bringing Michelle 1 or 2 everyday at work. So we chatted and ate our snacks and then I worked for the first hour, and the second hour with teachers and then an hour with kids. Since it was the week before vacation, and the week after exams, none of the kids came to school. So I taught the 7 or so kids that showed up about Easter American style. Then Michelle and I walked to El Mirador de San Nicolas where she was meeting a freind for lunch and we hung out till he got there. Then I walked home and made lunch and watched Fama. Conchi and Valentina and Victor Perez all cancelled class on me so I had the whole afternoon free. My parents sent me a great Easter Basket package and that got delivered too! Then I practiced guitar for a bit, and Michelle came over to pick up some stuff she needed for her trip to Italy. Then running, talked on the phone with Victor and then class with Nacho and Alicia, and then Sin Tetas, and then home and bed.

Today, Thursday I didn´t have to go to the first hour of class so I slept in, woke up and went running. It was a little difficult as I had gone the night before (I guess) and then I showerd and went to work. I used the internet and then made some copies for the week after break. Then I had 1 hour of work where I repeated the scene of American Easter to about 8 kids. Then I came home and Victor was here. He had a short work week this week in Murcia. Its about 3 hours away, and he had the whole day for travel so leaving first thing in the morning, he got here around noon. Pepa had gone out to eat but left Victor a huge platter of pasta which we brought up to my house and ate as we watched Fama. (Victor is secretly hooked.) Then I went to guitar and came home and hung out with Victor and the family till he left to go to work in Malaga tomorrow. Then I brought the computer up and have been chatting online to Deanna and doing different things. There has been no one home all day long!

Tomorrow I am going to go to lunch with some of the teachers from work and get all ready for Spring Break. Victor and I are going to Mojácar on the beach and staying in his brother Raúl´s amazing house there. I haven´t seen it yet.. We are also planning on traveling around a bit, and going to cities I haven´t been to before.

Now I wanted to share some totally random tidbits that don´t really go anywhere.

There is a bum who lives under a balcony by where I go running. He is pretty nuts and smelly. There are several strange things about this. Who lets a smelly bum live under their window balcony? He really lives there, he leaves his stuff there during the day, including his Santa Claus stuffed toy. Number 2, one time while running by, he pulls out a megaphone and starts yelling at me. Where does a bum get a megaphone? How does he charge it? Do megaphones run on batteries? Are they expensive?

The other day I saw a huge, maybe 3 inch, grasshopper smashed dead on the ground. I was glad it was dead, had I seen it alive, it probably would have sucked my blood. I thought bugs that big only lived in the country, not the city. I hope I never see one alive.

Today I was walking and I saw a pile of dog poop on the ground with a bird poop on top of it. What are the chances of that? Was it coincidence or did the bird plan that?

Lastly, there is nothing I can do to seperate the paragraphs in the last entry. I´m sorry, I´ve tried several times.