Walking, Walking, just keep Walking....

I have now completed my third day of school at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas in Granada.  We are currently attending orientations and our culture class.  Tomorrow we are taking our pueba de nivel (placement test) that will place us into a level of Spanish for the next month.  This level will be determined through three sections: grammar, written and oral.  We find out our levels within the next day so by Friday we will actually be taking classes that correspond to our correct level of Spanish. 

I have been enjoying my time at school a lot (other than the homework).  The three professors that I have met thus far are in charge of our culture class.  Mark and Maria are a married couple that are the directors of the program and two of our professors.  Alfonso is our third professor and he is probably in his 30’s.  All of our classes are taught in Spanish and I am surprised that thus far I have not been having many problems understanding the language.  I expected the accent to be a lot thicker. 

I am settling into my house and routine more everyday and I am beginning to realize how lucky I got with my host mom.  I truly don’t think I could have asked for better.  For one, her food is amazing and she understands that when we are full, we don’t want to eat more. Talking to some of my friends here, it is a blessing to not have a mom that forces food on you.  She also is very interested in helping us learn about the culture of Spain.  She has taken us out to tapas bars, shown us where the best ice cream is in the city, described historical points around the city, helped me with my Spanish, and whenever we are on a new street she makes sure we know its name.  She seems like a person with a pure heart.  Her daughter was also here to visit this weekend and she was very kind as well.  She helped us get cell phones, answered questions that we had about the culture and was also very helpful with Spanish.  If you cant tell, I am enjoying my living situation currently. 

I already know that I am going to love this city.  There is something interesting around every corner.  The other day we went on a walking tour with one of our professors and he took us to the edge of the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located on the hills above Granada build in the mid 14^th century.  It is make almost completely of red bricks and over the next few weeks we will be continuing to explore it in its entirety.  Including its vast gardens and palace walls.  The day that we went on the walking tour I easily must have walked over 6 miles.  I am walking so much I already feel like my legs have become firmer and I come home every night with sore feet.

My favorite part about Spain thus far is the culture of Tapas Bars.  You can go and order a drink and you get free tapas, or snacks.  They consist of breads, cheeses, meats, fruits, etc.  And after sitting in class for two hours, it is the perfect environment to go sit down in and talk with friends to relax.  Granada is the only place in Spain where they give free tapas with a drink. 

I am off to bed.  Hope all is well in the states.  If you have any questions about my experience right now let me know and I would be happy to answer them.  

 The Center of Granada

 Alfonso: one of our professors

 The Alhambra

 Our room, my bed is the one on the left

View from my house at night

First night in Granada

Hello my friends and family.  I have officially arrived in Granada and I am moved into my host family’s house.  Everything is wonderful.  My mother is very kind and she loves to feed my roommate and I, also named Katie, copious amounts of delicious food.  I am going to come back to the states as a gordita aka a small fat child!  I arrived to my host house around 5 after Renee and I came to Granada by bus from Nerja.  Our last few days in Nerja went very well.  We spend quite a bit of time on the beach, swimming in the Mediterranean and we had a fun time getting to know the city.  The hostel that we stayed at was very nice and I would recommend it in the future, it was called Hostel Azahara. 

Now that I am in Granada I have begun to speak Spanish all of the time.  My host mom tells me that I speak very well, but it will be interesting to see how I do on the placement test that I will take in a few days.  I do have a bit of a headache from processing the language but for the most part I understand what people are saying to me! The next few weeks will be difficult but I am very excited to master the language.  My roommate is very good at speaking Spanish (and a very nice person in general), and it very helpful when it comes to learning new vocabulary and describing things to me. 

 A little bit about my living situation.  My host moms name is Elvira and I would say she is in her 50's or 60's.  We are on the fifth floor of an apartment building, which is pretty nice.  My host mom has two children, however, both are older than us by quite a few years.  I do not believe either of them live at home.  She has two dogs, which is nice considering I have been missing my Lucy quite a bit.  The house is a good size, consisting of three bedrooms, two living rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.  From the sounds of it I believe my host mom has had many students from the program before and she actually works at the CLM, which is the language university that we will be attending.  She is very kind and very interested in learning about Katie and I.  I feel very lucky to have the situation that I do. 

I am off to bed but a little story about my travels to my host house today.  Renee and I actually ran into another girl from the University of Portland at the bus stop and we all took the same cab to our host houses.  I was the first to be dropped off and when I rang the bell to my supposed house a lady answered and then informed me that I was not at the right house.  So there I was in the middle of Granada and I had been dropped off at the wrong house!  So I started to talk to people that I met on the streets.  Finally, I found a nice old woman that was able to point me in the right direction; she even walked me to my door.  That demonstrates the type of people that I have met here thus far.  The Spanish are very approachable and very open to helping people find their way!  Buenos Noches! I will try and post some pictures of Granada as I take them!

Seattle-London-Madrid-Nerja in 36 hours

            For those of you that don’t know, I am traveling right now with my friend Renne.  We had a very smooth flight from Seattle to London, where we sat next to a very pleasant British man.  We had a great conversation with him about sailing and how to maneuver the Heathrow airport.  Once we landed in Heathrow, we had a two hour layover in which we ate some lunch and walked around the London airport, which truly feels more like a shopping mall.  Our second flight took us from London to Madrid and was only about 2 hours.  Once in Madrid, we took a very expensive taxi ride to our hostel, costing about 50 euros… Our hostel had a retro feel to it, painted in bright colors, with black and white doors and very blue-polkadot bedspreads.  We liked the hostel a lot because it was situated on the main drag of Madrid, was very clean and the staff was very pleasant.  

            The following morning we woke up early to go to the bus station and head out for Nerja.  We almost missed our bus because none of the reader boards included our bus number…We then found out we had to board the bus to Granada, which would then continue onto Nerja.  It was a very close call.  The 7+ hour bus ride through the south of Spain was BEAUTFUL.  Most of it reminded me somewhat of Eastern Washington in that it is very dry, slightly mountainous and was mostly composed of farmland.  Once we arrived closer to Granada, we started to see more green vegetation.  Our bus stopped briefly in Granada and I am very excited to live there for four months.  The city is full of orange tiled houses, making it very beautiful and unique.   

            We are currently in Nerja, a small Mediterranean coast town.  It was the very last stop on the bus route, but by far our best decision yet on this trip.  The city is primarily composed of houses made of white stone and it is situated right next to the Mediterranean Sea, which is a beautiful, teal blue color.  The beaches are covered with people.  We had our first nudist sighting yesterday, actually multiple of them, but I suppose it is all apart of the culture.  Since being here we have finally adjusted to the time change, spent some time laying on the beaches and ate a lot of really good food.  Also, yesterday we went to “Las Cuevas de Nerja.”  These caves were amazing, very ancient and beautiful.  Last night we met two girls in their late 20's from the states.  One of which has lived in Granada for about three months now.  It was really nice spending time with them particularly since they answered some questions of ours about the Spanish culture.  I love the way you meet new people when you are traveling.
            Today we are planning on spending some time on the beach and getting ready to head to Granada tomorrow.  I thought the past few weeks in Seattle have been hot, but the weather here is in the 90’s every day.  We typically don’t go to bed until at least 2 in the morning because it is too hot to sleep.  I am beginning to understand why the Spanish eat dinner so late and come alive so much at night.
           We meet our host families tomorrow afternoon and I am getting very excited!  I have uploaded some pictures of my time here so far. I will be posting more photos on Facebook than on my blog because it is an easier process.  Feel free to friend me if you wish to see them.  Hopefully, when I arrive in Granada I will have better internet access and will be able to be online more often. Hope all is well in the states! Adios!

IN MADRID

IN NERJA

THE CAVES-IN NERJA

Departure

I depart for Spain tomorrow, Tuesday the 23rd, at 6:55 pm.  Throughout the semester I will be posting pictures and messages to my blog to keep everyone updated on my adventures.  I arrive in Madrid, Spain around 5:30 pm on the 24th.  I will be spending one night there then traveling by bus down to the Mediterranean Coast to a small town.  My friend Renee and I will be spending three nights on the coast then we will be continuing on to Granada on the 28th, which is the official start date of my program.  I am getting really excited and finding it hard to believe that my departure date has arrived! See you all in four months :)

¡Adiós!