Sunday, September 4, 2011

One week in Spain


I have officially spent one week at my host family in Spain and I am LOVING IT!  Granada is the most beautiful city that I have ever been in.  Currently in school we are in our intensive course for one month where we have class for four hours everyday working on grammar, our speaking abilities and writing.  We had our first class on Friday and my professors, Maria and Carmen, are the funniest teachers I have ever had.  Our class was four hours long, it felt like one hour and I think we laughed for a good half of it. 
Yesterday, about ten friends and I went to a local beach for the day.  It is named Salobreña and because Europe is now done with its vacation season, the beach was nearly empty but we still had a blast.  The wind was really strong so we did some great body surfing and most of us all got pretty sunburned.  We went for a short hike to get to a viewpoint and I am so overwhelmed by how beautiful the Mediterranean is.    We ended our day by having a drink and eating some tapas before getting back on the bus.  Oh the joys of being legal!  The Spaniards favorite drink is called “Vino de Verano” or “Tinto de Verano.”  It is a mix of red wine and Fanta served over ice with a lemon wedge.  It truly is quite delicious!
Today, we went with our class on a small fieldtrip to a neighborhood in Granada called the Albaycín.  It is the oldest neighborhood in Granada and is known for its Arabic influence and heritage.  The neighborhood is up in the hills of Granada and has one of the most beautiful views of the city and the Alhambra.  I love the city of Granada because there is always another beautiful view or building around the next corner.  Today we also visited the Baños de los Arabes, aka the location where the Arabs, when they lived in Granada, used to go to shower.  In the Arab culture people would often spend more than one hour showering because it was considered a socializing time.  How things have changed…
I start my first full week of classes tomorrow and I am very excited to learn more about the language.  As for right now, I have been procrastinating all day so I really need to do my homework! Hope everyone is having a good September so far.  I also posted pictures on Facebook so you can see all of my past adventures.  





The Alhambra

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