caca de perros and so on.

If I wasn’t before, I am now so much in love with Granada, that I wish I could stay here forever! Well, maybe not forever, but at least a year. Already, one month is over and I only have 3 left to go! So much has happened, but I'll spare you from every detail. Here are a few highlights/thoughts about my time here this past week:

Intercambios or speed dating?

Last Tuesday we finally got to meet with our intercambios (language partners)! The point was to meet some Spaniards who we could regularly meet with and practice speaking Spanish and English with each other throughout the week. The entire ISA group (about 36 students) met together on Tuesday night at Plaza Nueva in Granada. As we waited to meet with the group of Spaniards, rumors circulated that this meeting would be more like speed-dating than anything, us moving from table to table and making small talk until we found the right match; and this appeared to be true, as more and more Spanish chicos showed up! Apparently we were all to go to a local tea shop and mix and mingle with everyone there. Eventually, our large group of nervous students wandered to the tea place and filled every seat in the basement. I was happy that I ended up seated in between two girls, which is exactly what I wanted. I was more interested in making friends than trying to hook up with a random Spanish guy (some of which are un poco creepy--as in just wanting to hang out with the american girls)! The evening went well, and it turned out not to be anything like speed dating (to my relief), and I ended up making a wonderful new friend, who I’m meeting again tomorrow for lunch! J

Caca de perros.

On a side note, one thing that I don’t like about Granada is the caca de perros (dog poop) lining every street! I guess owners don’t clean up after their dogs here. It’s interesting that dogs are so well-behaved here. I’ve seen many waiting for their owners outside grocery stores, never tied up. I’ve only seen a few dogs on leashes here, and many wander around on their own without much guidance from their owners. It’s interesting. They're more like people than pets, and it seems like they have their own interesting lives that doesn’t actually revolve around their owners!

Also, everyone here smokes. I feel like I should, too, to be a true Spaniard. In fact, some girls from another program did start smoking so they could fit in a little more with the culture. haha. I don't think I would go that far to be Spanish! I think I'll just settle for the second-hand smoke that drifts into my room every night when I sleep.

Gazpacho and paella.

I finally tried gazpacho a few days ago, and I’m not so sure what I think about it. I had never tried it in the states, so I have nothing to compare it to. It was homemade by my señora, the amazing cook. It was a cold, thick vegetable drink, very rich in flavor. I mostly tasted the tomatoes, but there were many types of vegetables in it. I could only drink a little bit because I feel like my taste-buds aren’t accustomed to that type of flavor. Andrea commented that it would be really good salad dressing. J

Also, my señora finally made the paella that she had been talking about since the first day we arrived. I was dying to try it! And it did not disappoint. It’s an amazing rice and seafood dish typical of Spain and I think I could eat it every day. Check out the picture.

Trips to come.
I only have a few more days left in the intensive month class--thank goodness! It is pretty boring, although I really am learning a lot. I take a final exam Friday morning and then leave late that night for a 10-day trips to various cities in Europe (!) with Andrea and Angela, and 1 or 2 other girls from our program. Our travels will take us first to Paris, then Geneva and Interlaken in Switzerland, and then Rome and Venice in Italy. It's a lot of cities, but we have all 10 days roughly planned out to make the most of our time in each city. When we return we have one free day to recoup, the first two days of semester classes, and then I leave again for a trip to Morocco with other ISA students! I'm unbelievably excited for this trip--especially our journey to the desert on camels where we will spend two nights in tents! I really cannot believe I get to do all these things while I'm here. I just hope I can make the most of every opportunity, and every day I have in Spain and elsewhere.


I know this update is so long, but at the same time it is so short! I feel like I could go on forever about my trip and all we've done, but I'll stop here. Until next time...