Life in Granada

After being in Granada for a few more days, we're beginning to grow accustomed to the way of life here. Classes have begun, and everyday we rise early to walk 30 minutes to the school for our four-hour Spanish class. September is called the "intensive month" of class because we have the same class everyday from 9 am to 1 pm, which focuses on grammar and speaking and writing Spanish. Four hours! ¡Qué Lastima! (that's for you, Lauren)



Class just ended for me today and soon I'll be going home to eat some of the wonderful home-cooking of our Señora, Torcua. The food here is amazing! But, it's really hard for me to get used to the eating schedule. Breakfasts are coffee and a pastry early in the morning and lunch isn't until 2:30! Lunch is followed by a siesta, which involves a short nap. This, of course, is my favorite part of the day. :-) Dinner is at 9 pm or later, and everyone stays up until at least midnight. No wonder the siesta is so important! Why don't we do them in the U.S.?



The way of life is a lot different but I love it. Everyone is so relaxed, and there isn't the same type of hurried busyness here as in the U.S. Schools even give less homework here. Mid-day siestas and no homework...I can get used to this.



Since we've been in Granada we've been on a couple tours of the city, and just like every city I've seen in Spain so far, there is so much history. I love that. It seems like there's a story behind every building, and just walking around the city is a daily reminder of it's history. A couple nights ago the ISA group walked througha traditional barrio in Granada and learned about how the people live there. We walked far and high, and stopped at a beautiful and lively spot where all the Gypsies gather to relax, play music and sell items to the tourists who come through. Items can include hand-made necklaces, "lucky" branches, or drugs. And apparently coins are bad luck, as Angela found out when she was offered a good luck branch and the lady demanded she pay with a bill. Coincidentally the smallest bill is 5 euros (about 7 dollars)... Needless to say this was an interesting stop, and it also provided a beautful view of the Alhambra. I'm really trying to post pictures but the internet is so slow. I promise they will be up soon!



After that we walked up to another mystical place, and in my opinion, this is the most interesting and excited thing we've done so far. At this stop we all gathered into a cave-like building to watch the beautiful flamenco dancers. This was amazing! We were in awe of these dancers as we sat side by side in the cave listening to the beats of the music, the guitar, the clapping and dancing. I wish I could justly describe this, but it's something you have to see.

I'm running out of time now, so I'll have to update more later. It's almost time for our lunch and then siesta!

¡Adiós!