This is a picture of the group that walked through the Plaza de Espana seated in the little Granada section.
I got back yesterday afternoon from a weekend trip to Ronda and Sevilla with our group, which started with Jessie and I getting lost and making it to the bus 25 minutes late and ended with an uncomfortable four hour ride home. But the part in the middle was fabulous, so it more than balances out. Friday afternoon we stopped in Ronda, a small city outside of Malaga, to take a walking tour and eat lunch. It’s situated on a hill so the view is absolutely incredible from every part of the city. When we got to Sevilla later that afternoon we all got ready and dressed up for a very nice dinner at a great restaurant. I always find it somewhat comical to watch the faces of 85 very obviously American students file into a restaurant and of course take it over. The next morning we woke up, had another great meal (I have never in my life been so appreciative of the hotel breakfast) and took a tour of some of the more historic areas of Sevilla (the catedral, unos palacios, etc.). I have never been a huge fan of architecture and walking around looking at buildings, but these places are incredible works of art in themselves. After doing some exploring (Sevilla is so much more Americanized and commercial, or really just big, that the businesses don’t even close during the siesta) we went to a small flamenco show, ate a little dinner and went bar hopping for a while. A friend and I struck up a conversation with a group of Spanish students and despite the initial terror of randomly talking to a group of strangers in a foreign country it was one of the more rewarding experiences I’ve had here. At first many Spaniards seem to come off as a little stand off-ish, but in conversation everyone has been very encouraging and helpful. Anyway it was a thrill. The next morning we, again, had a fabulous breakfast went on one last walking tour along the river through a big park to the Plaza de España before getting back on the bus. A group of people made plans to go out and watch the Super Bowl, which started around 1:00am here, but I was so exhausted by the time I walked home that I went to bed.
Today was a big day here because it was our first day of classes. I placed into the second most advanced Spanish language class, which is a bit intimidating because everyone is pretty experienced and very capable of carrying on a conversation. The only group above us is full of students who are very nearly bilingual if not already. Of course all the professors encourage us to just speak without worrying about grammatical errors, but that is a bit easier said than done. My roommate finally made it in last night! We had a funny moment today when we passed in the hall, recognized each other and took a minute to hug and dance around in excitement. So, after my first class we met up so I could walk her back to our house with her suitcases. This afternoon I also had a Spanish literature/theater class, which promises to be incredible, and my Mediterranean Ecosystems class. I am so pumped about taking a biology class here, though I almost wish it was in Spanish as well because it takes the profs a little longer to think and explain things in English. On my way home I stopped to buy flamenco shoes and a few school supplies and though I’m already ready for bed I think I will meet a few friends for tapas soon. Granada is the only city in Spain with free tapas...big smile.
Keep in touch, I’m a big fan of emails and Skype.
bss
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