Granada y más

So apparently I have been neglecting my blog so get ready cause this is going to be a long one.

Just got back from Granada with API and it was absolutely amazing! My favorite place I have been so far, I did not want to leave! I took about 200 pics while I was there but it was just so easy, everything was sooo beautiful. The Sierra Nevadas as a back drop just make the smaller more charming town of Granada that much more magnificent! First off, it was just nice to get out of the house for a couple days and stay in a hotel where we didn't have to worry about making our Senora mad.(She kinda scares us) There was a buffet for dinner and breakfast and we got to watch some of the olympics! It's amazing how much I enjoyed being able to do that although the channel was in German and we only got to watch the biathalon, skeleton, and the long jump. It was a lot colder in Granada than it is in Sevilla but we finally got lucky and did not get rained on at all! I have never enjoyed clear skies more! Friday night we went to this private flamenco show in this small cave type room. Really fun and cool. And I have videos!




Went out on the town after that and today we went to la Alhambra which is the royal palace in Granada. Granada was the last arab city in Spain back in the day and la Alhambra is the most visited monument in Spain. 2.5 Million people visit it every year! It was really amazing, our italian tour guide who was fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and English was extremely passionate about it and kept asking us to wait to take pictures because we needed to first really see it. Had the best tuna sandwich ever after the tour(the seafood is amazing here) and then hopped on a bus home.(Sitting in the back of the bus = not fun) I couldn't get over how beautiful Granada was though. I knew the second we drove in that I was going to love it and I really wish I was living there but alas I am in Sevilla and I should not complain. Segway to Sevilla, more rain than they have had in like 60 years and I've been a little peeved. I have been pretty sick lately too which sucks. All I want to do is get out of the house and wander around but I can't so I am forced to stay inside and do homework. I'm trying to get as much presentation type stuff done now before it turns nice. UPO(Universidad Pablo de Olavide) is a smaller school just outside of the city. There are about 500 american students who attend and I really like it! Classes in general are way easier here but it is more work than I expected. I don't know what I was thinking but when I came into this I was expecting to just go to class, pay attention, and that would be enough but this is not true. I do have homework, although it is minimal, and I took a European Union test last week that was actually very challenging. I think we all failed it. C average is all I need though! JK, I actually find myself wanting to do well and really grasp what I am learning in these classes. I think it partly has to do with the fact that since my classes are all pass/fail there is less pressure to do well and therefore I can relax more and really enjoy what I am learning. Maybe more classes should be pass/fail! Only having four classes doesn't hurt either. We are all starting to speak a lot more spanish now too which has been fun. A few people in my program have given up speaking english for lent(ya, crazy) but it has all kinda striked a chord in us to practice more. I think we are all realizing too that we only have 3 months left here and we better make the most of it while we are here! I can not believe I only have 13 weeks left here! It's going to be over before we know it! Especially with all the traveling I am going to be doing, time is going to fly!

Absolutely love it here though and can't wait for more adventures! Miss everyone at home, Hasta Pronto!