Tantas Visitas! [So many trips!]

Hola otra vez! =)

It's been quite busy since the intensive language program started. We have class Monday through Thursday from 9 to 2, although, there's an hour of "individual study" (which is really just go to your room and sleep time) and a 20 minute break. When they say "intensive," they're not kidding. It's five different classes, three a day, and we get credit for it back at the UC, but it's only 3-6 units (we get to choose how many credits we want). It's like taking 5 classes for the value of 1! But the classes are crazy, in my opinion, simply because I can't understand half of what the teachers are saying. We have Grammar, Oral, Reading Comprehension, Literature, and History classes. I like the first three because the teachers are pretty good, and we actually get to talk in those classes, and for me, it's easier to understand the students than the teachers =X I did like the first history class, but that's probably because the teacher talked really slowly and we spent most of the time going around the class and introducing ourselves. The second class she talked slowly, too, but I just couldn't keep up....maybe because I fell asleep...=X And the Literature class. Let's just not speak of it. HAHA Seriously, that teacher talks waaaay too fast and I don't even know if he's talking about Literature. I can't tell..I've heard other kids say that the first class, he talked about wanting to talk about things that we're interested in, and the second class was about power? I don't know. But he seriously talks throughout the whole class. It's really unbearable....=T
But besides class, they've been taking us on many trips! It's really quite tiring and I don't know how they expect us to do our homework. I had to do mine the morning it was due =X But in all fairness, I did it during the "individual study" time (because my individual study time is the first class of the day!) But anywho, they let us venture out into town again with our Monitores and that day was so very long. I wasn't back until 11 at night! AND our monitor left us! So my group ate dinner together, which was very cool bonding time, and then we walked back to La Residencia. But still. It was so very late when we got back. But I got a cell phone! Call me if you ever get a calling card! =P Actually, don't call me. It costs me minutes, too =P
A couple of nights ago, I went wandering with a couple of people just to take pictures of the city. It was quite interesting. I'll tell stories with the pictures =)

This is where I live. Actually. This is like. the Front Desk of where I live. I actually live to the left of this picture...=D

This is a monastery that's right next to La Residencia. The picture may not look like it, but it looks REALLY old.



Entrance to Monastery. I didn't go in, though. They were about to close.

Universidad de Granada! My school! It's actually spread out everywhere throughout the city, so when I find an apartment, I'll have to look for one that's close to my "facultad" which is like, the "school of ____" But I might take classes in different facultades so that might be a problem...

There are lots of fountains spread out throughout the city. [fountains in Spanish is "fuentes"]. They're pretty nice. I like fountains =)

Some building. I don't know what. But I thought it looked nice =) A lot of the buildings look ancient. It's pretty cool.

The gate to some building...

Advertisements...in Spanish! hahaha

Billboard for Evan Almighty hahahha, but they call it "Sigo como dios." they called the first one "Como dios." Funny, huh?

I think this is an apartment building....

Some street...I thought it looked artistic

I thought this door was cute. Not American-like at all.


This is how their street signs look. They're not very noticeable. Seriously. If I were driving around here..I'd get soooo lost.

Graffiti is a huge part of the city. There's graffiti everywhere, and most of it looks really nice. They say that people consider it more art than graffiti. Apparently, there's some dude who got a hired in America because of his graffiti work in Granada. Wow.

I even saw a Yoda graffiti, but I didn't take a picture of it.

After exploring and taking pictures, I went out with a lot of people from the EAP program for Tapas. It's this thing that they do A LOT here. I actually don't enjoy it all that much. They go to like, a restaurant/cafe, and order drinks and stuff and you get free "Tapas" (which is really just appetizers), but they're not really free because people say that it's included in the fee for the drink. I usually just get water or soda. I got one alcoholic drink once. It's called Tinto de verano. Apparently it's soda with a bit of red wine, I believe. People order it all the time here, apparently. It tastes alright, but I really don't want to become an alcoholic so that one time was enough for me =) But yea, that was an interesting experience because the people I sat with were all telling like, drunk/drug stories. They were funny and all, but of course I had none to tell, so I just sat there laughing most of the night. But I do that anyway.

Yesterday, the main organizers of the EAP group in Granada too us to two supposedly important neighborhoods (or, in Spanish, "barrios") of Granada: The Albaicin and the Sacromonte. I took many many pictures, but...I've realized I'm not too interested in the history of the city =X hahaha, well, let's just say the walk was way too long and hilly with lots of rocks that made the walk very unstable. But here are pictures anyway =)

I think this is the outside of the neighborhood. Pretty nice.

Didn't think it was possible, but these are steps worse than Covel steps (these really awkward steps that are next to a building called Covel Commons in UCLA for those of you not familiar with the campus =D). These steps were not only awkward (meaning, they are too long to take it one foot step at a time, and yet, too short to take it two foot steps at a time), but they are also uneven because they're made of paved rocks that didn't quite get evened out AND they slant!

What a wonderful phrase.

I think the person guiding us was saying something about this area being a theatre...but I could be wrong..anywho, this was in the Albaicin

I believe this is the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Pretty view. Looks like a castle.

The Study Center Coordinator (her name's Natalia; she's super nice) made me take this picture to show my parents. hahahah, but I think I'll make it my facebook picture, too =P Me in Spain!

Nice to know that Punk is not dead. even in Granada.

There were a lot of stray cats. Here's a whole litter.
[by the way, I just learned that there are a BUNCH of ways to say a group of cats/kittens: lowder of cats, clutter of cats, glaring of cats, pounce of cats, dout of cats, nuisance of cats, kendle of cats, kindle of cats, or destruction of cats! I looked this up, of course]

We went to a garden. It had a fountain. I like fountains =)

Me with some people that I met. Left to right: Elise (Berkeley), Ashley (Santa Barbara), Me.

This is an ice cream shop. I know this because the sign says "Heladeria" and that means Ice Cream shop. hahaha, my Spanish is improving already =P

This is the beginning of the neighborhood, and they call it.....

Calle Puerta Nueva! [Translation: New Door Street]

This is what their police cars look like. WEIRD! hahah

Very pretty view. Very long walk.

Very cool looking building amongst the city.

Granada =)

Other than that, the week's officially over for me. We have a meeting tomorrow, that's supposed to take two hours, and then Saturday's free, and then we're going to go to some place that's very nature-y. hahaha I didn't know how to put that correctly...Anyway, it's supposed to be a 5 hour long trip, YEEKS! But I saw some pictures, and there's this HUGE bridge:

that's not me, of course, but Next time I'll have a picture with me on it =)


I went to the market today all by myself and I was very proud that I knew the way to and back =D

That's pretty much it. Hasta luego!

PS. I had Paella and Flan today for lunch. Me gustan mucho =)