Flamenco, Classes and Beach Time

Alot has been happening in the last few days. On wednesday before the flamenco show, our program directors took us on a tour of Granada. We walked through the moorish district which is very beautiful and very old and we hiked up to a popular tourist spot that has an incredible view of the alhambra. It was very cool. The flamenco show was very interesting. We were all in a circle in this long but small room and the dancers came in and danced in the middle. they were all extremely talented and i had never really seen flamenco before.

Thursday was my first day of school. The building that i go to school in is actually a different one than the one where i took my placement test, its called the Kenya building and it is a little farther away. but I have learned that i can walk fast enough to get there in 20 minutes if i really want to. I love my walk to school. Anyway, nothing too exciting happened on the first day of school, both of my professors seem very nice and we didnt get very much homework. After class, I went to get my spanish book and my sim card with some other kids in my program. That afternoon i went shopping with some of my friends and bought a really pretty over the shoulder leather bag which is already very handy to have in this city.

On Friday class was about the same. During our 20 minute break, some friends and I found this little coffee place that also serves really delicious tostadas for only 1 euro. They are amazing and it will be very tempting to get one everyday. The way it has worked here so far is that everyone goes home after class and lays low until at least 6:00 if not 9:00. its a very different lifestyle than in the US. So far its working pretty well for me except for the fact that i still dont have a working phone. It is very hard to make plans when ones only communication device is facebook. Hopefully this will change very very soon. On Friday night a big group of us decided to go out. First we met up at the residencia and then headed out to get some tapas before going to the discoteca. The tapas were delicious as always and the discoteca that we went to had an incredible view of the alhambra. I had a great time, but also lost track of time and didnt get home until 6am. However that seems to very much be the Spanish way of doing things.

Bright and early on saturday morning, some friends and I took a trip to a beach called Nerja which was a 2 hour bus ride away but so so worth it. We got there at about noon and spent the whole day swimming and laying in the sun. It was so incredibly beautiful there. The water was so blue and the sand was far whiter than any beach in seattle. It was a wonderfully relaxing day and even the bus ride was pretty. On our way home the sun was setting and it was gorgeous to watch. Once I got home my roommate and I had dinner and then she went to bed. I on the other hand didnt feel tired yet so i went out in the living room and attempted to talk which one of my homestay sisters. It wasnt the smoothest conversation ever but as i use my (very broken) spanish more and more I find i remember more words and I think i might even be getting better, even if its a very slow pace. So far the most frustrating thing is my spanish not being better. Its so difficult when its a constant struggle to communicate with people. Hopefully it wont be long before this frustration subsides a bit.

Today will be a pretty relaxed day seeing as i just woke up and its already after 11. Also on sundays in Spain all of the stores are closed. This really bummed me out to learn because i had sort of planned on doing some shopping today. But thats ok. I will probably just walk around and check out the park by my house and do some homework. Tomorrow will be the beginning of my first full week of classes.