I finally arrived in Granada around 1 pm Spain time or 5 am Chicago time. The flight from Chicago to Miami was painless and, surprisingly, the flight from Miami to Madrid was not bad either. After trading seats with a man so he could be near his family I wound up sitting next to a woman named Lola from Sevilla, which is South Spain, about three hours from Granada. She was wonderful and we talked about Spain and the differences between it and The United States. The best part about the trip though was her little 5 pound Yorkie. She had snuck him out of his bag and had him laying on her lap hidden under a blanket. He stayed there the whole way without once barking or trying to jump down. The whole time I was just picturing what a disaster it would have been if my mom had tried that with Chloe.
When I arrived in Madrid I ran into about 7 other students in the same program as me and we stuck together the rest of the way. After one last short plane ride we all landed in Granada. After getting on a bus and driving into town my roommate Kayla and I met our host mom. Her name is Amparo Bolaños. Right when we met her it was apparent that my initial prediction that she spoke English was not the case. She only speaks Spanish and it was definitely a rude awakening for me when I realized how terrible my Spanish skills are. Luckily, my second roommate, Angela, that arrived later speaks fluent Spanish and English. Although I try to speak as much Spanish as possible it is very comforting to know that if I am at a lose for words I can turn to Angela and say "Que es la palabra para..." and she can help me out.
My host mom is extremely nice and makes delicious food. As soon as we got home we ate a large lunch and she explained to us that lunch is the main meal of the day. After unpacking and laying around a bit we decided that we wanted to go on a walk. It was 9pm but the sun was still relatively high in the sky so my host mom, my two roommates, and I walked around the city. I have attached some photos and although they are not the best quality they still give you an idea of what the city is like. The city is known for its Arabic architecture. The modern areas are beautiful but the oldest parts of town holds some of the most breathtaking buildings I have ever seen. Something about the architecture, endless amounts of trees and flowers, and river that goes through town makes it feel like a dream or something you would see in the movies. To sum it up in one word it's romantic. After walking around a bit we got ice cream at a prestigious ice cream shop in the more modern part of town. My host mom said it was her favorite ice cream shop in the city and I would have to say it was some of the best ice cream I have ever had.
We didn't get back to the house till 11pm. We then finally had dinner and she explained to us that they usually eat around 9pm, which still is 4 hours after when I typically eat. I think one of the hardest things to get use to will be their eating habits.
Well, it's 1am here and 6pm back at home but I am exhausted and going to bed.
So excited for you on your journeys! Can take a trip to Spain through you! And the pics are great. If you get a chance,try to see the Lipizzans that Spain is famous for, they are amazing! :-)
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