A Five-Hour Tour... A Five-Hour Tour...

Hola a todos!
Good news on the homefront: I have a senora!

Whew, so let's backtrack a little bit. They found me a very nice senora on late Saturday afternoon. Her name is Lina, short for her last name Catalina, and she's a peach. After dinner, which was more edible than my afternoon meal, we went and picked up her sister-in-law and then went to el teatro to see a play. Riding in Lina's car was an experience, to say the least. No, take that back. Riding in a car anywhere in Spain is an experience to say the least. I thought those crazy U-Turns in Florida were confusing, but here there are rotundas, which are circle drives which whip you around and somehow get you in the right direction. I've resolved to stay far far away from driving because I'm already pretty bad at navigating by foot.

So I saw my first official play in Spanish--it was a little hard to follow, but they annuciate well and use a lot of hand motions (I suppose that's a given, it was dramatic theatre, but still it helps) so I was able to get the gist of it. I think. It was called "La Marqeza de O", and all I know is there was a woman, who I think was pregnant, but wasn't married and her parents spent a lot of time yelling at her. So...basically "Secret Life of the Granada Teenager"?

Afterwards, because these spanish women seriously know how to party, we went to a cerverceria for some drinks and tapas. My brother's going to be proud of me, I'm actually starting to like beer that has some flavor to it. No more Keystone Ice Para mi! The beer mostly everybody drinks here is "La Alhambra", and it's not bad!

Our tapas, which are free in this part of Spain with any drink order, were calamares and mariscos (calamari and shrimp, but I am pretty sure anyone who knows a little spanglish could have deduced that). I didn't want to be rude, so even though I don't really eat seafood often I ventured out and tried it. I liked the taste of the calamri, but not the texture. I mentally kept telling myself over and over in my head that I was eating chicken, but I kept imagining I was eating a tentacle from one of those aliens from MIB. (Here come the Men in Black...)

I also ate the shrimp, even though I've passed on them at every family party since I was old enough to make the sound "eww". They really weren't that bad tasting, but I didn't like that while I was eating one, all his little friends on the plate were staring me down, giving me the eye. "No comas mi amigo!!!"

When we got back, it was so nice to finally be unpacked and have my own bed. I had trouble falling asleep but I think it was because I didn't have Kaye and MaryPat's giggles to lull me to sleep. Also, by the end of my first day entirely in e'pano' (they leave out a lot of s's...that doesn't make listening for a beginner hard...or anything...) it was hard to shut my mind off. I'm pretty sure I was dreaming in Spanish, which is almost as much fun as over break when I was ringing up liquor in my sleep for two weeks.

So yesterday, we went on our 5 and a half hour tour (except there wasn't an S.S. Minnow...dang) of the La Alhambra, which is a complex of fortresses and palaces from the Muslims who settled in Granada 1,000 years ago. It was really incredible, I can't wait to see La Alhambra in the spring when all of los flores are in bloom.

When we got to the top of one of the military towers, the view was amazing. You could see a full 360 degrees of Sierra Nevada, La Albaycin, La Catedral, and all of the little houses plopped down in between. It literally takes your breath away. That, or maybe it was the ridiculous amount of stairs we had to climb to get to the top.

After flashing our Universidad badges to the security to get into the palaces and muttering "Jack Bauer" (Hey, I'm allowed to poke fun, I'm pretty sure my senoras been laughing AT me for two days straight...) we got into el cuarto de secretos. No Gretchen Weiners, but it definitley was a room full of secrets. The room was designed by ancient muslims who created an arch in the ceiling and when it gets really quiet, two people can stand in opposite corners of the room and whisper to the wall. (It sounds lame, but wait I am getting to the good part!). Be it miracle, magic, or simply the art of clever architecture, the wall actually whispers back to you! The person standing in the opposite corner's voice gets carried across the arched ceiling and it literally sounds as if they are standing right next to you. Justine and I got a kick out of it. If I lived in that palace, oh some 1,000 years ago, I'm pretty sure I'd use that room to prank people a lot, and freak them out that the walls were talking to them. It's probably what they did for fun! That, and running away to avoid becoming enslaved by the Catholics. Always a good time in Southern Spain, let me tell you.

Almost as much fun as trying to figure out the showers here. Another story, for another time. But basically, when I finally figured out how to turn it on, it's the shower-equivalent of sitting under a luke warm leaky gutter. Score. There's a funny little contraption in the bathroom here. I haven't quite figured out its purpose...either it's a urinal of some kind, or a device to wash your feet. I'm not gonna test those waters yet, until I am sure of its real purpose, though so don't fret your little head.

Today we start school...I won't lie I am wondering if it's a little racist to not grant us the day off because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But I guess I can't complain, I'm taking 12 hours, with no Friday classes, and two spring breaks...in Spain. No Tengas celos. Don't be jealous, friends. For now, ciao ciao ciao!