September 9th.
I got up at 8:30, went to the gym, ate breakfast, and showered before class. Completing those three things before my official day starts always makes me more excited and ready for the tasks ahead.
Class was intellectually stimulating. I paid such close attention in grammar that I didn't even notice the time go by.
My travel plans for my week off are more or less open. Although I'm flying into Paris, I am considering meeting up with the majority of the other students from my program in Amsterdam. I was looking at bus tickets from Paris to Amsterdam and I found that all of the best ticket prices were on sites that were only in French. I hunched by my computer, copying and pasting all of the words that weren't Spanish cognates into an online translator. This tedious method was working pretty well until I got to the credit card page, in which it was much to complicated to try and translate. If I do end up going to Amsterdam, I'll probably my ticket in Paris with my friends who speak French.
I headed down to my apartment with a bag full of my winter clothes that I wouldn't be needing just yet.
Antonio, Heiko, and a guy named Chris, who Heiko had met through a friend at his Erasmus ILP school were at the apartment when I arrived. My other roommate who I hadn't met, Nathalie, was at the Alhambra and would be back in the evening. I couldn't stay long as I had to meet up with my monitores, so I dropped off my clothes and then walked the 30 minutes back up to La Cartuja. I would be back to my apartment later that night to pay my landlord the first month's rent.
We met with our monitores and walked to the Realejo area of the city, climbing a hill that led to the Alhambra. Instead of following the path to the palace, we took a side street which led us to what I would describe as "fantastical" neoclassical gardens with winding paths, fountains, sculptures, and roaming pea cocks. We were visiting the gardens of "Carmen de los Mártires." Certain areas of these public gardens can be reserved for private events. On the top of one of the hills overlooking Granada, we were granted a spectacular view of the city stretching out below. I spent a lot of time wandering the paths. Its not that far from my apartment and I plan on coming back.
I took my rent money to my apartment and met with my landlord. My apartment mate Nathalie and her boyfriend came in and I was really glad to finally meet her. Nathalie is from a small town in northern Germany. She is 20, beautiful, and down to earth. She'll be studying abroad the entire year as an Erasmus (inter EU) exchange student. She spoke perfect English and her Spanish was good as well. She is the only girl in our apartment of 5, but she said that she didn't mind and was looking forward to the year.
Chris, Heiko's friend, was in the kitchen making dinner. 30 years old and a roaming traveler, he finances his time abroad through high stakes online poker. He had somehow met Hieko, and after something had fallen through with his other living situation, Heiko invited to spend the night on the couch in our apartment. He was also an amazing chef, as he "paid for his stay" by making us a fantastic Korean chicken dinner with rice and steamed vegetables.
After dinner I spent a couple hours talking to my new roommates and then walked back to the residencia as its easier in the morning to sleep at the dorm.
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