Getting in the Swing of Things

October 27th

My classes are going well and I know they will soon pick up.

The third day of Salsa Class was really fun and we are certainly progressing rapidly.  There are now 7 boys in the class and 16 or so girls.  We did a lot of partner dancing, turns, "girl dipping" (I'm not sure what word to use as we would spin the girls and then catch them and dip them back), and this really fun merengue dance where all of the boys would join hands in a circle and have the girls sit in between our arms while we spun around.  Its a great class and I'm enjoying having it in the middle of the day to do something different besides only academics.  

Back at my piso I went on the roof to study grammar with Nathalie.  My afternoon class was good and on the way back home I stopped in a few of medieval buildings that I always walk by.  One of the buildings was a monastery with beautiful flower beds and intricate cobble stone designs decorated in flocks of green moss.

The rest of the evening I spent writing my essay for Teoría Del Estado.  It took me a long time as I had my dictionary in my lap and kept bouncing from the book to the online translator to make sure I was correct in what in what I was trying to say.  

Homework and Sunday Jazz Sessions

October 26th

I spent a few hours writing outside and studying for Teoría Del Estado.  For lunch I made "Heiko Potatoes" as I put tomatoes and potatoes in a pan with olive oil and then baked them in the oven.

We heard voices outside and went out to the balcony where we "met" our new neighbors.  10 or so Italian girls are living in the apartment across from our balcony.  They're doing a program where they spend a little bit of time in different Spanish cities studying at the different universities.

That afternoon, I went out with Antonio to meet up with his friends who were visiting from Almería.  Hanging out with Spaniards is when I really notice my speaking ability improve.  

Back home I cooked dinner (nothing fancy, just pasta, fresh mozzarella, sauteed vegetables) for 5.  At 11:00 we went over to the "Boogaclub" a club on Gran Vía.  Every Sunday there is a jazz jam session in which anyone can get up and play.  We paid three euros to enter with a drink and enjoyed listening to the free-form spontaneity.  I hung out with Antonio and his some of his Spanish friends and we ran into a couple of the other Erasmus students who had come over for Heiko's party.  I really enjoyed the venue and will have to go back.  There really is something going on every night in Granada.

It was a nice conclusion to an insane, non-stop weekend starting since Wednesday.  I'm trying to do it all and am enjoying everything this year has to offer.

Churros and Chocolate

October 25th

We got up at 8:00 and left for Plaza Bim-Rambla.  They didn't serve churros until 8:30.  We had the first batch and enjoyed the super hot, deliciously decadent, sugar over-dose inducing churros and chocolate.  We couldn't finish the plate, but the caffeine in the sludgy chocolate woke me up.

We took a taxi over to the bus station and I waited with them until they boarded the bus back to Madrid.  I then walked back to my apartment where I slept until 2:00pm.

I was exhausted from the last three days and didn't do much of anything.  Antonio, Nathalie, Heiko, and I cleaned up the huge mess from the party while while Alberto made a big lunch.  We took up our table and chairs to the terraza on the roof and had a nice lunch in the sun.

The rest of the day I went grocery shopping with Heiko, read, and then went to sleep early.

Arab Baths, Tetería, Heiko's Birthday

October 24th

I woke up at 1:30pm being shaken awake by Heiko who told me that he and Nathalie were going to the dining hall.  It was a good thing that he had woken me up as I didn't want to sleep away the whole day and also that our appointment for the Arab Baths was at 4:00 and we had wanted to continue our walking tour of the city.

Sunny and warm, the weather was perfect.  Having been freezing in Paris, Emily and Rochelle were happy to have the chance to wear shorts.  We walked toward the river where we stopped to admire the flowers and fountains.  Cutting back to the centro area, we stopped at Plaza Bim-Rambla for some excellent gelato.  

Opening the door to the Arab Baths, we were welcomed by the scent of spices.  The water felt great but the best part was the half hour massage.  I think we all enjoyed the 2 hour experience.

After the Arab Baths we headed up to Elivra street for a couple tapas.  We stopped at our favorite "tetería," tea house, and then headed back down to the piso to help Heiko set up for his birthday party.

The party was the best and biggest one we have thrown.  Walking around in my slippers, I spent time talking to the international group.  We had over 40 people and 9 countries represented.  Heiko had a really good time and at 4:00am convinced the entire party to follow him to a club.  I didn't really feel like paying for a club so after trying to get in with our free passes but being told that we had come to late to use them, Rochelle and I went back to the piso. Their bus was leaving tomorrow at 10:00am.  We told Ashley and Ryan to meet us at 8:00am for a breakfast of churros y chocolate.

Party All Night

October 23rd

I got up at 10:30 and tried to do a little reading before we went out to explore Granada.  Rochelle and Emily had been running on no sleep for the previous 36 hours as it was Rochelle's birthday on Tuesday.  By the time they had gotten up, showered, and ready it was 3:30pm.  I had one class at 5:30, but I figured we would take a walk and then they could explore on their own.  

We walked to Plaza Bim-Rambla, up through the labyrinth of Arab shops, and around the Cathedral.  Climbing the hill to the Alhambra through the woods, we were immersed in a green world as we walked past cedar and elm trees and enjoyed the waterfalls and canals where water flowed from some ancient source.

I asked the ticket booth if we could buy tickets for the palace but they had run out and only had tickets available for the Generalife gardens.  They said to come back tomorrow around 8:00am to get tickets.

I suggested they explore "Carmen de Los Martires," the neo-classical gardens adjacent to the Alhambra.  I then ran back to the centro for my Teoría del Estado class.  It was a good class and we were given our first real assignment.  An essay comparing and contrasting the work of Robert Michels and Vladimir Lenin and their opinions on the State.  From class, I hurried back to my piso as I was supposed to meet up with Rochelle and Emily by 7:15 so we could catch the end of the sunset at the Mirador of Saint Nicolas.

Walking briskly back to my piso along Calle Mesones, I ended up running into the girls.  They were window shopping and I tagged along acting as translator.

We dropped our stuff back at the apartment and then went right back out.  Heiko and Nathalie came along too.  It ended up being a lot longer of a hike then I remember to the Mirador of San Nicolas as we had to climb through the Albayzín and became slightly lost.  We eventually found it and caught the last pink glaze of the sun on the darkening sky.  The Alhambra was beautifully lit and the city sparkled below.  After about a half an hour we were all getting a little hungry, so I suggested we a do a tapa bar crawl as we made our way back down toward the centro.  I called Ryan and told him we'd meet up with him at the "Euribar" by Calle Ronda in half an hour or so.

Our gastronomic tour of Granada's tapas culture began at the "Antigua Bodega" where we snacked on ham and cheese bocadillos.  We then cut through the centro to "Poë" where we enjoyed little "nut cups" of a rice and chicken medley.  We ended up at the "Euribar" where we had two rounds.  Everything at the "Euribar" is one euro (tapa and drink included).

Tonight's plan was to party.  It was the start of my weekend and none of us had any obligations the next day.  We went back to my piso, changed, and then headed toward Plaza Albert Einstein where we enjoyed in the unparalleled revelry that is the botellón.  I wanted to take them to Mae West, the posh club in Granada with multiple levels and different music rooms playing salsa, hip-hop, reggae, and other genres.  The bouncers wouldn't let us in and I'm not really sure why as we were all dressed nice and Ryan and I were with the two pretty girls.  Maybe it was because we spoke English as we walked up the stairs.  This minor speed bump didn't put an end to the night as we hailed a cab and took it all the way up to the Albayzín to the "Camborio" discotheque that has a fantastic view of the Alhambra from the main dance floor.  The cab driver must have liked us as we talked with him during the trip and he cut our cab fare in half.  It was a "hip-hop night" at the Camborio and we danced until 6:30am.

Back at my piso we all wanted to try and stay up until 8:00am for churros and chocolate.  Emily fell immediately to sleep and Rochelle, Ryan, and I stayed up watching my old videos.  At 8:00am we tried to wake up Emily, but she wouldn't even budge.  We decided to postpone our goal of churros and chocolate for another day and crashed instead.

The Girls From Paris Come to Visit

October 22nd

Today was a busy, productive, fun day.  

Talking to my professors had really paid off, as I felt more engaged with the classes and material.  I felt that I understood a lot more and found it really interesting when my professor descried how the History of International Relations could be divided into 4 parts.

Unlike UCSD where I normally purchase a couple hundred dollars worth of books each quarter, here at UGR, the professors recommend books that are included in the syllabus, but none are required for the class.  Instead, all of our reading material is found in the "fotocopiadora," or copy center where the professor leaves readers, or excerpts from books and magazines.  The questions for the final will be drawn from lecture and these packets.  Granted I have to be vigilant in making sure to check the listing of new prints outside the fotocopiadora but I'm glad to save some cost and paper on purchasing many books.

Day two of Salsa was great as we did our first dancing with partners and learned a lot of new, flashy moves.  I mostly danced with the one other American, Ashley, who is also from my EAP program.  A few more guys had enrolled and we rotated between partners.  The moves were complex, but fun and I felt that I improved a little even from the first day.  Our class is only supposed to go for an hour but instead it went for two as were all having such a good time that Nelson forgot to stop.

After class, I introduced myself to the other students and one of the guys, Javi, invited Ashley and me to join him for lunch.  We went to chinese restaurant near by for the cheap and good menu of the day.   He had studied abroad in France last year and we had a good conversation about studying abroad and trying new things.

My afternoon classes were good although I was a little confused.  The professors are big fans of the Socratic method as they pace up and down the aisle and engage in one on one debates with the students.  This gets the class involved but I think we go on a lot of tangents which I have a difficult time keeping organized.

It was starting to rain, but as soon as my last class finished, I started walking in the direction of the bus station.  Its pretty far and I was getting wet as I always forget to wear my rain coat and refuse to buy an umbrella.  I bought a baguette at a supermarket and then walked a little farther to the bus station.

The girls' bus was supposed to come at 8pm but the arrival sign showed that it had been delayed until 8:45pm.  I had an hour to kill but had a lot of reading to do so I didn't mind.

At some point, Michael, my EAP friend Jenna's Puerto Rican roommate, recognized me and sat down.  He was waiting for someone on the same bus.  We started talking and I asked him the difference he found  between Puerto Rican Spanish and Spanish Castellaño.  I then asked him about the "51st State" question and we had a lively discussion about the different politics on both sides.  He joked that the main reason that Puerto Rico would never become a state was because "you can't fit another star in the flag."

Rochelle and Emily's bus finally came in and I gave them each a big hug and listed the activites that we could do right away.  They were really excited to be in Granada and ready for anything and everything.

We took a taxi back to my apartment and they got settled in.  Around 9:45 we met up with my EAP friends Ryan and Ashley who Rochelle and Emily had met in Paris.  We walked up to "the Upsetter" flamenco bar and got seats right next to the stage.  The star of the flamenco show was the female dancer who moved her feet so fast that I was tired just watching.  After the show we went to a couple bars and then rolled the 80's themed Erasmus party at the "Vogue" around 3:00am.  It was packed and I saw a lot of my American and International friends.  We stayed until 5:30 and then came back to my piso.

Office Hours, Lunch Conversations, More Exploring

October 21st.

My classes didn't start until the late afternoon, but I woke up early and headed over to the Facultad de Derecho (Law College) where I would meet with my International Relations professor.  The Facultad de Derecho is one of the of the oldest colleges in the University of Granada.  Built in the late 1500's, large stone pillars guard the entrance to a cobble-stone courtyard.  The architecture is a mix of gothic and neo-classical and there are statues of famous scholars within the courtyard.  Its funny to attend a university that is older than the United States by a couple hundred years.

After talking to my professor, I felt much more confident about the class and what was expected of me as a student.  She answered all of our questions and told us about her time in the US (she'd been to Los Angeles and New York) and how one time for a conference in LA she had figured getting a hotel in the center of the city would be the safest place to stay rather than on the periphery.  She joked that she had thought she had heard gun fire, but had been surprised that the city center was not the safest place to live like it is here in Europe.  I had seen on her website that she had written a few books on nuclear proliferation and I asked her a few questions about them and also if she was familiar with the American Political Scientist, Thomas Schelling.  

I still hadn't spoken with my Analysis of Public Policy professor, so I crossed the street to the Political Science college and found her in her office.  This had been another class that I had been unsure of, but after talking to her in person I think I will keep the class.  She was very impressed with the University of California system and kept telling me how good Berkeley's public policy department was and how she wanted there to be an exchange program for professors, not just students.

I was glad to have talked with both of my professors as they now know my face and also that I'm struggling with the language.

On the way back to my piso, I stopped at the Arab Baths to make a reservation for Friday.  My UCSD friends Rochelle and Emily who are studying abroad in Paris are coming on Wednesday and in addition to having a true Granada experience of tapas, clubs, and historical sites I thought the Arab Baths would be a lot of fun and a relaxing break after having partied the last few days.

I had a great lunch with Heiko on my sun soaked balcony overlooking the street and centro.  We talked about chauvinism, the current American elections, and the ridiculousness of discrimination.  He also commented on how he notices that a lot of times I say I'm from California rather than the United States.  Its definitely a cop-out but I avoid any anti-american sentiment as "California" invokes a whole different mental image than the "United States."

I went to see if I could open an account with Deutsche Bank but couldn't as I wasn't working here in Spain.  I still hadn't been to the Park of Federico García Lorca, so I walked down Calle Recogidas, stopping a long the way to see where the posh club Mae West was during the day time.

The park was nice with meticulously manicured hedges, winding dirt paths, and scattered benches.  There were some cool playgrounds.

I met a lot of new people in my afternoon classes and ran into another group of EAP kids who I hadn't seen in a while.  That evening I bought my ticket for Ireland (I'll be going for a long weekend in November) and made a birthday card for Heiko.  His 24th birthday is this Thursday.

First Day of Salsa-Casino

October 20th

Today was going to be a busy day as I had 4 out of my 5 classes and would also be starting my first day of salsa-casino dance lessons.

After Relaciones Internacionales I talked to the professor and asked her if I could meet her tomorrrow in the morning.  John and Ryan asked if they could come as well.

At 12:00 I walked over to the Fuente Neuva Campus and found the "Pabellón 1" giant rec center.  With my payment stub in hand, I asked where I was supposed to be and was led to the opposite side of the building.  There I met my salsa dancing teacher, Nelson, a black cuban with long dreadlocks, earrings, and a  NY baseball hat.  He looked straight out of hip-hop.  I helped him set up some tables and turned in my payment receipt.  As the other students showed up, I found myself to be the only boy among 15 girls.  Great ratio, but I think it would be better if there were more guys in the class as all eyes were on me when we did the basic steps.  After giving us a brief introduction, we got into lines (I'm last in the back) and went over different steps.  He would yell "¡giro!," turn, so we could practice our spins.  This class is "salsa-casino" so we'll be learning a mixture of Salsa, Meringue, and a "Cha-cha like" dance that I forget the name of.  Nelson and one of the girls who had taken his class before did some advanced moves.  He is a great dancer and good teacher.  I'm sure it will be a fun class and if nothing else I can say that I did something completely different and new to me while I was here in Spain.

The rest of my classes went well that afternoon.  Back home we had a "family meeting" as we all sat down and discussed responsibilities around the apartment and wrote out a calendar for when people have to take out the trash and clean up the apartment.  Before going to bed,  I goofed around with Antonio and Alberto as we tried to hang up more posters around the piso.  

Rest, Future Trip Planning, and Local Flamenco Show

October 19th

Life as a vampire makes it difficult to determine when one day ends and the other begins.  I woke up at 2:00 and after some exercises, "breakfast," and a shower I spent a couple hours reading the additional recommended book for my Teoría del Estado class.

At 7:00 I went over to Plaza del Toros for tapas with Blake.  We met up with our friends, Athena, Erika, and Yessenia in the plaza to talk about tentative future trips as we had traveled with one another before and wanted to do another trip.  The girls had brought their laptops and we used the free wi-fi in the plaza to look at ticket prices.  No set trips yet, but we all agreed that we wanted to go to Ireland for a weekend and Greece for a longer break as Athena speaks Greek and she has family there as well.  The only difficult thing when planning trips is to factor in the additional time and cost of getting from Granada to Madrid or another large city.  The Granada airport is small and has limited flights with limited carriers.

From Plaza del Toros, I walked to Plaza Einstein in the centro where I met my apartment mate Antonio.  We walked to a bar called "La Tertulia," (translates to "social gathering") where Antonio's friend was playing guitar for a flamenco show.  The bar drew an artsy crowd, and we sat down on small wooden chairs facing the stage.  There were two guitarists and one female singer.  The music was great.  The two guitars and the singer's voice created a beautiful harmony that filled the small room.  After the show we talked to the musicians and then walked back home by 11:30.

When in Spain do as the Spanish...

October 18th

We woke up really late and didn't feel like doing much of anything.  Heiko really wanted to cook a big lunch/dinner (We ended up eating at 6:00 which is the normal dinner time in the US but it felt extremely early to be eating here in Spain).

At the grocery store, we bought vegetables, spices, and chicken and came back to start preparing the meal.  Listening to a soccer game in German streaming through the internet, I peeled the potatoes and carrots while Heiko marinated the chicken.  Heiko threw everything in the pan, with olive oil and spices, and put it into our small toaster oven.  It turned out to be excellent and I didn't even realize that it had taken close to two hours to make.

Still tired from the night before, we refused to admit defeat and decided to go out again.  At 8:30 it was much to early to even think about going out, so we all took "naps" until 11:00 when Antonio woke us up so that we could get ready.  Tonight was a guys night out as Nathalie was touring Andalucía with her parents.  At 12:00 we met up with one of Antonio's Spanish friends, Sergio.  We went up to the Realejo (ancient Jewish quarter) for a botellón next to some Roman ruins with a fantastic view of the city all lit up at night.  We wanted to go to the "Quilombo" discotheque nearby but at 1:30 in the morning nobody would be there.  Instead we walked back down the hill toward the Albayzín where we stopped in a few bars.  Out on the street, we met a large group of Spanish students from Madrid who were visiting Granada for the weekend.  They were all really cool and we spent a long time talking to them.

 Looking down at my watch I was surprised to see that it was 4:30am.  Sergio and Heiko stopped for a "breakfast of champions" of some "shwarma" and felafel from a kebab restaurant as we sat down on a park bench.  Everyone was out and walking around.  Antonio really wanted to go to club, but I wasn't feeling up for it.  I told him I would only go if was 5 euros or less.  It was 5 to enter, and at 5:30am I did the unthinkable and entered the dance club.   

This was a local place as I was one of the few foreign people there.  Blasting house, techno, and electronica music, the club was more "authentic" European than the other places that I've gone to that just play American top 20 hip-hop.  I generally don't like this kind of music, but I enjoyed the techno as we made a circle and threw our own mini-rave.  At 7:30 the lights came on and everyone slowly exited.  I'm not sure in Spain follows daylight savings time or we're really that farther north than California as it was still pitch dark as we walked back to our piso by 8:00am.  

Let the Weekend Begin!

October 17th

I met up with my friend John, who is one of the few other Americans in my International Relations class, and together we walked to the Law College (which is completely separate in both physical space and academic discipline from the Political Science college) in order to try and talk to our professor.  She had told us to meet her at 10:30, but when we arrived she wasn't in her office.  We decided to wait, but she never came.  We ended up talking about the class with another professor who teaches the same course in the afternoon.  Our main questions were answered, but I will still try and meet up with my professor as I feel that its important that she knows who I am and also that I am a foreign student.

As I have mentioned previously, I would like to open a bank account here in Spain.  I stopped in three or four banks and asked them about their fees, rates, and locations in Andalucía, Spain, and the rest of Europe.  I still haven't made up my mind as they each had advantages and disadvantages.  Also, with the exchange rate between the dollar and euro fluctuating on a day to day basis, I am hesitant to transfer a lot of money.

The rest of the afternoon I spent doing homework.  Heiko and I made some great bocadillos for dinner and ate them out on the balcony.

It was my friend Blake's 21st birthday, so Antonio, Heiko and I went over to his piso around 12:00am.  Our mutual group of friends has grown significantly as all of the American students have introduced their roommates to everyone else, making our weekly get-togethers grow significantly.  There were a lot of people at his piso, which is the largest one I've seen.  They have a large living room with four couches against the walls and a large projector that turns the white walls into a poor-mans home theater.  Its fun watching youtube videos on a 20 foot screen.

We left around 3:00am to take a taxi over to the Albayzín for the Erasmus party at the "Camobrio discoteque."  The club was packed but I was able to move around and talk to a few people that I recognized from my classes.  I like the Erasmus parties as there are people from all over the world.

At 6:30 we walked back to our piso and fell immediately to sleep.

Officially Legal!

October 16th

The rain and cold weather have passed and today was one of the most beautiful days that we have had here in Granada.  I didn't have class until the afternoon but this morning I was excited to finally be able to pick up my "Carnet de Extranjeros" or official residence card for Spain.

I walked over to the police station with my receipt and number in my hand not sure what to expect.  The past two visits I had to wait in line for hours before I could talk to any person.  I had been told to come back in a month and I wouldn't have to wait in line.  I hoped they were right.  

It turned out to be very easy, as I was in and out of the police station in less than five minutes.  Receiving my residence card was a catharsis, sweeping away the visa hell of the last 6 months.  I have legal residence in Spain until August 31st, 2009.

Now that I had my card, I wanted to open a Spanish bank account, as I had tried when I had first arrived and had been unable to do so.  I stopped at one bank and collected information.  With the US and international economy oscillating so drastically, I'm a little hesitant to open an account and convert a large amount of dollars into euros as I will have to convert them at the current exchange rate.  The exchange rate has been going down, so I may wait and see if it continues this slide.  The other main factor to consider is whether I should open an account that is very common in Spain or one that is in every country in Europe but has less atm's here in Granada.  I have a lot of time to look for the best deal for me.

My classes in the afternoon were interesting and I will give a presentation about the "social structure in the United States" in a few weeks for my "Contemporary Social Structure" class.  Back at my apartment, Heiko and I shared a frozen pizza and some tinto de verano as we ate dinner out on my balcony overlooking our street and the Puerta Real de España.

When I don't have class on Monday or Friday, my three day weeks bring in the new weekend quickly.  I went over to my friend's house in Plaza del Toros for his birthday party.  Everyone then walked down to the botellón and went home around 4:00am.

Dinner with the Director

October 15th

My morning classes went well and I'm finding that all of my classes are covering overlapping subjects so its been interesting to hear the similarities and differences of the material as described in each class.

I had intentions of having a quick snack and taking a siesta, but instead I had a long lunch with Antonio.  We talked a lot about our families and where we were from.  A lot of times I want to speak how I would in English and I find it annoying when I don't know the right words.  In a more or less round about way I think I conveyed everything I was trying to say.

My afternoon classes were good as well.  If I'm going to drop a class, it will be Analisis de Política Pública as the professor is the least organized and the class itself seems a little more theoretical than I'm used to.

Tonight was my dinner with the UC EAP director and his family at his apartment.  I stopped by an ice cream parlor to pick up a pint of vanilla ice cream that I could bring over as dessert.  Two other students and I would be the first to attend the dinners hosted by Ramon Piñon, the director, and his family.  

After changing into some nicer clothes, I walked over to their apartment that is more or less adjacent to the cathedral.  I was the first to arrive and was welcomed into their spacious apartment.  I talked to his wife and his youngest daughter who is living with her parents here in Spain after graduating from NYU this past year.  The two other students came shortly after me and we sat down to a nice dinner and interesting conversation.  Director Piñon is a biology professor at UCSD but has been working with EAP for 20 years.  He had done the Madrid program for a few years and had been instrumental in starting the program here in Granada.  He and his family have lived in a dozen different countries.  He now alternates between teaching in the US and serving as the director of the program here in Spain.  I learned that UC offers the most broad and diverse study abroad program in the country as students have the options of studying abroad in more than 30 different countries.   I had a great time and I thought it was very personable for them to take the time to get to know all of the students outside of the academic setting.

Two Months in Spain

October 14th

Since I didn't have class until late that afternoon, I tried to be productive from the get go.  I went grocery shopping, did laundry, and finished reading.  The rain was coming down hard as I walked over to the UC study center to have things clarified about my classes.

My one class was canceled so I spent the extra time reading in the library.  My "Teoría del Estado" class was good.  Initially I felt that I understood everything, although I felt a little lost at the end.  I'm improving each day and the professors and advisors tell us not to worry as these first few months are expected to be difficult with the language.

That night I went over to one of the EAP girl's houses for her "Mexican-themed" birthday party.  We had all been told to bring some sort of Mexican food dish. I brought an avocado, lime, and salsa and made fresh guacamole.  The majority of the people from the program came over and it was fun catching up with everyone.  Time has gone by really fast and I realized that I hadn't seen some of the people since the end of ILP almost a month ago.  I had an interesting conversation about American politics with one of my friend's roommates from Morocco.  We disagreed on a lot but it was interesting to here his opinion of the US and our foreign policies.  In addition to political discussions, I talked tentatively with different people about future trips.  It was a nice evening and I like how we American students have made a "home base" network that we can come back to.

Guadix

October 13th

Today we were going to the city of Guadix in the north eastern part of the Granada Province and the weather couldn't have been nicer.  The drive to the city was beautiful as we drove up through the mountains and saw the leaves of the trees changing color.

Guadix is a small town that is famous for its man made caves dating back to the 13th century.  These white lodgings mark the brown hillsides.  Originally homes for recluses and exiles, the caves were passed on through the generations and now sport modern amenities like running water, electricity, and television reception.

Arriving in Guadix, we drove once through the "Barrio de las cuevas," passing hundreds of caves built into the side of the hill.  We doubled back to a place where we could park the cars and hiked up a winding trail in the direction of a lookout.  We explored some sketchy, dark, litter-ridden, abandoned caves on our way up to the look out.  I was the first to go in and walked around the pitch-dark rooms with my small cell-phone flashlight waiting for our visit to turn into a horror movie.

The lookout on top of the mountain had a great view of the surrounding area.  We could see the giant sand stone cathedral in the center of the town and also the ancient Moorish fortress that perched along the opposite mountain ledge.

Descending the mountain, we headed for the little museum about the caves and history of Guadix.  The docent was very informative and the museum was interesting despite being extremely small.  The museum was a cave like the ones we had seen from the mountain.

We stopped at a bread and cheese shop and bought some food for a picnic.  The cathedral was closed until the late afternoon and the Moorish fort was under renovation and closed to the public.  We decided to leave Guadix and drive another 40 kilometers or so to the town of Baza which according to our free map from the Granada tourism office seemed to be right on a lake.

Baza turned out to be a town in the middle of the desert with no lake to be found.  We then took a back rode through the remote country side for about 30 minutes before finally arriving at the lake and entering another town called Zújar.  The lake and surrounding valley had a lunar appearance with jagged rocks and bowls in the terrain.  There were two "lakes"a large one that spread out around the area and a smaller one where we parked the car that seemed confined to a walled in area.  Putting my hand in the water, the temperature was like a warm shower.  As we found out later, the smaller lake is fed by natural hot springs, and has a consistent, almost hot, temperature the whole year round.  My roommate Antonio jumped in immediately.  No one else wanted to join him, but putting any thoughts of contracting giardia or some other water born illness out of my head, I joined Antonio and had a nice time swimming around.

We had a pleasant picnic on the rocks with a great view of the mountains.  After relaxing in the sun, we piled back in the cars and returned toward Guadix.  We had wanted to see the cathedral, but it was still closed when he arrived.  The drivers of the cars needed some caffeine, so we stopped at a small cafe and then drove back to Granada as the weather was changing for the worse.

The combination of music, rain, and being in the backseat put me straight to sleep. I woke up in Granada to find us at the gas station and in the middle of a torrential rain.

We returned the cars and then walked under the canopies of the shops to our apartment.

Antonio had a lot of vegetables from his parents that needed to be eaten, so we set about making a large, multi-course dinner.  The other kids went out to buy some bread and we ended up having a big potluck dinner.  It was a nice end to a great three day weekend.

Photos from Seville: Day 2

Archives, Cathedral, Giralda, and...Chinese food?

October 12th

Everyone except Blake and me had decided to leave Seville and go to the town of Huevla on the coast almost to Portugal.  I felt that I hadn't seen enough of Seville and I didn't want to rush another city as I had with Amsterdam and Brussels.  They would pick us up at 6:00 in front of the Plaza del Toros.

I took a quick shower and ate the mediocre breakfast of tasteless cereal and warm milk.  (The non-refrigerated milk is one of the few things that I don't like about Spain.  I shop at one particular market just to buy cold milk).

We checked out of the hostel and returned our keys.  The hostel was cool as they let us stow our bags behind the counter so we wouldn't have to carry them all day.

Trying to walk under the canopies of the shops to avoid the pouring rain, we headed in the direction of the cathedral.  It didn't open until 2:30, but I had seen an advertisement for an exhibit about Spain's relationship to the US that was being held at the "Archives of the Indies" right across from the Cathedral.

Escaping the rain, there was no admission as we entered the beautiful old building and climbed the wide marble stair case to the second floor where the exhibit was held.

Thousands of boxes containing archives and historical information lined the walls from floor to ceiling.  Set up along the long spanning hallways were large cabinets and posters, each describing a historical period of time of the Spanish influence and relationship to the North American continent and the subsequent interaction with the United States.

It was an incredible exhibit and I learned so much that I didn't know about my own country.  I had only been taught that France had helped the US in the Revolutionary War, but according to the documents and archives, Spain had played a huge part by giving a large amount of money and military assistance to the colonies.  The most ridiculous thing was the history of the dollar, which was originally a Spanish currency borrowed by the US to pay the revolutionaries.  After the war we kept the name and the currency.  There were also descriptions of the Spanish perspective of Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War.  Why I had not learned any of Spain's significant contributions and influence before was very surprising as I didn't feel that it was random facts, but rather large and very important information regarding the development of the United States.

At 2:00 we went over to the Cathedral and got in line.  We talked to an older couple from Michigan and then met up with our other UC friends who had come on the bus yesterday and this morning.  With our student discount entrance to the cathedral was 2 euros.

The cathedral in Sevilla is one of the largest in the world with towering ceilings, incredible, decorations, and exquisite design.  I loved seeing Columbus' tomb, held in the air by 4 giant statues.

We went straight toward "La Giralda" the ancient 100 meter high watch tower that had ramps instead of stairs so that the guards could ride their horses to the top.  From the top of the watchtower,  we were treated to spectacular views of Seville.  If I hadn't already enjoyed the city, I definitely felt a connection at this point as I looked out at the city lined with palm trees and the river.  We finished touring the Cathedral and then decided on a restaurant.  As it was siesta, many restaurants were closed, so we ended up going to a Chinese restaurant for a great, inexpensive lunch.

Blake and I had to meet up with our group at 6:00 so after playing in a gift shop and walking once more around the centro, we said goodbye to our American friends and headed back to the hostel.  We thought we knew where we were going, but ended up getting really lost.  We eventually got to the hostel, grabbed our bags and then met up with everyone in front of the Plaza del Toros.  I guess they had a good time in Huelva, but I was very happy that I stayed the extra day in Seville.

The drive back to Granada was easy and we reached the city around 10:00.  For dinner we went to the "EuriBar" where all of the tapas with drinks are only 1 euro.  The grand total for the entire trip including car rental, gas, hostel, restaurant food, and admission to museums was 50 euros.  My friends who had taken the bus had paid 33 euros just to get there.  We still had the cars until tomorrow evening and with no school due to a national holiday, we decided that we would explore the Granada Province by heading to the city of Guadix tomorrow morning.

Photos from Seville: Day 1