A few things on my mind

• Spanish people NEVER smile in pictures. It's so weird
• Dogs roam the streets (they are never on leashes here) but they are surprisingly well behaved.
• Parks are so cool here. We had some fun playing at one the other night. 

Liz and I on the coolest see saw I've ever seen

 Liz and I again

 

They have ellipticals and arm machines- it's crazy! 

The park we were at


        They had ping pong tables at the park we were at

•  People clean the streets here basically every day. They are always spraying them with water or sweeping (like they are below)

 

• People here don't seem to know that you walk on the right side of the road or move to the right when someone is by them.
• When I ask Julio (host dad) what he did today he says “fui a la calle” which means   he went to the street. This literally means he was out on the street, which I guess is similiar to our saying of "I went out" but I still find it interesting.
• Julio and Maria ask me if I want fruta (which is fruit) but instead of saying do you want an apple or banana or orange they clump all the fruits together and just say fruit.
• People wear shirts here with English writing and they have no idea what the words mean. I interpreted a shirt for Julio the other night at dinner. I'm not sure how long he had it but he seemed very happy to know what it said in English.
•  The Africans who immigrate here sell all kinds of stuff on the street (watches, sunglasses, belts) It's similar to how it is in New York
•  Speaking of New York, Sex in the city here is called Sexo in Nuevo York
• I'm still struggling understanding how people in Spain eat so slowly. I eat a salad every night before I have my main course and I pretty much catch up with Julio and Maria (or finish before them) and they only eat one plate! Either I'm the fastest eater ever or somethings up.  

So I went to church...

On Sunday, my friends went back to Nerja, but I decided to stay and relax in Granada. I was walking around and heard music coming from the plaza by the Cathedral. I had planned to go to the Cathedral later in the day because I hadn't visited it yet. People were walking in the doors so I decided to check out what was going on. I wasn't dressed appropriately for church in America, yet alone the second largest church in Spain. I was sporting a pair of jean capris, American apparel tee and toms. Let's just say I stuck out like a sore thumb. However, I decided to endure the judgment/ weird looks and ventured inside because 1.  I wanted to see the inside 2. it was free 3. it would be cool to attend a mass. 

The celebration going on outside

Turns out it was a celebration mass put on by youth organization in Madrid

Front of the church

Not a bad view to look at for an hour

Beginning of mass

Priest preparing Communion 

The priest this service was in memory of

Although, I didn't understand everything that was said it was a really cool experience. I kept thinking of similarities and differences between mass here versus mass at home. Similar to America, there was a choir that sang and people who read readings.  A lot of people clapped while they sang which was interesting. There were programs but no Bibles in the pews. Also, the pews had canes that elderly people could use to help them stand which I thought was pretty cool. It was interesting to try and follow along with what portion of the mass they were at. I recognized a few prayers which let me know how far along we were. We all turned around and greeted the ones sitting next to us (sorry Dad- I know this isn't the right term) It was interesting to hear the words in Spanish. The priest gave a sermon and I was trying to listen but could only understand a few words. I heard the words "path" and "man" a lot so in my opinion it was about taking the right path and listening to God. I wasn't sure if we were going to receive Communion or not because it was such a large group and because it wasn't a traditional mass.  However, we did. When I was in line I kept trying to think how you would say Amen in Spanish. When I was the next person, I decided I'm just going to smile and stick out my hand. Turns out, in Spain they put the Communion directly in your mouth. I was not expecting that. After I received Communion I took advantage of my free entry and walked around the rest of the Cathedral. The Cathedral was so pretty. Like I've said about other pictures, these photos don't do it justice! 

View from the entrance of the Cathedral

A Confessional

The ceiling!

The Cathedral started as a Gothic church and over time Renaissance elements were added. However it is known as a Baroque style.

 Another view of the mass

Stained glass windows  

 Another view from the entrance 

I'm so out of the loop

As you know, I'm kind of a celebrity gossip junkie. I wake up and the first sites I check are perez, people and us. It's sad but very true. I look forward to People's Friday Top Ten Quotes of the Week all week. It's strange to type US into Google and have the Universidad de Sevilla come up first instead of US Weekly. With the little internet time I have avaliable (after Skyping, responding to e-mails and facebook) I try and hit up my usual sites as much as possible. However, I am on information overload because I am so out of the loop. I don't know where to start. Dad this is the ONLY time I will admit you are probably more news savvy than I am. When I watch the news at dinner there is always images of all the celebrities at Cannes. I have no idea what is going on over there and can't wait to look at pictures of what everyone has been wearing. A few stories that have caught my eye (I'm sure there are many more I don't know about) are below.

 Two and a Half Men...? Really? 

 He's not running anymore? That would have interesting

 

He won?

 She's directing now.. oy

 They got married?!?!

 She's drinking again?

I guess that's over...

 He's dating a 26 year old? Weird

Mariah had her babies? So behind... Boys? or Girls? I Don't even know

Book fair

Everyday on my way to and from school, I pass the Feria de Libros. On this street, there are probably 50 stands that sell different kinds of books. The types of books range  from religion to medicine to sci-fi to children’s books to antiques. They have anything you could possibly imagine. It is really fun to walk by and stare at all of the books. I personally like looking at the children’s books. Maria and Julio collect some medicine journals because Julio used to study medicine. It's really fun to stop by and look at all the different books.

Alhambra @ night

Everyone told me I had to see the Alhambra lit up at night. Maria told me Bill Clinton saw it and said it was one of the most beautiful things he's seen in the world. These pictures are taken from a popular view point called San Nicholas where people come and just hang out and take in the awesome views. The pictures don't do it justice!

 

 View of the river at night

 The Alhambra at night

City from the viewpoint

Liz and I

 The Alhambra at night

 

 The discoteca we went to (my first one) that had great views of the Alhambra
Let's just say the discoteca was banned for many reasons

Liz and I at the discoteca with the Alhambra in the background

This isn't what I signed up for

On Friday I went with some people from my program on a hiking excursion. When my friends and I signed up we thought, oh this will be fun and will give us something to do. All the sign up sheet said was bring a sandwich, water, comfortable walking shoes and the location of where to meet. My friends and I met at the office the day of and asked someone how long the hike was going to take. They said we’d be back by 7 or 8. The hike started at 2. When I heard that I immediately thought what had I gotten myself into. I thought this was going to be just a fun leisurely hike. Liz and I made a quick stop at the grocery store because we both realized (let’s face it) we were going to need more food. We met up with our group and bused (that’s how serious it was) over to the Cahorros. When we got off, the hike began. The hike was basically all uphill and if it wasn’t uphill we were climbing stairs. After the first 20 minutes I knew I was screwed for the rest of the hike. Being out till 4 in the morning the night before didn’t help either. Let’s just say for the first 30-45 minutes I was the straggler of the group. JP and Liz kept making fun of me because normally I am the one telling them to walk faster or 10 miles ahead of them. It really got fun when we had to climb UNDER rocks and hang onto the ledges of rocks to get ourselves over to the other side. A girl cried it was so intense. The pictures don't do the hike justice!

 Map of the Cahorros

 Liz and I

You can tell I'm already struggling

 One of the many waterfalls

 Shoes after crossing under the waterfall- I told you we should have packed gym shoes Mom!

 Our final stop- very rewarding!

Me crossing one of the many bridges

 Really pretty

 

 The kind of stairs we had to climb

 Just a donkey tied to a tree- no big deal 

When I got home I was tired and exhausted. I ran right to the kitchen and told Maria about my trip. I said it was definitely a surprise because I didn't know how intense it was. She said the Cahorros are basically for professionals. Glad everyone else knew this but me! But I’m still glad I did it because it was challenging and definitely my workout for the past 2 weeks