Ah, the sweet warmth of Eurolife's simplicity: hand-washing clothes (or pay 9 euros to have a
machine do it), fending for yourself on Sundays when everything is closed, cobblestone streets massaging your feet as you walk (everyone thinks I'm crazy for that, but that's probably what I missed most about Europe)... No sarcasm here, my friends. I am SO happy to be in Europe again!
So, I'm in Chambéry about to start my 3rd week of classes. Chambéry is a really sweet town. If you walk around for a day, you've probably seen the whole thing almost twice. It's nestled between gorgeous mountains on all sides. The weather just turned nice this week. I feel like I'm in an outdoor person's paradise. Chambéry is an hour and a half away from Geneva, Switzerland, two hours away from Turin, Italy, and one hour away from Lyon (France's second largest city). There may not be much in the way of entertainment if you spend a Summer in Chambéry, but it is a perfect hub if spontaneous exploration is your thing.
I'm enjoying the class a lot and definitely getting a lot out of it. Our group was divided into three groups based on a placement test. Somehow I was placed in the most advanced group after taking only one year of French (Props to my SJSU teachers Nehal and Renee!). Not sure how that worked out, but I was glad to accept the challenge. I would like to get the most language practice possible out of this trip.
The people here are incredible! Completely different from my Paris experience. People are so happy to start a conversation, offer help, invite you to do things. I can just go sit on a bench and within ten minutes be speaking broken French with an old man who sees no reason why we should each be sitting alone on separate benches. One afternoon, I took my guitar into the park and just started playing. All sorts of teenagers came up to me to... hang out, I guess. One 15 year old girl invited me to her parents' house for dinner (I didn't go, but it was a sweet gesture).


Thanks to the genius travelers' website: www.couchsurfing.com , I've come into contact with lots of people from Chambéry willing to get together to speak French. My new friend Olivier is the only such person who I've actually met in real life so far. We've gotten together a few times over drinks, a choral concert, and an Italian film festival. We hang out with his friend Sebastien as well who is also very helpful with learning French. The two of them are adorable and really fun to be around (even if I only understand half of what's going on).











The other people I've been hanging out with are mostly from the program. My roommate, Rophe, is awesome. She's from Alabama and goes to school in West Virgina. Definitely a cool girl. We get along really well.








Madison is my SJSU co-representative. She's a ball of bubbly energy who has similar taste in books as I do. She likes to call me a hippy and a democrat. And she likes to read my blogs (shout-out!). The girl knows how to have fun. We'll probably be going to Spain together in July after the program.

Arthur is my fabulous fashion designer, music loving, thought provoking, creativity sparker friend from Long Beach. Definitely happy he's here. He's great at French, great to go out with, and great at having reflective conversations with.





Then there's Ian who is really quiet at first, but one of those people who gives off so much energy, the need for talking doesn't so much apply. I definitely dig his musical taste and I love the balance he gives to our little social structure.
The program is full of awesome people from all over the country and world. I'll introduce you to a few more next time.

Here are some more pictures of my time here so far... Thanks for reading, if you read. 'Til next time...












Group trip to Annecy - Absolutely breathtaking!











An Annecy swan was so sweet to my camera


























I just don't understand why she thinks I'm a hippy ;)












My very pink room.















Friends and I overlooking Savoie from Albertville











The best fondue I've ever had in my life... and I've had my fair share...

Coming up next: La Fete de la Musique, Tearing up Lyon, Geneva?, My 23rd (!#$?%@*) birthday, more new friends, and the mystery of my missing camera :(

Bonjour! Glad to finally have a quick chance to let you know I'm alive and well. I spent about a week in Paris with my Aunt Lilly and had a fantastic time while learning beaucoup de francais. I would normally go into much more detail than this, but I haven't found the university's internet yet so I'm paying through the nose on this computer...

The plane ride was very long. Look at this incredible sunset! I just bought a fancy new camera before the trip, so hopefully I'll be sending you lots of pretty things like this!

I really had a fantastic time in Paris. I mean how could you not? Despite the drab weather, I loved just being there midst all the vibrance, energy, cheese, and French speaking of the city. Staying with my aunt is always such a pleasure. The one day she had to work, her wonderful friend Isabelle took me to a part of Paris I've never been. We walked along the canal St. Martin and enjoyed all the fancy shops around the 19th district.

We stopped into a cafe and suddenly Isabelle was very excited and urged me to notice the man about to leave. It was this man, Laurent Voulzy. Someone I've never heard of, but who is evidently a very famous French singer. I searched for him on youtube and I'm impressed with what I found. For some reason youtube isn't letting me embed the video, but here's a link to a video of his from 2003. His 70s stuff is also pretty entertaining.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_o-EHZx3w

It is so relaxing to be in Paris and do things other than sightseeing. The archives of this blog should have some of the sights if you're interested. I was far more interested in doing normal French people things. Like going to the theatre. One of my aunt's dance students performed in a production that we went to see in a very small and enclosed basement theatre. The sketches were funny, I'm sure, but I confess I didn't understand most of it. My aunt gave a synopsis as we went along. The conversations afterward were much more comprehensible. I think the Spanish immersion experience is really helping me survive with the few French skills I have. As much of a fool I may appear to be at times, I'm conciously trying to ignore my shyness and just jump right into speaking. I make mistakes left and right, but its really helping me learn.

On Tuesday, Aunt Lilly took me to Normandy, where she's been meaning to take me since I was 18. This was my first time in France outside of Paris! We arrived to a city, well two cities. Deauville and Trouville; twin cities divided by a train station and a river. Wow I really have to get going, but the pictures say more than I can anyhow. I'll be back on hopefully within a week and tell you all about Chambery. For now I leave you with images of Trouville...

Yes, I do think its time I pay the due of letting you all know how I am. Where to begin...

Today is my last day in Granada. First thing tomorrow morning I have about 36 hours of traveling on which to embark and once I walk through those airport security gates into the loving arms of my family, my life as I know it will once again change entirely. As you can imagine, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. Mixed feelings would be an understatement. Its pressure like this that make me ask myself questions like, "How much do I really need that degree?" "Exactly how settled do I want to let myself get in the United States?" When the life-altering moments are so close at hand, the decisions I always take for granted really do pop up as decisions that are up to me and I realize much more clearly that I actually CAN do whatever I want most.

A month ago, you would have heard me say "If I could get on a plane home tonight, I would." Today, my statements are more along the lines of "I'd really like to visit my family and friends. I miss them. But I'll be back to Spain in no time." So yes, its very much an emotional and sentimental roller coaster, but given that I was prepared to spend a year here and that I've now done it, and done it well, I can be sincere when saying that I am very, very excited to come home to California and strengthen the bonds with my family, share experiences and make new ones with friends, make the changes in my life that this year I've learned are ones I'm determined to make, and continue to grow and learn and take every moment of life as it comes.

I don't know what to expect in coming home. I've gone from overworked and overbooked (aka life in California) to a year of, yes, hardships and challenges, but mainly, the most exhilirating, spontaneous, relaxing, inspiring period of my life. Coming home, I know I have readjusting to do as far as sticking to schedules, being competitive in class, and maybe not having once-in-a-lifetime adventures every day. But I also know (and by "know" I mean KNOW) that my life will never be the same as it was when I left California. I absolutely refuse to let myself be the sheep I saw myself as to society or the slave I saw myself as to the machine. Life is too short for that. Thanks to the opportunities I now realize are mine and to all the tools I've been given over the years, my goal will be to find the careful balance between working to live and living to work. I believe in myself more today than I ever have in my life and I will do whatever it takes to not let myself down.

I know I heard it a million times before and didn't believe it, but having found it to be true, I'm passing it on. Take it or not: Do whatever it is you dream of doing. Don't stop yourself. Whether its fear, a lover, others' expectations, finances, WHATEVER, THE WORLD IS YOURS! Pay attention to your dreams, your talents, and your opportunities. They are pointing you to where you should be. If you are true to yourself, you will always find yourself exactly where you belong, even if it isn't where you expected to find yourself. If you want something, I promise you can make it happen. And when things don't go as you planned, don't get discouraged. You'll find more often than not, its because you have something better coming your way.

Huge huge thank-yous to all of your support for me to do this. Words can't tell you what this year has meant for me and will continue to mean until my last day. To my family and loved ones who let me go, thank you. I know none of us knew what to expect and I was taking huge risks in forging a temporary life here. However, through any doubts, fears, and uncertainties, you believed in me and supported me and understood that it was what I needed to do. I can't wait to see you and give you a huge hug. I'M COMING HOME, CALIFORNIA!!!!!




















Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
















Bike riding in Holland
















Program goodbye dinner. What would I have done with out the frands, tho?















Blanket weavers in Morrocco
















Spaghetti made from scratch in Livorno, Italy
















Charles Bridge on its 650th anniversary. Prague, Czech Republic





















Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Cathedral at 3 in the morning. What better time to do sight-seeing? Barcelona, Spain

The last couple weeks have begun to shift my mindset as this untold year of adventures is more than half over and therefore no longer so "untold". I've begun focusing more on getting through a list of priorities and being more proactive rather than waiting for things to come my way. I have about four months left and it looks like I'll be able to do just about everything I wanted to do while I was here, so I'm not feeling too uneasy. There is definitely a part of me, though, that would love to stay another year or two and really get this Spanish down. However, I've befriended many spaniards as of recently and the language is coming along fine.

I'll be home JULY 15th! Its final!

So, What's new in my life? Plenty! The most exciting addition to my list of distractions (er... hobbies?) is a GUITAR! About a month ago I bought a Spanish guitar off of my friend, Jake. He and another friend, Luce, have been teaching me bit by bit and I've been messing around with it a bunch on my own. I am really enjoying playing it! When I play, I have an excuse to sing! I'd been missing singing regularly, but now I can do it whenever I want, so I do! RELENTLESSLY! I've been catching on rather quickly! A lot faster than I thought I would. After playing for 3 weeks I happened to be at Open Mic Night and since there was hardly anyone there, I got up and played a few songs!!! It went pretty well for a first performance and made me feel really great! I hope to keep up with learning, which I hear is rare for a beginning guitar player (heck, I've started to learn 3 or 4 times before this), but now that I can play some sings and am making it part of my every-day itinerary, it's looking hopeful!

Last weekend I went skiing with my roommates in the Sierra Nevada mountains about an hour away from Granada. It was my second time skiing and it was really scary, but really fun. I didn't fall too much. Well, that's a lie. The thing is almost every time I fell, I wasn't actually skiing... just standing there. Here's a picture of me trying to be cool for a photo, but falling instead... From watching other people I noticed that people most often fall right after you can tell that they've stopped trusting their bodies to be able to balance and recover. So, what I tried to do was remain calm and trust myself when my footing was shaky rather than panic and fall. It worked! I'm no pro by any means! I couldn't just let myself go straight down, but I had a really great time and I enjoyed learning how to use my body that way. I learned a lot that day about how my physically abilities work and how to discover them.

I love living in Granada because you can go skiing one day and go to the beach the next! And that's what I did! The weather has been amazing here, so I've been to the coast every weekend for the last 5 weeks. GOOD TIMES! The time I went after skiing, a few friends and I rented a car and drove to Nerja, a town with a gigantic famous cave! If you've been to the Moaning caverns in California, imagine that about 6 or 7 times bigger. AMAZING! We explored there for the morning and then spent the rest of the day on the beach playing guitar, frisbee, what have you. This is my life: Playing!



The weekend after that my program took us on a trip to Jerez and Cadiz, about 4 or 5 hours West of Granada on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We left at 7 in the morning, which everyone grumbled about, but you know what? It turned out fine. How often do you watch the sun rise? How often do you watch it rise over the hills and vineyards of Andalucia? It was a real gift.

Jerez is evidently famous for their horses, so we watched a horse show there. The horses were rather amazing and there was a bit of time before and after the show to meet them in their stables. For what it's worth, meet the crew:














This is the last unicorn. Unfortunately the gate got in the way of showing his horn, but if you imagine real hard, I'm sure you can see the magic in this beautiful horse!







This is Gothic horse. He was down just to be down. He had a majesty about him, but was more mystery and gloom than anything. I think he needs to listen to some more uplifting music...








This guy is the life of the party. I'm gonna assume the picture speaks for itself. He was a friendly one. I liked meeting him the most.









This stud had a thing for Lynzy. He nuzzled her quite a bit, but never when my camera was ready... anyway, they hit it off well!









This is the cold shoulder horse. Or maybe the deaf horse. Whoever he was, he was the only one who refused to acknowledge me... I guess everyone needs their alone time now and then?






The word Jerez means Sherry - like the drink. Accordingly, we went to a winery called Tio Pepe for a tour and to taste their sherry. I found out I don't like sherry. But I still drank it and had a really nice time with the friends. Something was hilarious... or maybe sherry is just a lot more alcoholic than any of us realized. It's photos like these that I know I'll look back on in 50 years and recall warmly all the wonderful memories and friendships I've made here.
It was St. Patrick's Day when we went to Cadiz, which happens to be the birthday of my red-haired, Irish-descent, shamrock tatoo-having best friend Katy. We'd been looking forward to celebrating her birthday for several months, but since we were on our group trip, one of our best friends, Luce, wasn't included. Well, Luce wasn't about to let the one birthday in their life that they would spend together slip away like that, so she rented a car and drove all the way there as a surprise. It was my job to keep Katy in the hotel room while everyone gathered and schemed around her. Basically I just took a really long shower and by the time I came out she was sleeping haha! Well, here's the video of Katy being surprised by Luce. My voice is kinda loud on it... sorry 'bout that!



From there we had a wonderful time. Our hotel was right by the beach so we went down and made a bon-fire. Turns out you can't do that in Spain. It also turns out you can't steal wood from construction sites. Ahem. One of our buddies didn't think through that one too well. We had fun while it lasted, but soon enough, we attracted the police and it was all over. And no, no one got in trouble. It was just another episode for the journal.

I have to give credit and mad props to my friend and fellow SJSU kid CAITLIN for taking the vast majority of these awesome pictures. I get to take her back to San Jose with me :) HOORAY!!!




I'm taking a class about teaching music to children. The class requires that we learn a repertoire of kiddy songs (in Spanish!!!) and be able to sing them and perform them on the recorder flute and the xylophone. The xylophone is no problem, but I was a bit unsure of the recorder. However, two days ago I realized that the recorder has all the same fingerings as the alto sax (which I played all through school), so YAY! I know how to play the recorder!!!!

This weekend I plan to go to the northern coast of Spain (up above Portugal) to Gijon with some Spanish friends for an electronic music festival I'm stoked about! On Wednesday, Nina arrives from Germany to spend the weekend with me. The Monday she leaves is the day my parents and baby sis arrive in Spain for Holy Week and Easter with me!!!! I'm going to Amsterdam in May! SRVHS Choir is coming to Spain for my birthday in June!! Everything about this year is so incredibly amazing! My travel priorities that I have yet to accomplish are Italy, Morocco, Prague, Barcelona, and a proper tour through the UK. I think I'm gonna get to do it all!!!!!

LOVE LOVE and more LOVE from Spain!

Hello again! V-Ron here with MORE updates of this crazy year. Things are still great! I love Granada more and more every day! HOWEVER, I love and miss you all and decided to resist the urges to stay another year or two. I've decided to come home in mid-july (i.e. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! get ready to celebrate!!! I'll want to see you all PRONTO!)
Since Winter Break I've been pretty busy. I had to take a class during the month of January. It was phonetics and I actually kind of enjoyed it. We learned how to transcribe words into the phonetic alphabet, which was fun because what I ended up writing looked like some strange or ancient language.
Aunt Lilly and Jeff came to visit Granada and we had a TERRIFIC time!!!! I was very much looking forward to David and Jeff meeting and as I imagined, they hit it off FAMOUSLY! We ate out a lot and had terrific tapas, went to see the Alhambra and walked all around the city! Not to mention simply being able to spend good quality time with them was a special treat.
It was great to see Jeff for more than just a meal here and there with 3 or 4 years in between. He actually inspired me a lot! Since he left I've been reading more books and I read the newspaper probably 4 or 5 times a week. I've never been much of a paper reader... but it feels really great to have an informed idea of what the heck is going on. Well, sometimes it makes me feel sick to my stomach, but it's important to be aware nonetheless.
Our visit to the Alhambra was really nice. I had seen it before, but this time we weren't hurried through by a Spanish-speaking guide from school. We got to explore it at our own pace and listen to an audio guide in English. We brought a picnic with us and ate outside in the beautiful sunshine we were blessed with that day (later that week it was raining and snowing in Granada!!!)
David flew back to California a week later. We had a really nice time together and I'm glad he stayed for as long as he did. Despite what others said and even what I told myself beforehand, the six weeks he was here was perfect for getting in some travelling, getting used to being around one another again, and catching up with one another. I'm really crazy about that boy! YAY!!! LOVE!!!
Less than a week after he left, I ended up in Lisbon again! I love the spontaneity of this year!!! Katy let me know about a deal she found at a travel agency that included airfare and the hotel (read: **4 STARS!**) so we jumped on it. In case you haven't read about my first Portugal trip, I AM IN LOVE WITH LISBON!!!! It's my favorite place on Earth! As expected, we had a PHENOMENAL time in the city! The weather was beautiful again, the people were incredibly friendly, and the night-life scene was just what Katy and I needed.
On Superbowl Sunday we trecked around Lisbon enjoying the castle, the shore, the sunset, and looked for some venue that would show the game. Around 7pm, we entered an English pub expecting to check it out, maybe have a beer and then leave seeing as the Superbowl wasn't to be aired for another 4 hours. Instead, we discovered they had REAL CORONA (not found in Granada) and instantly met a friendly guy from England who was there with a big group of mates. Before too long we met almost all of them and had one of the most fun nights I've had all year just taking over a bar and being nuts and making friends for an evening. We stayed there until they closed and watched very, very little of the game. The guys were great and definitely did justice to the famous "British sense of humour". I laughed more or less continually for 6 hours... and then for the following 3 days.
Getting there and getting back, we had to fly out of Madrid, so seeing as we had a nice block of days for a vacation we spent 2 nights there - 1 before and 1 after Lisbon. We stayed with Miguel who is in the program up in Madrid. He's an awesome friend and we had good times in Madrid. I'll finally admit that I don't dislike the city...
A bit of bad news, though... my wallet was pick-pocketed shortly after we arrived in Madrid. BOO!!!! but well, what can I do? I definitely learned to not wear a backpack in a big city again... at least not with my wallet inside (D'OH!)... well, I'm very thankful that my parents are so helpful (cancelled all my cards in minutes!), that Katy is so generous (spotted me the whole trip!), and that they didn't take my whole purse (thus leaving me with at least my passport!)
Aside from some inconveniences and debt, its really not too big of a problem. Except for some cash, I guess I didn't really lose much. Crazy cities...
I forgot to mention before that over winter break I practiced drawing a little more. The first walnut I tried to draw was really really bad. Then David pointed out that I drew it in less than 10 minutes. haha!! So I tried to have some patience and wasn't too disappointed with what I came up with. My mom's been encouraging me to draw a lot, so these pictures are mostly for her to see what I did. I couldn't really get a focused photograph, though, for whatever reason...
And the final report of the evening: One of my bestest most favorite friends in the world, Sadie, just moved to Granada!!!!! It's been really good seeing her and she's having a great time so far! She actually lives with two other friends of mine, so she's integrated into our little world here without even trying to be!
CARNAVAL is next weekend!!!! I'm going to Cadiz with a bunch of friends to celebrate the first festival of the year!!! I can't wait!!!!!
Pues, hasta la proxima vez, no? Ciao chicos!!! Besos y abrazos!!!!
Con Amor,
Veronica

Hey there and happy New Year! Hope you all had a great holiday season. I missed being away from my family on Christmas - it was a first for me - but I had a great time here! David is here visiting me and we spent the holidays traveling in three countries in three weeks! It was AMAZING!
We spent Christmas in Paris - ha! I'm beginning to feel like I know that city pretty well! As you know, my aunt lives there and she was incredibly nice and let us stay in her apartment while she was visiting my family back home. She decorated a beautiful little Christmas tree for us and left us all sorts of goodies. David and I walked around quite a bit and went to see Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arch de Triumph. David enjoyed it a lot - especially Notre Dame. For most of the rest of our time there, we stayed in from the cold cooking romantic meals, calling home to our families and friends, and using our Christmas gifts. My family sent me a drawing book and pencils, so I practiced drawing eggs and walnuts for a while.
The day after Christmas, we went to my aunt's friend's house for dinner. We had a great time talking with Isobelle and Claude over wine and the delicious meal she prepared. David and I both enjoyed seeing a bit further into Parisian culture through our hosts while we talked about music, history and food.
On the 27th, we flew to England to spend New Year's Eve in Manchester where a Granada friend of mine, Luce is from. We stayed at her house with Jake, Katy and Luce's boyfriend Nehad, so it was a party wherever we went. VERY GOOD TIMES! One night we went out to a pub to meet all of
Nehad's friends. We stayed there for hours and then went to one of their houses for a party. Jake, Luce, and I had a good time the next day filling everyone in on all the craziness that happened. Not everyone else had the good fortune of remembering.
We got out into nature a little bit while out there in England. We climbed up a very muddy and very steep hill. It was really nice to get outside with the trees and wind and the view from the top was pretty breathtaking. But alas, I fell in the mud coming back down! Yeah, it was a hardcore fall into the mud... too bad those pictures didn't quite turn out, huh?
For New Year's we just stayed in and didn't try to jinx our evening - all of us agreed that New Year's Eve tends to be a let down if too much planning goes into it. So we relaxed, drank some, watched Finding Neverland, and played games. We were so laid back that it was 12:15 when we looked at the clock to see how much time was left until midnight. Haha!! I hope I have many a similar New Year in the future!
On New Year's Day we flew to Munich, Germany and were picked up by my friend Nina who I lived with last year when she was studying abroad in San Jose. Neither David nor I had a clue as to what to expect while we were in Germany aside from enjoying Nina's company and meeting her family, boyfriend, and horse... But I can't emphasize enough what an amazing time we had there! Nina and her parents were incredible! They cooked for us and made us so comfortable in their home in Kaufbeuren. Their home, by the way - AMAZING! It's very spacious and bright and modern, but comfortable, and decorated beautifully. Her mom could be a top-notch interior designer!

It snowed the next morning (making the house that much more magical)! We went with Nina and her boyfriend, Basti to Kutschenverkehr Neuschwanstein castle. We took a horse-drawn carriage in the snow up the mountain to the castle. It's rather remarkable. One of the most picturesque, fairy-tale like castles I've ever seen. We didn't go inside of it - mostly because I didn't bring very good shoes for the snow, and by the time we were at the top of the mountain, my socks we drenched in ice water and I knew I should really take care of that sooner rather than later. We came back down the hill and had a German lunch in a restaurant right there at the bottom of the mountain.
Later that day Natasha (who also studied in SJSU last year) and her boyfriend Frederick came over! Seeing them again was really great! It's almost hard to believe we were able to reunite on the other side of the world! But I'm definitely glad it happened. Nina's parents prepared schnitzel accompanied by the best potato salad I've ever had in my life - lovingly prepared by her grandmother.
The next day David and I took a train into Munich. The train ride itself was enjoyable - Bavaria certainly has beautiful countryside. When we arrived at the Munich station, we were a bit lost in the huge-ness of the place, but soon we were pointed in the direction we were headed and saw the highlights of the city. We did one of those bus tour things, you know, where you ride around in a goofy red bus with headphones telling you in your choice of 8 languages about the city's facts? Well, it was fun actually, especially considering we had no clue what we would spend our time doing in a city so unknown to us. The tour pointed out a former Nazi headquarters building and talked a lot about what happened in Munich during World War II. I'm glad the tour was able to give me that perspective of the city. Its a very beautiful place, but was once a torn-up war zone. Its interesting walking around not knowing what might have happened decades before in the same areas and wondering how much or how many have been forgotten.
We got off of the bus in an area where there was this famous market. It was a nice place to walk around. All the food looked really good, but we just looked at it since it was a bit pricy. David and I walked around the city quite a bit before heading back. I wasn't unimpressed with the place, but I'd definitely like to see it again in the Spring or Summer when I'm sure it's a lot more exciting and picturesque.
Nina also introduced us to her horse, Landino. This guy is HUGE!!! I've seen a lot of horses, but I've never met one like this with ears so high I couldn't reach them. He's a magnificent horse. Very smart. Nina demonstrated some of his tricks for us in the stable. I think it's so amazing what you can teach an animal to do. She let me ride him a little bit too. He was so tall though!!! haha... it took me 3 tries to get on top of him! haha. Poor horse. I may or may not have kicked him more than once in my mounting attempts.
I think it was that night Nina took us to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Mmmmm!!!!
Then we went with her to a pub to meet a friend she works with. It was his birthday, and as is customary, I guess, he bought rounds of drinks. We only meant to stay for one, but somehow David was granted 4 drinks and we stayed for a while chatting with some new German friends.







The next two nights we spent in Nina's apartment in Augsberg, where she studies. We got to see both that town and Ulm, the city where Basti studies. He showed us around for a while and then had to go to play hockey. Ulm is BEAUTIFUL!!! Its so charming! There were cute little houses, swans swimming in the river, and cobblestone everwhere. There was also a giant cathedral with what is reportedly the tallest steeple in the world. Basti told me the cathedral is actually Protestant, which suprised me. I didn't know Protestant cathedrals like that existed. According to Basti, it used to be Catholic, but is now Protestant.













We really had a fantastic time in Germany and David and I had more than one fanciful conversation about learning the language and relocating. From what we saw in our few days there, the theme of Germany is: efficiency. It's every bit as modern as the US, but I didn't sense an all too familiar wastefulness I come to expect back home. Well, the least we can say is we were given a great impression of the country and were actually quite humbled by our experience.
The time came to return to Spain. David and I flew to Barcelona and stayed one night after a romantic dinner and a bit of walking around. The city seems great, but we really didn't get a chance to properly visit it. Sometime soon I'll be going back there. Our flight to Malaga was the next morning and from there we took a bus back to Granada. With the exception of the theft of a piece of luggage, our trip was terrific and went unbelievably smooth! Special GIGANTIC thanks to Aunt Lilly, Luce and Nehad, and Nina and family for your hospitality and generosity. I can't believe what David and I just got to do together! I'm sure we'll reminisce over these few weeks for years to come.
He's still here for a little over a week more. We're having a great time together in Granada, but he'll have to leave all too soon :( Well, another busy semester to keep me occupied is around the corner. I've got lots of travel plans and little projects I'm working on. I'll be sure to keep you in the know as far as what I'm up to. Until next time, take care of yourselves and keep in touch! CIAO!

My Spanish has improved tremendously the last couple weeks! I've started to receive compliments on my progress and last night someone asked me if I was French!!!! I'm glad to be getting this feedback! I'm learning a lot in my classes, but I think what's really boosted my learning is the fact that I've been spending more time with a couple Spanish people who don't speak English. The past couple weeks I spent a good amount of time with Andrea and his new girlfriend Adela and his good friend Marc. Andrea speaks English, but Adela and Marc don't so its been really fun learning to communicate with them. They're really fun and interesting people too!!! Yay for new friends!
School is winding down already! This week I have a few projects and presentations due so I'll be working on that pretty hard... ideally speaking. We only have two days of school this coming week and then another week of class and then finals! The people from other programs who are only here for the semester are getting ready to go home already! Thank God I'm staying here for a year! A semester is waaaaay too short to learn Spanish very well. I've JUST started making Spanish friends. Imagine if I had to leave in two weeks!
My year here is on the brink of starting a new phase: Winter break, David coming, travelling to England, France, and Germany, Sadie coming, starting new classes, and making more Spanish friends are all about to change the world I've created for myself over here. I'm looking forward to and welcoming whatever is about to happen.
If I haven't had the chance to tell you yet, Thanksgiving was really fun. It was a bit hard to be away from the family, but my program put on a dinner for us and effectively got us hammered with wine. It seriously never stopped getting poured. I couldn't finish my glass! I left the dinner and called my family and later went to a bar, at where luckily for me, my best friends showed up. All the wine I drank hit me while I was there, but with a little help I got home safe and sound :)
I'm not singing at the Irish pub anymore. It got a little too stressful for me and stress is not something I'm seeking out. I'm looking for other places to sing just for a good time so I'll keep you posted on that.
Ok, well, no new pictures, no recent trips, just soaking in the Granada cold and enjoying every minute of life. On to homework and the rest of the weekend! Ciao!