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