Hola mis amores! I'm so sorry I haven't written in weeks! It's been a mix of business and laziness. When I'm not on the internet, I'm out exploring the city, trying to do and see new things, or babysitting my favorite babies over here and hanging out con mi familia aquí. And when I'm on the internet, all I want to do is watch Criminal Minds and Youtube videos, or I'm researching for classes here. But I'm finally getting myself to blog and update everyone on what I've done these past two weeks. They've been adventurous for the most part. Filled with interesting things. Cooking in a pueblo, flamenco, touring the Albaicín (finally!), and of course, school work.
The first thing I need to talk about is going to Dúrcal, the same area I went puenting in, which is also Germán's pueblo, and learning to cook paella, and how to make sangria haha. I wasn't feeling too hot that day, so I actually didn't really cook, I just watched and took a lot of pictures. Then we hiked for a bit, well some of us did. It was fun. Now time to bombard you guys with a bunch of pictures :)
The first thing I need to talk about is going to Dúrcal, the same area I went puenting in, which is also Germán's pueblo, and learning to cook paella, and how to make sangria haha. I wasn't feeling too hot that day, so I actually didn't really cook, I just watched and took a lot of pictures. Then we hiked for a bit, well some of us did. It was fun. Now time to bombard you guys with a bunch of pictures :)
Our next big adventure was a flamenco class in a cave (and not a cave like what first comes to your mind! It was just a little alcove in a building. Hard to explain, but I shall put up pictures in a bit) it's called Cueva de la Rocio. That was insanely fun and insanely difficult. I know I can dance and I have rhythm, but the flamenco is just something else. The dancing is strong and forceful, the guitar is filled with soul and strength, and the singing is just, wow. We learned la cachucha, which is a part of the dance where the novio asks for the hand of the novia to marry. We learned another part too, but unfortunately, because I waited so long, I can't remember the name of it. After that, we had two rounds of tapas. It was fun relaxing for a bit after a hard lesson of flamenco. Then we went back into the cave and watched an actual flamenco show. At the end of the show the dancers had picked random people from the audience to dance, and I ended up getting picked! It was nerve-wracking and I kind of felt a bit foolish but after getting up, I sort of just let loose and had fun showing of some moves haha. Unfortunately I don't have a video of me dancing and I don't think anyone had any pictures of me dancing, so you guys will just have to take my word that I got called to dance :)
The next adventure after flamenco was a walk around the Albaicín. Not everyone from SOL went. Half the group was traveling, had friends and/or family here, and others just didn't want to go. So it only ended up being me, Sharina, Jasmine, and Matthew going with Germán. It was actually really fun with it just being a small group of us. And the Albaicín is my absolute new favorite neighborhood. Here is a bit of history for you guys. The Albaicín (you guys might see it spelled Albaycín or Albaizín or Albayzín, no one knows the true origin of the word, so it has many different spellings) is the Arabic neighborhood of Granada. And it is the oldest neighborhood of Granada, because is is situated across from the Alhambra, the Arabic palace from the 8th or 9th century. It is situated on a big hill, so the neighborhood starts low and goes up. It has a beautiful view of the Alhambra, and the price of these houses now are extremely high, more expensive than my house back home, and these houses are smaller! We first visited the oldest and most well kept bathhouse of the Albaicin, it has never been touched, never been restored, it just still stands on its own. Then we walked up, calle arriba, through and to the main parts of the neighborhood. We were amazed at how narrow the streets were, the slope of the roads, and the main thing on all of our minds was "How do they get their furniture/heavy things/groceries up there?!" Haha. But it was amazing. So beautiful. I want to get lost in the streets of the Albaicin and see what other treasures it holds.
These were the big adventures we went on. Next I'll put pictures of other things that went on. Hopefully this is sufficient to satiate your appetite for my adventures (; Love you guys! ¡Hasta la próxima aventura!
I love that my host family trusts me enough to take Gloria out for little errands. We went across the street to the supermarket to buy some chicken for lunch. Good experience for me speaking Spanish and interacting with other Spaniards who thought Gloria was the most precious thing. I mean she is, por supuesto!