Patines de Hielo

 Ok so I have TONS to catch up on! I know I have been horrible but I literally have not had internet for a week! It has been rough being cut off from the world but now I am at a hotel in Malaga with tons of internet and HOT WATER in the shower!! I am basically soaking up all the goodness right now! yay ok so here is whats been going on:

Lesson of the day -  Toms+Marble sidewalks+Rain= bad idea

So while Memphis has 6 inches of snow, Granada has lots of rain. It has rained all week which is fine if you do not have to walk 30 minutes to get anywhere!  Ok so Monday we went to the Alhambra which used to be a Muslim mosque until the Christians took it over and added on to it.  There is alot of history to it but guess what?! the tour was in SPANISH! So we are going to go back and get headsets to see what really went on there. Also, it is mostly outside and it was raining the whole time so lets just say it wasn´t the best experience.  They told us to wear comfortable shoes because we would be walking alot so i got my toms out and didn´t even think about the fact that the sidewalks are made of marble! Who´s idea was that? When it rains it is like a giant slip´n´slide! And the soles on my toms are pretty much nothing so I was slipping and sliding the whole day!! On the way back I had to hold on to Emma and Jessica and I still almost wiped out about 7 times! Now, every pair of shoes that I brought are either too slippery or soaking wet so numero uno on my list of things to do is buy shoes (because I refuse to wear my giant white tennis shoes).  Ever since then my leg muscles have been KILLING because I had to clench every muscle trying not to fall!

On a lighter note, classes have begun! I have four classes (two in Spanish and 2 in English) and 3 of them are with the same teacher.  She seems very nice but we had to play this ice breaker game where you draw things about your partner and present it to the class and I HATE ice breaker games! So I ended up having to do that 3 times. Lots of fun.  My other teacher is crazy and hilarious! Definitely not what I am used to! Her class is completely in Spanish except she drops in some English curse words every now and then and she taught us the vulgar words that we shouldn´t say! Classes seem pretty easy, lots of busy work. Plus no school on Fridays=awesome! We might have a few Friday classes but for the most part they are free!! I am exhausted after classes because an hour and a half of trying to be taught Spanish in Spanish is a bit overwhelming! They told me that my apartment was a 15 minute walk to school.  Well, it is a 15 minute walk to one building and then it is another 15 minute walk to the other building where all of my classes are! I actually love the walk (even in the rain).  I have recently started listening to my ipod on the way and it has been interesting because I feel like I am in a music video and I have to stop myself from breaking out in song and dance! I want every pastry, every piece of clothing, and every pair of shoes that I pass on the way to school (money please daddy?). I have almost gotten run over about 5 times and decapitated by a bus once. I just have to keep reminded myself that I am NOT in Starkville anymore and pedestrians do NOT have the right of way! That will take some getting used to!  I do love waiting at a crosswalk and standing a few inches from the street when a bus spins past you.  It is such a thrill! Ha I´m so weird I know.

All of the noises in my apartment are getting very annoying while trying to sleep! There is one of those scent squirter things right outside my door that squirts out something that smells like baby wipes every 8 minutes.  Carmen putters around and watches telenovelas on the highest volume until 2 in the morning and she whispers to herself all the time.  There is an alarm in one of the apartments beside me that goes off every morning at 5 am and no one turns it off so it goes off for around 10 minutes.  My room is right by the hallway and everytime people walk down the hall it wakes me up! But hopefully I will just get used to it!!

Thursday night we did something called an Intercambio where we went to this bar or something and there were lots of Spaniards and we talked with them in Spanish and they talked with us in English and at the end we exchanged phone numbers and emails so we could get together or stay in touch.  So at first this was the most awkward thing ever.  I mean whoever came up with the idea to have it in a loud, dark, smokey bar was crazy.  They were playing Katy Perry songs for an hour on extra loud while we were trying to speak to each other in different languages! So after a while it got kind of fun and I met a few Spaniards that were very cool! So I guess it ended up being good but I still think it was bad planning!

I am loving getting to know the city! You will be walking down a normal street and all of the sudden out of nowhere there will be some beautiful church or something! It's like a surprise around every corner! The other day we went up literally 300 stairs to get to this park thing at the top of the city and I almost died but it was absolutely worth it because it was gorgeous! Me and this girl Meta planned our weddings there ;).

Two days ago me, Ashley, Devin, and these other two people named Meta and Evan started a Bible study that we are going to do once a week while we are here! It seems like it is going to be very cool and we went for breakfast for the first one and we stayed from 9:30 to 12:30! (Of course Carmen would not let me leave the house without eating breakfast even though I told her I was going out to eat breakfast!!) We all agree that God has given us such a great opportunity to be in Spain and we don't want our faith to atrophy while we are here because of lack of fellowship. So I am very much looking forward to the future meetings.

So Carmen does a load of laundry for us each week and we gave her our clothes last Sunday and we just got them back on Friday! I washed two of my 3 pairs of pants so I was without pants for a week!  Thankfully leggings with long shirts is very stylish here so I am becoming European. It took so long because they don't have dryers here and it has been raining all week so they never dried!  I will say it was a little strange looking out my window one day and seeing my underwear hanging on the line... 

Ok today we woke up at 7 and left on a bus to go to Ronda and Malaga. Carmen packed us a sack lunch. Mine had a sandwich made out of half of a baguette, 1 apple, 2 oranges, a coke, and a chocolate croissant! It weighed about 10 pounds!  We went on a walking tour (IN ENGLISH) of Ronda and it was beautiful! They are famous for leather and we got these cool leather bracelets! We ate lunch and then got back on the bus and headed to Malaga.  I am now sitting in the hotel with internet and all I want to do is take an hour long shower!  That is all anyone was talking about on the bus because we are supposed to take really short showers at our houses.  Also, I have only had one warm shower since I have been at my apartment! They have either been freeeeezing or lukewarm! So needless to say I am ready to soak.  Living in a foreign country definitely makes you appreciate the little things in life.  Like dryers, water pressure/heat, feather beds, heat in general, internet, boneless chicken breasts, and refills (just to name a few).  With that said, I have more blessings than I can count here and I can definitely live without a few luxuries for a few months!

So I know there is a lot more but mostly this week has been full of exploring, building friendships, funny Carmen stories, and classes.  Hopefully I will get normal internet soon. I have a bone to pick with Euogenio (internet dude).  Much love to all!