Poco a Poco

I am finally well! No more illness for a long time I hope. I am still tired, but that is because it's hard to sleep as much as I would like and do everything I want to do. I'm sure I'll catch up on sleep sometime this week. I better because I am going to San Sebastian this weekend in país vasco, which is the northern part of Spain. I am really excited. We (ben, kristin/KP, and kristen) are going. I am bringing a beard along so that I can dress up for Halloween as a lumberjack! YEAH!

I am taking a course this week on how to teach English as a second language because I have started teaching English as a second language, and I HATE IT! I have no idea what I'm doing, one of the kids is a little...poopy-head, and I didn't realize 45min could feel like a lifetime. BUT I am making bank. Six and a half hours of work=100 euros baby!

Going to el Prado today. FINALLY!

Aullidos

Hola guapos! So I have done a lot since the last time I wrote. For starters we had an extended two weekends ago, so we went to the parade that was going on. It was mostly military and we couldn't see anything. The most exciting part was the end when government officials started driving past in their cars to wave. At first I though the crowd was excited and happy, then I saw people whipping the bird to the cars as they went by. They were excited--not happy. It was like a well controlled riot. People just wanted to express their opinions and they sure did!

This past weekend I went to a play that my theater professor recommended "aullidos". It was a show done with life size puppets that were very realistic. It was weird and AWESOME!

Ben and I also took a day trip to Arajuez on Saturday, a city just outside Madrid that has a palace and gardens. It used to be a royal get away. I couldn't take pictures inside, which is a shame because there was a porcelain room that was really impressive. The walls were covered with porcelain figurines and decoration. There was also a BA smoking room in an arab styling.

I included a pic of the fly-by during the parade, and some in arajuez.

Peanut Butter

Ladies and gentlemen we have natural peanut butter!!!! Ben, Paula, and I went shopping today. We went to a mall in the northern part of the city and found the Spanish Walmart >>> Alcampo. It has everything! Including the much desired and quite rare natural peanut butter. I also got two sweaters for a good price so I can stop freezing my butt off. Overall it was a great day!

We also had a culture shop workshop today, which I was dreading as another program time-waster. It actually turned out to be really interesting and the woman who spoke to us was very dynamic. I don't think I am suffering from culture shock yet, but a few more days without peanut butter and I'm sure I would have been done for!

Yesterday I did the faux pas of having guests over to the piso, but it was worth it. We (Paula, Ben, Kristin, and I) did an American dinner of hamburgers and diet coke. I love hosting things, it's too bad Spaniards don't.

No pics today. lo siento hombres.

Do it like a mom!

This past weekend was my first "backpacking" trip in Europe main. Ben, Kristin, and I went to Granada. It was absolutely amazing! We had a final before leaving, and almost missed the bus. Ben booked a hostel right across from the Alhambra which meant we had to walk up a huge mountain (maybe an exaggeration) at least twice a day. It was worth it! Our room was small, but we had our own toilet and shower. There was also a solarium on the roof and a pool (that was WAY to cold to swim in).

The only 'attraction' we planned on seeing was the Alhambra. It was astounding, built in the 8th century after the Moorish occupation of the Iberian peninsula it is an architectural work of art. Beside the Alhambra, we really just enjoyed walking around the city and seeing a different part of Spain. There is a lot more Arabic influence in Granada, which I really enjoyed. I even spoke a tiny bit of Arabic, which was fun.

The pictures are from around Granada. Kristin in the Alhambra garden, some cool graffiti, inside the Alhambra, and MARLA BROWN!