Back in Granada and loving life...

Walking along the Río Genil.

Greetings from the lovely Granada, Spain, everyone! I'm happy to report that I made it to Spain safe and sound (although definitely tired from a night without sleep...). After a short delay in Madrid, I landed in Granada at 12:45pm Sunday afternoon after some 14 hours or so of traveling. What's great is that all my luggage made it, too! And what's even better is that my host mom, Ana, and her daughter, Anais, (technically, Ana, but it'll be less confusing to talk about the two if they have distinct names...) were waiting to ambush me with huge smiles and big hugs as soon as I left the baggage claim area :) Shortly thereafter, they introduced me to my "host brother" for the semester, John, a junior year foreign language major at Boston College. So, it was into the car we went with my 1,000s of pounds of luggage to make the quick trip home! First, we stopped at a bakery to purchase piononos and other pastries for that afternoon's snack. After we got home we ate lunch, I took a quick shower and I threw all of my things into my bedroom and left them to deal with the following day. All I wanted to do was catch up with Ana and Anais and explore the place that I had been missing so much since I last left in late May of last year. I resisted the urge to nap that afternoon and instead of eating dinner at home, John, Anais and I went out for tapas. We went to four different bars in the city; I had three delicious glasses of tinto de verano and a cold Alhambra beer :) After returning home around 11:00pm or so, it was bedtime for me!

A pionono, a popular pastry in Granada.

Monday morning I started my day with my favorite breakfast, tosada con tomate, and a small coffee. Ana and I watched a little bit of the news before I headed with John to his class with GRIIS at 11:00am. I not only wanted to meet this semester's GRIIS students but I also wanted to "surprise" Amalia with a quick visit! (Amalia, for those of you who don't know, is the director of GRIIS, the program through which I studied abroad last spring. She's a wonderful woman and has two daughters, Paula, 15, and Amalia, 12, whom I tutor in English and will be tutoring again this year.) The group for GRIIS is small this semester, just 10 students, but they all seem really nice and happy. I briefly introduced myself to them, explained a little bit about what it is that I am going to be doing this year and encouraged them to take advantage of everything there is to do in Granada! Amalia and I spoke for bit after class and made plans for us to meet in her house the following day to visit with her daughters.

John and I returned home for lunch and after taking a quick siesta, Anais and I did what we girls do best... walk around the city and shop! (Actually, come to think of it, we've been doing a lot of shopping these past few days... I'd better start earning some money, stat!) After a few hours wandering the streets and meandering through stores, we returned home with our many purchases in hand, ready to pick up John and head over to a bar called Hannigans for Pub Quiz, a Monday-night favorite. There, we met up with a few of the other students from GRIIS and I'm happy to say that our team came in third place, earning us the reward of a few free cocktails!

Tuesday morning, Anais and I looked up the bus schedule from Granada to Armilla and tested out what will soon be my daily commute to and from work. We discovered that I can make it from door to door in just about a half an hour... how great is that?! The walk from our apartment to the bus stop is under ten minutes and after boarding the bus it's only a ten minute ride until I reach a stop practically right next to the school. Next week, I'll buy a rechargeable bus pass and then I won't have to worry about having to remember to always have a few euros on me. Later that afternoon, I went to Amalia's home where we visited for a little while. Teresa, her assistant, was there too and it was great to see her after so long! They invited me to participate in whatever GRIIS activities, trips, lessons, etc. that I should want to and told me that I was always welcome to join their plans; I assured them that I would definitely be participating in some of the activities! I feel so welcome and at home here in Granada, it's fantastic :) A little while later, Amalia's daughters and I went to a cafe for a cola cao where we caught up on all that had happened during our summers, etc. I'll begin tutoring them next Wednesday evening and I'm looking forward to spending two evenings a week with them again! Later that evening, Anais, John and I took a stroll through Parque Garía Lorca before dinner and a night at home.

Yesterday I went with John to his curso intensivo to have myself a bit of a Spanish grammar review with Amalia and the rest of the class. After class, we returned home for lunch and a nap. Later that afternoon, we all went to Padul to visit a friend of Ana's and her two small children. Padul is the pueblo in which Ana grew up; they still have a family home in the town. It's a short distance from Granada; it takes only about 20 minutes by car. Isabel, the mother, is a very friendly, warm-hearted woman and her two children, Claudia, 6, and Samuel, 3, are adorable! I met them last year and they're just wonderful! After a cafelito and a small snack, Anais, John and I played with the kids and I got to use all the cute kid-lingo that I love to say in Spanish. Samuel was particularly playful, wanting to play swords, play catch and jump up and down over and over again. I love little Spanish kids... too cute! After our visit, we came home for dinner and a relaxing evening.

Alright, time for lunch! I'll post again later this weekend and let you all know about my first impression of the school where I'll be teaching!