After the Cata de Aceite de Oliva we all knew that our time here would start to really feel like before we knew it it would disappear. With that being known what we all really wanted was the opportunity to slow things down to really get to enjoy everything hasta el limite but with everything we had planned for the end of April and the beginning of May...we would feel the opposite, SO RUSHED. 

On the schedule?
(program) Flamenco Show on Monday, (program) Cata de Vino on Tuesday, and on Wednesday?  After a final group "reunion" and my classes..the arrival of my parents and aunt to GRANADA, SPAIN! I had a lot of plans to finalize and work to do for class.
We went to the Flamenco Show (10 euros each ticket) at the Teatro Alhambra on Calle Molinas. It was interesting for me because first of all, I had no idea that Flamenco involves movements that are very similar to what we call in the states "stepping". Where you slap your chest/feet...that left me a little confused. We were not supposed to take any pictures in the huge theatre but of course I snapped one with my iPhone. There was only one women dancing in all of the show, with a few outfit changes. On the left as you can see there are singers (all men) and on the right those that playing the Flamenco-style music. There were also men performers/dancers so it was fun to see all of the emotion and facial expressions of the dancers and the echoes of the Flamenco. After the very exhausting weekend I had with little sleep on Sunday night, I fell asleep near the end of the performance. . I had no intention to but I LITERALLY could not keep my eyes open any longer. (With my schedule of classes and TO DOS, the siesta is still a foreign concept to me. I do not take siestas during the day.) I woke up to the growing sound of the stomps of the women Flamenco dancers and growing voices of the singers. It was obviously an intense moment..that I almosttt missed. The theatre burst out into applause and I realized the show was at its end.
We started off the wine tasting in the bright light of the evening into the sun left us in darkness. At the restaurant chosen by our program we occupied the majority of the tables on the outside patio. We saw in tables of 5 or 6. At my table I had Fatima (pictured above, from NY), Griffin (from Indiana), Zach (from Iowa), Nick (from Pennsylvania), and JOSE (one of our program staffers)! It's always an honor to be able to sit with one of the staffers during cultural program events/experiences because you learn to do things the correct Spanish way, use the language, and have any questions answered if you need to ask!
We tried 4 different kinds of wines. One pink(er), two vinto tintos, and one vino blanco. In general if I have to drink wine I prefer white wine that's sweeter. These ones were good though! We learned the proper protocol, things like: your fingers shouldn't be on the glass because it can affect the wine, check the color/details with a napkin, smell the cup and then let sit, stir it a bit in your hand, then you're good to taste (SIP! not gulp). I may be a little mixed up with the order to forgetting something ha but it was fun to be able to do something like a wine tasting because as a student / young person you don't really go seek activities like this. It appears to be for older groups / crowds (in the sense of there being a generation that drinks to sip and to literally taste while there's another generation that likes to drink and doesn't stop to take a second and TASTE the beverage..).
At our final group reunion (we have had these periodically throughout the semester to talk about upcoming events/answer questions we have/fix problems with professors or classes, etc.) Veronica read the group a letter that she had written about our experience together. Before she even started she found herself moved to tears. It was a light but sweet letter and had us all saying awwww at the end. She doesn't want this semester to end, and neither do we! She referred to us as flowers in the letter and when she was done reading Jose walked in with 44 roses. One for each of us. :)
 
After the Cata de Vino the next morning my intercambio group had scheduled an activity of sederenismo = Hiking! Because I had family plans that day to go to Albaicyn and celebrate the birthday of my host father's mother..for a BBQ! I was excited because the weather was amazing that day, naturally, perfect for a BBQ. I didnt know what to expect for a SPANISH BBQ but knew I didn't want to miss out. This was one of the major events where I felt extremely included in family outings, etc. and it also marked the first time since mid-January that I ridden in a residential vehicle! It was a strange concept to grasp for a bit. Honestly since there were so many older family members there that I took more of the position of listening and learning. It was the first time while abroad this time around that I had been in such a large family setting, to truly see the culture. The pictures were added much earlier to Facebook  and I feel depict well what type of experience I had. We ate, laughed, and drank from 2 on until the sun was about to set. We were so full we didn't need dinner, all we needed were our beds. When we got back home I made sure to thank them over and over to attempt to express how grateful to have been invited to their family celebration. My friend Fatima came back to toman after far travels soo although I was "muerta" I went to one of our favorite spots in Plaza Nueva to meet up with her and another one of our friends from Morocco. Went to bed later than planned but so happy after the culture-filled weekend I had just had. 

The next day, Antonio inivited me to another BBQ..this time, in the Sierra Nevada! Una Babacoa para celebrar el fin de la estacion para Los sanitarios. Had my second ride in a residential car in 2 days! Had to skip a class for this event but I felt it was necessary:) because I was with all of Antonio's work friends I eas very reserved except for a few conversations but I could always escape to the land of the jóvenes. Julia, Antonio's 5 year old daughter had joined us on the trip too, to the snowy Sierra! The kids were adorable, the company was great, and the food was AMAZING. The pinchitos were my absolute favorite! Again, we ate and We ate..and We all ate and drank to make it another long day. Antonio picked me up around 3 and we came back  in the evening again. Too full to eat another meal, too full of culture! ;)

It was a great ride up and down the mountain! Antonio pointed out the house along the way that they call "la casita de Blancanieves", that'd be a fun childhood story!

 
To follow the Spanish 'musical festival' anoche, our program had scheduled for us a Cata de Aceite (April 21). And let me tell you it was extravagante! I'll stop rambling for a little bit and let the large list of things we tried and their descripciones depict the story/speak for themselves!!

1) Three types of olive oil de Granada de Huelva y otro provincia de España 
2) 2 types of Olives from Málaga and Córdoba 
3) Tostada con zumo de tomate - We Were given mini loaves of bread and another platter of mini tomates and a dash of olive oil! Un like bruschetta that we know, we were tasked to just press/rub the tomate against the bread to in a way color the toast. Very delightful!
4) Aguacate with lemon y Basil - amazing! I could eat avocados like this every day! I had never really eaten avocados before. 
5) Queso cabra (covered/soaked in aceite de olivo) y también slices of tomate with aceite de olivo y pimiento..YUM. 

Picture
6) Cerdo con pan y 4 different types of pepper olive oil (I know here I specified with bread BUT every mini-course was served with bread. Every table was given a basket of bread and when it was empty, in moments it would be refilled--a blessing and a curse at the same time.) 

7) Lechuga con sal y aceite de olivo (y ya está! Qué genial! So simple but such a great snack, light on the salt.)
8) Little trozos de queso con olive oil
9) Pestiño -dulce con oliva de aceite frita con azúcar ! --I only wish los trozos hubieran sido más grandes xD
10) tostada con aceite de oliva y trozas de chocolate (not as extravagant as the other minibread bowl chocolately sprinkled treat I had in another olive oil tasting but obviously, same effect!)
11) THE FINAL TASTE. Helado chococlate negro con sal y aceite de oliva del sabor naranja (Translation: chocolate ice cream with salt and orange flavored olive oil!)
I don't even like chocolate ice cream all that much but madre mía this was great and the perfect way to end the olive oil tasting! Luckily for me I had just finished a workout prior to arriving haha. 

Also a very monumental moment for us on Friday was the return dof Veronica our director to Spain! After her month time in Pella, Iowa we missed her a lot! Many of us maintaoned contact with her through emails for questions or simply just to chat, myself included. 
 
What a relief it was when Friday came and we didn't have class! After the Semana Santa and puente that I had it was hard to concentrate for obvious reasons:) There were of course a lot of stories to tell and pictures to share as I have already said. Thank you Facebook and CLM, you are two great instruments for us to update one another on our whereabouts and the changes of our lives. Despite the fact that it would be a rainy weekend in Granada, it would good to be back, good to be home. To have something to do to in the rain, we found the perfect opportunity to go to the movies. We saw the movie Battleship because our beloved Rihanna, singer, was playing in it. The movie and storyline wasn't what we expected but it was full of action and was of course in Spanish which will always increase the appeal.

As we leapt into April, everything seemed to be flying full-speed ahead. I believe it was about the feat week of April, during Semana Santa or just after the Portuguese Paradise was when I finally accepted, and I mean truly accepted the fact that I would be returning to the states. Obviously I would have to return because my return flight had been booked since before I even left for Spain. That didn't matter to me. (It wasn't until 2 weeks or so ago, at the end of April that I was even sure of when that return date was, simply because I refused to look. This also has a lot to do with my neglecting of posting my posts online on this blog! I've had part of my spring break blog post written for weeks now...but then that makes the passing of time so much more real. When I finally realized this week of May when my parents and aunt were visiting me, and that I have LOYAL followers, I realized the big mistake that was. So here I am, catching you up on everything you've missed [and everything I insist on never forgetting!] and I apologize for keeping my adventure secret for the month of April!)

As I was saying, not only were the weeks after the break of Semana Santa seeming like they were flying because of program activities but also because I felt like I had a lot on my plate. In addition to classes, program meetings, and assignments (for literature classes as well as an essay I wrote for a debate on humanitarian intervention, and more), English classes with my student Alberto, I had a lot to plan for the arrival of my family! The "easiest" or better said, most organized thing I knew to construct? A list, of course. If anyone knows me and sees my daily whereabouts they know that I live for constructing and reconstructing lists. This one took slightly a different form of a day by day tentative calendar. But BEFORE their arrival my program had scheduled many activities to keep my mind busy. For the weekend prior, on Friday I had scheduled a classical wind instrument concert after my hair appointment in Barrio Zaidin at Peluqueria Rachelle. This time I went by myself and felt the magnetic force of Avenida de Dilar where it is located. Such an amazing place to shop! So I know already that I'll have to trek my way over again to that area, y todavía tengo que recortar mi pelo. In the concert a program friend, Lyanne, would be playing with a group of university students. She plays the cielo and it was an amazing show! First their were solo artists playing the violins accompanied by a pianist. It was funny because the show was supposed to begin at 8 but because we are on a different time schedule here...Lyanne's set begin a lot later than expected and many of us were very late for dinner with our familias, pero no pasa nada. I had dinner waiting for me. This was also the night that Lyanne, Tayler, Megan, and I (&Colin for part of the way) tried to locate a typical Spanish pub...to no avail. Thanks to Google and the address I was given I brought us through the center, past the center, to the outskirts along the river. I hope I'll make my way to Granero some time soon because me queda poco tiempo..

 
The first spring break stop outside of the country was Lisboa, the capital of Portugal, one of my must-sees this semester. We had to catch an 11 hour bus ride from the Granada station to get there. The bus waiting for us to our surprise when we arrived early for our spring break chariot was not what we imagined at all. Sitting in the number 16 park space was not a luxurious, immense charter bus but instead an oddly shaped conjunction of a minivan an minibus.  After 2 hours in our solemn but still comfortable ride through the sunset and eventual darkness, just AM, Fatima, myself, and another passenger, we stopped in a gas station. Unknown to us yet, we would be switching buses to the large, and luxurious one we had originally been hoping for. Unfortunately since it was already late we wouldn't be able to talk to people and make new Portguese/travel friends. With the change of scenery I was amped although we were in the midst of darkness. When we first arrived on the bus they were playing the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie in Portguese so although I wouldn't necessarily see this movie on my own will, I was obviously intrigued because of the language! And I was interested to see what I could pick up and decipher. The next movie to my surprise was a little more intense for obvious reasons in ratings, Little Man. And luckily for me in my lack of ability/desire to sleep it was played in English with Portguese subtitles, so I read instead of watched the entire duration of the movie. Later on I would find that this would prove extremely beneficial for us on our many adventures. I'll admit that beside booking our hostel at Jardim Santos in the historical center of town, I didn't do any other homework than that than I would have normally done. Por ejemplo, how to get from the bus station to virtually...anywhere else at 6am in the morning when we were to arrive. I wouldn't say we were lost or stranded BUT for a short amount of time it may have felt like it. The pieces of information that I did have with me..the address of our hostel and a picture taken from my phone of the map of the city. Unable to communicate..well, comprehend the lone bus station attendant with my broken and basic Portuguese with him spitting rapid fire responses, I had to find us some other options. I was able to locate the other passenger that had accompanied us on the two hour bus ride into Sevilla to change buses. She helped as much as she could because she didn't know the specific area of Lisboa too well. 

When we had one of our early morning bathroom stops, I got out to have some fresh air and in the entrance of the rest stop building had one of those awkward encounters with this younger guy about who would come out of the door first. Although it was a quick encounter I remembered that as we passed one another he said, "Sorry". In our time of need at the bus station this occurrence came to mind and I immediately went to search for this English-speaking boy. Turns out that Bruno, the first Bruno that we would meet on the trip, is Portuguese and knows his stuff. He recognized where we were headed. Even with his two suitcases he physically walked us inside of the train station and helped us find and buy the less than 2 euro train ticket. We had to wait an hour or so to catch this train but that was the least of our worries, besides the cold temperature inside of the station. Words can't describe the luck we found with finding Bruno #1!

The stop of our train station, another lucky thing for us, was just a short taxi ride from our hostel. We made it, although a little worn out, in time for breakfast. Our room that felt like a large loft, comfy like no other hostel I've ever stayed in before, with a Mexican family currently living and studying in Spain. I sat and ate breakfast with them in the cozy kitchen chatting in Spanish about their family, myself, and all of our travels. It was a great way to turnaround the adventure in Lisboa. After breakfast I worked with a member of the hostel staff to book online/on telephone our bus tickets to Lagos the next day. If it weren't for her it would have been much more difficult to book the tickets through the Portguese website, although definitely not impossible. After a long nap we all accepted the fact that we needed to get out and enjoy the day, weather, and city! We spent hours walking, first following a map to find the 'yellow bus' route that climb up/down the city. I thought those were the tran vias at first, with the rails on the streets and cables in the air. . And then of course from historical site to the next beautiful view. By the time we made it to the central center we realized how late it was. This was the point again where I needed to use my basic knowledge of Portguese with my map to find out "Onde estamos agora?" in relation to our hostel. Another lucky quick taxi ride and we were back. Our task before that was to find a local supermarket to buy the food of our choice, pasta! We had limited time to cook, eat, shower, and get ready because when we got back to the hostel we started talking to two Spanish girls from Extremadura, Ines y Cristina, two great girls. One studies the English language and the other has a lot of knowledge of the Portuguese language after having studied in this neighboring country. They introduced us the Barrio Alto of Lisboa, known for it's nightlife. There we met other Portuguese crowds of people, many who spoke English too. In particular a Portuguese boy named Bruno (#2) studying to be a chef, with the most beautiful eyes and presence... :) I hope somehow to be able to meet up with them all again!

The most beautiful part of Lagos was...everything. From the beach that we simply had to climb down a set of stairs to access, to our amazingly perfect (all around) tour guides, to the great breakfast in the hotel and other food options, the majestic views, all the way to the company I was able to surround myself with, new faces and old. The best way to describe the trip would be to go minute by minute/excursion by excursion but I won't bore you with all of those details:) We hardly slept the night before Lagos because of staying out all night with Ines and Christina.  

The bus to Lagos was only a four hour trip I was very exhausted from staying up the night before, which is not generally the way to start spring break vacation but we had no other choice and were not going to stop there! The only negative about the trip I would say is the lack of Spanish and the overuse of English. All of the tour guides that we had and fell in love with are required to speak over 4 different languages to work for the DiscoverSevilla program, and all currently reside in Sevilla, and therefore all speak the Spanish language (and Portugese!) extremely well. 

I'll include the schedule here too but most of the trip included beach trips, mini boat cruises, sand sports, sangria, sleep, sunsets, beach workouts, bus rides, long nights and early mornings. Definitely the relaxing/crazy/exciting combination of spring break that I was looking forward to. On Sunday after another relaxing day on the beach I came to the realization that I had fallen in love with another part of Europe and didn't want to leave. I almost considered booking one of the next rounds of the trips back to Lagos with the same group, DiscoverSevilla just because I felt like I was entitled to having another great weekend like that while abroad here since I wouldn't be doing any other major/out of country traveling in this chapter. We arrived in Granada after 1 AM and then had to walk home from the bus area. Feeling fairly alive in the darkness we made the 20 minute walk home dreading having to go to classes the next morning. I skipped my 1030 French class because I had plans to get a lot done the next day before my 2 other classes and championship game for the volleyball inter mural league. (We ended up losing BUT in 3 by 1 point or so! Unofficial rules/no rules essentially hahah but it was fun!)

------Lagos, Portugal Trip • April 6th – 8th

Trip Itinerary:*Lagos is one hour behind Spain and the itinerary below is listed in local time (Spain & Lagos).  All times and locations are subject to change.

FridayApril 6th

06:00 AM – Please meet up with us on Meson Gregorio in front of Puente de los Basilios, Granada (Click on the link to see where on Google Maps)

06:30 AM – Bus departs from Granada

09:45 AM – Bus arrives in Sevilla at the Consulado de Portugal, which is located in front of the Jardines del Prado de San Sebastián on Avenida De El Cid, Sevilla(CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE)

10:00 AM - Bus departs for Lagos-Portugal, please be on time, as we CANNOT WAIT FOR LATE ARRIVALS!
**Sign up for the Optional Activities on the bus ride to Lagos**
12:30 PM
 - Arrive at Hotel in Lagos, check into rooms *Now in Portuguese Time*
1:00 PM - Meet in Hotel lobby for 1st Sangria Sailboat Cruises
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM - 1st Sangria Sailboat Cruises + Grotto Tour
3:00 PM - Meet in Hotel lobby for 2nd Sangria Sailboat Cruise
3:30 PM to 5:30 PM 
- 2nd Sangria Sailboat Cruise + Grotto Tour

**Free time after the Sailboat Cruises**
7:30 PM
 - Meet in Hotel lobby to walk down to the center of town for dinner recommendations. 
11:00 PM - KICKOFF PARTY at Stevie Rays with DJ TOBY ONE!! (1 beer & 1 mix drink included).

SaturdayApril 7th

08:00 AM to 10:00 AM - Breakfast (included)
11:00 AM - Meet in Hotel lobby for Bus Ride to Ponta da Piedade to check out the Cliffs.

**After the Cliffs we will be going straight to Meia Praia Beach, therefore you should bring everything you will need for the day at the beach including some extra cash for lunch & Watersports! (Optional)**

12:00 PM to 4:20 PM - Beach Day at Meia Praia
4:30 PM - Bus picks everyone up at the drop off point in Meia Praia Car Park to depart back to Hotel.
6:00 PM - Meet in Hotel Lobby for Bus Excursion to Cabo Sao Vicente aka End of the World to watch Sunset!! Please be on time and come ready to go out (bring jacket in case it gets cold) 
**After the sunset we will return to the Hotel and walk down to the Center of Town for dinner recommendations.**


11:00 PM - DG Party round two!! 

SundayApril 8th 
08:00 AM to 10:00 AM – Breakfast (included)
10:00 AM - Surfers & West coast beach-goers meet in hotel lobby and MUST check out and put luggage in hotel luggage room.
12:00 PM - People that don’t come surfing or to the beach on the west coastMUST check out and put luggage in hotel luggage room.
4:30 PM - Surfers arrive back to the Hotel from the beach. People that did not go to the surfing beach have to be in the lobby ready to leave at 5:00 PM
5:30 PM - Bus departs from Portugal to Sevilla
9:30 PM - Bus arrives in Sevilla
9:45 PM - Bus departs from Sevilla to Granada

1:30 AM - Bus arrives in Granada at the same spot where we will pick you up on Friday (Puente de los Basilios)
**Bus from Granada:

Price: 30€ for a private round trip bus from Granada, which will be paid upon boarding. A DiscoverGranada representative will be waiting for you at the meeting point. 
If you plan on meeting up with us in Sevilla, and catching the bus back to Granada from Portugal, then the price is 20€, which will be paid upon boarding the bus in Sevilla.

Hotel Information:Praia Dona Ana, Apartado 33
8600-500 Lagos – Portugal
Tel. 
+351 828 762 026 

In addition to the extensive knowledge I was able to quickly pick up during the playing of the American movies, DiscoverSevilla also provided us with this nifty little tool:Helpful Phrases in Portuguese

Yes / Sim     No / Nao   Hello / Olá    How are you / Como estás
Good day, Good afternoon, Good night / Bom dia, Boa tarde, Boa noite
Please / Se Faz Favor   Thank you / Men say:Obrigado and Women say:Obrigada    You’re welcome / De nada    Excuse me / Desculpe    Goodbye / Tchau
Do you speak English? / Falas Ingles? 
Where is the bathroom?   Where is the hotel?   Where is the beach? / Onde está a casa de banho?    Onde está o hotel?    Onde está a Praia?How much does it cost?  / Quanto custa?    The Bill Please / A conta se faz favor!
Help! My pants are on fire! / Socorro! As Minhas calças pegaram fogo!

 
(Thank you for not eating me alive for the lack of blog activity, followers.) Date changed to reflect proper timing in Spain:)

A lot of stories are being exchanged within the last 2 weeks and reexchanged now that we're all back from our spring break adventures and excursions. There were people in our group literally traveling all over Europe. Norway. France. Portugal. Brussels. Germany. England. And other cities in Spain too (Ibiza, Barcelona). Some of us relocated to some colder areas of Europe but what was I looking for to make the PERFECT spring break abroad in Spain? The beach!

I've told my adventurous spring break story numerous times this week too and have been itching to write this blog post about it..but I don't know if it will do it justice for 2 reasons. In this current moment I don't feel like typing a novel and second reason being because some  things we can only share again and again with those that were there:)

For probably a month and a half now or so we had our beach getaway booked with DiscoverGranada/DiscoverSevilla in Lagos, Portugal. Since our spring break fell on Semana Santa (we had a spring break of almost a week and a half with classes cancelled because of the #huelageneral #generalstrike in all of Spain). The Lagos trip fell on the very last weekend so I would have the entire week to be free in my beloved city of Granada and enjoy the processions of the holidays and spend time with my family abroad here. It was a very quiet weekend and I spent it mostly with my friend Anna Marie since the majority of our friends were already traveling. The weekend passed tranquilly. The weather started to change in Granada, as it does every year in Semana Santa, as if it's tradition! The processions started on Sunday evening and throughout the week if it's too wet or it's raining they have to cancel the processions otherwise the statues and giant floats can get destroyed because they carry ancient figurines and sculptures of biblical times. Mainly they depict Jesus on/suffering on the cross and the Virgen Mary distraught over her son. The details of the floats are magnificently constructed with the tiniest, distinct shapes, swirls, and curves and the colors are so well preserved. The processions are a great sight to stand among the crowd to see. Every day there's a specific schedule of time where the specific "brotherhood" will be starting, with a specific starting point and destination and time table; it's very organized! Each day the schedule seems to get better and better, namely starting on Thursday. With the processions that start in the gypsy pueblo or the completely silent procession at night.. Imagine hearing only the footsteps of a crowd.

We missed both of those because for Wednesday night at 8 pm we had bought tickets for a night bus to travel to Lisboa, Portugal. On Monday just in time for the atardecer, Anna Marie and I found our way to the Mirador de San Nicolas in Albaicyn to watch the sun fall at the top of our city. Since it was an overcast day like all the rest during Semana Santa, it really wasn't too much of a site to see, unfortunately. BUT there was a reporter and small camera crew interviewing people at this spot and Anna Marie and myself were interviewed. Later on that night while I was eating dinner at home alone I saw Anna Marie's interview on TV!
On Tuesday during the day Anna Marie and I finally made our way to the Sierra Nevada! It wasn't ideal weather but it was what I expected because Marisa, my host mother here, had sent me off with a list of things I should bring with me as well as a handful of warm/wet weather articles of clothing of hers and also my little sisters. I wear a size 37/38 or so size shoe here and she gave me her size 40 hiking/trekking shoes for the trip and I'm very grateful that she had! It cost us only 10 euros Ida y vuelta to travel there to the main ski lodge and we packed sandwiches for lunch and hot chocolate for a snack later. I went with an ear scarf, a hat, a scarf, gloves, my leather/impermeable hooded jacket, an extra warm zip jacket, long sleeves shirt with shirt underneath, extra socks, umbrella, and my athletic puma capris. After hearing that the chances were high that it would probably snow in addition to the rain we'd be experiencing all week, I knew I had to make the executive decision to not bring my Digital Rebel XTi with me. Anna Marie was a little less prepared AND is allergic to the cold, so it worked out in our favor that we had all of the clothing that I brought; we utilized all of them. All in all the trip in the Sierra Nevada was genial although it was cold, snowy, rainy, and we felt stranded at moments. It was a great gateway to spring us into BEACH MODE.

Wednesday night we were scheduled to ‘leave the country’ to our next country of choice at 8pm. We arrived at the station with ample time to await our luxurious trip to our first stop, Lisboa. 
 
It goes on??

I’ve been having more ups and downs in my time here but this isn’t the focus of my blog update!  

I've been trying to be a productive as possible; within the past week I've applied for 5 internships and positions this summer. Thankfully I'm on spring break so I have more time on my hands and need to take full advantage of this free time that I never seem to have otherwise.

Some parts of Granada seem like they're quieter than ever; but that's really just a result of all of the people in my program that have already left the city to to travel. The sea of people celebrating Holy Week, or Semana Santa, remind me of Carnaval in Cádiz, and cannot remotely be described as quiet. The street vendors are selling all of the right things to appeal to children and adults alike, toy drums and noisemakers, nuts of all shapes and colors, and baked potatoes. The only, obvious difference are the processions, which consist of religious floats, and heavenly, solemn music, literally inching by. It's a sight to see --one that should not be missed. Hence my reasoning to stay in Granada for the first weekend of my spring break: to relax in my hometown to get things done and enjoy life in addition to getting to celebrate/witness/ and partake in this huge tradition.

To welcome Semana Santa Marisa Madre, mi abuela, made torrijas! A traditional Spanish dessert made and sold specifically during this religious holiday.

Last week on Thursday the major occurrence was the general strike happening all over Spain! Because of it the majority of us students in the CLM had classes cancelled all on Thursday because our professors were going to be participating in the strike. There were so many different reasons why people were doing the strike so the underlying reason for the protests changed depending on who you were discussing them with. After a long, tiring weekend in Madrid it was nice to only have 3 days of classes to lead us right into Spring break!

Last week also was a defining moment for me because I have found my first student for English classes. His name is Alberto and is 22 years old, attending UGR. We’ve had two meetings and will start up again after my spring break trip in Portugal.

This weekend was solely an Anna Marie and I weekend, meaning a lot of Spanish, relaxing, sun, parking it up, working out, exploring/walking, planning our Portugal Paradise, and also new friends. Saturday night we went out with and spent a lot of time with two African soccer players. We have formed an intercambio relationship with our two expertise languages. We hope we get the chance to see them play soon for the Granada club soccer teams that they play for!

Tomorrow, if all goes well, we will be off to the Sierra Nevada for a quick day trip and the purchase of our bus tickets to the capital of Portugal. Unfortunately, I will only be there for one day but I can’t complain; I’ll be in my desired country of choice finally and… it’s STILL SPRING BREAK! We’ve relaxed (and worked hard this week!) I’m ready for some fun and the beach :) Typical spring break desires.

I hope to return back to Madrid this semester.. and I made the promise to myself that I have to return back to Spain/Europe within the next year.. I wonder what that could mean jobwise, and what I will do to make it