Weekend Fun in Granada

Ana, my host mom, with her mandarin orange peel that looks like a tree!

Cute! She is an expert fruit peeler--always is able to do it in one chunk!

The sunset in Granada.

Me with my cappucino and chocolate and churros!

The jazz band Libby and I saw.

Me with the heart of a Fin Whale at Parque de Las Ciencias.

Me and the girls at Chris's parents apartment after having dinner.

Hello,

So this last weekend was spent in Granada. Since I am only here for another 25 days my friends and I decided to do everything in Granada that we hadn’t done yet. And of course just hang out, relax and enjoy each other’s company.

So on Thursday evening, a bunch of friends and I went over to Chris’s parents apartment. They came here from the USA for the week and were renting a place in Albaycin. So we went there and had an amazing dinner of baked potatoes (with all the toppings of course), garlic bread, cheese, fruit salad and a green salad. YUM!! It was super good and tons of fun. As you can see from the crazy pictures, we had a great time.

Then on Friday I went to Parque de las Ciencias with some friends. Basically it is like OMSI in Portland but a little different because it has a big outdoor area too. It was really fun. We went into a human body exhibit (the nursing majors loved that), saw a birds of prey live show and played on a giant chess board. I had a good time and was glad I made it there having heard about it and walked by it for most of my stay here. Apparently it is one of the best Science Museums in Spain. Later that evening after my run, Libby and I went to a café/bar to see a live jazz band. They were incredible!! It was a great atmosphere, the owners were nice (helping us with our Spanish) and of course the music was beyond this world. I have a few videos of the show if you want to see them. It takes forever to upload them on facebook, but I will try to when I have time.

On Saturday Libby and I walked around near our house and did some shopping and browsing--more shopping than browsing though! And we got chocolate and churros!!! YUM!! Then it was time to relax and work on some homework. On Sunday we slept in…finally! Later in the afternoon I went on a walk through Albaycin with Libby and her friend from church Kimberly. The neighborhood up there is beautiful because it has an amazing view of La Alhambra and we were able to see the sun setting. Of course, the street performers, the flamenco dancers and the weed smokers all added to the Albaycin atmosphere. It’s one of the more popular neighborhoods to hang out in and has a mix of all kinds of different people.

Ok so this is probably one of the most exciting things that has happened here, at least in my opinion. As usual Ana, my host mom, is AMAZING and the other night her granddaughter Sunsole was here and we were all having dinner, talking and laughing. We taught Ana how to say some words in English (she wanted to know what bonita (pretty) and preciosa (cute) were in English), sang songs and played silly Spanish games. Libby took about a 20 minute video of Ana and Sunsole playing, singing and laughing in the kitchen. It was ADORABLE and probably one of the most incredible evenings here with my host mom. Ana keeps telling us that we are the best students she has had and that she would adopt us in a heartbeat. She is truly the sweetest. Ask me when I get back and I would love to show you the video. It is amazing beyond words.
For the remaining 25!! days here I am going to be enjoying myself! For Thanksgiving on Thursday my friends and I are going to a restaurant that has actual traditional, American Thanksgiving food! Yay! Then over the weekend I am planning on celebrating a friends birthday, shopping for last minute gifts for others and myself and enjoying one of the last weekends I might ever have in Granada.

On Friday December 4th through Monday the 7th, Kathryn, Chris, Kyle and I are going to Cadiz, the last trip I will be taking here. Cadiz is a beautiful town here in Andalucía about a 4 hour bus ride from Granada. It should be a relaxing and fun trip, a good way to end the adventures in Spain.

Once this last adventure is over, I will be focusing on studying for finals and packing up to fly home on December 19th. I cannot believe it is time to start thinking about packing. Cross your fingers I can fit everything in my suitcases! However, I am ready to be coming home. I will miss my host mom and everything here, but I am also really excited to go home for Christmas and to see my family and friends. I miss you all so much!

Seeing you very soon,

Annie