Christiane's Clamor's: And the Adventures Continue...

I can’t believe it’s already been 1 month since I set foot in Granada. To think that I’ve been here, in this breath-taking city for 5 weeks is almost surreal. I am so blessed!

Much has happened since I last checked in. On March 4^th, I took the placement exam for the Spanish class I’m registered for. As previously blogged, I tried to do poorly. Let’s just say, mission accomplished! J I’ll be in the Intermediate Level 2 class which will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-8 PM, along with an online virtual class on Fridays, to be done on my own time. I am very excited to start this class because I think it will be the most useful in helping my American self become bilingual!

This past Monday brought our 3^rd week of class. We finally had the Metodologia Condicion Fisica class meet (better late than never!). This course may have easily become my new favorite for a few reasons. One, we only meet for an hour versus the 90 minutes class is supposed to be held. Two, after introducing ourselves, our whereabouts, and reason for studying here in Granada, our professor replied to us in English, “So, go Packers, huh?” This guy clearly knows his stuff! (*Disclaimer: The previous statement is in no way supporting the Green Bay Packers – I am still Switzerland on the subject. I was just merely happy to see that our professor liked futbol AMERICANO!). We also had our Lab on Thursday and let me tell you, I think that’s the most entertained I’ve been and the hardest I’ve laughed in a long while. First, the professor launched into this 15 minute introduction, all in ridiculously fast Spanish mind you, about what we were going to be doing during the lab that day. I must have had the same blank stare on my face as when he started, because as he finished speaking he walked over to us three girls and asked if we understood. All three of us did the classic smile and nod gesture, trying to cover up the fact that we had no idea what was going on. It worked because he proceeded to speak to the rest of the class in Spanish. All of a sudden, people were ripping off their sweats and began running around the weight room. With confused looks on our faces, we followed suit, jogging around the various equipment and machines. Then the professor started yelling instructions and the class would act out what he instructed which was anything from high knees or walking on tip toes to wrist exercises and the grapevine. Between re-living 6^th grade gym class during this warm up and laughing so hard, both my extremity muscles and abdominal muscles were warm and ready to go. We had to test our max strength with certain lifts and he specifically told us that we couldn’t partner up with each other. I didn’t even have time to be anxious about partnering up with someone because one of the guys came right up to me and asked to be my partner! His name is Chema and I discovered that he speaks English really well because he worked at a restaurant in England this past summer. He’s a gymnast here at the University of Granada, so I’m going to go watch him in one of his meets two weeks from now. Chema was very helpful and I thanked him profusely for his patience.

I finished out the week with a purchase of some cute earrings and shoes that I decided to walk 4 miles in the first time I wore them, hence I have some cool blisters on my feet to prove it. The girls and I also went to tapas at our favorite 3 for 1 tapas bar with Petra and her friends Dominika and Nikki. Dominika is also from Slovakia and Nikki is from Iowa (small world?!).

We also bought bus tickets to go to Carnival during the weekend! For 22 euro we got a bus ride to Cadiz and back, along with a chance to win various prizes. As you’ll see in my pictures, it was quite the event. I was all too excited because it was just like dressing in costume for a musical! I managed to make it through the night, thanks to the help of two Red Bulls and an amazing giant baked potato filled with all sorts of yummy-ness like carrots, mushrooms, corn, salsa, ham, and a tasty sauce that topped it off. The amount of people there was insane, and the event itself was very grandiose. My favorite costumes of the evening were a jellyfish and a dad dressed as Little Red Riding Hood while his daughter was dressed as Belle. Throughout the night, I managed to meet someone from Richfield, Minnesota ( again, small world right?!) and two Germans who were absolutely hilarious to talk to! We also got to sight see the ocean for a good hour, which made my night complete.

I hope all is well with each and every one of you - Love to Mom, Dad, Joe, Elese, 2-2 and J, Krumbachs, Campos’, Brooke, and Sara Zee…I miss you all!

Amor de España,

Nana