Hola familia y amigos : )
We have a holiday today (Christopher Columbus Day) and of course since we are in Spain we do not have class. Thought this was the perfect opportunity to give a little update about what is going on in Granada.
Since we last spoke I have traveled to Rome and back, YAY, and it really was an incredible time. Seeing so many sights and artwork that I had always dreamed of seeing was just amazing. I cannot even put into words what it was like seeing the Sistine Chapel. Something I had looked forward too for so long finally happened and it was everything I hoped it would be. I was actually quite nervous that seeing everything wouldn't be as monumental as I had hoped but I was definitely wrong. We were there for four days and it was a good amount of time. We spread out our activities so we had a lot of down time, you could probably do Rome in two days, but since it was our break from school it was nice to just relax. Something I have learned about Europe, you always meet people when you're traveling. I mean you are always meeting people here from different countries because of different programs and because all the countries are so close but when traveling you always seem to find people. We met this English kid Sam and we shared a taxi to Vatican city because we couldn't find the bus. He was extremely nice and he actually stuck with us the whole time we were in the Vatican Museum. It is fun meeting new people and seeing the people that cross your path.
Classes have started, yay? I mean they are definitely better than the intensive month for sure. I will take 7 classes over 4 hours of grammar every day. BUT it is school and it is hard to get in the rhythm of going to class and having homework again. I sound like such a baby but when you feel like you have been on this crazy adventure/vacation for about five weeks it skews your perception a little. I like classes here though because so far there hasn't been any busy work. I am not talking about exercises to expand your knowledge, reading articles and doing activities at home is necessary but only to a certain extent. I hate when you get like five worksheets to do at home. I don't believe it is helpful. All of my teachers are interesting so far as well. My historia del cine teacher, Luisa, has these adorable glasses that are magnetic in the front so she just separates them when she's done using them and they hang from her neck. I had never seen anything like it before. I am excited to see how the rest of the semester goes!
The weather actually is changing a little bit here. Nothing drastic like fall at home but it is cooling off a little bit. We always made fun of how the Spaniards would be like oh we need to dress warm because the weather is going to change and we didn't really believe them. It feels like a tropical climate sometimes (the palm trees definitely add to the effect) and I think we forget that it will eventually get colder. I came home from Rome and the next day was freezing. The joke was on us! It hasn't stayed that cold but I was like geez I didn't expect it to get that cold that fast.
We are trying to plan a trip for the end of October but it is so difficult because it is so expensive to get out of Spain :( It costs about 200-300 euro depending on where you're going. It just baffles me though because my flight round trip to Rome only cost 60 euro.
Well sorry that this post is rather boring. I hope everyone is having a great day : )
Besos,
Dani
