The other Alps

Let me tell you about the Alpujarras, the big mountains in Spain. They were AWEZOME. I went with a group of about 20 of the other students with our guides, and starting Friday morning, we bussed it sickeningly up a twisting road, then hiked along waterfalls, old fields, steep ravines, rapids, and tons of plants, and through about 3 different little mountain towns. We had a picnic with vegetables (for once) by a river, drank fresh water from water fountains that come directly from the fresh springs at the top of the mountain, and had a big group dinner. A lot of people ate rabbit: brain, heart and all teeth included. Then we all slept in a hostel, looked at the stars, and got up early to hike all day Saturday. There were even mountain goats and freshly sheared sheep-I felt like I was in the Sound of Music. We were all exhausted by the end, but it was such a great weekend, wish you could've seen it.

Bullfighting

I went to a bullfight last weekend. Yes! A SPANISHSHSH bullfight! It was HORRIBLE. And cruel, and "cultural", and that's the only reason why I stuck it out through the fourth dead bull. At least they were killed to benefit those Down's Syndrome kids...

Let me bring you into my little bloody world for a moment: First, the matadors come into the arena all dressed up, the bull is set loose, mad and crazy, and the "fight", or "public slaughter" begins. The matadors kill their black enemy slowly, stabbing it in the neck with 4-6 lances which continue to dangle from the bull's neck throughout the fight, swinging as it attempts to destroy that frustrating red cloth. After the crowd has applauded and sufficiently been impressed by the blatant animal cruelty, a final, 12-inch-long spear is is thrust into the spinal cord and the bull finally dies after about 2 minutes of a mixture a) coughing up blood, and b) thrashing on the dirt while the murde-I mean matador-takes a bow and the crowd wave their white flags of death.

Too much for you? Me too, this happened 7 times.

Off to mountaineer the Alpujarras this weekend!

Isn't it a great day when you know you have nothing to do, nowhere to be, and an entire medieval European city outside your window, waiting to be explored? That's how I felt today. There are neighborhoods from the 600s and fountains that only work during certain hours of the day (different each day, so fun!), a just-discovered yee old public library and prairie path overgrown with yellow flowers of spring, uninterrupted by landscapers or extreme bicyclists. There's a quiet corner of the old Jewish barrio that takes you right up to the great walls of the Alhambra, and a garden filled with imported peacocks and about-to-bloom rosebushes. Granada thrives in the spring, and so do we.

April and Semana Santa

Hey look-it's April! Easter just passed and I have a little over a month left in Granada, then another month until I touch American soil, and lemme tell ya, I be bathing in that dirt.

I just spent the week with my mom in Nerja, a little town on the coast, full of restaurants, water, old English retirees, and helado. It was relaxing and filling, and when I came back and mom left, I watched the Holy Week processions: hundreds of people filing through the streets carrying a 2000 lb platform with various statues of Mother Mary, Jesus, Jesus and Mary, Mary holding Jesus...not too much variation here, but you get the idea.

I'm hitting the overstaying point. Ready to say goodbye to the food, the staring, that dog, living in someone else's home...can't wait for May 7th-- Italiaahhhhh