Mi primera semana

     Its finally the weekend! Tuesday I had a placement test (took 3 hours!), but thankfully I placed well enough to take the culture classes that I wanted. So for this month I'm taking 2 classes: Historia del arte en España y Historia de España de Siglo XX.  That afternoon we went on a tour of the cathedral that I saw on my first day. It was amazing! It's renaissance and baroque style, so inside it is very decorated, and there's a lot of GOLD! Outside of the cathedral is the Real Capilla de Granada. This is a chapel where King Fernando and Queen Isabela are buried, along with their daughter Juana la loca and her husband, Felipe I. It's pretty amazing that I get to pass this everyday!
     On Wednesday I started class (at 9am) which I have Mon-Fri. Both of my teachers are pretty awesome, and so far I've had no homework. (Lo cual me gusta). Since I'm only taking 2 classes I'm done at 11 and have time to explore on my own until everyone else is done. Later we toured around Realejo (=little royal village) and went to a Téteria (tea house). The Téteria is in this little village with lots of shops so I needa go back there! (they love the Aladdin pants here... maybe I'll bring the style back to the states)
     Thursday after class I got a croissant choco and ate it in this pretty little plaza a couple blocks from my house. After I went shopping and made my first purchase. Until mid august they have this thing called Rebajas where ALL the stores have sales, so the streets are filled with people taking advantage of this before it ends. Later that day we toured el Albaicín. Its a beautiful Muslim neighborhood that overlooks much of Granada. Towards the top is where the gypsies live en las cuevas (caves), really their houses are built into the hills. Afterwards Jilli and I joined other students from our group and from the month before ours to celebrate the fourth of July! We went to a little burger restaurant (which had all the free mojitos after your meal). Later we went to a pub called Hannigan and Son's (definetly not a spanish vibe). Some people wanted to go to the Chupateria (which sells chupitas/ shots for 1euro!). It was a fun experience and I got to know more of the people that I'll be around for the next month.
      Now that I've been here for 5 days, I'm feeling more comfortable in my surroundings. I can pretty much get home from wherever I am with out having too much confusion. I'm really enjoying the little tours we go on and talking with our directors, Gérman y Noelia. I'm learning a lot, and I think my spanish has improved a little since I arrived :) Well today we have a free afternoon and I think later we may go try a tapas bar. The photos I posted are: 1. inside el catedral, 2. Graffiti by El Niño de las pinturas, which normally have a thought provoking quote: when I couldn't find the answer, I decided to change my questions (beside on random walls, many shops in Granada hire him to paint on their door so the don't get vandalized: apparently taggers respect other artists work), and 3. is of Jilli and I in el Albaicín with more of Granada in the background.

Now time for siesta, and to enjoy the weekend!