...and with so many people in the world, it's hard to get along with everyone. What I'm trying to say is, right now I could easily rattle off the names of 10 kids in my classes that make me want to punch walls and kick small animals...or children (I'm talking about you, Jose Luis). This week, one called me "mama," one poked my butt repeatedly, and another peed on the floor...
...but let's not waste our time on the spawn of the devil when there are happier things to discuss! Like tonsillectomies! I'm writing this post while suffering through my 3rd bout of evil, feverish, huge tonsil disease (strep? tonsillitis? who cares, it sucks) since arriving in Spain. Now, the last thing I want to be doing during my time here is laying in my bed watching How I Met Your Mother reruns online for 3 days in a row. Therefore, I'll be heading home for break a week early (yay!) to get a tonsillectomy on December 19th. I hope Mariah Carey releases a new song this year called "All I Want For Christmas is For You to Chop Out My Freaking Tonsils" Just another adventure. Wish me luck or send ice cream, please. Thank you!
On to an actual happier topic, GRANADA! (Disclaimer: Málaga, I love you unconditionally and you will always be my Spanish home.)
Last weekend we went to Granada, and I fell in love. It's the land of the Alhambra and free tapas (for the Spanish impaired: you order a drink, they give you free food). This "free" tapas thing is kind of deceiving seeing as you generally pay a little more for your drink, but it's still fun. Here's a photo of me eating bull:
Yes that's right, I've become a reluctant carnivore, purely for survival purposes. After Spain I have no desire to eat ham or beef for a very long time. The tapear-ing in Granada is the best (so far) because you get SO full after just ordering a few drinks. In one awesomely tacky Medieval-themed bar, we were each given a big ol' sandwich and fries (with ketchup...won me over) to go with our first round of beers. They left us no choice but to be fat and tipsy...and for that I am forever grateful.
Oh, did I skip the rich historical sights and go straight to talking about the food? Normal.
There's a little place in Granada that I like to call the Alhambra...
...the rest of the world likes to call it that, too. This "Alhambra" thing is actually composed of the beautiful Generalife gardens (think Alice in Wonderland), 3 palaces, an alcazaba (recently discovered that this is the general word for a Moorish fortress and is not, in fact, the name of a cool "castle" in Málaga. Still learning.), and some of the most amazing views of Granada. I won't go into historical details because that's not my place in life but if you're interested, Wikipedia will be happy to help you.
We spent all day wandering, taking photos, and stalking tour groups in an attempt to listen in for free. Note: This method doesn't work so well with the Chinese-speaking tour guides. Speaking of the Chinese tour group, here's a hot new style tip I picked up from one of the women:
...leopard socks and pink crocs? Yes, please!
On day #2 we ventured to Guadix, a small town just outside of Granada. Guadix (pronounced "Gwah-deeks") is famous for their cave homes. That's right people, we went to MIDDLE EARTH! Take a look...
...did you see Frodo?! Neither did we. But we DID have a small boy demand money from us and throw glass shards when we refused. Here he is confronting Laura:
Other than the child from hell (I'm seeing a pattern here), Guadix was lovely and the people were incredibly friendly. We spent the day exploring the cave district and attempting to go horseback riding, which ultimately was a failure due to time constraints. I also made friends with several local cats:
Overall a good time, I would recommend visiting Guadix if you're going to be anywhere near Granada or have a love of caves and felines.
Later that night, after returning to our pizza-scented hostel for a shower and heading out for tapas, we decided to venture to a discoteca to see what this song is all about. Arriving at 1:30 in the morning, we figured we'd be coming in at the perfect time. Wrong. We paid our cover ("Are you on the list?" ...no.) and walked into an empty club. Uhh, what? By 3:00am, the place was just starting to fill up. "Johnny, la gente está muy loca." It ended up being a great time...they even played some reggaeton(!), which reminded us of being in back in Ecuador. Oh, the memories. We stayed till 4:30 (weak, by Spanish standards), bought ham pizza on the street (naturally, what other toppings would they offer?), and then crashed for the night. Granada success.
This coming week we have 2 days off of school for various holidays (one of them honoring the Spanish constitution? I need to do some research.). Here's the math: my usual work week = 4 days. Let's subtract 2...that leaves me with...2 whole days of work! Gosh, I hope I can make it. To celebrate this glorious week, Ashley and I are heading to Barcelona on Thursday for what's looking like an awesome weekend. Cooking classes and ice bars will be involved, stay tuned.
I hope whoever is reading this is in good health and happy wherever they are. Here's a high-budget Christmas classic to get you in the holiday spirit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR07r0ZMFb8&ob=av2e
Feliz almost Navidad.
