Highs and Lows, Ups and Downs

At the moment I am at a slight down, haha. It´s Christmas Eve and Matt is supposed to be here in Granada with me and instead he is stuck in Madrid. The flight he was booked for between Granada and Madrid was yesterday and he was not even in Europe yet, so now he is stuck in Madrid until tomorrow. Frustrating, but at least he can get a flight tomorrow and the airline is paying for his hotel. I had a brief moment of freaking out but I got over it and now I am anxious all over again, so from a very low to a medium.

Besides this there has been a lot going on for me. I finished school a little over a week ago and my last week I got a nice slap in the face. My last day of class was Thursday and on Tuesday my school presented me with a bill for 520€ to sleep at my señora´s place for TWO nights in December and to leave my things there. This did not settle well with me seeing that they wanted me to pay more than $700 for essentially two nights of sleep and food. They told me that since my things will be there it is like I am there and the room is not usable, oh please. If she wanted to use the room with my things there, it would not have been a big deal to me. I thought that Paqui would also find this silly, haha, wrong. I told her about it and I did not get the reaction I had predicted. Since only days before she was telling me how I am like her daughter, and that she was worried about what Matt and I would be doing for Christmas Eve so she wanted to have us over, blah, blah, I thought she would say well let´s you and I make some sort of deal. Well that did not happen. I immediately called my friend, Sergio, to see if I could bring my things to his place for the month and he kindly said yes. So I told me the school, lo siento, but that money is not going to you and Paqui and I had to pack ALL of my shit of and bring it to Sergio´s. Luckily I have not bought to many clothes so I was able to fit just about everything. I left some books at Paqui´s that she said she would store in the basement of the apartment. Anyway I guess I was disappointed to see the affect that money had on Paqui. I understand that she needs the money and in a way I understand that having my things there while I am not could be a nuisance and if I had my own apartment I would have to pay the rent. We have never had a problem but the last few days were not the same. I guess for me, I was the most upset when she said something along the lines that the school says that if I have the money to travel, I should have the money to pay to leave me things. I took this as she is a little mad about not getting the money and I was irritated because it´s not her place to discuss my bank account. A low point. Anyway I hope when I return things will be smoothed over.

Protest in front of the church in Milan

So now on to some happier news. Last Saturday I flew into Milan to start my Italy excursion. I had a full day there so I went to the duomo which was very cool and then I just wandered around. I got to see two manifestaciones. One was political and I think the basis is that Northern Italy wants to separate from Southern Italy, a little extreme if you ask me. But apparently the people from Milan and Rome do not get a long. The second one was a bunch of kids celebrating a football victory. Both were really entertaining.

Not the best picture, but I was alone so I could not ask for another from a stranger

From Milan, I took the train to Pisa. I wandered around there for a few hours, saw the tower and then caught the bus to Calcinia to find my relatives. I was nervous as hell the whole bus ride. I told the bus driver three times where I wanted to get off so he got the point. But I still had some crazy thoughts, like checking out places off the side of the road I could sleep if necessary. I made it to Calcinia, which is not very big, and went into a store to ask someone directions. He told me in Italian, but I got the point and headed in the correct direction. From there I realized that Ottavio´s (my relative) house number was not marked on the address my sister gave me so I went to a random house and asked. The woman that answered the door looked terrified of me, like I had fangs or something. But some other chick came down and attempted to point me to the correct house. I did not understand, so I went to another random house and rang the bell. The girl at this house was not very helpful, we talked through the speaker and I kept asking her if she knew Ottavio and she kept saying no thank you. Then she asked my age and where I was from, I was desperate so I answered hoping she would help me. We played this little game for a while because I decided to move on. I went back to another meat store and asked a very nice old woman to help me. She got the phone book out, called Ottavio´s wife (Loredana) and told her that she had an American visitor. About five minutes later another guy was in the store and he was taking me to their house. Of couse he was asking me all of these questions in Italian that I had really no answers to. It turns out he was Loredana´s brother. I got to the house and Loredana looked at me like I was crazy and could not believe that I was alone. I was a little nervous, but Ottavio came home about 5 minutes later and was excited to know that Cara Mia´s sister was at his home. So this was a very big high, goal achieved!

Downtown Calcinaia

The Rowing Team is named after my great grandfather Pete and this is the boat house

I spent three nights at Ottavio´s house in Calcinia and although communication was not 100% I still loved ever minute of it. They were so great to let me stay with them, and of course feed me some great Italian food. After my first night I wandered around the town then drove around with their son, Luca while he kind of worked. He runs a construction company that was started by Ottavio´s father and has been passed down. He knows a little bit of English so we communicated pretty good. We drove around to various places for his work and had a drink in every town we went to so that was fun. Although I don´t know any Italian, my Spanish was amazing helpful. I don´t know how I would have survived without it. I am not going to lie, I am kind of interested in learning Italian now and I have to take a class for my Spanish major anyway so we´ll see what happens. My second full day Ottavio took me to some of the Tuscan Hill Towns (Volterra and San Gimigano). I love the Tuscan Hills, they were amazing, tranquil and beautiful. It was nice to spend time with Ottavio. Although we don´t have the same language I feel like we developed a nice relationship, nice enough for him to invite me back with my Babo (Dad) and Mama. He showed me a lot of old pictures that were awesome and my great grandfather Pete´s journal which started in 1912. There is so much more to say but I have already wrote to much, bottom like an great high.

Ottavio & I in Volterra

From Calcinia I went back to Pisa and took the Train to Rome. Although I have been to Rome before I did not go in St. Peter´s cathedral and I really wanted to so that was kind of my purpose. I went and it was amazing, I have seen a lot of churches and this one is really something. Besides that I just wondered around Rome and took a bunch of pictures. I like Rome much better than my first time. Although it is still loud, dirty, and crowded, I guess I found a little peace there I did not before.

Morocco

My trip to Morocco was last weekend. It was really interesting, definitely a different world. Of course we had trouble getting there. The boats from southern Spain to Morocco are notorious for being cancelled or having "problems" and we of course encountered one of those problems. We missed the first boat then the next one got canceled. I booked the trip through a travel agent and I was very happy I did because she totally saved us. She was able to get us onto a bus to another port city near by and we were able to catch the boat from there. It was a long day with many annoyances but it's all apart of traveling. Upon getting off of our bus and going into the hotel we were met by a creeper so we had a proper welcome into the city. Our first day we took a tour of Tangier and of course one of the high lights was riding a camel. It was really funny, we just laughed like little girls the whole time. I have a video I will put up later, but I don't have my card reader at the moment.

Walking around Tangier is like going through an obstacle course of annoying men. There are men everywhere and we stuck out like sore thumbs so we were solicited at any and every moment. There are women, but most of them have there heads covered and wear big robes so the men are not so instead in that. We go called a bunch of different names and even had some very generous offers. Some highlighted comments: To many sweeties, Spice Girls, Sexy Ladies, There is a party on top of my bed (in Spanish), Do you like my jiggley wigglely?. One of my favorite things was getting chased by the guys trying to sell these annoying drums that no one seemed to want but they were determined to sell. Pretty much everyone in that city will do anything to make a buck and there are a lot of sketchy people, any favor is for money. Our tour guide even had deals with certain stores she took us too. She receives a piece of everything that we buy. There are also people wandering around at all times willing to help you at any moment, but of course if they take you to a store they expect a cut of what you buy from the owner. It's all very interesting.

The food in Morocco was great! It was probably some of the best food I have had since I have been here. First there was this amazing woman that made these crepe like things at our hotel and they were so good. The cous cous was great, not dry and gross. And I think I ate my favorite thing thus far called pastila (pictured above) It was a pastry like puff filled with chicken, almonds, curry, veggies, greatness, and powdered sugar on top. So unique and delicious!

We did take a day trip from Tangier to Chechaouene. It's about two hours into the country from Tangier. It was a lot more laid back there, still some harassment but not nearly as bad as Tangier. The city is really pretty, it is half white for the sun, and the bottom of the buildings are painted blue to keep out bad luck. (See picture above). I have to say overall I really enjoyed the trip to Morocco, it was different than anything I have done yet although I know my most unique trip is just around the corner.

Priceless Pablo

I think this is my favorite incident with Pablo thus far. Yesterday he was in my room annoying me and asking redundant questions about my computer. I have some pictures of Matt and I on my desk and on the desktop of my computer and he was noting the pictures and then asked me if Matt was embarrassed because his eyes are always closed. I almost died and could not stop laughing. I was very pleased above all that I was able to understand his priceless comment because it would have been such a waste if I did not understand what he said. I cannot wait until Matt and Pablo meet and I hope I understand whatever ridiculous things Pablo has to say to him, that is after he is done staring at him for a really long time. Anyway I explained why Matt's eyes are always closed but I am not sure if he understood even though they had an Asian live with them this past summer. I think Pablo is my favorite thing about Spain, haha.

I don't have a MULLET!!!

I got a my first haircut in Spain yesterday and I was fearful of the mullet. Unfortunately the mullet is very popular in Spain, usually with the "punk" kids boys and girls alike, but I have seen fashion mullets on trendy women so I was scared. I am happy to say that I do not have a mullet and my haircut and color was 32 euros. The color is perfect and the haircut is almost like what I had. They love layers in Spain (which kind of goes hand-in-hand with the mullet) so I have some shorter layers than expected but I can live with it. Once I saw her cut the first short layer there was no turning back. I did get a little nervous because I thought what if she goes shorter? Do I stop her? Is it too late? Do I have a mullet?

I am going with my friend Kate to the same hair salon because she wants to die her hair. Adios rubia!

A Real Thanksgiving!!

It's somewhat in the past, but Thanksgiving last week in Granada exceeded any expectations I had of what it could be like here. I expected the food to be nothing like at home. I was thinking dried out turkey, bad mashed potatoes, no cranberries, no sweet potatoes but I was completely wrong. The food was just as good as any Thanksgiving I have ever had and all of the necessities were there including homemade cranberry sauce that was amazing and real turkey! I give a lot of credit to Miguel (my advisor) for finding a great restaurant to host our excuse to eat in excess. The hot dog salad turned out decent. It was not the best but it was edible. Probably the most unique thing about this Thanksgiving was staying out until 6 am after eating enough to feed the world. We went out with our teachers and it was a blast. Below it a picture of me with my literature teacher, Fran, and let's just say a Fran does not like to give bad grades. He is everyone's favorite teacher and most of the girls in my school have a crush on him or are in love with him. To bad for the ladies at CEGRI that he is married to a Japanese woman and has the cutest baby I have ever seen.

School is coming to an end on December 13. I only have two days of class next week, we don't have school on Thursday for a holiday and I am taking Wednesday off to go to Morocco. Some of my friends went last weekend, so I kind of know what to expect. It is going to be really interesting and I am sure I will have some stories to tell after.

I finally have all of my travels set for my break in December and January! First I am going to Italy to try to find my family. I am flying into Milan, I'll spend a day or two there and then head to the homeland and see what I can find. Then I go down to Rome, spend a day or two there and head back to Granada. Matt will be here on Christmas Eve and we are going to eat dinner with my family in Granada! HaHa! It is going to be really interesting because when everyone is talking a million miles a minute I have no idea what is going on so Matt is going to be totally baffled, but Paqui will throw down some good food so he can entertain himself with eating while I attempt to be "the translator". Matt and I are going to spend a few days in Granada and then head to Barcelona, Paris and back to Madrid. I was a little stressed this past week trying to find a hotel in Paris. We are going to be there for the new year and I was finding hotels for 100 plus euros a night so I was kind of freaking out. Patience paid off because I finally found something more than affordable and in a good location so our trip is now completely set. Matt will return home from Madrid and then I am going to EGYPT!!! I still can't believe it, but I really am going. Since I am going alone I decided to do an organized trip, so I will be on a trip with a bunch of Spaniards in Egypt. It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to do it. I have wanted to do this for a long time and I am here and the moment seemed right so it's on. I am know I am going to have a lot to say after.

I rode a moto last night!! I now have two rides under my belt. They are really popular here so I knew it would happen sooner or later and now I have two friends that own motos so it will probably happen more often.

I don't think I have mentioned this, but the prostitute pick-up/drop-off point is near my house. It's about 5 plus minutes away running. I just thought of this because I am about to go running and sometimes in the afternoons I am lucky enough to see these fine ladies. I have seen them hard at work at approx. 1:30 pm. on a few occasions. I think someone might have mistaken me for a prostitute as well. I was walking past the point of solicitation (this is also on my way to the church help kids with English) and some guy honked his horn and no one else was in sight and then he pulled into the point of solicitation. Perhaps I am flattering my self with this, but it was sketchy. Well I am off to run, hopefully I get lucky with a sighting of fishnet tights, boots and the shortest skirt man has made.

Adios

Hot Dog Salad

Hot Dog Salad?!

It's a little weird to be so far away from home on Thanksgiving. Although I have celebrated outside of Chicago, I have never been away from the family so it's a little sad. My school is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for us today so I am really looking forward to tonight's events. We won't be eating dinner until 10:30 pm tonight and I really have no idea what to expect. We made a dessert last night and I don't know how it is going to turn out. We made cookies and cream salad, but we changed the name to hot dog salad because that is what it looks like. Details to come after the fiesta.

Same as always with Pablo. Last week I was leaving and he was in the bathroom and ran out with his pants at his ankles to say goodbye to me, that was really nice of him, so today I am saying I am thankful that his shirt was long enough and nothing popped out. I went out with mi hermana española, Cristi, last weekend. We did some club'n at her favorite discoteca, Mae West. It's a huge disco that brings in an interesting crowd ranging in age from 16 to 60. Good people watching, but not my favorite place because it is always really crowded and loud. But I decided to go and spend some time with the sister and her cousin. The way they acted kind of reminded me of freshman year at Vito's with lots of moving around all over the place, and of course dancing.


I went to my first football game last weekend. I am not going to lie, it was not that exciting, but I think the reason is because Granada is not good and it kind of reminded me like a high school game. I'll have to make my way to a real football game before I leave.


I am in Granada the next two weekends then I am off to Marruecos (Morocco) for a long weekend with some girlfriends. I am really excited because we got a nice deal and although we will be staying in Tanger we can take a take some day trips to check out some other cities. My first step in Africa is near!

School is not far from finished which is exciting because I have a lot of traveling ahead and Matt will be here on December 24th! Also exciting new, one of my friends (second from the right above) got offered a job to stay in Granada with the current family she is living with and be their nanny. She is seriously considering the job which is exciting for me since I have to attempt to make new friends again come January. It's kind of funny that her family got paid to let her stay at their home and now they are going to pay her to watch their child and live with them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One last trip to the Beach

Yes the weather has cooled down in Spain, but I could not resist one last trip to the beach until spring. A friend and I went to Marbella which is about two and a half ours from Granada for the day and night. Let's just say we were the only ones on the beach as you can see above. The first day was sunny and really windy, but we were determined and laid out in our bathing suits anyway, which in the end resulted in me wrapping myself in my towel and sleeping. It was not really cold, but more uncomfortable to be more or less naked outside. The weather at night was really nice, like no coat necessary nice and I wore flip flops which I have not done in Granada for over a month. The second day on the beach was warmer.

I think I had some of the best paella yet in Marbella. It was cheap and amazing, I was a little drunk before I ate it, but it did not affect my taste buds. Although it did affect the fact that I ate much more than necessary. As you can see below I am really disgusted with the amount of food I just late. I later regretted this when some Spanish men invited us out with them and paid for our drinks, well I only had one because I was so full that if I made a wrong move I would puke because I had no room in my body for anything more.

I also went to the Arab Baths last weekend too, which were amazing. In the simplest terms you sit in a bath and relax. This particular bath had 6 hot baths and 1 cold bath and they suggest you go back and forth between the hot and cold. I also got a message and the served the most amazing tea called murano. A very relaxing experience and I will recommend it to anyone that visits.

Two weeks ago had sushi for the first time in over two months. I actually realized that for the past two months the only food I have really eaten has been Spanish food and I forgot about how much I love soy sauce. There are two sushi tapas bars that I have tried. Now the sushi is nothing to get excited about, think about the sushi at the IMU if you went to Iowa, and it is a few steps above that. The bottom line is that although it was not great it filled the void of something Asian in my life, hahahaha.

I don't really have much planned for this weekend, I might go to a football game in Granada. Their football team is on a lower level than the ever popular Real Madrid but it will probably still be fun.