School, American Snacks, and Eternal Darkness

I'd say one of the best changes from last semester at UConn to this semester in Granada is the fact that I am done with class on Thursdays at noon and can begin my weekend! Last semester, I had 6:30 AM practice and class all the way until 6:30 PM. Now that is a long day.  While many people would probably complain about having class at 8:30 AM like I did today, I do not mind too much.  I always prefer to get my classes done with early so I can end early.  My classes here are not bad at all, and if I don't get all As I will be mad at myself (I guess that is every semester, though).  But seriously. If I don't get all As here, there is something wrong.  My professors have made their classes as easy as possible for us, so I am not going to screw it up.  Plus, I am so incredibly lucky to be able to study here, so the least I can for myself and my parents is to do well in school.

My literature professor is my favorite so far.  I think I am the only one who feels this way, as everyone else thinks she is crazy, overly happy, and even somewhat intimidating.  However, I think I love her.  I laughed my way through the entire class.  She told us that we have to speak solely Spanish in class, even to our classmates, and then changed to English by saying the only phrase I think she knows: "I kill people who speak English."  I just re-read that and it sounds awful, but if you heard her you would laugh too. Picture a tiny older woman with bouncy gray hair and glasses perched on her nose randomly bursting into a heavily-Spanish accented English phrase. Take my word for it.  We also got to ask her questions, and someone asked what her favorite work of literature was.  Her response? "Nada."  She says she used to like literature, but now she hates it, and only teaches it because it pays the bills.  I mean, I'm all for honesty, so...Vale!

I try to walk on different streets on my way home from school every day.  I keep finding new and interesting places. Today, I found this area with graffiti EVERYWHERE. This picture doesn't do it justice, because I couldn't possibly get all of the graffiti in it:

I don't know who Jack is, but whatever.

I have been having trouble with the eating schedule here.  For those of you who do not remember the acid reflux debacle of senior year, I have acid reflux and sometimes it is terrible.  I eventually realized that the only thing that controls it is by eating very small meals, and snacking throughout the day.  Unfortunately, Spaniards do NOT snack. This posed a problem.  After waking up in the middle of the night/not being able to sleep because of stomach/throat pain, I came up with a solution: go to the supermarket and buy snacks! Duh!

My very American purchases.  They didn't have Chewy bars, but I guess I can settle for Special K.

So, now I won't be dying to eat a huge meal for lunch, which is good.  And I now know that the supermarket near my apartment has American snacks! Wooo!

Strangely enough, the sun here doesn't rise until 9 AM or something, so my walk to school around 7:45 is mostly dark.  It's kind of weird to wake up when there is absolutely no sunlight.  Today as I was walking I had to check the time about three times because I was absolutely convinced it was only 5 in the morning.  Weird things to get used to, I suppose.  I listen to Beyonce on the way to school, though, so everything is completely okay (All of you better know my love for Beyonce by now).

Oh! I forgot to mention I watched the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona game at a bar last night.  In case you don't know about the rivalry between those two teams, think Red Sox vs. Yankees, only maybe more crazy.  I absolutely loved watching/hearing all the Spaniards around me get super involved in the game and when Dani Alves scored a beautiful goal to end the first half, the Barcelona fans went crazy. The bar I was in was 50/50 Barcelona and Madrid fans.  I like Barcelona myself, since Messi is my favorite, but it was cool to hear the Madrid fans' reactions too.  The game was a 2-2 tie, but Madrid was eliminated because they needed to win by 2 goals or more.  Yay Barcelona!

I am going to go write an essay for a summer internship application, and then it's off to the tea place down the road that a group of us like so much! Tonight I think I am going out to a club, which should be fun. Tomorrow morning Lindsay is coming! I'm so lucky to have such a good friend in Spain this semester too, even though I wish I had been in Barcelona watching the game with her last night.  She is coming at 8 AM which is really unfortunate, and she might have to wander around Granada alone until I wake up...... Just kidding Lindsay! If I can find the train station, I'll be there. No promises.

Hasta Luego!

Lauren

A group of us at the Christopher Columbus statue near school! If I'm lost, I always manage to find my way to this statue and then I know where I am.