Monday June 15

Hi!

It´s been awhile since I have been able to post. The internet conncetion at my school has not been operating since last Thursday and then the school is closed on the weekends. So today I have come to an internet cafe to make a post.

I think the last time I posted I had been to The Alhambra and bought tickets to the corrida or bullfight. I didn´t do much Thursday or Friday, except for school. I did a little shopping on Thursday and discovered that Spain has lots of good clothing stores and lots and lots of shoe stores. Apparantely, the prices for nice shoes are good in Spain although, naturally, the ones I like are still quite expensive!

Saturday morning I got up and went to tour La Catedral (Cathedral) and La Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). The Cathedral was very beautiful and impressive. I am amazed at the sheer size of the buildings - the ceilings must be 100 feet tall! The Cathedral is important because Granada was the last remaining city in Spain that the Arabs controlled. In 1492, Ferdidnand and Isabel´s army took control and exiled the Arabs. In a show of dominance, a mosque was demolished and the Cathedral built in its place. Ferdidnad and Isabel, are entombed in the Royal Chapel next to the Cathdral. There are aslo many other important historical figures entombed at the Cathedral.

I forgot that on Thursday morning I got up and went to watch the religious procession outside the Cathedral for the Corpus Christie holiday. I only watched a short time; there were lots of people around and it was kind of boring after awhile - just people walking out of the church.

Thursday afternoon Grisha, Daniella, Mau and I went for a walk before dinner. Grisha knows his way around the city very well and took us up through the Albaicin. The Albaicin is a neighborhood where the Arabs lived before being exiled be the Catholic Royalty. The streets are extremely narrow and it is built on a steep hill. We walked and walked uphill until we reached Plaza de San Nicolas. It is a great place to look across to the Alhambra. Many gypsies live in the Albaicin and this plaza always has people that play and sing flamenco music for tips. We weren´t disapointed- three or four men started playing, singing and dancing. Grisha wanted to take us to another plaza further up, but Daniella and Mau refused. It was very hot, 40 celcius 100+ farenheit, and Mau wasn´t wearing good shoes for walking. Another time I´ll see if he wants to go again. It is a beautiful neighborhood, but is a maze of streets. I would not even attempt to go myself with the luck I´ve had finding my way around here. Did I mention I´ve been lost more times than not? I have improved a lot since last week, but I am not ready to take on the Albaicin!!

Saturday night, Daniella, Mau and I went to the corrida. It was really hot, 100 or more again. It isn´t supposed to be this hot in June - that´s I came as early as I could. Anyhow, the corrida was really interesting. I didn´t like seeing the blood, but I wasn´t too shocked when the killing actually happened. I think our bullriding can be just as shocking at times. There was one corredor (matador) who was very entertaining. When the bull first comes into the ring he is running around and totally looking for a fight. Frondi, the matador, was down on his knees when the bull came out and enticed the bull past him with his cape/cloth a couple of times. He would be very vulnerable if the bull decided not to go after the cape and chose him instead. It was a good time and I´m glad I was able to see one while I was here.

On Sunday, my roommates invited to go to the beach with them. The Mediterranean Ocean is less than hour away by bus. It was extremely relaxing to lay on the beach all day and read. The water was pretty cold, but again, it was really hot so it felt good. There was a nice breeze coming in off the ocean that felt nice as well. The beach was busy, but we got there early enough to rent lounge chairs and shade huts. It was a little shocking to see women go topless. Most didn´t but a few did - both young and old. Mau is from China and she was beside herself, she was pointing and generally freaking out. I had to push her hand down and tell not to point! She is so timid she could hardly stand to wear her shorts and a bikini top. She had brought her bathrobe and kept it draped over herself most of the day.

I had mentioned to my house mom that I wanted to have chocolate and churros sometime. Sunday after we returned, she treated us to tapas at a bar and then chocolate and churros. All I can say is: Oh My!!! Who has seen The Simpsons Movie? Remember when Bart got the hot chocolate? His reaction was my reaction! Very rich, thick and warm chocolate in a little espresso type cup. Then they bring churros, which is just fried bread, but you dip the churro into the chocolate. Delicioso!! However, I couldn´t finish mine - it is not something you could eat often.

I am uploading some picutres to Photobucket and will post a link a little later. That is enough for now. I will post more often now that I have a reliable place to access the internet.

Court