Thursday June 18

Hi!

Everything is still going well here. The temperatures are still unseasonably hot. Today it is 34 degrees celsius which is 93 fahrenheit - it´s still hot but not as hot as it has been. Let´s see, what have I done in the past few days? I´ve been shopping a little. There are an infinite number of clothing and shoe store here. I finished reading the books I had brought with me, so I asked a classmate if there were book stores here that sold books in English. She said there were, but it would be good to read a book in Spanish to improve my knowledge more. I eventually found a store that had a small section of books in English. I picked one that is about a guy from Sweden who bought a farm in the Alpujarras, mountains that are part of the Sierra Neveda and very near Granada). It is about his experiences adapting to farming and rural life in Spain. I justified buying a book in English because at least it had to with Spain. But then guilt set in and I decided I should also find a book in Spanish. I picked one that I have heard other students talk about, it is new and I think it is being made into a movie. And I am reading the Spanish one first - surprisingly, it is not as difficult as I had expected.

Last night 3 ladies and I went to a restaurant to watch flamenco. My three friends were Jo from Brazil, Anyita from Switzerlan (and a teacher of foreign language) and Monica from Italy. I have really enjoyed meeting people from all around the world!

Flamenco originated in Andalusia - the region I am in. It was a style of dance and music that the gypsies performed. the restaurant is located at the top of the hill that the Albaicin sits on. The walk was not too bad it is steep and one of the other ladies needed a couple of breaks. The dinner was tasty. I had gazpacho for the first time and ¨Popeye Pizza¨. Which was a thin crust pizza with mushrooms, shrimp, spinach and garlic sauce. ¡Me gusta! The Flamenco show was interesting. The dancers get very involved with their dancing. The looks on their faces is so intense... I really enjoy the guitar part of the Flamenco. It is amazing the way the guy plays the guitar.

As we were arriving at the restaurant there was a man and a woman (and a dog) who were handing out cards for the restaurant - trying to encourage passers by to go to the restaurant. We told them we were already planning to go, but as we were asking a couple of questions a car started to come around the corner. The streets are extremely narrow, so of course, we were in the way of the car. The driver honked and we moved, but the couple´s dog was a little slower to get up and move. As the couple was telling the dog to move the car started to go. The couple got upset and told the driver to wait. Oh, did I mention the man with the dog was obviously on something - not drunk, but on drugs for sure. The lady seemed normal. Anyhow, the guy on drugs began yelling at the driver and the driver yelled back. As the car went past the guy kicked the bumper. Well, the driver didn´t like that and he stopped and jumped out of the car. My friends were already past all this, but I was still right there and when the driver opened his car door I was essentially trapped (he didn´t shut the dor), that´s how narrow the street is. I thought Öh, my gosh, these guys are going to start fighting and they are right behind me!¨Obviously, the driver didn´t like people touching his car, but I quickly and carefully, closed the door a bit so I could get by. I felt bad for the people with the dog, however the guy, both guys really, didn´t have to behave the way the did.

This weekend I am going on two excursions. On Saturday, I will be going to the Alpujarras (remember the book I bought). And on Sunday I am going to Córdoba. Both should be fun and interesting, but Córdoba has a beautiful mosque that I am excited to see.

That´s all for now. It is time for me to head back to the school for the optional cultural class they offer in the afternoons. Today is the dance of the Sevillianos. (people from Seville) I think it is very similar to Flamenco - maybe I´ll pick up a couple moves!

Court