Que Hora Es? <--What is that Supposed to mean?

The other day in class we had a special activity: we got to watch a poorly done telenovela off of Youtube. First we had to watch it with the volume off. Then, the two conniving teachers had the other class come into our room and we had to explain the three minute segment to them. What happened. What we thought was going on. I had no idea what the point of this excercise was unless they merely wanted us to practice our speaking and description skills which is probably likely. However, the other class, which was at our same level by the way, only had to write stuff down and listen, which is a whole lot easier. So, after that little activity, Pilar (la profesora) had us watch it again in silence, but this time the other class was there to witness it, too, and check to see if our descriptions were correct. Then after writing a dialogue about what was going on, we watched it for real. haha, it made me laugh, but I wonder if I would have laughed as hard if we wouldn't have been put through all of that. Ok, here you guys go, enjoy. And trust me, you'll pretty much follow everything until the pirate comes in.

Ok, I don't know how to add a youtube video so I'll just link it: "Que Hora Es?"

Patroness of Granada

As is blatantly obvious at every turn, Spain is a predominantly Catholic country. And what else does every Catholic city need than a patron saint? Granada's is called la Virgen de las Angustius, and they love her. Many women wear her necklaces (like the senora of our house) and shops have posters with her photograph. But who is she? From the man who lays sprawled across her lap, body nearly naked and broken, it is obvious that she is the Blessed Virgen. But what more?

The epicenter seems to be located at the Carrera del Genil, a pleasant street with a large walkway enclosed by two one-way streets, both going the same direction. Bits of sun sprinkle the tiled surface below, but there is no way that anyone is going to get a suntan. One thing that took a while to notice was how large the trees are. This street must of been here for a hundred years at least because the trunks are enormous, perhaps six to eight feet in diameter. However, they are not the main attraction on this street. The church of Nuestra Senora de las Angustias is. Most days a black, rod iron fence prevents entrance, however at times, this is taken away (mostly on Sundays, but at random times on other days as well.) To the side of the main doors is a gallery of paintings of Our Lady of las Angustias, and there is a steady influx of people in and out of the double doors. It doesn't look like much, but the people seem to appreciate it.

There were also people busily working away on the structure of the church. I thought that it was merely for a remodeling project, even though it seemed like more. People stopped and would chat with the construction workers, and everyone seemed to be in a jovial mood. The metal scaffolding was left up for a couple of days, without anyone using it. Thinking nothing of it, I proceeded on towards home. Then, yesterday, a strange sight met my eyes. There.. was.. a.. twostorytallwallofflowers. Yes that is what I saw. I couldn't believe it at first. I mean, I'd been on the inside and it was lavishly decorated and stuff, but I didn't think they would go this far on the outside of the building, but they did. It seems that they have no place for an actual garden so they have to grow their flowers vertically. Neat, huh?

Now back to the Virgen... Yes she is there, in the middle looking at her Son, but in her perephrial vision I am sure she can appreciate all of the flowers that I am sure were donated in honor of her. That is all I really know about her as of yet. 1. she is the Blessed Virgen 2. Jesus is on her lap 3. she is somehow linked to the Virgen of the seven sorrows 4. Everybody here knows about her 5. almost everybody likes her ... oh, and 6. there will be a big fiesta on the last Sunday of September, so here I come. :P Ain't no party like a Catholic partaaay... lol addicting song.

And now picture time!!

Here's that street I was telling you about: Carrera de Genil

Before Flowers
note the scaffolding

After the flowers. They really went all out.

Birthdays

Ok, I am seriously starting to get freaked out and here is why...

So, I'll start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start, when you read you begin with abc, when you sing you begin with do re me... ahhhhh good movie. Well, anyways.

So, a few months ago in April I was in class, sitting next to Bethany, a girl I had befriended. I had wondered how old she was since January, and finally one day, out of the blue, I asked her. She told me, actually I'm twenty-eight today. A little confused I asked her why she said today and it so happened that it was actually her birthday. A little coincidental that I asked her how old she was on her birthday. lol, perfect timing I might say.

So last August, August 21 to be exact, I was talking with Brooke, she sitting on the floor and I on the couch. The topic fell on her sister, and I asked her, "So, how old is Brianna now, she's a year older than Mitch, right, but still in the same grade?" She replied, "She's 18 and her birthday is today." Haha, I laughed a little to myself that this happened twice now. Kind of funny and entertaining at the same time.

So, now we get to last night. My entire dream last night was composed of a guy I hadn't even thought of for a year or so. I'm not kidding you when I say a year, it was really out of the blue and I thought about it all day and where it came from. A few minutes ago I was looking at someone's profile and noticed that he was a common friend. So I checked out Ben's profile, and guess what. Yesterday was his birthday. I mean seriously, maybe I am a little wacked out, but what are the chances that I would have a really long dream about this guy on his birthday, especially when I didn't know it was his birthday until today.

Sorry, had to write that because I was just a little freaked out. lol.

I just can't escape the Japanese.

Well, they are everywhere, I'm serious. You think that Japan is this little island country that was isolationist for hundreds of years (up until WWII that is). Well, not anymore, they have invaded the world and that includes Spain.

Last night, a few classmates, some other people, and I met at the Burger King and then went to a few bars. I found that that just isn't my cup of tea, but I enjoyed the night none the less. If it weren't for the loud music, I might have liked it more, but as it is, the music is cranked up so high, you can neither enjoy it nor the company of those around you. It is also very hard to comprehend anyone trying to speak English. Spanish just makes the situation harder.

So, we started out at one bar, and then after that went to another, because one of the guys had really wanted to see it. For me it didn't seem like anything special. Dark, loud music, two counters from which to serve drinks and a couple of tables. Smaller than the first place. So, we shout at each other, repeat a lot of "Como?" and "What did you say?"s, and try to talk to some Spanish dudes sitting at a table. They ask us where we are from, what's our names, how long are we staying in Granada, what are we studying, do we like it, you know the standard questions. And then while I am talking, I notice that two more of my classmates have showed up at the bar, (evidently it is popular,) and they have brought with them seven or eight of their Japanese friends. So we talk to them, some know English, but all seem to know Spanish better. After my conversations, I have found that it is easier to understand a Japanese person speaking Spanish than it is to understand the Spaniards speaking their own language.

So, yeah, last night was rather interesting...

Art or Not?

I have a dilemma that I am hoping my friends can help me solve. Does spray painting the exterior walls of buildings and garbage cans and street posts and fences and anything that has a surface count as art? It seems like a certain number of people (and by the looks of it, it is not a small number) like this "art form." But it seems to go past like, some even have a sense of appreciation for it. Take for example the museum that displays grafiti. Sure it is a small building as compared to our art center in Rochester, but none the less, it is a place that promotes the use of spraypaint on concrete.

These pictures and not so picturesque drawings were one of the first things that popped out at me when I arrived in Granada. They are everywhere, you just can't escape them. Walking to school, I am greeted by at least ten different selfportraits of people in ski masks holding cans of spray paint. Most of them are good, well at least by my standards, and must have required more than one night of work, but at the same time I doubt that it did take more than one night. Imagine if you came back three nights in a row to complete a picture. By the third night the police should have figured out you were coming back and arrested/fined you.

Anyways, for your viewing enjoyment, I shall attempt to post photographs.

This first one is very creative. Using electical wires for the head, the grafitiers drew the body of a giraffe below. I see this one every day on my way home from school. The next one is also on my way to school. (I was a little bored walking to school before I discovered that listening to my Zune at the same time was an effective way to cut down on boredom and decrease the amount of time it took to get to school, depending on the song, of course.)

Oh, look at the cute little garbage gopher... That's a gopher, right?

"Caveman": A stick is the solution of all your problems

Well, I didn't see any sticks, I definitely saw two cavemen--a female and a male. i could not identify whether they were Neanderthals or homo spaiens, however, my best guess would be homo sapiens. It is also plausible that they were a subspecies of homo sapien.

Habitat: It appeared to be an apartment complex. No foliage. Small side street in the city of Granada. Car between subjects and road. Car contained an assortment of objects piled halfway to the ceiling with no visible organization.

Appearance: they had decorated their bodies with what appeared to be clothing. However, if they made it or scavenged it from a nearby garbage site could not be ascertained without further study. The hair of both the female and the male were the same color and length: light brown and mid-back length. It seems that they did not have the tools necessary to comb hair. Woman: ~1.67 m Male: ~1.80 m

Other Observations: Woman appeared agitated. She was making rapid movements with proximal appendages. Facial expression was very tense and she glanced back and forth between car and male caveman. Intermittently, grabbed objects from ground and threw them in car. Vocalizations are loud and emphasized with hand movements. Several minutes after first observation, female was seen driving car down street toward city center. Shoulders hunched, eyes fixed ahead, no sign of recognition of objects on either side of car. Appears to have evolved skills for manipulation of complex tools as well as an ability for language.

I very much wish that I had collected photographic data for this study, but doing so may have proved dangerous. on further hikes to the same location no further sightings of cavemen occurred.

It also appeared that I was not the only one interested in observing the natural habitat of cavemen. Twenty minutes after first session of observation, I retraced my steps to the first site, and noticed that an organization (possibly research oriented) called "La Policia" were making detailed assessments of the area. Possibly studying the male subject and apartment that he had nested in.

Day the Fourth of Granada

So, I started out the day by walking over to my father's hotel. It was a good fifteen minute walk there with Liz. Once we were there, we first headed off in the direction of my school, to see that before we actually had to go there, then we walked and walked up a hill in ninety-five degree heat or possibly 100 degree heat. I really couldn't tell. The previous night, my dad had booked tickets online for entrance into the palaces, so we had to find the place where we could obtain the so called internet tickets. At the top of the hill, a man, who happened to be holding a box, was very eager to offer advice on finding our way to the ticket booth. He said, "this way (points up-hill) to the ticket booth and this way (points ninety degrees couterclockwise, which also happened to be downhill) entrada." Because we were looking a little confused due to his broken English, the man brought us over to a map and pointed out the areas we were supposed to go to. We thanked him, but he wasn't quite finished helping us. He seemed to think that my dad's shoes were dirty and needed polishing. My dad disagreed, so the man jumps in front of dad, throws down his wooden box, and pulls my dad's foot onto the wooden handle. My dad graciously says, "no, gracias" but the man is persistant and takes my dad's foot again, and so a mini battle ensues over Dad's rights to his foot. Finally, my dad pays him a Euro for his services in helping us find our way, and then we leave, with the guy behind us calling out, "maybe tomorrow." I guess he wasn't the good samaritan afterall but perhaps a good charlatan.

Anyways, with the man's useful information we were able to find our way up to the top of the hill and to the ticket machines. We needed to be there at one in order to retrieve our two o'clock tickets. We made it there on time. However, when my dad put in his credit card so the machine could identify his puchases, it said that he had never purchased anything. Now, at this point we were very nervous because there was no way we'd be able to figure out the situation in one hour. However, fortuneately when we asked a person who was working there about the situation, he said that we had used the wrong machine. What a pleasant surprise and it calmed down our nerves. We got a hold of our tickets and headed down to the entrance. It turns out the shoe shiner knew what he was talking about and we made it there a half hour early. So we went shopping and bought Vika a souvenir (I already had one for Rachelle.) It was much more pleasant inside the tienda than outside. Finally, at ten to two we were allowed to stand in line. The palaces were gorgeous. If you can remember your Islamic history, Muslims are not supposed to draw pictures of God or people (I'm not sure about animals,) so the inside was decorated with a profusion of symetrical shapes and flowers. There was also a lot of Arabic writing decorating the walls. The palaces seemed to be built just for this climate and it was a pleasant temperature on the inside while the outside was unreasonably hot. A lot of the buildings here are built so that there is an inner courtyard with the rooms opening up onto a pool or fountain.

After the palace we went over to the fortress which offered a fantastic view of the city of Granada. It was built in a perfect location for defence: on a tall hill. The patio inside the fortress was very hot (obiously), but once we got to the top of the tallest tourret we cooled ourselves off in the breeze.

Finally our last stop was the Generalife gardens. They were very beautify with walls of tall, green bushes. We walked down this hallway first and then were given a decision: go through the trees or to the next garden... we chose the next garden. So, off to see more bushes and water. It was all so beautiful. I wish I hadn't forgetten my camera that day, or I would have had more photos.

After tiring ourselves out with all of our walking (the Alhambra is not a small place) we decided to find a restaurant to eat at. On our way down the hill (for we had managed to work our way up it again) a woman was standing with a herb branch. She started talking to us in Spanish holding out the branch for us to take. We said no gracias, but like the other guy she was insistent. She placed the lavender/maybe rosemary in my dad's hand and then took is palm and traced the lines saying he was a good father, had a good heart, and was smart, all in Spanish, mind you so he didn't understand a word of it. However, the next action was very clear. After she was done talking, she held out her hand while looking away impatiently waiting to be paid for her small service. After we didn't comply to her wishes, she seemed very upset with us, but that is ok. If she wants money, she should find a different job and not one that is so annoying.

After this, we went to the Granada cathedral, which was built by Queen Isabella as a burial spot for the kings and queens. Only she and her son managed to be buried there, though. It is huge... maybe not quite as big as the cathedral in DC, but big nonetheless and intricate. They had a lot of different chapels ranging from rennaissance, to baroque, to gothic. The height of the ceilings and doors was also amazing. It must have stretched up for 100 feet with huge white collumns reaching down to the floor supporting the ceiling.

All in all, it was a worth-while day. I'm telling you guys though, I am going to be super fit when I get back because of all this walking I have to do. The nice thing is that everything is so convenient here. Almost all of the streets have sidewalks, and if they do not, then it is probably because there is no traffic there, or just mopeds.

Five Things Spain Doesn't Appear to Appreciate

1. Shower Curtains
Well, this might just be the hotel that I was staying at, because the house does have a door to its shower. Back to the hotel, there were no shower curtains. Instead, a three foot long by six inch wide wall stretching from floor to ceiling divided the sink from the shower area. But that was it. It stopped where the counter stopped. The white tiled wall caught most of the flying droplets, but it made for one heck of a cold shower.

2. Big Department Stores
There aren't any Walmarts, Kmarts, Targets, or ShopKos here. It's all mini shops--a lot like Japan. Even when I went into their big department store--El Cortes Ingles--it was a mesh of different counters. Samurai knives were sold only feet away from where the perfume was sold. In the US we might grab some chips, a gameboy game, and a tanktop and head up to the cash register AND pay for it all at once. Not in Spain. Each department has their own cash register. We bought an alarm clock at one counter and walked to the next one over to buy a microphone headset (mine broke on the way over).

3. Crosswalk Lights
Oh, they have them, but just don't bother paying attention. You can really pick out the locals from the tourists because when it says no walking, the locals will look both ways and go, while the tourist will wait patiently for the light to change. Even if there are cops.

4. Ice Cream
I mean, my goodness, it's all gelato shops here.

5. Public Restrooms
Today we (Liz, my dad, and I) went to the beach, and I really wanted to go swimming. So I walked around looking for a changing room. Lo and behold, there were none to be found. No problem, I just proceeded to go to the restroom of the Burger King we'd dined at for lunch, but in order to even enter the bathroom areas, I needed a receipt. Being that my dad had thrown away the receipts as soon as he got them (and I mean AS SOON as he got them, he didn't even wait to get the food,) I was out of bathroom options. I headed dejectedly back out the door and to the beach. Glancing to my left, I noticed some women rinsing themselves off under an outdoor shower. Then I did a double-take. These women were half naked! And not the "I'm wearing a really skimpy swimsuit half-naked... the man half-naked. They weren't wearing any tops. So, I decided that the reason Europeans don't have changing rooms at their beaches was because they change outside (and probably use el baño in the Mediterranean.)

Traveling to Spain

Ok, so I am really tired. I just spent the last day traveling by air and once I got to Granada, on foot to see the churches and monuments here. It is a totally different atmosphere here than it is in the States, unless you count the High School musical t-shirts, towels, and toys sold in children's stores. Or Hannah Montana stuff. Or the big signs at most bus stops displaying big picture of Jack Black in caveman clothing with "Año Uno" scrolled across them. Oh, and one of my favorites, something that Granada seems to share with Japan... Hello Kitty! haha, although I've only seen her in a couple of stores.

My travels started out from Rochester to O'Hare with a perky Alaskan/southern stewardess who was microphone happy. She used every opportunity she could to speak on the overhead--which was ok with me since her accent sounded so cool. Good Mooooooorning. I hooope you weel enjooooy your fliiiight todaaaayee. Mix a Paula Dean with a Sarah Palin and you have one happy go lucky American Airlines stewardess.

That flight took about forty-five minutes and once we landed we made the trudge across the O'Hare airport, stopping for a bite to eat, and then proceeding onward, after also hitting the bathrooms of course. And, at a major risk of sounding crude, I must explain the amazingness of their toilet system. You see, I hate sitting/touching the toilet seats because they could give me germs. Well, the O'Hare airport has found a way to work around my logical phobia. They have created a system so amazing that I shall forever remember that airport for their toilets. Ok, here it goes: they have created a plastic cover for their toilet seats. Just wave your hand in front of the magic box and instantly the plasitic is rolled up into one end bringing with it a whole new plastic area of clean. Aha! (Yes, I am a freak.)

After seating ourselves, my dad and I plugged into our computers, my dad once in a while going to check to see if we could get new seating, and I heading off to the bathrooms. I must have drank too much or something, however I can't remember what it was. Unfortunately, the flight arrived late and we were forced to sit another hour plus on our computers trying to waste the time away.

The flight to Spain was crowded. It seemed smaller than the one going to Japan, but I could be wrong. It definitely took a shorter amount of time than a transpacific flight. Only seven hours and twenty minutes. However, the seats were tight, and because of this it was hard to sleep. I tried my left side, I tried my right side, I tried middle, I tried leaning back in my seat, I tried folding my pillow, but the most amount of sleep that I could manage was a half hour. After that I lifted my blinds (I had a window seat) which revealed a spectacular night sky. As I looked out, the big dipper was straight ahead of me. There was no need to look up. And it was perfect darkness, there was no red tint, like the one Rochester delivers to our home every night. Just black/navy blue, and the white balls of gas burning billions of miles away. I wish I could see that more often. Unfortunately my camera was stowed up in the overhead compartment, and after considering the weight, I decided I really didn't need, need to take a picture.

(haha, funny story, on my way out of the Rochester plane I older gentleman offered to get my bag for me. I said, careful it's heavy, but I don't think he heard me. So, he begins to lift it down and exclaims in a totally surprised voice, "Whoa, what's in this bag? Bricks?" I replied, no, just books. I must admit that my dad was happy that someone was giving me a bad time about my heavy bag. And what's more. I forgot my leather jacket under the seat in front of me, and the same gentleman goes to get it and pumps his head in the process. I hurt him twice without even trying to.)

The sunrise was also gorgeous. People love sunsets and sunrises because of their beauty. Well, the sunsets on earth are no comparison to the sunrises in an airplane. First the sky begins to pale on the horizon, then before long, the most brilliant red begins to show. Gradually all the colors of the rainbow in their most brilliant form appear, save for purple. Well, I know I saw purple, but I can't remember if it was sunrise or sunset. Even green appeared--a color not known for its presence in sunrises.

When we landed in Madrid, a lady stamped our passports, giving us permission to officially enter Spain (Yay!) Then my dad and I headed off to find our luggage, prepared to bring it through customs, but low and behold Spain doesn't work that way. Unlike los Estados Unidos they do not require you to check your baggage a second time. Instead they forward it to your final destination. It took us three employees to finally ascertain that they indeed knew what they were talking about when they said that our luggage would go straight to Granada without us having to touch it. And guess what? It did. (Another Yay!)

Once inside the Madrid terminal, I looked for my roommate, since I knew that she had been on the same flight from Chicago as us. We found her looking at the flight schedule just as confused as my dad and I had been before we had visited one of our informers a second time. Evidently the flight left from terminal HJK. With K on the left side and H and J on the right, we were totally confused, until the info guy straightened it out. In Madrid, the official gate number is not given until an hour before the flight takes off. So, we wasted some more time in the airport. But this time with Liz. First we went out of the terminal to exchange our USD for Euros (after going back and asking Mr. Info a question for the third time.) Evidently they don't do money exchanges once you get passed security, who knows why. So down we went, Liz with us, and them came back up, bought a couple of Cokes and waited. Now when airport employees in Spain say and an hour, they mean an hour. Not ten minutes before the hour, not five minutes before the hour. This is an hour before take off time, mind you, not bording time. So my dad goes back and forth between the us with the bags and the list of departure times, and finally when Granada's gate shows up, we hightail it down to our gate so we don't miss the flight. Ah, lovely Spanish airports, they remind me of myself somehow. :P

Our flight to Granada was squished. My poor dad. See the below picture. They want to fit as many seats in there as possible, even if it happens to cause discomfort to the people who are giving them business.

It turns out that the Granada airport has no sky walk or what ever you call those things. So, instead, to be more efficient, they put the moving staircases up to both ends of the plane. That was the first time that I have ever exited out the back of a plane. That was pretty cool. Which compared to the weather is its compliment, compliment that is if we are using colors as a metaphor, because Granada is HOT. They don't use Farenheight, so I'm not exactly sure how hot it was, but Liz had a thermometer with her that said 87 degrees. Btw, that was when we were sitting in an airconditioned bus. We were going to take a taxi, but my dad decided to be cheap and take the bus. Afterall, the bus driver said that we were the last stop on his route.

Ok, I REALLY need some sleep *yawn* I'm feeling like I stayed up 'til three in the morning. Haha, so I guess my jetlag isn't that bad, but still I need to set up a schedule and I have been up continuously save for that half hour nap on the plane and the tiny naps I got on the bus and the half conscious nap I took when my dad was talking to my mom on the phone. I guess that's 32.5 hours. Woot! But I really don't want to go for 33 so, I'll write the rest tomorrow.

Background

After much messing around, I have completed the renovating of my blog background. Isn't it pretty? However, I would say that it is hardly fit for a blog titled fun in espana. I promise you, my readers, that I shall get a much more decent photo once I have gone to Spain and collected said photo(s).

As to where I designed the background, I went to pimpmyprofile.com (which by the way is the reason for that very address appearing at the top of my layout.) They have a lot of different designs not to mention that they can be customized, which is pretty cool seeing that blogger has a very limited amount of choices.

I am leaving tomorrow morning at 11:30 from the airport, which means that I may be able to sleep in till eight. Oh, sweet sleep, I shall go to bed now to see thee. Yes I am tired. Ok, end transmission.

Hey There

I've started a blog for the purpose of keeping my friends and family updated on a medium other than facebook. If you want to see all my pictures just head on over there. If you would rather hear a thousand words, then stick around here. I suppose that there might also be the occasional photograph of me or some gente I happen to meet along the way. Or, if you are really lucky I'll put in a church or palace. Anyways, this is my first entry and I look forward to writing more using my profoundly magnificent writing skills. lol.