This Land is Our Land

Time is flying.  I have been in Granada for two full weeks now, and while it seems like I still have a lot to learn about the city I feel so comfortable here.  This weekend was a great one! On Saturday morning I went on a walk/hike with my program up into the hills behind the city and it was gorgeous! We started out in the main plaza in the old part of town and after walking for only about 5 minutes it seemed like we had traveled so far outside of the city.  We walked up through a little “forest” that is right outside the walls of the Alhambra and continued up hill away from the city.  

After not exercising for a while the hills were actually a great workout! Our hike took us past some really pretty orange trees (although you can’t eat the oranges!), through olive groves and up to the top of a hill above the Alhambra.  We had an amazing view of the Alhambra, a breathtaking view of the Sierra Nevada–pictures could never do it justice–and a great look at the Sacromonte.  The Sacromonte is the barrio where the gitanos-gypsies-live, and some of them actually live in caves. We are told that its probably not the safest area to visit, so I’ll stick with just looking at it from afar. The Sierra Nevada mountain range is beautiful–it seems almost out of place right outside the city. The peaks seem to come out of nowhere, and because they are so big and snowy they are an awesome contrast to the city.  Granada is a city situated in a valley, so while it doesn’t actually snow much here, the mountain range is only about an hour outside the main part of town.

            

 On Saturday night my friends and I made it our mission to “go big or go home.” We decided that while we had stayed out until 3 or later many nights, that really wasn’t doing it the way the Spanish do. When in Rome, right? Anne and I decided to be economical and bought some wine at the Mercadona (the main grocery store here) to drink before we went out.  I knew it would be cheap, but when we saw the prices even I was stunned. 1 euro for a bottle of wine!!! We both felt like it had to be some sort of joke, but we never got to the punch line. I guess miracles really do happen! Anyway, we left our house around 12:15 and met up with some friends at a relaxed tapas bar. We hopped around from bar to bar until about 3:30 or 4 and finally made it to the discoteca.  I think we got home a little after 5.  We went big!!! Although, I think we can go bigger…

On another note, WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENTE!!! Yesterday a bunch of people from my program went to watch the inauguration ceremony and it was really awesome. We were in an Irish bar with a bunch of other Americans and I was really glad to be able to watch the ceremony in English! It was a unique experience to watch such an important historical event in another country–it gave me a whole new perspective on the power and prominence that America has throughout the world.  We bought a drink called El Presidente just for the occasion! After the ceremony was over the bar’s “resident America troubadour” whipped out his guitar and started singing “This Land in Your Land” and everyone started singing along. It was one of those awesome spontaneous experiences where everyone comes together and is happy!