After Morocco...

Nothing really exciting about this week... and the weekend was me playing catch-up, trying to get projects done and homework completed. Friday I went out to the Albaicin with everyone (Ethan, Amelia, Grace, Hannah, Chris, and Ethan's Australian friend Felix) to go to a Teteria (not sure how to spell that, but it's a tea shop), and then Chris and I were going to swing by Botellon (which we had not seen) - it's a block party that takes up an ENTIRE STREET. There are thousands of young people that go down there and get drunk together in this big open area... BUT, we ran into Sean (who was OUT!!!) and some of his friends, so we went with them instead to a bar near Chris' house, where it was 4 Euro to get in, but it allowed two beers, wines, or one mixed drink. So... essentially free entrance. Poor Sean was not feeling well at all, and the smoke in there was awful - and his roommate, who he refers to as "That Damn Russian Jew I live with..." - affectionately, usually - was pretty drunk... so I took him outside for a minute so he could get some air (and find his way back in...). We left when they did, and Chris, Amanda, Carrie, Alyssa and I decided to still swing by Botellon, just to see it. Partway there Amanda and Alyssa turned back (they had to go to the bathroom, and Botellon is WAY out there, by the highway). So the three of us got there around 4am... and the ENTIRE place was TRASHED - there was a layer of alcohol covering every surface, and there were plastic bags, cups and broken bottles everywhere. People were roaring drunk, and starting to head home (it had started to sprinkle). The entire street reeked of urine (because everyone pees in the street or in the bushes) and booze. I guess it really is something you have to start earlier in the evening, when it isn't so nasty... So we all went home. The weekend should have involved more studying, since the following week was midterms... but oh well.

Monday the 9th was supposed to be my first midterm... Grammar, at 8:30am. But our professor was sick, so we had two flustered (very rushed and last minute) subs who tried to continue with what the next lesson should be. Two, because the first one actually had to teach her own class at 9:30 in the other building, so she went literally RUNNING out of class before then... which was really entertaining. My POE (oral and writing) class doesn't have a midterm or a final, because my teacher doesn't like them, so that was class as usual.

Tuesday was my Varieties of Spanish midterm at 8:30am. I feel like it could have gone better, but I'm not sure because I still don't have it back yet. My Hispanoamerican Culture class was also Tuesday, and it went worse than my first... so we'll see. Spanish Culture is the same teacher as POE (so no tests). Amanda invited me out to a bar Totes y Amigos, which is really close to where we live (on the river), and is owned by a lovely British lady. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday she promotes intercambio, inviting people to come and speak with each other. So Amanda and I went Tuesday night, and had a great time! I ended up talking to an older Spanish guy from Granada, who also speaks German, Italian and French! He was really nice, and is part of the "coffee" group from Couch Surfing... so they are willing to show visitors around Granada and hang out, but they don't host foreigners. There are a group of people here that are all part of this group, and go out to intercambio-it-up every Wednesday at a different bar. He told me where they were going this week, but tomorrow was the movie hosted by API, so I told him I didn't think I was going to make it. I told him I would come back Thursday though, and we could talk again.

Wednesday was supposed to be the Grammar test... but our teacher was still sick. So we assumed it would be NEXT Monday... before we were told that no, it was actually going to be given NEXT WEDNESDAY. Ugh. I was so ready to be DONE with this test... At 9pm we all met at the Neptune theater for the movie, which was nicer than the first one we went to, and had stadium seating. We saw Celda 211, which is a Spanish movie about a guy who works for the government/jail system, and is stuck inside the jail he is visiting when the most dangerous inmates stage a coup and take over the jail... so he has to become one of them or be killed. Very sad, very brutal, VERY well done!! I really enjoyed the movie.

Thursday I had to give a 10 minute presentation on Eva Peron with my group, but we ran out of time, so were told to give it Tuesday. Amanda and I went back to Totes in the evening, and talked with some students our age, but then they left and the guy I talked to Tuesday came in. He took my email and said he would tell me where they were meeting next Wednesday for intercambio - I would LOVE to join his group!! I think they are almost all from Granada...

The weekend was another homework weekend, but I went out Friday night with Chris to a Teteria (tea shop), where I had a chocolate mint shake, before we met up with Hannah on accident. We were waiting for Ethan, who was going to meet Amelia at the Botellon, and invited us along. So we all walked across the city to meet Amelia and almost her ENTIRE residencia to go out and buy alcohol to bring. We all pitched in for some rum and a bottle of Coke, and marched ourselves down to the party street... I hung out with Liz, Kelly and Tyler for much of the evening (early start API students), until they decided to go to a club - I then returned to Chris, Amelia and Ethan (Hannah decided not to come). I only had 1.5 drinks, so I was fine, and ready to go home (everything was getting disgusting, and I had to pee... and didn't want to go in the street with everyone else!!) Amelia made me wait for Chris and Ethan (who were also ready to go), although they only walk part way back with me, because we live in totally different directions... STORY: No problems on my way home until I got to the river... then a young Spanish boy on a moped drives by and pulls up onto the sidewalk, jumps off and walks towards me. There are people out, but nobody near me, so I'm like, 'Crap, what does he want?' He asks me what time it is, and if I know where a certain street is, and just starts being chatty and friendly. I'm pretty sure he thought I was drunk, because he told me I smelled of alcohol, but I was most definitely sober. He tried to give me a ride home on his moped, and I told him no, that I lived really close. Then he wanted to walk me home, because I was alone... then he asked if I lived by myself. Ha. He gave me his number, but wouldn't leave. I finally told him that he was making me angry, that I was tired and wanted to go home, and that if he didn't leave right then, that I wouldn't call him. So he left. I walked home the long way to make sure he didn't follow me... I didn't want him to show up on the doorstep one day... I don't know if I'll ever call him though... I mean, who drives around at 4am looking for girls walking alone! Goodness...

Saturday night I wanted to go up into the Albaicin to try caracoles (snails) at a bar that my host mom recommended a long time ago - so I called everyone (I decided I wasn't going to be able to get a drink because I spent all my money on phone calls...), and we met to go up. Kirk, who is a friend of Hannah's, was visiting for the week, from Canada. So he came too. BTW - Hannah had never MET Kirk. They were online friends, and he decided he would come visit her while she was here (because he wanted to go to Spain, and why not when he had a connection). She was like, "no, that may be weird..." but he came anyways. Heh. As we were headed up to the Albaicin, we encountered a German Shepard mut who was just wandering around, and began to walk with us. We decided to call him Frank, and would call to him when he got too far ahead. It was a big joke that we were following a dog into the Albaicin... BUT, he actually led us EXACTLY where we needed to go, a faster way! And he would wait for us when we stopped to take pictures or whatever. Amazing coincidences... when we got to the top, we weren't sure where one of the bars was, so we said goodbye to Frank as he went one way, and we went another. Wandered around for about half an hour before just asking for directions... turns out, the bar we wanted was literally AROUND THE CORNER from where we left Frank, and HE went the right way... so we were all kicking ourselves for "doubting him" and whatnot... And now I have the strongest urge to stop in the middle of the street when someone has a dog, bend down, and ask them if they know Frank... ;) On the way back down from the Albaicin, we all stopped at a tea shop that was advertising free crepes during the week, and ordered tea and shakes (I got vanilla).