Arrival in Granada!!!

We are finally in Granada!! We got here on Wednesday evening and were dropped off in a town square where we met our host mothers. Mine is a 45 year old woman named Carolina and she embraced me and my two roommates, Kenzie and Hillary, right off the bat. We wheeled our loads of luggage across the city to her apartment, which was about 20 minutes away. We walked down cobblestone streets past hundreds of little shops and cafes. Oh ya, and there are ice cream and gelato shops EVERYWHERE!!! There are also so many amazing buildings with such old architecture and the views are absolutely spectacular. We arrived at her apartment and the flat is perfect! It is on the fourth floor of an apartment building that is about a 25 minute walk from the university but only about 15 from the center of the city. There are four bedrooms, one for Carolina and one for each of her two children. Alejandro is 11 and Lucia is 16. They have been in Paris visiting their dad for the summer and will return on Friday. Then, there is a large room for the three of us girls. I am sleeping on the bottom bunk with Kenzie on the top of a bunk bed set and Hillary has a twin bed on the other side of the room. There are also two large closets and we have our own bathroon, which is super nice. We unpacked and then had dinner at about 8:30 pm, which is completely normal for them. Carolina served a delicious vinaigrette salad with tomatos, spinach, apples, and more. She also made us each an omelette and offered bread and grapes as well. After, she led us on a little tour of the city. We followed the main river that runs through the town and then had ice cream at what she declares the best in Granada. Oh ya, Carolina also told us that we have to pay money to a collective jar every time we talk in English. This trip could be more expensive then I thought!

On Thursday morning, we had a placement exam at 8:40 in the morning. After a few hours of testing, we were told which level we would be in for our first month of classes on a 1-9 scale. I am a 4, which I am very content with. After, a group of us went to a tapas bar where they served three small plates of food (tapas) with our drink order for only 2 euro. That means that it cost less than $3 for a cup of coffee and the amount of food served in an American appetizer. It was fantastic! Later, we went home for lunch at about 3 pm and had chicken and salad. After, we met up with the program directors and the rest of the students in the town square and they gave us a walking tour of the entire city. We saw a lot of different neighborhoods, parks, more shops, fountains, statues, and lots more. We also saw the Alahambra, which a beautiful Moorish palace built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain. For dinner we had a picnic and then went to a Flamenco show. Wowwwww!! I have never seen people dance so quickly and with such intense and emotional expression. There were four different women and a man who all did a solo dance while other others clapped and two other men played guitars and sang in the background. It was absolutely fabulous. For the evening, we walked around to different local bars and enjoyed the wine and verano tinto (a local drink). I could totally get used to this life. 

Classes started Friday morning and my schedule has me in class from 9-11 and then 11-1. I am in class with 8 other students, 3 who are from DU, one from a different school in Colorado, another from California, a woman from Wisconsin, a guy from Germany, and a girl from Japan. We talked the entire class in Spanish and I was able to keep up, it was great!! After, I went home for lunch and met my new siblings. They are so sweet and I really think it will be fun to have them around.