The kids

Just a little note about the kids I live with:

Most of the time while I am at our apartment, I leave my door open.  This has allowed me too not only listen to the family's conversations, but hang out with the little kids.  Eloisa (or "Elo" as we call her) is 11 and a sweetheart.  We started doing art projects together after she saw me making decorations for my room.  Now, we regularly create masterpieces and I have fun teaching her projects I have learned over the years.  A few weeks ago we tie-dyed tissues!  I now have 8 hanging as decorations on my wall.

Eloisa

Occasionally I will do her hair for her.  She has lovely, long, thick, brown hair...like a perfect Spaniard!  I think it is hard for her having two brothers, a traveling salesman for a father, and a mother who always has a thousand things to do.  I hope I can give her a relief from that and if I have to learn all the words and dance moves to the Spanish "High School Musical" and help her understand the lyrics to "Camp Rock" than I will!  She is also a great source of information and the go-to girl for Spanish questions.

Elo's lovely hair!

Our other little friend with a HUGE personality is Dario.  He is four, as tall was my waist, and resembles a perfectly cute elf in a fairy tale...really, he is adorable.  He loves to come in my room and look at/touch everything.  He also likes to try and play some silly games I have on my computer.  He is learning how to write, and so I always have Crayola markers and paper ready to encourage his learning.  He learned how to draw a heart recently, and that shows up on everything now!

Dario

Dario speaks faster than any Andalucian I have met...so sometimes, I just laugh at how little I can understand from what he says.  He is your rival, mom!  He is also VERY loud!!  One day he decided it would be fun for all of us if ever

y time he saw us he screamed our names...his voice box is pretty powerful (also rivaling my Mom's!).

 Dario and Elo

"I LIKE TO SCREAM!!!" (except in Spanish of course)

One day while I was video-chatting with dad, Dario came into my room, crawled up on my bed with my bottle of lotion, and stood behind me.  I couldn't tell what had happened, and it was dad who noticed that Dario had squeezed a generous portion of lotion into my hair...haha.  It came out of course, but whew! is that kid a handful!

Sergio is 14 and great, but I really don't see him often.  He is a brilliant fútbol (soccer) player, and spends most of his time out on the field, at school, or at home studying.  Also, I don't have any pictures of him right now.

Weekend Trip to Lisbon, Portugal

After 9 hours on the bus with 36 students and 3 advisors from my program, I arrived in Lisbon, Portugal.  We left Granada at around 11:30 pm on Thursday the 26th of March and drove through the night to arrive at the center of Lisbon at 8:00 am on the 27th.

For those of you who don't know, Lisbon is the capital of Portugal.  It is located on a river leading into a bay of the Atlantic ocean.  The city has one castle on the highest hill overlooking the entire city.  Also from the castle you can easily view the statue of Jesus with open arms.  He seems to be "hugging" the city, and is facing the direction of an identical statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The architecture of the old city is mainly from the Romantic period.  There are arches, statues, squares, fountains, columned buildings, tree-lined streets, and a large cathedral.  In 1755 there was an earthquake leveling most of Lisbon, so the city was rebuilt with these structured features of the Romantic period.  We visited the castle, cathedral, and rode on the most famous electric tram-cars of Lisbon.

Cathedral

Castel de São Jorge

Overlooking Lisbon from the Castle

We rode this yellow tram (in the background) around Lisbon.

We were given rooms in a lovely hotel in the center of town.  That afternoon, I trekked around the city with two friends, Mia and Victoria.  Both girls go to school in New Orleans, and are a riot!  .We got on the subway and rode to a random stop, got off, and found ourselves at the site of the 1998 World Expo.  We walked around for a while among modern-futuristic buildings and rows of flags from participating countries.  We also sat along the river for a while.  Que bonita!

Mia and Victoria

Can you see me??
We snuck onto a boat for this one!
By the river in Lisbon
Flags of participating World Expo 1998 countries.

One of many World Expo buildings.

Later, we had supper, realized that we could watch Grey's Anatomy and Alias in English, and headed to bed.  The next day (Saturday) we visited the Hieronymitic Monastery, the Tower of Belem, a beach-town called Cascais, and had adventures trying to get to the mysterious town of Sintra.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to get to Sintra because of downed trees, and instead some of us ran around on the beach in bagillion-mile-per-hour winds.  I was COVERED in sand!

Hieronymitic Monastery

Cathedral of the Monastery

Courtyard of Monastery

Inside the Monastery (amazingly intricate architecture)

Tower of Belém overlooking the river
Cascais, Portugal
A black swan!! In Sintra, Portugal

The wind on the beach!!

The next morning, we got back in the bus, and headed home to Granada.  The Portuguese/Spanish countryside is stunning, rocky, and covered in vineyards, olive trees, cliffs, plateaus, valleys, and huge, snowcapped mountains.

Overnight trip to Almería

This is a stunning coastal city that I stayed in for a night.  I took a 3 hour bus ride from Granada, and arrived in Almería at around 7:00.  After wandering around for a bit, I found my way to my hostel beside a huge fútbol stadium.  I was given a room to myself, and after leaving a few of my belongings, I walked the 3 blocks to the shore.  Some photos are of this night and the rest are from the following day.

The next morning I went across the city to the older part, and found my way to the Alcazaba de Almería (the Arabic fortress).  Probably the coolest I have seen so far.  The walls are sheer cliffs and there are gardens and fountains peppering the stone foundations.  Another part is currently an archeological dig.  I was in awe.  I climbed hundreds of stairs and countless turrets.  Slowly I rose higher and higher to the most important palace.  The view was astounding.  It seemed like I could see the entire Mediterranean along with all of Almería.

As I came down from the castle, I walked through the old part of town and to the cathedral that was built to resemble a fortress so that is would not be attacked by invading Muslims in around 411?  I can't really remember, but it was really neat.

I went back to the bus station and bought a ticket for the last train out of Almería at 8:00pm.  I wanted to see the sunset.  So, I stayed on the beach for the rest of the day.  There is a lively boardwalk filled with families and ice cream.  I walked along the shore a few times and also got soaked a few times!!  I watched the sun move across a cloudless sky and around the edge of a mountain range sloping to the west.  It was a wonderful day.  Here are some photos: