Diá 37 (Las frutas!)

Today I feel like talking about the delicious fruits I've discovered here in España. So many wonderful different kinds! And most are of such higher taste and texture here that I'm eating fruits I've never liked before.

For example, the peras, pears, are absolutely delicious. Tiny, sweet, green pears. Firm and juicey. Take a bite and the sticky liquid begins to drip down your chin.

Then we have the acerolas. Which are about cherry-size and taste like apples.

Los modroños are very different and, though they don't have a strong flavor, are rather good. (Not to mention they look very cool and the texture is very different.) There is a small park, Carmen de los Mártires, where you can pick these fruits off the trees and pop them in your mouth. (Which is what I did. There will be another post about this magical park in the future.)

Then there are my two favorite fruits here so far:

El melón (which is like honeydew, except onethousand times better)

and las ciruelas (which are white plums) and make a delicious mermelada

The only fruit I have a complaint about is the manzana, the good old fashioned apple. They just aren't as sweet as the ones in the U.S. or France (the two other countries I've eaten apples from). But it isn't too bad since I have all of these other lovely options!

and Málaga

there is someone under all that costume. he moved. it was awesome

someone preparing to be a ninja angel!

do you see the faces?

some german guy telling us the history of the plaza we were in. spanish with a german accent is pretty legit. not to mention his costume.

a miniture of old málaga

view of the city

a mini replica of the alhambra

graffiti...it's that cool here

beach (it's not a sand sculpture, it's actually cement)

Diá 31

¡Hace un mes desde que he llegado en España! It's been almost a month since I've arrived in Spain! I can't believe how fast the time has flown.

1 month in España, 3 weeks of school, 20 years of life experienced...

Numbers can be frightening. And the mayoría de nuestras vidas is not made up of exciting and memorable stories and achievements, but out of the hundreds of moments where we are simply being. While that sounds lackluster and disappointing, depressing even, to me it's a comfort and a relief. I look at my life as a calm clear and smooth sea of contentment, happiness, and confidence with only a few turbulent and violent storms of despair and insecurity and, then, those memorable and priceless treasures highlighted by rays of the sun. Everyone prays for a smooth voyage to a foreign destination, no sane person would wish for turbulence and choppy waves and ship-toppling winds.

Why then would you feel let down if your voyage through life was an easy one? Not saying boring, but who needs the hardships and troubles?



Enough life reflection right now, time to tell about la excursión a Ronda y Málaga!

Ronda is pretty with El Tajo, a magnificent and beautiful cañon, defining the shape of the city.

And Málaga is a fun modern beach city...

Escuela y La Alhambra

I started classes this week and they all seem like they are gonna be good classes. I have two favorites already though, due to the incredibly enthusiastic and amazing professors: Literatura de renacimiento y barroco (everything is "¡fatal!") and La política y el gobierno de españa. The professors are just so engaging and you can tell they really love what they teach. My other classes are La historia del cine español, Literatura hispanoamericana, and Producción oral y escrita (aka POE pronounced poe[the writer]-eh). Unfortunately, most of the students in my classes are fellow Americans, with the exceptions of one French guy and one guy from Hong Kong. But I am seeking out other routes to meet the Spanish youth!

I also visited the inside of the last Moorish palace in Spain yesterday. Though I was tired and sore, it was the most incredible thing I've seen since I arrived in Spain. It was the first moment in which I felt inspired, awed, and confident in my decision to come to Granada. The history and beauty of it all simply took my breath away. It was as if I were in a movie, everything was so perfect. (Which reminds me of how many accordian and violin players there are all over the city! Makes me feel like I'm in Amèlie.) This movie moment day even included one of the girls in our tour group "testing out the acoustics" of an amphitheater by singing opera. And it ended with a beautiful view of the city that I have no picture of because my camera died on me. But just try to imagine: on the top of the bell tower of an ancient fortress atop one of the highest hills in the city; simply breathtaking.

the outside of the amphitheater

one of the ceilings - such beautiful artistry

serenity fountain area

some of the arched decorations

i need to edit the lighting, but this is the ceiling of the room of the sultan

some of the arabic poetry that had to be mathematically calculated to fit around the room!

another beautiful ceiling reminiscent of a cave, which has roots in the muslim religion: it was in a cave that mohammet was given the laws of the religion from allah.

some of the beautiful architecture

the top of the corridor for the baths