Din Din for the Win Win

Today was a day of walking. This morning/afternoon I walked back to La Alhambra (30min one way) just to walk up the massive hill that leads up to it. Why? the portion sizes my "mom" feeds us are huge and the meals are getting tastier and tastier as they go on, and because the massive hill you have to walk up is not only killer, but beautiful. I think I would literally be outside every minute of everyday if the U.S. had scenery like Granada does. Tonight, I ate banana yogurt.. I thought to myself "I don't know about banana yogurt"... but it was quite delish... their yogurt is different from the yogurt in the states. I'm pretty sure it has less sugar so it's more tart. Reguardless, I like it a lot.

Also, during/after dinner my roommate and I had a really good conversation with my "mom" (all in spanish)... it was encouraging to be able to understand the context of everything she was saying, and also to be able to speak back... in broken Spanish of course. I felt like we all broke a barrier. WIN!!I no longer feel that she is annoyed with my questions or slow speaking, so I'm hoping the Spanish part of my brain gets switched on to auto pilot and everything I hear/learn is absorbed.

Another exciting event that occured today... LEG SHAVING!... when you get in trouble if you take too long of a shower, you sacrifice shaving. I mean.. it's all good... now... I was furry. Gross, I know... but it's Europe... and I'm European for the next 2 1/2 months. :)

Fun fact:
When Spaniards ask me what my name is they immediately have a really confused look on their face and have to ask me again and sometimes to spell it... my name is so foreign to them.. it's physically impossible for them to pronounce it... just like it's impossible for me to make that "hauking of a lugi" sound they have. (They always laugh at me). When they finally do wrap their heads around it they usually say something like CORE-KNEE (it's like a really elegant way of saying the word "CORNY").. they just can't get the "T" in there. Whatevs..

Manana mis amigas y yo vamos a la playa en Malaga! Estoy muy emocionada! Me encanta la playa...especialmente cuando es un playa hermosa!

Dos besos,
Courtney

La Huelga--The Strike.. and other exciting news.

So... there's a strike going on in Spain/Europe. It's kind of world news.. NBD.

Yesterday they were having rallies and starting to get together and what not. Also, there were apparently some terroristic threats involving remote contol cars and gun powder around here. No worries though... I'm alive, safe, and well and I am looking forward to things getting back to normal as well. Today (I would say) 75% of Granada is shut down, so there really isn't much to do.... unless you did what my friends and I do... which is wander around. Yesterday we went to La Alhambra (pics on FB). It was wonderful (of course) we had a super awesome tour guide named Nico... and let me tell you. He was the funniest thing.. a complete Spaniard, but when he spoke English, he had a British accent. It was so confusing/perfect. The way to La Alhambra had the most massive hill of my life.. and it. was. long! It hurt so good. I want to try to see if I can find my way back and make it a regular trip up the thing so work off all of the food these people feed me.

EXCITING NEWS!!!!

I place in level 6 of 9 on my placement test! Do y'all know what that means?.. of course not.. it means I'm ADVANCED LEVEL!.. do y'all know what that means?... sure don't.... IT MEANS ALL 15 CREDITS ARE GOING TO TRANSFER!!!!!!! Whoop! Whoop! WWWWWHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPP!

Going to a spanish theatre tonight.

Dos besos (it's the Spaniard way... if you are lucky.. that's how I'll greet you/say good-bye)

Courtney

Granada, Granada, Granada, GRANADA!!

Granada I have arrived!

(Actually, I've been here for 4 days, but I haven't had the internet to make any posts because my "brother" wasn't here to show us how to use it) Fun/funny fact.. Spaniards pronounce WiFi (wee-fee)... whenever they say it, I secretly chuckle to myself. Ja. Anyways, life in Granada is getting to where it's fun..the first few days were rough because you spend a lot of time being lost, trying to talk with people and getting no where, and trying to consume the HUGE portions of food they expect you to eat.

For those of you who are wondering what my "family" is like, let me just give you a quick profile of each of them:

Mom: (Maria Carmen)

• 5'6" ish
• Short blonde hair
• Bright red press on nails
• Constanly in a mumu and slippers while at home

Hobbies include (and limited to)

• Watching the equvalent to "E! News" in the U.S., or really any TV show/movie
• Chewing nicotine gum
• Yep.

Rules:

• SHORT showers
• Forks, knives, and spoons have SPECIFIC places in the dishwasher
• Always put down the tablecloth while eating and use a tray
• Eat ALL of your food
• Don't wear outside shoes inside.. and don't walk around barefoot or with socks (wear slippers)

Mis hermanos (brothers--Carlos y Fernando)

• Attractive. Both of them. In their 30s... perfect (KIDDING!)

Hobbies:

• Being really nice, smoking, and going out to bars.

I feel that all of you should know tha tthe first time Colleen any I sat down with my "mom" she whipped out shot glasses and wanted us to have some whiskey. I kindly declined and she looked like she had just seen an alien when I told her I didn't drink alcohol. However, the next day I wished I had accepted the whiskey because it was a really rough day. I've found that some of the people who came in our group are really stubborn about adapting to the culture, so I've been surrounded by people with pretty negative attitudes and a lot of complaining. Hark! today I went and met with a psycologist/psychiatrist about culture shock.. no worries.. it wasn't just me.. it was a free group meeting thing, and the lady was really nice and helpful.

If you were wondering about the cusine here let me tell you what I have had thus far and what a typical meal is.. keep in mind lunch is the largest meal and breakfast is the smallest.

Desayuno (breakfast): Mostly cookies and hot chocolate... maybe a banana... real healthy I know.. welcome to the Mediterranean diet. :)

Almuerzo (lunch): I've had; white rice with tomato sauce, hot dogs, TONS of bread, and something else. The next day I had THE MOST DELICIOUS CHICKEN IN THE WHOLE WORLD! (it was made with white wine and garlic and cooked to perfection) with pureed potatoes, bread, and an apple. Today I had a stew-like dish... I forgot what it was called.. but it was good too.

Cena (dinner): Bocadilla con atun (accent u) y tomate (like a sub-sandwich with tuna and tomato).. the next night another bocadilla with bologna and "queso especial".. there was nothing special about that cheese other than the fact it was green and pungent. Ja. Then we had Croquetas.. they look like hush-puppies, but the inside is like mashed potatoes (not a favorite), rice soup (left over rice from the night before) bread and pudding. Tonight we had a tortilla (it's like a mostly potato omelett with ketchup, rice soup (again) and cabecero de lomo ( the most delicious meat you will probably ever eat.)

So what's my favorite food? GELLATO!!! Best thing ever invented.. I will probably never eat ice cream again.

There are SO MANY pretty parks in Spain! While in each of them I say to myself, "Man, someone marry me here." Ja. It's a possibility right? Psh. Maybe Pedro would take me up on it. :)

I miss everyone so incredibly much! Eat lots of fresh vegetables for me (there are none here) and keep being alive while I'm here so I can see you when I get back! Pics on FB soon!

Besos,

Courtney

Hola!

It's day 2 for me here in good 'ole Espana (tilde the n) and I must admit.. today was better than yesterday. Por que? because:

1. I wasn't jetlagged and exhausted
   


2. I've started to figure some stuff out
   


3. Ok, ok.. it was mainly because I was well rested.
   

While today (Wednesday) was better than yesterday, it was definitely not without it's mishaps.

Mishap #1

I told my roommate that I would set the alarm for us so that we could get up and go with our group to the Museo de Prado ( one of the biggest/best museums in Spain). Well, aparently, my international cell phone did not automatically set itself to the correct time so, therefore we missed the trip. (I was devastated) However! My roomate, her bf, and I all went to this other museum instead (scope the pics on fb) it was called The Museo Nacional Centro del Arte Reina Sofia.. it was amazing.. lots of fun creative art.. (it had that stuff that most people would say "that's art? I can do that.") but whatevs.. it was wicked. Missing the Prado was definitely a blessing in disguise. God knew I would like the Reina Sofia more.

Mishap #2

After evening meetings, I decided to ask other people from the group if they wanted to try to go find someplace to eat.. some people in the group said they had seen a place they wanted to try out.. I thought to myself, "Super! That was easy!" (chosing a place to eat in Spain is intimidating.. I always look for places with people who look like they are going to be patient with my spanish) Jaja. Once we arrived to the place, we literally did not know what we were supposed to do.. we didn't know if we were supposed to wait to get seated, just sit down and wait for someone to come to us.. we didn't have a clue.. and they didn't have directions.. after 10min of standing outside with tons of customers staring, someone finally made the executive decision to go elsewhere (the place looked expensive... I was ok with it) We settled on this sandwich place called Rodilla. I had a half tuna with tomato and half salad sandwich.. it hit the spot.. of course a handful of dirt would have hit the spot at that point so I suppose that statement is a bit skewed. So, after all that rambling, you may think to yourself.. "What was the mishap there?" It was that we looked like complete idiots and no one would make a decision.. we wasted a lot of time tonight.

Mishap #3 (el ultimo [accent the u])

After getting back to our hote from dinner, a few of us were sitting in the lobby trying to find something to do (aka looking for "night life"bars, clubs, etc) Again.. not being able to make decisions, I suggested we go get gellato. I'd never had it and I figured that's one thing you can't go wrong with right? Right. So we get to the gellato place and I tell myself "Courtney, you are about to rock this order." I say to the man, "Me gustaria (accent the i) un pequeno (tilde n ) pitachio (my roommate's bf had highly reccomended it earlier today, and I was like "por que no" (why not?). The man replied (with the baseball umpire's signal for "safe") Feen-ished! I thought "CRAP!" and was so disappointed. I then told the man to give me his favorite, thinking it would be something really exotic and spanish-like.. what did he give me? Chocolate chip. It was wonderful chocolate chip, don't get me wrong, but not quite what I was expecting.

After exiting the shop, we noticed a big group of people standing around watching something. Being the curious person I am, I walked over and realized it was 5-6 guys age 10-30 roller blading in and out of little cones doing all sorts of cool tricks. My little group and I stood there for a good 20-25 minutes just watching with amusement. I would have taken pics/vids of the event, but I thought I had left in my hotel room... come to find out.. it was in my purse all along.. (this could be counted as Mishap #4 if wanted..)

I forgot to mention that we went to the Royal Palace today as well (NBD.. it's just where the kings used to live) We had a guided tour with sweet headsets and walkie talkie looking things... it's been 33 yrs since a king has lived there.. and years ago the whole thing burned and was redone. It is ridiculous how elaborate EVERY. SINGLE. ROOM. is decorated. It's ridiculous to the extent of it being really sad. Nevertheless it was pretty and really interesting.

Eso es todo.

Besos.

I made it! I made it! I made it!

*9hr. 15min flight.

*Bad airplane food.

*Jet lag

Who cares.. I MADE IT!

I will be completely honest... this place is uber intimidating. Uber.

Funny story:

While going through customs upon tracking down my luggage, I had my first encounter with the language. The security officer very quickly asked me "Donde vas?"(Where are you going?)... for some reason I was taken by surprise that he was speaking to me in Spanish (who does that in Spain) I replied to him "Como?" he repeated himself one more time and I proudly replied Granada [nailed it]. He then proceeded to ask me, "Estas aquí aprendiendo español?" (Are you here learning spanish?) I brilliantly replied "un poco" ( a little)... when I should have said, "Si, voy a ser un estudiante a la universidad de Granada" (Yes, I am going to be a student at the University of Granada)... I felt like a complete idiot, but he obviously got the point... and he was nice and didn't look at me funny.

This place is going to take some getting used to..

Bring it On.

Welp, here it is.. my (hopefully successful) attempt at maintaining an interesting blog.

For those of you who are curious and don't really know my "situation", starting tomorrow at 5:40pm, I will be spending 3 months studying abroad in Spain.

Playa say whhhaattt?!

Yep. It's happening (Lord willing) I, Courtney Richardson, will be "crossing the pond" in (hopefully) in a moderate number of hours. Now, you might think to yourself... "What's all this "hopefully" stuff? You have less than a day, so shouldn't you be pretty sure?" Oh how I would LOVE to say YES to that question, like it would literally make my day/life. However, this fine morning I woke up only to RUN immediately to the Oh So famous, "Porcelain Altar." I'll spare your the gory details and chalk it up to a not so fun experience.... I mean.. experiences. (OOC to the max) It blew.. literally... all the while I was thinking to myself, "This cannot be happening.. I'm literally hours away from the one thing I have been looking forward to since Freshman year, and it's not going to happen because I can't properly hold my cookies. I was livid, pouty, and eventually humbled it's amazing how God humbles you so efficiently. I mean seriously.. He hit me once, and I was literally praying over that janky( I still love it H.) little toilet. Now that I'm feeling much better (not 100%, but like 86.3%) I'm thankful.. weird I know.. but if you really knew me.. you would know how much I despise vomiting. Bleh.

Enough of that nonsense, let's talk business,intentions, disclaimers, rules, etc:

1. I DO NOT promise to update constantly... meaning I probably won't.


2. I DO promise to keep in touch with you/others periodically... it will not be once a day, or maybe not even once a week.. as some of you already know, I am very determined to have as little "American/English" contact possible and I plan to "Do as the Spaniards do" (to an extent I feel is still Christ like) with all that said, don't be offended if I do not reply right away, or at all. I promise I still love you :)


3. Running joke around FL/311 is that I'm going to come home either dating, engaged, or married to a Spaniard... don't hold your breaths peeps.. it's a major long shot...unless he es un jugador de futbol (accent the u) por Espana (tilde over the n)... then.. maybe.


4. I would like to get souveniers for everyone... tell me what you want.. no promises you will get it, but I'll for sure try...(Europe is expensive)***Ladies.. if you ask for a man... I cannot assure you I will be returing with a man for you... there is a lot of documentation and customs ordeals that makes things like that next to impossible.*** (same goes for the men)


5. (Rule): I ask that everyone have an AWESOME semester. Aggies keep being the 12th Man, FL/311/Redmond; keep up the craziness... I want tons and tons of stories, scars, hair changes, and cinnamon filled sinuses when I return. To EVERYONE, stay safe, be smart, work hard, don't cheat on anything/one) don't drink and drive, click it or ticket, do something random, take care of guinea pigs, wear a helmet, know you can do it, do something nice, reach out to someone, get out of your comfort zone... etc. etc.


6. Pray. Pray selflessly, pray in rejoicing, pray in sadness, pray honestly and genuinely, pray for anguish for those who do know know our Savior, pray and ask Him to save you.

PRAY.

Salud,

Courtney, Willis, C$, 1990 etc.