Alemania!

      WOW! Today and yesterday has been awesome and at the same time, really emotional.  We said goodbye to our family and it was really hard. I cried a little in the taxi to the airport, but I know I'll be back soon to see them!  But I already miss them, it's crazy.  Saying goodbye to Encarna might have been the hardest because she's really been like a mom to us while we were adjusting to our new home.  Hasta pronto a mi familia!

       The flight yesterday was really easy--I slept most of the way but I was definitely still feeling the 3 hours of sleep I got the night before.  We had a party with our program on the roof of the office building (Thursday the 24th) with an INCREDBILE view of the Catherdral, the Alhambra and the city.  It was bittersweet to be all together with everyone for the last time in Granada and Profesor Lamas and Begona made it ever more sentimental but having us trek up the Albacin to see the Alhambra lit up in night.  Up there, we said hasta luego to Lamas and Begona, and then hung out up there for a few hours, just reminiscing about our time there and talking about getting together back in NY.  After that, we hung out at Hannigan's for one last time and chatted until it was finally time to go home.   Of course, I wasn't done packing so I had to stay up until 4:30am to finish and was PETRIFIED that I wouldn't wake up in time for our flight, so I barely slept and when my alarm went off at 7:15am, I jumped out of bed.  Then the fateful taxi ride to the airport, where Vueling messed me up AGAIN! I had to pay extra for my luggage even though I had said I was bringing two with me--it was a disaster and not the best way to leave Spain, but I digress!  The flights went well and before I knew it, we were in Munich!
       We were picked up by Claudine's mom's aunt Margit, her uncle Edwin, and their son Philipp.  It was a beautiful ride back to their house--Germany is VERY green! Well, Bavaria anyway is.  We went to dinner at a Greek restaurant, it was awesome!!! Claudine and I both had Spezi, Coca-Cola and orange Fanta mixes soda, and then split two platters.  Mine had the most delicious and garlicky tzatiki sauce, lamb gyros, slovaki, and rice and Claudine's was the same except with 2 souvaki too. YUM! Kristen and Margaret, it might have been even better that the Greek Kitchen in NY! There was also ouzo on the house, so how could we go wrong?  Then it was back to the house (walking distance which is very nice) for bed!
        Today was great today too.  We woke up late and then had a big Bavarian breakfast--and everyone knows how important breakfast is.  There was breads (white rolls, whole wheat rolls, and pretzels!), cheeses (babybel, an onion flavored spreadable one. and French cheese), jams (gooseberry, strawberry, banana, apricot, and something called johannisberren, a berry that doesn't grow in the US), meats (hams, bacon, spicy sausage, sweet sausage and more). It was so delicious but so hard to choose what to have!  Nutella or sausage? Cream cheese with jam or honey?  I made it work though and tried them all on my roll.  AND COFFEE! It was so nice to have a mug of coffee with breakfast.
          After that, we went for a walk and I stocked up on a few essentials for the month, and then when we got back ot the house, we drove to Steven's (Margit and Edwin's younger son) go-karting practice.  It is a big sport here and we go to watch the kids race for their best times.  Claudine even got to race in one, and she did a really good job!  It was a lot of fun. Then, Claudine, Philipp and I drove to Wolfratshausen to do a little shopping and walk around in the beautiful weather.  It was a really cute town, and for about the millionth time since arriving, I pointed out to Claudine how similar Bavaria is to her hometown, Kinderhook, NY.  It has the same small town feel and even this town we were in reminded me of Hudson.  I joked that her mom Sabine somehow managed to find the most German town in NY to stay connected to her home.  Claudine's mind was blown though because she started seeing it too.  It was really funny to realize all the connections though.
           Then, we went to Claudine's favorite ice cream parlor, L'Arena, an Italian gelateria.  It was insane. There are elaborate sundaes and these great ice coffees that come with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Claudine and I couldn't choose so we split an ice coffee and an Amaretto sundae. It was the perfect afternoon treat!
            We went back to the house and played Clue but IN GERMAN! So it was Cluedo, and very interesting!  Some of the  rooms and weapons are different, but the rules are the same so I got by.  Just as we finished the game, dinner was ready.  So we went downstairs and sat outside in the fresh air for our barbeque. IT WAS AWESOME! Appetizers were Italian specialties like sliced mozzarella and tomatoes in balsamic vinegar, sardines and anchovies, black olives, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and sweet peppers in olive oil, sliced parmesan cheese and sweet sausage and Italian bread. I was very happy, haha and I'm sure my mom and Margaret would have been too!  After this feast came actual dinner!! It was a grilled potato, steak and sausages, but on top of all these was garlic butter, something Claudine had told me about, but I had never had. WOW. One of my new favorites and it was perfect on the meat and the potato, along with chive sour cream.  We also had a great salad with walnuts, craisins, and goat cheese in a sweet dressing. It was an amazing meal, only made better with our glass of Prosecco.
            So now, we are watching the Eurovision competition and I have to say, the Russian grandmas are my favorite!  But I think the whole room is rooting for Germany.  Vamos a ver :)

Hasta luego 
           

No quiero ir

Ah, this is a bittersweet post. I still haven't finished (or started) 8 other posts about my travels here because honestly, I've been having too much fun to sit down and type them up! But I have all my thoughts and travel details written down, so I plan on eventually getting to it. But this post is about my last weeks in Granada. I am VERY sad but at the same time, so excited to go to Germany, then go home to see my family and get back to Fordham.  But life here isn't real--school work doesn't really exist, although I did study this week for my finals, but it's more than that. It's hanging out with friends in new places or exploring the Granada together, and learning more about myself every day. I can't imagine leaving because it has been a surreal experience and I don't want the dream to end.
          One thing I know about myself is I hate goodbyes and this is going to be a really difficult one. To say goodbye to my Spanish family, Encarna, Cristina, Tono, Tono, and especially to little Cristi and Dani because played for hours together and I've learned so much Spanish from them.  Encarna, she's been a wonderful host mom to me and Claudine and it has been a lot of fun getting to know her.  She is hilarious...my favorite quotes have been "Estoy en la gloria!" and "ME VOY" but in her funny high-pitched voice when she's imitating someone. And to say goodbye to my professors, my classes, and the other wonderful students I've met here.  Ah I might even miss the walk to class in the morning...wait, no I won't, I had an 8:30. But I will miss the freedom to just go out for tapas with friends and not worry about work or anything. And just leaving the house to go for a walk. That's just  simple thing about the way of life here that I will definitely miss. And lastly, my friends here. I've made so many close friends during these 4 months that I am so grateful for because they were the ones who helped make this experience so amazing.  Some of them I will see soon back in NY, but others like my Spanish friend Cecilia (mi gemela española)  I won't see for a while, so it is hard to say goodbye.
            I miss my family and friends at home, so going home is very exciting! But life is just so relaxed here, it's been wonderful. It's like a dream with no responsibilities, so it will hard to let go of this care-free life.  But I plan on bringing some Spanish attitude, like "no pasa nada" back to NY with me!I will update the other travels soon so I can have it recorded because they are all part of the reason this trip has been incredible.  
                
           This has truly been the best experience of my life and I'm so happy I was able to share it on this blog and through my pictures too.  


Hasta pronto!