Granada....my new temporary home

So it's been about a month since I've been living here and now have a little bit of time to share some things with you about this marvelous city. Granada is not only a city, but it is a type of state that is also a part of the comunidad autonoma of Andalucia. Granada has around 280,000 inhabitants within the city and the city itself has a large area of land. There are mountains that surround the sides of the city and there is a beach at the bottom of the comunidad.

This city is filled with beautiful plazas and there are small parks throughout the city. Also, there is a prevalent "hippie/gypsy" culture here in Granada. Lots of dread locks and also teterias, which are tea shops. I went to a teteria before and they serve the tea with milk and it was very good. Also, there is an Arabic influence due to the hundreds of years that Muslims lived in Andalucia.
The entrance to Kenya which is one of the many campuses that are part of the Universidad de Granada. This is not where I have classes. I take classes at the CLM (centro de lenguas modernas). I still have so much to see and visit within Granada, but I've enjoyed every part I've visited so far. I've been lucky enough to visit the amazing La Alhambra, I went to the Mirador de San Nicolas, which is a look-out point where you can see the entire city, and I have seen several plazas.
On our walk through the Albaicin. This is the Arabic/more hippie section of Granada. It's very beautiful and has many tiendas that sell Arabic things. The sun was setting and made for a good picture. Our walk to El Mirador was long and steep, but well worth it!
Some of the homes in Albaicin...very colorful.
This is our usual meeting spot: Plaza de Isabel la Catolica. The statue represents a very important history in Spain and Granada. Isabel and Fernando were the Reyes Catolicos and known as the royal family that united Spain and got rid of all the Muslim control in Spain. Isabel funded Christopher Columbus' travels to the Americas. This is what the statue is representing, the contract between the two.
This is the plaza of the battle. I don't think it represents any particular battle, but just in general.
This is the cathedral of Granada. I haven't entered here; I'm not even sure if you can, but hopefully I will have an excursion with my group here.

La Alhambra:
Here's the side of La Alhambra. The outside is plain, but the inside is just beautiful.
The intensive Trimester group! Maggie, Katasha, me, Anna, Mikala and Katie...the pond behind us is so cool with the arched fountains.

The gardens of La Alhambra. There are several gardens, but these were my favorite; they were like a maze with all the hedges.
View of one of the courtyards from inside the palace.
This is the water system for the fountains that run all through the palace.
One of the fantastic stucco art.
Katasha and I in front of one of the courtyards.
Katie and I with the city of Granada behind us.
This is the view of the Sierra Nevadas with snow from the roof of my apartment complex.
Another courtyard....so beautiful.
I just love the architecture. This was where the sultan lived.
Cool!

Here we are in the patio/plaza before entering La Alhambra. Since it was sunny we had a "picnic" in the patio before going in. :D

I really enjoy my family here. They are very kind and so helpful. They really try to invite me into their family, which I appreciate. I live with my Senora Conchi who is 63 and has 4 children, 2 sons: Antonio y Elia and 2 daughters: Hermi y Marga. I haven't met Elia or his family, but Marga also lives in the house with us. She's 25 and as I mentioned before, she is also a FAN of Twilight...that was our bonding factor...hehe...we actually get along so well and we have even done a few things together since I've been here. Antonio has 2 children, Antonio who is 7 and so adorable and Africa who is 2 and very shy. She cracks me up because as soon as I try to talk to her or get her attention, she will immediately turn her head to look away from me, but she will still try to stare at me from the corner of her eye! It's hilarious! She did however give me a hug the last time I saw her...we're making progress. Hermi is 32 yrs old and I see her almost every day because she and her family always come over for lunch. Her family lives in a small pueblo 10 mins from Conchi's house. Her husband is Jesus and they have 2 children: Sergio who is 4 and the most amazing little boy and 2 week old Daniela. Yes, she was born the Monday of the second week I was here! She is very attentive. Sergio is very talkative and loves to talk to me about anything. I showed him a few magic tricks and almost every time I see him, he asks me to do them for him.

The intensive trimester girls! L to R Anna, Mikala, Maggie, Katie, me and Katasha. The four girls on the left side have recently become friends of mine. Especially Katie, I adore her quirkiness....she's my equivalent of Mary (don't worry Mary, you can NEVER be replaced!!!).
Marga and Sergio on the teeter-totter at a park near the piso. This was his first time on it! Love is faux-hawk!
Sergio...showing off his MAD skills!

Conchi told me that one day she'll take me to her old pueblo and show me around. I have a few pictures of the family, but when I get more I'll be sure to put them up. Classes are okay. I'm in Superior A and it is tough, but I'm learning. Actually this Thursday I'm taking my exam to see if I will move up to the next level or not. The program I'm in is intensive so every month we have an exam to see where we are and whether we move up a language level or not. I'll let you know more about this later.

I had a roommate named Katasha (you'll see her in some of the pictures) from Pittsburg, who at the beginning I was struggling with just because she has a very difficult personality. She caused some problems with my senora (making things difficult) and requested to be moved and my senora agreed as well. So now I have a room to myself and as of now I won't have a roommate, but possibly in the future. I've really lucked out with my two past placements...hehe...I do love my family though.

Enjoy my pictures and hopefully soon I will put up a post on my travels to Sevilla and Cordoba from this past weekend. I miss you all very much; I actually wish I could go home for a few weeks and then return, but I will return soon enough.

Besitos para todos!