I hope everyone at home had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I missed you all. My Thanksgiving in Spain was different, to say the least. It was full of new friends, different kinds of food, and activities I thought I'd never do (hiking, eek!).
On Thursday, I did my presentation about infant obesity in my POE class. Apparently it's a big problem in Spain. On my way home, I stopped in this little bookstore and got both Frankenstein and The Hobbit in Spanish for under 6 euro! Afterwards, I met up with the ISU girls (about 13 in all) to go to a Mexican restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious! Although not the typical turkey dinner I am used to, any change from Spanish food is a good change. We had margaritas and went around the table saying what we were thankful for. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm glad I got to share it with new friends. Meg was still with her Mom, so after dinner we all headed to Hannigan and Sons, an Irish pub that does American karaoke on Thursday nights. We all had a blast and then I went home to catch up with Megan and pack for my trip.
On Friday Meg and I caught the bus with the Arcadia group at 10 am. We had a two hour bus ride, but we had two stops along the way. The first was to see this really old bridge that had been there since the time of the Muslim exodus from Granada. We also stopped at this famous fountain that is supposed to be really good for your health. It was basically just 5 pipes coming out of the ground and tasted like rust (disgusting!). We finally arrived in the Alpujarras, which is a grouping of villages on the southern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We had an hour free to eat the lunch our señoras had packed for us and do a little shopping, and then we went to a ham factory. This was probably my least favorite part of the day. The factory smelled TERRIBLE and we had to go into a room where hundreds of hams were hanging from the ceiling. After learning about the process, we got to try the ham and some Alpujarran wine, both of which made me feel sick. Thankfully, Triana, the co-head of our program, ate the rest of mine.
Finally! We arrived at the hotel and split into rooms. Meg, Val, and I shared a room, and after an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, I got the queen sized bed. We then met up with the rest of the group and went for a short hike. It was supposed to be about two hours, but we took a wrong turn somewhere and it ended up being only one. I had no problem hiking and really enjoyed the scenery. On our hike, we saw a black cat, a white horse, and a stray dog. The dog was so cute and you could tell that he was just lonely. He walked ahead of us the entire way home, as if he knew where our hotel was. After a brief nap, we all got together for Thanksgiving dinner. How fantastic! It was almost like being home. We had two whole turkeys for only 14 people (mostly girls) and a ton of mashed potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. Granted, occasionally a weird Spanish dish would turn up, like pickles, olives and onions on toothpicks, but other than that, it was very American. After thanking Cristina and the chef, we all headed to our rooms and passed out.
Saturday was a bit rougher. We woke up early and had breakfast, and then headed out to the bus. We drove for about 15 minutes and stopped in another, almost identical, village. Here we met our guide, Francisco, and started a 4-hour hike. The first two hours were scary, but fun. I am really afraid of steep declines, and my asthma acts up on the steeper inclines. Overall, though, the views were beautiful and I had no trouble staying with the group. After a short break about half way through, though, it all went downhill. We went on the steepest incline yet, about 25 minutes of straight upward climbing, and about 3/4 of the way up I had an asthma attack and had to use my inhaler. After that, my legs were shaking so badly, I had trouble doing the steep declines that took us to the final village. At the end of the hike, I was so relieved and sore I could have cried. Luckily, it was time for lunch! All of the Arcadia students went to a restaurant nearby and I had albondigas (Spanish meatballs), which are the only food I'll actually miss from here. Throughout our meal we were interrupted by numerous village cats and dogs, all which seemed well cared for but wandered the streets freely. Afterward, we had an hour for shopping in the artisan's district (I didn't get anything) and then we got back on the bus. It was about a two hour ride home and everyone passed out. Stumbling off the bus in Granada, I was so happy to see the city. While I definitely held my own and got through the hikes without falling or hurting myself, it is obvious that I am not cut out for prolonged nature activities.
I slept until dinner and then talked to my family for a little while. I miss them a lot and it was really weird not to spend Thanksgiving with them. I had a very unique experience, one that will stand out from all my other Thanksgivings. Tomorrow, Meg and I are hoping to go to the gypsy market in town and then we are going to a bar with the group to watch the much anticipated Barcelona vs. Real Madrid game. While I don't have any particular loyalty, I think I will be rooting for Madrid. It is amazing that I only have 5 more days of classes before finals. On Thursday Meg and I had to Amsterdam for the weekend and then I'll be home before I know it. Time is really flying here, and I am trying to take it all in before I go back to my normal life. Although normal is looking pretty good about now. I love you all.
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