Lots of catching up to do

The halfway point! This is happy and sad. Granada feels like home - after spending a wonderful week gallivanting with my family, it was a relief to be back in a familiar city with people and a language that I know. I feel quite comfortable and happy in Granada. A friend of mine bought a tapas guidebook and we are branching out of the tourist-infested Plaza Nueva to places with Moroccan tapas, sushi tapas, and awesome cocktail bars. When I'm not drinking I go to class (jk! totally exaggerating). My midterms went very well, though classes here do not compare to classes at Scripps so I'm not surprised. I am most proud of my A in Islamic Art and Architecture, because I knew nothing about architecture or Islamic history before coming here. Yesterday's field trip was to the Generalife, the sultan's 13th century summer home outside of the Alhambra. The gardens were easily the most beautiful, serene place I've ever been. The Islamic version of paradise always includes water, gardens, and buildings and the Generalife is the perfect example of an Islamic paradise on earth. Of course, it's very different from what it looked like in the 13th century - the Reyes Catolicos built a few things that ruin the symmetry of the gardens and the plants are much more manicured than they were in the past.

I'm still struggling with the same old things in Spanish: my accents are everywhere except where they're supposed to go, and I can never remember to put punctuation outside of quotation marks. My vocabulary has vastly improved though (I think) and I am trying to incorporate new phrases when I say things instead of the simple standbys that I am used to using. Some of the more colorful phrases I've learned:

Ese tío está como para parar un tren = That guy is very attractive
Eres un bocazas = You have a big mouth
No me tomes el pelo = Don't make fun of me/Don't joke with me
Andas como si fueras pisando huevos = You walk very slowly


Some recent things:
1. Several weeks ago, we went to Córdoba for the day with the Islamic Art class and saw the Mezquita de Córdoba, a massive mosque that was the main center of worship for all of Andalucía until from the 1200s till 1492. After that, the Reyes Católicos liked the structure/location so much that they built a cathedral INSIDE it. It's the trippiest combination of architecture and looks horrendous/fascinating. We also saw the ruins of Medinat Al-Zahira, an ancient city built by Califa Abd Al-Rahman III. It took a lot of imagination to picture a place where people lived and worked among the rubble, but it was very cool. Apparently they were only uncovered and made available to the public in the last 15 years. Before that, only local kids knew about the ruins and archaeologists would pay them to give them tours of the place.
2. The other night, I ordered a margarita at a cocktail bar and the bartender asked me what I thought of it. I said it was good and he looked very pleased and said great, that means a lot coming from you! I just look like I know my way around a margarita I guess.
3. While walking back to the house the last week, I have run into employees of places in Plaza Einstein that I frequent, including a shawarma place and a café, and they recognize me and say hi! Awesome.
4. Tomorrow I'm going to pick oranges and go hiking in a nearby pueblo. Should be fun/delicious.

Un besote!