¡vale! i finally found out my address in granada… here it is. you can send me stuff if you want.
Hannah Duke
Calle Profesor Augustin Escribano Nu.5 1º A-2
18004 Granada, España
and one more time, my phone number is:
(country code 34) 654 98 66 31
¡vale!
brittany just left granada. she came to visit for the weekend and jess and i got to show her all around town. i introduced her to my friends and the spanish way of life… we even took her to the traveling spanish circus! i know what you’re thinking: “whats the big deal? they have traveling circuses (or is it circi?) in the states.” well i’ll tell you what the big deal was… it was in SPANISH, so back off. it was really cool and weird and funny. i was REALLY excited about going because i had seen flyers all of the city advertizing for the circus since i arrived in granada. i even took one of the posters off of a building, took it home, and hung it in my room!
in general it was pretty awesome. brittany, jess, madelaine, elliott, ryan, and i drank a couple beers smoked a joint or two and headed out to walk to the circus. the evening was kind of rainy but there was a cool sunset with two rainbows and all kinds of pretty clouds. as the sun went down the clouds looked more and more ominous behind the big blue and white tents. it was very old fashioned and, well, exactly what i expected from a european traveling circus. but once i was actually there i had the same reaction that i have when i go to the zoo. its fun and cool and i expect it to be really awesome to see the animals and everything… but then i just end up feelings terrible and sad because im pretty sure the animals are sad and bored and overworked. there were dacing dogs and monkeys that had roller skates and rode bikes and lifted up their dresses to show us their undies. there were bears that could do handstands and walk on a giant moving ball. there were snakes and crocodiles. AND there was a fluffy cat that walked across this suspended platform thing with a bird riding on its back. plus a bunch of human freaks… acrobats and like that woman from cirque du soleil who could bend in half backwards. GROSS. and spiderman was there. he did some crazy things like jumping rope balanced on a board that was balanced on a cylinder thing. (i got it on video) oh, and there was a comedy act with two clowns (who played saxophones) and one sort of serious guy (who played the trumpet)… oh geez, they were great. just telling jokes and throwing water on each other and falling down. physical comedy at its finest. we just sat in the back and drank beer and ate cotton candy and enjoyed the spectical that was CIRCO QUIROS. oooweee.
now brittany is gone and i have a BUSY few weeks ahead of me in terms of visitors and traveling and whatnot. this weekend, jess and i are going to go to sevilla just to get away for a bit and see some stuff. then MARIE is coming to see us on the 24th (thats next wednesday i think) and will be here until the 30th. then my DAD gets here on the 31st. my MOM gets here on the 4th (i think). and finally my AUNT and UNCLE get here on the 7th (i think) and they all stay until the 12th (or something). then the week before thanxgiving jess’s MOM gets here and then BRITT is coming back to granada for thanxgiving. im so excited about all the uncoming events and visitors and i cannot wait to see everyone. its just going to be a little EXHAUSTING.
all my love.
first of all, i’d like to do a QUICK recap of the places that jess and i have been in the last 4+ weeks, starting when i left seattle…
august 26 – to NYC
august 29 – to London
august 31 – to Amsterdam
september 4 – to Interlaken, Switerland (to skydive)
september 6 (tasha’a birthday) – to Gimmelwald, Switzerland
september 8 – to Florence bwo Milan
september 10 – to Cinqueterre bwo Spezia
september 12 – to Rome
september 15 – to Pisa – to Venice
september 19 – to Prague
september 22 – to Krakow, Poland
september 24 – to Berlin
september 25 – to Paris (to meet brittbritt)
september 28 – to Irun, España (on our LONG way to Granada)
september 29 – to GRANADA bwo Madrid
okay, so here it is. now i’m living in granada, españa right now and i will be here until the end of december. so far, it is the best thing EVER. after one night on the streets and several days in various hostels, jess and i finally found an apartment to rent for the next three months. we are living with madelaine, a girl from uw that we met when we got here, and a little south korean girl who doesnt really talk to us, has a boyfriend, and spends ALL day on saturdays cooking strange food in the kitchen (forcing us to stay in bed until 4pm so we could finally make food… tough life, huh?). our apartment is really awesome… it has large bedrooms, two big balconies, a big kitchen, a washing machine, AND a tv. haha… like i can even understand whats happening on the tv anyways, but its there. and our landlord is the sweetest man ever. when we went to meet him to sign the lease, it was awesome and scary. his wife was interrogating me in spanish about this and that and i could actually understand and communicate with her. it was exhilarating!! after we signed the lease, he took my hand and very sincerely told me that if we need ANYTHING in the city that we can call him. he said (in spanish) “if you are at a restaurant and someone is giving you a hard time, you call me. if you are at the mall and you bought too much stuff to carry home, you call me and i’ll come get you.” what a freakin sweetheart. he also wants to introduce us to his daughters. coolness.
we live about 30 minutes (walking) from the building where i have classes everyday from 930-130 with a 20minute break at 1130. my classes are going really well and i feel like i will be able to excel in them. i am in the middle of the skill level in my classes, so i am able to help others and there are students who are able to help me… so i feel like already i am learning alot. i am also learning to converse in stores and bars and when we meet random argentinian boys on the streets and have a beer with them. its really interesting the people that you meet and how everyone ended up in granada. its great because the majority of people in granada (save the students in my classes) dont speak english so i am forced to use the spanish that i know, also retaining the things that i hear and trying to re-use them in conversation.
now i know you are all wondering… whats up with the weed in españa? well, i’ll tell you. first of all, it is illegal to buy and sell weed, but it is legal to have up to 8grams (for person use) on you at any time… it is also tolerated to smoke on the streets, although i think it is better to smoke in your house or something. it is extremely easy for us to get it… and here’s what we do. near our school is a large, hoppin square called Plaza Nueva. off of this plaza is a little street with various tributaries that i like to call “shake-down street.” its just a bunch of little shops and hole-in-the-wall type of places with some apartments and whatnot. so anyways, you walk up one of the streets to a dead-end where you see a large pot leaf painted on the wall. you buzz apartment 1ºD. sometimes the lady (or one of her sons?) sticks her head out of the window to see who it is, sometimes they just buzz you in. you walk up the stairs and ask the simple question “¿tienes marijuana?” to which she always replies SI. you pay 10€ for about 1 – 1.5 grams and you leave. hasta luego, señora. anyways, shes really nice and reliable and its the shit.
im really getting to know my way around the city. its so awesome that i live kind of far away because then i get the chance to walk around more and force myself to find the shortest, easiest, or most fun ways to get from place to place en pie (that means by foot). basically im having the best of the best of times… im meeting lots of people and getting along great with my roommates. the only problem is that i ripped one of my two pairs of pants (leaving me with only one pair of jeans to wear) and i only have like 4 shirts… so im starting to get sick of my clothes. i might need to do some shopping… other than that, things are just PEACHY!
im off to run some errands before siesta and everything closes. i love you all and i miss you TONS! i will try to post again soon. all my love.
oh… also, if you want to call me i have a cell phone now. the number is 654986631 and i think the country code for spain is 34. hope to hear from you all soon.
