Monday, March 26, 2012

3.29.2012

It's hard to imagine that just four days ago, March 25th, marked the beginning of my final two months here in Granada. Granada is definitely turning into home for me. I've noticed over the last month or so that as I travel to other places (and enjoy doing so) I can't wait to go "home" and always feel better upon returning to Granada. The city is beautiful and has a relaxing and laid-back atmosphere. I know the next two months are going to fly by as I finish my classes and travel on the weekends. This weekend I will be traveling to Barcelona and Gibraltar. I am planning trips to Italy, Portugal, and Paris. It will be interesting to see if I can do all of it in only two months.
I had four exams last week and am glad they are finally over. I have received all but one of my grades and for the most part I did well, at least by Spanish standards. Since most of my grades are based almost entirely on exams, I hope I do just a little better on my finals.
Last weekend I went with my program to the Alpujarras which are towns located in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Unfortunately, the bus ride gave me pretty bad motion sickness, but I still did the hiking anyway. We hiked around the mountains for about 5 hours or so. The scenery was beautiful and the hike was a lot of fun despite the cloudy sky and on and off drizzling of rain.
Next week begins Holy Week. I'm excited to see the processions and the reactions of the people watching them. Most of the streets are pretty small here so it will be interesting to see how the hoards of people watching the processions will fit. I'll be sure to take tons of pictures.
Speaking of pictures, I'm going to try to take more pictures of Granada (both important sites and my favorite places) and post them on here or on Facebook so that you can see what I'm seeing.
One last thing I want to mention is the volunteering I've been doing. Volunteering has definitely showed me that I eventually want to somehow be involved in education; whether it be teaching or tutoring. I tutor a boy who is originally from the Dominican Republic. He and his two sisters come to the Residencia La Milagrosa to receive tutoring a few times a week. He is a super nice and intelligent kid, but unfortunately has a very low level in school. He seems very discouraged and most of his motivation to learn is to pass his classes, not to learn for the sake of learning. Pray that I'll be able to motivate and encourage him.
Well, that's all for now. I'll be sure to update again after this weekend. Much love from Granada!

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