"¿Qué es lo que hace a este conjunto algo singular y reconocible?" -What every photographer should ask himself/herself (though, maybe not in Spanish)It seems that there is not a direct translation in Spanish for, "I'm excited." You can say, "tengo (muchas) ganas de ir..." but that's not always as effective. Those online Spanish translators will use "emocionado" or "animado," but they all sound a bit strange when talking about...

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Happy Thanksgiving! I was fortunate enough to celebrate this very important and very American holiday with 20 other Americans and every type of Thanksgiving food imaginable (including some atypical Thanksgiving foods such as haggis, courtesy of the Scots). Our feast was complete with canned cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies made with canned pumpkin, all thanks to Eddie's dad who visited that week. We even had the football game...

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Can I just say that in order to write a blog- literally, to type the letters- means that my fingers have to be exposed to the frigid icebox that is now my apartment. In other words, my ten little dedos and I hope you appreciate our efforts.Thursday night is quiz night (a.k.a. trivia) at Café Piaf, my new favorite tapas bar. Naturally, I went to the bar with a group of French girls. The only catch is- the questions are in French,...

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Veronica and Cristina with some of the kids from class. Happy "Día de la infancia!" Next week... Turkey han...

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Rebeca said today that despite the fact that Granada doesn't have enough jobs, it is the perfect city. Virtually everything is within walking distance because Granada isn't too big. It's not too small either; there are plenty of new bars to discover and more than enough stores to tempt the passerby (even if that passerby only earns 700€/mo.) In the same vein, a saldo (salary) of 700€/month is more than enough to live comfortably...

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"Mari" is short for "María," and since every other woman here is called "María"-something (María José, María Carmen, María María María!), it's a term of endearment that practically any woman will respond to-- caution, use among friends.Let's move onto a familiar topic... Food. I live in Spain where the fruit and vegetables are so fresh, the fish and seafood abundant (and aslo very fresh), and the variety of food is so different...

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Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following out legend. However, we don't all have the courage to confront our own dream.- Paulo Coelho, The AlchemistMy life is quickly becoming a mixing pot of different cultures: Belgians, French, Spanish, Moroccan, Chinese and American. What's better, it's by choice. I'm making a conscious effort to embrace new people and their cultures. I choose to take advantage...

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Note to self: Don't go to a peluquería, let Rebeca cut my hair.Bored with my hair, I went to an alternative/punk hair-cuttery this week on a whim. I was feeling gutsy, and sat myself down in the chair next to a girl getting her hair dyed pink. My hair stylist rocked a bull nose piercing, tattoos and a mohawk. He was actually very friendly and spoke English quite well, so I didn't feel too uncomfortable when I told him, "I want...

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Yesterday, I managed to successfully pull off my first dinner party. The guest list: Four American auxiliaries, one French student and one Belgian student. Language used to communicate: Spanish. ~~~On the menu~~~-Appetizers consisting of olives, bread, cheese, hummus, and assorted salami-Antipasto penne (olives, cheese, strips of salami, spinach, olive oil, s&p and a dash of white wine)-Baked salmon (olive oil, s&p, lemon...

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Eddie and I at the Mirador de San NicolásWell, I'm not sure if Eddie will be visiting me again. Last weekend, Eddie- my friend from high school who first told me about the program in Spain and is living in Málaga this year- visited me in Granada. The weekend started with disaster, and ended just as unfortunately. Surprisingly, though, we had a great time. Until he had to go to the hospital.To start, my roommates were gone all...

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