I been sleeping for 60 days now, and nobody better pinch me...

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 Alchemist

My 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 of my independence in Granada and open myself to new friendships and opportunities. While I might not know exactly what I want to do when this year comes to an end, I'm making sure to enjoy every moment in my journey towards discovering my "personal legend" (Yes, I just finished the book "The Alchemist"- a bit too pushy with its "follow-your-dreams" message, but a message that resonated with me nonetheless).

Alright, enough philosophy for one post.

I have learned many new things this past week, so I'll write a few down for you. Monday night I went to a tapas bar called Poë with Antonio, Rebeca and Rebeca's friend and post-tenant Tani to grab some non-typical tapas from this guiri-filled (and owned) bar. There's the first new word: "guiri." Essentially, a term for a foreigner with a slight negative connotation. Though the bar was filled with guiris, I was thoroughly enjoying my non-guiri friends as we talked, laughed and sipped our wine from La Rioja (trying all the while not to become negribocas with wine-stained lips). It would seem, Dad, that I'm on m way to being a wine connoisseur like yourself. Only, not at all. At the very least though I'll be able to appreciate red wine (vino tinto) more than I did before coming to a country where you can pay 2 Euros for an acceptable wine. Pinchos morunos that reminded me of Bilbao and spicy Thai tapas, which reminded me that spice exists, finished off the night. Too bad we had to work the next morning.

I even watched Spain's presidential debate. By watch, I mean I may or may not have fallen asleep towards the end only to wake up in my own drool? But hey, I gave it a shot. I'm sorry that the PSOE and PP candidates are old, boring and stand for essentially all of the same points. But are they going to make a change, when change is most needed? Probably not.

Thursday I grabbed a few tapas (noticing a trend here? My stories pretty much consistently involve tapas) and coffee with the girls from work after a "days work" (at 2pm). Cristina and Veronica are my best sources for new Spanish sayings. Cristina, tired from "work" said, "No somos personas, somos animales o cosas." On a similar note, bulto (translation: "lump") is used to describe someone that does not do anything. As using this word is essentially calling someone "useless," I don't recommend using it. I can, however, say that this past weekend I was definitely a "bulto." Well, during the days at least.

On Thursday night, I did get dinner with Stéphanie- my belga friend. With Stéphanie, her Morroccan boyfriend and his friend Medhi, I ate a delicious home-cooked meal. Both Reda (Stéphanie's boyfriend) and Mehdi are studying pharmacology in Granada and have been for many years (apparently you can be a student here in Granada for 8+ years... Yikes). After a Spanish-influenced Morroccan meal, we headed to the teahouse where Reda and Medhi both work. The oldest tetería in Granada, no less.

Friday night was another night with Stéphanie... and tapas. Surprised? Well, don't be so hasty... Because these were the best tapas I have had thus far. French tapas from Café Piaf accompanied by white wine and cassis. Better yet, there were actually places to SIT in Café Piaf... Win.

(Picture not taken at Café Piaf, note Budweisers in hand)

My Belgian friend is quickly becoming a favorite: We spoke about- in Spanish-Belgian beer (sick of this light Spanish stuff), volleyball (we're thinking of taking a class together, just for fun), hiking (or "Trekking"), and life aspirations. She dreams of being a reporter documenting stories from all over the world and shares my captivation with South America... despite that neither of us have made it there yet. I mentioned my love for photography, and briefly mentioned photojournalism. I'm not sure if it was the white wine, but I excited by the prospect. I think I'm just happy to be excited by a career that's out there, and one that includes my passion for Photography AND International Affairs.

So, what did I do the next day? I signed up for an intensive weekend-long photography course. Rebeca recommended the class to me-- She works at a film institute called Filmosofía that gives both film and

photography classes. I met with the teacher and spoke about what the class entails. It's basically a crash-course for the basics of digital photography... Something that's long overdue for my Nikon D-60 and me. It's been with me through so much, and I finally have enough drive to get the proper training. A brush-up on the basics has been much-needed since my high school photo days. Why in Spain? Why not. Plus, I'll have so many opportunities to take photos here, and I want to make sure they are the best photos that I can get out of my camera.

Rome, 2010:

Not uncommon to find me in this position.

All for now, but for those of you wondering about the title of this post: It's from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetics' song, "40 Day Dream."