Welcome to February! With the start of the new month Melissa and I decided that we would get serious about learning Spanish and force ourselves to get fully immersed in the language. Once midnight rolled around on Sunday everything changed to Spanish: conversation, phone, ipod, facebook, computer. Well, funny story about the computer. I decided to try and change the language on it, turns out it’s rather difficult unless you download some whatnot (that’s the technical term) so I settled for changing everything else to Spanish instead. Two days later, I still haven’t figured out how to insert a question mark because everything has all been switched around. Jen moment at its prime.
This past weekend was amazing! I finally got to go dancing quite a bit and hang out with people that have a good time Without having to be drunk. Finally. Anyway, the club we went to on Saturday was gorgeous, set on top of a hill overlooking the city night lights along with a view of the Alhambra all lit up. Hours just seemed to slip by and before I knew it, it was 6am when we started walking back, totally worth it. The next night I found a salsa club too! Ah! I forget how much I love it sometimes just because salsa places are so hard to find/get to. Watching them, it seems like the Spanish came out of the womb dancing, it’s a tad intimidating but fun all the same. Staying out late and being about the town is something I love and am frustrated with about Spain’s culture. On one hand, it’s fun to be out dancing til all hours of the morning and embrace that side of youth culture here but on the other, I have no idea how they survive it! Two nights out in a row was enough to put me to sleep instantly. Totally worth it though. Where and when else would I be able to dance at such amazing places?
Spain has made me break one of my rules about dating; I won’t give everyone a chance. No way. Men here are far too aggressive and I’m going to be gone in four months anyway. I did get a boyfriend though! His name is John, he’s a great guy. Ex-wrestler/street fighter, 6’5’’, made of pure muscle, the jealous type, and is always ten minutes away from where I’m at. He’s also imaginary, but the guys that ask don’t have to know that. I’m beginning to enjoy the sudden look of disinterest once I say I have a novio, it’s kind of funny and gets me out of conversations if I can’t understand the way they speak (some people speak waaay faster than others). If I end up travelling alone at the end I’ll probably just buy a ring to wear and marry John to be safe, but who knows at this point, it’s awhile away.
What’s happening now is much more interesting than vague plans anyway. Today we got to visit the Alhambra! It’s an Islamic fortress from the twelfth century, is the most visited landmark in all of Spain, and is absolutely gorgeous (and freezing). The scope of it is just enormous, and everything in it is in Muslim decorative style with intricate, detailed murals covering most of the walls along with fountains and gardens everywhere. It’s guaranteed I’ll be heading back in spring once flowers start popping their way into the world, can’t even imagine how beautiful it will all be then. Stepping inside the palaces was stepping into a piece of history. Having recently learned about the past of Granada and the fortress itself, walking where Carlos XV and Boabdil once lived was a step back in time and humbling to compare my short lifetime within the bigger scope of history. I don’t envy them living there though. However beautiful the palace may have been, being made completely out of marble keeps it roughly the temperature of an icebox. All hail the popsicle kings. Bunny got to come out and start seeing Europe though :] I got a few weird looks along the way, especially from some German tourist. Oh well, that’s just all a part of the memories.
Off to Cordoba and Seville tomorrow, time to get some sleep!