Tuesday, March 6, 2012

A Day in the Life...

So today I thought it might be fun to give you a peek into what a normal day in Granada is like for me!  Of course, every day is somewhat different because my classes and activities change, and I am in Spain, so I have random opportunities a lot of the time.  But here we go!

MONDAY
7:16-Wake up (before the sun has actually made its way above the buildings) and get ready.  Eat tostada con marmalada and drink DELICIOUS peach/grape juice while my host mom starts making lunch.
8:02- Leave the apartment for school.  Walk alone through the (relatively empty and quiet) streets of Granada, taking note of how all the stores are still closed and wondering why, if the stores aren´t even open yet, I have to go to class.
8:25- Arrive at el Centro de Lenguas Modernas and head to my grammar class
8:30-10:00- Grammar class...
10:00-11:30- Spanish Theater class (analyzing plays, not performing them, unfortunately!)
11:30-12:05- Leave the CLM and head to the bus stop five minutes away.  Board bus #8 and head away from the center of the city.  While on the bus, eat at least two fantastic chocolate-filled cookies to hopefully tide me over until lunch.
12:05- Arrive at ¨Parque Nuevo Granada and walk two minutes to the elementary school where I volunteer twice a week.
12:10-14:00- Spend time in Spanish first and second grade classrooms during their English classes.  Help students with various things and bond with them in English and Spanish (mostly Spanish!)  Realize that first and second graders and insane and have tiny attention spans, especially when there are 25 in each class.  Spend a lot of time admiring Lizzy for teaching first AND second graders at the same time...
14:00-14:40- Take the bus back home, feeling so hungry I think I may start eating the bus seats.
14:45- Lunch time!  I eat alone, as my host mom has already eaten and my housemate does not come home on Mondays for lunch.  Ana sits with me, though, and we watch entertainment news.
15:15-16:30- Siesta time!  I do not ever actually sleep during Siesta, so I usually use this time to do homework or hang out on my laptop.
16:30- Leave for the CLM.  Everything is closed again for Siesta, so it´s another pretty empty and quiet walk
17:00-18:30- Flamenco in Culture and Society class!  This is my favorite class.  Yesterday we spent the whole class analyzing twenty ¨coplas¨or stanzas of Flamenco music.  The verses are somtimes super deep and sometimes super random (For example: How beautiful it is to be a gypsy//and walk through the streets//early in the morning), and I had a great time discussing them with the class!  Plus my professor is fantastic--really funny, especially when he throws random English phrases like ¨give me a break¨or ¨no way, man!¨ into our class.
18:30-18:50- Waste time in the CLM computer lab while waiting to leave
18:50- Leave with a few friends for Flamenco dance class!
19:00-20:00- Flamenco dancing!  There are 5 of us from my program who take classes with Ana, a pretty, relaxed woman who dances flamenco for fun all around Granada and Spain.  We´ve been learning how to dance the ¨Sevillana¨ which is a traditional dance for this area.  We also have been learning to play the castañuelas, which is very fun!
20:00-20:30- Walk home through the (finally) busy streets
20:45- Dinner! 
21:15- Take a quick shower (we´re only allowed 10 minute showers here) before 22:00, because our apartment building only allows showers (and other loud activities) between 7:00 and 22:00.
21:45-??- Sit with Ana under the mesa camilla and watch TV or do homework or Skype with someone or just generally hang out!

So there you have it!  A relatively typical Monday for me... hope you could understand the military time!  I am super happy that I´ve adapted to both military time AND Celcius.  Now if I could only understand kilometers and kilograms...

Happy Tuesday!

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