Whirlwind!

Wow, it has been almost a month since I last posted- sorry! I leave Granada tomorrow night, and I've been trying to go everywhere and do everything to end my time in Spain with no regrets.

It has been the best four months of my life- I learned so much (outside of school- a new concept), I had insane amounts of fun, and I have a handful of new friends that I know will be lifelong. After having such an experience together, I've forged a bond with these people that is so different from any other friendship, and I know we'll always appreciate our four months together even if we don't continue to talk every day.
My host mom has also been so wonderful, and I am going to miss her so much! She teared up last week when I started talking about leaving, and I had to force myself not to cry for the walk to class after that. María José has given me a great bedroom, great food, and all of that required stuff, but so much more too. She listens patiently when I tell her a story for 15 minutes that should take 5, she tells me what I need to say if I have to go to the pharmacy or the zapatería (shoe fixing shop) when I'm unsure, and she never judges me when I go out for tapas right after dinner! I have really cherished the time I've spent getting to know her, and she made me feel instantly so comfortable in this country where I was nervous to speak to anyone when I first arrived. I know I'm going to cry when I leave her tomorrow, but I definitely plan on returning for a visit sometime when I'm making real money!

Carol, Claire, Shannon and Sarah- four of my great new friends I am so lucky to have

Update????
I'm going to attempt to update you on what I've been doing since you last heard from me, though I can't guarantee I'll be able to remember every detail!
- Portugal: I went to Lisbon, Portugal for a long weekend from April 30-May 3. It was my friend Elle's last weekend (her program ended a month before mine), so it was a little bittersweet but I really loved Lisbon.

Boat tour of Lisboa

Elle and I, and a beautiful view of Lisboa

- Cádiz: API (the program I'm studying abroad through) took us on our last excursion the weekend of my birthday (May 6-8) to Cádiz, a beach town on the Atlantic, and it was fabulous. We stayed in a four-star hotel right at the beach, and the weather was great. My friends got champagne to celebrate my birthday, and we had so much fun!

The view from our hotel room

It was a great last trip from Granada, and very relaxing.

One story from Cádiz: the first night, we walked out to the beach with a bottle of wine to hang out and talk. Three Spanish teenagers that were maybe 17 or 18 years old came up to us and starting speaking to us in attempted English since they heard us speaking English to each other (it happens a lot). I told them in Spanish that we only speak Spanish, figuring they would go away and leave us alone. But then they kept talking to us, and sat right down next to our towels. They were actually really nice, and had some of the hardest to understand accents I've heard- and I understood just about everything! When they asked me where I was from, I said "Detroit, Michigan" and they got really excited and asked if I like Eminem. I said "Of course!" so then one boy started playing Eminem on his cell phone and my friends and I all started singing (rapping, I guess) along. Then the Spaniards gave us the most in-awe looks, because we could not only understand Eminem, but talk as fast as he could! Good to know they think we can talk at a fast pace in our own language, because they sure can do the same! Anyway, it was a good experience to really realize how much I've improved at Spanish.

- Making the most of the last few weeks

I went to Oktoberfest (no, I don't why they held it in May.. language barrier?) in the Plaza del Toros with my roommate Carol last week. I hadn't been to the bullfighting ring (it's true, I decided against going to a bullfight), so it was cool to get a look at it without having to see anything gross! Here are a couple of pics:

My friends and I also spent lots of time together, and we've just exchanged American cell phone numbers! What a strange concept.

**Well, this is my last blog from Granada! I am meeting Brianna from South Lyon in Paris on Wednesday morning, and we'll travel for two weeks together (London, Brighton and Paris). I'll be back just in time for Joe's high school graduation! :) I'm going to blog at least once more after I get home about my trip with Brianna, and the "reverse culture shock" that I am preparing to experience when I get home (a.k.a. WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE WANT TO TALK ABOUT SPAIN EVERY FIVE SECONDS LIKE ME???) 

Love,

Haley