Random Events

After my adventure to Granada, I went to hear a band play whose lead singer is friends with some of the friends I have made. The bar was fun, the company was great, and after a couple of beers the band wasn't "excruitiatingly horrible." A little back ground info on the band: their name is Ice Cream (yes, like the creamy frozen desert); their style is heavy metal rock; and all the members are Spanish, speak Spanish, yet choose to sing in English. Oh, it gets better! The lyrics to one of their songs is literally, "I scream; You scream; We all scream for ice cream!" repeated 15 times. Haha the irony of it makes me laugh every time I think about it :) It was fun though to go to a live, local concert. Live music/bands are rare in Spain, unlike the U.S. where you can find a dozen a night in every major city and at least one every weekend in most other towns. They do not even play at the local coffee shop. How do bands begin/become famous if there is no place for them to play? How many independent bands exist in Spain? Are they all undercover in their basements? This would seriously make a very interesting research topic for a music major - Kate Powers, You should look into this :)

Last Sunday I joined friends for a potluck lunch. The food was delicious, the company was great, but the Spanish games were quite difficult. We played basically the equivalent of Taboo but in Spanish. Asking cultural/historical questions in Spanish, having to describe a specific word in Spanish and then quess it, acting out a Spanish word, and drawing a Spanish word. At my turn, I didn't know the first word in Spanish and no one could describe it to me, so the second word I chose was "kilo" easy enough to understand, but then I had to draw it...I drew a balance and they guessed every word but kilo. Haha. I felt pretty stupid, but it was a good way to truly immerse myself. Fortunately/Unfortunately my team wasn't so great at the game either. We came in dead last by a lot. Oh well, it was a good time and its definitely something to strive for - to play Spanish Taboo like Spanish was my first language.

The Sunday after Christmas, I joined Franciso's family again for a Spanish Bar-B-Que. It was delicious. They are such a fun group of people. His brother also has a pet bull dog name Bono. I also tried my first Spanish sherry, which I must say was quite nice - smooth and sweet. It is amazing how universal the concept of bar-b-que is. In Argentina it is called "asado," in spain "barbacoa," and in the U.S. "bar-b-que." The only difference is the meat varies from location to location, but they all include enormous amounts of meat, beer/wine, and good company.

Exursion to Granda

So the weekend before the hustle and bustle of Christmas day, I had several fabulous experiences. I took a day trip to Granada with some girlfriends. We had Kababs, which is basically the Moroccan version of a Chipotle burrito, YUM! We took our Kababs to-go and walked through the Albaicin (the old Moorish quarter) to one of several look-out points where you can see the Alhambra. The Alhambra is palace and fortress complex of Moorish rulers in Granada, that later became a Christian palace. After eating our Kababs and enjoying the view we continued to walk through Granada to several other views, each just as beautiful as the first. We then made the trek to the Alhambra...and let me say it was a trek up a steepe cobble road. It definitely was not for the faint at heart and I am pretty sure if you want to see the magnificant sight you have to take yourself with your own two feet, I did not see one taxi, but then again right now is not the in season for tourism. Definitely bring your own water bottle, so you can fill it up at the various water fountains that bring you fresh water directly from the Sierra Mountains and is some of the best tasing and most refreshing water I have had in my life. After our adventure I learned that Granada means "granite" or "pomegrante," very fitting. It is the gem of southern Spain. I definitely look forward to another, more extended visit.