tours, trips, and talks oh my!

Even though we haven´t been here very long, our group has already gone on lots of trips and tours! Here is some of what we have done:

The beach: our first saturday here we went to the mediterranean coast of spain and had a great time laying out in the sun! We swam, explored the little town (whose name I forget) , and got to know everyone in the group.

Alhambra: We have been to the Alhambra twice. It is this palace in Granada the moors built when the Islamic empire extended into Spain. It is really beautiful. There is so much intricate details in the walls, the ceilings, the arcitecture in general and there are georgous gardens.

Córdoba: Last Sunday we went to Còrdoba to visit the mesqita cathedral. This Cathedral used to be a mosque but when the catholics returned to power in Spain they inserted a cathedral on the inside. The mosque part is just gorgous there are hundreds of columns with arches above them. When you go inside, the imensity of it just is amazing. However, the catholic core is a little embarrassing. I have seen good looking cathedrals- this is just gaudy. My theory is that the catholics decided to try to overpower the mosque (and therefore the lslamic influence on the place) by just trying to cram as much catholic stuff into the core. However, the mosque part of it makes the entire building a must see.

This is just a little bit of what we have done. I am exciting for what's coming up- the beach on sunday! I can't wait!

Hello, Spain!

Its been 5 days, and I am having a great time. Our flights were on time, and we got to Spain without any trouble at all. Arriving in Granada, we were all sleep deprived and happy to be going home with host families. My host mom is very kind but clearly is confused about the practicality of vegetarianism. I was planning on keeping my veggie-ness mostly to myself and just eat less of the meaty foods. I really wanted to be adventurous and eat all the good food that Spain had to offer. However, when Rebecca (we are staying together at the same host family) and I sat down for our first meal with our host family, we were served hamburgers, french fries and cut up peices of meat and cheese. I just could not do it! It was just too hard for my first piece of meat in almost a year to be the poster child of processed, american meat. When I told my host mom that I was a vegetarian, she seemed to feel really bad about it. She kept saying ¡La escuella no digame nada! I tried to tell her that it was no big deal, I am used to picking around meat, but I think she still felt bad. She asked me what I did and didn´t eat. I did say that I would eat fish and seafood. I felt like it was a good compromise, even though I don´t really like it much. Since that day, I have had some form of seafood in every single meal! I have to say, I am proud at my ability to eat it. I have just been using my tricks to eat food I don´t like! Anyway, I got to go I will fill you all in on the rest of Granada and our trip to the beach!

-Kate

Ready to go?

Before I write anything else, I just have to get one thing out of the way- I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS TRIP! I am all packed, I said goodbye to Ohio and I am now in Harrisonburg. I keep picturing myself traveling around Spain and Morocco seeing all the fantastic sights, eating good food, and somehow magically my Spanish coming out of my mouth perfectly coherent and grammatically correct. I will become more culturally aware, conversational in arabic, and have a tan the greek gods would be proud of. However, I must admit, I am pushing back fears that my trip will actually include an inability to communicate with anyone who doesn't speak english, getting lost in Spain, and picking up a parasite in morocco. While in reality my trip will probably somewhere in the middle on the Fabulous Scale (I am predicting an overall score of 8.5) , I think the excitement is winning out at the moment.

On another note, I realize that it has been a long time since posting on this site. It feels like its been ages since I graduated high school. I feel really different than the person I was today (I am sure that is a funny thing for a twenty year old to say but i think its true). I had never had a nursing class before, or lived in virginia (or lived with a virginian!), I wasn't a vegetarian and didn't have any idea what I wanted to do (past nursing school). Things are a little different now- and for the better.

Can't wait till tomorrow!

-Kate