settled?

Right now I'm feeling slightly...annoyed with myself and with parts of Granada. First of all, the weather has been terrible since I arrived, which is really the only reason I'm annoyed with Granada. My boots are currently soaked, and I'm hoping it doesn't ruin them, because right now they look very...spotted with rain.

I'm annoyed with myself because I feel like I can't speak Spanish (though this has improved over the past few days). Sometimes when Ana talks to me I just feel like my mind is blank and I haven't a clue how to form the sentence of what I want to say.

I am not eating very healthy. Switzerland got me into a chocolate eating frenzy, and the giant Toblerone bar that Brigitte sent me off with is only getting smaller. I FEEL extremely bloated and fat...as all I've been eating really is carbs carbs carbs....counteracting everything I did over break. When I come back from Rome I need to do a serious healthy shopping trip-for meat, vegetables, eggs, and fruit. I need to not buy the junk I've been buying and limit those things to only once a week or even once a month! On a positive note though, Allison and I joined a gym today. It is 45 euros a month for students, with limited hours, but they're great hours for me. I can work out Monday-Friday from 7 am-4 pm, which is perfect because the majority of my classes are in the evening and I wouldn't want to exercise after class anyway. I am not sure if I'm actually gaining weight or if I'm just facing the grave realization that if I continue eating this way and not exercising I WILL gain weight. ahhhhh....so frustrating. Anyways though. The gym. Very nice, has a pool, cardio equipment, weights, and lots of fitness classes that I plan on partaking in. Allison and I have a meeting with a trainer next Thursday (we're not exactly sure why...the guy who registered just told us we have to). So we're not sure if we're having a training session or just learning the way the gym works...or what? Ha I don't know. But I'm very excited to go to the gym every weekday, and the weekends will be my rest days, or just days to run by the river or something.

Granada doesn't quite feel the same yet, I haven't gone out since I've arrived. Granted, I've only been here 3 nights but still. This city feels very strange without some of the people from last semester. I am walking the same streets and seeing the same places, but the faces are all unknown, different, and not Shannon, Eric, Courtney, Cory...I could go on. I don't want to seem like I'm dwelling on the fact that they're not here, because I'm not, but I do miss them very much and sometimes I feel antisocial because they're not here. I really love living with Ana and Jessica though, they are both just wonderful people and I'm enjoying getting to know them more. I also feel like part of the reason I've been somewhat anti-social is because Ana and Jess have finals going on and no class, so they're kind of holed up in the apartment all day long. It's just very different not having Courtney & Eric pestering me to go out nearly every night! Haha. I'm sure things will find their normal course when I return from my trip to Rome, but this week has just been kind of strange.

I had my first days of classes today and yesterday. I'll give a brief rundown. My first class yesterday was POE which seems like it's going to be an easy buy pointless class. Second class, Images of Women in Spanish Lit, is going to be tough. My teacher has a pretty strong Andalucían accent, and it just seems like it's going to be hard to follow unless I'm completely focused all the time. My third class, which gets exhausting, having 3 1.5 hr classes in a row, is Linguistics, and I can already tell that this class is going to kick my butt. Not only is the concept difficult, like I feel it would be hard to learn in English, but this professor also speaks rapidly with a strong accent. So...Tuesdays and Thursdays aren't going to be too much fun. But today was a lot better. First of all I have class from 11:30-1, Civilization and Culture of Spain. My professor speaks really clearly, the class seemed pretty interesting, and I get to go home for a few hours afterwards. This is nice because I walk twice to school on Mondays and Wednesdays, which can only help me, that's for sure! Then in the evening I have Hispanic American Lit with another clear speaking professor, and we started watching a movie today which was pretty good, but hard for me to understand because the accents were Argentine and it's really different from Spain's accent. Overall I feel like I need to put in a little extra effort to school compared with last semester. Which is ok with me, but I feel like I can't summon up the amount of energy it takes to focus completely in class! Hopefully this will improve once I start working out in the morning and eating a healthier diet.

Hhhmmm....what else? Well I have to meet at the API bus stop in...6 hours, we're off to Roma! I'm kind of excited, kind of not. I don't want to spend money doing anything touristy in Rome because I have already seen everything, and money is not something I want to waste. However, I am excited for the good food and the shopping! Kind of bummed because the weather is supposed to be rainy (also supposed to be rainy in Granada for at least the 10 day forecast ahead-which I don't get because it rained like 4 times last semester). But I think once I get going Rome will be fun. Allison and I are rooming together and we'll probably be hanging with Sam quite a bit. I also hope to see Liz and get to know some of the new people.

Oh! Today I had two great encounters, I ran into Marí Carmen, Pepe, and David walking to my first class this morning! I was so excited to see  them and they seemed very happy to see me too. David is so cute!! And then on my way home in the rain from my evening class, I ran into Marí (the daughter), David (the husband), and David (the baby)! David was all excited and said "Camión" (truck). I couldn't believe he's learning new words! Both run-ins seriously lifted me up, I feel like so much that I'm experiencing is overwhelming new-ness....and it was just good to have some familiarity for once.

Overall, I would say I'm doing OK. I anticipated that re-assimilating back into life in Granada would be much easier. But what I'm realizing is that EVERYTHING I'm doing is completely different. My living situation. The style of my classes. My food preparation. My friends. It's pretty overwhelming. I hope I can get out of this slump soon...And really it isn't a slump, just a general uneasiness that I can't quite put a finger on what is at the heart of my troubles.

But, the show must go on. I'm going to Rome tomorrow! And I need to be thankful. :) Everything will turn out right, I just need some time to adjust.

Till I return...Miss you all!

Besos,
MacKenzie