First Spanish Review Day

A week's worth of trash...

And the trash ban continues. It has been seven days since the strike began; my family continues to stress that the city isn't normally so dirty, and that a typical trash worker's strike only lasts 2-3 days. This one is the longest they've had in a while. Yikes! For some reason the streets don't seem as bad as they normally do, maybe that means the strike is ending!


I went to orientation at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas today. I got my class schedule, I have classes on Monday and Wednesday from 8:30-10, 1-2:30, and 5-6:30. I have classes on Tuesday and Thursday from 1-2:30, and then my fifth class time is to be determined, but hopefully will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We learned all about the opportunities offered at the school; our professor signed us up for every trip possible to ensure we get the most out of our experience. After orientation we had Spanish review which was helpful but extremely boring. I am definitely not ready to be back in school yet, but thankfully it's only for two hours a day right now.

I took a nap for an hour when I got back from class, I was very tired. Then we had chicken with french fries for lunch, it was very yummy. Ana didn't eat with us because she's sick and has been in bed all day.

Nicole and I bundled up and prepared for our two hour tour of the city with our group; it was cold and rainy today so I wore several layers of clothes. We met the group at the Plaza Nueva and walked to the Plaza Bib-Rambla and the Plaza de la Universidad. There were a lot of interesting buildings along the way, some of which we got to go into.

The school where Beatriz studies law

University Plaza

The last stop on our tour was San Juan de Dios, a beautiful Basilica in Granada. Everything inside was gold. We got to talk around the cathedral while Mari Carmen gave us a background of everything. I only understood parts of what she was saying since it was all in Spanish, but just seeing everything was cool in itself.

Cathedral of Gold

Ceiling of the Cathedral, San Juan de Dios

Gold and more Gold

The bones of the Christians who were killed 

I went home after the tour and Javier showed Nicole and I lots of photos on his computer from various trips they had gone on. I was exhausted so I showered, ate dinner, and went to bed.