El dia de los reyes magos (Tuesday) was crazy! In the morning we went to our school for un paseo (a walk or tour) through the Realejo, which is one of the oldest parts of Granada and which is where our school is located. The streets here are so different from at home... they are super narrow and there is really no sidewalk so you have to be careful of the cars. In el barrio del Realejo the streets are exactly the same as they were in the medieval times, which means that they are VERY narrow (like about as wide as two or three people standing shoulder to shoulder) and in places they are also really steep. This means that the people who live up there can't drive up to their houses, so they have quite a hike, especially if they are carrying anything! I can imagine that moving in or out would be a total nightmare. When we arrived home a lot of the family had already arrived to celebrate the day, so the house was very full and very loud. And very Spanish! =) Bri and I didn't understand a whole lot that day, but everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and I completely enjoyed myself even though I was confused! It was actually similar to our family gatherings at home... lots of people, lots of noise, and lots of food! I felt right at home. =) I tried a little bit of everything at the meal, and I honestly am not sure what I was eating, and I'm not sure I really want to know. However, I do know that one of the dishes was lamb or mutton or something, because one of mama's sons baaa-ed at us when we didn't know the word! Very entertaining! Bri and I even received gifts from "los reyes" (a.k.a. our mama). We each got a scarf and jewelry with a pomegranate on it. Granada means pomegranate in English, and Mama says that they are tokens so we can always remember our time here. I got a necklace, and Bri got a bracelet. Also, el dia de los reyes magos was the 70th birthday of our papa, so we were asked to sing happy birthday in English, to the delight of the whole family. We even harmonized, which really impressed them!
Since Tuesday we have just been doing orientations at school and hanging out around the house. We had to do a scavenger hunt type thing for our homework yesterday, so we are also getting to know the city better. Granada is so nice because it is so easy to walk everywhere. Well, at least everywhere that we are going to need to go! Last night we tried to go out for tapas with some other girls from the program, but none of the tapas bars were open. Apparently we are still in the American mindset... the bars don't even open until 8, and we were out at 6:30/7ish. And tapas are supposed to be like an afternoon snack!! Que loco! We ended up just wandering around which was fun because we got to see some new parts of the city. Again, every minute is an adventure here!
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