The Beginnings of Life in Granada

Wow! I feel like it has been FOREVER since I have been able to access the internet or the world outside of Granada.  I think that our biggest complaint would be that wireless is hard to come by.  If you can find a place that has it then there will guaranteed be a cloud of smoke so thick hovering throughout the place that you CAN’T breathe.  I’m really glad that Victoria (my Senora) doesn’t allow smoking in her apartment even though it still seeps through the walls from neighboring apartments.  The cat that Victoria was supposed to have (per the bio we were sent prior to departing lovely America) doesn’t seem to exist which I am also extremely grateful for since I’m allergic to cats.  I’m not sure if she did have one and it died or if there was a misprint on her bio…either way I’m scared to ask because A. it could be a sensitive issue or B. she might think that I wish she had a cat and go out and get one.  Anyway, it’s still a mystery.  I’m happy to report that two of the things that I thought would be a big problem for me: food and good water are not a problem at all.  I drink tap water all the time…unbelievable right? Actually it is SO much better than the Clemson tap water which I have to hold my nose and chug in order to swallow without gagging!  Victoria makes me meatless meals and she doesn’t even try to “sneak” meat in as I call it through broths and such.  We go out for “postres” (desserts/pastries)  daily, eat a lot of bread and cheese but Victoria still tried to tell us that with the healthy Mediterranean diet we would NOT gain weight.  Haha! The plan tomorrow is to find out about joining a gym. Because of all the walking we do this probably wouldn’t be necessary if I didn’t eat so much.  When we arrived the directors kept talking about how we’re not used to walking in the United States and I thought “blah, blah, blah, walking is easy and I can WALK anywhere.” The truth is we spend HOURS walking everyday.  Some days like 3 and 4 hours, and the streets/sidewalks aren’t Ashton-friendly either.  Here comes a funny story…Our first day here we are handed a map and are told to be at class by 16:00.  It’s raining and Lyndsey and I are of course late and slightly lost.  I’m holding a huge map up in front of my face and running to catch up with Lyndsey when suddenly I find myself on the ground.  Lyndsey turned around just in time to see the fall and accurately described it as a belly flop.  Side note: there are solid metal cylinders about knee-height that line the sidewalks so that cars can’t jump the curb.  I think that they also strategically place one on the corners for entertainment purposes to watch map-yielding extranjeros faceplant every now and then.  Luckily, aside from a few bruises below each knee where the pole caught me I was uninjured and Lyndsey and I laughed so hard we cried all the way to class.  Those of you who have walked anywhere with me know that I need an escort to stay upright on an evenly paved street or sidewalk.  Unfortunately, in Granada I’m dealing with cobblestone and flagstone so there should be many similar stories to come J  

Yours truly,

Ashton