"You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person." -A.W.

    It’s 8:30 in the morning here in España. I’ve been awake for an hour and I couldn’t sleep last night. I have been bursting with excitement since the beginning of yesterday morning. CEA took us to our University and showed us the language buildings that we’ll be taking classes in. It’s all so gorgeous and the walk to campus is lined with so many interesting sights and shops that I’m sure I’ll get lost walking to campus simply because I can’t concentrate on where I’m going.
    I love this city more than words can describe and I find myself in awe of its customs. In Spain, everything is much more slow paced. For example, breakfast is around 10:00 in the morning, that’s also when all stores open. Lunch is anywhere from 2:00 to 4 :00 in the afternoon, which falls into siesta “nap” time. Yes, Spaniards in Granada take a 3 hour siesta everyday, 2:00 to 5:00, during which all shops close down so people can either go home to rest or go get lunch. Let me just say that that is already my favorite part of the day! Entonces dinner is around 9:00 to 10:00 at night.
    Yesterday, my first full day in Granada, was a dream. My roommate, Jensen, and I woke up early and decided to explore. We discovered that we are right in the center of Granada and can find literally everything we need. We finally found an ATM which, by the way, are not called ATMs like we learned in Spanish class. They are called caja automaticos or cajaras. That would have been nice to know our first night here when we were asking the chinese supermarket owner where an “ah-te-eme-” was located and she stared at us and then proceeded to show us some milk called almite even after Jensen took out her debit card and pretended to stick it in an ATM. Spanish class failed to prepare us appropriately for that! We also found some coffee shops we plan to try soon.
    After morning orientation, the students from CEA had lunch at a Spanish buffet, or cafetería. It was superb. I can’t begin to describe the food that they had. I’ll try to get pictures if we go again. I’ll just say it was all amazing and leave it at that. After lunch, Jensen and I bought some muy importante things for our apartment, like a hairdryer and a straightner/curling iron. Now we just need to find a trash can and I need to find some sheets! That’s right! I have been sleeping on a mattress cover por dos días! To be honest though, I’m so ready to be in bed when I lay on it doesn’t even register that there is nothing on it. However, last night I got a bit chilly so I think today is the day I go find some sheets!
    After siesta time (I slept for nearly two hours, which probably explains why I couldn’t sleep last night), we met up to go on a bus tour of the city. I was sitting on the top, open part of a double decker buss and I won’t lie, I felt like I was in a Harry Potter book pretty much the entire ride (geek, I know)! Granada is more beautiful than I can describe in this post, so I am going to try to post pictures very soon. On the tour, we went up into the hills that surround Granada. There we saw where gypsies had dug holes into the side of hills and made them their homes! It was pretty incredible to see a wooden door randomly inserted into a hillside. We got to drive past the Alhambra Palace, though we couldn’t see it very well because it is so deep in the hills. We’re supposed to be going to visit it soon, though. The entire city is colorful and each section has its own unique characteristics that make you feel like you’re traveling through time. There are buildings that came about when the Moors, the Arabs, the Jews, and then Spaniards ruled. It’s like someone decided to take the most breathtaking architecture in world history and put it all in one place.
    After the city tour, a big group of the students went out to a few restaurants to have tapas. It’s a rule in Granada that when you order a drink, you get free tapas. Tapas are like an appetizer, but not, it's hard to explain. Let me tell you though, you’ve not lived until you’ve had Spanish tapas. I didn’t know this until I experienced it last night, but each restaurant gives you it’s own specialty tapas. I feel that this alone justifies me trying every restaurant in Granada!
    This city is beyond anything I could have imagined or hoped for. I truly pray my experience continues in the incredible direction it's been heading! If the title quote is true, I've done it. I've fallen in love at first sight with a place and it's name is Granada! I hope I have given you a good glimpse of my first day and a half in Spain. Until I can type again,

Te cuida.
Kaitlin Esperanza