no mas comida frito, por favor.

Hello again! I have a few more stories to share about my time here in Granada. Are you ready to read all about them?

--Irene (the little girl I live with aka mi hermanita) really, really loves Justin Bieber. Already established, si? But, everyday she comes in to my room, asks me to turn on my iPOD to JB music and then proceeds to dance. It´s the cutest thing in the world to hear her sing the words "Never say never", "Baby..ooh" or "somebody to love". She doesn´t quite understand what she is saying, but she tries and it´s adorable. I am excited to post pictures of her one day when I am able to upload pictures.

--Last night I began reading the book Manolo Gafotas, which is a book that is written in a young adolescent style, but still takes time for me to understand. It´s full of critical humor (like The Simpsons, which professors refer to ALL THE TIME here for anything American. Interesting) and cultural allusions. I was reading it last night when Irene was doing my makeup and I began reading it out loud. SO HELPFUL! She would stop me if I pronounced something wrong, would explain words I didn´t understand, and would cue me in on humorous parts that I wouldn´t otherwise note. One thing mentioned in the first chapter was colleja, which is kind of like a smack on the head. Each time I said that word, Irene would do that to remind me. Or as an excuse to hit me...but it was helpful either way!

--Why is everything here fried? I feel like I must be in the south all over again. Last night we had a talk at dinner about food. I mentiond I loved basically all fruits and vegetables that I´ve ever tried, and I especially love spinach salads with apples and strawberries...granola..feta cheese (oh man, I´m drooling right now just thinking about it!). My host mom was astonished that I liked spinach raw. "Frito?" she asked (fried). No way! She mentioned that she liked cabbage...when it was fried. She likes potatoes...fried. Carrots...fried. Get the picture? Nearly every meal has something fried.

--Speaking of fried, yesterday for lunch (the biggest meal of the day here. and they´re not kidding with their large portions), I tried anchovies for the first time in my life. Oh, they were fried though. Don´t worry. Surprisingly I enjoyed them, even though my entire life I´ve only heard "Don´t order anchovies on your pizza!" I think when I get back I´m going to eat fruits and vegetables and multi grain bread everyday. Oh, the joy that will be! How I miss it.

--Lastly, I was having such a hard time in class today! It´s 4 hours long, with two 5-minute breaks. It´s a little rough. Well, not only was I little sleepy from staying up until 2 a.m. talking to my roommate about our families, but the room was stifling. It´s that same feeling as walking back into a church gym after going outside at an institute dance. Anyway, I was sure I was going to fall asleep. All of the sudden, my little Manolo Gafotas book fell off of my desk and hit the floor with a loud THUD. Our class only has 11 people. It was awkward. But it startled me enough to keep me awake until I could go step outside during our last break.

Well, once again it´s time to wrap it up! I hope you've enjoyed these stories.
¡Hablo contigo pronto!