On Friday I went to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and they were gorgeous! As you can see from the picture here (and there are more at the bottom of the page...check them out!) that the view is incredibly clear. The climb up (by bus) took about an hour and we drove through several layers of clouds. It was neat to see all of the small communities scattered within the range and there was also a large amount of cattle roaming around too. We got a late start so we didn´t rent ski equipment but we hiked up as high as we could to get a better view. As the day went on the lighting changed and I got some great photos. At around 1 or 2 in the afternoon it began to snow; the visibility became so bad that the skiers had to stay off the slopes until it stopped. Luckily it let up before we had to depart and drive back down the mountain!

This weekend I met with Jesús, my intercambio. Luckily he speaks English fairly well so when I am really confused about something he says in Spanish, I can ask him to explain it. He graduated from the University of Granada with a degree in psychology and is currently looking for employment. He lives with his parents and is an only child. Jesús had done the intercambio program before with CEGRI and other study abroad programs so he is really good about speaking slowly and more clearly than the typcial Andalucian. We talked a bit about our studies, politics, family, etc...actually, he did most of the talking and I mainly asked questions because that is what I´m good at now.

On Saturday night I met Natalie´s intercambio, Javier, and some of his friends. The nightlife in Granada (and a lot of Europe) is much different than what I am used to in the States. We were at a bar until 2a, which is about the time I would go home in Madison...but not here! At this time the discotecas are just opening their doors so we made our way to Mae West, an insanely huge and popular discoteca in Granada. It is only five minutes away from my house so it is really convenient at the end of the night. There were several different rooms in the club, including one featuring 80´s music! The entire club is decked out in old Western movie posters and has an American theme. We ended up in the largest room, which featured pop music from the States as well as Spanish reggae and old Spanish flamenco songs that have a hip-hop twist. I won´t post how late (or early) I was out for my mom´s sake but it was definitely the latest I´ve ever been out! Sunday was a day of sleeping and doing homework (what little I have). I also went to the youth mass at 9p and I am starting to pick up some of the words to the prayers.

I have a busy week ahead of me so I´ll fill you in when I have some time to spare. Hasta luego!