Here´s a picture of a building a few steps away from where I study. There is a lot of graffiti around certain parts of Granada, but as you can see, some of it is rather artistic and interesting to look at. I´ve also posted a few pictures of my school, which is located in the heart of Granada, close to fresh fruit stands, various cafés and privately owned stores such as La Olivia. This tienda sells local and regional produce like olive oils, vinegars and sweets. CEGRI consists of three floors and there is an open patio in the center. We have two computer labs, a biblioteca and several classroom that are warmed by small portable heaters that give off surprisingly large amounts of heat.

My week here has gone by very quickly...again. I can´t believe I will be departing for Dublin in only nine days! I am becoming more comfortable speaking in my conversation class but I still fumble a lot of my words. For example, the other day in my culure of Spain class, instead of saying many Spaniards enjoy going out for a drink after work, I accidently stated that they spend time drinking babies! (Spanish majors, please forgive me...) Anyways, after this horrible blunder, we moved on and had a discussion about the differences between Spanish and U.S. schedules. In Spain it is not uncommon to see young children (in strollers even) as well as older citizens walking in the streets at 10 or 11p for an evening stroll on the weekends. Bedtime for children here (hopefully my little cousins hear this and start appealing to their parents) are not until 9:30 or 10p on weeknights! I don´t mind this too much but when I went to bed at 11:00p a few nights ago, the next morning Alfonso seemed genuinely concerned that something was wrong with me! (Tricia, how does this sound to you?)

Well, I have to run to class but I have another long weekend ahead of me so stay tuned!