Babies, Granada, and Taylor Swift

Look, I'm still alive! Sorry for the month-long gap in between posts. Classes are still going well-- easier than ever for the most part, and I just finished up midterms. I kind of miss feeling productive in the schoolwork department, but I'm not complaining too much.

A few weeks ago I started helping out in a daycare called "Pato Donald," aka Donald Duck. I've been going for three and a half hours every Tues/Thurs, and five hours every Friday, and I LOVE IT! I normally work in the baby room for right now, with babies from 4-14ish months old. Twelve or so babies in one room is a lot of tears and a lot of diaper changes, but it's not nearly as overwhelming as you'd think. Last week, I migrated to the two-year-old room to watch the English lesson they had. This was basically a half hour of a lady from Michigan dancing around with a monkey puppet that spoke to them in English, and several familiar songs such as "The Wheels on the Bus." The kids seemed to love it, and it was strange but adorable to watch.

Our group took the last of our weekend trips on the 11th to the city of Granada, which means "pomegranate" in Spanish. It is situated in the mountains and has tons of Arab influence from when the Muslims ruled Spain (711-1492). A lot of the architecture, restaurants, and markets look like something out of Aladdin. The main must-see site of Granada is La Alhambra, an ancient Arabian citadel and palace. On the first day we were there, we walked around the city and hiked up a little to where we had an excellent view of La Alhambra and all of Granada.

The next day, the group went inside the Alhambra. I would've too, but the whole hike down, I wasn't feeling too well. Sickness hit me once we got back to the hotel, and let's just say I'm never eating chocolate hazelnut ice cream again. I spent the next day sleeping off a fever and watching TV in between naps. I may have missed all the planned activities that day, but I'm proud to report that I can clearly understand Malcolm in the Middle and Room Raiders in Spanish.

The following weekend, Nicole and I caught a cheap bus to Madrid (only a six and a half hour ride! haha) for the Taylor Swift concert! It turns out that my immune system hates me, because I got sick again, but I decided there was no way I was going to miss the concert and my queasy stomach and achey knees/head would just have to pretend they were made of steel this time. Once the show started, the adrenaline was enough to feel 110% better. We had standing room tickets and managed to push our way pretty close to the stage:

The show was incredible! I had so much fun! It was also interesting to stand in a crowd of Spanish-speakers that were singing along in English (or trying to). Taylor Swift herself has a Spanish vocabulary limited to "Hola," "Gracias," and "Mi español no es muy bueno, pero me encanta Madrid." I was a lot sicker the next day, but the trip was totally worth it. 

There's not much else to report! The weather here has been consistently in the 70's, we're getting two Italian students in the house tomorrow, and my immune system has fully redeemed itself. I hope everyone is still wonderful back home, and I promise I won't wait another month to blog again!

P.S. Mullet count: 17