¡Adiós Granada!

We arrived in Granada around 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, and our first thought was that we missed the hopping streets of Málaga. What we didn’t realize was that it was actually 104°F (40°C) and there wasn’t a soul to be found in the streets because everyone was undoubtedly enjoying their afternoon siesta, unlike us wandering the streets looking at closed shops and restaurants. After settling into our new shared flat, where we grounded ourselves for one whole month (more to come on that experience in a future post), we ventured into the streets nearby and found ourselves at our first tapas bar in Granada. After an exhausting day of traveling in the heat, we ordered a couple of cervezas on the patio. Within minutes of receiving our drinks we also got a free tapa!

Just when we thought we couldn’t be more excited about the inexpensive food culture in Spain, we were pleasantly surprised to find that no matter what tapas bar we visited, we received a free tapa with every drink purchase (alcohol or not, although Coca-Cola tends to be more expensive than cerveza). We also learned that the tapas tend to get bigger and better with each additional beverage purchased. It's exciting to wonder what's next when ordering another drink, especially when the fish comes out, because I'm already waiting for the next one!

We have gone to quite a few of the local tapas restaurants over the last four weeks and some even allow you to choose your free tapa from a substantial list. We went to one with our friends from Spanish class, and everyone except for me wanted to order the caracoles (snails). I went from someone who hated any kind of seafood to someone who did this...  

I've grown to love the Spanish culture of having relaxed afternoons and late dinners (10:00 p.m.). I’m certainly going to miss the tapaculture (did I just make up a word? I do that a lot in Spanish class!). It didn't take long to settle into a new routine and become comfortable living in Spain. It has been nice to walk to the grocery store without using Google Maps and to feel like a true local. We will also miss having Kebab King right around the corner. I'm embarrassed to admit that even our teachers knew how many Kebabs we had with our friends! Of course, being comfortable isn't what this year is about for us, so we'll be leaving Granada shortly and venturing to a new continent!

An unexpected consequence of staying in one place for an entire month has been having to say goodbye to new friends. After four weeks of intense Spanish class at Delengua, we've spent around 60 hours in a small classroom with an amazing group of people and phenomenal teachers. We've enjoyed getting to know so many wonderful people from around the world, even if for such a short period of time. ¡Salud!