It's Been Awhile, huh...

Yikes. It is now the 21st of September, and I haven't posted anything here in awhile...oops. I've been here my first full week! It seems like I have been here forever, yet at the same time, I haven't, and the time just goes so quickly! It's weird.

By the way...HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY BROOKE!!

So this week we just continued doing the same old same old in regards to our orientation classes from 4-7 each night, but we also went on a couple excursions. The first was a trip to El Albycin, where the gypsies are. The hike was intense because it was such a steep climb up lots and lots of steps, but the trip was amazing. The next day, too, we went to Sacramonte, where caves are. People live in houses that are built into these caves, which is sweet, but I wasn't as impressed with the final destination as I was with El Albycin. The climb itself was so spectactular. The mountains here are some of the most beautiful things in existence, I think. I am posting pictures of the first week as I type...so be sure to look at them. There are a lot of them, I know, but it will be worth the wait. :)

Anne and I booked a trip in November with my friend Sara to Barcelona!!! The flight tickets were FREE on Ryanair.com, but you just had to pay for the tax, and that's it! So the final total for a round trip ticket to Barcelona for the weekend was just a little less than 40 Euro. We just need to book our hostel, and then we're all set! I cannot wait!

This weekend, I went with a group of people to Almunecar to go to the beach. Those pictures will be in the photos I am putting up too. It was a wonderful weekend. Originally, it was supposed to rain, so we were not sure if we were going to go. But we did, and we couldn't have asked for a better day at the beach yesterday. It was sunny and warm, a little breezy, and the water was warm enough to swim in, yet cool enough to help you beat the heat. I swam out to this raft/buoy thing that has a little slide and diving board with Brianna, Chase, Peter, Heather and Sara, and we sat out there and enjoyed being in the Mediterranean Sea. The only problem, however, was how salty the water was! By the time we got to the raft, we were all incredibly thirsty. It was awful.

There was a cliff side at one end of the beach that I walked to with a couple people, and we climbed around and took pictures and it was amazing. I didn't want to go home today, even if I was a bit sunburned and being in the sun for another full day wouldn't have been a good idea. :)

I really love it here, even though I miss my friends and family a lot.

I think Sara and I are going to look into what we should do during our week off coming up. I also need to figure out when I want to go on the Morocco Trip and who I want to go with. We shall see, we shall see. And I need to discuss with Peter going to Vienna and Prague. Gah! Too much planning!! (And NO I am not complaining!)

I love you all and now that I have found a good place for internet, I am sure these will come up a little more frequently!

Much love,

M.