Is that Spanish or Arabic?

Demonstration for the strike. Yo Voy!

I have now been in school for three weeks, but have only had class for a grand total of eight days. Let me give you a run-down on how Spain works. 1st week of school: No class on Monday because of ceremonial purposes and no class on Thursday because of a workers strike. I am also trying to take on the Spanish mentality by arranging my schedule so that I don't have class on Friday's. 2nd week of school: I actually had class Monday-Thursday, but one of my professor's didn't show on Thursday because of the puente. A puente is a Spanish extended holiday. This past week there was a fiesta for el día nacional on Tuesday. From what I found online the holiday is similar to our Veterans day. Needless to say, if there is a holiday on Tuesday, Spain thinks that it's a prime opportunity to have a 4 day weekend. So, week 3: No class on Monday or Tuesday. I now find myself at the weekend once again. Thank you Spain :).

Now, I make it sound so easy and for the Spaniards I don't think it is too difficult, but I am having a hard time. I am taking 4 classes: The Social Reality of an Arab Woman, Contemporary History of the Arab World, Pre-hispanic Art History, and Museology. I have the same professor for the Arab classes and she is a sweet, dynamic lady, but speaks with an insanely thick Andalucían accent that I really struggle to understand. It doesn't help that she is reading about women's rights straight from the Koran and a quarter of the words she uses are Arabic. There are times when I honestly don't know if she is speaking Arabic or Spanish because of her accent. My other professors speak fast, but have powerpoints, so it is easier to follow along. I know my classes are interesting, I just wish I could understand everything! I feel like I am in over my head at the moment, but I know it will get easier. My favorite spanish phrase right now is "poco a poco," which means "little by little." This is my motto and I'm sticking with it.

Besides school starting I have began tutoring 5 kids and 1 adult in english. This sweet, missionary couple from Texas, living in Granada connected me with the job. I am so grateful to have a source of income while studying here for a year. I tutor 4 siblings (the 2 youngest for 1 hour and the 2 oldest for the following hour) on Monday and Tuesday nights and a mother and her daughter for another 2 hours on Tuesday also. The kids are adorable and the families are fantastic. It's a lot of work and quite exhausting, but I know it will be rewarding once I figure out what the heck I'm doing. The younger kids don't speak really any english, but the older kids have a much higher level. I enrolled in a certification class to be an official English tutor, so hopefully that will give me some direction. All in all I am so blessed to be a part of these kid's lives, to be around Spanish families and to have a little more insight into their culture.

Old friends and new friends

Last night was one of my favorite nights I have had in Granada. The first week I was here I bought a ticket to see Andrew Bird (an American musician) play at a theatre downtown. One of my new Spanish friends, Ana, bought a ticket too and went with some girlfriends and I. He put on an amazing show and had a talented Spanish, folk singer open for him. We were in the 2nd row and couldn't have had a better view. I had an amazing time and was so happy to see a theatre filled with the Spanish alternative crowd. It was so interesting to see all of these Spaniards in love with American gypsy, folk, rock. It was a great night with amazing music and beautiful people.

The musical/loop stylings of Andrew Bird and his opener, DePedro at the Teatro Caja Granada