say what?

as i was riding the city bus to the main bus station to purchase tickets for the next spanish adventure to Cordoba, it hit me. i have now been living/traveling in the iberian peninsula for four months, one third of a year! in all honestly, i counted the months several times trying to figure out how this time warp could have happened (at this point an older Spanish women glanced curiously at me as i kept using my fingers as a counting tool and looking astonished each time i reached four). once this fact actually sunk in, my mind began to think, has spain become my new home? has my day-to-day spanish life finally become normal? in many ways, the answer is definitively 'yes.'
looking back on my first couple of weeks, i can remember taking note of all the many differences between cultures, people, silly little details, and systems between españa and my idolized home state. many times i was left asking,"why in the world would 'they' do that this way? who would think of taking a 3 hour break in the middle of the day? and can a california girl really become apart of this established community with their foreign customs?" well, now as a four month resident (and with an official residency card. yes, i'm finally legal) i can say that this california girl and southern spain have learned to live together and found a healthy balance of give and take. the things that i once found odd: how the light switches for the bathroom, kitchen, living room are located outside the room door--makes for cruel jokes when friends are in the bathroom, flipping open the gas and lighting my stove with a match, walking up a massive hill for 35 minutes to get to class (and many times the teacher or half the class not attending), greeting friends and strangers with kisses on either cheek (left first, THEN right...the direction thing has lead to some awkward situations), ALL shops and stores closed on sundays--forced break, concept of healthy food (many spaniards insist that ham and white bread are crucial to a healthy diet. sadly, i am not joking), more people oriented lifestyle...(and much more) have now become quite normal. suddenly, eating a mid-day 'merienda' (the meal/snack eaten at the beginning of siesta) is a daily necessity and is followed by some classic R&R (i have given in to the siesta!!!). when walking down the street, i am constantly asked for directions by both out-of-town spaniards and confused foreigners. amazingly enough, i can actually give them directions (monuments, street names, and occasional history if they look up for it). don't get me wrong, i still stand out like a sore thumb. i can't help my california ways, of smiling at people passing in the streets (not so common here in granada), running in the mornings while the old spanish men take their daily walks, and whipping out my camera when i see an old spanish couple sitting on a bench... give and take.
some quick pics to share this new hiking/walking spot that i've discovered thanks to my landlady and a new spanish friend, Ana.

Ana, Kristen (that cute california red-head), and i had a beautiful picnic at the top of the hill. yummm

fútbol (soccer) love. can't wait to come back up here with my soccer ball.