Today definitely had its ups and downs. The morning didn't start out great because I had my alarm set wrong and slept late, so we were in a hurry to get out the door. The snow is gone (for now) but it was raining, so my shoes were pretty soaked again by the time I got to class. Class went pretty well. There are six other girls in my class, all from the U.S. They seem really nice, and it makes me feel a little better being in class with people who are in the same boat as I am.

The first professor we have from 9-11, Maria, is really nice and smiley and approachable. The professor we have from 11-1, Antxon (pronounced "Anchon") is nice too, and funny, but I'm scared he has the wrong idea of me. When I told him that I'd been studying Spanish for fifteen years (but made it clear that the first nine was just basic vocabulary and less grammar) he was really impressed and excited and asked me the first question of our excersise...which I answered incorrectly. Damn you, present perfect tense. I also had to do a lot of reading out loud, and while I think my pronunciation isn't completely horrible, I get nervous when I have to read aloud in English, so I probably did not sound that great in class today. Oh, well. I have a whole month to impress him.

After class, I checked out my textbook from the library (thank God I didn't have to buy it) and Alisha and Kristen got their student ID's and then we walked home, but which time the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. The weather here is so unpredictable. Like Mamache says, "In Granada, anything is possible." We had lunch, which was lentil soup (pretty good) and this absolutely horrible salad made with lettuce, chicken, apples, and get this: KETCHUP. Alisha managed to scarf it all down, Kristen scraped it back into the bowl when Mamache left the kitchen, and I ate most of it before I felt like I would actually vomit, then quickly poured the rest off my plate when Mamache left again. Really, I've liked most food here. It's a lot of food, but it's all been really good. But ketchup is not a salad dressing.

Once we were done with lunch, we went to our rooms for a bit to relax (I think we need to establish siesta in the U.S....I love having nap time). Then at five we met Cassy to go shopping. I got minutes for my phone here (which I probably won't use much-it's just for emergencies and letting Mamache know if I'm going to be coming home late from school), and Alisha got a sim card and minutes for her phone. We had a lot of trouble understanding what the employee was trying to explain to us. It's such a scary experience, trying to use Spanish in real life, but at the same time I love that I have the opportunity to do it. Yes, I suck right now, and yes, the employee was probably unbelieveably sick of us by the time we left, but at least we're getting practice. We've only been here five days and I know by the end of the trip our Spanish is going to be soooo much better.

Anyway, after our cell phone excitement, we explored for cheap clothing stores. Because of rebajas (crazy sales between Christmas and February or March) the stores were packed, but I managed to find a coat and boots. The coat makes me look like a human-sized eggplant, but it's warm and cozy, and while I didn't get to take a test walk in the boots- they only let me try on one of them, like I was going to try to make a run for it if I had bothe- they don't have heels and will keep my feet dry.

Well, it's after midnight and I have to get up at 7. Buenas noches!