Granada!

Hola! I'm finally here! Although I'm about ready to collapse. Here was my weekend:

Sunday we had a morning bus tour, and then me and a few other people went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, had lunch at a pub, and then visited the Science Museum. Then we went on a walking tour of Jack the Ripper and afterwards 10 of us went to Brick street to get Indian food. It was really tasty but it took us forever to get the check amounts figured out because they wouldn't give us separate checks :/
Anyways, arrival back at the hotel circa 12:00 am.

Today:
3:00--wake up
3:45--load bus
5:15-6:50--wait for the plane
7:00-10:00--plane ride on which I got nearly no sleep due to the Spawn of Satan sitting behind me. I have never heard a child scream at that decibel and intensity in my life. Horrible.
11:00-1:00--bus ride from Malaga to Granada
1:00-2:00--meet roommate (Keely) and our Senora (Trini) and her husband and sister and try to hold a conversation. Ensue headache from extreme concentration.
2:00--FINALLY eat lunch. Very delicious--pasta with meat and cheese, salad, bread, and fresh cherries picked from their "campo" (house in the countryside)
3:00-6:00--SIESTA!!! (I love spain)
7:00--guided walk around of the city. I am going to get soooo lost.
10:00--dinner. So hungry. It is going to be really hard adjusting to this schedule.

So I'm pumped for bed. My poor body hates me for putting it through all this travel and time change and lack of food, but it will just have to get over it because we're in Spain!! Tomorrow is my placement test (fingers crossed), orientation, and a welcome drink with "tapas." I would give you a translation, but it doesn't really have one. :P

Interesting observations:
Everything here is made of marble to try to keep things cool (today it was 37 C, which is about 90 F ish), even the sidewalks! It makes walking in sandals with no traction a little tricky :P
I thought I knew Spanish. I clearly do not.
"Vale" (ok, right, used as a filler or as a question, asking for confirmation of understanding) is used about every other word. It makes me feel better about us saying like all the time.
This post is REALLY long. I apologize.

Love you miss you!
Meredith

So the funny thing about London...

It's full of British people! :P Also the keyboards are different and it is really throwing me off right now.
Anywho, it's 12:45 am London time and I decided to take advantage of the free internet in the hotel and fill you in on my trip so far.
Events:
We arrived in London on time after a long flight (on which I didn't get nearly enough sleep) and headed straight over to the hotel. A few of the girls and I got half-priced tickets to see Les Miserables tonight. The show was ridiculously long, but there was a ton of talent on stage, especially the male lead, so it was worth it. After that we got "dinner" (11 pm) at a little Italian place and i ate half a pizza I was so hungry. The rest of the day was spent settling in and taking a little nap. Tomorrow is a bus tour and hopefully more touristy-sight-seeing stuff.

Observations:
The "tube" smells awful. A combo of sweat and weed and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. Probably the person sitting next to me.
The bus lane on the highway is painted red, the whole thing. I felt like we were driving on a clay sidewalk. Also, the driving on the other side of the road is sooo much weirder than you think it is.

Awesome moment of the day:
I told someone from England how to get to Leceister (pronounced Lester) square on the tube. Score one for stupid tourists!

Hugs and kisses and miss you tons!
Meredith