That's me.. AUdz caught me on the street heading up to the piso one morning..
Jsut kidding... just a random passerby observed from our balcony!
Well, hello all... Today is a beautiful Saturday morning here in Spain (12:30 still counts as morning here!) and Audrey and I our sitting in one of our favorite coffee spots in the Plaza Fuente near the grand entrance arc that opens into the winding world of the old Moorish Alabycin.... The two worlds of Granada are separated by a mere block, as the posh and happening Gran Via runs directly parallel to Calle Elvira, the heart of the hippie nightlife. Last week was a bit monumental for me here... instead of my previous month of pulling money out of my American Bank account to live, I was able to actually make a deposit! It felt AMAZING to work again and see those numbers rise rather than fall... ! Last week, I was able to do a few odd jobs, that I think will end up being pretty steady work... I helped a friend clean and work on her touristic apartments a couple days, I am baby-sitting two kids for a professor two days a week--one is 9 and the other 11... they are precious. The reason I was hired was to speak English with the boys; their dad speaks wonderfully! But we play games on the bus such as 'I Spy' and '20 Questions.' I pick them up from school and then we go to their music classes one day and back home and the other day we go to English class! It is so fun walking through the streets with them, and the little one is just a doll and so interested in learning English! What else? Ah... I have signs up ALL OVER TOWN offering English lessons... I have had about 4 or 5 interested thus far, but it is a bit difficult to actually get them signed up and scheduled weekly...
I am literally living like a little poor person, and it is weird, but good for me at the same time.. I have never NOT had my room cute and decorated and feeling really "homie" and my place now is just not there yet because it is more important that I make rent than have a cute room! Learning a lot here. It is curious to me when I realize I am CHOOSING to live like this. But I then realize it is a season. One day I am sure I will want stability and a fixed income where I dont have to take everyside job that comes my way to make rent, but for now, just being here and even the experiences I gain while I am working have proved to be well worth it!
So.. enough of money and job talk.. on to a great subject---FRIENDS.. it has been wonderfully easy to make friends here, which I must admit I was a little worried about! One night we went to a language exchange through the University, and we met tons of other people interested in languages and from all around the world! And they are looking for friends, too, so we actually DO things together like talk night walks to the Alhambra look-out points, go see ld showings of silent movies, the other day we saw Shakespere's Merchant of Venice in theatre and in Spanish! We walk around a lot, meet up for coffees with people, go hang out in Plaza Nueva and watch all the street performers... I am speaking more Spanish, too than ever before because Audrey and I are the only ones we know that really speak English and most of our others friends are international and Spanish is our common language! It's so nice to not have to work so hard in Spanish just to communicate... I still have A LOT to learn, but my goodness, I feel like I am really capable of relationships through Spanish now...
Last night Audz and I went to see (in SPanish) El Niño con Pijama de Rayas or The Boy With the Striped Pajamas.... wow... when Audz and I left the theatre, we just didn't really even feel like talking or walking... sometimes movies or books so moving and convicting just almost leave a part of you feeling empty when the credits roll or the last page is turned. It's like.. there is so much we should and COULD do, but I am just living my life... I realize that the injustices of the Holocaust happened many years ago, but the reality is that a different for of genocide is happing in our world today, and we are standing around again and letting it happen. I know a lot of people are doing a lot to try and change things, but I wouldn't doubt that a lot of people back then were trying to change things, too. It's just not enough. I just get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I realize that we REALLY DO have the resources within our power to END WORLD HUNGER and END POVERTY, yet we don't. I know there is more to it than just that, than POOF: no more Hunger, no more Death, no more Poverty, but I just feel like our coming generations are going to look back on us and say, "WHAT were they thinking? How could they just sit there and watch and allow these things to happen?" and I also am assured that one day there will be a generation that says NO. NO MORE. and pulls together and changes this world... Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a part of that? Well, wow,,, I am gonna step off my little Soap Box now... Last night was just a hard-hitter... I know we all do what we can, but what if we could do more, ya know?
Thes two are my room.. I loooove the built in shelve.. i have plans to paint the walls a mocha color and the inner space of the shelves the colors in my beadspread.. a nice Sunday kind of project!
That's one of our in-home dinner nights.. mmm.. mediterranean salad...mmm, I'm hungry now ! :)
The PRECIOUS Romanian daughter, Gabriella, of the painter Jaun, who had to repaint everything white the first week we were there... he's sweet, and basically lived with us that first week!
Well, this turned into a bit more of a journal than a blog, and sorry to unload on all of you, but if you are reading this, it is because I love you, and you love me, so I am okay if you know what I have been thinking about... well, I will work on making the next post a bit more light-hearted! :) I love you all and thanks for reading! *britt
