Thanks, Mom

People are always asking me what food I've missed the most while being on exchange. Many of them seem to expect a "typical American meal" such as hamburgers, ribs, steak, fast-food, or turkey&mashed potatoes to be my answer. I've never been able to think of one food I missed in particular until this morning. I stood around the kitchen, hungry but without appetite. As I spotted a pile of bananas on the table, I went to grab bread, peanut butter (which I've kept in good stock over my exchange, thank goodness) and honey from the pantry cupboard. Slicing the bananas, then lathering on the peanut butter and drizzling on the honey, I felt a surge of homesickness. Not for this incredibly simple food: a peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich, but for my mom. I stood there, eating, remembering all the mornings during my childhood (and teen-hood haha) where she'd made me a sandwich because she knew I was running late. From soccer games to early morning karate workshops, to sleepovers and birthday parties, even SAT and ACT practice tests; my mom was always there, looking out for me. She'd hand me the sandwich, wrapped in a napkin, and I'd barely say thank you as I grabbed it and ran out the door. So as an answer to everyone's question, the food I miss the most is anything my mom made for me, anything that she did just because she loved me and wanted me to be able to go out and do anything. Basically what I'm trying to say is: thank you mom, for everything; especially the sandwiches. I love you, and miss you <3 xoxo Shonabell

Backtrack to Granada

The rain pounded down on the roof of the car, stopping every so often to reveal a gorgeous blue sky. With Mamen "conduciendo" and chatting Lucia in the back seat, the car ride to Granada was rather calm. I enjoyed the Spanish country-side, which at moments threw me back to our biannual car journey from California to New Mexico back home in the States. We had music playing from my iphone, an odd mix of old and new songs; "You Found Me" by the Fray, "Who You Are" by Jesse J, even "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain, some made me think of home, and others of being here in Spain. We ate our atun&tomate bocadillos on the road, attempting to pour water into cups without spilling it all over the seats. 

Our three hour drive ended as we arrived in Granada, getting lost in the backstreets of a neighborhood and calling a friend to come and show us the way to her house (where we were staying). That afternoon, we took tea and coffee, then dressed warmly in our coats and scarfs and headed back out the door. Our first stop was an old monastery, with two flights of steps up to it's door and magnificent stone designs around the building. I'd been in Granada for only a few hours and was already in awe of it's history and beauty. Lucia, Mamen, Mamen's friend, and I hopped back into the car and drove into the center of town. We walked our way through the crowded streets; I kept stopping to take photos of whatever caught my fancy: interesting store decorations, dressed up university students, and old building, the list goes on and on.

 

Quite frankly, I was surprised by how dirty Granada is; graffiti and trash line the streets and buildings, causing some ancient structures to be shut down for destruction or repair. Eventually, we stopped for a drink in a tea shop, and I had my first typical Moroccan mint-tea. Mamen's friend's family caught up with us there -- her daughter is 17 years old and was super friendly and easy to talk to, her son is 15 and was nice and up for anything, and her husband, who immediately took an interest in my camera (he used to be a photographer). We walked through the streets of Granada, stopping for tapa after tapa (which are free, with drinks, in Granada). Eventually, it was deemed time to escape the rain and get a move on towards home. Upon our second arrival at Mamen's friends house, we were greeted by tea, milk, coffee, and homemade cakes (yum!). The daughter, Madga, and I went upstairs to bed and ended up talking for hours about typical girl things (boys, flirting, clothes, drama, etc.) ALL in Spanish, which was really fun for me. It was the first time I had ever met someone new here in Spain who hadn't known me while my Spanish was still in need of help; instead we got on like two girls who had no differences between them!

The next morning, I got up and enjoyed hot coffee and more homemade cakes. From there, we made our way into Granada again, this time driving up to one of the most over-looked (and in my opinion the most beautiful) viewpoints of "la Alhambra." We continued our way into town, stopping every so often to grab a photo of the beautiful "vista." We passed through "el sacromonte," a neighborhood in the hills of Granada that consists of houses built into caves. While walking through the winding streets that weave through the homes, Mamen, Lucia, Mamen's friend, and I paused to get a drink and send some post cards (one to California and one to England), from a cute, cave-based cafe.

All too soon, we said our goodbyes to the city and drove back to the friend's house. After a traditional meal of chorizo, potatoes, and fried eggs; Lucia, Mamen, and I found ourselves in the car driving towards Marbella. 

I realized, for the first time, on that drive just how much I'm going to miss the sea when I go back home to California. Yes, I'll only be an hour or so away, but I love being able to look out across the Mediterranean everyday.

Our second trimester of school is coming to a close, I'll get a print out of my grades on Thursday (so far looks like they'll be pretty good!). Semana Santa is coming up, so look forward to a blog full of fun, late night stories and some neat pictures!!

Love from Marbella,

Shonabell McCarthy

**7 days and counting**

A weird post about stairs....

My worst enemy at the moment are the stairs. Marble, slippery, and out-to-get-me, the spanish stairs are everywhere. My host house has three flights of twisting stairs, which I run (who am I kidding, I don't run I trip) up and down countless times per day. Add in the additional four flights of stairs that I climb daily at school, plus the two flights in my counsellor's house, and the possibilites for falling become endless. I'd really like to be able to blame my lack of coordination on socks or slippers, but I seem to fall no matter what sort of footwear I happen to have on. Luckily, I rarely fall; out of the four times I've tripped on the stairs so far today, I only fell to my hands once! Thankfully, I haven't been seriously injured (yet... knock on wood); hopefully with a bit more practice I can arrive home a stair-climbing master.

Thats all for now folks! I'm off to Granada in the morning, so look forward to a post about what I hope will be a fantastic adventure in the snow-covered city.

Love from Marbella,

Shonabell