In Granada at Last

Hola!

I am absolutely exhausted.  I think about 28 hours ago I started my travels and I am now finally settled in my new room.  

The day started in Minneapolis, where we were worried about whether or not our flights in Chicago would be cancelled or delayed because of the huge snow storm going through.  We had long lines that weren't moving very quickly, but we did make our flights with not a ton of time to spare.  Our layover in Chicago was very short, we basically walked off one plane right onto another.  Once we got on the second plane, which was very big by the way, we had to sit tight for an hour and a half as they de-iced it, making the already long flight to London seem even longer.  

Eventually we made it out of Chicago and 7 hours later into London, where we were greeted by rain, which was rather refreshing.  In London, we had to exchange our money into pounds, and then we had to taxi over into another airport, which was on the other side of the city.  It was the middle of the night, and it was an hour drive, so the taxi was extremely expensive.  Myself, my roommate Jana, and another girl Emily from Winona took the taxi together, and it cost us 104 pounds, which is about $170.  Basically we all had to pay $60 just to get to the airport.  London looks like a fun place to visit, on the way, we saw the eye and one of the famous bridges, too.  Once we got to the airport, it was 2am London time and because it was such a small airport it was completely closed up.  We were able to camp out in the main area for the night.  Exhausted, I made a bed out of the airplane pillow and small blanket and fell asleep in a corner for about an hour.  Talk about a good night's rest...

At 5am the airport started to show signs of life, and we were able to get some food at a bakery type store.  I had "porridge" (oatmeal) with honey and a hot chocolate, and it really hit the spot.  When 8am came around we were able to check in and go through security for our final flight to Granada.  

The flight to Granada was wonderful, it was really empty so I had two seats to myself and I slept just about the entire time.  Granada is kind of dry right now, and it is in the mountains.  I am excited for spring!  There are pine trees and palm trees, something I wouldn't expect.  We were picked up at the airport and taken to our new home, where Jana and I met Elba and Juan Miguel, our host family.  They only speak Spanish, so it was interesting experiencing the first "submersion" of the trip.  It went pretty well, actually.  Elba and Juan are very nice and very patient, so that helps.  The apartment is on the third floor in a building in the center of the city.  It is smaller, and it is very clean and nicely decorated.  Jana and I share a bedroom.  I will post pictures later :).  Our first meal at home was spaghetti, which was nice because it tasted much like mom's.  

Right now it's ciesta, which is a time in the day when stores close for lunch and midday resting.  I could get used to this culture I think...Jana and I are going to take a nap, and then maybe walk around the city a little.  Dinner here is at 9pm, which is different from home.  

Anyway, I am exhausted so I'm going to take a nap.  I will post pictures later.  

Audios!