Overdue Much?

After realizing that my previous blog entry could have been called "From Barcalona to All Alone-ah in Girona" for even more rhyming fun, let me give you a quick recap of Spain followed by some recent happenings in Nantes/whatever comes to my mind. (PS-a few pictures added to the last post...)

I was able to navigate all the way to Sevilla by myself where I met the rest of my group for a gorgeous three-hour bus ride to Granada.  Once in Granada, we embarked on a terrible several hour hunt for our hostel that wasn't even that great once we found it.  We called it a night.  The rest of our time there we went to the Alhambra which is an awesome jewel of an Arabian-type palace just sitting in the middle of Spain!  It was as most reviews said: not much to look at from the outside but once you get on the inside, it's just wow. 

 The outside, though nothing compared to the inside, wasn't all that bad, though, and coupled with the views you get of the city was pretty great (it's almost worth the price of admission just to see the views).  Granada also was my formal introduction to churros con chocolata.  There was also an adorable little cafe that a couple of my friends and I went to a couple times where I continued to discover that cafe con leche is quite good (better than France's cafe au lait, I have to admit).  Overall, Granada's a really charming town with a little bit of hippy spunk (for better or for worse, in the case of our hostel).  After that it was another gorgeous bus ride to Madrid (if I tell you anything, I will tell you this: try to take in the center of Spain in any way that allows you to see it's countryside which includes rolling hills and tiny towns tucked into their sides that look adorably quaint once night falls).  Time in Madrid was most notable for it's not-really-Spanish-but-so-delicious cuisine (jasmine chicken and pear ravioli) and the trouble some of my friends had getting back.  My group ran into some trouble, too, between Paris and Nantes because of a giant storm that came through the area, leaving trees down everywhere, including on the tracks.

But what about Nantes?  Some things that have been going on up here:

• AGAPE: The Navigators of Nantes, in a sense--the organization for young Protestants in Nantes.  It meets about once a week (unfortunately for three hours on Thursday night when I'm super tired from three really full days right before) and we usually have dinner, sing songs (many translated from English), and hear a message of some sort.  It's a cool group--a pretty good number of us are in some way foreigners--either exchange students or working (mostly from the US and Africa but some from Asia as well).  I also joined a Bible study with some girls in my program.  I really like the aspect of studying the Bible in another language--you notice things you wouldn't have noticed otherwise and I find it a really good way to actually practice speaking French (since classes are mostly just listening and our conversation club, the times I've gone, haven't included a lot of conversation).

• Normandy:  My program recently took us on a two-day excusion to Normandy to see the D-Day Beaches and other historical sites along those veins.  We went to a museum, Caen, Omaha Beach, the American Cemetary, and also the Tapestry of the Queen Matilda (I think it's called).  Seeing all of the World War II sites was a really good learning experience and was really powerful in ways that can't be accessed in the classroom in that we were literally standing in a place that propelled forward the end of one of the most truly horrific periods of human history.  I have to say, too, that the coldness of the place and the gray sky coupled with gray ocean really added to the complacently somber tone of the place, the fact that this event even had to happen is a stain on so-called humanity.
• Running/Fitness:  I actually started running again!  My plan is to get some base mileage in now so I can run a half-marathon in the summer.  Since my schedule isn't very condusive to running, I haven't been out a whole lot but I do try.  It turns out there's actually a really great park near the house that's chock full of running trails (though sometimes they can be pretty muddy since it tends to rain a fair amount here).  I also decided to try going to (wait for it) a hip-hop dance class on Friday nights.  It's with the sports program at the university so it's not costing me anything extra and a lot of others in my program do it so I figured I'd give it a shot.  It's acutally pretty great and while I can't say I'm super-fly with the dance moves and I did have bruises from some of the moves one week, everyone's just there to have some fun and get in a pretty good workout.  And when the instructor's name is "Boogie," what's not to love?  Also, we learned some Paso Doble and some Mambo in my other dance class, which, if you know my dance preferences, is pretty exciting!
• Midterms: They came, they were intimidating, they...weren't all that bad.  Still have to stay caught up, though!
• Planning:  I am just about done planning Break Number 2 in Italy!  I'll be in Rome for most of the week with some family that's being incredibly generous (thanks, Thom!) and then in Sicily for a couple days, too, with a friend.  I bought an Italian phrase book with all intents and purposes but we'll have to see...This weekend is also Easter so we get Monday off so I think I might use this weekend to explore Nantes a bit more--there's still a lot I haven't seen!

Ok, so that's about it for now.  Probably have to get some sleep at some point...