I've been here a week?!

Can you believe I've been here for a week? It still doesn't feel real, but Nathan and I are starting to get in to a routine, so it's been pretty good. We spend a lot of our days just walking around, exploring the city. There's so much to see! Granada isn't a huge city, but because of its history, the buildings and architecture is amazing.

We stopped by the Monasterio De San Jeronimo (St. Jerome Monastery). It's actually less than a block from our apartment and is a fully functional monastery with nuns living on the second floor. You can also attend mass here every day. It's a beautiful chapel, filled with amazing details.

There's an orange orchard in the middle of the plaza, full of oranges ready to be picked. It was nice to see living, breathing things in such an old building. I loved seeing such a beautiful place being used and appreciated.

     

 

It's Sciiience.

Today Nathan and I went to the Granada Science Centre. It was impressively big, with things to see inside and out. I thought I would really struggle through the centre, but more than half of the exhibits had at least the bullet points in English, as well. I didn't get as much information as Nathan did but at least I knew what was going on. Which is more than I can always ask for roaming around this place. 

My favourite part was the history section. They had information on the Spanish culture dating back to the 1100's. They had books on surgery from the 1200's, as well as chemistry and physics. It really reminded me how young North America is, and how much there is to learn in a place like Granada. 

My other favourite section was definitely the human body exhibit. It was almost like an interactive Body Worlds. The heart that Nathan is in front of is from a fin whale. I'm standing next to the same fin whale's skeleton and part of its vertebrae. I couldn't get enough of this exhibit! Everything was really well done and there was so much to see.

After the Science Centre, we walked across town to the soccer stadium. Right next to the stadium is McDonald's. So we had to try it. I was surprised at what was the same and what was different. They had the same general things, but my McDouble, for example, was two burgers placed side by side, rather than stacked on top of each other. Nathan's McChicken had BBQ sauce on it. They had these potato wedges for fries that were so good! 

After we hit McDonald's, we went to my first soccer game! It was so crazy! I loved it. The fans were outrageous and are so invested in the game and the players. It was a great game to start off with, going right down to the wire. We definitely are going again!

Hola?

I spent a day and a half flying and didn't sleep very well, which meant I was essentially up for 36 hours. I was definitely pleasant the entire time. I changed planes four times and went through security three times. The highlight of the trip was definitely my attempt at trying Coke Light. The options for Coke in Europe are Coke, Coke Zero and Coke Light. So naturally we assumed that Coke Light is the same as Diet Coke. As Nathan and I were talking about it before I tried it, he suggested I live tweet it. Because I was sitting in an airport in Madrid with nothing else to do, I did. I think I summed up my feelings on the subject quite well.

I landed in Granada Thursday afternoon and Nathan met me at the airport. I was so excited to see him after two weeks of trying to coordinate schedules between work and our time difference. I was a hot mess when I got to our apartment. I was planning to fight the jetlag and stay up until going to bed at a reasonable time. That definitely didn't last. I napped for two hours and then went back to bed a few hours later. I slept for twelve hours... But I woke up perky and ready for the day. So Nathan and I went out exploring. As we were walking around, it really hit me how little I was in control of my life. Without a basic understanding of the language and being unfamiliar with the city, I was completely at the mercy of others. It was overwhelming. The city itself is beautiful, full of eighteenth-century buildings and plazas. The people are friendly and very accommodating. But it's hard to feel like the odd man out in every scenario.

Nathan and I went to the Granada Cathedral, which is a few minute walk from our house. It's one of the most famous cathedrals in Spain and I can definitely see why. It's beautifully made, completed in the fifteenth-century. The cathedral is overwhelmingly large, with vaulted ceilings and monuments to multiple saints. They still have mass here each day, which I'm trying to get Nathan to go to with me. I loved it, and we'll probably go there a few more times. We forgot our GoPro! But it was definitely a good thing to kick off our adventures in.

Oh heyy, Spain.

So it's official. Nathan and I have moved to Spain! Nathan left on January 5, and I stayed behind to work a few extra shifts and finish packing everything up. It felt surreal to drop Nathan off at the airport and then drive back home. I won't lie, a few unexpected tears were shed on my part. It was crazy to realize how connected I am to Nathan, and to have to suddenly be gone. He was flying across the ocean and there was an eight hour time difference between us. It was definitely not easy.

After Nathan left, I had a lot of time on my hands. I had to do quite a bit of packing and cleaning still. I packed my dishes earlier than was probably a good idea, so I only ate out of paper bowls or cups. I went grocery shopping once right after Nathan left and I only let myself buy things I knew I could finish in two weeks alone which left me eating a lot of macaroni and cheese, or chips and salsa. I'm pretty sure I had forgotten what a vegetable tasted like. I was definitely on the verge of scurvy.

I had to sell my Buick too. It's been on our minds for the last few months and if we weren't moving, we probably would have gotten rid of it soon anyway. But it was really sad for me to hand the keys over to someone else and watch them drive away in my car. I mean, let's call a spade a spade. That car was so trashy. But I loved it. I got it in high school, drove it to basketball practice, to sneak out to meet my boyfriend or friends, and a lot of road trips. I drove it to Edmonton and it got me through university and graduation. I met and married Nathan with that car and we spent our first two years of marriage complaining about it. Not to say that the Buick wasn't without its problems. There were no cup holders, so I stuffed a bunch of stuff in the console to create two spots for drinks. The power steering went out for an entire winter, and it took my entire body weight to make any kind of turn. The windows didn't roll down so any time you went through the drive through, you had to open the door to pay and get the food. The horn didn't work. The coolant light was always on. The hood was broken and could only be opened by pulling on a wire, after you took the grill off. And those are just the highlights. How could you not love this car though?

I went to Calgary for a weekend to spend some time with my nursing friends before I left. The next weekend, I had the chance to go home to see my family and for Haden's farewell. I had so much fun with my sisters and mom, and it was a great chance to see all my cousins.  I essentially tried to stuff everyone that I like into two weeks of visiting to make sure that they would remember me when I come home in six months.

After all of my escapades, I finally had to pack up my house and move out. It was a stressful last few days at home, but somehow everything Nathan and I own fit into a bedroom in the basement of Nathan's parents and I was ready to fly out.

Here we go! An adventure I'm not quite prepared for in a country I've never been to with a language I don't speak. Does it get better?