Today marks my 4th week here in Granada and I can finally say I have survived a month despite some full on breakdowns and a 1/4 life crisis. Since my last blog I have quickly realised that the admin in Spain is on another level when it comes to being unorganized and everybody here seems to have their head stuck in the 1800’s when people were still trading rabbits and chickens…
I refuse to even explain the faff that I have had because it’s becoming a boring and frustrating subject to even think about. Basically; I only managed to enroll on Friday after almost 3 weeks of floating around in lessons like a lost sheep, I still haven’t got my Learning Agreement signed so Lancaster can process my Erasmus grant, and I have somehow managed to open a bank account and receive a debit card without being given knowledge of my PIN or online banking details… thanks Granada!
Homesickness has also been a massive hurdle that I am still trying to jump over, I don’t think it will ever completely go away but hopefully it will get easier. On a happier note, my flatmates here are lovely and it’s nice to have a cup of tea with my German friend Anna. A good old brew and a chinwag works wonders I tell you! It also helps that my Netflix has changed because of my location and I can now watch Modern Family as much as I want, so if my day has been really hectic and I’m feeling blue, I just stick that on, eat some biscuits and voilà, a happy Charlotte is restored. (well, almost)
Last weekend was cool because we all went to a cute bar with tapas and music where we were given a free drink of whisky in a glass almost the size of mine and Anna’s head (see photo for proof).
And then we tried to get into a club all the way up in the hills somewhere to find out it was 8 euro to get in and there was a massive queue, so we all stumbled home and went to bed 😂
Yesterday was lovely too because we went to a really groovy cafe where you could climb up to the attic and sit on a little terrace and get lost in the views. Pictures don’t even do it justice, but here’s how pretty it was:
Sams Visit
My most favourite part of my time here so far has been seeing Sam who flew over last Tuesday for a few days which boosted my spirits a lot. It was our first time in a foreign country together (but definitely not the last!) and I was sooooo happy to see his face and give him a little tour of where I’m living for the next few months. I showed him views of the Alhambra, walked him through the Albaicín, we ate churros, pizza, had some really good icecream and even sat to have a moonlit dinner while people played guitar on the street! He even tried to speak little bits of Spanish in the restaurant, but saying la cuenta proved a little tricky and he just put a thumbs up to signal for the bill hahaha – when in doubt, sign it out! It even rained for the first time since being here which was a surprise (sorry Sam) but that never stopped us northerners from doing anything before! Who even cares about the weather when you’re in good company! Looking forward to December for a week filled with good food, belly laughs, loads of much needed catching up and maybe even a visit to the Alhambra if we can get tickets. For now videocalls and meme tagging will have to suffice. It’s always hard to say bye but it’s not forever, it’s always a ‘see you later’. And to make me feel better I have SO many new pictures to put in my adventure book now to keep me busy for the time being!
Here’s a mere few of our snapshots:
I suppose I best stop chatting away now seen as though I have ditched my reading and homework for tomorrow morning to bore you all with my life. I’ve decided these will be a fortnightly occurrence so that it breaks up my time here.
¡Hasta la próxima! 💕🌸🌴🍕🍨🍻🍴🌍💕
1545 miles from home 