Field Trip!

Life is rolling along nicely here in Alhuarin de la Torre...my two students are still eager to come to school, so that's a good sign! I'm enjoying getting to know them and their unique, fun personalities. Sometimes I forget that they are in the midst of such a huge transition in their lives- moving across the Atlantic to live in a new country. They are adapting well so far, and in fact the whole family has been a huge help and support for me too, during this time. They are living here in the same house as me for now, while looking for a house to rent. They're a blessing :)

On Tuesday of this week, we went on our first field trip of the school year! A group of people here that work on CRM's staff care team planned a trip up to the city of Granada and we decided to go along. More specifically, we went to visit the Alhambra, which was (insert history lesson here...) a huge palace, fortress, and small town that was built by the Moors in the 13th and 14th centuries. Granada was the last Moorish kingdom left in Spain by the end of the 1400s, and the Alhambra was the center of the Moorish rule there. In 1492 the Reconquista, led by Ferdinand and Isabella, reached the Alhambra and the Moors surrendered and left Spain. (Sorry...I studied and taught all about the Alhambra with my girls on Monday, so I need to spread my knowledge somewhere. ;) I even had them make a foldable to help them learn the basic facts, with a little help from my dad on Skype! Thanks, Dad!)

Anyway, we woke on Tuesday to a sunny day here on the coast, but as we drove inland the rains descended. And cooold! It was the cutest thing, the girls had gotten their first pair of winter gloves before coming here to Spain and they were super excited about them! Coming from Costa Rica, gloves were not a winter necessity, I suppose. They were fuzzy, muppet-like gloves and by the end of the day I was wishing I had had my own pair!
We had a fun time anyway, despite getting rained on throughout the day. The gardens around the Alhambra are beautiful, as is the Moorish design and architecture. I can't even put it into words, I'll just be attaching some pictures below to show you! You can't even wrap your mind around how much work must have gone into building this place, with all the intricate tiles and designs carved in the walls and ceilings. I highly recommend a visit if you're ever in Spain!

I highly enjoyed the city of Granada as well...in fact, I'd like to go back and do some more shopping. In addition to all the twisty little alleyways we visited, filled with Moroccan goods and teterias (tea shops, many filled with hookah things), I also made an exciting discovery as we were driving out of the city....a Sephora! Woohoo! Bare Escentuals makeup, here I come! (it's the small things, okay?)

View of the Alhambra, on the left, from the gardens

Waiting to go inside...getting rained on...with the village Albaicin in the distance

The beautiful columns inside with intricate arabic designs

This is a ceiling in one of the rooms...so cool!

Hanging out in one of the courtyards, by the reflecting pool

This is just a sampling of the Alhambra...I can put more pictures in a Snapfish album, if anyone is interested..let me know!
Thank you for all your prayers and support for me while I'm here. Please know that I am thinking of home often, even if I'm not able to call or write as much as I'd like. But please feel free to email me or try me on Skype! It's just my first and last name. Even if you don't have video, I can still use it as my phone! It just gets a little lonely here sometimes, though I know I am where I'm supposed to be :)