Okay, I'm sweaty

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow

Oman is so cool! But definitely not temperature wise- its almost 11 am here, and its so hot and humid. All kinds of sweaty- at least we have the shops and this internet cafe to stop in and relax in the air conditioning.

But lets start at the beginning....

I finally departed NY at JFK on Friday night on Emirates. Which is an amazing airline, hands down. The plane was huge and glamorous- twinkle star lights on the ceiling included. And was thoroughly entertained by the endless amounts of new release movies and tv shows on my own tv console! But I was still able to tear away from the Pirates 3 and Becoming Jane to sleep for a good 7ish hours. I amazed not only myself, but the group members next to me. Which, by the way, the group is amazing so far. An interesting mix and we are all so excited to be here. Stopping in Dubai was amazing, but difficult as in we couldn't go explore. Its an interesting mesh of people, and seemed less traditional than the Oman airport (where we were glad we changed into our more modest clothing before landing), over the top, and glistzy.

We arrived at midnight local time here in Muscat, so the impact of the heat and culture was somewhat hidden at first. We basically drove from the airport, unloaded our bags at the hotel- dragging them all up the 2 flights of stairs, showered, and collapsed. Got a few winks in before we all had to be up at 8 for breakfast and our first meeting. Breakfast wasn't anything too different- toast, eggs, tea, and Nescafe. But still good. Elizabeth, the program director, gave us some info and our mission this morning. Received my Oman cell phone and maps of all that sort. We are in the Mutrah section of Muscat, our hotel looking out over the Gulf of Oman. Our goal this morning is to explore the souk (or marketplace) here and buy a "mystery item" or under 5 rial to share with the group. You all know how much I love browsing the market! But to find the mystey item is seemingly more difficult (trying to not buy perfume or saffron, which are not so mystery) And our search for a working ATM has caused us to feel like we are walking through a sauna. Luckily we found an internet service "cafe" , which is another part of our goals, to stop and rest inside for an hour.

Its going to be a very full day- exploring on our own, meeting and talking about our experiences, and eating at one of the program directors' homes. Trying to pick up some Arabic; most everyone speaks English, but want to try-as its my purpose here anyway, right!? I can now at least say thank you!

And thus day one is almost half over, but the experience is but beginning!

Revelations of a Busy Weekend

-Food is good, but still odd. After awhile, its hard to not miss "normal" food- Paella, hot ham and cheese sandwiches, pasta.. yummy! Had some jelly thing that we tried in Guanajuato..still weird, and a very Spanish meal of lentejas is good despite the vastly different (and worse tasting) chorizo. Did have a lunch at a Mexican restaurant, which tried to be a little Tex-Mex and a little Mexican. Pretty good for Spain, but would not be able to compete with home!

-Seeing Piratas del Caribe (Pirates of the Caribbean) was wonderful, wonderful. Probably the most semi-American thing I've done here besides Starbucks. Still a little different (assigned seats and butterless popcorn) I can't deny it felt good to just relax and watch a movie in English. And the movie wasn't too shabby either.

-El Rastro is crazy. A huge flea market on Sundays, the Rastro is a place of seeming chaos. I think thousands of people were out and about, crowding the streets and tents, and usually smoking... and it was 95+ degrees. Anything and everything could be found at this place- shoes, shirts, antiques, lingerie, art, frying pans, you name it. Got there early and left when it was turning even more crazy... thank goodness we missed the "big crowd."

- The swimming pool was probably the most surprising thing that has happened to me. Erika, Kas, Mike (who rents a room in our flat), and I decided to escape the blazing heat of the day and go to El Lago, the Lake. Really a huge place of 3 pools, el Lago is popular. During our search for some grass to lay on, one could definitely point out the differences between this place and one from the US. One-- thongs are popular. On guys and girls. Two-- so are speedos, which are better, but not by much. Three-- and even more popular, no tops at all. Really odd to see who opted for that style, and especially since it was a public pool, with people young and old. Whew! Kas and I did make some new friends--- 7 year old Erika and her 4 year old brother Juan, who took it upon themselves to tell us everything about themselves and collect us about 500 little flowers, which they then threw upon us as we sunbathed. Really cute, but one can only take kids patting your head to wake up for so long hahaha

-And now that the weekend is over, it is hitting us all that we only have 1 week left in Madrid. Mixed feelings for everyone (some a little more happy than others). For me, I'm more ready to finish with homework and assignments than actually leaving.

So much to do, so little time

Still have a long list of things to do before I leave Madrid, and time is flying! So to chip away at a few items, we are going to the movies tonight, El Rastro (a huge flea market) tomorrow morning, and the pool in the afternoon. But today... has been incredibly lazy. Glanced at the work waiting for me, but that didnt really happen. And with all the expenses of being sick, I fear walking around the streets--- all the sales are this weekend (half off almost everywhere!!). So our flat will suffice for now!

Granada's Greatness in 10 Moments

10. Graffitti: Funny, political, meaningful... there was lots!

9. The City itself: A quick overview of the city ended with a beautiful sight. Maybe after 30 minutes of walking up hill (or stairs/ or both?) on cobblestone the rest was what overtook us all... but the amazing view cannot be denied!

8. Tea: Arabic tea is yummmmmmy!

7. Belly Dancing: Our group got a belly dancing show along with our tea. We love Carlos' (ISA) surprises for us!

6. Tombs: The church with the tombs of Isabel, Ferdinand, and Juana the Loca. Couldn't take pictures, so this one outside will suffice.. but it was really amazing to see

5. Hookah: A little flavor of the Arabic world.. interesting!

4. Shopping: Pottery, tapestries, bags, and anything you can imagine... Walking the Arabic district browsing through all the little trinkets was super guay (super cool).

3. Fair: Everyone who was in Granada was here during the evenings and early morning hours. MEGA HUGE! Also goes to prove that the strangest people congregate at fairs in every country.

2. Flamenco: Saw some pro- saw some learners.. but all around neato.

1. La Alhambra: VOTE FOR LA ALHAMBRA FOR THE NEW WONDERS OF THE WORLD!! Dreamlike gardens, gorgeous view, amazing detail... just wish I could see it at its heyday