getting ready for vacation

next week is semana santa, holy week for those spanish illiterate. my cousin comes to visit and we are going to see the sights and the sites. since my cousin is a planner, i have worked hard to get ready, only to find today that the one major feature (in Granada) the Alhambra was almost sold out! fortunately, i got the last 2 tickets available during the entire time we will be there. otherwise, we would have had to stand in a long line and maybe not get in.
teaching is hard when vacation is around the corner. the students don't want to learn, and somehow they know you really don't want to teach either. i end up giving up often and just letting them chat. otherwise, it's like pulling teeth to get them to participate.
having a lot of time on my hands this week so here i am blogging. in some ways i can't wait to be done here and go...well, i don't know where...but back to the states. but what will i miss? i try to focus on that so that i don't focus on what i won't miss (which is more readily available to my mind). i will miss the sun (even though it burns). i will miss the way i can walk almost anywhere easily in my town...and it is common! i will miss the abundance of fruit, and the markets where i buy it. the fresh avocados, the mangos, the chirimoyo...oh, and the smell of fresh bread as well as the taste. i might even miss the besos...at least, it's nice knowing how you great someone instead of an awkward "do i shake his hand or...". i will miss a bit of the pace of life (although right now i am a bit bored)...sitting in a cafe in the sunlight sipping a nice cafe con leche...having a tinto de verano while chatting away...never being bothered about the check until you say la cuenta por favor. and of course, how the sun makes memories of the white-washed houses with the blue-speckled tiles glistening in the lazy heat. the cries of "hola guapa" and the piropos...it's nice to be looked at sometimes.
life in spain. it's a lazy adventure.

spring in Cordoba...

less than 48 hours spent in the warm sun and cool shady streets of an ancient tranquil city. winding streets with tempting open doorways to gated patios resplendent with lush green plants and softly trickling fountains. enjoying the cherry blossoms, reminiscent of spring in the pacific northwest. savoring the cool, slightly muskily-scented vastness of the Mezquita, the mixing of two religions. nice to get out of town...