I’m fairly logical, as far as human beings go. And yet I recently found myself thinking this: “Ah yes, the weather is definitely getting nicer. Must be time for Spring Fair back home. I wonder what everyone is up to.” Apparently, I have no trouble imagining that I am literally displaced by six months from the US instead of just one hour. Er, no. The month is October, not only in Chile, but in the whole world, and people back home are drinking pumpkin lattes and walking through piles of dead leaves.

Almost all of my blog entries have turned inwards and been a bit heavy.  As good as it is to reflect and strongly opinionate, in this blog entry I’ll try to avoid the mires of introspection and look a bit more outward.  In this case on the experience of being a student at the University of Granada.

For years I’ve felt a lot of pressure to be great at speaking French. I’m not sure where that pressure came from – is it all self-inflicted or does it come from others’ expectations that I should be bilingual simply because I have francophone parents?

My comprehension isn’t awful since I’ve heard the language since birth and spending years in French classes has certainly shaped my writing, but the thought of actually speaking French used to petrify me.

I like to think I’ve done a pretty good amount of research on British culture before coming to London. I mean, I knew to look left before crossing the street, and I knew to compliment people on their “trousers” instead of their “pants” and all the important stuff. But despite my homework, I’ve assembled a collection of discoveries that still took me by surprise over the past few weeks. Here’s a small sample.

At the UofR it was uncommon for me to make friends with anyone I didn’t work or live with (that is, people I was compelled to see on a daily basis.) Even more uncommon was my going out somewhere with said friends – I once went to a restaurant with my roommates only to find I was being followed by a film crew hoping to gather rare footage of me leaving campus which would later be incorporated into a documentary on hermits, narrated by  David Attenborough.* So while what I’m going to talk about may seem kind of boring, it’s a Really Big Deal for

Get ready as this post is lengthy, but how can you explain a three day adventure with so little words? You just cannot…

1) As we began out journey a peaceful house lay among a barren rd leading up the mountain

2) As we get about two thirds about the mountain our view slowly changes from the blue ocean in the distance to the vast mountainous land

3) A gorgeous house lies along the mountainside of Tibidabo with amazing views in the distance