Jan 31
        There’s only two types of guys out there, ones that can handle me, and the ones that are scared.
        The wise words of Britney Spears.
        So anyways, I’m now sitting on the ship, exhausted but happy as a little clam. My Spain adventure was all I had hoped it would be and I will be in Morocco the day after tomorrow. Now that I have embarked and disembarked at a port seemingly in the flash of an eye I am finally truly happy to be here and have recentered myself around the goals I have for this trip. This is all about me, for me, and I have to remember that, always. No regrets.
        So I wanted to write a little more about details I’ve left out. First of all the weather in Cadiz was absolutely perfect. It is winter in Spain, and though I definitely encountered some frigid weather, Cadiz was an exception. We wore jackets out, and after some time walking around, we were sweating and had to take them off. The sky was clear, the sun was beating down, and it was like walking along on a fall day in San Diego.
        Cordoba was beautiful, a smaller version of Sevilla, I’ll have to write the details of where we went later I am a little too tired to remember, it’s all a blur. La catedral, Alcazar… and I am leaving something else out. I walked around town by myself in search of the perfect jacket, but never found one. The weather on this day was FRIGID. Until about 3 when we climbed on the buses and the sun beat through the windows. More sleeeeep. Wake up for the end of the drive. The Spanish countryside stretches around me, green hillsides, fields of trees, and suddenly I look up and see the whitest mountains I’ve ever seen. I hadn’t even been aware we were going towards the mountains and I was immediately really excited. The minute we reached town I knew Granada would be my favorite place we visited. I really wish I could post pictures to give you a visual of what I’m talking about. The town is nestled below the mountains and stretches along for several miles. La Alhambra, and our hotel called Alixares I believe, is perched on a hillside that gives a breathtaking view of the city below. All white houses, each one unique. I was so excited to be there. I was the first one off my bus, dropped my stuff in my room, grabbed my journal, and walked outside to catch the last hour of light. I walked along trying to find a place to watch the sunset and write in peace. La Alhambra was about a minute’s walk from my hotel. I wandered down, checking out the shops and hotels alongside the road. I couldn’t figure out how to get to an area to watch the sunset, so I stopped and asked a man, “Donde puedo mirar el sol?” or Where can I watch the sun? He laughed and raised his eyebrows and said, “El sol?” I laughed and said si, the sky. He told me the only place to see it was very far away, so I thanked him and sit down on a bus stop bench. I opened up my journal and wrote for the next hour as the sky changed colors through the trees. Spanish people kept coming up to me to ask me for directions, and I would smile and say, “Lo siento, no hablo espanol.” Then they would smile and walk away. One guy sat with me on the bench for awhile and we talked a little in Spanish, then he hopped on the bus, hasta luego.
        After dinner we all decided we wanted to go into town and enjoy some nightlife. I hadn’t really had a huge night out yet so I was down for anything. We got all hussied up and called for three cabs. There were 11 of us, and the cabs waited while everyone got downstairs. Unfortunately, we didn’t know the meters were running. So we got into the cab already having an eight euro bill. Sweet. So I jokingly argued with the cab driver, and when I got out I said, “No gustamos ti.” or we don't like you. He laughed and told us to have fun.
        We walked by a hookah bar and a couple of friends and I got very excited. We went in and sat with three SAS guys, all named Ryan haha, for a couple of minutes until we realized that the place didn’t have alcohol. Adios! Next we went into an Irish pub, where we had a great time. We did lots of Jager shots, had Spanish beer, and some vodka and pineapple juice. Between the five of us it was only a 32 euro tab, the guy gave us about ten free drinks. Well that made up for the eight extra cab euros! I made friends with these two great girls Danielle (another one) and Kelly. They were really fun girls and I can’t wait to hang out with them again. We started talking to some guys from Baton Rouge who live in Spain and teach English. One guy was absolutely hilarious so we hung out with them a little and I asked them all about their jobs. The funny guy told us he was a DJ, then a stripper, but I’m pretty sure he just teaches English. I want to do what they are doing. I want to go live in a Spanish country for AT LEAST six months. That is the only way I will ever really learn the language, and it really is one of my dreams to KNOW Spanish. REMEMBER THIS JILLIAN: GO LIVE IN A SPANISH COUNTRY. JUST DO IT. DON’T LET ANYTHING STOP YOU.
        So we leave the bar and head over to a discoteque, Granada Diez. This place was a blast. There were a lot of Americans and Spanish people there. We were all dancing and having a great time. It’s amazing how friendly everyone is once you get a few drinks in. I started talking to one Spanish guy, keep in mind all of these conversations are in Spanish and therefore rather simple, and he told me that all of his friends had girlfriends so they didn’t want to dance. So when one of them, I don’t remember his name so I will call him Juan Pollo, came over and started dancing with us, I told him what his friend had said and asked jokingly, “You don’t have a girlfriend?” and he said, “No, I’m too ugly.” Hahahahhaa. It was funny because he was not ugly, quite the opposite. So all of us girls danced and had a great time, I practiced my Spanish as much as I could, then it was right around 3 am and people were ready to head out because most of them had pulled an allnighter the night before. I grabbed a cab back with Kelly and Danielle and this other SAS girl hopped in our cab too. She wouldn’t stop talking about Heinz, who apparently we had forced her away from. “I was just about to get with that guy. WHY did you guys make me come home? Heinz was SO HOT. He was DUTCH you guys. I have to go back to him!” Hahahahaha it was great.
        Got home and went on the computer for a long time, ended up in bed around five. Facebook chatted with Anthony’s brother haha that was a good time. And a bunch of other people actually, including Chris who gave me tips on Morocco because he was just there. Uploaded some pictures from Spain.
        The next morning was our latest one yet, we didn’t have to leave until 9:45, and La Alhambra was my favorite place of all just as I knew it would be. It was a beautiful castle of the old Muslim rulers. The view was spectacular, the gardens were so peaceful. I imagined living there amongst the king’s four wives and 200 concubines. To live in a place as beautiful as this, I might consider being a concubine. I wish I had stayed in Granada longer and been able to head up to the mountains. I felt great on this day despite a night of drinking, and despite the intense cold. It was 6 degrees Celsius, which is almost freezing. And I was in jeans and a sweatshirt. But we survived it. I took so many wonderful pictures. The town reminded me of the town we visited in Germany, the name of which escapes me at the moment.
        The drive home was beautiful and long, about four hours. I only slept for about an hour so I really got to see the countryside this time. It was raining for about half of it. The air in Granada was so crisp, it smelled so fresh, just like after a fresh snowfall in Mammoth. Maybe I would do better in the cold than I think I would. It’s just a different feeling in the cold, somewhere so remote and beautiful like that.
        Back on the boat, met up with friends I haven’t seen for a few days and we all exchanged glorious stories. Dinner was the best one I have had yet. We planned out Morocco a little more, seeing as we get there the day after tomorrow!
        I finally feel captivated by the experience I’ve embarked upon.

“In case you never noticed, the path you never chose has chosen you.”