Primavera está aquí, con sol y viento

Spring is here, with sun and wind

That's right, it was 80° in Granada yesterday. I spent as much time outside as I could. The sky was so bright blue with clean fluffy clouds. Balloon vendors came out in droves with crazy shaped balloons (I especially want the unicorn-pegasus one, but Anabel said it was not normal in Spain for 20-yr-old girls to carry balloons. Which explains why they are the only vendors who don't approach me, but not why I want one so much). The heladerías opened too! Each ice cream flavor has its corresponding elaborately carved fruit. There was a chocolate picante flavor, with peppers on top. There was chocolate y naranja, with chocolate-drizzled oranges carved to look like flowers. I plan on tasting every one, except banana of course. Into the afternoon the wind from the Sierra Nevadas picked up and skirts went flying, to say the least.

Sarah from ALC 2008 is here! She's visiting from England for a week. She called me from Málaga and after we hung up I turned to Liz and said "God, she sounds so English!" We picked her up at her hostel and she said "God, you sound so American!" When I speak to English people in bars, I sometimes have more trouble understanding their accent than rapid Spanish. She's so impressed by how cheap Granada is. That's because it's the best place in the world. We're going to do every fun thing this week.

Monday is a regional holiday in Andalucía, the day they became an official region of Spain or something. No Spaniards seem to know. The actual holiday is Sunday, but Monday is a day off because otherwise we wouldn't get a day off. Oh, Spain. I wish the US worked like that. 4th of July on a weekend is the worst luck ever.

I have a bit of a snuffly cold but I feel fine. All is well because Anabel is making paella and Sarah is coming over in an hour. Today is only about 55° but we're going to spend it outside anyway. (Friends in the Northeast, just let that sink in for a moment... into the snow!)