Arrival in Granada

I made it to Granada safe. Stories to follow later...

So I guess it's later and time for stories. I woke up this morning with extreme anxiety that I would:

A. Be charged a shitton for my luggage. Maybe I actually didn't need to bring an entire package of mechanical pencils or a whole box of tampons? But what if I need them? Marina was nice enough to let me know her thoughts on my packing. Luckily, my checked baggage was exactly the right weight (only .2 kg over) and they didn't care that I brought two carry-ons. Yayyy!

B. Not be able to get to the hostel from the airport safely at 10pm. I asked the girls in front of me on the plane if there were taxis readily available to take from the airport, they suggested I take a bus. Hello... I don't want to be dropped off in the middle of a city I don't know, don't speak or understand the language perfectly, OR know where I'm going... alone... at 10pm. Thanks anywho. So I was waiting for my luggage and saw a guy walking towards me wearing a "Marquette" shirt. I instantly pointed and we made eye contact, both of us realizing we had a Spanish class together last semester. He's also in the same program. Yahoooo. So we took a bus to the hostel (which he's also staying at the same one), ended up being only 3 euros each, much cheaper than the 30 euro cab ride. Phewww. Freaked out for nothing. Thanks, Chris!

Well we made it to the hostel, and decided to go get some food. So what do you order at 11:30pm when you're not extremely hungry but haven't eaten in hours? Okay, I'll get a baked potato, "mexicana" style. First comes out a plate with some tapas, noodles and french fries. "Uhh, waiter? We didn't order this?" Oh... they're for free with ordering a drink. Yahooo! Now my baked potato comes, wait... I mean 6 pounds of sliced veggies, chicken, avocado, peppers and onions thrown on top of a 3 pound potato. That thing was dense, but delicious. Oh and not to mention, the food was super cheap. I think I'm okay with this.

It's literally so ginormous that it's served with two spoons.

 So my plane ride into Granada. I had a window seat, scoorrreeee. I love window seats. The two seats next to me were empty for several minutes before this older couple came strolling in, having absolutely no idea where their seats were (at least that's what I understood by body language). So after the flight attendant tells them where their seats are, they sit down next to me. The woman looks at me and says, in Spanish of course, "Do you speak Spanish? Because that's all I speak." I excitedly replied with an anxious "Si". Finally I can understand the language in the country I'm visiting.
Then... the man started talking. Loudly. Actually he was yelling, in a dialect that I couldn't even understand a single word. Then the lady started doing the SAME exact thing. Oh my god, now everyone is  laughing at them and looking at me. I have NO idea what they're saying. I'm the only blonde person on this plane so they definitely all know I have NO idea what's going on.

So now it's time to buckle up, mind you the lady thinks it's too uncomfortable to buckle up because her belly is big. She's holding her purse over the buckle and actively hiding the fact that she's not buckled up. Such a rebel at age 75 (maybe even older, not sure).

The plane starts leaving the terminal and the man grabs a hold of the arm rest by the aisle and can't lift it up. So he continues to pull, push and jam it up and down. Loudly. The flight attendant comes and puts it up and asks where the heck he's going. He just wanted to stand up in the aisle while the plane was leaving the terminal to get his wallet out of his pants pocket to put it in his shirt pocket. Interesting lad I tell you.

So we continued the flight with awkward miscommunication and the couple holding onto the seat in front of them like they were going to fall out of the plane if they didn't. Oh and the active hiding of the seat belt continued throughout the entire flight, along with the loud, confusing speaking.

Welcome to Granada!