Placement Exam Today! ahhh, it was nerve racking, especially waiting for my turn in the oral exam. The first two sections were grammar and writing which weren't terrible. Definitely didn't have enough time for the writing portion though, seems to always be the case when taking writing/essay exams. However, all three sections went better than expected so that's a relief.
     For the oral exam, I was called in... asked questions...  released... and then was called in again for a second time. Except, no one else had to go twice. I tried to explain this to the profe but she kept saying she didn't have me down having already taken the oral exam. Even more funny was the fact that I took both oral exams with the same profe! It was so strange and stressful since I had already taken the exam making me even more confused. Luckily, I received the same score for both times- a 6 on a scale from 1-8! So happy with this score!

    After the exam, a group of us went and grabbed some café with chocolate croissants. They're so delicious looking when you walk by the on the way to school that you just have to stop back in later and satisfy your chocolate craving. I'm pretty sure for some croissants/pastries the filling is nutella rather than just plain chocolate... even more delicious!

     From here we explored the city a bit more. Another girl and I (Holly) walked to the opposite side of Granada, the area where the high school is located. There we discovered more hidden valleys with interesting shops and cafés. We stumbled upon a large building which we thought was an old historic hospital since it had the words "Hospital Real" on its outside. However, once we walked in, it was definitely apparent it wasn't a hospital... we actually weren't and still aren't sure what it was. Creepy though since there was a single guard roaming, protecting what? not sure again... we followed signs to "la bibilioteca" except we followed the signs until they disappeared taking us to random rooms which when Holly opened were occupied by a few workers just chilling inside... so bizarre! So we left... immediately.

    After exploring, we met with the rest of the study abroad group for tea in an area of the city called Albayzin... it has an arabic setting. First we took a bus to a viewpoint which looked over the city of Granada as well as the Sierra Nevadas and La Alhambra (where we were yesterday). It was amazing view since we were then during sunset. The sun created a golden glow on the brick castles of La Alhambra- it was a beautiful sight! From here, we walked down the narrow streets from the viewpoint to the teahouse. The walk there was filled with multiple overlooks of the city and mountains.
     Finally we arrived at the tea house where we had sweet green tea and a honey and nut coated pastries. They were of course delicious when paired with the tea. The interior of the teahouse was cozy with large curtains swooping from the ceiling to meet at an arab-designed lantern. The entire inside had a orange-red tint to it.
     After tea, we hit up the "rebajas" sales which are ongoing for this week only. Twice a year in Granada, the stores have rebajas in which discounts can range from anywhere between 30- 70% off. The discounted prices are super cheap... it's so hard to go into a shop and NOT buy anything. My friends back home would go crazy and shop non-stop with these sales. Though it was difficult, I kept thinking I need money for traveling since I plan to travel to multiple countries, continents and cities while abroad. Sadly, the rebajas did get the best of me at times... but I keep thinking I bought 4 items here for less than 20 Euros while those same 4 items in the U.S. would cost over $100 combined... the U.S needs to learn how to discount like Spain.

   Tomorrow is the first day of the Early Start Intensive program classes. Every day, lunes- viernes, classes will be from 9a-1p. As nerdy as this may sound, I'm glad to be getting some structure for my day since I'm not use to having a free for all feeling every day, all day. May sound nice but having classes for a specific time period will be helpful for learning the city and making me feel more like this is my new university. Yay!