On Thursday, I made pumpkin smoothies and turkey pasta and went to a potluck. Although with good people, it was not with close friends; I was invited by Michelle's request. Eventually, I realized my mistake, and my introversion shined as I had nothing to contribute to the connections all around me, nor any desire to force anything out. I left everyone at a bar and walked home to skype with Joel and my family and wish them a happy thanksgiving. Everyone loved the smoothies.
On Friday, we adventured. We went around the corner of Michelle's apartment, marveled at the blazing red of the fall leaves, cuddled with a sweet cat, watched the sun set, admired the infinite beauty of the Albaycin and Realejo, where it's impossible to exhaust the supply of images in the cobblestone sidewalks, graffiti art, and winding staircases peppered with hidden treasures. We filled leftover hours with hookah and tea before speeding to the university's thanksgiving dinner for all us homesick California kids. I had a wonderful time talking with Allie, Gabi, and Lauren, three girls who had always given off great vibes, but with whom I'd never spent much time.
I didn't sleep that night and got out of bed at 7:20 to catch an 8:30 bus to Cordoba. It was completely dark when my alarm went off. I walked up the street and up the stairs to Gran Via as light danced through the alleyways and filled the city. I passed persistent partiers with beer bottles in their hands, still celebrating the previous night. Maddy, Vani and I met up at the bus station and headed off. I made the mistake of trying to read at first, which resulted in relentless nausea for the next three hours of the trip. Once we arrived, we sat in the sun's unseasonably warm glow as we waited for Maddy's friend in the UC Cordoba program to meet us. We wandered the streets of the Juderia, the old Jewish quarter, we saw the blend of history in the Cordoba's famous church-then-mosque-then-cathedral, we ate kebabs, we crossed the river, we wandered some more. Cordoba was charming and beautiful. It was much more like Sevilla than either city is like Granada: fairly flat, absolutely covered in bitter orange trees, highlighted by its patios covered in flowerpots, central monuments surrounded by streets careful to present a charming, antique, cheerful feel, replete with whitewashed buildings, brightly painted signs, eateries, and souvenir shops.
I got home exhausted, elated, ready to sleep for a half day and wake up with the rush of my emotional energy compounded with its physical counterpart, until grumpy folk on the other end of Skype pushed me off my high. I woke up dreading the day rather than ready to seize it, but I'm determined to let the otherwise good vibes of this weekend push me through a productive and satisfying week before heading off to Istanbul!
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