The whole next week Joseph (the free cake guy) was facebook messaging me about wanting to meet up and give me my birthday presents... wtf? This guy that I barely know who is infatuated with me waited at my school here in Granada in the library with a bouquet of flores and a cell phone that I could use here in Spain.... a cellphone? I was needless to say a little freaked out by this and not to mention his creepy facebook messages. Naturally, I sought advice from my spanish friends. First, I went to our favorite schwarma guy and asked him what to do. He is such a nice guy, he told me to follow my heart and tell him the truth, but either way we were going to get hurt. Then I asked our program director and he said this guy was weird and extremely forward even for spanish standards, so to be painfully honest with Joseph. I was. It was awful, Joseph sent me this awful message about how I am a liar and that karma will come get me! So I blocked him on facebook and that's that for the Joseph story.
I have grown on this trip immensely. First of all, in the States, I tend to be more of a guy's girl meaning I get along better with guys and I have my dudes at home (by the way I really miss all of you!) But, on this trip it is all girls. I only hang with girls 24/7 and you know what, I needed it. Usually, being around girls brings out the ultra- bitch in Nina, but I had to learn to function a different way. This group of girls is the best, quite literally, we are such a random mezcla (favorite spanish word) of personalities that we work really well together. I love these girls and I want to thank them for inadvertently teaching me how to be a girl's girl again. As I prepare the last few days of my time here in Granada, I want them to know that our time here together will never be forgotten, even if we never see each other again.
I have also realized more of my personality, I am a caregiver, provider, and overall a mother hen. My girls here call me Aunty Nina, which it's so true. I cannot help making sure every one is ok and you know what at the beginning of the trip I hated it, but now I just feel comfortable in myself. One part of my personality I need to watch out for is my ability to listen. Listening is one of my greatest skills but it gets me into trouble sometime, add my curiosity to learn about people it's a deadly combination. Of course, I can help a lot of people with this aspect of my personality, but sometimes people of the manly persuasion get the wrong impression. I am sorry to all current and future men who have been affected by this, but I do care about you just not necessarily the way you care about me. Ok that's enough about my personality, it's kind of annoying to talk about.
However, the main thing I want to blog about is the sheer amazingness of this culture! I am constantly in awe that this culture of Spain makes up who I am. My family originated from Spain, then of course moved to Mexico and this is why I am so light skinned. Becerra is originally a spanish word mean a baby cow and our family crest is originally from Spain. I am a part of a culture that has had almost every other major civilization in its territory. Roman, vikings, muslims, you name it they were here and they all influenced the culture that it is today. I feel like I am filling in missing puzzle pieces of my identity that I didn't even know were missing. I feel even more whole and fulfilled, being here allows me to explore what makes me and my family tick. The more and more I learn the more and more pride I feel for my heritage. For example, recently we went to a flamenco show and granted it was a tourist attraction I could literally feel my soul connecting to the emotions of the dance, to the history of the people in the dance. Cheesy, I know, but you can't deny a feeling like this. It's almost indescribable. If that moment in my life was filmed in a movie, there would be a flashback montage of all of my ancestors and the lives they lived. I could go on and on about Granada and tell you bloggers about my experiences, but I want you all to know the most important part about this trip for me. Unintentional self-discovery, which I would venture to say that this is the best kind of self-discovery.
That's all for today, and maybe for a while. If you would like to know more about Granada and my adventures never hesitate to ask!
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