Introducing Sarah, and Granada

Hola desde Granada!

I'm going to take Laura and Nick's lead and introduce myself.

I'm Sarah, 22 years-old, and your guide for the next eight months to Granada, Spain and the nearby town of Churriana de la Vega. I recently finished my undergraduate studies in Romance Languages at the University of Maryland, after doing brief stints in Aix-en-Provence, France in Summer 2006 and Buenos Aires, Argentina in Spring 2007.

Granada is a smallish city located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalucía, Spain. It is probably best known for being home to the Alhambra, a massive Moorish fortress and palace that overlooks the city. Granada is also known to be youth-friendly with its university and ubiquitous bares de tapas. I will surely write more about them later!

Finding housing here is often a difficult task, involving scouring the internet and city streets for advertised pisos compartidos (shared flats). Though there is a lot of available housing, demand is also high, and available places often go quite quickly.

I, however, have been exceptionally lucky: I found a room in a lovely flat in the very first day of my search! This is largely due to the help of J, a future coworker of mine whom I met in the wonderful Hostal Oasis, where I've been staying since Friday evening. My apartment is near the city center and the bus line I will need to take to work, and its rooftop terrace boasts magnificent views of the mountains and of the Alhambra. I begin moving in tomorrow.

As you can imagine, the apartment keys currently residing in my handbag are making me a lot less nervous about these next eight months. As I continue to gain my footing here (a nonlinear process, I'm sure), I will do my very best to share with you not only my leaps forward, but also my missteps; and whether you end up cheering me on or berating me, I hope that you are at least from time to time entertained.