Day Six-Day Twelve

Well, we have been in Granada for a week now, and I must say it is an awesome city. From the great atmosphere to rolling night life, I have to say it's a winner. Our first four days here in Granada were filled with many adventures with Tino. Our first adventure was definitely my favorite. After we took some practice pictures to put into play what we had learned the night before, we hiked up to the top of the city where we reached the most spectacular lookout point. We spent about 30 minutes shooting many pictures, but making sure not to take too many, because we were going back later that night for better lighting. Between the time we left and the time we went back, we went to a park to practice our shooting. Our experience when we went back to the lookout point was 10 times better. The view was breathtaking. To add to the awesome view, we were also entertained by the many illegal street vendors, who when cops came quickly put all their stuff in the backpacks and sat there whistling like they are innocent. It's as if they think the cops don't know, shows how much they know. By the time we were done it was near dusk so we stopped at a local Middle Eastern Restaurant. Our adventure the next day was quite different than the first. We went to "Parque de Ciencias" aka science park. It was kind of like the Museum of Natural Science in Houston. The first thing we did was go to a planetarium for 35 minutes. The first 5 minutes was interesting but for some reason I have no memory of the next 30 minutes, I guess I fell asleep. But who can blame me? Peaceful music, reclined seats and darkness. From there we went outside to take pictures of the many things they had to offer. One of those things was a bird show. We watched 4 birds give us a show and we were able to get some really incredible pictures with the birds frozen in midair. From there, we went to the Butterfly Exhibit. We were warned that it was their natural habitat but I didn't really know what that meant so I joined in. Walking in to the exhibit, my first thought was I'm back home in Houston. It was beyond humid. I took my pictures as quickly as possible so I could get out of there. But I have to say, they were really incredible! Our day at the museum continued with a couple of more exhibits. The rest of the day, we were able to work with our photos and have another late night session with Tino. Day three with Tino was not a normal adventure day. Our day started off with a five hour lesson with Tino in a conference room in a hotel. We all put 20 pictures on a flashdrive and Tino put them on the projector and said what was good and bad about each picture. After our long session, we had some siesta time which was really nice but what was even better was what we did that night. It was the night Spain was playing the US in soccer, so we went to an Irish Pub and watched the game. It was a blast. Seeing all of the American people there and everyones reaction was great. Sadly though, we weren't able to watch all of the game because we had to go to the Alhambra to take pictures. On the way to the Alhambra, we were able to stop when the sky was a perfect shade of blue and snap some photos, and believe me they turned about incredible. Our experience at the Alhambra was not what we were expecting, for it was 11 at night. We go on this barely lighted path for like 10 minutes to find out the gate is closed and locked so we turn around and head back on the dreaded path to find out that it should be open. We again turn around and go back. Guess what, the gate was open. That was a bit creepy because it was definitely not open on our prior trip. Well we walk around the place taking picture after picture and finally heading out at around 12:30. Unfortunately, the next day was Tino's last day with us. Tino arranged for us to see first hand a show put on by Flamenco Dancers. It was quite a show, considering the fact that I took 250 photos. After watching the dancers put on 4 shows for us, we headed back to the hostel for class and photo work. Tino left that evening, so before he left we had a group picture outside of our hostel and gave him on of our custom made shirts for this trip. As he was leaving, all the girls lined up to give him a kiss and you could tell how that touched him. Tino's stay with us was full of fun and eventful days, but in those days we also learned so much about photography. Just from him, I can tell how much better I have gotten. For the next couple of days, Davin and Megan (our National Geographic leaders) planned some really awesome events. The day after Tino left, we were given the opportunity to go to a farm about 45 minutes outside of Granada and watch the testing of the cows for favorable traits for breeding for the riding of the bulls. It was quite an experience because I had never seen anything like it before. We were able to watch them test 4 cows. There was surprise thrown in there though. Hanna was allowed to be on of the matadore for a couple of minutes. Don't get confused, the teachers were about to have a heart attack, the actual matadore allowed her. But who would pass that up? When the last cow was finally done, we made our way back to Granada. In the latter part of the day, we were given our on assignment projects. We were put into groups of four and were told to come up with a proposition and prepare a presentation for the last day of the trip.  My group's proposition is the difference of lifestyle based on settings and within on culture there are many different lifestyles, and each lifestyle is reflected through varying types of settings. The rest of the day we were given time to venture out and get some picture for the project. The next day, we were given 3 hours to roam around the city as groups and capture some good moments on camera. We broke up into groups of 2. Jamie and I mainly took pictures of children and people in the main square but also went to the alleys and made friends with a lot of the shop owners. Later in the day, we were given the chance to go to the Cathedral here in Granada. I had never seen a Cathedral, so I was astonished at the size! Everything in there was so ornate, I wondered how it was built back in the day. That night, we had a surprise planned by the leaders. At midnight, we made our way to an Arab Bath. There we spent about 2 or 2.5 hours relaxing in our choice of cold, warm, or hot baths and also 15 minute massages. It was so nice! The next day we went to newly constructed stables to take picture of riders practice on their horses. I have never seen a stable have so many horses! We were able to walk around the whole perimeter of the complex and it was incredible. After about 2 hours of watching the training, we headed back to the hostal for siesta time and then later on the Brazil vs. US soccer game. Overall, out week here in Granada has been awesome and can't wait to see what else it has in store for us.