Making My Way to Granada..

Well... It has been way too long (in cyber space) since I have been able to post on here. I have got to get better at this. But in my defense, I was working diligently on my Independent Study as well as trying to make the most out of my somewhat precarious housing predicament.

As many of you all know, I am back home safely in the US and looking back on my trip there were some definite downs but and all though those times outnumbered the "good times" fun that I had, when I had fun, was enough to make me enjoy my time abroad.

One of those good times was my weekend in Granada. And oh what a task it was to get there! I had been debating on whether or not to go since the cost was 220 euro.. roughly 400 American dollars. Which is a lot for a low income student. But let me back track... I thought that the weekend trips to Madrid, Granada and Barcelona were paid for through my tuition. To my surprise, I found out they weren't shortly after I arrived in Valencia. At any rate, after much debating I decided to pay the money after learning that I could pay although the sign-up date had passed (We had to pay at the time of sign up). However, my name isn't Annie and my family name definitely isn't Warbucks. Therefore, I needed to make a trip to the ATM. Having found out, only days before, that Barclays Bank will allow Bank of America customers to withdraw money without the 5.00 fee I figured that I could find a bank near the UVa study center, take out the money and pay for the trip. So before my 11am class I make my way to the nearest Barclays, which was about a 15 min walk, and the "internet line" to withdraw money was down. Basically, the bank system was down. Feeling somewhat defeated, I said that I would try to find another bank nearby. After class, I looked up another location close to the center and I found one about the same distance away south of the center. After passing the location and asking for directions I found the bank only to find that this ATM was broken. At this point I wanted to give up and say forget it because I really had no business spending the money, anyway. However, I figured that I could go back to the bank I tried earlier, hoping that the system was back up and running. I caught a cab and proceeded to have a cab ride which seemed like a scene out of a moive. After he commented on the weather, I told him about the ATM problems i had been having that day and why I needed the money. I told him that this was the 3rd time that I would attempt to find a working ATM and if I couldn't then I would refrain from going on the trip. The driver offered to wait for me while I tested whether or not the saying "third time is a charm" is really true. And it was; at least on that day in in this situation. The system was up and running and I was able to get the money I needed. I literally ran out of the bank with a huge smile and on the way back to the center the driver, who affectionately called me "bendita" or blessed one, and I had a small conversation about his life in Valencia and mine in the US. I can't remember all the details of the conversation but I know that it felt surreal. I partly wish that that part of my life could have been taped. I don't know what it was that made me feel like this situation was somehow unreal but for whatever reason I can't help but to feel like I was supposed to meet him that day. And I'm glad I did.