The start of 2011 in Cordoba!

Since coming back from the states and returning to Cordoba after the holidays I have gotten all settled in my new apartment. I moved apartments in mid December before heading home for Christmas. I am now living in an older area of the city on a typical old, small European street close to the plaza of La Corredera which is a big, old plaza that is often seen in many other Spanish cities. I am living with a Spanish girl, Maria Jesus, who is a little bit older than me but very nice. She has really made me feel comfortable in my new apartment and I have enjoyed spending time with her. It is a small apartment but perfect for two people. There is even a small spare bedroom for anyone who comes to visit me! Below are some pictures of my new apartment.

My Bedroom

The Living Area

The Kitchen

The Hallway to my room

I have also started to play tennis again. A friend of the director of the Bilingual program at my school, Raul, called me to play tennis with him about a week ago. He picked me up and took me to his club where he introduced me to everyone he knows and then we hit for about an hour. The courts are outside so I had to dress warmly as it still gets cold at night here. The courts are really nice with outdoor lights. It was my first time playing for about 4 months so I was a little rusty but it felt good to get out and play again. The following day I joined a tennis class that Raul is part of. I am now playing in the class two days a week. I am in the class with about 5 others boys which makes it interesting especially being the only "foreigner" but it is definitely good practice. The tennis instructor, Javi, invited me to play in a tennis tournament at the club in about 2 weeks for woman. It should be fun and I am looking forward to it.

I have also picked up a few more private classes in the afternoon. A few of my students from last term were unable to continue so I had to begin searching for more classes. One of my classes is with a girl name Almudena who is around my age and has a pretty high level of English. She is very nice and is easy to have conversations with, which is what she wants to practice. I think we will get along very well. I also have class with a young boy named Enrique who just wants to practice the grammar he is learning in school and a man named Javi who would also would like to practice conversation. Little by little I am starting to find more classes which is keeping me busy.

Last weekend there was a Medieval Festival in the Plaza de la Corredera which is the plaza I live close to. It was very well done with lots of decorations and full of stands selling different types of food, hand made accessories and other types of goods from different parts in Spain. There were also night time performances consisting of music and dancing. I visited the festival a few times over the weekend so I was able to see what it was like both at night and during the day. It was similar to the Medieval Festival that was in Vitoria last year at the beginning of the year. Below are a few pictures.

The Festival during the day

And at night

Well that is everything new that has happened in Cordoba since returning back from the states. It was great to go home for Christmas to see my family and good friends but it felt great to come back and catch up with all my friends here. It was like I never left.