Hiking, Beaches, and class

Hello everyone!
So I think I have finally figured out my final schedule after making several changes and being very frustrated. I am still taking all of the same classes at Cegri (the language center). At the University of Granada, I am taking Sociology of the Religions and now my new class is called History of the Comic. I don't really know anything about comics but I guess I will learn. There are a few other U of M students in that class and that will be good so that we can help each other with readings and understanding what the lectures are about. It is such a relief. AHHHH
So this past weekend I got to do a lot of fun things. Two of my other friends from Michigan and I went hiking/walking/climbing in some mountains in a small town just in the outskirts of Granada. It was a lot of work but well worth it. We eventually made it to the top of a small mountain and we sat and had a picnic lunch. It was really fun. Then on Friday, we took a day trip to Malaga to go to the beach. We took a bus at 11am (which we realized was way too late because the bus trip took longer than we thought it would and we didn't get to Malaga until 1 pm). We then took a nice long walk to get to the beach. It was nice - the weather was warm but it was a little hazy and cloudy at times. Malaga is a pretty city but seems pretty touristy because of the beach.
On Saturday afternoon I caught a bus to Marbella on the Costa del Sol to meet up with some family friends and their son (the Goldsen's). I got into Marbella around 6:30pm and Mr. Goldsen picked me up from the bus station. We had a very nice spanish dinner complete with tapas and paella at a restaurant called "La Pesquera" which was recommended to us by someone at the resort. On Sunday, we went to Gibraltar (well I didn't technically go there because I forgot my passport and they would not let me through). I did get to see the rock and the water around it was a beautiful shade of turquoise blue. We then took a very scenic drive through the mountains to a quaint little town in Andalucia called Ronda. I don't think we drove in a straight line for more than about 1/2 Km. But it was worth it for all of the amazing views we had of the mountains. Once we were in Ronda, we visited the plaza de toros there (the oldest one in Spain) and also saw that gorge and huge bridge that goes across part of the old town in Ronda. It was such a cute town. We also had dinner at an italian place and had pizza. It was a very fun and eventful day!
We left Monday morning to return to Granada because I had class at 9AM! I met back up with the Goldsens after they saw the Alhmabra. We visited the Cathedral in granada and then had a nice lunch before they headed out. It was so nice to spend some time with people from home and to see some familiar faces. Now I only have 3 weeks until mom and dad will be here to visit! I can hardly wait.
I can tell that my spanish is improving and I am very excited. I hope that things only continue to get better and better!!
Hasta luego,
Em