Some weeks it feels like I will not have enough content to write an entry and then I realize how much I like to talk. If you ask my parents, I am quite good at talking on end. (Once, when I was about two or three years old, I talked the entire 140-mile trip from Allendale, N.J., to Mystic, Conn. I guess I was too cute or to far away in the back seat for my parents to quiet me down).

I also hope that some readers of this blog are planning to study abroad and that they can learn from my experiences and my mistakes (when, and if I make one). And for those that are not, I hope you learn some things that you would not normally find in a guide book.

Anyway, back to Spain.

Last weekend, Bucknell took most of the group to Alpujarras. Aplujarras is a mountain district in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, right outside of Granada. We boarded a bus and took a very winding road up the mountain. It was so winding, in fact, that some group members began to eye the bus garbage can with growing affection. After we arrived, we even discussed the grammatical differences surrounding nausea. (Any English majors out there know the correct way to use the forms of the word nausea? Is it I am nauseous? Am I feeling nauseated? Or is it the reverse? We talked about this at length.) By the by, we also had our trusty guide, who talked the entire way from Granada to the top of the mountains. I'm sure that had nothing to do with the nausea.

The day began overcast and when we arrived in a small town of Alpujarras, we literally had to drive through the clouds and could also see them floating level with us over the valley. I felt like I could grab one. The town is quite small and makes its living off tourists. It had about four or five tourist shops as well as a few restaurants. After dinning on a typical Alpujarras lunch (fried eggs, chorizo, potatoes, and garlic soup with pieces of floating bread), some of us took a hike with our guide to the bottom of the valley. We when reached the bottom we took plenty of photos us posing in front of a rushing river. It was gorgeous.

After the hike, I wandered around with some friends and visited the small shops. In one shop, Rob and I saw a delicious-looking dark chocolate truffle sitting on a shelf. Its label was even in German, adding to its mystique. We contemplated buying it until we realized that it was a candle. It was our sign that we needed to get back on the bus.

It was the perfect day trip. The mountains here are beautiful and are nothing like those at home. They are much more steep and rocky. Leaving Alpujarras, I felt motivated to return and hike up the top of one of the highest mountain or to take the stairs to my first-floor apartment. I am a big fan of the outdoors so our hike was a great mental refresher.

I am going to completely switch gears here and talk about ham. I know that's not a great segue, but our guide in Alpujarras talked about ham since much of it is cured in the mountains and we also spoke at length about the differences between types of ham in my economics class yesterday.

First, ham is called jamon here. There are three general types of ham; Iberico, Serrano, and York. York is the ham that we are used to and would typically find on American's table during the holidays. Iberico and Serrano are much similar to Italian procuitto.

Of the two, Iberico is much more expensive. Since I know most of my readers follow my blog religiously, you will remember that Danny and I bought this type of ham in Salamanca. Iberico is from black pigs that are only fed acorns, giving the meat a sweat flavor. My professor told us that these pigs lead a better life than most of us do, which is quite possible. There are not many oak trees in Spain, making these acorn-feed pigs rare. Serrano, meaning from the Sierra Nevada, is from white pigs and they are fed the more typically type of pig feed. The meat is then cured in the mountain regions of Spain.

The Spanish government controls the exportation of ham to other countries, too. Only one or two companies can sell Spanish ham abroad. If Americans and Japanese consumers were able to buy Spanish ham, there would be no ham left for the Spanish to eat.

We eat tons of pork products here and it's the main meat staple of Southern Spain. I seriously miss beef, especially steak. If you happen to be a prominent member of a beef exportation business, my address is:
Granada '08
Attn: Evan Unger
Plaza de Marina Pineda 1-2 D
18009 Granada
SPAIN

I like the rib eye cut.

I am leaving in a few hours for Brussels since we have a four-day weekend. Adios.