Granada, Ramadan, and the end of summer

So I made it back to Spain! Not that I thought that I wouldn´t...
Things here are going great (for the first week, anyhow). Already I feel much better about my time here - lots of people have said, "Oh, we missed you!" which is, of course, a great feeling.
After being back in the US for a month (the first time in an entire year), I´ve been able to really "feel" a lot of the differences between Granada and PA. Being back in Lancaster made me appreciate even more the beauty of the green, rolling farm lands - something that you don´t find in Andalucia. I was appalled/overwhelmed/surprised by the amount of SPACE there is, however. In the course of my one month in the US I was in Lancaster, California, Vermont, Washington D.C., and southern Virginia; in all of those places, only D.C. seemed to be not so overwhelmingly open. Living in Granada, I´ve begun to take for granted the fact that I can walk to the grocery store, visit a cafe until midnight, and live with the natural elements that surround us. Since most places don´t have airconditioning here, when it´s hot it´s hot and when it´s cold it´s cold. Here, you get to know the intimate details of your neighbors´lives and of those who pass by on the street. Nothing is private in a place where the buildings are impossibly close together, windows are open at all hours of the night and day, and daily activities frequently relocate to open-air public spaces. It´s not uncommon, for example, for a family to leave the house doors open (especially in the heat of summer) and engage in a fluid in-out-in-out of activity that overflows the house boundaries and spreads into the sidewalk, the street, or the local plaza. I felt disconnected from people in Pennsylvania; I had to drive to get anywhere, and since I didn´t have a car it was almost impossible to do things on my own (not that my parents wouldn´t have driven me if I had asked). Why does there need to be so much space between things? Is it because we Americans are so much private-oriented? Is it a geographical and climatological construct? Maybe, but San Diego is very much like Granada in terms of climate, and even there I was taken aback by the number of sprawling strip malls.
There were, of course, many things in the US that were a joy to return to. Beyond the obvious pleasure of seeing friends and family, I certainly enjoyed free refills, drinks with ice, grocery stores with actual selection, American coffee to go (not that I don´t love my cafe con leche!), un-dubbed movies, and lots and lots of green (nature-wise, that is).
But enough of that!
When I got back to Granada, Wadih threw me a surprise birthday dinner with a few friends, which was really lovely. I was pretty exhausted after my 33 hours of traveling, but we had a great time. For a gift, Wadih gave me a beautiful little bird (yes, it´s real!) that we´ve named Rainbow on account of her polychromatic appearance. She´s still a little frightened of humans, but the sweetest thing is that she sings whenever Wadih begins to play guitar or I play piano. A lovely birthday present :)
Since then, I´ve been trying to figure out the whole job situation. It seems that NObody has work here... there´s lots of talk about how people in the area are having a hard time getting even the most basic of jobs (like waitressing, cleaning, being a secretary, etc.). Still working on it!
I´ve been observing Ramadan with Wadih, which has been a new challenge for me. I don´t mind the lack of food during the day but it´s difficult to go without drinking at least a glass of water. Still, it makes me understand better what Wadih feels and goes through (last Ramadan I ate while he fasted and it actually caused a fair amount of stress between us... I didn´t get why he was so grumpy, and he didn´t want to be around if there was a lot of food being eaten). This time, we´re making an effort to not be grumpy and to thoroughly enjoy the food when it comes time for eating. The fast certainly does make you appreciate food even more! In fact, it makes you appreciate basic things... like the fact that you HAVE the option to walk out and get a drink of clean water or eat a snack whenever you want. Many people in the world live with this "fasting" as a regular course of daily life. If only everyone would take the time and the sacrifice to understand what it really feels like to go hungry and thirsty (and even then with the knowledge that a wonderful feast is awaiting at the day´s end!)