6 Weeks

I have been here for 6 weeks as of last Wednesday. Plus as of yesterday, Sunday, I am one third done studying abroad!!

Last Sunday, the 13th, after the Alhambra, Lindsay and I were joined at dinner by 2 Italian guys. Senora said they were 15, but there is no way they were 15. They could definitely pass as our age, maybe 17 or 18.

Monday was Valentine's Day, which they actually celebrate in Spain. It's called el Dia de San Valentin. I wore a pink and white shirt, and my senora was even wearing pink. On this lovely Valentine's Day, I did basically nothing until my class at 6:30pm. I got some pictures of me copied for my class. And I got a letter in the mail from my friend Alicia!! At dinner, Lindsay and I talked to our Senora (and the Italian guys were there too but they didn't talk much) about Valentine's Day in the US and in Spain. She explained that Valentine's Day in Spain isn't just for people who are married or have boyfriends and girlfriends, but it's a time for family and friends too. I told her my family always spends Valentine's Day together too. This made me realize that it is Valentine's Day and I have not consumed any chocolate at all today. So after dinner, Lindsay and I headed to SuperSol, a grocery store, to buy some chocolate. We stepped outside and it was raining and cold. Then we got to the store and it was closed. Seriously, what store closes at 9:30pm in Spain? We really wanted chocolate and were desperate, so we went across the street to a bakery and got chocolate covered criossants. I felt very French, but they were delicious. It was a good day, but my favorite part of Valentine's Day every year is that we are halfway through February, and even better, one month til my birthday!! I am turning 20 in 4 weeks. Well I'm actually writing this on Feb. 21 so 3 weeks. It's so weird. This is my last month of being a teenager. Then I will be in my 20s!!!

Tuesday the 15th I woke up early for class, then class again, then bought literature books for my class, and then class again. Lunch was literally vegetables and fruit, but we tried this new tropical fruit that I had never seen or heard of before. It's called chirimoyas. I felt bad, I asked my senora to say it like 3 times and then I asked her to spell it and I still didn't know what it was. It is a tropical fruit, which makes sense why we wouldn't have it in Chicago, but on Wikipedia it says they are popular in the US. Senora says they're big on the coast here and in South America. They're green, but the inside is white with black seeds. You cut them in half and eat them with a spoon. They're actually really good. Then Lindsay and I had class again, her at 4 and me at 5. Then we went to the Corte Ingles to get shampoo, conditioner, gum and granola bars for my trip to Ireland, and some chocolate that we couldn't have last night. Then we went home and ate the chocolate while Lindsay introduced me to one of my new favorite TV shows: Jersey Shore. It's hilarious, and I can't believe people actually live like that. But anyway we decided we wanted to watch a movie, and all of our sorority sisters told us how amazing "Life As We Know It" was, so we saw that, and then we watched "You Again." I liked the movies, and I would recommend them both! We went to sleep at 2:30am.

Wednesday I got to sleep til noon. Then breakfast, run by the river, lunch, Jersey Shore marathon, class at 6:30pm where we watched this boring documentary about the history of Mexico (I was hoping to see beaches and palm trees, but no...), then I had salad for dinner, skyped home, and uploaded my Alhambra pictures while we watched "It's Complicated" with Jim from The Office. Today, we have been here for 6 weeks. Only 14 more to go!!

Thursday, class all day, then skyped my little sister/future roommate Kathleen at night. It was so nice to be able to see her and hear her voice!! That's basically it. We were tired and went to sleep early.

Friday, I wished 7 of my Facebook friends a happy birthday after I slept til 1pm. Lunch was at 2, and then we went shopping. Then we went to go see "Tangled" in Spanish. Here it's called "Enredados," and yes, it was the 5th time I have seen this movie. We came home and had dinner, and then Lindsay and I went to this Mexican restaurant she learned about in class. We sat at the bar and ordered Strawberry Margaritas. We didn't even get carded. It was so awesome. The bar looked like it belonged on a beach in Mexico, which was so exciting, plus everyone was speaking Spanish. We got free tapas, which were chips and salsa, with our drinks. Then we ordered nachos, which were delicious. Then we went home and went to sleep.

Saturday and Sunday were relaxing days. Okay, we had no plans this weekend because, originally, we were going to go to Morocco with our program, but because of all the protests and violence and whatever is going on in Africa or Egypt or Morocco or whatever, the CEA canceled our trip. At first I was upset, but I totally understand why they did it. I was a little nervous to go to Africa in the first place, but at the same time I really was excited to get to go to Morocco. I don't know anything about what's going on there anyway, I only watch the news when my senora turns it on, and then it's in Spanish. But I think they were planning some big protest thing for this weekend. So it sucks for us, we got our trip canceled. So both days this weekend we slept late, had lunch, and pretty much just watched Jersey Shore, went online, and did homework. It was very relaxing and reminded me of my lazy days back at ISU when we would watch The OC or Boy Meets World when we were procrastinating doing homework.

On Saturday, the Italians left. When we got out of bed on Saturday, we heard voices, but we weren't sure who it could be. It was 2 adults, a man and a woman, named Henry and Michelle. Michelle said she was from Newcastle, England and Henry said he was from Ireland but has been living in Newcastle for 30 years. They are married, I found out later, and are staying for the week. We did not know they were coming, but I was obviously ecstatic to be living with English and Irish people. They know some Spanish, but we talk to them in English too. They seem really nice. They were gone all day Sunday in Cordoba with their program.

Monday, today, is President's Day!! Yesterday was the day that means we are 1/3 done, so I am on my second third of the trip. I woke up at noon, had breakfast with Lindsay, she went to class, and I went for a run. Then I met up with Angie, then had lunch with the English people, and then tried to figure out stuff for class registration. Not such a good idea- that stuff is so stressful. I have class at 6:30 tonight, and Sarah comes back tonight!!

So overall, not the most exciting week ever, but I leave for Dublin, Ireland on Thursday!!! PS I will upload photos later, they aren't on my computer yet and my internet is super slow!!!