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Saturday, April 18th, 2009
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5:15 pm
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Sometimes I really can't believe the things I let myself get caught up in. I feel like in the last four years, I've definitely matured in a lot of ways, but in others... WOW. It's almost shocking how little I know how to handle certain situations. The sad thing is, college is the place where you're supposed to learn how to deal with these things, and now that I'm graduating, I'm a little worried the "real world" won't be so forgiving to me as Gonzaga has been. This probably sounds a bit cryptic, but hopefully others have felt the same too.
A little of me is sad to be graduating, a little is excited, and a lot of me is nervous. This whole not having a job thing is really stressing me out, and it makes it worse that I've applied to at least 15 different jobs and haven't heard back from one of them. What???
Oh well. The weather's nice outside, and I've got to get back to work.
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| Monday, February 2nd, 2009
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9:39 pm - ...the F!!!!!!!
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WTF, Washington F&$king Mutual!!! I swear to God, I sing your f%&%ing praises and I get assessed a $12 bullshit fee because Desert F&$king Schools screwed up a check they sent me?!
This is BS. A crapload of BS (is that redundant? I don't care). WaMu or Desert Schools or somebody better get their shit together.
This is so crap! I hate getting assessed fees when it's not my fault! (Or when it's my fault, but that's besides the point.) If there was a problem with the freaking check, why didn't WaMu TELL me that the minute I deposited it, considering I deposited it IN person.
Okay, so maybe they have to process it... FINE. But could ya tell me if there's a problem with it before you go around charging me random-ass fines?? If I had known the check was BS (which is weird, considering it's my money from Desert Schools... therefore it's money and therefore it should be a legit check), I would have just burned the damn thing, or used it for printer paper or something.
You can't just go around fining people for trying to deposit their own money into their own checking accounts. That just seems like fuckery to me.
I'm thisclose to keeping all my money under the GD mattress.
current mood:  Grr!
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| Friday, January 30th, 2009
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9:22 am - WAMU
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Sometimes I love WaMu so much, I feel like I should write a song about it.
On the other hand, I really hope Chase doesn't do anything bad to WaMu... like, change it. That would make me very upset. Especially if it changed to be like Bank of America. Then I might have to go to storing my cashmoney under my bed....
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| Thursday, January 29th, 2009
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1:26 pm - CLOWNS!
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So this website is super creepy: http://spitzletheclown.blogspot.com/
Can't say I didn't laugh, though. Well, I laughed in between all my "wtf"s, and "that's so creepy"s. Go there, you will like it. :)
Oh, on second thought... don't go there if you're genuinely afraid of clowns. I mean, clowns are freaky as hell, but I'm not TERRIFIED. So if you are, really, don't go there.
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| Sunday, January 25th, 2009
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9:01 pm - Emissions
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So apparently I emit 5.3 tons of 'carbon emissions' a year, which is not only lower than both the Spokane and the Washington average, but also a lot lower (well, by 10 tons) than the US average.
I suppose I'm mildly surprised, because I thought it would be higher since I drive/fly so much (back and forth to AZ is considered a 'long' flight). But I suppose the whole vegetarian/washing my clothes in cold water thing really saved my ass.
It's pretty cool, calculating your carbon footprint. Or maybe I'm just awesome at procrastinating homework... haha. Nonetheless, I still don't REALLY know how to calculate that stuff. Hmmm...
Oh! Today this annoying law student said to me, "You're sassy. You need to be tamed... like, the Taming of the Shrew. You need someone to tame you."
Wtf?! Who SAYS that??? It did kind of make me laugh, which did not make this guy happy at all. Ahhh, insulting creepy law students. It's what I do!!
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| Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
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2:11 pm - Home
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Well, after that horrendous ordeal I'm sure some of you noticed on facebook, I AM HOME!! Woo!!!
Being home never ceases to blow my mind, though. Seriously, moving to a retirement community from Phoenix is enough to make anyone feel like they're trippin balls 90% of the time. Old people are SO RANDOM. My parents excluded, as neither of them are really "old", in addition to the fact that they have me to keep them "hip" and I refuse to let them act/dress like old people...
Old people honestly are their own unique breed of human being. All day to do absolutely nothing, and they tell you the most boring, drawn out, pointless stories. Think of your senile old grandpa, but worse, because you're not related to these people and don't feel that familial responsibility for them.
More over, you never know if the old person you encounter in CVS or Walgreens (who is, of course, buying a big bottle of gin along with their prescription meds) is going to be a "cooler" old person (that's a relative term) or one of those 'angry-at-the-world' old people who thinks every teenager/young adult is a hoodlum out to rob them.
I've gotten WAY too many "wtf are you doing here" looks than I care to count, wearing my ratty old sweatshirt. But then again, dressing "up" (jeans, make up and a t-shirt) is fraught with peril, as it encourages any random old man to come up and make a conversation with you.
No winning. But at least being here provides me with ample opportunities for laughing, and realizing how not-so-bad living on my own is. :)
current mood:  cheerful
current music: Songs for a Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan
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| Friday, September 5th, 2008
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10:55 pm - WTF
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I need to get my ass on the ball for this GRE and apps stuff. And yet tomorrow I'm going to spend the entire morning scrapbooking my Spain photos with Maira. I'm a mess. An already-senioritis-afflicted mess.
In other news, I'm re-thinking going to grad school right after college (I'm sure to the chagrin of Mom and Dad.) If even not afflicted with senioritis, I'm truly sick of school... for the first time in my life. I want to be out in the real world for a while, if only for a year or two until I get the pangs of wanting to be devoted to study again... THEN I'll go to grad school. I don't think, right now at least, I'm mature enough to go to grad school for two years... one of my main reasons being I have absolutely no definite idea of what I want to study, and I refuse to go to grad school just to receive a generic master's just to say I have one. I understand I'll need to 'check the box', but I'd rather be interested in what I'm going to study instead of studying it for the sake of getting a Master's.
Anyway, it makes sense in my head. And Sat. will be a shot day for studying, I can just tell. Ah well, that's for not working this weekend and Sunday is for.
Sigh.
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| Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
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5:17 pm - Debt
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God it feels good seeing that credit card debt go down. Now once it gets below $2500, I'll probably do a happy jig. A REALLY happy jig.
And the sad thing is, I couldn't tell you half the stuff that the $2500+++ bought me. It's not like I bought a pricey TV or anything (I don't even have a TV). Or even a fancy computer.
Wow. If I never learn anything else, this crap w/ Bank of America and me being their slave just to work off this debt has taught me to NEVER charge stuff I can't afford to pay back within a month.
Shoot, son.
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| Monday, May 12th, 2008
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9:33 am - La vida loca
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Today... 12 de mayo de 2008
Well well well... and the semester winds down! Right now, I'm getting ready for finals and preparing to come home. At our last "reunion" of the semester (our group meeting), our program director, Mark (when you think of Mark, think of the best, most awesome, incredible guy (or guys), but one person, with a British accent. That's Mark for you) gave us these a packet called "How to Adjust Being Back at Home" or something lame like that... it's basically a packet of stuff talking about how re-adjustment is going to be hard, how you're not going to have friends, and how no one is going to want to hear your stories when you get back from study abroad. Encouraging, is it not? My favorite part of the packet was the part that said, roughly, "You won't have a best friend. Your friends will not care about your stories, and will probably be very jealous, as they resent you being gone for such a long time in a foreign country." Oh, and the part that said "Everything will be different when you return to the States. Shoes will be in trees, and lamps will be in bushes."
That's right, it really says that. SHOES in TREES, and LAMPS in BUSHES. W.t.f. I know the American economy is going downhill, but come on guys, let's not throw our shoes in the trees in a fit of rage after spending $50 to fill up the car. Take it easy!
As for travels, I'm about done for the year. Can you believe it? ;) Of course, I still want to find a day to escape to the beach, which is only 1 1/2 from here, but we'll see. I've got projects and papers and tests to study for... but knowing me, I'll make time. At times, I dread going back to the States (I've got 60 hours of work to look forward to when I get back to Spokane... talk about no life!), but on the other hand, I'm soooo ready. Spain is cool and all that, but it's not home. With all its faults and crappy economy and bad president, America's pretty tight. I don't think I realized that til I spent some time away. Maybe we all need that!
Saturday our program went to Ronda, which is this adorable little pueblo about 2 1/2 hours from Granada, up in the mountains. The landscape reminded me of Lord of the Rings... haha, yes, I'm a dork. It was GORGEOUS, but the weather was insane!! It would rain hard for 20 minutes, then drizzle, then be sunny and BRIGHT, but still be freezing. No matter what, it was always cold. And me with my thin jacket. Smart! Next time I come back to Spain, I'm going back to Ronda, as I didn't get to see enough of it, and it's really charming. But next time, I'll bring a fleece AND an umbrella!
Well, I have to go learn about carbon sinks and poisoned sunflower oil. Can I just say I'm a tad bit jealous of you all, who are DONE with finals?? Ah!
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| Monday, May 5th, 2008
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9:10 am
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4 de mayo de 2008
Oh man, it’s been a long time! I know I promised you stories of Morocco, which was, in case you were wondering, absolutely loco and beautiful at the same time, but boy am I busy. And more than busy, I am so incredibly frustrated!! I’ve hit a wall in learning Spanish recently and I don’t for the life of me know why. I need to read more in Spanish, I know that. And I suppose studying some more of my books would be helpful… but I’m pissed that I don’t understand all the time what my host mom is saying. She asked me a question the other day and I couldn’t for the life of me understand what the verb she used meant. It was the verb “quedar”, for those of you who were curious, which has at least 5 different meanings. And of course, she was using it in one of the more obscure meanings, but still, I was angry at myself for not recognizing it right away. Sigh.
Also, I’m torn between wanting to stay longer (I know one more month and my Spanish would be better… I’m finally getting used to being here!) BUT there are things I have to go home for. I hear about all this stuff happening at home and in Spokane, and I’m like, I NEED to be there. I need to! And then I’m torn between wanting to be at home in AZ to be with the peeps (esp. Grandpa now more than ever) and just the family in general (goodness, I miss my parents and the munchkins! AKA my cousins!), but I also gotta get up to Spokane… I (somewhat) miss it, and I’m going to be working 60 hours a week this summer… which is GREAT. At the full-time job, I’ll be making 400$ a WEEK… which will help me out so much, you can’t imagine. Screw the Euro and the weak dollar, which has gypped me out of a ton of money, and screw the US economy and gas prices! Joder, tia! It’s ridiculous! One reason I DON’T want to go back, that’s for sure. On the other hand, I’m going to miss all the great friends I’ve made here, and obviously I’m going to miss not having to do anything if I don’t feel like it… the first time since the start of college where I HAVEN’T worked for an extended period of time… and then last semester, with the 2 jobs and a full course load… jeez, I was so stressed. I didn’t realize how stressed I was until I got home at Christmas and just basically slept for like 2 days. And then did absolutely nothing… and felt guilty about it, haha. I’m not going to be ready for work & school after Spain! I’m going to be like, “dude, where’s my siesta?” haha!
Ah, so there you have it. I want to stay, but I need to get home for a variety of reasons. You can never have it both ways… and in a lot of ways, I’m going to be psyched to be back in the States. I can already tell, though, it’s going to be a HUGE culture shock. I just know it. I’m sort of worried… but I think it will be a culture shock in a good way. I’m ready for it.
That’s about it for the update now. This journal’s somewhat fallen by the wayside… even though I have free time, I do a lot during the free time so that by the time 10 or 10:30 pm rolls around, I’m either tired, listening to music, or reviewing some test. We have finals in a week and a half, which I’m somewhat worried about, but not much. I have two big projects to do, but one of them my partner and I are going to finish by Wednesday, and the other I’m going to work on this weekend with our group… they do a lot of group projects here in Spain, by the way. They’re all about working together… which isn’t bad for me, actually, because the people who’ve been in my group so far have actually been either decent in Spanish or at least on the ball about things. I worked with this one girl for a project in our business class, and although her Spanish isn’t as good as mine, her Powerpoint stuff was excellent… better than mine, that’s for sure! So she brought the creativity and I brought the Spanish, haha. That worked out well! Anyway, must finish this practice test and get ready for bed. Peace!
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| Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
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4:30 pm
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6 de abril de 2008
Balls, it’s been a while since I last updated! Lo siento, mis amigos, es que no he tenido muchas ganas de escribir. (Sorry, friends, it’s only that I haven’t really felt like writing.) After we came back from Paris, and then Barcelona, there were a LOT of things to do—not joking! For some sick reason, school decided to have midterms AFTER Spring Break which, come on, is never a good idea. Luckily, my midterms weren’t until the following week (after the week we came back from SB), but that whole week I was studying… or attempting to study. And the weekend before midterms, I went to Morocco (also another bad idea, studying-wise). Anyway, midterms are mostly over (I still have one for my Islamic Culture & Civ class, but that should be easy), so now I can chill for a bit and update you on algunas cosas (some things)!
Paris – my goodness, I don’t even know how to explain how amazing our trip to Paris was. I think it’s my favorite city/trip of all, and I loved Morocco. Yup, that’s how fabulous Paris is. We were there from March 14th to the 20th (or, from Mom’s bday to Emily’s bday, that’s how I remember it), and those 6 days were jam-packed with stuff. Literally, we left every morning at 9, and didn’t make it back until 6 or 7 at night. Haha, after the first two days (which were really well planned by Maira, she was our “tour guide”), I started throwing in some input as to “Okay, monument, then museum, then another monument, then lunch, then another monument, end with museum and a little walk around the town at night.” Why did I suggest this plan? I was planning our bathroom breaks! Haha, I know, I know, so very girly, but once Maira realized why I asked to structure our visits this way, she was glad. Before, we had an itinerary, but everything was really spread out (in case you didn’t know, Paris is huge) and everyone got really grumpy around 2-3 PM, whether due to lack of food (Maira’s boyfriend, Polo), lack of bathrooms (Maira and I), or just being around each other too much (Eric, mostly, and then me). With a bit more planning, the last 3 days (the 4th was a traveling day) went off much more smoothly. Polo learned to pack a lunch, I scouted out museums when I had to use the restroom, Maira led the way/was still our tour guide, and Eric would wander off when he got bored of us. It worked out really well!
My favorite place in Paris, other than the gorgeous and HUGE Luxembourg gardens, was probably the Musee du Orsay (I think that’s how it’s spelled…). But I also loved Paris at night, the Eiffel Tower at any time of day, the Maritime Museum (that’s right, I actually liked it), and the Moulin Rouge. We didn’t go into the Moulin Rouge, but I think seeing it from outside was cool (tickets to get in were like 80 euro per person). Surprisingly, Paris’ red-light district isn’t as big as I thought it would be. It’s only like 3-4 blocks long. Really bright, and lots of people heckling the boys (we went with Polo and Eric) for lap dances, but not as weird as I thought. I thought there would be creepers, or that it would be seedy-looking, but there were just tourists, and everything was very bright and clean-looking. I guess we weren’t there late enough… I also really liked the Palace of Versailles, but there were WAYYYY too many people there and they were doing some sort of reconstruction, so we couldn’t see everything. But mainly it was all the tourists who ruined Versailles… unfortunately, the guidebook said Versailles is ALWAYS like that, so it looks like I won’t be going back to Versailles ever again!
There’s not enough I can possibly say about Paris. I took a lot of pictures, didn’t buy nearly enough postcards, and want you all to visit it… with me! ☺ Of all the places I’ve been so far (which, granted, hasn’t been a lot, but still), Paris is one of those places I WILL go back to, no matter what. And soon. Very very soon.
Okay, now to Barcelona. Barcelona was the 20th-24th (aka Em’s bday to mine)… unfortunately, we were there during Semana Santa, which we knew was a big deal in Spain, but we thought, hmmm, maybe less in the big, cosmopolitan city of Barcelona, right? No. Too many people and ALL the shops were closed. We got there on Thursday and had to pop in to one of those 24-hour-charge-you-an-arm-and-a-leg stores, as we stayed in a hotel. By the way, Maira made our apartment reservation in Paris and I made ours for Barcelona… hands down, everyone said I picked the better apartment. Okay, okay, so mine was a bit more expensive (Maira’s was 115 euro total, per person, for 6 nights… a little bit outside of city center, but not bad). Mine was 140 per person, total (only 4 nights), but literally RIGHT in the center of town. Plus, two bedrooms (not a studio like in Paris) and with a washer. But anyway… ☺
So the crowds made Barcelona a little painful, but we saw a lot of cool stuff on the Tourist Bus we decided to take around. Barcelona’s a really charming city… not as cosmopolitan as Paris, but come on, I don’t think that’s really a fair comparison. Barcelona’s quirky, and the people speak a mix of Spanish/French, so coming from Paris to Barcelona was fun, as we picked up a tiny bit of French just by being there… and then seeing it turned into Spanish in Barcelona was cool. I’m really glad we decided on those two cities… other people in our group went to Rome and Ibiza and had great times, but we’re going to Rome in two weeks (Maira, Andrea, Eric and I) and I wouldn’t trade Paris for anything else. We also met up with some Gonzaga peeps studying in Florence (Emm or Maria, you might know them… Nina Puga and her roomie, Ayano Hazel? We were going to meet up with JJ (Maria, you know him) and his g/f Molly, but then they decided Barcelona was too expensive), so that was fun too.
We drove back from Barcelona to Granada… oh sheesh, what a story in itself. Okay, it’s supposed to only be like a 7-8 hour drive (only, right?) Well… we missed some exits (NOT my fault!) because we were trying to avoid toll roads… ended up taking 10 hours… got back at 1 AM… I was definitely grumpy, b/c I had class the next morning at 8:30 AM… AND we hit a dog. That’s right. I almost started crying (my birthday! And you hit a dog? That’s like the worst birthday present to an animal lover, ever!) but Polo, who was driving, almost got us into an accident because he was so upset that I was upset. Cute, but I was like, oh, just drive already! This can’t possibly get any worse, and I’d prefer not to lose my life in the process. Sigh. But other than the lateness and the dog, the drive during the day was fun. We got to see a lot of Spain. Crazy Spain.
Oh man, I still haven’t told you guys about Morocco. Okay, that will be another post for tomorrow… hopefully you’ve been checking this every day, so the post for tomorrow will actually be new for you. If it’s Wednesday and you’re just checking it, well, then you’ve got a lot to read, my friend. Continue on!
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| Saturday, March 15th, 2008
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10:17 am
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14 de marzo 2008
Guess who’s back (back)… back again! Well, here I am, chillin’ at the airport in Madrid… alone. I may have to go pee someday, but I guess I’ll worry about that later. See, there are four of us going to Paris, but none of us have the same flight. Well, Maira and Polo (her boyfriend/fiancé) have the same flight, but that’s only because she booked the flights together. All four of us we’re supposed to buy the flights together (Maira, Polo, Eric and I), but I got the last seat on the flight, so Maira and Polo had to take a different airline, and Eric waited too long, so he had to take a different airline AND a different time. He had to go super early today, so I think right now (it’s 1 PM here, AKA 13:00) he’s already in Paris.
Right, so back to the story! Where was I… Jerez and the sherry! Oh man! A-mazing! I bought some of the dessert sherry for Mom when I return… that stuff is delish.
Okay, so Cadiz. We planned on going to Cadiz; I had researched the beach, Maira the car, and Brittany the hostel. The two other girls going, Mayra and her roommate Andrea, didn’t plan anything, but they go to U. of Portland, and that explains everything (theme of all our trips: don’t worry, guys, GU’s got it under control.) Anywho! So we arrive perfectly fine to Cadiz on Friday. We were all a little tired from the morning and walking around Jerez, so all we wanted to do was park, find the hostel, check in and rest a bit.
Parking and finding the hostel went perfectly, without a hitch. Brittany knew exactly where to go (my stupid money belt is bothering me and making me look fat. There’s got to be a better way to wear these things!), and the place looked really cute, plus the owner is British and spoke to us in English.
Here’s where the problems started: there wasn’t any record of FIVE people checking in, only four. None of the rooms had five beds together available, but with a little moving people around, the owner was able to accommodate the five of us in one room with two other people, an older Spanish lady (one of those hippie 30 yr olds) and a Mexican girl, who we didn’t meet (more on that later). We were excited, especially Maira and Andrea, who were afraid we were going to be rooming with boys (as if Maira and Andrea don’t have brothers? Come on, I wasn’t even worried about that!)
However, the hostel was a little noisy. And everyone was smoking pot. And there were a lot of dumb American girls who happened to be in our room, using the ONLY plug all of the dorm rooms. We had to get out! Unfortunately, I happened to make friends with one of those loud American girls, and she proceeded to follow us as we walked around Cadiz (including dinner!) And she did not stop talking. Wth! Note to self: Do not be friendly.
After dinner, we’re REALLY tired at this point, and just want to unpack a little, change, chill, etc. We get back to the room to find two annoying Americans still in the room (girls) and some random guy. After a bit, the two annoying girls leave, but the guy is still there. Umm… what? He starts talking to us first—turns out he took the place of the Mexican girl, who decided to leave early, and would be our new roomie. He was actually really nice; his name was John and he was traveling through Spain for his month-long break off his job… IN IRELAND!! Cool, no??? Irish accent and all! Pretty phenomenal. Anyway, he let us know that it’s hostel rules that no one is friendly to new hostellers the first day because they’re trying to feel out if the new hostellers are cool. Basically, he told us most people are unfriendly the first night, but the next night they want to get drunk with you. Shucks we were only there for one night! (But that was okay, as the majority of them were potheads.)
Andrea decided to take a nap, and after resting for a little bit and chatting with John, Mayra, Maira, Brittany and I decided to do some more walking and then go to a flamenco show we heard was really good in a bar close to our house. Long story short, Mayra and Maira left at 12:30 (that’s right, AM), and Brittany and I at 2:30 AM, and the flamenco show never started.
HOWEVER, all was not lost. After Mayra and Maira left, Brittany and I were drinking beer (I promise it tastes better over here… plus, it’s cheap) when this crazy-looking, bleached-blonde, curly-haired, wearing a LIME GREEN shirt (not joking!) older lady (I’m talking 60s here) accosts us. “Oh, you two are foreign. Irish? (we tell her we’re from the States) Oh, I was in New York for 6 years (starts speaking to us in English) I loved it! I need to practice! (goes back to Spanish) How long are you here for? Do you like Cadiz? (we nod, but can’t get a word in) Do you like flamenco? Do you dance flamenco?” At this point, Brittany jumps in that, no, we do not dance flamenco but we’re here for the show. “Oh, that’s fantastic, I am too. I’m a flamenco teacher in Jerez. Would you like to learn flamenco?” (Thinking she’s going to teach us flamenco right now, Brittany blurts out we’re not wearing the appropriate attire) “That’s not a problem, you can buy a flamenco dress right now from El Corte Ingles” (literally: The English Court, but it’s Spain’s version of Wal-Mart. Knowing this, I ask “How much does a flamenco dress cost?”) “230 euro” she answers (like 440$), completely seriously. Brittany and I stare at her incredulously. “But it’s worth it! (goes back to English) I give classes in Jerez, you girls should come. I should get your numbers! There’s going to be a flamenco competition in Jerez in April, you girls should come. Here, let’s trade numbers!” (she proceeds to trade numbers with us. First time I’ve ever gotten a number from someone in a bar, and it happens to be from an old lady. Fantastic.)
She continues to hit on us/harass us/chat with us drunkenly (we weren’t sure what it was) and tells she is here with her girlfriend (as in girl who is a friend), who is sitting dejectedly in the corner. “Oh,” I say, “you should bring her over! She looks bored.” (she looked like she wanted to kill herself, I’m serious.) “No, she’s fine over there,” says Mari Carmen (AKA crazy Carmen), “this is the four-month anniversary of her HUSBAND’S DEATH and I’m taking her out to get her drunk and dancing!”
Okay, at this point, Brittany and I are pinching ourselves. What the heck is happening??? This lady’s friend’s husband is dead and she’s trying to get her drunk? What do you say to that??
So I, in my typical flippant Melissa-style, say, “Well, maybe she’ll find a man tonight!” which would be, in any other situation, entirely inappropriate (but entirely my style anyway), but crazy Carmen just throws her head back and chortles, “I hope so!”
At this point, crazy Carmen has encountered more of her crazy friends, including, again I promise you I’m not kidding, a guy who looked EXACTLY like Will Ferrell as Mugatu in Zoolander. Not. Kidding. The hair (the pointy, white curly hair) with the crazy make up, and the long black gown-type thing with the gothic-looking sleeves… I wish I had my camera. It was the funniest, most surreal thing I’ve ever seen. Crazy Carmen leaves for a little bit, and Brittany and I immediately set about discussing this crazy night in English, when the bartender comes up to us with two more beers. “We didn’t order any more beers,” I say to him, as Brittany and I are completely broke. “No, you didn’t,” he responds, “but Carmen paid for you two.”
That’s right, a crazy old lady bought me drinks. Well, Brittany and I, but you know what I mean. Could this night get any weirder?
YES! Because crazy Carmen wanted to hang out with us AFTER the flamenco show, along with her depressed and probably suicidal friend, and Mugatu and his wench, at a different bar. By this point, it was around 2:30, and Brittany and I were exhausted (plus, we were tired of being assaulted by crazy Carmen). We slowly made our way to the back of the bar, and we’re paying for our original beers, when this other guy starts hitting on us, and says, in English, “where you girls from?” Sick of hearing the American comments, I respond “Irlandia”, and get corrected by this other drunk guy, who says “Irlanda” (Ireland). Corrected by a drunk guy! That’s never a good sign!
Leaving the bar, Brittany and I LITERALLY run back to the hostel. Seriously, we booked it. It gets better! Check this out: in my bed is a half-naked, older French man. Of course, I didn’t know he was French at this time, but I did know that he was half-naked and in my bed. Ordinarily, I would be intrigued, but he was old and ugly and I was tired. (Kidding!) Maira, Mayra, and Andrea wake up (John’s still downstairs, playing, I kid you not, the harmonica with some other guy who’s high and playing the drums. The British hostel owner was passing a joint to one of the American girls when we walked in, by the way) and tell us that when the French guy came back that day and realized he’d been moved to another room, he FREAKED out hardcore. Unfortunately, he must be one of those retarded French people who only speak one language, because all he speaks is French, and all the British lady speaks is English, Spanish, and German (all!). No one can communicate with him, he’s throwing a fit, and finally the Spanish lady (who happens to be there) offers to move to another room so the five of us can stay together, and the stupid French guy can keep his bed (the beds were not worth his tantrum, let me assure you).
Okay this is getting rather long. To wrap it up, John and the people downstairs continued playing the harmonica and other instruments until 5 AM, when they drunkenly made their way to their beds and turned on all the lights in the process. The next morning, the French guy wakes up bright and early, still naked from the waist down, and proceeds to scar all those who are awake (which was all of us, even John, because the five of us got up to discuss the previous night and woke John up as well). Yup, that’s right, a naked French man. Think about it. Sexy-time.
They’re mumbling something about boarding. I don’t THINK it’s my flight… we don’t board til almost 3, and it’s only 1:45 now. Sweet.
Anyway, the rest of the story is pretty normal. We went to the beach, took some pictures, drove back Sat. (absolutely no problems, because I am a fantastic navigator) ☺
Now they’re speaking in English! Fabulous! Well, I’m going to look for some nice looking people so I can get a bottle of water and maybe a snack. Omg, this little boy walked past me with his Mom, and he was speaking French. They’re even cute when they’re little!! I hope I find a cute French boy to talk to… not naked old French man. Peace out til the next post! Hope you enjoyed this one! ☺
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| Sunday, March 9th, 2008
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5:56 pm
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9 de marzo 2008
From having TOO much free time, I now have very little free time. Yet I still feel I’m doing the same things… strange! Anyway, to wrap up Madrid/Segovia/Toledo…
After El Valle de Los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen), the next day we went to Segovia to see the famous Roman aqueduct. Interesting way those Romans built the aqueducts… they didn’t use any cement or any type of glue-y materials to keep the rocks together… they just put on rock on another, and there it’s stood, for hundreds of years. Oh, the wonders of gravity! And Roman engineering! We had a tour guide for the first hour and a half, Edu, our tour guide from Madrid, and then we had “tiempo libre” (free time). We didn’t go into the famous cathedral (every town has it’s own ‘famous cathedral’, I feel like) as mass was going on, but that’s okay. We’re a little cathedral-ed out right now!
We did go to the Alcazar (basically means castle… like amazing, fabulous, huge castle) in Segovia, though! Interesting story about the it: this castle was the inspiration for the Walt Disney movie Snow White (or Cinderella). That’s right, pay attention to those two movies and you will see (more or less) the castle in Segovia! The reason I say Snow White or Cinderella, though, is that our tour guide said Snow White, and apparently other people in our group have heard that as well, but my travel book says Cinderella… plus, personally, I think it looks more like the Cinderella castle. But there you go. It even has its own moat!! They don’t use the moat anymore (too bad, I really wanted to see someone get eaten by alligators), but I still took a picture of it.
The next day we went to Toledo. Toledo is an interestingly situated city… it’s almost like it’s own island, as it is almost entirely surrounded by a river. There’s a tiny connection by land (so maybe it’s a peninsula?) but the main way of getting to the city (from what I could tell) is a man-made bridge, again, built by the Romans hundreds of years ago and still functioning! Go Romans! Anyway, the river smelled horrible, so we all tried to run as fast as possible away from it. No tour guide in Toledo, just 5 hours of roaming around the city. Worked out well though… in Segovia we were a huge group (Maira, Brittany, other Mayra, Andrea, Holly, Katie and me) and I think by Toledo we were all getting on each other’s nerves. We all went to the synagogue together (yay for not a cathedral or mosque!) and to visit the church of the Visigoths (didn’t really understand how it was a Visigoth church though, as it just looked like an ancient church with Arab architecture), but from there we split up. Brittany, Holly and I went to a monastery and bought authentic, monk-made marzipan (I like marzipan in the States, but I didn’t like it so much here) as, the story goes, marzipan originated in Toledo/Toledo is famous for its marzipan. Apparently my taste buds aren’t sophisticated enough for Toledo-made marzipan!
After several days of being in the group, running from museum to cathedral to museum to cathedral, the three of us were tired and ready to go home… so instead of running around like everyone else, we found a cute pizzeria and proceeded to eat pizza, drink Coke, and just chat about our Madrid/Segovia/Toledo adventures. It was a nice way to end the weekend… we didn’t have time to go inside the Toledo cathedral, but I’m really okay with that. Apparently it was ‘magnificent’, but I’ll just have to save that trip for another time when I’m in Spain.
Okay, so enough about historical places and cathedrals and program-driven excursions… let’s get on to the fun, extracurricular activities! For the past 2-3 weeks, we (Maira and I) discussed going to Cadiz, which is an excellent beach town right next to Portugal. Holly had gone a few weeks before, and lamented how the beach was gorgeous but much too cold to swim in. As she went in early Feb., we figured early March is should be better. Unfortunately, for some twisted reason, buses don’t go directly from Granada to Jerez or Cadiz (Jerez is the city in which sherry/jerez in Spanish is made). We would have to go through Sevilla (three hours away) and from there, catch another bus to Cadiz (another two hours).
However, this is a story of luck, so here goes. Two weeks ago, a friend of ours from Gonzaga (who is studying here with us in Spain) went to Valencia and rented a car. Important to note: he was not even 21 at this time. So Maira and I decided, heck, let’s rent a car (Maira is 21 and knows how to drive stick). Brittany, Mayra, and Andrea all wanted to come along, which helped to make renting a car cheaper. All was coming together! We had MapQuest maps, a plan, now we just needed a car. Easy, right? So you’d think! We rented a car online, very cheap, only 67 euros (about 15 euros per person, roughly 30 dollars). We told our host moms, got our sandwiches for the weekend, and showed up bright and early Friday morning to get our car.
Well, you guessed it, I’m sure. No car. Amigos Autos exists, but apparently they didn’t have our reservation. And, to top it off, to rent a car from them, we’d have to be 23 AND pay a fee for being younger than 25. We were at the airport, so we tried other car rental companies, but all the news was the same.
Brief interlude: just came back from collecting my clothes from the line. Menchu said “Melissa, since you’re not doing anything, you can get the clothes.” I WAS doing something (obviously), but okay old lady, I would actually love to get the clothes. I got my socks!!! And I didn’t drop any of them outside, like an old, ancient lady. Maira got up and helped me after a bit, and Menchu says to us, “If you drop the socks, they’re gone forever” to which I said “Oh, I know. How I know!” I don’t know if she heard me or not, but I don’t care. Does she notice I had to buy new socks because she dropped the majority of them outside? And it’s not outside as in go outside and get them, it’s like outside into the abyss outside. Apparently no one lives on that ground floor, and it’s inaccessible. Wtf?
PS. My battery is literally on it’s last legs… it’s telling me to charge it. I have no idea what’s going on, whether or not it’s the voltage here or my battery, but the battery has not been lasting as long as it used to. Kinda worried about that… it still charges fine, rapidly and everything, but doesn’t have the 4 hour battery life it once did… the past week, I was lucky if I was getting even 3 hours! Traveling is hard on this poor laptop, but there’s not a whole lot I can do about it. Thankfully I have that warranty… this bad boy is going straight to the shop the minute I get home!
Okay it’s charging a little bit. To finish the story, quickly-ish, as Maira and I are leaving in a bit:
9 AM on a Friday, we’re at the airport, no way to get to Cadiz but we’ve booked a room there. Can’t take a bus at this point, wouldn’t be worth it. What to do?! Brittany and I call Lange, the guy who rented a car the weekend before, to ask him which company he used. Here’s that luck again… a company only 2 blocks from the airport, WITH a shuttle. We get there, ask about the car, they give us an even cheaper rate than Amigos Autos AND don’t ask us our age. Score!! Cute car, too, a little Hyundai Getz (never heard of it before, must be European?)
And yes, although you may be surprised to hear it, I navigated (perks of calling shot-gun first.) Now I know why the bus goes to Sevilla first… the official highway directions take you from Granada, up to Sevilla, look you around Sevilla and then back south to Cadiz… but I found quicker ways, not highway roads but rather two-laners… luckily no traffic, either! And thank goodness Spain was one of the poorer countries when it entered the European Union, as the EU poured tons of money into Spain’s infrastructure, so all the roads are brand new. We went through only one part that was a dirt road, potholes and whatnot, but that was only for a mile or two. Also, ALL the lines on the road are white, so you better know which side is yours! (We, at one point, didn’t know if we had two lanes or one lane, and happened to be in the wrong lane with an incoming car… man, that makes you appreciate life just a little bit!)
But we got there just fine. In Jerez, we went to an excellent bodega I found online, where we got a tour of the bodega (I think that means wine cellar in Spanish, but it’s like going on a wine tour, only for sherry.) We toured the facilities, watched a little video, learned about the steps of the harvest, and then tasted three sherrys. Also they gave us shots of brandy, as this bodega makes brandy as well. Thank goodness Maira gave her extra glasses to Brittany and I, as that stuff was potent!
Okay, I do have to leave now… we’re going to go running or something painful like that. Thank you, self, and your silly ideas of staying in shape. What was I thinking last night when I said to Maira ‘hey, we should go run up some stairs tomorrow!’?! Then again, it’s MUCH better than staying here in the house. (You still have no idea how much I dislike Granada. I think it’s a problem…) Anyway, from there we have lots of homework and I think after that we’re meeting Brittany for milkshakes.
Holy crap, I still haven’t told you guys the best part about the trip!! All of this has just been teaser! Oh, just you wait… I WILL return to tell you!
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| Monday, March 3rd, 2008
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10:46 am
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3 de marzo 2008
I’m here at the Centro right now (Centro de Lenguas Modernas, CLM to the cool kids), trying to get any internet I possibly can, but no, of course, the WiFi is down today. Ahhh!! Thank God I had internet this weekend in Madrid. Not that I wrote to anyone, as I was going to do this morning, but at least to calm the beast. But I suppose this is as good a time as any to update the journal… we did a TON of stuff this weekend!
Wednesday we left on our excursion for Madrid, Segovia and Toledo. “Excursions” are program-paid for trips, so basically it was like a vacation to these cities for 5 days. Okay, okay so a vacation that I technically paid for, but when I’m not actually spending my OWN money feeding myself, I feel like it’s free.
We were in Madrid Wed., Thurs. and Friday—increible! (In case you couldn’t tell, that means ‘incredible!’) Madrid is a huuuge city, and our hotel was just one side street down from the main road, Gran Via, so we were close to all the action. Fantastic shopping (Can I say H&M?! Not even Phoenix has H&M!), plus all the normal Spanish stores (Zara, Blanco, Bershka). I didn’t go shopping in the Spanish stores, just H&M… didn’t buy a whole lot (gotta save it for traveling!) but I DID invest in 5 pairs of colored socks. I swear to God, if Menchu keeps losing them, there will be problems! (Habra problemas!!)
Plus, my favorite store in Madrid… STARBUCKS!!! It’s probably a good thing there aren’t any Starbucks here in Granada, or I would probably spend all my money there. Then again, maybe it would be like Spokane, where I would only go once in a while because it’s always there. Anyway, I went to Starbucks every single day, to say the least. Oh, how I miss it!
Re: Madrid… for being a giant city, it actually has a lot of character. Normal, 20th-21st century buildings alongside a building that looks like it’s from the 17th century, complete with angels, ornate decorations and fancy lettering. We went to a couple museums too, the Reina Sofia (older art, i.e. before the 1840s), the Museum Thyssen (art from 1840’s-1940s), and the Prado (more art). I really, really enjoyed the art museums. After all the cathedrals, churches, and mosques we’ve been to, I had had enough with the religious paintings! I wrote down my favorites, but of course I forgot the paper with the names… I’m sure that van Gogh, Dali, and Velázquez were on the list… but not Pollock or Picasso. Especially Picasso, sadly enough. One entire wing of the Prado was devoted to Picasso, including his most famous painting “Guernica”, but I don’t know. I guess I just can’t get into abstract paintings that much. Nor am I a fan of cubism, so poor Picasso has two strikes against him. Sadly enough, I didn’t get to buy postcards from the museums either! I know they’d be more expensive, but I’d like to have pro photos of the artwork, as we weren’t allowed to take any pictures in the museums. I suppose I can just print out copies online… (thinking ahead for the scrapbook I’m going to make when I get home!)
My favorite places we visited were just outside of Madrid, El Escorial and El Valle de los Caidos (The Valley of the Fallen). El Escorial is King Phillip II’s palace/monastery he built in the 1500’s. A little info on Rey Felipe II—very very religious, built the El Escorial to centralize Spanish power and to live his life devoted to God, built up the Spanish Armada, started the decline of Spain (after the Armada was defeated, Spain was pretty much bankrupt), eventually his descendent Carlos II (not sure about the number) would be so inbred that he would not only be crazy (like, actually crazy), but he would also be sterile. Okay, so the last part’s not so much about Felipe, but I thought it was cool. Anyway, in the El Escorial, not only is there a really huge, awesome church, but it’s also the place where the majority of the Spanish royal family is buried! Including a cake (I’m not kidding, it’s a marble cake) dedicated to the Spanish princes/princesses who died before the age of 8 (the age of the First Communion). One of the Kings, Felipe maybe?, had EIGHT children who died before their 5th birthday. Our guide said that was the result of all the inbreeding in the Spanish family, not just sickness. Gross!
El Valle de los Caidos was really cool in an eerily beautiful way, if you can imagine. It’s called a valley, but it’s actually a huge… I don’t know what to call it. A mausoleum? A museum/tomb/cathedral made of stone? It’s this giant, building’s not the right word; neither is castle, built right after the Spanish Civil War by Franco as a memorial to the Nationalists who died. Not built by Franco, of course, but rather the slave labor—he took prisoners (mostly Republicans who fought against him during the war) and forced them to build this (monstrosity isn’t the right word, but it’s not ugly). Clearly, working all day, every day, with little food or water contributed to a ton of deaths… over which Franco simply poured concrete when the people died. That’s right, underneath El Valle/the cathedral/tomb are a multitude of dead people. Creepy, no? We couldn’t take pictures inside, but I’ve got to find photos of the inside online for you. El Valle is actually in a valley, about 20 minutes from downtown Madrid, but you literally go in a forest to get to it. It’s very well hidden, but there’s also a HUGE cross right in the middle of the valley, behind the mausoleum/cathedral. It was also cloudy when we went, which made the area feel even creepier. It’s strange to be visiting the most-hated monument in all of Spain, but you also know it’s necessary… were you to destroy it, you would be erasing a significant chunk of Spain’s recent past. But just being there is creepy and sad as well.
Okay so the internet is back and I've got cosas para hacer... things to do!! Hasta la vista!
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| Thursday, February 28th, 2008
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1:48 am - Madrid
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Right now I'm in Madrid! We saw the Prado Museum today... a-MAZING!! I absolutely love Goya's darker paintings. I'm so glad I took that crazy art class last semester!
It's really hot here in our hotel room... I'm practically dying, even though it's only 50 degrees outside. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, and of course I didn't bring my umbrella. Joder! Oh well, it will cool me off, no? Umm... well... Maira brought hers, and I'll just stick around her (I've taken control of the only key we have, so she'll have to stay around me too, bwaha!)
Anyway, much more later!
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1:47 am
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25 February 2008
Snap! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve updated this bad boy! Until now, I didn’t really have much to say… I suppose the most stuff happened within the last week, so here goes:
Wednesday I was totally creeped on by a Spaniard… typical, I suppose. He accosted me while I was wearing my boots with the little heels (I bought them here, super cute… for the States. Anything with heels here is just foolish, as all the streets are cobblestone and you practically die, BUT everyone does it here and I was like, oh, I’m only going to school and back, I can make it…) But no, then I was like, oh I’m going to take this sketchy little calle (street) up to SuperSol because I wanted a banana… and then, accostation! (Yeah, I made that word up.) We won’t go into any gory details, but let’s just said I made up some story about a boyfriend back home, and Creepy McCreeperson said “Yes, but he’s not here now, is he?” Sigh. Oh, Spaniards!
Thursday was our second salsa class… oh, salsa class! Salsa is one class I DO actually have to “study” (practice) for, and one that doesn’t come so easily! It’s actually very nerve-wracking for me… I’m not so good with rhythm and whatnot, and apparently I really need to work on ‘relaxing’ my body when I dance… ah! But that’s why I’m taking it… and once I learn more, I’ll be able to teach you all when I return!
Friday night we went out for a little bit, to two little tapas restaurants. One was close to our house, highly recommended by both our Senora and by the girls who stayed with her previously (they left notes behind in English for us, really good info!). HOWEVER… Maira, Britney, Rebecca, Holly and I didn’t like the place at all. The bar is owned by a British guy and his multi-lingual wife (very cool!) but not so cool that every guiri (slang for gringo/any foreigner) and their English-speaking Mom was there. Literally, every single American in our school was there, speaking completely in English! Not cool!
And this weekend I went to the Alpujarras (in the Sierra Nevada, but lower elevation, no snow) with Brittany, Molly, Clara, Holly, Mayra (not my roomie), and Katie. SO much fun!!! Background: the Alpujarras are in the Sierra Nevada, as I’ve said, and consist of something like 6 “pueblos blancos” (white towns, as in whitewashed houses). The popular thing to do is hike through the towns… they’re no more than half an hour/hour from each other, all situated in the mountains (you can see pics on Facebook). We arrived on Saturday and found a cute, cheap hostel, parked our stuff, and immediately set out on a hike. The hike was supposed to last only 2 hours, then loop around through another town and eventually take us back to Bubion, the town in which we stayed. Unfortunately, Molly and I kind of got the group a little sidetracked, because Molly and I wanted to visit the graveyard about 50 feet from the trail. The graveyard was cool, especially after we found a random bone… and you would THINK we’d be able to get back on the regular path, but unfortunately, our tour guides Brittany and Holly confused a different path for ‘our’ path and, well, we got lost.
And not just lost as in the, oh shoot we’re going to have to turn around lost. Lost in the 2-hour-hike-turned-5-hour-epic-‘are-we-going-to-make-it-home-alive?’ lost. We tried hitchhiking, but I suppose no one wanted to pick up six extremely soaked girls (by this time the rain was coming down pretty steadily, and me with no hood!) We eventually found a gas station and got directions, and 3 hours later arrived back at the hostel. After hot showers, we stumbled over to a delicious restaurant where we had the best wine of the entire trip—Sangre de Toro (sounds gross to those who speak Spanish, as it literally means “Bull’s Blood”, but I promise it’s good). And not expensive either!
Sunday we walked through the town, all very relaxed. None of us were sore, which was VERY disappointing… and tomorrow I have the salsa class again. I’m SO nervous for some reason! Ah! And let’s see… Wednesday we go to Madrid, Segovia (Sat.) and Toledo (Sunday). We don’t have a guide for Segovia or Toledo, just free time, so I suppose I’ll have to read the guidebooks for recommendations in these towns. Gracias a Dios that Madrid/Segovia/Toledo are paid for, room and food-wise, as I unfortunately went over my budget by 75 euro. Ick! The Alpujarras trip was unexpected, but looking at my calendar, I realized that weekend was the only weekend I could go, and as I love hiking/the mountains, I decided I had to jump on it. It was definitely worth going over the budget, though. I wish I could go back!
Oh sheesh, it’s almost midnight and I’ve class at 8:30 tomorrow. Brutal! Hasta luego!
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| Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
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1:11 pm - It's raining!
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Raining like cats and dogs! Boo!! Damn you, sunny Spain!
J/k, I like the rain. And I missed it. Ah, home.
I really really want to go to Sweden. And Dublin, BUT Mom said we'd be going to Dublin after my senior year, to drag Grandma along and make her tell us family stories. So mostly Sweden over Dublin...
It's irrational, but I really really want to!
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| Monday, February 18th, 2008
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9:57 am - While at school...
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So I took out 300E the other day from my WaMu account (have I told you how much I love them?) and I looked today to see how much that was in $... $438! Ah! I basically just lost $138 because America sucks. Awesome!
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9:55 am
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17 February 2008
Well, it goes without saying again that Menchu is still crazy, and daily the Spanish people annoy me. However, I had a nice weekend, and an absolutely fabulous Sunday, so I can’t complain!
Friday we woke up late and then went to school (no class, just to use the internet) around 3 PM. We didn’t watch any movies, but our friend Tom DID show us an excellent movie-downloading (okay, movie-stealing) site… although technically it’s not stealing, as I’m not DOWNLOADING the movie on to my computer… anyway, it’s very stupid, but for some reason I really felt like downloading The Simpsons Movie… very strange, as I’ve hardly ever watched The Simpsons except in cases of utter boredom. As that infrequently occurs, I’ve seen, at the most, 10-15 episodes in my entire life. But maybe I was seriously missing Americana, because I “downloaded” the movie, and then Maira and I went back to the house and watched it after dinner. Pretty chill Friday night, but much needed! And the movie was funny, in English, and without lesbians making out. Yay!
Saturday we went shopping, and I got a really nice black coat for not too much money. I also got a really nice scarf for less than 2 euros! It looks expensive too, which is always the best. I also bought a mini-cactus, just to remind me of home. I have a feeling, though, that the orange flower “blooming” on top of the cactus MAY be fake… and if so, I wonder if the cactus itself is fake. It still hurts if you touch it, thought, so maybe not. Oh well, I’m still going to water it like it’s real. I hope Menchu doesn’t have a policy against plants…
Ah, and Sunday was absolutely wonderful. First of all, Maira actually woke up at a reasonable time (10 AM) and we went out to exercise… exercising being walking all around Granada and also running up and down the stairs at one of the parks near our house… I felt like dying after the third run up the stairs, but that’s a good feeling I’ve seriously missed! Then Menchu made us tortilla Espanola, which is possibly the best food she makes (not fish!! Yes!!!), and after that… I went to the Banos Arabes with Brittany and Clara!
What are the Banos Arabes, you ask? Translated, they are the ‘Arabic Baths’… I think the best description is imagine the public bath houses they had in the Roman times… well, imagine what you THINK they would look like. Then add some modern flavor (think: Enya music and rich Europeans), and you’ve got the Arabic Baths. It’s like a spa, but meant to look old and authentic. Brittany had wanted to go for a while, and five of us planned on going (Brittany, Clara, Maira, me, and Molly), but then Maira backed out because she doesn’t have a bathing suit, and then Molly backed out because she didn’t want to spend the money… but it worked out, because then Brittany and I got longer massages (Clara didn’t want a longer one).
That’s right, MASSAGES! The premise is, you go for an hour and a half, and in that time you get a half an hour long massage. For the rest of the hour, you go between pools of hot, lukewarm, and cold water… you can choose which pools to go to and how long you stay there. There’s about 8 pools, 4 hot, 3 lukewarm, and one cold. Brittany and I, who have hated the cold showers here the most out of anyone, I think, spent the majority of the time in the extremely hot pools… heaven! I don’t care if my feet were tingling because of the heat… so worth it! Clara spent most of the time in the lukewarm pools, and Brittany even tried to cold pool for 5 minutes… I stuck my foot in the cold pool for a minute and said, Forget this… this feels like the shower at Menchu’s. Back to the hot water for me!
And the massages were amazing. My lady definitely looked like one of those “Helga/Olga” ladies who would rough you up… but actually it was a pretty suave massage… no beatings or anything. I like the gentle massages the most, and although Brittany and Clara wanted something a little more intense, I was definitely happy with mine.
I’ve decided, as it’s not that much money, that a swim in the baths and a massage will probably be my monthly reward to myself for surviving yet another month. I figure it’s probably worth it, as it puts me in a much better mood. I’m also extremely tired now, so I’m going to head off to sleep. Hasta luego!
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| Friday, February 15th, 2008
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12:51 pm
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15 February 2008
So I’m sitting here in my room, updating the journal, writing to peeps, charging the laptop, and waiting for Maira to get dressed before we go to school for some presentation about Madrid… and I just looked at my charger and saw, lo and behold, the computer is running on battery, NOT electricity/the charger/whatever it’s called. “Wtf,” I thought to myself, “Damn plugs around here always fall out!” But no, no, my friends, I just tried the light switch, and haha, once again, the power is out here! Fabulous. Oh, Spain. I like how the power and the water here sometimes randomly don’t work. This morning when I attempted to use the shower, the water didn’t turn on for 10 minutes. And now with the power. Asi es Spain!
So yesterday was Valentine’s Day… they don’t make such a big deal about it here as they do in the States! In the States, I feel like they start pushing Valentine’s Day on us as soon as Christmas is over… here, I saw a couple ads on the TV/in the newspapers about a week before the big day, and a couple store windows were decked out in red hearts, but that was about it. None of the teachers mentioned it at school, no one dressed up… nada. Menchu’s “boyfriend/friend” brought her over a little heart cake from “one of the finest bakeries in all of Granada” (have I mentioned how much the Spanish enjoy exaggerating?), which was pretty cute. I’m getting more comfortable about teasing her about it, and she didn’t get mad, so I suppose it was okay. Yay!
We did go out, of course, and I wore red (another ‘of course’). HOWEVER… that’s also when I found out that here, if you wear red on Valentine’s Day, it means you have a sweetheart and are in love. All the kids from school were like “who is it, who is it?”, teasingly, but it actually worked at really well, as absolutely NO old creepy men bothered me at all! I rather wish it was Valentine’s Day every weekend… or maybe I’ll just wear a sign saying “Taken” (except in Spanish).
It’s been a while since I’ve updated, mostly just due to the fact nothing very interesting has occurred lately. Other than going to class, walking around a bit, being mildly annoyed daily by all Spaniards, and going out sometimes on the weekend, I don’t do very much. I’d like to do more, walk around a lot more, but lately I don’t feel comfortable doing that. I think that guy whacking off in the car freaked me out more than I’d like to admit! I have been watching a lot of Spanish movies, which is good for practicing. Unfortunately, none of the movies themselves have been good. I picked up “Los Dos Lados de la Cama” yesterday (The two sides of the bed), as I read that it was a) good and b) was a romantic-comedy (perfect for V-Day, no?)… and hoping to avoid all the violence/sex that characterize Spanish movies. And what happens to be the very first scene of the movie? Two lesbians making out. Sigh. Time and place for that, Spanish movies, but come on! I just want to laugh! Where’s the slapstick comedy found so frequently in American movies? Ah well. Today we’re going to watch another movie at school, so maybe I’ll do a little research before I randomly pick one this time!
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crazyzagchica's journal