Barcelona was really fun. The pictures are up on Facebook already, so check them out!
We got into the Reus airport late, because our flight was delayed. That messed up all our transportation plans to get into Barcelona, because all the trains and busses had stopped running for the night. We flew into Reus (an hour and a half away from Barcelona), because it was tremendously cheaper, and there was a flight directly out of Santander. So we had to pile into taxis - costing us around 35 Euro each. Ouch. But we finally got there, checked into our hostel, and were ready to go eat.
One of our group had already been to Barcelona in the past led us to this fantastic Mexican restaurant. The food was yummy, and it was made even better by the fact that we were starving. But, as are all things in Barcelona, it was expensive. Some people in our group went out to some bars after that, but my roomates and I went home so that we could get up early and see as much as possible on Saturday.
Saturday morning we got up, ate at the hostel, and hit the town. There is a major street in Barcelona caled Las Robles (I think that's how you spell it). We walked all up and down that street. There are street vendors, souvenier shops, and street performers. The performers are all dressed up in costumes, and they'll do funny or scary things if you give them money. I didn't give anyone money - there were enough other people there paying.
There was a huge rugby match planned for later in the day, and all the fans for both teams were out in full force. They were dressed in Rugby jerseys (is that what they're called? Anyways, they were wearing the Rugby outfits the players wear), or at least in the colors. One group of fans were all dressed as the Vegas Elvis - a white jumpsuit with a giant patch for their team sewn on the back. Then we saw a sea of people coming at us in their yellow jerseys. There was one family of three walking in the opposite direction with the other team's jerseys. When the two groups met, the little kid in the small family screamed the Spanish equivalent of "Your team sucks! My team is number one!" Since it was a little kid, there was no riot, but it prompted the yellow sea of fans to sing and chant and dance - you could hear them long after we (and the kid) were past them. Crazy Rugby fans may almost rise to the level of Football Hooligans in London.
We saw some other great stuff too - we went to a shoe museum, the Picasso Museum, and to the city Cathedral. They happened to be having mass there when we went, so it was really cool. Every Saturday night after mass, there is a band that plays out on the front steps, and all kinds of people gather there to do a traditional dance - everyone standing in a circle and dancing together. It was really cool. I got some videos of it.
After that, we decided it would be wrong to be in a city right on the Mediterranean Sea, and not at least set foot in it, so we headed to the beach. By now it was almost 7 p.m., but we went anyways. When we got there, we found the rest of our group all there - drinking Absynthe and swimming. So, we ran and jumped into the Sea. It was so warm and nice. I wished I had spent all day there too. But in the end I'm glad I saw the things I saw. I sort of wanted to try the Absynthe, but it wasn't the "real" kind, and I'm not drinking black licorice flavored anything if it's not authentic absynthe. So I didn't. My trip to Europe isn't exactly following the Eurotrip movie, but that's ok. I'm having a great time as it is.
My camera died while I was at the beach, so I don't have any pictures of us going out dancing that night, but it was fantastic. We all got really dressed up, and I even wore heels. We went to a club called Catwalk, and they played great music - a lot of hip hop - none of that electronica stuff Europeans love so much. We got there around 1 am (early for Spain), and we left around 5 am. I think I danced for a solid four hours straight. My hair was so sweaty and my beautiful dress was drenched, but I had a fantastic time. I drank a little sangria before going out, but managed to only spend the 20 Euro cover charge at the club plus a little for a bottle of water there. It was so fun.
We went back to the hostel and slept for a couple of hours before we got up and had to check out and get to the airport. It was so great. I would love to go back, though. Barcelona is huge, and one full day is not really enough time to see everything. I didn't even go to the biggest, most famous landmark - the Sagrada Familia. It is a chathedral designed and build by Gaudi. And I'd like to go to the Gaudi museum and the Parc Gaudi. But next time I go, I'll be prepared for the expense.
The last week of Spain was pretty fun too. We kept saying that we were going to make the most of it and go to the beach every day and go out every night, but we were all getting a little tired. We had a group field trip on Tuesday, and we went to some other old city and then up this scary, windy, narryow road (really scary in a bus) to a mountain. Then from the top of that mountain, everyone took a gondola up to the very top where there was still snow and excellent views of the countryside. I didn't go, because I didn't think it would be worth it - it was expensive to take a 4 minute ride up to the top, take some pictures and come down. Besides, by now I was getting really tired of going everywhere in a big group. I wanted to relax and have some quiet. So I stayed down and read my book. Professor Peeler stayed down too, because he's afraid of heights, and it worked out well, because we had a long conversation, and I think we bonded.
Then Wednesday was overcast, and we were all studying for our Music Law final on Thursday. Thursday we didn't go to the beach, because we were taking a final all afternoon. But Thursday was the last day of classes and finals, so we all went out Thursday night. We went dancing again (I love Europe for this), and got silly. At one place we went to, they played some old-school 90's club songs, and we had a dance circle. I did an awesome running man, and got cheered. It was fun. Then later in the evening, someone told me I had some serious dance moves, and I felt awesome.
We spent Friday packing and hanging out. Some people left on Friday. Those of us who didn't leave went to the Irish Pub one more time and played Monopoly in Spanish one more time. Then I lost Monopoly in Spanish one more time. Our bus to come to France didn't leave until 9 pm Saturday, so we spent that day finishing packing, cleaning up our apartment, and relaxing. It was sad to leave there on one hand, but on the other, I was ready.
I almost felt like I was ready to just come home. I was tired and I was burned out - hanging out with a group of people all the time is exhausting. I just wanted to be home, with Mike cuddled on the couch watching movies. It's the most comfortable happy place I know. I still want to be there, actually. But now that I'm here in France, I'm getting pretty excited about this program. I think I won't be as social this time - even though it's mostly a different group of people. I think I will stick to myself more, go off by myself more. My French is improving drastically. Today I bought a fan from a guy who spoke absolutely no english. (The fan was a necessity - it's mid-90's here already, and it's not even July.)
The first person from the France group is arriving tonight. She was on the Spain trip with us, but she didn't take classes - she got a job. She speaks Spanish really well, and she interned for credit at a law firm in downtown Santander. But now she's going to be taking classes with us here. I'm taking only two classes here in France, but they are each two credits: International Intellectual Property and International Human Rights.
Well, I've gone on long enough. Goodbye Spain adventure, hello France adventure!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
I Parled a Bit Today
While sitting here without internet last night, I wrote this:
I finally made it to France. I promise I will write very soon about Barcelona and my last week in Spain, because there are some stories to tell. But right now, the France thing is in my mind and I’m excited about it.
We (my roommate, Teresa, and I) took a bus from Santander to Barcelona which took about 9 hours overnight (sucks, but saves a night of lodging costs). The bus left at 9:00 p.m., and I managed to stay awake until about midnight. Once it got dark (around 10:30) it was much more difficult to stay awake. I slept on and off for the rest of the night. We got into Barcelona around 6:30 a.m. Then we went into the bus/train station and had breakfast.
We got on another bus from Barcelona to Toulouse around 9:00 a.m., and got here around 4:00 p.m. We took the most expensive 1 mile taxi drive ever, and got to our dorms. After a little searching around we figured out where we were supposed to go, and got our keys. My conversation with the woman behind the counter weas half in elementary French and half in elementary English. She must have thought I was so dumb.
But we figured everything out eventually, and we unpacked and got situated. Then we went to dinner at a pizza place (because apparently no one needs to eat out at restaurants on Sunday nights. No one needs to do anything on Sunday nights apparently – the cyber café was closed as was every store we passed.
As far as internet goes, it’s still a little up in the air. The woman who checked us in did not know how we could access the wi-fi here. She said there wasn’t any. But when I turned on my computer, it found a wireless network, but I need an id and a password. Hopefully I can get that tomorrow. UPDATE: There is no wireless internet access here in our dorm rooms. So I had to go to an electronics store today and buy a cable, because there is actually internet access in the rooms - only you have to get it from the wall.
I don’t have class until next week. I plan to spend this week catching up on blogging, exploring the city and writing all my papers for the Spain session. Teresa is going to go to Germany and Amsterdam, which is where my other Spain roommate is staying right now. I guess they’ll meet up there. They were both good roommates, and I wouldn’t have wanted to room with anyone else there, but it will be really nice to have my own room here. It will be nice to have a week to chill out and unwind alone. Plus I want to test my mettle - a week alone in a foreign country will do that.
My French is pretty rusty, but I think it will come back quickly – especially being alone this week. I was able to get us around pretty well today, and I think I’ll improve quickly. It’s really fun being here. As soon as we were in France today, I just felt happier. I’m more comfortable here than Spain – probably because I’ve been to France before. I can’t wait to find a bakery to get some pain-au-chocolate. I can’t wait to find a creperie. I can’t wait to be understood by someone who speaks French. While on the bus, I kept looking out at the countryside and thinking of the movie “French Kiss.” My favorite lines:
Kate: “What’s that face? You don’t think it’s beautiful here?”
Luke: “Pshhh. I was born here.”
Kate: “You were? But this is so beautiful and charming.”
Luke: “Ah oui, it was too beautiful for me. I had to leave.”
I know it’s lame, but I’m thinking of going to bed soon. It’s only 8:30, but nothing’s open anyways. I can’t get online, and I hardly slept last night. We’ll see how it goes.
Now with internet in my room, I am writing the rest of this post.
This morning I went to an internet cafe for awhile, where I caught up on emails, and chatted with a few people. Then Teresa left for the train station, and I came back to the dorms. I found someone in the office, and she is the one who told me how I could get internet here, and what kind of cable to buy, etc. Then I went out on my adventure to find the cable.
I went for a really long walk in all the wrong directions, but it was pretty fun. I got to know the lay of the land pretty well. Now I have plans about what I want to go out and see tomorrow. I finally found the store that sells cables (a Best Buy type of store). Right outside of it was a patisserie, where I promptly bought a pain au chocolate and a bottle of water.
I took the metro (which I was able to master rather quickly) back to my stop. Right outside of the stop is a park with lots of benches. I sat down on a bench and enjoyed my pastry. I found a newspaper nearby that no one was reading, and in it were movie times. I may try to check out a movie here - if it's not too expensive. Then I started walking back to my dorm, and on the way I passed a little store.
I got some necessities and some diet coke and some frozen quiche for dinner tonight, and then came home. When I got here there was a note under my door from Teresa, who couldn't get on the train she wanted so she is leaving later tonight. So we went back out because she was hungry (so was I - pain au chocolate is wonderful, but not especially filling, and it was 1:30 pm by now and it's all I had eaten all day). We got roast beef sandwiches on baguettes, and sat in the park some more.
Now I'm "home," enjoying my internet and my room (which isn't too too hot). I will play around online a little more, and then I think I'll work on one of my papers. There is a kitchen down the hall where I can use a microwave and/or oven to make my quiche later. It's been a bon jour.
I finally made it to France. I promise I will write very soon about Barcelona and my last week in Spain, because there are some stories to tell. But right now, the France thing is in my mind and I’m excited about it.
We (my roommate, Teresa, and I) took a bus from Santander to Barcelona which took about 9 hours overnight (sucks, but saves a night of lodging costs). The bus left at 9:00 p.m., and I managed to stay awake until about midnight. Once it got dark (around 10:30) it was much more difficult to stay awake. I slept on and off for the rest of the night. We got into Barcelona around 6:30 a.m. Then we went into the bus/train station and had breakfast.
We got on another bus from Barcelona to Toulouse around 9:00 a.m., and got here around 4:00 p.m. We took the most expensive 1 mile taxi drive ever, and got to our dorms. After a little searching around we figured out where we were supposed to go, and got our keys. My conversation with the woman behind the counter weas half in elementary French and half in elementary English. She must have thought I was so dumb.
But we figured everything out eventually, and we unpacked and got situated. Then we went to dinner at a pizza place (because apparently no one needs to eat out at restaurants on Sunday nights. No one needs to do anything on Sunday nights apparently – the cyber café was closed as was every store we passed.
As far as internet goes, it’s still a little up in the air. The woman who checked us in did not know how we could access the wi-fi here. She said there wasn’t any. But when I turned on my computer, it found a wireless network, but I need an id and a password. Hopefully I can get that tomorrow. UPDATE: There is no wireless internet access here in our dorm rooms. So I had to go to an electronics store today and buy a cable, because there is actually internet access in the rooms - only you have to get it from the wall.
I don’t have class until next week. I plan to spend this week catching up on blogging, exploring the city and writing all my papers for the Spain session. Teresa is going to go to Germany and Amsterdam, which is where my other Spain roommate is staying right now. I guess they’ll meet up there. They were both good roommates, and I wouldn’t have wanted to room with anyone else there, but it will be really nice to have my own room here. It will be nice to have a week to chill out and unwind alone. Plus I want to test my mettle - a week alone in a foreign country will do that.
My French is pretty rusty, but I think it will come back quickly – especially being alone this week. I was able to get us around pretty well today, and I think I’ll improve quickly. It’s really fun being here. As soon as we were in France today, I just felt happier. I’m more comfortable here than Spain – probably because I’ve been to France before. I can’t wait to find a bakery to get some pain-au-chocolate. I can’t wait to find a creperie. I can’t wait to be understood by someone who speaks French. While on the bus, I kept looking out at the countryside and thinking of the movie “French Kiss.” My favorite lines:
Kate: “What’s that face? You don’t think it’s beautiful here?”
Luke: “Pshhh. I was born here.”
Kate: “You were? But this is so beautiful and charming.”
Luke: “Ah oui, it was too beautiful for me. I had to leave.”
I know it’s lame, but I’m thinking of going to bed soon. It’s only 8:30, but nothing’s open anyways. I can’t get online, and I hardly slept last night. We’ll see how it goes.
Now with internet in my room, I am writing the rest of this post.
This morning I went to an internet cafe for awhile, where I caught up on emails, and chatted with a few people. Then Teresa left for the train station, and I came back to the dorms. I found someone in the office, and she is the one who told me how I could get internet here, and what kind of cable to buy, etc. Then I went out on my adventure to find the cable.
I went for a really long walk in all the wrong directions, but it was pretty fun. I got to know the lay of the land pretty well. Now I have plans about what I want to go out and see tomorrow. I finally found the store that sells cables (a Best Buy type of store). Right outside of it was a patisserie, where I promptly bought a pain au chocolate and a bottle of water.
I took the metro (which I was able to master rather quickly) back to my stop. Right outside of the stop is a park with lots of benches. I sat down on a bench and enjoyed my pastry. I found a newspaper nearby that no one was reading, and in it were movie times. I may try to check out a movie here - if it's not too expensive. Then I started walking back to my dorm, and on the way I passed a little store.
I got some necessities and some diet coke and some frozen quiche for dinner tonight, and then came home. When I got here there was a note under my door from Teresa, who couldn't get on the train she wanted so she is leaving later tonight. So we went back out because she was hungry (so was I - pain au chocolate is wonderful, but not especially filling, and it was 1:30 pm by now and it's all I had eaten all day). We got roast beef sandwiches on baguettes, and sat in the park some more.
Now I'm "home," enjoying my internet and my room (which isn't too too hot). I will play around online a little more, and then I think I'll work on one of my papers. There is a kitchen down the hall where I can use a microwave and/or oven to make my quiche later. It's been a bon jour.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
More Photos and Weekend Plans
I spent the entire afternoon organizing photos and posting them on facebook. Check them out!
I'm going to Barcelona this weekend! We've got a big group going - 16 people. It's cool, but could be annoying. I'm going to spend some time this evening looking for cool things to do there for cheap. I'm assuming there will be museums and maybe a walking tour that will take us past all the cool sights. I'll report everything awesome that happens - which will probably be a lot. I'm excited.
Apparently there is a shoe museum there for only 2 Euro. I can't wait!
I'm going to Barcelona this weekend! We've got a big group going - 16 people. It's cool, but could be annoying. I'm going to spend some time this evening looking for cool things to do there for cheap. I'm assuming there will be museums and maybe a walking tour that will take us past all the cool sights. I'll report everything awesome that happens - which will probably be a lot. I'm excited.
Apparently there is a shoe museum there for only 2 Euro. I can't wait!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Weekend Adventures
This has been a fantastic weekend. I'm going to be honest - I haven't been having the greatest time. I tried to cover it up, but Bryan totally called it. Spain is difficult to get used to. The food isn't very good (I was surprised to find out), and it's really inconvenient to do anything. Plus, I was sick for so long, and unable to really function or enjoy things.
But this weekend my outlook has changed. The food is still bland and uninteresting, but I have been having so much fun anyway!
Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the beach around noon. Someone brought a volleyball, and we played for about an hour. Then we went swimming for awhile. The water is cold, but it was so hot it didn't matter. The water seems saltier than the ocean in California, so you float more. There are waves, but not crushing waves, so it's just really relaxing to float.
After sleeping for awhile on the sand, we went inside. Then we decided to rent bikes and go for a ride. We rode up to a nearby lighthouse. Along the way, we found a really great view of the beach we always go to, and we discovered a private beach. (BTW, all the beaches here have signs that say "No Nudismo," but there are topless women all over the place.)
Once we got up by the lighthouse, we decided to get a beverage and enjoy the view. It's on really high ground (as lighthouses are prone to be), and we could see ocean and cliffs all around us. There was also a little field right by the cafe we were at. In the field there were two large bales of hay. Courtney and Tara (two of my classmates at Whittier, and here) decided to run out into the field and jump on the bales of hay. We were taking pictures and video, and then all of the rest of the people in the cafe became interested. They started taking pictures too, and then two Spanish guys ran out and jumped on the hay too. It looked really fun, and just as I was about to run out and join them, a guy with a tracter drove into the field and made a beeline right for the hay bales. He didn't look to happy. Everyone jumped off, and the tractor guy took the hay somewhere else. It was hilarious.
Then we went out dancing last night. The music in the clubs is mostly techno, and almost all the songs are American songs. It's really fun. Last night there must have been a costume party somewhere, because we saw a ton of people dressed really funny - in striped jail outfits, a chicken suit, a guy in a body suit with a female Baywatch bathing suit on and big stuffed boobs... Craziness.
But today was the most fun. We went to a ropes / obstacle course. There were ladders up into the trees, rope and wooden plank bridges, rope swings, and ziplines. It was so much fun. It took us about 3 hours to do all 5 courses, and we had a blast. I was so tired, and I almost didn't go. I'm so glad that I went. There will be a lot of pictures on facebook soon of the weekend's events (and some other Santander pictures), but in the meantime, here's a video of me on the rope swing.
But this weekend my outlook has changed. The food is still bland and uninteresting, but I have been having so much fun anyway!
Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the beach around noon. Someone brought a volleyball, and we played for about an hour. Then we went swimming for awhile. The water is cold, but it was so hot it didn't matter. The water seems saltier than the ocean in California, so you float more. There are waves, but not crushing waves, so it's just really relaxing to float.
After sleeping for awhile on the sand, we went inside. Then we decided to rent bikes and go for a ride. We rode up to a nearby lighthouse. Along the way, we found a really great view of the beach we always go to, and we discovered a private beach. (BTW, all the beaches here have signs that say "No Nudismo," but there are topless women all over the place.)
Once we got up by the lighthouse, we decided to get a beverage and enjoy the view. It's on really high ground (as lighthouses are prone to be), and we could see ocean and cliffs all around us. There was also a little field right by the cafe we were at. In the field there were two large bales of hay. Courtney and Tara (two of my classmates at Whittier, and here) decided to run out into the field and jump on the bales of hay. We were taking pictures and video, and then all of the rest of the people in the cafe became interested. They started taking pictures too, and then two Spanish guys ran out and jumped on the hay too. It looked really fun, and just as I was about to run out and join them, a guy with a tracter drove into the field and made a beeline right for the hay bales. He didn't look to happy. Everyone jumped off, and the tractor guy took the hay somewhere else. It was hilarious.
Then we went out dancing last night. The music in the clubs is mostly techno, and almost all the songs are American songs. It's really fun. Last night there must have been a costume party somewhere, because we saw a ton of people dressed really funny - in striped jail outfits, a chicken suit, a guy in a body suit with a female Baywatch bathing suit on and big stuffed boobs... Craziness.
But today was the most fun. We went to a ropes / obstacle course. There were ladders up into the trees, rope and wooden plank bridges, rope swings, and ziplines. It was so much fun. It took us about 3 hours to do all 5 courses, and we had a blast. I was so tired, and I almost didn't go. I'm so glad that I went. There will be a lot of pictures on facebook soon of the weekend's events (and some other Santander pictures), but in the meantime, here's a video of me on the rope swing.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Catch Up
I've been in Spain for a week and a half now. It's high time I wrote down what I've been doing.
Classes are going pretty well. I'm a little disappointed in the Narcotics and Terrorism class. It has mostly been an overview of international law in general. It's good, because I have never had a class in international law, and it's good to learn the basics of how it all works. But we only talked about narcotics trafficking one day. Tomorrow is the last day of that class. It was a two-week class for one credit. We are having a final exam sometime next week. My professor for this class is really cool. He's a Judge in Orange County, and has been an attorney in Vietnam, and in the U.S. He's so cute and funny. Tomorrow we are having class at his apartment, and his wife is going to make us all lunch. It's been nice.
The other class I'm taking right now is International Sports Law. We have mostly been focusing on the Olympics, because that's the biggest portion of international sports law. But we've also been talking about all other kinds of international sports competitions - tennis, soccer (oops, I mean futbol), and whatnot. This class is for the entire four weeks, but after this week we're getting a new professor. For this professor we are writing 2 papers - 4-5 pages each. They are to be opinion papers, so that's awesome.
Next week I start my third and only other class for Spain: Music Law. I'm interested to see what that will be all about.
The food here in Spain is pretty good, but it's a little on the bland side. Everywhere you go, they have the same stuff. It's kind of expensive, though. My roomates and I have a kitchen in our room, so we've been doing a lot of cooking to try to save money. We've made pasta, chicken, quesadillas, tacos, more pasta, etc. It's been fine.
I'm finally on a decent schedule. It's so hard to get used to the schedule here. Everyone goes to work around 10 or so. Then at 2 p.m. it's siesta, and everything is closed for 2 hours at least - except restaurants. Then everything is open again until 8 or so. Then restaurants open for dinner at aroun 8 or 9. You can't get dinner before that. Night clubs don't open until midnight at least. It's strange.
Most days we get up around 8 and eat breakfast. We get to school at 10 and I go until about 12:30 every day. Then we come home and eat some lunch. If it's nice, we go to the beach. If it's not we take a nap. Then we have dinner and most nights everyone goes out. Wednesdays are designated social events with the professors and all students. Last week we went somewhere and got tapas and sangria. This week we had a group tour of two old cities nearby. It was pretty cool.
One night last week we went out for the birthday of one of my classmates, and it was really fun. But we didn't get home until after 4. Groups have gone out several nights with the same type of schedule, but I'm old, so I only went out late the one time.
Not only am I old, but I have also been sick. I finally figured out how to say cough syrup in spanish (thanks Mike!), and I've gotten some. I finally slept well last night and didn't wake up coughing.
Our apartment is pretty nice, and the beach is right across the street. So, life here doesn't suck. I'm slowly getting my pictures organized, and they'll be up on facebook soon. Viva Espania!
Classes are going pretty well. I'm a little disappointed in the Narcotics and Terrorism class. It has mostly been an overview of international law in general. It's good, because I have never had a class in international law, and it's good to learn the basics of how it all works. But we only talked about narcotics trafficking one day. Tomorrow is the last day of that class. It was a two-week class for one credit. We are having a final exam sometime next week. My professor for this class is really cool. He's a Judge in Orange County, and has been an attorney in Vietnam, and in the U.S. He's so cute and funny. Tomorrow we are having class at his apartment, and his wife is going to make us all lunch. It's been nice.
The other class I'm taking right now is International Sports Law. We have mostly been focusing on the Olympics, because that's the biggest portion of international sports law. But we've also been talking about all other kinds of international sports competitions - tennis, soccer (oops, I mean futbol), and whatnot. This class is for the entire four weeks, but after this week we're getting a new professor. For this professor we are writing 2 papers - 4-5 pages each. They are to be opinion papers, so that's awesome.
Next week I start my third and only other class for Spain: Music Law. I'm interested to see what that will be all about.
The food here in Spain is pretty good, but it's a little on the bland side. Everywhere you go, they have the same stuff. It's kind of expensive, though. My roomates and I have a kitchen in our room, so we've been doing a lot of cooking to try to save money. We've made pasta, chicken, quesadillas, tacos, more pasta, etc. It's been fine.
I'm finally on a decent schedule. It's so hard to get used to the schedule here. Everyone goes to work around 10 or so. Then at 2 p.m. it's siesta, and everything is closed for 2 hours at least - except restaurants. Then everything is open again until 8 or so. Then restaurants open for dinner at aroun 8 or 9. You can't get dinner before that. Night clubs don't open until midnight at least. It's strange.
Most days we get up around 8 and eat breakfast. We get to school at 10 and I go until about 12:30 every day. Then we come home and eat some lunch. If it's nice, we go to the beach. If it's not we take a nap. Then we have dinner and most nights everyone goes out. Wednesdays are designated social events with the professors and all students. Last week we went somewhere and got tapas and sangria. This week we had a group tour of two old cities nearby. It was pretty cool.
One night last week we went out for the birthday of one of my classmates, and it was really fun. But we didn't get home until after 4. Groups have gone out several nights with the same type of schedule, but I'm old, so I only went out late the one time.
Not only am I old, but I have also been sick. I finally figured out how to say cough syrup in spanish (thanks Mike!), and I've gotten some. I finally slept well last night and didn't wake up coughing.
Our apartment is pretty nice, and the beach is right across the street. So, life here doesn't suck. I'm slowly getting my pictures organized, and they'll be up on facebook soon. Viva Espania!
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