Haven't posted in a while!

Okay, so like.. a day!

But it's not because I've been busy or anything.. on the contrary, this is one of the most relaxed weeks I've had! That's because, unlike BASICALLY EVERY OTHER STUDENT HERE, I didn't wait and save all my final essays for the last week of class.. I finished the Food one in like OCTOBER or early November, the Novela one a few weeks after that, and I finished the Psych one like.. last weekend! OH and I finished the one for ARTE AND FIESTA after I went to Morocco. It's not even like I'm being an overachiever (I mean, for being abroad, maybe it is..) .. I'm just doing my work!

So anyway, all I have is a few more (tiny) things to do when I get back from BARCELONA this weekend and then the only things I'll have to worry about are FINALS. That is EXCITING.

Also, things have been great in my homestay! Nothing really EXTRAORDINARY.. it's just that we're all talking more and my abuela isn't driving me crazy and my brothers and I are talking more.. we've just had lots of little bonding moments that would sound boring if I tried to put them into word on here, but they've meant a lot to me at the time. Like, after something had happened, I think - should I put this in my blog.. but I dunno, it just feels like it would ruin the moment. So just let the record show that this week has been great with my host family. Minus all that fish that one time :P

Abraham (my interest group leader) finally premiered the HAND DANCE video we made for CIEE - it's really sweet! You can check it out here: 



Can you guess which hands are MINEE?
Also, he posted some of the pictures of our interest group to a Google album, which you can check out here.
This picture is my personal fave ... the whole group isn't here.. and there are a few Spaniards that were only there that ONE time.. but it's just a really great picture in general..

IT'S JUST SO PERFECTLY CENTERED AND SO DEEEEEP.

We have our FINAL FAREWELL with our Interest Group in a few hours.. Alison and I are bringing our Spanish flags for ALL OUR SPANIARD FRIENDS TO SIGN SO THEY BETTER ALL BE THERE cuz I don't want like 3 signatures and have me seem SUPER LAME when I go to hang it up in my dorm room next semester :) It'll be great. I'm slightly worried that like.. some may not want to sign because it might be considered 'defacing' their flag.. but I think if the intention is a good one, it should be okay. Maybe that's just an uptight American thing.. I don't think people would like signing an American flag? I don't know!!! We'll see if anyone refuses heheheh
I'm PUMPED for Barcelona tomorrow even though I have to wake up at 5 in the morning to meet Alison at 5:45 to head to the bus to the airport that leaves at 6:15 for our 8:20 flight.
And then when we come back on Monday, our flight is at 6 AM so we have to leave the hotel at like 3:30 AM LOLOL DEATH.
But I made an enormous list of things we can do and how to get there and how to be economical and see beautiful things.. I'm scared my camera won't stay charged.. it's gonna be beautiful!!!! My only worry is that we won't be able to see everything that I want to see.. but if we HUSTLE I really really think it is manageable... FINGERS CROSSED <3

Hehe Brother Bonding...

So yanno how I say that my brothers and I don't talk much because they're always watching youtube videos about people's commentary/reactions to videogames? But like, when we do talk it's fine!

Anyway, they were watching one of these things at dinner..and it was with this guy with a weird voice who is talking to 'Cleverbot'.. one of those online robots that responds to what you're saying.. and it was just silly and stupid but some of it was pretty funny so we all started BONDING AND LAUGHING TOGETHER.. i think some parts I understood better than them (the whole thing is in English, sooo... obviously.. but I think they must learn a good part of their English from this.. well, the BAD WORDS at least heheh)

Here it is!
It's silly, but we were bonding. 
Anyway, you see how weird this guy's voice is? So then they asked me (in Spanish) what his accent was.. and I was like.. it's not so much of an accent as it is a weird voice.. I said it was 'en broma' (a joke) because I didn't know how to describe that he was like.. faking it, or being weird on purpose. But then they told me he's Swedish and living in England.. I don't know if that changes anything though... it's still a weird voice.
But then they put on some Videogame Commentary he made of like.. a horror game.. and we watched a bit and it wasn't too bad.. his reactions make things funnier than scary heh..
BUT YAY BONDING
Also, my abuela gave me an already peeled and ready-to-eat orange, and Carlos was like.. I don't know what she always peels it for you! heheh. Dunno, makes it easier?
Anyway.. YAY

Just putting these recipes here to remember them..

So you may remember that I mentioned going to a fancy restaurant with a rich friend and her parents.. I'm not sure if I said this, but the restaurant gave us this DELICIOUS tuna-salad-like substance, except I'm pretty sure it was made with CRAB.

It was so freakin delicious. But I can't for the life of me find the name of what it was on the restaurant's menu, and I never heard the name when I was there.

BUT IM SO CURIOUS.

So I just googled 'spanish crab salad' and these two results seem to be the best...

http://www.purewow.com/entry_detail/recipe/1936?media=print

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/jose-garces-crab-salad-sandwich-recipe

it's the pictures that really look like the right dish. I have no idea what else was in it really.

SO NOM. CRAB ISN'T FISH.

OH MY GOD OF COURSE

So. Two things, just now.

1.

I had fish for lunch. I'm so sorry. At least I tried it.. It was boquerones again (which are like.. sardines..), and then two other kinds.. one was circular and the other you had to take off part of the skin. Maybe it's the fact that I really have no idea how to eat fish. But it's not just that. I got a MOUTHFUL OF FISH SPINE after a bite, I nearly threw up. I am so lucky there was no one at the table eating with me at the time.. my mouth was contorted into a permanent frown of disgust...

I don't think it has anything to do with how it's cooked, I think my host mom is a great cook! It's just the content. Like, I can't. The texture, the spines, the smell... It's all too much. I thought, in the very beginning, I could at least try it a few times, learn to like it, give it a chance. Now I've realized that I will always find fish to be one of the most repulsive things that we humans consume. IM NOT KIDDING. Apart from tuna sandwiches, I cannot deal with fish. And maybe fried.. whenever anything is fried it's INSTANTLY better... But you will NEVER see me go to a restaurant and order fish. I promise you, it will NEVER be my choice. 

I'm so sorry. I really did try. I've since brushed my teeth. And flossed. Thoroughly.

Rant. Over.

2.

After I finished ALL OF THE FISH (thank goodness for french fries and lettuce for being my in-between bites to get the flavor OUT), I was eating some clementines as a PALATE CLEANSER.. and Carlos had put the news on.

GUESS WHAT HAPPENS ON THE NEWS?

Iberia Airlines, which just so happens to be the Airline I AM MEANT TO TAKE TO GO HOME IN SEVENTEEN DAYS, is having a STRIKE.

That's right, all the land and flight crew except for the pilots are going on STRIKE before Christmas due to job cuts. Wanna take a guess when the strikes start?

DECEMBER 14th. THE DAY I'M TO GO HOME. December 14th, 18th, and 19th-21st. But it won't be official until Thursday. BUT WHAT THEN? WILL MY FLIGHT BE CANCELLED?! AM I EVER GOING HOME?!

Oh man, the look on my face must've been a mix of horror and a grim/sarcastic/Of-Course-This-Would-Happen-To-Me smile... because Carlos just starts laughing and says 'MIRA LA CARA DE RACHEL!!!!' heh and that actually made me smile.

BUT SERIOUSLY WILL I GO HOME?

Half smile half look of disgust. Captures it PERFECLY

Fun times in Novela y Cine!

So all my CIEE professors are really awesome, and because the classes are so small, all the students can bond a lot more than they would in bigger classes (like at GW)... so that's why I'm always talking about funny things my professors do!

Anyway, Ángel is my professor for Novela y Cine, and today, a couple things happened that were GREAT.

First of all, he always has called students by their Spanish name equivalent, for example a guy Lawrence is Lorenzo.. Actually, in all honesty I thought Lorenzo was his real name, but woops! But it didn't seem he called ALL the students by their Spanish names, just ones maybe he was closer to? WELL I DONT KNOW BUT I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER HIM CALLING ME 'RACHEL' IN THE BEGINNING. BUT TODAY HE CALLED ME RAQUEL AND IT FELT LIKE AN HONOR.

But the other thing!

Heh, so, we were watching this surrealist movie by surrealist movie-maker Luis Buñuel, called Tristana, based off the NONsurrealist, just realist novel by the same name. 

And in the movie, there is this deaf boy named Saturno, who is the main protagonist's (Tristana) childhood friend.. except he always tries to look up her skirt and touch her and stuff loool. Anyway, Ángel was telling us about something we should have picked up on later in the movie (which I did not AT ALL) when Saturno and Tristana were older, like in their 20s maybe..I don't know, apparently based on certain clues we were supposed to realize that they had had SEXUAL RELATIONS in their past .. before Tristana had her leg amputated and turned all mean and bitchy.

AND THAT'S WHEN Ángel was like, yeah, Saturno has always liked Tristana.. remember when he'd be in his room alone for hours, and his mother would knock angrily and he wouldn't come out immediately? WHAT DO YOU THINK HE WAS DOING?

And so all of us start giggling, but apparently Ángel wanted an actual answer, and we were like UHH WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO SAY THAT IN SPANISH (actually, I had some memory of it after what my Spanish friends had taught me, but I couldn't remember until after he told us)...

SO THEN Ángel ... like.. I think he thought that what he said was the technical term instead of a funny slang phrase because he definitely did not expect our reaction.. SO ALL OF A SUDDEN he like.. whisper-yells 'JERK.. OFF?'

AND WE ALL JUST DIED.

Then we were informed that in spanish it's called 'hacerse una paja' OR THIS ONE WHICH IS EVEN BETTER 'cinco contra uno' ... FIVE AGAINST ONE?!?!?! OH MY GOD?!?!?!

What makes the last term even better is that when Sevilla's two futbol teams played against each other, Betis lost to Sevilla - FIVE POINTS TO ONE. FIVE AGAINST ONE.

OH GOD.

Listening to music on youtube with my Host dad!

At dinner, he showed me (on the iPad) some group doing a cover of 'Creep' by Radiohead.. and then he was like, you should show me more of your group!

So I did... but the audio wasn't the greatest, so i told him the group was gonna come out with a CD later in the year, and at first he didn't realize I'd be on it.. but maybe that'd be a fun gift idea to send once I'm back home!... as long as it doesn't take a million years..

Also, we had TURRON, which actually.. Turron Duro is really not my favorite (DONT TELL SPANIARDS) .... but there was this turron-esque chocolatey thing with cookies in it.. that was DELISH. 

Also, at one point in one of the Vibes videos they didn't recognize me because I had super short hair! So that was funny heh..

Sevilla always surprises me with how small it really is!

Like, I always walk around some place I'm not familiar with, and then all of a sudden I know exactly where I am.. everything is connected!

People too.. Like today, I was crossing the street after the bridge, and I see a guy on a bicycle coming from the opposite direction, and it's Frank, my psych professor, heading towards Triana. He was like Heeeeyyyy! And I was like Hola Frank!!! 

There are also people you bump into that you'd prefer not to... like my runner friend Jose who is SO AWKWARD. I tried to pretend that I didn't see him (This was on Av de la Constitucion), but he was like 'Hey! Hey! Hola!' So I turned around while still walking and said Oh, hola! Qué tal? And he like.. put his arms up as if expecting me to stop.. but I was still walking and he didn't answer my Que tal so I was like OKAY NOT STOPPING hehehe..

Also, I went to put more money on my phone (probs for the last time).. and I asked 'Puedo recargar mi mobil aqui?' ... and the guy smiled and said yes and I did.. But I realized later that my 'recargar' sounded more like 'recagar' because my mouth tripped over that 'arg' sound... and 'cagar' means to shit... so I'm assuming 'recagar' technically means to re-shit.. I don't know if he caught on to it, but I basically asked if I could re-shit my cell phone instead of recharge... heh oh well!

Then I went to this cute little book fair that's going on in Plaza Nueva! A whole bunch of book stores set up stands and sell lots of books for cheap! I was looking for Leyendas o Rimas de Becquer, but I couldn't find any and I was too scared to ask. I did, however, buy The Little Prince in Spanish (El Principito).. so that's cute!

Then when I was coming back, a man stopped me on the street to sell me some sort of magazine/newspaper about the strike and recortes (cutbacks of salary and such).. or at least, that's as much as I understood. And I really didn't want to buy it but he was like, how about just the newspaper for 1 euro? And I was like wellllll I'll just buy it as a CULTURAL EXPERIENCE. So I bought it.. and when I got back to my house I saw that Hammer and Sickle sign.. and I was like Oh nooo.. and then I saw that it said 'Periódico Semanal de Unificación Comunista de España' ... Weekly Newspaper of the Communist Unification in Spain (the spanish commie party)..

Heh woops to me for giving money to the Communist party of Spain... my dad would be sooooooooooo proud. IT IS A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE?

Heh woops..

Don't think I've given ya'll a Spanish lesson in a while..

This is mostly because I think it's useful to remember, and it's less 'cool' or about bad words or fun slang.

If you want to say something like, 'I've been working there for 5 years' or 'I've been here in Spain for 3 months', you say Llevo 3 meses aquí en España.

The verb 'llevar' literally means to carry or to wear.. So it's kind of like you're saying I carry 3 months here.. which in a weird way makes plenty of sense!

Also, if you want to say something took a long time.. I'm pretty sure you can't actually use the verb 'tomar' which means to take.. So, to say, 'I take a long time to do whatever', you'd say 'Tardo mucho tiempo..' And the verb 'tardar' means like.. to delay. So..

OH
Here's something I've been meaning to write down too. A lot of the time, my host mom will be telling a story, and talking about something someone said, but what that person said isn't super important or she doesn't remember it all. So she'll be like 'Y me dijo que tiene que hacer esto .... y No sé qué... no sé cuánto...' 

And what I've gotten from context clues, 'No sé qué, no sé cuánto' is basically 'BLAH BLAH BLAH THIS AND THAT WHATEVER BLAH BLAH' in Spanish. 

NOW YOU KNOW.

Sounds like a parade!

They are practicing for the Semana Santa processions outside I think, because I can hear marching and parade music.. They start so early here! :)

Also, while I was eating breakfast my abuela comes over and says When I was playing Bingo yesterday, I won 40€!!! all excited and such heh.. cute

Edit: She asked me later today if I wanted to come with her to Bingo because I've been in the house all day (DOING PRODUCTIVE WORK THOUGH) and I was like aww, thanks but that's okay.. Mostly because I don't want to be hopelessly trying to follow a conversation for like 3 hours.. also, 3 hours of bingo... but she was understanding. Then I was like Maybe you'll win again! And she was like Ehh I think yesterday I won for the whole year.. as in, she won't win again for a year since she won so much hehe.

Then she was changing my sheets, which she insists on doing herself, but at one point her arm started hurting while she was lifting the mattress so I ran over to help her, and she was like 'Esperate, reina' (there she goes with the queen/princess thing again :P) .. And then she smiled and was like I'll fix your bed today, but tomorrow it's yours! 

This night was going to end early...

So after Aracena (caves, mines.. very pretty, but I couldn't take pics in the caves.. WAH.. also.. it was kinda boring other than that..), Caitlin and Alison and I said we'd go to la Carboneria after dinner - a bar that has free flamenco. AND WE WENT BUT WE GOT LOST SO MUCH AND WHEN WE FINALLY GOT THERE we were all kinda in a bad mood and the flamenco shows were nearly over. But we got a tinto.

Then we went to Alfalfa, but we weren't feeling it, so we went to Calle Betis, because Caitlin's host mom's son and nephew work at Big Ben.. AND WE WENT, and Caitlin dos beso'd the son but she looked SO COOL HAVING CONNECTIONS WITH THE BOUNCER and he let us in.. and then he told the nephew who was probs younger than us, and was bartending.. he must've told him to give us free drinks, because we started with a beer, progressed into a tequila shot and a rum shot, and then ended it with another beer, AND WE DID NOT HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING.

Seriously, we were putting our money down and the nephew just kept handing it back to us. We couldn't say Gracias enough!!

And even better, the shots were watered down just enough that I didn't feel QUITE like DEATH afterwards! Wow! Wow! Wow! 

Also, TWICE, a group of boys introduced themselves to us (Spanish boys), probs cuz they heard us speaking English. They obviously only wanted one thing so we all didn't talk for long and they wandered away soon after, BUT THE SECOND GROUP was so cute because they mustve been a little younger than us, and the one boy came up to Alison and said My friend thinks you're cute! and he was talking to us and when he decided we were all awkward enough to leave he pointed at all of us and said Beautiful! or guapas or something.. and I said Gracias and he turned back around and was like De nada ;)

heheheh

BUT SERIOUSLY FREE ALC THAT WAS AWESOME. When we left we were all comfortably tipsy and couldn't thank Guillermo (The bouncer son) enough.

Then I just got home and I'll have you know my reflexes are still WELL IN TACT because I went to brush my teeth and I dropped my toothpaste BUT I CAUGHT IT.

So guay!

Fun night, gotta type fast!

It always seems that the nights we stay up this late are also the mornings we have to wake up early... what is our life.

Anyway, before I left, after having dinner (with a cerveza), I was closing the door, and my host dad was like Rachel! Tienes tus llaves? (Do you have your keys).. but then I didn't hear him, so he said Rachel! Keys? And I was like Yup! And then Fernandito must've corrected his English, so he was like Rachel, how do you say llaves? And I said 'keys'! And he said 'And how do you say beso?' and I was like 'Kiss!' .. 

And then Fernando, Nandito, and Soraya all go 'OHHH KEYS AND KISSS' except the way they said it made them sound nearly the same words xD

So Fernando told us to meet them at Alameda at 11:45. So you can guess that I HATE BEER because it was making me feel like shit already, and I was like I CANNOT HAVE WHAT HAPPENED A WEEKEND AGO HAPPEN AGAIN. So after 15 minutes of waiting (they always seem to be FASHIONABLE LATE.. at least it's fashionable in Spain..), I spotted a vending machine in the movie theater and BOLTED to get water, because water calms me down and makes me feel better. That was a good idea. I was basically fine the rest of the night because the water SAVED me.

So FINALLY they come, and it's Fernando, Nacho, Andres, Arian (the boy that kissed my hand a few weeks ago when he first met me), and Fernando's friend Raoul that we met a week earlier. 

But when Arian goes in for the dos besos, he was acting really confused, and I probably should've realized he had no reason to remember me because we didn't talk much (BUT I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL AFTER THAT HAND KISS), so he was like ... who are you? And I was like oh.. Rachel! And he was like I've met Alison, not you! And I didn't feel like trying to explain that we'd met before so I was like oh woops!

So anyway, there's some Moroccan meat market/craft fair thing going on in la Alameda... and the smells were messing with my blechiness.. so I just kept drinking water as we walked around it for a bit. And we started talking about Black Friday and how my COOL LEATHER JACKET was originally $80 and I bought it for like $10.. And then, since I think ANDRES IS REALLY CUTE, and he'd mentioned the last time I saw him that he was taking English classes, I walked up to him while he was wondering around alone and asked him How they were going.. And he's like Aww Rachel! Thank you, it's very hard! (this was all in Spanish).. And I asked him if he wanted to speak English together.. and he was like No, no.. it embarrasses me! WHICH WAS ADORABLE WUTEVA. (Alison later told me she was like GO RACHEL for approaching him to talk ONE ON ONE heheh)

So then we go to the hookah bar that we'd been to earlier, and I RUN TO THE BATHROOM because the water got to me, but the door won't close!!! So I'm like UGH and I give up.. and we're all just talking about things, how they are all the characters from the Hangover, and how they want to visit the US, specifically Las Vegas, take ROOFIES, and forget everything so they have a night like in the movie the Hangover. And we were like ROOFIES ISNT REALLY A FUNNY THING IN REAL LIFE GUYS. But then I found out, Arian was talking to me, and he's like I went to California when I was 16 to visit family, I'm 20 now.. and I was like HOLD UPPPP

Because this boy looks 23, 24 maybe.. So I was like I'm 20 too! And then we go around to see everyone else's ages and he was like WOW IM THE BABY. And I was like hold up, when is your birthday, maybe I'm the baby?

And this killed me.

He's like 'El 28 de julio'. 


I FREAKED OUT. I WAS LIKE OH MY GOD ME TOOO OH MY GOD THIS IS SO CRAZY. WHAT A SMALL WORLD ('El mundo es un pañuelo' = The world is a handkerchief .. which somehow has the same meaning of it's a small world..). July 28th, 1992. I was like 'WE'RE GEMELOS' (twins! except I think gemelos means identical twins specifically.. mellizo means not identical.. so woops...) And then he said something about us being Adan y Eva... don't know what that's about but loooool I'll take it!

And then this lady starts dancing, because it's a Moroccan-owned hookah bar, I'm assuming.. and she was pretty good, at least that's what I thought. Oh yea by this time Fernando's brother Tony had joined us.

So then I tried the bathroom again, but I brought Alison with me so she could guard the door. AND WE MADE FRIENDS AT THE BATHROOM WHILE WAITING. Because girls would come up to Alison and be like.. Is someone in there? And Alison would be all flustered and answer and be obviously not Spanish.. 

And whenever they found out we were from the US they were like OOH I WANNA GO THERE! One girl.. okay, the bathrooms were disgusting, water on the floor, no toilet paper, pee on the seat.. So I came out and said QUE ASQUEROSO. And we bonded about that, and one girl was like O THANKS FOR TELLING ME and she got tissues.. And another girl was like I WANNA GO TO THE USA TO PARTY. And I was like 'Like the Jersey shore?' and she was like YEAAAH SNOOKI!!! And she was so cute, she was like Como te llamas! And we told her and then we went our separate ways, after wishing her SUERTE with the disgusting bathroom.

And Andres was talking about how he blushes (he got the word 'blush' from Tony) when he speaks English, and he doesn't want to try now.. AND HE KEPT TOUCHING MY ARM AND I MELTED <3

I wish I remembered more stuff. We left and went back to Fernando's house (Arian and Raoul had left by then), and Nacho and Fernando were telling us how they've been playing jokes on Arian and calling him from an unidentified number and playing 'spooky' music to freak him out.. They tried a few times again when we got to Fernando's house but he didn't pick up... and then they tried it with ANNOYING BOY MICHAEL BECAUSE FERNANDO HAS HIS NUMBER and I wish I could say it was hilarious but it wasn't that funny heh.

Oh, and we were so glad that we taught them the word 'Bromance' .. because that's basically what is going on between Nacho, Fernando, and Andres and it's ADORABLE.

And I guess that's about it, and now we're back!

WOO. I'm sure I'll remember more later but I NEED TO SLEEP GOD DAMN IM GOING TO ARACENA TOMORROW AND IM WAKING UP AT 7:40 WHICH IS IN LESS THAN 3 HOURS. MY LIFE.

MI VIDA.

FIN.

HE TRIED

I was eating dinner, and my host dad sometimes likes to practice English, and he came up to me with a bag of peanuts and said 'Do you like peanuts?'

… EXCEPT PEANUTS SOUNDED TOO MUCH LIKE PENIS.

AND I FELT SO WEIRD SAYING YES.. also, trying not to laugh….

Oh god…

He tried.. he tried sooo hard...

Pavo!

So my host parents asked if I got any pavo (turkey) yesterday, and I told them it was a little too expensive for me, so I just got a BURGER.

And my host dad was like, If you had told us, we could have made turkey!

And Soraya turns around and looks at him like he's crazy and says I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE TURKEY? 

I was like yeahh, me neither, and I'm pretty sure it takes a verrrrry long time...

And then Soraya was telling Fernando how she has no idea how to make it and that she wouldn't eat it and the boys wouldn't eat it and blhablahlabh

And Fernando turns to me and is like Well, maybe we couldn't.. or it would just be you and me.

bahahah WELL THANKS FOR OFFERING GUYZ

Not a conventional Thanksgiving, but not a bad one either!

So we went to TGI Fridays for dinner. And instead of turkey, I had a good ol' MURRICAN Bacon Cheeseburger with CHEESE MASHED POTATOES ON THE SIDE. With Coca-cola. AND AN OREO ICE CREAM THING FOR DESSERT. Lovely.

There were so many Americans there too, it was great heh.

AND WHEN WE GOT THERE I REALIZED I'D LOST MY CHAPSTICK. And when I just got home now I went to the bathroom and THERE IT WAS. So proud of myself for sticking it out for like 2.5 hours heh.

I got pictures, I'll put them up later, we were all so cute, and on the way back we realized we can OFFICIALLY START SINGING CHRISTMAS SONGS SO THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE DID.

WHITNEY HOUSTON

MY HOST BROTHER FERNANDO JUST STARTED SINGING SUPER FALSETTO WHITNEY HOUSTON'S 'AND IIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUU OOOOOOO AHHHHHHH WILL AAAAALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUU'

Love it.

HE WAS BETTER THAN HER.

THANKSGIVING AT TGI Friday's

Yeah, I didn't know it existed in Spain either. But that's where we're going because it apparently has a Thanksgiving special.. except, it's 17.50€ and only comes with Broccoli-Cheddar Soup. Turkey, Pumpkin Pie, and Cavo (type of wine) ... so that really doesn't seem worth it to me. Might get something else. BUT WHATEVER, AMERICA!

So I'll let ya know how it goes.

Also, when I was walking back from class, I passed the Cafe-Bar near my house LIKE I ALWAYS DO, and I always see the same waiter there and we usually say Hola and Qué tal and such, but today he saw me and LIKE... not 'blocked' my way but just sorta stood so I had to stop to talk to him.. and I said Hola and tried to keep going but he like.. took my shoulders or something to do the DOS BESOS and I was like OH GOD SOMETHING IS HAPPENING. 

So I tried to NOT awkwardly be like 'uhhh Qué pasa?' and he was like 'trabajando.. y tu?' and I was like 'uhh.. estudiando?' AND THEN WE SAID GOODBYE AND I LEFT

Dos besos seems more and more like an excuse to kiss girls! COME ON ESPAÑA.

NICE COMEBACK

Heh.. today Ángel came in and had a conversation with another student in my class that went a little something like this:

Ángel: What a great day it is to celebrate when you robbed the Native Americans of their lands! (or something like that)
Student: What about your Día de la Hispanidad.... (like Columbus Day)
Ángel: ... Good point.

Heh! That's all folks!

MI CASA ES TU CASA

So it was around 10 PM, and my abuela mentioned something about playing Bingo until 9:30 or 10, and I think she said she'd be back to make me dinner. But anyway, it was around 10, and Carlos comes into my room and tells me that his abuela said I could wait for her to make dinner or I can heat up a pizza, whatever I want... And I was STARVING by now so I politely said I'd heat up a pizza.

So I'm doin my thang in the kitchen, and Carlos comes in again and says I can have the tuna/potato salad thing in the fridge if I want it. He was like Do you know where it is? and he showed me in the fridge, and was like 'Take whatever you want, anything! This is your house!' (Es tu casa!)

AND I SMILED SO BIG and said Gracias! but only ate the pizza because I already tried that salad stuff and I CANT SAY IT'S MY FAVORITE. It's a texture thing.

Then when my abuela came home she said all impressed-like 'OOH YOU HEAT UP YOUR OWN PIZZA!' with a big smile because I guess it's less work for her heh. And then she gave me 3 clementines and half a banana for dessert (no arroz con leche tonight </3)

And then the boys were like CAN WE ORDER A PIZZA FOR OURSELVES and I think the abuela said something like As long as you pay for it.. and then Fernando was so GIDDY he went like.. skipping to the telephone to order...

But when I was finished eating, just now, I came back to my room, and my abuela came in and told me her brother in Valencia had died this morning, and I was like 'Oh no, lo siento mucho!' She was talking very fast so I'm not sure what she was saying, but it might've been that they haven't talked in a while.. but I have no idea. But she said she wasn't able to fly up to Valencia because we (the brothers and I) need to eat, and Soraya and Fernando are on a mini-vacation. So I felt really bad :/ But she seemed to be handling it alright. I just said lots of lo sientos.

Rick Roll'd...

My host brother Fernando just started playing this and singing along to it AS IF IT WERE A NORMAL SONG AND NOT A FUNNY INTERNET TROLLING MEME INTERNET LINGO YEAH.

So I just got Rick Roll'd....

I'm too awkward.. Thanksgiving may be cancelled...

UGHH! I was so excited for our Thanksgiving dinner! We got this nice little group down, and we had to do was make the reservation. Well, first Caitlin said she'd go after one of her classes, but it was closed. Then she tried after another class (which was during siesta) and it was closed again.

So I went with Brett after our class that ends at 6:30. AND AFTER DELIBERATING AT THE DOOR FOR LIKE FIVE MINUTES because it looks way more like a manly bar than it does a RESTAURANT (Texas Lone Star Saloon SPORTS BAR)... we went in.

Okay, so on this place's website, it says it is owned by an ex-US Marine and the entire website is in English, so I KIND OF ASSUMED everyone would be speaking English. Well as soon as I went up to the bartender, who was the only person available to go up to (another hint that this isn't really a 'restauranty' place), and he was like 'Hola?' with this SPANISH ACCENT and I was like NOOO I HAVE TO DO THIS.

So I was like... 'Puedo hacer una reservación para.. Thanksgiving special?' EXCEPT RESERVACIÓN.. they like, understand it, but apparently it's more South American Spanish, and I should have said 'reserva'... Anyway.. He says 'You have to do it by telephone' (in Spanish), and he goes to a back room to right down the number.

He comes back, and it says Channon (Shannon?), and then the number. And then he says the number out for me in ENGLISH just in case I don't get it (which was kinda nice because he draws his 1's like triangles... BUT HE COULDVE DONE IT IN ENGLISH.. I DIDNT SPEAK ENGLISH TO HIM)

Anyway... we leave THANK GOD and I try to call... no one answers slash I can't understand if the answering machine is giving me important information.

And then I realize, the number he gave me is not the same number as it says on the THANKSGIVING DINNER ad... so I tried to call that when I got home.

WELL I THINK I ENDED UP JUST CALLING THE BAR. AND GUESS WHO ANSWERED? THE BARTENDER. And I was like oh god... And he was like 'No, no, you can't make it here!' or something like that.. and THEN HE SAID SOMETHING that sounded like 'Apunta el telefono' and I had no idea what that meant or if I'd even heard him right.. and that was when my mind decided I was going to hang up the phone.. but I didn't want to be mean.. so I was like.. 'Uhh.. UN MINUTO..' And hung up.

Now that I think of it, he probably said something like 'Hold the phone'... but whatever, if they make it this crazy to make a reservation WE DONT WANT IT ANYMORE... heh


WHYYYYYYY.

I told Caitlin she could give it a try on the number he gave me, but if not, maybe we can go somewhere else... heh... There's this cute 'American Retro Diner' called Peggy Sue's.. they won't have turkey but it'll be less expensive for one thing, and then maybe more people will come (because a few of the invited people declined due to money..)

Check it! Noms!

http://peggysues.es/carta/sevilla/


We'll figure it out...

Go ahead..

...and look up 'Hotel Claris' in Barcelona.

Impressed?

WELL THAT IS WHERE WE ARE STAYING IN BARCELONA HOLY MOLY THANK YOU MOLLY'S PARENTS.

Hotel Claris Photo Gallery

^^ I'll just leave that there for you to enjoy/ogle at.

Believe me, there will be SO MANY PICTURES OF THE HOTEL ALONE.

Everyone loves the sassy teacher

Today in my Novela y Cine class, Ángel was making sure everyone had bought their books so they could read them and write the essay (I finished that like 2 weeks ago WUT lulawk)... and one kid was like 'I went to the library but they didn't have it..' and Ángel said 'Well don't go to the library! You have to buy it, mark it up, make notes, fold over pages!! Go to a store and buy it!'

Now, most people in this class know that they're not going to read the book they have to, and will somehow bullshit a 6 page paper in Spanish... I unfortunately do not have that 'talent', and so I bought and read my whole book (it was super short anyway), and wrote the essay.. But anyway, since this kid knew he wouldn't read the book, he didn't want to buy it.. so he made up some excuse and said: (this is all in Spanish by the way)

'Yeah, but that's, what, like ten euros?'

WRONG THING TO SAY.

Ángel was like 'OH SO TRAVELING TO OTHER COUNTRIES EVERY WEEKEND IS SOOOO CHEAP BUT 10 EUROS IS TOO MUCH FOR A BOOK. OR GOING OUT EVERY TO PARTY AND BUY ALCOHOL IS SO CHEAP BUT 10 EUROS IS TOO MUCH.' (this is in a jokingly angry but still sort of annoyed tone, btw.. he wasn't yelling or anything..)

Then Ángel takes out his copy of the book and there's a big 5€ sign on it and he says LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT WHAT THIS SAYS. CINCO EUROS.

And then the best part-

'CINCO (fucking) EUROS!' 

Except it was really funny because he said the PALABROTA really quietly and off to the side, but it was such a marked difference from his tone before that everyone knew what he'd said.

And then everyone laughed and he said something like WE DONT TALK ABOUT THIS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM.

hehehe

AN AMERICAN THANKSGIVING

So Caitlin and I found this AMERICAN restaurant in Sevilla called TEXAS LONESTAR SALOON (loooool) that has a Thanksgiving special:

IT COMES WITH ALL THAT STUFF

Okay, so 15.50€ is kind of expensive for a meal.. I mean, it's more than I've paid all semester for a meal.. but it comes with TURKEY AND TATERS AND CORN AND PIE AND SALAD.. and it would be nice for once to have some Good Ol' FREEDOM FOOD.

Hehehe

So we have gathered a nice little group of people: Me, Caitlin, Brett, Katie, Mona, Matt, Michele, Jessica, and Kate ... we've invited Alison but she's going to have some Thanksgiving baking fun with her homestay family.. but AHHH IM SO EXCITED. We just gotta make a reservation and then NOMS AWAY.

SO THANKFUL.

So there's a Sevilla FC vs Betis game on right now...

They're the two Sevilla futbol teams.. I think I heard that Betis followers are usually those from Triana... and .. yeah. 

BUT ANYWAY... I just heard FROM AN APARTMENT ACROSS THE STREET a collective, manly 'AWWWWWWWWWWWW!'

Since I live in Triana, I'll have to assume that Betis is losing already....

heheheh

MADRID in one post!

I will add facebook photos later. I had my little notebook and a pen with me in my purse at all times, so I tried to write down important stuff!

So Alison and I met up at 6:30 AM in the Plaza de Cuba to WALK ALL THE WAY TO SANTA JUSTA train station... it took like 35 minutes, we actually bumped into someone in our Interest Group who was taking the bus, and we got there before him.

So we were at the train station, and I saw my host dad there who was going to work in Cadiz, so he wished me farewell! And then we were on our way! 

Hmm.. let's see, our hostel was really nice! Albergue Juvenil Madrid.. there were 6 people to a room, and we had our own bathroom (it was everyone in our program sharing rooms, so no strangers!). It was just very newish. Didn't have to worry about BUGS.

We had a 2-day metro pass, and the metro was SUPER easy to use, like in DC. All the signs were made very clear. EXCEPT IT WAS SO CROWDED LIKE IN NEW YORK. Actually, a lot of Madrid was very New-Yorky. I almost didn't feel like I was in Europe. That is one of the reasons why Madrid didn't impress me too much (also, I don't really like New York.. too crowded) SO BASICALLY I LIKED MADRID BUT IM STILL GLAD I CHOSE SEVILLA.

However, one AWESOME THING, which my host parents warned me about - I FELT SO FLUENT. NO ONE HAD THE HARD-TO-UNDERSTAND Andalusian accent!!!! I understood strangers who spoke on our tour groups more than I did Juan or Abraham! IT WAS GREAT. One lady, when we were visiting this place called Matadero Madrid (an old bull farm or something now turned into a Contemporary art space.. among other things.. it was really cool actually..), she asked if we spoke Spanish (in Spanish), and we were having a conversation to her and I could understand EVERYTHING SO MUCH. I FELT GREAT. I was like, we feel fluent here! I can hardly understand the Andalusian accent! And she was like heh me neither I never know what they're talking about.. :D But all that happened Saturday.

On Friday, let's see. I learned that the verb peerse means TO FART. So does tirar un pedo (throw a fart HAHAHA). OH AND ALSO we went to El Prado Art Museum, and we asked an Asian woman (tourist) to take a picture of our whole group, and she did. BUT THEN HER OTHER ASIAN FRIEND COMES OVER AND GIVES HER HER CAMERA AND JUMPS IN THE PICTURE AND DOES A PEACE SIGN AND IT WAS SO FUNNY AND CUTE. And we will never see that picture but that's okay. hehehe

Also, it was chilly in Madrid but SUPER HOT in the Metros.. We learned a way to say IT'S SO HOT (in a vulgar way heh) ... Juan was like 'Hace más calor que follando bajo un plástico' which means it's hotter than f*cking under plastic... And I know what you're thinking... WHO DOES THAT ANYWAY?! Well, I don't know, I wondered the same. Ask spaniards.

Later on Friday night, Alison and Brett and I were too tired to go out (after only sleeping a few hours the night before), so ... WE HAD PASSED THIS AMERICAN-like bakery called Happy Days and it had cupcakes and we WANTED IT... But this is the great part. We passed Happy Days really quickly at night when we were taking an obscure route back to the hostel. And so we weren't sure where we were going when we tried to find it again.. BUT I FOUND IT BY MEMORY AND I WAS SO PROUD. I was like BAHAHAHA I KNOW MY WAY AROUND MADRID. But oh my god. Because they're one of the only places to sell American products .. they charged ridiculous prices.. I only got a cupcake and a vanilla coke (SORRY NOT SORRY), but they had like.. PEANUT BUTTER for 6€, a tiny bag of goldfish for 4€, CAP'N CRUNCH AND LUCKY CHARM regular boxes of cereal for like 12€.... THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH BEING THAT RIDICULOUS. But whatever, otherwise it was so yummy.

So we got back to the Hostel and everyone was out, so we watched this Russell Crowe movie called The Next Three Days, which was SUPER GOOD AND SUSPENSEFUL. We watched it on Brett's computer, after pulling down a mattress from the extra top bunk and sitting on it on the floor, with the computer placed on a bench in front of us. IT WAS GREAT.

Oh my god, but before all the other people were going out, they were like.. pregaming in their room.. I didn't go inside, but they DEFINITELY had pot in there, because they all came out red-eyed, and I was at the computer room common area, and Juan just stared at me and then came over and sat in the chair, and was babbling and laughing about how the chair made noises when you sat back in it.. and I was like WHAT A CAMPEON, HAVE FUN TONIGHT lulzzzzz.

Hmm, then Saturday, on our way to Matadero Madrid, we heard a story about how one of the chaperones in Barcelona was on the Metro with her group, and realized the deposits that she had to give back to her group had been stolen.. SO SHE PRESSED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE on the Metro, and yelled (in Spanish) NO ONE IS GETTING OFF UNTIL I GET MY MONEY BACK... and then THE GUY DROPPED THE MONEY ON THE FLOOR and she got it! What a strong woman hahahah I would just be crying, I'd never have the guts to do that!

We also learned a few 'tongue twisters' or rhymes or whatever. They were"

Qué es esto? ... Esto es queso! (okay, so it's not a tongue twister but I just thought it was cute because it was about CHEESE)

Pablo clavó un clavito. Que clavito clavó Pablito? ... Clavar = to hammer and clavito = nail... I think the tongue twister is longer than that but that's all I got!

Oooh, then Saturday after the Matadero Madrid.. which was so cool, it was SUPER HIPSTERY.. I can't explain it, I took pictures though. Just a really cool public space.. Anyways, after we all went to get pizza, and we learned that Juan's parents were like.. protagonists of some pretty famous movie in Spain called Carmina O Revienta... and apparently his father's character said a saying about how 'Life is so beautiful, it almost seems real' (but in Spanish: La vida es tan bonita que a veces parece de verdad).. and apparently that's something his father says in real life, except now it's become one of those lines in a movie that like.. EVERYONE KNOWS AND LOVES AND IT STICKS OUT TO EVERYONE.. so apparently on Twitter and stuff people say it all the time hahah. And just, in Spain in general, it's a 'saying' or whatever now.. WHICH IS REALLY COOL..

We were also learning things about our astrological signs at lunch because Abraham and another girl in our interest group are really into that stuff.. I looked up some astrology stuff for me on some website on Juan's phone, and it said my 'Midheavens' sign is Cancer, and the girl was like 'Oh, what do you want to do in life? The Midheavens usually have to do with your career, and Cancers usually are very caring, like, you want to care for people...' And I was like well, I don't really know what I'm going to do as a job, but I've always wanted to be a mother.. Like, a career is important to me and I don't want to be a stay-at-home mom but I think my career would come secondary to having children. And she was like YEAH CANCER IS LIKE THE MATERNAL SIGN. and I was like AHAHAH OMG THE PLANETS. SO ASTROLOGICAL YEAAAAAAH. So that was kind of fun heh.

Heh, this all happened at the pizza place that CIEE treated us to... and Abraham ordered us all Limoncello shots after lunch :D

And when you're doing a toast, people always say 'Chi chi!' like the sounds of the glasses clinking.

AND ortera means TACKY.

Ahh, and after lunch Alison, Juan, this girl Ellie, and I went to Parque del Retiro, which was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. I wanted to see that exhibit of Los Anillos Dorados but it was closed.. I saw it from the outside, but I could only see lots of strings and not the rings.. But we had lots of good talks, it was really fun! I learned a lot of new expressions, for example:

No hacemos buenas migas = We don't click, or we aren't a good match.

Me apuesto a que/ Me juego que = I bet ....

Qué coño es... = WHAT THE HELL IS....

Cuela = It works! (It literally means something like, it slides right in... but like, if you're trying to say OH YOU CAN'T ALWAYS DO IT LIKE THAT, BUT IT WORKS... apparently that's what you'd say..)

Jugar al pillar - to play TAG
¡Te pillé! - TAGGED YOU!

Oh, and since I always say things like 'WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF I DID THIS...?' I asked Juan how to say it, thinking it might be something like 'Que harías si yo hiciera esto...?' but he said that sounds weird in spanish... and you would actually just say simething like '¿Y sí yo hiciera esto....?' which is like asking 'And if I did this...?' and just IMPLYING the What would you do? question.

Also, Juan told me that we'll sound more Spanish if we try to say AS LITTLE pronouns and articles as possible. So, I had said 'Siempre yo digo' and then he was like NO PRONOUNS, and then I said 'Siempre digo' and he was like OH MY GOD YOU SOUNDED SO SPANISH. And actually I totally did.

OH, and then I realized that in Spain, I ALWAYS get confused when Andalusians say R's and D's ... seriously, you'd NEVER think that you might get those two sounds confused, because in English, they're entirely different.. But Juan said a word that I COULD HAVE SWORN WAS WITH A D SOUND and then he spelled it with R and I was like WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?! We went back and forth saying R's and D's, and everytime he did it it sounded EXACTLY THE SAME and he was like NO IT'S DIFFERENT. It was so strange!!!!

And THEN oh my god we saw this Dance/Play performance called For Rent by Peeping Tom dance or theater company.. IT WAS SO STRANGE. The dancing was very interesting, it was modern, and shaky.. But oh my god. The show was MEANT to confuse. It was very surreal, and it didn't have a linear timeline, and I think it was trying to show how messed up the minds of the characters were, so not everything was actually happening.. but it was seriously the trippiest thing I've ever seen. And there were some parts that were just terrifying! It was very interesting and artistic for sure, but if someone when to that thing HIGH, they would probably go insane I HAVE NO DOUBT. Like, we were all super tired after walking all day, and some people fell asleep, but I couldn't because 1.) I WANTED TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON.. LIKE, I was praying for that one scene that would just MAKE THINGS MAKE SENSE... and 2.) I didn't want to fall asleep and HAVE THAT SCARY SHIT IN MY DREAMS.....

You should youtube it, I think there's a small scene on youtube... or just google it.. It was so, so strange. I liked it, but oh my gosh. I guess like, something cool about it, was that it was meant to be interpreted differently by everyone. Like, the 'art' of it, was that everyone got a different story out of it. Because the plot is so... (nonexistent)... so disorganized that like, you try to make up a story in your head to connect everything.. but obviously everyone's story will be different.. I DONT EVEN KNOW. IT WAS SO STRANGE. AND BELGIAN. But they spoke English. I don't know.. it was cool though.

There is this girl Erinn in our group, who is blind, and she was like 'I WAS SO CONFUSED' and I was like GURL EVEN IF YOU COULD SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON IT STILL WOULDNT HAVE HELPED YOU. You didn't miss anything! heheheh and we laughed

Then later that night, I went to a Crepe place with some of the girls from my interest group.. but we hadn't had dinner and I was SO HUNGRY and not in the mood for sweets, so I had a Curry chicken crepe which was actually really good! But I do admit to MISSING OUT on Nutella and Banana and Strawberry crepes!

THEN LATER, Alison, Juan, Ellie and I were going to go to some bar for a quick drink, but they were all too crowded or expensive, so we ended up buying cheap beer at a chino and sitting in a little playground and just talking for a few hours! It was really fun. EXCEPT WHEN WE STOOD UP OUR BUTTS WERE WET AND COLD WHICH WAS TERRIBLE. But then I took a long shower in the hostel, which has WARM WATER, so it wasn't so bad. :)

AND THEN today we went to the Reina Sofia contemporary art museum, and saw Picasso's GUERNICA. But I wasn't allowed to take a picture. BOOOO THE LOUVRE LET ME TAKE PICTURES OF MONA LISA. But it was really cool. And then when we were leaving, there was a HUGE protest about to start, and it had something to do with public health, and everyone was wearing white labcoats, and it was SO crowded...

But yeah! FUN MADRID FUN! I'm sure I didn't see everything that I should've, but it was a great visit, and I did see a lot.

OH YEAH I SAW THE OUTSIDE OF THE PALACE. We just didn't wanna pay to go in. But the outside was beautiful!!

Oh, HAH, so we have this theory that a good amount of the male staff at CIEE are gay, and ALL OF THAT WAS CONFIRMED on this trip.. And there were some people that DOUBTED my gay-dar, and THEY WERE WRONG. heheheh Like, one kid thought Ángel and Consol were married and I was like OH MY GOD NOOOO THEY ARE VERY OBVIOUSLY JUST BEST GIRL AND GAY GUY FRIENDS. And Abraham too! SO IM RIGHT BAHAHAHAH. Thanks, GW!

I think that's it. Great time! Pictures later! Bwah!

Sorry it's blurry! Left to Right - Linnea, Abraham, Amelia, Temi (as the tree?), MOI, Alison, Ellie, Juan, Erinn, May!

THIS HAS TO BE QUICK

BECAUSE I HAVE TO WAKE UP AT 5:40 AM TO GET READY AND MEET ALISON AT 6:30 TO WALK TO THE TRAIN STATION TO BE THERE AT 7:20.

I shall be ZOMBIE.

But anyway, tonight Alison and I met up with just Fernando today, and I brought my leftover Tinto and Lemon soda that's been sitting around in my room FOREVER (but there was still fizz to it!) and we finished that up, and we were just walking around.

He apparently wanted to bring us to some park but it was SUPER FAR and by the time we'd gotten maybe half way there it was midnight and he knew we had to wake up early so we said we'd do it another time.

But we walked over this bridge called Puente de Alamillo, and it was so cool.. just look at this picture first..

So we walked underneath that big arm thingy and it looked like it was going to TOPPLE ON US. There was graffiti all over it! And then, so once we got to the other side of the arm, there was like, a steady incline.. SO WE CLIMBED UP AND SLID DOWN. Except Alison and my boots SUCKED and we couldn't climb very high... Fernando climbed super high! But also, there was too much traction and we didn't slide much. But when I was up there I did get a few beeps from cars FOR BEING SO GUAPA I DUNNO.

And that started a conversation about PARKOUR PARKOUR HARDCORE PARKOUR which was funny.

Mm.. and so when we started walking back after being out for a while, Fernando was like 'I want to see if I can talk to you guys in English.' And he explained how he knows English but he never speaks it because he gets nervous.. and he said he was embarrassed of his accent.. BUT OH MY GOD THAT ACCENT OF HIS SPEAKING ENGLISH WAS ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. Neither of us could stop smiling whenever he said something in English. SORRY NOT SORRY.

OKAY MADRID IN THREE HOURS FML BYE