I AM HOME

I AM HOME AND I AM EATING EASY MAC (It's still Kraft.. I'll get my real Kraft Mac&Cheese sometime soon).

But this will be my actual last post. Let me just update you on what's gone on since my last post.

After breakfast I told Soraya THAT WAS MY LAST BREAKFAST. And she laughed and was like RACHEL DONT SAY THAT THAT SOUNDS BAD. IT'S JUST YOUR LAST BREAKFAST HERE.

SAID GOODBYE TO HOST PARENTS AND ABUELA. My abuela called me SUCH a good person and gave me a big hug and told me to go well in life hehe. And Fernando-padre gave me his Facebook info. And I got big hugs from Soraya, who helped me with my suitcases!

Took the taxi with Brett to the Airport and we passed el Huevo de Colon.. Fernando had told Alison and I about it but I NEVER IMAGINED HOW ENORMOUS IT WOULD BE.

So freakin BIG. This is very near where Colon left for el Nuevo Mundo :)

THEN we had our flight from Sevilla to Madrid which was fine, sat with Brett and WE HAD OUR GOODBYE at the Madrid airport but he lives close so no pasa nada.

THEN as I was going to wait in line for the Madrid to JFK flight, I go up to give my ticket to the guy, and he looks at it and (in Spanish) says 'Oh, you were in Sevilla? So you speak Spanish?' and I laughed and said 'Si, más o menos..' and he smiled and was like How long were you there for? And I said since September.. and blhaalhahl and then he looked back at my ticket and was like 'Well, RAQUEL.. Raquel, no Rachel, si?' and THAT MADE ME SO HAPPY and I SAID SI. And yeah, just happiness.

THE FLIGHT WAS ANOTHER THING. IT WAS TOO LONG AND I DIDNT SLEEP. But I'm home, it's over.

Oh my god there was a drunk gay man on the plane.. apparently he had charmed the crew enough that they kept giving him free wine.. and he was STUMBLING out of the plane and yelling and flirting and swearing like crazy. AND THEN HE STARTED TALKING TO ANNE AND I about how he was AMERICAN and just so drunk and didn't care anymore and wanted to be in California and then he was like BY THE WAY IM GAY I HOPE THAT'S OKAY and we were like of course .. and he said the Italians tried to cut off his finger for being gay?! Oh he was just a mess. So much yelling. And then he gave us his work card so we could email him and become facebook friends and he was like I'LL GIVE YOU SO MANY CONNECTIONS WITH GOOD PEOPLE.

So lulzy.

But yeah, so now I'm home. My family met me.. I HAD TO GET ALL MY BAGS BY MYSELF (three.. awk..) but at least it wasn't too far to walk to meet them! And I got a big hug and Lena made me a sign even though she said she wouldn't!

And yeah.. home.. lots of unpacking to do.. allergies already acting up..

Man, I have really really loved doing this blog. Never in my life did I dream of getting so into it, and I am SOOO glad I did. This is a memory I will cherish forever. Might even make a coffee-table book out of it!

I guess that's all, Sevilla. 

<3

Went to the Cafe Bar with my Abuela

Just like in the beginning! Got some Jamon Iberica y tostada, y freshed squeezed orange juice, for old time's sake. :)

Also, Nacho sent me a very long facebook message, and it may or may not be some sort of confession of love.. I didn't read all of it, because I'm getting anxious about the flight and don't want to be any more anxious, but from what I did see, it seems very sweet!

Te deseo un buen viaje a USA, y que hayas disfrutado de Sevilla y todo lo visto de Europa.
Espero que nos podamos ver pronto, en serio, ojala nos veamos este verano .

Te voy a echar de menos y mucho, por muchas razones, eres de verdad una gran chica y muy muy simpatica, llena de manias (siempre me preguntaba si te sentias rara por como te mirabamos), que te hacen aun mas especial como el chapstick, tocarte el pelo, tu "pues" o "sisisisisi" a todo:D(que por cierto suena a "shishishi").

Con una sonrisa pegada a la cara siempre excepto cuando tienes una cara de "are you fucking kidding me?", que incluso te hace mas graciosa .
Ademas eres muy guapa y no presumes de ello, lo que te hace ser aun mas guapa y llamativa.

Me has llamado la atencion desde el principio, en la clase (hace tan poco, y tanto tiempo a la vez), pero, y esto me a sido muy dificil de tomar una decision, pero al final lo hice, y aunque, debo de decir, que me gustas, de hecho creo que practicamente me gustas por todo, existe como una linea que si la cruzo, me vuelvo mucho mas sentimental.

Eres una chica joven y divertida, solo esta despedida y no verte tan sonriente como siempre me ha hecho sentir muy mal, no puedo imaginarme que habría pasado si te hubiera contado que pensaba yo de ti.

Queria haberte escrito en la bandera tuya una pequeña frase, mas profunda de lo que te puse, pero como te he dicho antes, es muy dificil intentar ser sincero y profundo, mientras evitas decir demasiado.

Como ultimo regalo de despedida te escribo un pequeño poema que acabo de crear para ti:

-De donde quiera que nazcas, de sonrisas enormes te rodearas,
de donde quiera que vivas, de largas miradas sobreviviras, (this mean them to you)
a donde quiera que viajes, de diversas lenguas te alagaran,
pero a donde quiera que termines, solo tu lo disfrutaras.

Muchos besos Guapisima Rachel!

I'll have to translate it later.

GONNA MISS MY FRAAAAANDZ AND FAM.

Edit: Here's the translation.. seriously what a sweetheart..

I wish you a good trip to the US, and that you have enjoyed Sevilla and all the view of Europe.

I hope that we can see each other soon, seriously, I hope we see each other this summer.

I am going to miss you so much, for many reasons, you are in truth a great girl and really really nice, full of manias (I always wondered if you felt weird when we looked at you) that make you even more special like the chapstick, playing with your hair, and your 'pues' or 'sisisisi' and everything (that totally sounds like 'shishishi').

With a smile always stuck to your face except when you have the 'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?' face, which makes you even more funny!

Also you are very beautiful and don't brag about it, which makes you even more lovely and striking.

You have called my attention from the beginning, in the class (only a little a while ago, and so long ago at the same time), but, and this has been very difficult for me to make a decision, but at the end I did it, and even though, I should say, that I like you, in fact I think I practically like everything about you, there exists a line that if I cross it, I would become much more sentimental.

You are a young and fun girl, only that this farewell and not seeing you so smiling as always has made me feel very bad, I can't imagine what would have happened if I had told you what I thought about you.

I wanted to have written on your flag a small phrase, more profound than what I put for you, but as I said before, it's very hard to try to be sincere and deep, while also avoiding saying too much.

As a final gift of farewell I write you a small poem that I just finished creating for you

From wherever you are born, you'll surround yourself with smiles

From wherever you live, long glances you'll survive

To wherever you travel, diverse languages will reach you

But to wherever you end up, only you will enjoy it

Many kisses Beautiful Rachel!

The real goodbye with the Spaniards.. and the Americans..

Okay so right before I left to go out and say goodbye to my amigos Americanos, I went in to say goodbye to Carlos and Fernando, because they're going to be at school when I leave. And they gave BIG HUGS AND DOS BESOS and Soraya was like Well, when your sister studies abroad, ask for our house! And I was like yeah, in ten years! And then Soraya was like.. hmm.. Carlos will be 25 and Fernando will be 27.. and your sister will be 20.. That's not bad! AND THE BOYS MADE A FACE AND I WAS LIKE HEY. CUIDADO THAT'S MY SISTER YOURE TALKING ABOUT. Heheheh

Then I met up with Caitlin and Alison and we went to the Triana Bridge JUST LIKE THE FIRST WEEK. And we drank some tinto.

And Fernando and Nacho met up with us and we went over to see the Americans of CIEE botelloning by Torre de Oro. And we said goodbye to OWEN <3 with LINGERING DOS BESOS and also Molly and Will and ALL OF THE FRIENDS THAT MATTER. I didn't cry.

And then I said goodbye to Caitlin.. big hugs, but no crying.. I'm sure it'll all hit me within a week. Seguro, seguro.

AND THEN MICHELE CAME ALL THE WAY FROM LOS REMEDIOS TO SAY GOODBYE. And we went to a bar for ONE SHOT of Tequila.. a celebratory shot.. it was terrible heh but free (thanks Nacho!) .... and then we walked back to Plaza de Cuba and just were talking about inappropriate jokes (I told them a Helen Keller one and they LOVED it heheheh)... And Family Guy, and all this stuff.... 

Then we walked back to my house.. and ALISON AND I GAVE BIG HUGS. And Nacho and Fernando too.. and.. and then we didn't want to split so we took pictures... and WAH. I can't imagine Fernando and Alison's goodbye. It must be tough. WE WERE JUST LIKE 'HASTA PRONTO.' Because we wanna make it happen. That would be awesome.

Heheh blue steel.. acero azul.. Zoolander!

THE LAST SUPPER

WHICH MEANS THE LAST ARROZ CON LECHE.

I had dinner with my bros and Soraya. Just eatin some pizza. SORAYA BROUGHT OUT BEERS AND COKE as a goodbye mini-fiesta, and she asked if I wanted some beer and I wasn't really feeling it. So then she asked Carlos and Fernando (who are 15 and 17). 

AND CARLOS'S EYES GET SO BIG AND HE'S LIKE YESSSSSSS. And Fernando  (who didn't want any) was like NO NO HE'S NOT OF AGE HE'S NOT OF AGE. And then she poured him half a glass and he was like THE WHOLE THING THE WHOLE THING. And he like.. downed that stuff if a few minutes.

SO PROUD. GUESS WE KNOW WHAT HE'S GONNA GROW UP TO BE.

Then she told them that I'm still too young to drink in the US. And I said I'm 20 and you have to be 21 and they were like NOOOOO. That's SIX YEARS for Carlos hahahahahah.

Soraya was like RACHEL YOU TELL HIM. TELL HIM IF HE DRANK IN YOUR COUNTRY THEY'D TAKE HIM TO JAIL.

And then I got a picture with them in their robes AHAHAHAHA. Love them. Gonna miss them.

Carlos, yo, Fernando

Carlos, yo, Fernando, Abuela!

GUESS WHO JUST FACEBOOK CHATTED ME

Andres. He didn't come out yesterday for our 'goodbye' which didn't actually end up our goodbye. 

Look what he said!

Rechelll!!!!! Te voy a hechar mucho de menos

Ayer no fui xk ya fue muy tarde

We'll just ignore the terrible spelling to point out he used TE not OS which means he'll just me ME SINGULAR not ME AND ALISON PLURAL. heheheh

I invited him out for our REAL last goodbye but he's terrible at facebook so who knows.

This was gonna be my last post..

...But I don't think I can plan for that. So no pasa nada!

I've finished all my finals. I've packed up (after buying a THIRD tiny suitcase that will run me like $120 extra... wutever just tryna get home)... Waiting on dinner and then a big farewell botellon with my AMERICAN FRIENDS and also Nacho and Fernando because they REFUSED TO DO IT YESTERDAY.

Anyway, here's what I'd intended to write. 

WHY SEVILLA IS THE BEST.

Reasons why Sevilla was the best choice I could have made:

1. Barcelona - way too enormous, though beautiful, people speak English and Catalan A LOT.

2. Madrid - not European enough.. also, I just wasn't very impressed when I visited.. too many people

3. Salamanca - it's a college town, so everything is cheap, but it's smaller and much more easy to be bored.

4. Granada - TINY

Reasons why CIEE specifically was one of the best programs I could have chosen

1. Interest Groups and Intercambios - they REALLY give you a lot of opportunities to make spanish friends

2. University classes - I didn't take advantage of this, but also a wonderful way to make spanish friends

3. All the trips they take us on!

4. Absolutely wonderful teachers, with classes that are academically challenging but also keep in mind that you are ABROAD and don't want to be doing work constantly

FRIENDS.. obviously... I wouldn't have met all the people I did without coming to CIEE Sevilla. Made some great friends that I hope to stay in touch with for a very long time to come!

I'm constantly thinking oh, I have to do this and this and this when I get home, but how will I say that in Spanish -- Oh wait.. I don't have to… It'll be a huge challenge to keep fresh in my mind all that I've learned. Even if I can't talk as well as I would have liked, I can speak without so much inhibition, and I can understand UN MONTON better than I ever could have dreamed.

Also, I retract my previous post about the NO8DO tattoo. If I were to get any tattoo commemorating this trip, it would be this one:   

 A combination of 'no pasa nada' and NO8DO - the two things from España I'll carry with me for quite some time. We'll see if I still like the idea in a few months ;P It probably wouldn't go right on the wrist either...

Also, if anyone was wondering.. I made it through with 8 chapsticks. HEHEHE

Me queda un examen más!! Y YA ESTÁ.

Just had my final exam with Angel. So he published a book that he's going to use for his Intensive Class next semester, and we told him we'd buy it, so he brought some in today, and was like 'It's normally 21€ but my publisher said I could sell it to students for 20€' .. and I was like OOOH QUÉ DISCUENTO. Hehh. So Molly and I paid for one but we were like YOU HAVE TO SIGN IT.

Then he was like SEE CLASS? These ladies know how to get an A! And then we laughed and I was like oh.. in that case.. puedo irme? (can i leave? .. and not take the test?) which he JUST LAUGHED AT AS HE HANDED OUT MY TEST looool

And so after my test, he gives me A BUG HUG AND DOS BESOS and I say thank you and he says We're in contact!! Facebook!! And I say yessss. And he gives me the signed book and I say Gracias and leave. Then I look at what he wrote, so sweet!

Para mi alumna, y ahora mi amiga, Rachel. Por su sonrisa, por su compañia, y por su apoyo. No me olvides (ni a mi ni a tu Sevilla!!) -Ángel

For my student, and now my friend, Rachel. For your smile, for your company, and for your support (heh financially for buying his book). Don't forget me (or Sevilla!). -Ángel

SO SWEET.

Then I went downstairs and walked out with Michele, but the WRITING CENTER GUY stopped us (her, he knew her) to check in on our exams. And he was like AFTER YOUR EXAMS, YOU GUYS GO HOME AND MAKE YOURSELF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL YOU CAN BE, AND GO OUT AND JUST DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY. AND DON'T HAVE PAIN IN YOUR HEART, JUST KNOW THAT YOU WILL BE BACK SOMEDAY, AND DON'T WORRY. YOU ARE HERE NOW, DON'T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW.

It was so inspirational. And sweet.

While I was on my way to take Angel's test, I was listening to my iPod, and not gonna lie MAYBE IT WAS THE ANXIETY but MY EYES WERE A LIL WET. JUST A LIL. NO TEARS. I don't know if they're going to come. But still..

Also, I've written my final Facebook goodbye to Sevilla. I'll give you a preview: (I'm gonna post it before I leave tomorrow)

I'm terrible with words, but I'll give it a go...

In just a few hours I will begin the journey back to the USA. I'm so excited to be home and see my family and friends, but our reunion is bittersweet, because it means having to leave Sevilla, the place I've just started to call home. To the American friends I've made here - you guys are wonderful and I have no doubt I'll see plenty of you again in the US. To the Spaniards who seeing again will be more difficult - thanks for making this trip one I'll never forget (and for putting up with my initially terrible Spanish). COME VISIT IN THE USA. Most importantly of all, know that wherever I go, Sevilla will not have left me. No me ha dejado! NO8DO! 

--

No tengo facilidad de palabras, pero voy a intentar…

En pocas horas empezaré el viaje de regreso a los EEUU. Estoy tan emocionada estar en casa y ver mi familia y mis amigos, pero nuestra reunión es agridulce, porque quiere decir irme de Sevilla, el sitio en el que acabo de comenzar a llamar 'hogar'. Para los amigos americanos que he hecho aquí - estais increible and no tengo duda de que nos veremos mucho en los EEUU. Para los españoles que nos encontraremos dificil a ver otra vez - gracias por hacer este viaje uno que nunca voy a olvidar (y por soportar mi Español terrible a principio). VISITADME EN LOS EEUU. Lo más importante, saber que en cualquier sitio voy, Sevilla no me habrá dejado. No me ha dejado! NO8DO!

SO BEAUTIFUL I HOPE IT GETS LOTS OF 'LIKES' or 'ME GUSTAS' heheheh.

Okay, time to study for Fernando's test. It shouldn't be that bad because he's an easy grader.

ALSO TODAY I HAVE TO AT LEAST SAY GOODBYE TO MY HOST BROTHERS BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO BE IN CLASS WHEN I LEAVE TOMORROW. OH MY GOD. Oh my gosh.

Heheh also Alison made my day by saying when she goes to make a scrapbook about this trip, she's gonna print out some of my blog posts about our most fun nights. YAY. 

Study time <3

THIS. JUST THIS. OKAY. SHHH

02:17
Rachel 
FERNANDO PUEDO DECIR... si ya no es obvio.. que ALISON Y TU son muuuuuuuy monos juntos

02:19
Fernando 
i don't know what are you talking about!!
kidding!
xD

02:19
Rachel 
hahahahaha

02:19
Fernando 
thanks!
ella es mona!
i'm just, umm, me

02:19
Rachel 
jajaj awwwwwwwww

02:19
Fernando 
aunque puede que
just maybe
tarde un poco en decirle que me gustaba...
just maybe...
xD

02:21
Rachel 
jajajaj mejor tarde que nunca!

02:21
Fernando 
thanks!

Our 'LAST' night with the Spaniards...

So after my psych exam (where my professor gave us all dos besos when we handed in the test - a sign of COMRADERIE heh), we met up with Fernando and Nacho (Andrés was supposed to be there but he DIDNT GO so now we're DONE. :P) and went out for dinner. We were going to go to Cien Montaditos but it was too crowded. BUT THEY PAID FOR US it was so sweet.

And before I get into anything, can I just say that the way FERNANDO looks at Alison is perhaps the most adorable thing I've ever seen?! I'm not kidding. Boy looks at her like he's in love with her. When we were walking over to meet them, we had no idea what the dynamic between them would be because we didn't know if Fernando had told Nacho about he and Alison.. so we didn't know if they'd kiss in front of him or not. Well, Nacho wasn't there when we got there, but it was Fernando, and he dos beso'd me and then said 'Alisonn!' with a HUGE SMILE and gave her the CUTEST KISS and I know she reads my blog and yells at me for loving them but I DONT CARE. DO YOU HEAR THAT ALISON? :P So friggin cute I can't.

Anyway. We learned that.. like yanno in the US, when you were little and your friend said something at the same time as you, you said JYNX! Well in Spanish, you say CHISPITA!

Also, I was showing Nacho my camera and how it vibrates, and he said something about OH YOU BOUGHT 2-IN-1 A CAMERA AND A VIBRATOR. Except I didn't really understand what he said for a second, and when I did, I made like.. a OH MY GOD patented 'Rachel face'...  Like this:

Shame on you.

Which he found HILARIOUS.

Also, we learned about the phrase 'edad de pavo' which is apparently the name for when kids are like.. under 18, and they just play lots of jokes on everyone?! We definitely don't have a word for that in English.. ADOLESCENCE?! AWKWARD YEARS? 'GOING THROUGH A PHASE'?!?!  ... no idea.


Then we were talking about how Nacho's parents said that if he did well enough on his exams they'd pay for him to go to the US.. and I didn't realize how serious he was about the trip so when I heard this I was like REALLY!??!?! All excited.. and he answered 'MAYBE!!!' Okay I can't tell this story well but the way he answered was VERY FUNNY. BELIEVE ME.

And then we got the bill for the restaurant, and that's when Andres texted Nacho to say goodbye to us because he wasn't going to come out (boo).. and so I said 'Dile adios para nosotros!' (Say goodbye to him for us!) .. except I just said 'Dile adios' and Nacho thought I was talking about the bill, and that I was suggesting we DINE AND DASH hahahahah.

No.

We were doing all sorts of joking on the way back, like we'd gotten really comfortable enough with each other. Like at one point they were telling a story about some 'chica muy muy gorda' and some way or another it turned into OH YOU MEAN RACHEL? HAHAHA. And just like silly things like that that only close friends joke about. hehe


And then we walked back and got someone to take a picture of us on the Triana bridge with La Giralda in the back. Apparently the old woman who took the picture said in Spanish to the boys, 'THEY'RE GOING TO FORGET YOU WHEN THEY GO BACK TO THE US' which is so sad and terrible and not true and I wonder why she said that?! But WUTEVA we shall prove her wrong. ROAD TRIP

And then we got back to my house, and I thought this was our farewell, but.. they didn't want to say goodbye. They were like We'll see you tomorrow! And then we at first weren't sure if we could do that, cuz I have to PACK. But Nacho like.. he got really serious and his voice almost cracked.. I thought he was crying.. and he just said really quietly, 'Tomorrow, okay?' 

WHICH WAS SO SWEET AND CUTE AND I FEEL LIKE IT WILL MAKE ME CRY. I dunno. But I'll really miss my Spanish friends.

<3

LIKE AN ONION

Today at lunch, I was eating with my host dad and Carlos was at the little table by the couches. And it was pretty cold, but my Northface was too much so I took it off.. and my host dad was like 'You're hot?'

And I was like 'No, it's just that I have too many...' but I didn't really know how to say layers so he was just like 'Cosas?' and I was like sure!

AND THEN CARLOS SAID SOMETHING THAT SOUNDED LIKE THIS:

'Leek un oh-nee-ohn!' 

With this big smile on his face, proud of himself, looking at me. And I was like ummm? And he said it again, LEEK UN OHNEEOHN. Then, upon seeing my confusion, he laughs and says 'Como una cebolla' to translate. APPARENTLY HE HAD BEEN SAYING 'Like an onion!' in English, after I said I had too many layers.

IT WAS CUTE/FUNNY.

HE REALLY DID TRY. hahahah

THEY'RE WATCHING SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

WITH YOUNG, SKINNY JOHN TRAVOLTA. AND DUBBED IN SPANISH. Some part came on where everyone was doing Disco in the DISCOtec, and Carlos and Soraya just start swaying along. 

PERFECT.

Also there was this one part where there was sex in the car.. and that was dubbed over into Spanish.. which was hilarious.. and I'm like HAH IT'S AMAZING HOW SOME THINGS ARE UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD NO MATTER THE LANGUAGE.

Then Soraya told me how much Fernandito and Carlos loved music from that age.. apparently Fernando-padre (that's what Soraya calls him heheh) and Soraya would play it in the car and the two boys, at like ages 4 and 6 would just start BOBBING THEIR HEADS to songs like STAYIN' ALIVE. BAHAHHA

Studying 'hard' for finals...

Or at least, it's consuming ALL OF MY TIME. Because I just don't care and would either BE HERE WITH NO FINALS OR JUST LEAVE NOW WITH NO FINALS... heh no finals at all.

But anyway, I've been studying for a while, and Soraya comes in and says If you need help, tell me!

SO SWEET. I don't really know how she would help me because it's mostly memorization of stuff but it was still really nice!

If any of you were keeping up with the Alison/Fernando romance...

Which you probably weren't because I've only mentioned it recently even though it started in like END OF SEPTEMBER BEGINNING OF OCTOBER.

Well, I'd just like to let you know they they went on a long walk to see the Christmas lights, then went to the Plaza de España, sat down on the balcony, and he just told her how much he was going to miss her, and then told her how much he liked her and that he hadn't done anything about it because he wasn't sure if she had a boyfriend in the USA (obviously because he's so in love with her he can't imagine anyone else NOT in love with her) .. even though he EASILY could have checked her facebook.

AND THEN THEY STARTED KISSING AND HOLDING HANDS AND KEEPING EACH OTHER WARM AND AS SHE IS TELLING ME THIS I AM SMILING SO BIG BECAUSE I AM LIKE LIVING THROUGH HER AND IT'S SERIOUSLY THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD AND SHE TOTALLY DESERVES IT BECAUSE THEY ARE ADORABLE.

I won't go into all the details on here.. even though I basically did.. but then she went home to her Señora and ended up telling her THE REASON she couldnt finish her food was because she was so excited about what just happened, and her Señora was like THEY SAY YOU LOSE YOUR APPETITE WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE.

Just. the cutest. things. ever.

Some last fun times in Psych!

Always a fun time in Psych class! Actually, that's the one class where all of us are decently friends, and for whatever reason even though the Professor gives a lot of work, he's a nice guy so we all like him a lot too!

So FIRST, there was a little moth in the room, except it was big and black and fluttering and annoying. And it sorta swooped near me, and since I always sit near the door, I just sorta opened the door a crack, while class was still going on, until it fluttered close enough out so I could SCOOT IT OUT WITH THE DOOR. And then I turn and see everyone had gotten quiet and was looking at me. And I get a little awkward applause, and Frank says 'Qué habilidad!' and someone else says 'Qué buena con los animales!' which was silly and stupid and I was like HAH QUÉ PUEDO DECIR? ;)

Then we had a cute little CLASS POW WOW where we all went around and talked about how the semester was, and what a life changing experience it was, and apparently some people were about to cry but I didn't catch that. I don't know if I'll cry, maybe once I'm back home and miss something random about being in Spain. But I'm not a big cryer when leaving places.

And then Frank gave a cool little schpiel (spelling?!?!!?) about ... related to Shakespeare's 'To be or not to be' ... 'Ser o no ser'.. he was like DEBES SER Y NO SER A LA MISMA VEZ. Because you have to get used to being something, while NOT being something else.. but then knowing that it could change at any time and you could be something you never dreamed, and NOT be something you always were. It was very nice!

He also said if we wanted a letter of recommendation, we have to send him a baseball cap. Because he likes baseball caps. loool

And THEN he said I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE ONLY BOY IN THIS CLASS. AND HE ACTUALLY ASKED HIM. He was like, as the only men in this class, we can talk about this. '¿Quién hace mejor el amor? La mujer americana o la mujer español?' ... WHO MAKES LOVE BETTER - THE SPANISH WOMAN OR THE AMERICAN? 

AND THEN HE STAYED AFTER CLASS AND BRIEFLY THEY TALKED ABOUT IT. And we laughed. 

Last Sunday at Cien Montaditos...

Alison, Temi, and I met up with Nacho (Romero.. the one we went to the Sevilla game with, not the one we usually are with) and Maria for one last GOODBYE. And we were just talking about things and they asked if parties in the US are as crazy as they in the movies and we were like SOMETIMES

and balhahaglahg and they signed our flags (YAY MORE FRIENDS) and we gave BIG HUGS AND WERE LIKE WHATEVER WE WILL COME BACK TO SPAIN OR YOU WILL COME TO AMERICA AND WE WILL SEE EACH OTHER.

And Nacho was like, Skype me when it snows so I can see it! Throw a snowball at the screen!

Bahaha and then when it was just us Americans we talked about how at some point we were going to cry about how much we were gonna miss this place and these people.

Good morning 7 AM! Or should I say Good Night!

Yeah, I should say goodnight.

So Caitlin and I went out to get Tapas, and that was an adventure in itself. The tapas were great, we had HUMMUS AHHHH and rice and we wanted salmorejo but they didnt have any.. and also goat cheese with honey which was surprisingly delicious. We also had sangria, which like.. must've had LOTS of alcohol cuz nearly half a glass and I was feeling it. SO WE ASK FOR THE BILL and the waiter is like Cuenta ya?! (Bill already?!) So he brings us a FREE CHUPITO which was okay, fine, that was nice. BUT THEN WE STILL WANT THE BILL AND HE BRINGS US ANOTHER SANGRIA (for free) ... I can't finish this. I know my limits and that was it. Also it was getting creepy cuz he started sitting down at our table and WE HAD TO MEET OWEN AND ALISON.

So he finally brings the bill (After inviting us for a drink on our last day in Sevilla), and as soon as he goes inside we PAY AND BOOK IT. WE DONT EVEN WANT CHANGE (actually I think we left an exact change). And I poured some of my sangria into Caitlin's less full glass to make it look like I drank some...


So then, we meet up with Owen and Alison by the river below Calle Betis. AND WE DRINK BLACK WILD BERRY VODKA (Eristoff) WITH LIMON and it tastes like HAPPINESS. We also talk about life and fun things and they laugh at me because I am hilarious.

THEN WE GO TO BIG BEN BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS TO PEE. Caitlin's host brother is working, but this time we didn't get anything for free heheh. IT WAS FUN THOUGH. Temi and Stephanie showed up, and we were all plotting on how to get ALISON AND FERNANDO TO KISS BECAUSE CLEARLY THEY ARE IN LOVE. And Owen was showing her how to just GO IN FOR IT on me by like LINGERING after the dos besos which was hilarious heheh.

AND THEN WE WENT TO GET CHURROS (after a vodka shot).. and Alison and I and Caitlin were all walking down the street ARMS LINKED and I was like ALISON WHAT IF I JUST TOLD FERNANDO TO KISS YOU. And she said she'd be mad at that but if I texted him now asking what they were doing, she wouldn't mind. SO I DID. I said 'Fernando! Que haceis? Estamos borrachas, lo siento!' :D AND AFTER THE GANG BOUGHT CHURROS (I had no cash), Fernando answered, said they were at FunClub with his brother, 2 foreign girls (British and Danish), and ANDRES. SO WE RUSHED OVER THERE (with encouragement from our Churro friends). WE GET THERE AT LIKE 3:30 or something.

We're not there very long, the two foreign girls are nice, turns out they're au pairs in Madrid which is actually really awesome. There was some Christmas festival set up in la Alameda with REAL CAMELS staying the night and Andres showed them to me and he showed me the baby camel and THEY WERE SO CUTE.

Then we went to this other bar to play pool but the pool thing was broken so we just sat down. And I know there were more detail but I would like to get to the BEST PART. Blah blahblhab, Andres stuck the Desperado beer stickers on my arm as a 'tatuaje' and was like NEVER TAKE THIS OFF. AND WHEN YOU GET TO CONNECTICUT, PUT IT IN A NOTEBOOK. AND THEN the table was all sticky and he put his hand in it and tried to TOUCH ME with it and I was like BLEHHHH and then he like licks his finger and tries to touch me with it and laughed when I freaked out hehe. I was also trying to get him to practice his English the whole time but he refused! Except at one point we were talking about 'cardboard' for whatever reason and he asked the name in English and then just kept calling everything 'cardboard' like does with 'muerdago' loool.

BUT THAT WAS NOT THE GOOD PART.

The good part, was when we left the second bar to go home, we stopped outside to help the foreign girls find their hostel on the map. And while we were waiting, Andres all of a sudden turns to me and says 'Oye, Rachel, me voy!' (I'm leaving) and I was like wahhhh inside and also confused because he doesnt leave anywhere near where we were and he should've been walking with us to get back home.. But so then he like, pointed to his face for dos besos, and I kissed him on the cheek.

BUT HE DID NOT DOS BESO BACK.

AND HE STEPPED AWAY AND SMILED THIS BEAUTIFUL SMILE AND SAID SOMETHING LIKE 'Te he engañado' which means I tricked you. Because he wasn't leaving then. And just got me to kiss his cheek. Which is fine. Totally fine.

But it was freakin.. 6:00 am by the time we left, and Tony and Andres went to their houses (after promising that THIS WAS NOT OUR LAST GOODBYE) but Fernando said he'd walk us home, and we were talking about how much he'd miss us and that he could sneak in our suitcases.

And I started asking Fernando what his family does for Christmas, and then he asked what we do, and I said we get a Christmas tree, and he asked what we do with it when it dries out. AND I WANTED TO SAY Oh, we just throw it out! Which would be 'Lo tiramos!' ... But I said 'Nos lo tiramos' ... which definitely means 'WE SLEEP WITH EACH OTHER' like all sexual and stuff.. and he looked at me and I immediately was like 'I said that wrong didn't I?!' 

AND THEN THEY DROPPED ME OFF AT MY HOUSE AND HE AND HER WERE WALKING ALONE TO HER HOUSE SO IM HOPING THAT THEY KISSED BECAUSE THAT WAS THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ENTIRE NIGHT. THAT WAS THE REASON WE DIDNT GO HOME AT 3.

I forgot to say...

That after we bought the firecrackers, we lit some off by the river, and I LIT MY FIRST FIRE CRACKER EVER. It was called the Texas Rocket (they bought 'Texas' and 'Americanos' firecrackers in honor of us hahahaha). You stick it in the ground (it has a long tail stick thing) and light the wick and it POPS UP REAL HIGH with a big bang!

So proud of myself.

Alison lit one off too but hers kept going out and I WAS FREAKING OUT because they all kept going near it to set it again and I was like FOR GOD'S SAKE WATCH YOUR FACE.

Andres was simultaneously laughing at me for being such a worry wart (BUT WITH GOOD REASON) and also saying things like 'No te preocupes! If it goes off, it'll be in Fernando's face, not Alison's!' 

HAH MENOS MAL. ?!?!

Also, fresh grilled cheese. Literally.

I don't know how I feel about it. I think I feel weird. No bread. Not aged. Just fresh, and grilled.

THIS IS 'HOT CHOCOLATE'

MORE LIKE HOT PUDDING. AMIRITE???

That is all.

Arroz con Leche....

I went to get my usual dinner dessert.. arroz con leche... and my host dad saw me and was like 'Arroz con leche?' And I said 'Como siempre!' ... and then I said I DONT HAVE MUCH TIME TO EAT IT ANYMORE! And he was like ahhh so you have to take advantage of it!

And then when I was finished, Soraya didn't realize I'd gotten dessert, and was like Did you get dessert? And I was like OF COURSE. ARROZ CON LECHE. And she said Ahhh! Qué raro! 

:P

OYYY!

Hahah so, my abuela makes a lot of noises when something takes effort out of her.. lots of 'Oy!'s and 'No puedo's ... and apparently it's been rubbing off on me because I say 'OYYY' a lot now..

And I said it earlier today with the gang, and Nacho was like.. where did you get that from? And I was like probably my abuela.. and he told me that THAT IS A THING THAT OLD SPANISH LADIES DO.

SO NOW I SOUND LIKE AN OLD SPANISH LADY




Also, it was SO nice being in a car again.. we were ROCKIN OUT because there's a lot of American music on Spanish radio.. and then Andres put on Dubstep SO LOUD and I was fake headbanging.. actually the song was pretty good.. BUT OH MY GOD EITHER ANDRES IS A BAD DRIVER OR I HATE STANDARD CARS BECAUSE IT WAS SO ... stop and go-ey??? Like very abrupt every time he changed gears.. I ended up getting a headache and hating my life until I got out of the car.

BUT WE ALSO ROCKED OUT TO MUSE WHICH WAS EXCITING BECAUSE I LIKE MUSE A LOT AND THEY KNEW THE SONGS!

'Te he dicho, Rachel..soy un tio malo' ;)

'I told you, Rachel! I'm a bad boy!'

HAHA CONTEXT? OF THIS COMMENT? THAT MADE ME SWOON INSIDE?

So yesterday when we were botelloning by the river, Andres kept saying 'dangerous' things he does like writing Graffiti (which we were all doing) or throwing people into the river and upon my laughing at this or whatever he kept saying RACHEL RACHEL SOY UN TIO MALO! SOY PELIGROSO! Which made it even funnier.

AND THEN TODAY when we went to buy fireworks (which is genuinely peligroso heh), Nacho was like 'Guys.. just to warn you, Andres is an aggressive driver..' And I was like oh god, as long as he doesn't kill us, it's all good. And Andres said 'Te prometo nada!' And I just laughed and said something like oh no... and he said 'TE HE DICHO, RACHEL, SOY UN TIO MALO.'

...
Actually adorable.


...


I can't.


<3

FIRECRACKER FIRECRACKER

GOING CHRISTMAS FIRECRACKER SHOPPING WITH SPANIARDS SOON

I don't know what that entails other than being in a CAR for the first time in forever. YAY IM SO EXCITED. PETARDOS! ... that means firecrackers.

Things !

Heh when the brothers got home and I sat down to eat lunch, Carlos like.. peeked his head through the doorway, gave me this big smile and said as American as he could 'Hi!' They never talk to me in English (except when I overhear them using English swears), so this was very funny. I tried to respond back very American too.

And now I just overheard Call Me Maybe so they're DEF listening to that.

The one thing I'm looking forward to most about going back home, apart from my extensive list of FOODS I will be eating, is HEAT in houses. I realize this is a first world problem, and I apologize for that. But when it gets to the point that you try to HOLD going to the bathroom, because going to the bathroom requires pulling down your pants which means exposure to the HARSH ELEMENTS that are 55 degrees inside the house, it just becomes too much.

Why is it, by the way, that 50 or 60 degrees outside is a decently nice day, but 50 or 60 degrees inside is like LIVING IN THE ARCTIC TUNDRA?!?!?!?!? I am seriously surprised, based on my shivering, that I cannot also see my breath in the room.

Seriously. I was shivering on the potty. 

My abuela just walked into my room with a big smile..

And asked Qué tal? (How are ya?) And I was like Bien..bien.. And she said Have you rested a bit? And I was like yup..

AND THEN she was like I woke up at 5 to go to the bathroom and YOU WERENT THERE teheeee

LOOK AT THIS

MY SPANISH FLAG IS SO FULL OF SPANISH SIGNATURES I'M SO EXCITED

THIS BABY IS GOIN ON THE WALL IN THE DORM. NO DOUBT.

QUÉ POPULAR PAREZCO

Nights like these are the reason I'll miss Spain...

EVEN THOUGH IM FREEZING AND IT'S ALMOST 6 AM! But this time I don't mind because I lost track of the time and was having so much fun botelloning and not barhopping/spending money so YAY

So Alison and I met up around 11:30 to go to Fernando's house, because he was having a BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. (Forgive me, my hands are freezing so my typing will be terrible)... And we thought we'd get lost but WE FOUND THE PLACE

And Andres and Arian and Nacho were all there! Plus some funny new people.. 

And as soon as we got there, Nacho turned off all the lights and took off the flash part of his fancy camera, and somehow pressed some button THAT MADE IT LIKE A STROBE LIGHT AND IT WAS SO CRAZY AND FUN AND PEOPLE WERE DANCING AND IT WAS OVERWHELMING AND I LOVED IT.

Then later, Nacho like.. was trying to show us something, with how, if we stuck our hands out (with all the lights off), and he turned his flash on, and then we closed our eyes and put our hands down, we'd still see our hands in our AFTER IMAGE. BUT LIKE.. ANDRES SAW OUR HANDS UP AND WAS BEING ALL FUNNY LIKE WAIT WAIT WAIT NACHO WAIT WAIT AND INTERRUPTIVE.. and finally he was like THE REASON I wanted you to wait was because you all looked like you were doing the FRANCO SALUTE and I wanted to start playing the ANTHEM. AND SO HE DID. AND IT WAS FUNNY.

Then oh my god. Terrible. So for some reason Andres and Nacho were like LET'S GO ON CHATROULETTE. And so we went on but the connection was bad so we stopped paying attention and started watching youtube videos of Gandia Shore... AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE REMEMBERED WE WERE STILL ON THE WEBCAM AND FREAKED OUT BECAUSE WHEN WE FLIPPED BACK IT WAS A MAN AND ALL YOU COULD SEE WAS HIS POLLA BECAUSE CHATROULETTE IS DISGUSTING SOMETIMES AND WE WERE FREAKING OUT BUT ALL THE BOYS WERE LAUGHING AND TEH GIRLS WERE LIKE EWWWWWWWWWW

And then we went out to botellon a bit, and we went under some Bridge and started drinking rum and coke and rum and 7Up which was REALLY fun. And Andrés did that thing where you poke both sides of someone's torso to make them jump and I was like AHH SO IN LOVE HEH and it was just so fun. And it was raining and freezing but STILL SO FUN and people pretended to throw others in the river heheheh.. 

OH OH. I melted. Andres came back after they'd almost thrown him in the river, and was like feeling his heart and telling me something, I don't remember, most likely something about how fast his heart was beating. BUT I DIDNT GET IT SO HE TAKES MY HAND AND PRESSES IT TO HIS HEART AND I don't even know what to say in those moments in English let alone Spanish, SO I JUST LET IT HAPPEN BECAUSE NO PASA NADA IM LEAVING SOON ANYWAY. heheheheheh

And for some reason, I guess it's a 'thing' that like mostly Andrés and Nacho and Fernando do, where they pick a random word and just use it for EVERYTHING even though it makes no sense. So the word today was 'muerdago' which means MISTLETOE and whenever I was asking questions about a word or a swear or whatever Andres was like IT'S A MUERDAGO A MUERDAGO which was so silly and I don't understand but it ended up being very funny.

And then, since this was all for Fernando's birthday celebration, Nacho asked us what types of things friends our age give as gifts when one of their friends has a birthday.. and we were like uhhh.. i dunno, whatever they like slash can afford? And then Andres jumps in with 'SEXXXXX' and we start laughing and then I'm like ACTUALLY THERE IS A PRETTY POPULAR SONG CALLED BIRTHDAY SEX. And then I started singing it the way I do with 'Birfday Sex. aaaaAAAAAOOOOOoooooo' ... They loved it. bahahaha

AND ALISON AND I GOT THEM TO SIGN OUR FLAGS.

AND WE DID GRAFITTI ON THE WALLS and Andres wrote something about giving a kiss to Rachel. But then I went to go to the bathroom and HE HAD TO LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE. But me, Alison, Nacho, Fernando, and Andres are going to go IN A CAR tomorrow to help them buy CHRISTMAS FIREWORKS... SO THAT's FUN... fireworks/firecracker is 'petardo' in Spanish. Because un 'petardazo' es a BANG!

But then after Andres left my TWIN (the Adam to my Eve) Arian started talking to me more, and I was like DO YOU HAVE FACEBOOK SO WE CAN WISH EACH OTHER HAPPY BIRTHDAYS AT THE SAME TIME?! And he said no, but maybe he'll have to make one.. And he kept asking Oh do you have MSN? and I was like no.. And he was like What about email? That's the only thing left! And I was like heheh yes I have that.

Ahh and by the way, Arian wrote on my flag ACTUALLY the most beautiful thing I've ever heard (so romantic swooooon)... so because we have the same birthday, he joked about calling us Adam and Eve. SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE WROTE ON MY FLAG?!?!?!? He wrote: 

'Cuando nacimos, comenzó todo. Adán y Eva :) -Arian' .... DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? It means 'When we were born, everything began' ... SO DEEP QUE PROFUNDO I DIED. 

AHH SPANISH MEN I WILL MISS YOU MOST. At least, the nice, not creepy ones.

Like, the new friends I met too were so funny.. I can't remember anything we said which makes me sad.. AHH BUT RIGHT BEFORE WE LEFT WE STARTED SINGING QUEEN SONGS WHICH WAS SO FUN. One of them knew a lot of English.. but like.. English slang, or moreso, English swears, which was hilarious to hear.

I DUNNO MAYBE I'LL REMEMBER MORE LATER. LOVE THEM ALL. BYE