Jueves - 22.54

Well, dinner yesterday was good, it was a type of soup. It looked like Campbell's condensed chicken noodle, but it was SO much better! It was served to me with a plate of 3 slices of cheese (provolone, I think), 3 slices of meat (I think pepperoni?), and a pile of ham, which is apparently very common over here in España. After, I did some quick emails, and then headed to the metro to meet up with the group. I think we ended up in the barrio gay, "gay neighborhood". I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any night shots, but I figure I have more than a month left, I have time. It was pretty fun though, we went to a little restaurant for tapas. They were giving away free sangria to those that came in and sat down. I think there were two of us that didn't order food. I was one because a, I had just eaten, and b, I'm poor. After that, most people went home. The four of us that didn't headed to look for some place that two of them had been to.

We never found it, but we did head to a club called The Palace. It was apparently Ladies Night, so all of us females got in for free, and we all gave Brendan (the only guy with us) a euro so it was all equal. It was a really really nice place. It reminded me of a really nice hotel, or like one of the fancier areas in the cruise ship for the night comedy acts. Anyway, they had free sangria y cerveza until 1:30. It was fine for us because we needed to leave to get back on the metro to get home before then (the metro closes at 1:30). After that adventure, I came home, washed my face, and went to bed.

I got to campus early again, though only a half an hour this time, so it wasn't bad at all. I had a decent time in my first class. I think it's kind of a bipolar class, sometimes it's good, sometimes bad. Sometimes both in one class period. It's interesting. We got our first composition's back and also a guide as to what his symbols mean in his editing. My paper had a lot of green on it, but it was about as much as everyone else's, so I didn't feel too bad about it. Then during the break I headed out to the quad and sat in the sun. It was pretty darn cold today, there was a bit of a breeze "un viento". I learned that word today. I also learned shade "sombra" a few days ago.

There are a lot of us USACers that get out of class at the same time, and I found out they go to the quad. So they sat next to me today for about a half an hour. Then I went with Alicia to look around the library and check it out. It's pretty nice, I really like it. I'll be going there a lot probably later in the session. Then I left her there since she had a paper to write, and I went to the USAC office to get my library card, which will allow me to use the computers, which I don't know that I'll ever need to use, but it's good to have the option. 

My second class went well again. It's really interesting to hear the different histories of the different countries in Spain, especially the Basque Country, where another one of my friend's from Tech is currently studying at. It's a good class so far, and the homework is super easy, we just need to read to be ready for class discussion. After that I hurried over to el restaurante for lunch. Today it was empañadas. I don't know what they were filled with, but it was good. I also had fries and a pasta salad type thing. For dessert, a little bit of Flan. It was okay, I don't really like it in the US, it's not much different here.

At 2, I met with Karina, my intercambio. She was SO nice! She was really patient with me while I attempted to speak Spanish too. We ended up talking for two hours about basic interests, like movies, music, family and friends, etc. We also talked about what I thought of Spain, and then Karina gave me a list of all the places that I have to see while I'm here. She used to work for a Madrid tour company, so I trust her opinion extra haha. We also like the same types of things, like photography, art, architecture, so the places she likes are probably places I'll like. She kept saying they were really good for photography, so I won't forget my camera! I also learned that she speaks Spanish, English, Portuguese, and is learning French. I felt a bit like a slacker. She did say my Spanish was really good, I just needed to practice more. She then invited me to go dancing with her and her friends next Friday, because her friends only speak Spanish, so it'll force me to speak. She said she'd be there to translate, of course, but only if I need it. I said yes right away, though I'm nervous about it. Karina also invited me to a Latin music concert on Thursday the 21st. I also said yes to that right away. I want to do as many cultural things as possible. We said goodbye at 4, when I was supposed to meet up with someone to head into Sol to go shopping.

I never ended up going though. I headed here to the apartment to drop off my books, and then I headed to a metro stop to meet some friends to buy a bus ticket to Barcelona for this weekend. It took us a while to find where to go, but we finally found it. There were five of us that bought tickets. Me, Brendan, Alicia, Jennifer, and Miriam. We all seem to get along well, which is good, because we're planning on staying up for 24 hours together. We get into Barcelona at about 7am on Saturday, and we're leaving at 7am on Sunday. We didn't want to have to pay for a hotel room, since none of us can really afford it. So that was successful. 

I returned here to the apartment and, guess what... it only took me ONE try to open the door! SUCCESS! Haha I was really shocked when it turned on the first try. Tomorrow I'll see if it was just a fluke. Anyway, I finished all my homework for tomorrow before dinner, and chatted with Brandon through the wonderful internet. Then I ate dinner with Pilar. I had chicken fillets with french fries and bread with yogurt for dessert. We chatted more than usual because Monica wasn't there. I still wasn't as colloquial, but I spoke several full sentences and volunteered information about my classes. It's a step in the right direction. I kept wanting to think of a question to ask, but I didn't know what! After dinner I showered, and now I'm writing this. I'm super tired, it was a long day, so I'm gonna crash quickly. With that, hasta mañana!