Lunes - 21.11

It was hard to get out of bed again this morning, but I slept a bit better than usual. I got to campus early again, and went to the USAC office to pick up my deposit from the Escorial field trip. After picking up my ten euros, I headed to class a bit early. We talked about Gaudi some more again. It was pretty interesting. She recapped a lot for the people that were absent Friday, which I didn’t mind. I had to drink a lot of water to stay awake again though; I don’t like being so tired again. At least I’m not falling asleep in class, like I did last fall. That was not fun. We were given our twenty minute break again, and this time I went to the Reprografia to print off my final paper for my film class. I wanted to turn it in today so I have the option of not going to class on Wednesday. I also had enough time to head to the bathroom and fill up my water bottle.

After that we began learning about Picasso. We didn’t get too far into him yet, but so far it seems interesting. He’s one of the only painters I knew before coming to Spain and taking this class, but I don’t know too much about him still. I’m glad I chose Goya as my painter too, because I’m so glad I’m done! After that class I headed to the USAC office again, because I had gotten an email saying the housing deposit forms and surveys were ready. So I got that, and Gabriela apologized for not having it ready when I came down earlier. I told her it didn’t matter to me, and I even had most of it filled out before my conversation class started.

Talia wasn’t in class today, and she was the one that was supposed to present. We signed up for days so that each person would have their own day, in case they went longer. Well Sara was trying to figure out what to do, and I volunteered to give mine today. I’ve been practicing it all weekend anyway, and I had my flash drive with me, so there was no reason I couldn’t. She said “extra credit” for you, but I think she was joking. I got my draft of my presentation back today too, so some of my errors were unable to be fixed, so I think she gave me a bit of leeway on that too, which was good. I think it went well too, my peers asked their questions (they had to ask two each) and I was able to answer them all! That’s my accomplishment for the day right there. My presentation even took longer than normal; since we didn’t have time for the “small topics” we were all assigned. I haven’t looked into mine yet, which was good that I presented today because it gives me another day to prepare.

I’m really glad I got the presentation out of the way though. Now I’m completely done except finals! I asked Sara about the final too, and she said there were three parts. One is just a conversation between partners, and one group of three since I guess Rudy dropped out of the class or something. I think I’m going to be paired with Lynette, but I guess that’s ok because her tendency to over-talk may make up for my tendency to under-talk. The second part is talking (quickly) about an object that is important to us, why it’s important, and a bit of history about the object. I think I’m either going to bring my camera or my husky dog that I’m planning on leaving for Carlitos. I could talk about either. The last part is a small speech about an “easy” theme, such as traveling, food, etc. I think I should do pretty decent then, I’m less worried about it now than I was before.

After that class I headed to the film class. I handed in my paper to Mar and then sat through two of my peers’ presentations. Then I sat through two of Mar’s presentations, while alternatively playing games on my phone. How I’ve missed my iPhone. During this class I also managed to finish my housing sheets. At the end of class, another student asked about the exam. It turns out it’s only going to be an essay. Over what, I don’t know. She said the info from the presentations, all the directors, all the movie’s we’ve watched, etc. How that can possibly all fit into a cohesive essay I’m not sure. In any case, I’m going to look over the presentations she sent us.

After I was free from that class I headed to the USAC office to drop off my sheet. Then I headed to the supermarket to buy lunch. I also bought mixed nuts for a snack and cotton pads, since I ran out of cotton rounds for my face toner, and using toilet paper just doesn’t work. I asked for a bag at the checkout and she said a number. Apparently you have to pay for bags here in the supermarkets. I miss America at the oddest times… I said no, thanks, and put it all in my little black bag, except my tortilla, which I ate then. After eating, I headed back to the apartment. It was so hot and I’m pretty sure I’m getting dehydrated here, because I felt sick with a headache. I napped when I got back and didn’t set an alarm. It was nice. I woke up to Carlitos screaming about two hours later, but it was fine because I needed to get up anyway.

I headed out to go to the Museo de escultura al aire libre. It’s something like Museum of Free Air Sculptures. Well, I got off the metro and my phone told me there was a public art museum, so I went to check it out. Apparently the public art museum was the one I originally wanted to go to, because when I went to the place my phone told me the sculpture museum was, there was nothing there. I went back to the first place and saw the sign reading, ‘Museo de escultura al aire libre’. There were about ten sculptures. It was kind of sad, but they were cool and I got to cross another place off my ‘to-see’ list. There were two I liked.

One was a penguin. I think. From one angle it looked like a normal penguin, but from another angle it looked like a penguin that had a detached wing, abnormal body shape, and its eye popping out of its head. It’s hard to describe with words, so I included a photo of the normal angle and the not normal angle.

The second statue was like a block, but had three balls coming out of it, in a row, with less of the ball showing in succession. It looked like the balls were disappearing into the block, and then coming out the other side. I included a photo of this one too. Sometimes my words fail me. Or maybe I’m just too lazy to type them out. Either way, the photo works better for you.

When I got home after that, I was feeling really under the weather. This heat does not agree with me lately. I got back and made a cave for myself. I shut my door and closed the blinds all the way. Then I turned the fan on and the light off. It was nice, and eventually I cooled down. I also got to talk to Brandon on email! It’s become a sort of highlight of my day. I also sent some emails, and checked/updated my Facebook. It was an internet hour. Or, I guess technically couple of hours, since I didn't get off until dinner.

It was a hamburger and fries today, with yogurt for dessert. I kind of laughed, because while chatting with Brandon, I mentioned that I just wanted meat, like a big, juicy steak, or a thick piece of Dad’s salmon, or a nice, thick hamburger. So I got part of my wish. I got meat, woo! It’s never thick here because that’s not how they eat; they seem to eat very little meat. It was good anyway. I was content. After dinner I came back to my room and chatted with Brandon some more. Then I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and wrote this post.

Tomorrow I just need to sit through my classes, and then I'm planning on going to another museum, and then another palace. So much left to see! So until tomorrow, goodnight!