Sábado - 21.27

Today was a good day. I liked today. I didn't set an alarm for this morning, since I had nothing I had to do. I still woke up around 7:30, I guess my internal clock is now set. I went back to sleep though, and got out of bed around 9. I then moseyed around, ate my breakfast, got dressed, and looked at a list of recommended sites that the USAC office emailed us. I wore my orange-pink dress today, since it looked like a sunny day and I was in a good mood. Plus I wanted my shoulders to tan evenly haha. This is my metro stop, where I go anytime I want to get to any part of Madrid, except Retiro park. The black banners are the store I was talking about in an earlier blog post; my new favorite store here in Madrid! Haha I still have only spend three euros there though to buy a clock. It's lime green and awesome.

I headed to Plaza de España because I wanted to find Templo de Debod. It's an old Egyptian temple that was rebuilt here in Madrid. It had to be moved from Egypt when a dam was built near the Nile, and it was donated to Spain as a thank you for helping to save earlier temples. It was pretty cool to see. I found it without getting lost, since there were signs from the metro stop. I took a lot of photos when I got there, of course. I managed to get a lot without a lot of people too, a skill I've strengthened here in Spain. The temple is situated inside a shallow pool of water, which looks really cool. You can kind of see it in one of the photos below. The inside is pretty small, but it was so cool! Ever since 5th grade I've had an interest in ancient Egypt, so to be in a real Egyptian temple was really amazing.

There were hieroglyphics in the stone inside, and there were plaques describing what was happening in them.  I can't describe how awesome it was to be in the temple, it's like my trip here in Spain just keeps getting more and more amazing. There were three rooms inside the temple that we were allowed to go in. One right off the entrance was playing a movie (probably about the history but I didn't watch it). Then there was a hallway leading to the main altar room, which during it's use in Egypt was so sacred the only people allowed to enter were priests! It was humbling to be able to enter. There were two rooms, one on each side of the temple. Both were dark since there were no windows other than thin slits. The one on the right had projections on the wall, as shown below. It was so cool, they described what the room was used for back in the day, instead of having another plaque. It also had a small entrance to the catacombs of the temple, which had another projection saying what the catacombs were used for. The room on the other side was the same thing, just without the projections. There was a hallway near the entrance with stairs, but sadly they were roped off.

After the Templo de Debod, I headed in search of a museum that was listed in our handout; El Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporeáno (Contemporary Art Museum). I found it just fine on my iPhone map, but I didn't see any signs, only a large building. The gates were open, so I slowly wandered in. I followed a couple in, and the guards told us to go through security, which we did. Then we were in a courtyard. There were no signs anywhere, so I just kinda went right. Then one of the guards told me to go the other way to the "open doors". None of the doors were open, so I followed the couple again. I ended up in a small museum that I think was for women's rights here in Spain. It was pretty interesting. I looked around for a while, then left the building, the same way I came so as to not get yelled at again.

I wandered up and down the street, consulted my iPhone, and then went back. I asked the guard if she knew the Museo de Arte Contemporeáno, and she said yes, it's in the building. She also said it was closed indefinitely. Cool. At least I can say I found it I suppose. On the way back to my metro line, I stopped into Sol. There's supposed to be a zero mile marker here to mark how far other Spanish cities are away from the heart of the capital. I just found out about it when reading the handout we got from the office. I walked around for a bit, but since I didn't know how to say "mile marker" in Spanish, I couldn't ask anyone. So I headed back to the metro station. I'm planning on going into the USAC office on Monday to ask Susan and Gabriela if they know where exactly it is. That would be a cool thing to see, I think.

I headed home after that. It was too early for lunch yet, so I didn't buy anything. When I got back, I allowed myself to take a nap, since all that walking had made me pretty tired. I woke up after two hours, and then forced myself to read the rest of the chapter for my homework for my art class. It wasn't too bad, and I was done before I knew it. I then ate some ham flavored potato chips, some crackers and Nutella, and some peanuts and Nutella. Then I got on Facebook. I uploaded my photos from today and put in captions.

Then I got to Skype Brandon! It was exciting. His family is watching a bearded dragon for a friend, so I got to see him, which was awesome! Then we just chatted for a while, until I got off for dinner. It was kind of disappointing, especially after a day with no real food. It was a ham and cheese sandwich. At least it wasn't served with gazpacho though. I'll count my blessings. I had yogurt for dessert again, and then I came in here to finish up this blog post! Tomorrow my plans are to head to el Museo Sorolla, which is supposed to be a sort of art museum that's free on Sundays. After that, I want to go to see Fuente de Cibeles, a large statue of Neptune. Karina told me I should see if before I leave Madrid, so I'm going to. Then after that, I'm going to stop in to see el Museo Naval (Naval Museum). It's supposed to always be free, so that's good too. Once I get back to the apartment, I should probably read (or skim through) the part of the book I'm supposed to read for my cinema class. It's literally half the book, which is why I don't want to read it in detail. Half the class doesn't even have the book (since it's only available in the US) because they "didn't know about it". Plus I feel like the professor is going to summarize anyway.

But for now, I'm going to wash my face. Today I discovered my nose is starting to peel. Sad day.

Viernes - 21.45

I was able to "sleep in" today! I woke up at 7:30 and took my sweet time getting ready. I didn't have class today until 11:30, because my first class had a time change. Since it's an art class, and we're in one of the art museum cities of the world, we had class in the Prado Museo today. Before that, and after I woke up, I spent two hours, the time I normally would be in class, working on my final presentation for my conversation class. It's a ten minute presentation using PowerPoint over whatever topic we wanted that would be interesting to the rest of the class.

My presentation is about my trips here in Spain. I don't know if the rest of the class is interested, but I don't really care. I can easily talk for ten minutes about my trips. My PowerPoint has slides from Barcelona, Bilbao, and San Sebastian. It was pretty fun to put together, I kind of did it like a scrapbook, with each slide resembling a white erase board, with each photo designed as a Polaroid stuck on with a bright red magnet. Then my captions are all "hand-written" as if with a dry erase marker. I probably put too much time into it, but at least the visuals will be good.

Then I went off to class. It was still awesome, except we had someone else join our class today. He was actually supposed to be in it from day one, but on the schedules it says M-F. He apparently read it as Monday AND Friday, not Monday THROUGH Friday, so he didn't show up to class at all until today. Some people... but it was good. We got our homework for Monday. We were each given a photo of a well-known Spanish person and I found it highly ironic that I was the only one in the class that received a photo of a child. Then after class I headed to the supermarket to buy my lunch. I didn't buy a sandwich today, instead I bought a tortilla fresca. It's potato and eggs, and I took the package with onions. That shows how much my taste buds have matured. I also gave into my chocolate craving and bought a chocolate bar with almonds, which made me think of momma. I miss her. The chocolate tasted good though. I ate one row of the chocolate bar on my way home on the metro.

I stopped into one of the Alimentacion stores to see if they have root beer, since the supermarket doesn't. It's weird wondering if you're able to buy something that you're used to having around... normally I wouldn't have a problem getting root beer. Here, though, I don't think they have it. I did buy some more crackers since my tub is almost empty, and some ham flavored chips, since they were awesome at the pool party. Now I have plenty of snacks.

When I got back to the apartment I was going to ask Pilar if I could use the microwave, but she was busy with Carlitos. I waited and got on my computer for the wait, fine-tuning my presentation and drafting my speaking outline. It was super easy. It's also a page long, which I think is good, but still not too much. Then, after about a half hour of being home, Carlitos was in his room, whether for a nap or play time, I don't know. I asked Pilar, and she said yes, and gave me a plate because she wasn't sure if the package was supposed to go in the microwave. I didn't say anything because it's her microwave, but I'm pretty sure the package was designed to go in the microwave. She gave me a fork too, which was awesome. I ate my tortilla in the kitchen as Pilar was putting away groceries. It was delicious, a nice change from the sandwiches (and for the same cost as a wrap!).

After that I took a quick power nap. I woke up at 3:30 and headed out to get to the Prado for class. I got to the right metro station, and then tried to use my phone to see where I needed to go. Of course my internet decided not to work then, so I was wandering around aimlessly as my phone semi-worked. I finally found the Prado, and was only three minutes late. I considered that an accomplishment for how fast I was walking. Needless to say, I was glad the museum was air conditioned.

The actual class was good, much better than the lecture. We saw several paintings, and she was able to explain to us the story behind the painting, as well as the techniques behind the brushstrokes. It was a really interesting lecture. Toward the end, one of the girls asked if we could see the Rafael exhibit, and our professor said she wasn't supposed to lecture us there, but proceeded to take off her name tag and lead us down the stairs. It was really cool. She's got so much passion about the artwork, not only how it was made, but also why, by who, and when. She knows so much! After the Rafael exhibit, she told us class was over and we were free to do what we wanted. We all followed her into the elevator, and she reminded us again that we could stay. I had been planning on it, since I had a free afternoon and was in the museum for free.

When we got out of the elevators, everyone else followed her to the exit. I guess I was the lone wolf. I found the painting that I had wanted to see on our way to the elevators. Las Meninas. The little girl in the painting (who I was able to read about on the plaque next to the painting) has been made into a doll and is sold in many parts around Spain, not just here in Madrid. I saw several in Toledo, and one again in La Mancha. It was really cool to be able to see. All the artwork in the Prado was amazing. I never thought about art history before, so it kind of took me by surprise to see how many were based on biblical stories, but it's not surprising one bit when I think about it.

Seeing all the paintings made me really jealous though. I love love love the way the artists can make the paint work! I've never been able to command paint, though I think I'm decent with colored pencil. It was actually pretty cool to see the folds in the clothes of the figures in the paintings, because it kind of reminded me of my drawing of the clothes hanging on a clothesline with the wrinkles, highlights, and folds. The museum has inspired me to look into more art classes at Tech. I'm not sure if they offer many more though... I'll have to see.

After the Prado, I made my way back to the apartment. Once back, I was home alone. I sneaked my last milk carton into the fridge to get it cool so that I could drink it with the last bit of chocolate cake. Then while that cooled, I read my reading for class, as well as part of the chapter for Monday as well. Then I ate my cake while I worked on planning the trip to the south of Spain at the end of the month. After that, I sat on Facebook and was very anti-productive.

Then I was called to dinner. It was the dark bean soup today, not my favorite soup. I was disappointed, but it was still really good. I got a slice of bread with it. Then I had yogurt for dessert. As usual, I ate alone. After dinner, I came back to write this blog. Now I'm going to go shower, and then read some more of the chapter for Monday. It's been a pretty productive day I'd say.

Jueves - 21.40

I got my metro pass today. I tried using my credit card again in the machine, but it wouldn't work again. I tried using the three digits on the back of the card, like mom suggested yesterday, but it wouldn't take only three numbers. So I used my debit card. Then I had to ask how to use the pass, since I'm used to having a ticket that feeds through the machines. This new one, all I need to do is set it on top of a green circle, and off I go! It's easier, but it was SO hard to buy!

Classes were good today, I like my art class, but it's just so long! I drank two bottles of water just to keep myself awake. The lights were dim too so that we could see the screen, it probably wasn't the best for keeping me awake either. But it's really interesting to her her talk about the pieces of art and the explanation behind the art. My second class was aawesome again today. We had two people add the class, which I wasn't too happy about, but I like them and it spreads the amount of work we need to do over five days instead of three, so I guess there's a positive to it. Plus I sit in the front row, so I can't see them. I feel like if I can't see them then maybe I'll be more apt to participate. I hope. 

After class I headed to the supermarket to buy my sandwich. Then I ate it as I made my way to the USAC office. I was able to talk with Susan in Spanish about my abono joven. I told her I was able to purchase it with my debit card, thought it wasn't ideal. She apologized again for all the problems I've been having with it, but it's not her fault. Then I hung around to meet Cora, my new intercambio. While I waited, I browsed the tourism books in the office. I looked at maps of Sevilla and Granada, both of which I plan to visit in my last weekend here in Spain. They look like good places to go. I'm excited to see them.

Then I met Cora. She's really nice, and it's easy for me to understand her when she talks. The way she explained it to me is we do two hours a week, one hour in Spanish, where I can ask her questions, go over vocabulary and grammar as we talk, etc. Then the second hour is in English. Today she had me read through a short story that she translated for her friend. It was really interesting for me to help, I really liked it. She had me look at the grammar, but more the terms and phrases used. She wanted it to sound more American, which I could help with. I liked it a lot, actually, especially since I've been considering work in the translating field, though I only know English and Spanish. I hope I helped her enough too, I did my best!

The story was interesting, it was about a woman who has nightmares about vicious creatures that roam the earth here in Spain, but the metro is safe. Every time she tries to leave the metro, she sees the creatures (who resemble humans, but in a grotesque form) who try to devour her. So she stays in the metro, begging for food while trying to warn other travelers about the dangers above. I liked it, it was my kind of story.

Before we said our goodbyes, we set our next meeting date; the same day and time next week. Now I know I have plenty of time to get lunch before meeting her. In my conversation class our professor had us do an exercise where we wrote down a good and bad trait about ourselves, among other things. My good trait was that I always arrive early. She seemed surprised by that, which here in Spain doesn't surprise me. Nothing is ever done at the advertised time. Even my professors are frequently late. I told her always. I am usually always early. My fault was that I'm shy, and she said that is a fault because to learn Spanish while being shy is very hard. I told her I know. It sucks.

After saying goodbye to Cora, I headed back to the apartment, using my new metro pass. It's much quicker to use, but I hope it stays easy, and I don't have more problems with it. I not once had a problem with my pass last month, so hopefully my good luck continues. On my way home, I did some "window shop" therapy. I stopped into Tiger again, and gazed longingly at the art supplies. I also came across toilet paper... but it's no ordinary toilet paper. It made me think of mom, Jason, and Ryan. Why? Because each square has a Sudoku puzzle on it! It was so cool! I'm considering buying some, but I don't know if it's actually meant to be used or not... I have a month to decide. Then I stopped into Himaya, the clothing store between the metro stop and my apartment. It advertised a 70% off sale in the window, but the cardigans that I want weren't on sale, so I left.

When I got back I got on my computer. I changed my desktop image from a photo from Barcelona to one from San Sebastian. I like it more now. Then I did email and Facebook. Cora said she doesn't have a Facebook because she doesn't like not having privacy. She doesn't like that people she doesn't know can know her contact information or see what she posts. She also said she worried about employers finding her, which I can understand because that's stressed so much in the schools in the States.

After that, I admit, I took a nap. I succumbed to my desire of sleep. But, when I woke up, I headed out to the metro. I went to Sol in search of a cookbook. I browsed many, many souvenir shops, but most didn't have any, and the ones that did all had the same one for the same price. I didn't want to pay that much. On my way back to the metro, I saw books in the window of El Corte Inglés, a HUGE department store chain, like Macy's or Sears, but the only one around. I could have stayed there for a really long time, much more than I did. There were three levels of books! It was amazing! I only had a short amount of time though, because I needed to get back in time for dinner.

I started on the first floor, didn't find any cookbooks, then went to the second floor. I didn't find any there. Of course the cookbooks were in the basement level. Oh well, I got to see lots of books. I looked at the cookbooks for a long time, and decided on two. I bought "100 Best Classic Tapas", and I also bought "Cocina España". I now have one in English, and one in Spanish (that was only 1.95). I'm excited to look through them and to make some when I'm in the states. I just hope I can manage to find the ingredients, especially in Houghton... I'll have to see about that.

I got back five minutes before 9:30, but we didn't eat until later. It was hot dogs. I was so excited! They've been sounding good for a while, so I was glad to be able to eat them. They also know how to eat them here... they put two dogs on one bun! It was a genius idea, I'm not sure why no one that I know in the States has thought of it yet. But it was delicious. I had yogurt for dessert, which I am increasingly loving more and more. It's so sweet and cool, it's like ice cream, but better! Haha. Now I'm probably going to browse through my cookbooks, then go to bed.

Miércoles - 20.45

 I wanted to hit snooze so badly when I woke up, I was so tired this morning! I definitely got my exercise in this weekend! But I didn't, I got ready and headed out for school. This is my Standard breakfast. It's skim milk (which I only recently realized) and the odd box that it comes in. I shouldn't say odd really... it's just different than what I'm used to. The wrapped package is the food part. They taste like donuts, and they have sugar sprinkled over the top. They're really delicious. I eat them every morning. Depending on the morning and whether the milk is cold, I drink one cup with each muffin. It's a nice balance. There's also cracker/cookie things I eat. I only eat about four or five of them, and always after I eat my muffins. I usually drink a glass of milk with them too. Pilar must think I go through an awful lot of milk... and I do. I feel bad, but I am paying for it in a way, so I don't feel as bad after I remember that. 

I had a little snaphoo at the metro station this morning. I needed to buy my abono joven for the month of July so that I can have unlimited use of the metro again. The problem is this: they do not accept cash to buy the pass, only cards. I have my credit card, which is what I want to buy it with. However, whenever I try to pay with the card, it asks for a security passcode. It's a credit card, so it doesn't have one. When I told the woman I asked to help me that it didn't have a number, she shrugged, said sorry, and went back to her desk. So much for customer service in Spain. I ended up buying a one way pass since I had to get to campus.

Once there, I ran into Alicia leaving the metro. We exchanged books, since she's buying my composition book and borrowing my reading book that I used, and I'm borrowing her art book that she used. We both want one of our books back, so we traded. It's nice to have friends. I'm also 15 euros richer, which is good. Then we headed to the office to see the scores we got in our respective classes. I got an "A" in my culture class, which I expected, and a "B+" in my composition class, which I did not. I was expecting more like a "C", so I was happy! Of course, me getting an "A" is the same as a "D" as far as Tech is concerned, so it's more of a personal accomplishment for me.

My first class is the Art History one. There's seven of us in the class total, and only two of us are returning students, me and Jimmy, the Delt Sig. This works out nicely for me, because I sold him my book for the culture class, but I didn't have change for the 50 he had at the end of the session, nor the 20 he had today, so I know where to find him to collect! The new students all seem really nice. We (Jimmy and I) talked to Hannah, one of the new girls, during our 20 minute break. She's really cool. She's in a home stay with the other girl from her school who she's friends with, and she says she loves it so far. The course doesn't seem too hard, and it seems interesting, since I like art, but it's so long! I'm not used to two hour long lecture classes.

After that class I headed to the USAC office. I got a little red surprise during class, but luckily Susan had something for me! I was relieved. I had just enough time to take care of all that before my next class at 11:30. It turns out I could have taken longer, because I was the only one in the classroom for a good five minutes after class (conversation skills) was supposed to start. Then another girl came in, and we talked for about another five minutes before the professor came in. Her name is Talia, and she's really cool too. I think I got lucky with my two daily classes this session. She's in advanced Spanish, which intimidates me a little bit. Then our professor came in. It's another Sara, like my culture professor last session. This Sara is also from the Basque country, which I found interesting. The thing I like most about this class, though, is that there are only three of us. The third woman came about twenty minutes late, because her other class got out late. Both her and Talia seem to be around my level of speaking skills, but have more confidence, so I think it'll be good for me. I'm really excited for this class. Since it's so small, we're all going to have to participate, which I like because I really want to make up for lost time with my speaking. We don't have to buy a book either, which I really like haha.

After this class I ran into David (the DU from the first session). He asked how the conversation class was, because he was thinking about adding it. I told him that I loved it and that he should add it, though I really want to keep it small. After that, I headed to my final class for the day: Spanish Cinema. This class only had five of us in it, but about ten minutes after it started, seven more people came in. Five of which were here for the last session, including Sima. I was looking forward to not having her in class... It started out okay, but then as it went on I realized I'm stuck with this class for a full month. There's no other class I can switch into, I checked, and I can't drop it because that would mess up all the financial stuff for the summer through Tech, and my credits for Tech.

The professor, while nice, expects us to do an entire semester's worth of work in one summer session! This includes reading all the assigned readings and doing the questions over the readings, watching movies on our own time outside of class and answering questions on them (which all have to be typed so I need to pay for them to be printed), participate in class discussions (which isn't too hard), write an essay for our mid term over a movie that we watch on our own time, prepare and give a 20 MINUTE presentation over the same movie, AND take the final exam. It's so much work!! It's only a one credit class, but it's more work than my other two combined! Thank goodness it's only twice a week. It's also a good thing I only need a D...

After that class I wasn't in a very good mood. I headed to the supermarket to buy a sandwich for lunch and ended up buying a loaf of chocolate bread and a pack of three small cartons of milk. I had a feeling I would need the comfort food. I ate my sandwiches near the metro entrance, and headed down to try and figure out my metro pass again. The same thing happened. I couldn't pay with cash because it's not allowed, and the machine wouldn't take my card because the pin number was always wrong (because it shouldn't have a pin). The woman I asked was about as nice as the one in my metro stop. She shrugged, said she couldn't do anything, and returned to her desk.

I was so upset, I didn't want to pay for another one way pass! I headed to the USAC office to explain my situation to Susan. She said she'd talk to Alvaro about it and contact the metro people. There's nothing she could do for me for today though. I sat in front of the library and started eating some of the chocolate bread/cake. I wanted to drown my sorrows. It didn't work though. Plus, I think I was too depressed to fully enjoy the chocolate. It was so sad. I did enjoy the milk, which was whole milk. It wasn't cold though, so it wasn't as good as it could have been. I ended up pulling out a map and walking home. All four and a half miles. It took me an hour and a half in near direct sunlight. Plus near to the end my phone battery was dying, so I couldn't listen to music for the last half hour. I was not a happy camper. If my mood was blue before this whole debacle, now it was straight up black. I was so frustrated and upset with the whole situation. When I finally got back to the apartment, I drank two bottles of water, one right after the other. I was so happy to get my bag off my back too, since the straps had been digging into my shoulders. I was able to Skype Brandon though.

He always manages to cheer me up. I ended up eating about half the chocolate bread/cake with Nutella for icing and milk to wash it all down. It did taste better now that I wasn't so sad. Once we said our goodbyes so he could go biking, I uploaded my photos to Facebook, which took forever since I had so many! I also added some photos to my blog posts from this weekend, so check them out! Then I updated my expenses sheet, was impressed at how under budget I was for food (I spent 20 when I had budgeted for 40), and saddened by how much more I spent on transportation than I had expected. But it all evened out in the end. This past weekend was amazing! I'm actually really glad we were split up in San Sebastian too. I like Julian, but he's kind of like an annoying little brother (Ryan you're not annoying anymore!). I think Jennifer and I have much more in common than Alicia and I too, so we agreed on things much quicker (like what to do and where to go). It worked out really well.

After doing all that, it was almost nine, so I started writing this blog post. Then, I was called to dinner. I have decided it's best when Monica or Maria Teresa eat with me. Monica was there today. We had chicken fillets, a bit of eggs (a mix between an omelet and scrambled), a lettuce salad, and french fries. It was so delicious, and a wonderful end to my night. I had my standard yogurt for dessert, and it was a nice end because it was sweet and cool. Now I'm about to brush my teeth and wash my face, then get into bed. I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open...

Martes - 22.47

Today was the last day of my mini vacation. Jennifer and I woke up at 8:00 and got ready quickly and quietly. It turns out that breakfast isn't open until ten, so we headed out with the intent to come back. We walked all the way to a building we had seen while we kayaked. On the way we stopped at a small garden to take photos. I saw some of the prettiest flowers in my life at this garden! They were orange, and kind of reminded me of Tiger Lilies, but I'm not sure if they were or not. Then we walked to the building, taking photos along the way. It turns out the building is actually a palace. We didn't' see anywhere we could go inside, but we could walk around outside, so we did. It was so green and peaceful! The view from the front of the building was absolutely gorgeous as well, since it faced over the bay and you could see everything! The palace is on a sort of hill, so it overlooks the buildings on both side too. It was amazing.

 Then we walked to the beach where we thought there were boats that went from the beach to the island, but we didn't see any. At this point we were really hungry, so we just headed back. When we got back, we ate a delicious breakfast. It wasn't anything special, I think we were just so hungry that it was good. I had a bowl of corn flake cereal, and it was so good! I think it was because of the milk though, it was closer to whole milk than skim milk. I realized a few days ago that the milk here at the apartment is skim milk, that's why it's so watery. It's also in a pink box, like the pink lids in the US. I found that interesting. I also ate a bread muffin thing with chocolate chips. It was really sugary and delicious.

Jennifer then asked what time we needed to check out, since none of us had thought to ask earlier. We were supposed to check out at 11:30. It was then about 10:45 and Alicia and Julian were gone. Jennifer and I tried to call them, but Julian's phone was disconnected and Alicia wasn't picking up. We decided to just walk around in the old town for a bit. The church in front of our hostel was open, so we walked into it. It was, like all other churches here in Europe, completely detailed and beautiful. It also smelled like a basement inside, which was comforting... well, to me at least. After a few quiet photos, we headed out to walk along the streets some more. We stopped into a little souvenir shop and I found my last gift for a loved one back in the US! I hope they like it!

We made our way to the water and looked around and took some more photos. We found out that the ferry boats that go to the island were actually much closer to our hostel than we thought, and were much cheaper than we thought at 3.80 round trip. We were pretty excited, and both wanted to do it, but it was getting close to 11:30. We headed back to the hostel because we didn't want to be late. Alicia and Julian still weren't there, so we packed their stuff up (I got the unfortunate task of putting Julian's socks - that he ran in - back into his bag) and left it outside the door so the worker could make the beds for the next guests, who were already there. He was also understanding when we said that we only had one set of keys available, and he didn't charge us for keeping the other set longer. Before we left, I made myself a piece of toast with strawberry jelly. I wanted to get as much free food as possible.

Then we headed over to the island on the ferry. I took some photos while we were on the boat, and enjoyed the view. It was still so pretty! I have a problem taking pictures, because everything is perfect, so I end up with way too many haha. We were only on the island for about twenty minutes because we had to catch our bus back to Bilbao pretty quick. We did see a ton of lizards though! We actually got to see one change colors on the rock in front of us, it was so cool! Jennifer and I had several near heart attacks when one would run out in front of us. We did not want to step on them. We also saw a small, super furry bird. It was so cute! I think it might have been a baby pigeon, or a baby seagull. I got photos haha. We saw the park where we went yesterday too. Everything was just so majestic and pretty! I got so many photos!

(L: Us on the Boat                           R: Me on the Island)

We headed back then, and on the boat there was a group of kids, a field trip I think. They were singing along with one of the songs that came on, and when it ended, they chanted "una vez más" (one more time). It was so cute! When we got off, we headed back to meet Julian and Alicia outside the hostel, and then walk back. Jennifer ended up stopping to get a sandwich for the road, Julian stopped to check his email to see if he has a place to stay tonight in Madrid, and Alicia went into a souvenir shop. I followed Jennifer and bought a tapa for lunch. It was good, and filling too. We then joined again and walked all the way to the bus stop. The bus ride was calm and quiet. Then when we got back to Bilbao we were able to take a bus to the airport for really cheap. It was only 1.35 euros! Jackpot! We then sat in the airport for a while waiting to get our passports checked. After we made it through security (without hiccup) I stopped into a store inside the airport. I love looking at them, I don't know why. I never buy anything, except this time. I bought a bag of cashews that's the same size as all the other bags in Madrid, but cheaper. I also bought a surprise for everyone back home! The cashews were delicious. I ate them there.

We bought metro tickets here in Madrid to get back to our apartments. Julian came with me so that he could get his suitcase from my room. I made him wait in the lobby again. It would have been fine though, since no one was home. I still didn't want to chance it though. After he left, I unpacked my bag and packed my new drawstring bag with everything I'll need for classes tomorrow. Then I grabbed clean clothes and took a shower. It was 9:20 when I got in, and no one was home. When I got out at 9:30, Pilar was here, and confused. Apparently she thought I didn't get back until tomorrow. Oops. She was nice enough to make me dinner though, which was really awesome. I had enough time to put lotion on, because in the light here at the apartment, my skin is red. It doesn't hurt, so I'm hoping if I continue to lotion it I'll be fine.

Then I ate dinner. It was a pasta salad with the mystery fruit again, a slice of bread, and yogurt for dessert. Then I came back to my room and sorted through the photos from this week that I took and uploaded. I'll put them on here and on Facebook tomorrow. Now I'm exhausted though, so I'm going to bed to prepare for classes tomorrow. I love you all and goodnight!

Lunes - 23.44

Last night wasn't much fun, but it wasn't bad either. I didn't hear the couples come in, so that was good. However, the British couple left around 6, so they were up and about, and they weren't being too loud, but it woke me up. I think it also woke Julian up, because he was tossing and turning. He was on the bunk above me, so it was really hard to get back to sleep. Then our alarms went off and we got up. As usual, I was the first one ready, but I didn't mind. I went down and ate breakfast. It was more cocoa krispies and toast. I drank the milk (now chocolate) from the cereal. Then we checked out and got metro tickets to get to the bus station. We got there in time, though the bus was late.

Then a woman in front of us had a dog, which the driver wouldn't let on the bus because it's not allowed, but the woman had to be on the bus, so she was crying as she told the dog to go away. It was so heart breaking! A woman behind us suggested the dog ride with the luggage, so that was really cool that a complete stranger would have enough compassion to help the woman out, and that the bus driver would have enough compassion to let the dog ride on the bottom. When we got here to San Sebastian, we first got a map, and then walked straight to our hostel. It's so pretty here on the streets, so peaceful. We found out way no problem. Its small, but I absolutely love it! It's old so it has charm, and every room has a different door or set of doors. The bathrooms are comparable to a college apartment, but they're fine for a night. We were also able to check in about eight hours early, so that was really cool. Then we headed to buy drawstring bags for walking around and beach towels. On the way down the stairs, I saw a metal track for a chair to rise up. It was so cool! I've only ever seen them in movies!

Anyways, when we went out I bought a cheap bag, but not a towel. I was too cheap to spend 5 euros on a towel I would leave here. We stopped at a little bar on the way back and got tapas. I don't know the name of the one I got, but it was like a cold quiche on top of bread. It was really good, and cheap! Then Jennifer and I switched things into the drawstring bags. We then split up, since Alicia and Julian wanted to go to the beach right away and Jennifer and I wanted to wait until it was warmer. So we went to the park that Jennifer had marked.  On the way, we stopped in a gorgeous church. I got photos. Then we took pictures every few steps to the park, it was so pretty! We got tons of "senior" photos, where we look good. It's also so GREEN here. I felt like I was in a safari when we were walking up and down. There was a point where we could see the entire bay and the mountains in the background. Opposite of Barcelona where we could see the buildings and the sea in the distance. It was so gorgeous! We kept saying were so lucky to be here. It's unreal how pretty it is.

          

 (L: "Safari-ing"                             R: "Senior Photo")

There was a castle on the way to the top, and it was super cool. We got lots more photos haha. At the top was a Jesus statue. It was really big, and faced so that it overlooked the bay. It was amazing. On the way down we saw another little building overlooking the other beach area, the one known for more surfing since the waves are rougher. Here I took probably the best photo of my life. It's a pigeon landing on a building. Then we headed to the same bar as before to get lunch, big sandwiches. The saying "you get what you pay for" didn't apply... I got so much more than what I paid for! It was so cheap and delicious! It was a chorizo omelet inside a baguette. After that we went to a small park (very small). At this park there's a giant clock, a constellation map, and we saw swans! It was pretty cool. We're going back tomorrow because my camera died after lunch.

We changed at the hostel into bathing suits and met Alicia and Julian on the beach. We saw kayaks and decided to see how much they were. It was only ten euros for an hour! We got a two person one and headed out. The view was amazing, and Jennifer was excited because shes never kayaked before, and now she can say she did it in Spain. We split it with Julian and Alicia too, so we did a half hour and they did a half hour, so it was five for each of us. Then we hung out on the beach for a few hours. We came back to the hostel and showered while Julian went for a run. I got red today, but I think it's not gonna turn into a burn because I applied lotion generously and it's already fading.

I headed to yet again the same bar for my dinner. I got a tuna omelet sandwich. Julian wanted to go out for a big fancy dinner since its one of his last nights in Spain. Alicia and Jennifer were okay with that, and I am too, but I can't afford the 22 euro price range, so I ate my 3.50 euro sandwich. We went to some restaurant for them to eat seafood. Jennifer got a burger because she didn't want to pay a lot either. The waitress we got originally was really rude! When she took our order, she grabbed the menus from the table and nearly hit me in the eye, and she yanked the place mat from me when I said I wasn't eating anything. Then she was slamming chairs when she moved tables and slammed the pitcher onto our table. Were not sure what her deal was. Then we got a different waitress and all was good.

I did forget what it's like to be around a teenage boy though... He's always hungry! He eats a ton when we do eat, and he chews with his mouth open too, that's one of my biggest pet peeves. Plus he complains a lot, like when we first got here to San Sebastian he kept saying, "wait, we're not getting a taxi?" Haha I'm glad Jennifer and Alicia didn't want to pay for one either. We were all really tired from the sun today so we headed back to the hostel for the night. Jennifer and I are planning on walking around the city and browsing the book market we saw, and Julian and Alicia are going to the park. So until then, adios!

Domingo - 23.33

Today was a busy day. We woke up around 3 to get on a night bus to catch a shuttle for the airport. Luckily I was able to find everything just fine. I had to ask where the airport shuttle stop was, but I could understand the response, so it was cool. Then we checked in at the airport to have our visas checked and then we waited for a while. It was funny because Julian packed like a typical guy and girl at the same time. He packed a ton of clothes, but he didn't really fold them, so his bag was huge. He refolded it twice, and the Jennifer did it. It was funny. The plane ride was decent, the flight wasn't full so we weren't crammed and didn't have problems with luggage space. I fell asleep pretty quick.

When we got here, we took a taxi to the hostel from the airport. It was expensive, which wasn't too exciting, but we got to see a lot of Bilbao. It's so green and mountainous here, just like my professor said it would be! It's beautiful! There's a river that runs through it too. It's really peaceful and serene here, much more my style than Madrid, but I'm glad I picked Madrid. I like the change of scenery, and there's not much here, though it is beautiful. Anyway, we got to the hostel and was able to eat breakfast here (cereal and toast). Then we thought we could check in at noon, so we waited in the lobby on the second floor. Jennifer and I slept on bean bags on the floor, and Alicia and Julian slept on the couch. Then we woke up and found out we couldn't check in until two. So we headed out.

We walked to the Guggenheim Museum, which wasn't far. We took several photos along the way too. Its so pretty here, it feels like a different place! The Guggenheim was amazing! We got a student discount too, which was awesome. I loved the architecture of the building, so cool! I also have a new favorite artist! David Hockney. His pieces are amazing! I think he had a tenporary exhibit because there were posters around Bilbao with his name on it. First, he does really nice acrylic paintings. Second, he does his art on an iPad! Google it, they're my new favorite.

After the museum Jennfer and I walked down the water to find food and a park she wanted to see. We found a mall and headed inside. We didn't think it was open, because of the sign on the door, but we didn't think to check the door. Oops. We first saw snails everywhere. Bigger than life statues painted with wild colors and designs. We took photos with them. Then we found food on the second level. We ate at a place named Krunch. It was real good, we both got a chicken type sandwich. It was big, and delicious. I got a water too, and it was expensive! It was 1.40! I miss free water... It was good though and now we have water bottles to fill up. Alicia and Julian got there as we were done, so we waited for them. Julian filled his cup with water and then knocked it over, spilling water everywhere and onto the next table. We left after that.

We found Jennifer's park next, and took some great photos! I'm excited to post them. I also saw the most beautiful roses ever! The ones in Madrid are all dry and shriveled up, but the ones here were moist, lively, and perfect. They were a mix between pink, orange, peach, etc. I loved them. There were also white roses, my favorite flower. It was perfect. We also saw ducks at a pond place. They were so cute! There was one black and white one who was fishing, so he had his head in the water and his butt shaking in the air. He was my favorite. I named him Donald. There was also another one that looked right at us for photos. He was nice too.

After the park we headed to Basurtu, which Julian wanted to see because its the same as his last name. It was a hospital, and it was decked out! It had a mosaic roof which was cool, and it was gated all the way around. Very snazzy. We made our way to the old part of town next to walk around and take pictures. We stopped into a bakery type place and bought nummies. I bought a little lemon flavored mini Spanish cake, and a chocolate flavored one. They were delicious for .40 cents each. I wish I wouldnt have forgotten a picture of them, but I forgot, like usual. Then we headed back to the hostel to check in. We were given keys to room number 5, and we went in and there were only three beds left, with four of us. I went back to the desk to ask for sheets for the bed, and he realized he gave us keys to the wrong room. I was glad though because the room had a lot of guys that were drinking, so I didn't want to be with them. Now we're in a room with a British couple and another female our age. It's much better. After that we headed out.

The other three went to a bar to watch the soccer game, Spain versus Italy. I headed to find dinner, because I didn't want to watch the game. I walked down one street and it was like a courtyard. I was the only one on the side, so I was just looking at the shops, looking for food. There were a bunch of little kids running toward me, maybe about five to seven, and I figured they were just running and playing. Well when they passed me they all slapped my butt. I was so mad. They were lucky I'm in a foreign country and they're kids. I felt so violated, and by little kids!I left that area. I did find a supermarket where I bought a microwave meal. It was chicken paella with veggies. Super yummy. I came back and ate it in the little kitchen thing. Then I came back up and Skyped Brandon until about 11, when I figured I should go to sleep. I miss him. But it was good to see him again. Then I wrote this blog, and now I'm going to bed!