I Don't Have Anything to Move

Since my last post it's been the typical weekend. Crappy food, evil Spaniards, went out to an Erasmus Party. It was at the Loft again. It's a small bar/club. Not even a club....just a few bars with some space to dance. But nobody dances - they just stand around and blow smoke in your face and stare when you do start dancing. They actually played some good American "ghetto tunes" at first and then it got a little to techno and people's feet were hurting and it was too crowded and blahddity blah, we left. It was kinda cool because it was their Halloween party and there were a lot of vampires, a clown and some slutty cats in the club.

This morning I got up and went to the bus station to buy my ticket to Valencia. At least I think I bought it. I paid the lady and she gave me some piece of paper with the dates written on it and it said that I paid. I'll ask my profs about it on Monday and make sure I know what I'm doing when the day comes. After that I was walking around to find a certain store that I needed to visit. I walked a ways...not too far, and passed some beautiful parks and very nice part of town - San Mamés. I came close to finding it myself but had to ask for some directions. I went to the address and there was absolutely nothing there. I was a little depressed but ended up finding what I wanted elsewhere.

I also found a really cool store that was like a miniature Bed Bath & Beyond. I looked around because I saw some Christmas stuff in the window and I wanted to check for any cool ornaments to bring home. Nope - nothing was even in Spanish. Lots of "Merry Christmas" and Santas everywhere. Funny thing is, they don't even really recognize Santa here. The celebrate something with the 3 kings or wise men and then there is Olentzero. He is the embarrassing, Spanish, drunk, dirty cousin of Santa that nobody wants to invite to family functions. We learned about him in Basque class when we covered mythical figures and such. He is specific to the Basque region and isn't really known throughout the rest of Spain. A coal miner that lives up in the mountains, Olentzero comes down the mountain and brings the kids toys. But it's no secret that he's kind of a crusty old dude who likes to drink a lot of whiskey. He's always pictured as a fat loser surrounded by alcohol. Sounds like my kind of gift-giver! I have yet to find a figurine of Old Ole.

I bought a wine opener.

Afterward I came back to the dorm and actually had an edible lunch. (the food log will start tomorrow or Sunday.) Some kind of pork, french fries and egg rolls. Nice fried foods to clog my arteries and kill me any day now... I started working on my new resume and some cover letters for internships back home. UGH! It sucks, but must be done. But I listened to Christmas music while I did it, so it was slightly bearable. Molly my roommate came back today and we caught up over the bag of candy she brought me :)

For the evening we decided to forgo the fried ham and cheese monstrosity that is served up at least once a week and went out for Chinese food. It was really good! I had wonton soup and almond chicken and tried some crispy duck and sweet and sour chicken. All really delicious and very decently priced. A couple of girls went home but Leah and I decided to go to the movies. We had seen posters for the Michael Jackson documentary-style film "This is It" and decided we just had to see it. After a quick trip to the Ben & Jerry's at the mall we hit the mall theater (that had assigned seating....WHAT?!?!) And let me just tell you, any kind of fan - you gotta see this movie. Apparently it's only in theaters for 2 weeks but I assume it will come out on DVD eventually. You see him and all his peeps rehearsing and preparing for the major shows that he had planed for London. The songs were amazing, he danced great, sang great, and it would've been the show of a lifetime. The title of this post is in reference to a session the dancers had where they learned the signature crotch-grab and thrust move. The choreographers in this instance were women, so it was quite comical. We walked home talking about our favorite songs and imitating the great dance moves for all the curious Spaniards we passed.

¡AMAZING! Can't deny how much of a musical genius this man was. He changed almost every genre of music, dance, video, and inspired the world with his talent. The movie closed with:

Michael Jackson - El Rey de Pop (The King of Pop)

Indeed

Lucky Number Seven

^^
Hat Day (it actually was very chilly that evening!)

Well folks, exactly 7 weeks from today I will be returning to the motherland. I have mixed emotions: I will not miss the skeezy, smelly, staring Spaniards so much. Or the food here at the dorms. But all the friends I've made here, and the warm weather, and the experience. But it's so far off and I still have so many plans. Today I finished planning a trip to Valencia, a town on the south-east coast of Spain that is home to the largest aquarium in Europe...amongst other things. Should be a great trip and of course I'll be blogging about it.

This weekend is going to especially nice because this week was full of studying. Or fretting over tests because I didn't study enough. Being that it is halfway through, it's prime-time for midterms. I had a linguistics exam and a Spanish culture exam. Bonus about Spain: to study for Linguistics, I went to the beach since it was a gorgeous day and read over my material to the sound of the ocean. And yeah, I actually got some stuff done! And on the way home we stopped at a candy store called Guss. They have all kinds of weird crap in there but my favorites are the chocolate covered peanuts. They are peculiarly crunchy and come in milk, dark and white chocolate. I like to mix them all together and the lady that works there likes me cuz she let me sit there and sample each one and then rounded down when I payed for them. SCORE! Maybe I just looked like a fat American and she knew I'd be back to give her more business. ( I have in fact lost a bit of weight from not eating the dorm food and being sick that one week. As Dani said, "You're only one stomach flu away from your goal-weight!")

the culture exam went well - only had to guess on 2 of them. Neither exam was very difficult, it was just a wealth of information to remember. I have another business exam next week, which shouldn't be too difficult. I'm feeling confident about my grades here, even thought Grand Valley only accepts credit/no credit. Something else I just realized about the school here: in the States, kids spend a couple hundred dollars on books and its a pain in the ass. Here, they give you a bound booklet of photocopies and together all of my books cost about $150. Not too bad, I'd say. They only give you what you need and not a whole used textbook of crap for over $200.

This past week has been uncharacteristically warm for this time of year in Spain. High 70s, sunny and wonderful. I guess on Sunday the real fall will begin - cooler temps and more rain. But I'm excited for the cold. Not the rain so much.

Exciting happenings over by the Gug: The Poopy is under construction. He's covered in blue scaffolding and pretty soon he should reappear with a new 'do. I'm quite enlivened by it all.

Halloween is this weekend. I have not prepared anything special. Some people bought some cheapy costumes from a new store that opened in the mall and there are a lot of Halloween themed parties at the clubs even though it really isn't a big deal here. I'll probably go out tonite to the Erasmus party and perhaps on Saturday. The dorm children have planned some kind of party where you go to each room and have a different drink in each one. I have not strategized over said drinkage. Vamos a ver. (We shall see.)

I do have quite a bit on my plate this weekend. I was unenthusiastically voted group leader of my group for Basque Culture so I have to put together the paper for that project. I have a very important gift to buy for a very important person that will take some hunting in the city. Also, I have to figure out how to buy my bus tickets for Valencia (that's right...I'm traveling on a budget!). And there are American matters that require my attention like internships and graduation. EEK....

And holy crap, I'm already being accosted about Christmas lists. After an incredible trip like this, I probably don't deserve a darn thing...but I'll make a list anyway and see what happens. (You didn't read that dad!)

And yeah, sorry the blogs are kinda boring without pictures, but there hasn't been much to document lately. I should start to photographically chronicle the crazy little things about Spain: odd looking pigeons everywhere, elaborate baby buggies, mullets, genie pants, numerous candy stores, and the free-roaming dogs. I'll start a food log. And all the food I eat for a week here in Spain. I want you all to feel my pain.

^^
Goings Out a Whiles Ago
(Me, Molly, Kristen)

Halfway House: Rejuvenation

Good news: I'm mostly over my dark period here in Spain. I think it was the culmination of me coming out of plague week and going back to school last week. But I'm feeling much better now.

Friday was a personal day for me here in the city. Took myself to Subway and got real food. It really did taste like the best thing on earth. And don't even get me started on the Diet Pepsi. It almost brought me to tears. After lunch, I walked over to the Guggenheim Museum. The Poopy is looking a little scraggly this time of year as all the flowers have grow out. He'll probably get a trim or some different foliage soon. The new exhibition at the Gug was the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. And man oh man it was great! I've always had a great interest in architecture and all of the sketches, models and videos of Wright's works were amazing. And not having anyone tag along with me was nice too. I took my time, saw what I wanted to see and took my time. There was also a collection of short films playing - some made more sense than others but I checked them all out. There was also a documentary of Frank Gerhry - the architect that designed the museum and many other things that I sat and watched for a while in the Museum.

After the museum it was still raining so I ran some errands had summore personal time. I think that's what I'll have to do from now on - make sure I have some time just for me to go about my business in the city and check stuff out. That evening I just sat around with the neighbors and talked and painted nails for a while. My roommate is gone for the week back in the US for some grad school interviews, so my room is all my own. Which of course I do enjoy.

On Saturday we went back to the secret underground market because one girl wanted to find some genie pants and just too look around at other goodies. That evening we went out to celebrate a friend's birthday at a nightclub called Fever. But beforehand, we went to a friend's house that between like 20 people they rent out to have parties in the city. We listened to music and played a game similar to that of Waterfall in the States called Señior Tres. It was really fun and good chance for all of us to practice our Spanish since their English was very limited. It was a long metro ride to the club and from the stop, a 10 minute walk. It's in the sketchiest looking place I'd ever been in the city (it really wasn't, just full of weird young people who line up down the long street leading up to the club and drink out of the trunks of cars.) The club was cool and had a couple different rooms that each had different music. In one room there was live music with a band from the UK that was really good. Their music was upbeat and jazzy - Just found them after some internet stalking - Laura Vane and the Vipertones. Most of the other music was techno and it eventually got disgustingly crowded and we left. Not to say that we left early, I think I went to be between 5-6am. A pretty good time, but I don't think I'll be shelling out the money to go back to this club.

Sunday: recuperation, homework, and the continuation of a week-long no pants party.

Rant

Caution for those who were thinking about ever visiting Bilbao: I hate it here. It might just be today....I'm coming out of an illness and having to care about school and crap again. But I really hate it. Hate, loathe, detest, abhor....you get it.

I hate the food. It sucks. And I don't care if it's just the dorm food - everything here sucks. The friggin restaurants gave me food poisoning so I sure as hell don't wanna eat out all the time nor can I afford it. If it doesn't come from subway, it'll probably be fried, covered in vegetables that have had any sign of nutrients nuked out of them, and taste like shit. And yes, EVERYTHING is fried. I cannot think of one meal that has not had some kind of fried fish, "poultry" or other questionable liquid cheese substance. Nothing tastes good. Nothing looks good. Obviously the huger issue is intensifying my rage, but maybe the food shouldn't be so crappy. Then no one would have to get hurt.

I hate the people here. I have no desire to learn Spanish because there is no one here - at the dorm, at school, on the street - to whom I could think of one nice thing to say. And well, I've finally figured out what mum has been saying all these years - nothing nice to say, don't say anything. But I obviously want to, I can only learn so much Spanish listening to my lectures a few hours a week. It was B.S. thinking I'd be so immersed here that I'd have to speak Spanish all the time. Complete crap. If ur a native speaker here in Bilbao, they probably wouldn't let you pick up their dog's crap. And the people who stare...really getting old. I'm going to bleeping slap-a-mother. I thought I was getting used to it, but today it just engulfed the little whisp that is left of my soul in flames. And the brats at our dorm who assume we only speak through ESP or something have decided that any language is an okay one in which to talk smack about us. I'm going to smack one of those pointy-faced skanks right upside her head. I can hardly count on one hand (I do no have 1/2 fingers) the people that have tried to reach out and get to know us or meet us or even be decent human beings to us the way we have. They all make life dismal.

I hate their disgusting hairstyles. I hate the fact that they can smoke inside the school if it's raining or too cold out. **But despite this and their crappy food, they have the 2nd highest life-expectancy in Europe.** I hate their exchange rate. I don't even care who's fault that is...I'm here, and I hate them.

I have trouble even taking pleasure in the things I would like about the city. I can't think of one right now. I'm really excited to travel and see other parts of Spain and Europe.

My cleaning lady is really nice.

I guess I'll order a pizza, buy a bunch of M&Ms, and hole up in my room watching bootleg American TV shows until my time is up.


or friday when all the dorm kids go home for the weekend.




This too shall pass.

At a Loss

Well just when you thought I'd have something to blog about....I've got nothing to blog about. Went to another Erasmus party on Thursday and had fun there....window shopping with friends on Friday and out for dinner that night since the dorm food was killing us softly. And there is where my troubles began. Sort of. Friday night, ummm we'll call it "something", happened in my sleep and I sore and sick as I don't know what the next day. Saturday. The day of the excursion to the south of France. I tried to get up and shower, thinking that would help but ended up chillin with the porcelain posse all morning.

I heard France was gorgeous.

I slept all day Saturday. And Sunday. Until that is the food poisoning kicked in. Yeah, apparently even the Spaniards can fuck up Mexican food. I'm mostly over it now and am planning awesome trips to make up for my lost day.

Sigh

Barcelona: The Best Place on Earth

So you know how you have those days that are great and you say "This is the best day ever!"? Well I had one of those days...one of those weekends in fact. And it just so happened this past weekend in Barcelona. It was the one place in Spain where I knew I had to go after studying so much of the architecture of Antoní Gaudí. There was so much more than his work in the region, but for me, Barcelona = Gaudí = wonderful.

On Friday morning (no Friday classes remember) I woke up at 4:30am, left the dorm a while later with 3 others in a taxi and made the 7am flight. It was a short flight and pretty easy going. It was pretty to watch the sun rise and make the clouds into colorful fluffs of cotton candy. To get to the city we took a Renfe train and then hopped on the metro. The stop was actually very close to our hostel and we got to know the metro very well as it was our main means of transportation.

We couldn't technically check in to our hostel since it was only 11am but we had a whole room to ourselves so they let us leave our stuff in the room and we went to walk around the city and wait for the other two of our travel companions (one had a later flight and one had took the train. There were 6 of us altogether). We walked in the direction of the Sagrada Familia to have a peak at it. When I saw it through the trees it really did take my breath away. Heart stopping, unbelievable, gorgeous...it gave me goosebumps. We just walked around it and then went to a gift shop and bought some souvenirs. For lunch we had kabobs at a restaurant that was very close to the hostel. I ended up eating there once everyday. It was really good, filling, and cheap. Hit the stop on a dime!

After chilling out at the hostel and meeting up with our two other hostel mates from school, we took the crowded, smelly metro to Park Güell. This park was designed by Gaudí and built from 1900-1914. It was incredible - the way that the stone walkways were constructed and the mosaic benches, buildings and sculptures. We even walked down the hall where the finale of America's Next Top Model was filmed a few seasons ago. The only letdown for the entire weekend was probably the lizard sculpture. I had seen a lot of pictures of it but it ended being a lot smaller that I had originally thought. The park was huge and we only saw the main attractions but it may have taken a whole day to see all of the gardens and buildings.

After another metro ride back we bought pasta and ate it on the balcony of the hostel. On the third floor is a dining area and an open air balcony where we had breakfast in the mornings and drinks at night from the bar. There were actually a lot of Americans staying there and the staff was very nice and friendly. Spoke good English too!

Saturday was full of more Gaudí treasures. The main attractions besides the Sagrada Familia are two houses he designed: Casa Milá (The Pedrera) and Casa Batlló. Besides my friend Amanda, I was the only one to go into the house. We saw a floor that was remodeled the way a 20th century family would've lived and a exhibition that showed models of Gaudí's other works. The best part of course was the roof. The mosaic structures and the military-inspired chimneys were amazing. And of course the view from the house was beautiful.

I went into the second house with Astrid - "The House of Bones" as it is called. This entire house, inside and out, was designed by Gaudí. The colorful facade was inspired by natural sea coral and the iron around the windows look like eye sockets of skulls. I was amazed to see in person everything that I had seen in books especially the staircase that resembles bones of a spinal column. Each window, door frame, light fixture, and tiled floor had a signature Gaudí curve or shape. But again, it was the roof that stole the show. It looked like the spine of a dragon and the shingles looked like scales. The chimneys had been gathered together at the top of the house and wrapped together into more works of art. I took so many pictures that morning that my camera died shortly after leaving that house.

After this we walked down the non seedy part of the ramblas that included high-end stores like Valentino, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. Some of the girls went back and three of us had lunch in a small restaurant. I had a delicious margherita pizza and a small bottle of wine to myself. What followed was a great conversation, I'm sure. Before getting on the metro to head back to the hotel for a rest, we saw some fountains and were attacked by pigeons. Thus far there had been no sketchiness on the streets and wasn't worried about losing my things or being pick-pocketed every few seconds.
That evening we got lost trying to find the Magic Fountains of Montjuïc. This fountain lights up and changes shape to music in front of the national museum of art. We eventually got there and saw it light up for the last 15 minutes but there was no music. We met up with another student that was in the Barcelona and had some sangria at a local cafe and just talked. It seemed like a short day since I had only seen 2 of the 12 sites I had planned on visiting but we took the metro back to the hostel where I had another kebab and a beer. I wish I could say that I was too tired to go out that night and had a proper excuse for turning in early, but it was everyone else who was so tired and wanted to call it a night. A good night out would've made up for all the things I didn't see that day, but oh well...I'll just have to go back again sometime to experience the nightlife of Barcelona.

Okay, here comes the good part. Sunday. The bet day ever. It started with a superb visit to the Sagrada Familia. After standing in line for a little while, we went inside and saw Gaudí's greatest work that is still under construction. It of course looks huge from the outside and from the inside it's just as impressive although incomplete. All of the construction elements were kind of ugly next to this great church, but when I come back in 30 years and it's all finished it'll look much better. I took a lift up into one of the old bell towers and got to see some of the other towers up close and personal. Altogether it was a perfect visit.

After that Amanda an I went to Montjuïc which means hill of the Jews in Medeival Catalan. We took the metro and then a cable car up to the top of the hill. The entire area of Montjuïc includes the 17th century castle, some of the grounds where events of the 1992 summer Olympics were held, the Miró museum, and botanical gardens as far as the eye can see. This is another thing that would take at least a day to see. Up by the castle there were a lot of trails though a wooded area that we walked through. The fresh air and pine trees reminded me of camping at home with my family. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and warm with a slight breeze. Perfect weather for eating ice cream. It all made for great photos and a beautiful visit.
We then took another cable car across the port down to the beach of San Sebastia. This was the first time that on October 11th I was able to walk down a beach in a dress with my feet in the water and feel the best I'd ever felt. We walked towards the big goldfish in search of something to eat. Eventually we found the best food ever at Woki Market. It was like a mini Mongolian Barbecue - pick your food and they grill it right there in front of you. There was a nice boardwalk outside that we ate our food on and just rested our tired feet. But of course I wasn't tired enough to stop!!

Walking west we came upon a well preserved Gothic Basilica Santa Maria del Mar. Although now that I think of it, it was under construction on the outside so maybe it was in the process of being well preserved. We crossed though Plaza Jaume where they had crepes that were too good to pass up. I was still full from stir fry but the chocolate strawberry crepe was soooo worth it. Next we walked down another part of the Ramblas on the north side of the Gothic quarter. This was just a lot of tourist shops. We saw some of the street performers but this isn't where all the crazy stuff goes down that most people like to talk about when the Ramblas come up. It was later afternoon on a Sunday and we didn't make it over there so I don't have any crazy stories about a clown trying to sell me street art and a parakeet. Maybe next time. Plaza Real was rather calm too.

The last two stops were of course, Gaudí. Palau Güell is a "town mansion" that Gaudí designed for the industrial tycon and close friend Eusebi Güell. This house has a really cool roof too but you can't see that because....yup, it was under construction. At that time of day it was closed anyway. But the great thing to see was the iron work on the front gate. That was enough for me! Afterward, it was a decent metro ride north to see the last of the best Gaudí works of Barcelona (as far as I'm concerned, anyway) Casa Vicens. This family residence was Gaudí's first major work and is special because it's covered in gorgeous tiles from the owner's business who owned a brick and tile factory. Again, the iron work was exquisite and the mudejar (Moorish) style was beautiful. And there ended Sunday. With a kebab of course!

The next morning we were at the airport and on the plane back to Bilbao. The weather was cold, wet and rainy...typical Bilbao. And it made me miss Barcelona even more. I know that in the near future I'll have to be going back to do more and do somethings again. It truly was an incredible experience.

One major downside...I now have too look through the 800 pictures that I took over the weekend for some to put in the blog!

Four-Day Weeks are Packed!

This has been the most tiring week. I don't even know why. It's kind of warm at night here so it's hard to sleep and I'm just not a deep sleeper to begin with. My eye mask and ear plugs just don't cut it here I guess. My first test was this week and we started working on a group project so there's a little bit more to do there. I think I'll find out how I did tomorrow on the test. I think I did well.

And I think the food is getting to me. Pretty much everything at the dorm is fried and the lack of vegetation is probably wearing down my system. Surprising I haven't become morbidly obese but that's probably because the servings are so small. Tomorrow I plan on napping and packing for Barcelona. We made some plans about what we want to see/do and I'm soooo excited. All of the great Gaudí stuff is on the list along with some markets, museums, a basilica, the Olympic stadium, the beach and even so much more! I may not have much energy to go out at night but I doubt I'll regret that.

We noticed today that there are no squirrels here. Not a single one. Lots of pigeons though. My theory is that since all the dogs walk around here without leashes they have been able to chase all of the squirrels out of Bilbao. And yes, all the dogs are that well trained that 98% of them just walk around next to their owners.

Tired.

Holy Crap - It's Been a Month

Well this blog is coming pretty late. There is no internet at the dorms right now so I'm doing what I can...

This past weekend was spectacular. I'm pretty sure I had a lot of homework, but I hadn't taken a single look or given it a second thought until Sunday night. These next few weeks i should be having midterms in all of my classes. I just finished one in my business spanish class in fact. In all of my classes there are just midterms and then a final. Oh, and two projects for some classes also. Homework here and there but not so much tests and pop quizzes. We asked about pop quizzes and the teachers made a face like it was the worst idea on the planet. They didn't even understand the concept. That is definitely something I wish I could bring back to the states. But gosh...midterms already!?!?! I guess this past Friday made one month in Spain. It doesn't feel that long for sure. People are saying that three months won't be enough and they they wish they could stay longer. I think I'll miss Spain, the culture, and all the great friends I've made. I would definitely learn more and become more integrated into the culture if I stayed longer, but when December 17 rolls around, I'll be ready to get home!

Thursday night was an Erasmus Party. Erasmus stands for European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students and we have a lot of kids in Bilbao that are studying through that program from all over Europe. Every Thursday they have a party at some bar that they organize for us to get into for free with drink specials. This week it was at the Loft. They played a lot of American music (including "Hit ME Baby, One More Time" by Britney Spears from like 1999) and it was really packed in there. It usually is - the bars here aren't huge to begin with and nobody really dances, so I guess the cool this to do is stand around. But to quote Blanche from Grease, "When I hear music I just can't make my feet behave!") As usual we had fun - the majority of the kids we have class with go out to these events every Thursday and it's a good chance to meet people from all over who are studying here in Bilbao.

Friday was pretty lazy. Usually is if we're no traveling since there are no classes. They ended up turning off our internet in the building (without telling us) and we found out the hard way that we have to fill out some form, turn it in, and wait for one of the four security/reception guys to hook it up room by room. Those of us who are addicted to watching bootleg movies on the Internet are having a difficult time coping, but a couple girls have DVD collections that we are quickly wearing out. I found a place to watch The Amazing Race and the new season of America's Next Top Model. Other than that, its kind of frustrating to find a movie to watch that has decent quality and I'm afraid that if i did find a good site, that I'd turn into a vegetable and never go outside. I may end up forking over some monies to buy the seasons on iTunes to make it easier.

That evening we got word of some activities downtown in La Ría (The estuary that runs through Bilbao and goes to the ocean.) Last week some girls had gone kayaking in La Ría and said that is was really fun. We found the place fairly easy and after overcoming some communication barriers, we were in our wetsuits and life jackets kayaking through the city. Yup, wetsuits. I guess it was optional but you would have gotten pretty we without them. I kept my scarf on for some added style points. There weren't any other kayakers but some of the local crew teams were practicing and we had to dodge them every once in a while. We decided to rent them for an hour, which ended up being a perfect amount of time. We were probably pretty loud with all of our singing and yelling at each other and got some strange looks from the people passing by. Of course by now I'm used to getting the strange looks. Our timing for the activity was great too because we got to watch the sunset through the hills in our kayaks.

I slept pretty late Saturday with the help of the apocalypse shades that make it look like the middle of the night at 2 in the afternoon. A small group of us rode the metro for about 30 minutes to the town of Algorta where Danyel lives. She's a fellow GV Laker in the CIDE program and is doing a home stay out there. She led us to a "secret" underground market. Secret because only someone who has been there before could show you exactly where it is. Underground... not because it's sketchy or anything, but it's literally underground. It felt like on big garage sale in a huge basement: Lots of clothes, jewelry, shoes, blankets, and other artsy knick-knack stuff. The best booth by far had really nice and inexpensive scarves and genie pants. These are the MC Hammer/Harem type pants that have a super low crotch. The are all the rage here and have become my new obsession. It's like wearing a potato sack with legs cut out. I modeled them for the neighbors and was told that I sport them pretty well. (Stay tuned for pics) They are hella comfortable, and I plan on living in them when I get back to the States while I eat my weight in breakfast food. Right not I think we're going to watch more movies on laptops and have an easy afternoon. I'll probably hit the gym since I've been kinda lazy lately. Oh...and that homework that keeps looking at me should probably get some attention.

Some words to describe my Sunday: lazy, homework, movies, cashews, Spanish

Some notes after living in Spain for 1 month:

• Each part of Spain can be as different as the individual states in the US (weather, culture, ability/willingness to use English)
• I believe the lack of brothas and sistas in the area has a direct inverse relation to how difficult it is to find lotion in stores.
• Washing clothes in something that looks like a toilet/bidet is totally normal (IT HAS A STOPPER! Therefore, it was meant for washing clothes. I just hope my roommate hasn't used it for something else...)
• Dryers aren't so normal - the art of air drying is kind of a religion here. But it's royally screwing up my jeans
• Thing generally seem more expensive but this may just be the crappy exchange rate
• Spaniards only stare at women. None of the guys here have commented on the staring disease