Domingo, 18 de Enero

Already, I’m really getting used to the idea of LIVING in Spain. I love it here! I just woke up from my siesta and am starring out the window across the room from my bed. We have an amazing view of the city street from 5 floors up. After our second nap yesterday, we decided to do a little exploring. We found out where the post office is, the JMU office, and tried to look for a gym, but had no luck. At 6, we met up with Andrea and Hannah in the Plaza to go shopping. There are way too many good stores near our house. Besides the fact that clothing and boot stores are everywhere (with lots of rebajas (sales) right now), there’s a grocery store, pharmacies, cafes, the JMU office, the plaza, and worst: a pasteleria (pastry shop) right on the corner about ten steps away. The farthest thing is the University, which is only about a twenty-minute walk. Several other students also live relatively close to us. At about 8:15 we returned to our respective homes for dinner. Asencion made us warm ham and cheese sandwiches (and cut the crusts too…how cute is she?) When I saw 6 sandwiches on the tray she was slipping into the oven, I thought, “Oh how nice, family dinner.” Nope, those six sandwiches were for Allison and I to finish ourselves. She also made us “salad” which consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, and olive oil…the Spanish LOVE oil. After dinner, we headed to café del arte to use the internet and enjoy café con leche (which I may or may not already be addicted to). At about 10:30, we left to go get ready for the evening. We met the entire group in La Plaza Mayor at 11:30. We had to split up because our group was too big. We went to The Irish Rover and drank mediocre sangria for 3 euros. Next we headed to another bar with a lot of older people in it (creepy?). We left and ended up at the Chupiteria where a shot is only one euro (should have started the evening at this place). Then we headed to the bar next store and met up with more group members and had a fantastic dance party. I liked this place because it played Spanish pop music, so many play American music and it sort of ruins the cultural experience. Here, I started talking to a guy named Jose. I wish my Spanish were better! Being in a loud club only made communication that much more difficult. When I realized that everyone had left including Allison with our only set of keys, I bolted out of the bar to try and find her, which I did soon after. What a fun night! I am definitely not in the states anymore.
This morning we woke up at 10, showered, and met at La Plaza Gabriel y Golan for orientation day two. We walked around the city a little and Jesus showed us important landmarks like the medical center, the central post office, the JMU office, and gave us our cell phones. We returned home for siesta. Today, we had this really yummy cheesy pasta, then that lightly fried salty chicken I love (I’ve eaten meat prepared this way everyday so far). And fruit and candy for dessert. Lunch was less awkward today, and I’m beginning to feel a little more comfortable about communication. Allison is much more timid and leaves a lot of the talking to me, yikes. Our madre is so nice and says the only rules for the house are not to leave lights on, not to shower after 1am, and to be quiet when coming in at night so not to wake the neighbors. Feeling disgustingly full, I took an hour nap, which was beautiful to say the least. Allison did core exercises in the bathroom, haha. Now we are hanging around waiting for Jesus to pay us our house visit. Then, we’ll probably go to the café, and meet up for a group dinner in the Plaza at 8:45. Should be fun. The end.