Tricia, Lauren, Allie, and Mara do Paris, France.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iUjx4_X1qA&feature=channel

Thanks for the new song, Maribeth and Emmerz.

We wake up Wednesday morning with bags packed for Paris. We go to Ana’s class at Complutense and then head over to Carlos III where we go to Historia Del Presente and Espanol… and then we’re off to the airport.

Lauren Allie and I were on the same flight, and we missed Marzapan lots. We hate the way they board passengers (group A then B… we are ALWAYS in group B).

After getting to Paris, Lauren and Allie had to stay on the metro when I got off, because I was on my way to Emma Staff’s place (<3 Emmie toooo much). She met me at the metro stop, which was so nice of her, and brought me back to her apartment where she insisted I make myself at home. We went to pick up some pasta, GOAT CHEESE (mMmM), and a chaser (obviously, and we got fanta) and then returned to make some dinna.

Reunited and it Feels So Good

At 11:15pm we met Lauren and Allie at Bastille, the monument close  by. We stopped so that I could buy my first of 2 crepes, Egg and Cheese (so good!). We then took the metro over to Queen, a gay dancing club over by Arc de Triomphe.

Arc de Triomphe

Due to the fact that I was ROBBED in Barcelona of my purse and all my important belongings within (I cant believe i never wrote about Barca with Juan and Mara) I no longer have a license. The only legitimate ID I have with my birthday on it is my passport, which I dont EXACTLY bring out when I go to the park, let alone CLUBS in Paris. The bouncer at the club did NOT want to accept the 10000 copies of identification I had: a copy of – my passport, visa, license, BC ID, 3 credit cards, my campgaw employee card, and more (front and back copies). HOW RIDICULOUS?! I ended up using another girls ID (who looks nothing like me) and I got into the club.

Paris Lovaz

The club was a ton of fun and I actually ended up drinking a ton of free champagne (they showered it over our heads and glasses). This resulted in me dancing with one of the gay strippers up on a platform? Emma took a stellar video of those 5 minutes… sweet. I actually am glad she did. Otherwise, the characteristics of Queen were that the drinks were more expensive than Kapital, but the club was smaller. The music was great and I enjoyed dancing, as usual, and I got carried away, as usual.

The Before Picture

The After Picture

The next morning I was shocked at the affect the champagne had on me, but I woke up early and went out to meet Allie, Lauren, and MARA! We first went to the Louvre, where we got in FREE (WHAT 18-25 year olds get in FREE TODAY?!)… except the man at the ticket booth told Mara she couldnt get the discount because she didnt look under 25 years old? Stupid. When we need to look over 18, they doubt us, and when we need to look under 25, they deny us. But we loved the Louvre. We each found our favorite paintings, but we HAD to find the Mona Lisa, and we did. There was a huge line around it, and it was in a glass case, but we stood and saw the incredible painting. Some may find it plain, but you can certainly look at it for an extended period of time and feel like you havent figured it, and her, out.

After the Louvre we went to lunch in Paris. We obviously got delicious Parisian food and a lot of bread and cheese. The waitors were very nice but it is hard to transition from Spanish responses to anything other than English. The Si/Wi for yes and the Gracias/Merci responses got confused.

However, next we went to the Eiffel Tower and saw its magnificence. I stood in awe at the structure that most Parisians hate but that is so classic at the same time. We waited on line while a scary clown man terrified us and other tourists alike and while other men banged together the small Eiffel Tower figures they were carrying. I obviously bought one because I am both a sucker and a bargainer.

Reason #1234567 to study abroad.

While up in the tower we saw beautiful views of Paris, including the one sky scraper they allowed to be there. There are height restrictions on all of the buildings except one that was constructed before the limit was made.

Tour Montparnasse can always be seen.

After climbing down and taking 1000 pictures, we decided to walk around the gardens right  by the Louvre.

Your every day bench.

Yet later we went back to our respective places. I went to Emmas and got ready for the night, and we the girls came over for a little pregame (along with some of Emma, Kettianne, and Maribeths friends). Oh yeah, Emma bought me a delicious dinner

At night we went to “The Hang Out” (I think it was called) and the entire basement seemed to be filled with Boston College students! I saw Liz and Natalia from our Madrid program, as well as Dan Darcy and more! We all drank and danced and reunited and it was a good timie. Lauren and I went upstairs at one point to sit on the couches, and a nice french boy came over. He asked us how old we thought he was and Lauren responded 21, and I said 22. He showed us his ID which said 18, and we were in shock. He was nice, police, and friendly, and we both agreed later that there is NO WAY he is a high school senior (although, I must admit, he has to be. why would any sane boy admit to 20 year old and a 21 year old girls that he is IN FACT 2-3 years younger than they are… on purpose?).

We all wandered out of the bar eventually, scattering in different directions. Emma, some of her friends, and I went to grab some more delicious *late night* food, and at this point I lost L, A, and M. As a consequence, the next morning I could not contact them because they didnt have their international call function activated on their phones.

So the next morning, Friday morning, Emma and I woke up and got dressed. I brought Twilight #4 Breaking Dawn, Ana’s Culture book, and Spanish tarea with me, and she brought all school work. We walked all around Paris: to Notre-Dame, to her school, through some protests for various things going on on Labor Day in France. We finally made it to Luxembourg park and stayed there for a while. Her friend Reed met up with us and we drank red wine, ate pretzels and cookies, and read in the sunshine. I did a lot of people watching, and was entertained by Edward (twilight reference) as well as two young girls who were playing right next to our camp out.

Notre Dame

Eventually we left and did some more touring, stopping in a garden of beautiful flowers and seeing a well-known Mosque that is in Paris.Emma and I had some fun in the gardens, as we always do.

The Usual

I also had my picture taken with the Robot Man mentioned above, who is clearly wise beyond his robotic years. Robots do, and WILL, in fact need rights, too

The Coolest Robot I Know.

When we got back to her dorm, I crashed for a very long nap. That night we went out to the only bridge in Paris that does not allow cars to go over it, and I ate a late dinner while drinking the equivalent of a 40 of French beer. While I did these two things, I also watched the city of Paris in its splendor. The Eiffel tower was lit up, but not only in it’s plain lights. The tower also sparkled with bright lights as it is only supposed to do once every hour, on the hour; however, we think that the fact that it was May 1st had a thing or two to do with the extra sparkles. I loved it.

We then walked around Paris for a while, giving me an even bigger appreciation for the Parisian fashion scene. I now know why people call Paris a fashion capital. Later we made it to a bar “Le Pearle” and had a couple of drinks. I went home with Maribeth around 1:30am because I had to wake up at 7:45am the next morning… but when we got home we made some pasta and lentils with red peppers. I ate my pasta and read Twilight until I passed out.

The next morning I met L, A, and M at Bastille again, and we jumped right on the metro. We went over to The Palace of Versailles early in the morning, only to encounter a 7 hour long line. We thought that we only had to wait on the first 3 hour line, only to find out 2 1/2 hours into waiting that we had to wait on the other line as well. We decided that we would miss our flight if we stayed, so we went to tour the entirety of the gardens instead.

If I ever felt like a princess, walking through these gardens certainly made me feel like the prettiest and most important princess in the world. I can understand how the raging mob felt when they charged the castle and accused Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI of inapproaprite behavior.

Anyway, we got rejected for discounts at first (because we’re not members of the EU), but we went to another booth and I (as usual) took my visa up to the counter and told them man that we are students studying in the EU and we get the discount… he accepted and gave us free tickets. Great success. We toured and explored for a long time, only to realize that after eating delicious pizza and walking many miles, we could miss our flight. We then rushed back to our rooms, grabbed our bags, got on the metro, had to buy new RER tickets (what a fiasco), and got on a train that didnt move for a while. We panicked, screamed, and started to sweat. When the train was finally able to leave, a little boy BOLTED away from his mother, who had a stroller, other kids, and other adults with her. They all jumped up and ran after him, and we all instinctively started yelling at them because hey, did they want to pay for our flight if we were late? In the end it was pretty comical, and we made it to the airport on time.

I arrived in Madrid and immediately met up with Molly Mcgovern near metro Alonso Martinez! I was so happy to see her, but she was taking it easy because they were headed to Toledo the next day. I think I will see her tonight if I ever get around to doing my homework…

On that note, there is Paris. I left out some, and I will add pictures, but I loved the city and the people there. I am so thankful Emma let me stay with her for 3 nights, and I missed her dearly…

“Oh, pour me another flute of that
Sweet French liquid loot, love
Notre Dame, Paris charm
Victor Hugo and crepes
‘Till there’s nothin’ from France
Like the king of the grapes

Champagne, Champagne
I love those little bubbles
Champagne, Champagne
Though they get me into trouble
Lord, how I wish it would rain
Champagne, Champagne, Champagne”

<3 Paris

I must first point out that I am listening to “No Stress” while writing this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up1MzGUhQG0

The story of SB2K9 starts off at 4:00am on Saturday the 4th of April.

Day 1:

Unfortunately, my spring break trip to Tenerife (Canary Islands) involved a flight into the north airport instead of the south, and the metro does not open until 6:00am… how do they run businesses here? The cabs prosper. Perry and I took a cab to Madrid Barajas Airport and eventually boarded our plane headed to Tenerife North Airport.  After getting there, we took one bus to the center of town. After getting THERE we took ANOTHER bus to the south.. and then walked to our hotel. Luckily we quickly checked in and jumped into our bathing suits before meeting up with the group that was already headed for lunch.

After a lunch of kebabs (IF you can even call them that..) we went to the pool to hang, which was our specialty. The glorious weather of our trip is incomparable, and I loved every second of that “African sun.” As you’ve probably already guessed.. we eventually made it back to our rooms — my roommie was SPatt, and that definitely was a blast — and took naps. I now prepare you for the ultimate climax of our group in Madrid, the best night we’ve had so far:

After getting ready, we went out to dinner right next to the ocean, and although the food took a very long time to come, it was delicious. At this point Jordan and Perry (Jerry) were absolutely BLASTED and did and said some very strange things during dinner, including putting spoons on their noses.

Jerry

During dinner, someone across the table kicked someone else, and it gave me an idea.. what if someone at one end of the table pretended to kick and someone way down the table pretended to have been kicked? This gave me such a hard laughing fit, although it doesnt seem funny now… it took me 5 minutes to spit the idea out, and I barely even did.

The first of many street sellers wandered by with trinkets… so Juan and I bought blue and red flashy glasses (as I promised myself I would do at some point while abroad). This was a stellar decision and a catalyst for the craziness of the first night.

I will give you 35 centimos...

After dinner we popped bottles. In Lauren and Liseys room and we all opened our various types of Bacardi… which meant everyone had to try on Lisey’s beach hat, everyone had to do the YMCA, and everyone had to run out into the street with enthusiasm for the rest of the fiesta.

I love us.

On the way Mara Jordan Perry and I tried to do a jumping picture and I pushed them down in order to boost myself… very nice! …Then Anthony’s happened. Believe it or not… for 10 euro each we got a RIDICULOUS amount of alcohol: 2 drinks each, 3 middle drinks, and our own bottle? Ill take it. We started doing hair cuts and then Lauren bought umbrella hats ["wait guys... you bought umbrella hats?" "no Lauren, YOU bought umbrella hats.."

Sadly, Juan got something spilled on his white pants [called it], BUT right after the dancing started. We began on the floor, however Lisey sparked an “off the floor” trend by climbing onto a table. “Please dont dance on the table, it is unsteady.. if you want, come dance on the bar.” So she did.

No Stress

When No Stress played.. Lisey ran right outside the bar to where people were calmly having dinner, and Lauren and I followed. We weaved in and out and around Lisey as her favorite song blasted, which inevitably became the theme song of our trip. After Anthony’s, we went to a second bar, got more drinks, and continued dancing as we always do, breaking it down for the rest of the night. At some point the DJ said, “We have a thief in the house… and shes wearing blue glasses…” But since Ann knew she wasnt WEARING BLUE, she thought she was getting away with it (and she did!).

"I love how I'm called the clepto, when it's REALLY Meg!"

The Thief

At the end of the night… we all went back to the Hesperia Troya Hotel and up to our rooms. We fell asleep next to Playa de Las Americas, and awaited another day and night of SB2K9.

Lovaz.

To be Continued.

I am more than halfway through being in Madrid, which is scary, shocking, and unbelievable. Although the Spanish way of life is to take things slow, time flies when youre having fun, and that I have been doing. Lisey and I moved out of our single into a beautiful, luxurious double. It is 100x better than being in the single with bunkbeds, making it 1000x better than being in our first residencia. I get my own desk, a ton of space, and a balcony with a window that extends from ceiling to floor. The best part… I get my own BULLETIN BOARD which means pictures finally adorn the walls in an attractive and artistic way (for those of you who were constantly in my room in Edmonds… you will understand this). It isnt nearly as cool (although in comparison to LISEYS BLANK ONE [metro maps dont count] hahaha it is THE BOMB) as the pictures on the tapestry, but I do have a calendar of babies smack-dab in the middle. Things that make me happy: babies, animals, theme parks, and delicious food… so check. This place works for me!

I cant really begin to recap on everything that has happened in the past month. I intended to travel more than I have, and I should start to book trips NOW. This coming saturday morning I leave for Tenerife on the Canary Islands, and then after I head to Barcelona for a couple days, including Easter. For lent, I gave up biting my nails.. and although this has worked, my cuticles have suffered. I’m sure tons of you read this blog to find out about my nail beds, but I am now going to document some of the places that have become important to me while in Madrid.

Fog – this small club at Metro Chueca is always a good time. Lately I have felt a little “Fogged Out” because we went there so often in such a small period of time, but I enjoy the music and the environment. There is a bar and a large area where you can either stand or dance, and they play current music that we swing our hips to. I have both danced with members of our group and Spanish guys.. and I have to say.. Spanish men can get a bit too touchy. It surprises me how, here, men cat-call more in a day than in an entire lifetime in the US. I have learned to ignore the smoochies on the street… but when men and women alike stare at you on the metro, even after you give them a look of warning, it is a bit unsettling. Do I have something on my face? is the appropriate reaction. ANYWAY – when Lisey’s large group of friends came, we brought them there. After some “botellon-ing” we arrived and took some tequila shots (drink of choice here apparently?) and danced the night away. That night Juan’s sister was also in Madrid, so she got to see what Fog is all about as well.

Nike Bar – this bar is also in Chueca (seeing a theme?) and you are able to buy a HUGE cup of beer or calimocho (a drink consisting of approximately 50% red wine and 50% coca-cola) for 4 euro.. and this is a good start to any night. It is always crowded and a bit smoky, but those are conditions we’d have to endure at almost any bar in Madrid.

Luckily, we found out that these places are only a short walking distance away from our new dorm. I like walking the city streets more than taking the Metro because it puts things into perspective (yes, even for me, the directionally challenged), and it makes me feel like I know the city beyond the Metro. Hopefully, between April 2 and May 25, I will learn more.

So the most recent scandal: housing. Res Life, or I should probably say, the new StarRez program, is an absolute BROMA (joke). I really will not even go into all the horrendous errors and confusion of yesterday.. ranging from the Res Life office not opening until 9am (when the process started at 7am) to giving out FALSE PICK TIMES and taking them back. Honestly, after all of that I at least expect to know what room (sadly, notice how i didnt say mod) I will  be living in! But no cigar. We are once again left in the dark, like yesterday, but with the slight improvement of actual e mails telling us… that nothing has been figured out… and please, please have patience and an understanding heart while you wait. En serio, this is not okay. I personally called in 3 times yesterday with concerns for my group, 3 of 1000. However, I cant plan my (multiple) days around the 5 minutes Ill need to be at my computer to choose my room. I wish everyone luck during this monster of a process… and I hope that only the 6-man apartment drawing is afftected by the inpreparation.

I signed up for all of the classes I wanted when I registered today. Luckily my sister did not have to do it for me, but I am still thankful for her willingness to go into work late. I am in a battle with the Economics department about one of my classes here counting towards my Economics major, which might turn into a minor if I dont win the war. Otherwise, classes have been going OKAY, but I guess the truth is that I am learning more outside of my classes than in. I had a 40 minute conversation with one of the girls names Angela, in my residencia today. She struggled to test out some English and I responded in Spanish, and we had a couple laughs. I explained to her that sometimes you feel like other people perceive you as “slow” when you cant speak a language or when you have a road block due to vocabulary. I misinterpreted her when she said, in spanish, “I feel like an Indian (Native American) when I speak,” meaning that her words may be choppy… but I responded as if she said something COMPLETELY different. I told her the better way to put it would be to say robot, in english. Aye, language barriers can be FUN!

I think I’m out for now… I have to consider the ups and downs of housing… the fact that I physically cannot choose my place if it is beyond Friday. I also am going to finish Twilight #2: New Moon, because I finished the first and if I finished the second, which I will, then I bring the third with me to the Canaries! “Oh Edward..” you are too fickle and quick tempered… but you are a strikingly handsome Vampire in love with or obsessed with a human girl and for now, let’s just say that’s me. Bella complains too much and is a hypocrite.

Hasta pronto (because I dont know the next time I’ll write! baha)

TMK

p.s. I have more to say about that stupid effing BOX we had to check.

On a more relevant note: I now live off of the light blue line, metro Iglesia. Like I said, my old residencia was stinkey, and we made a quick swoop out of there sunday night. Thats right, I got home from Granada at 7pm, packed my entire life up in 2 hours, and vamos-ed in Paloma’s car over here.  One downside: there was only one room available, a single, which means I now sleep on the top bunk of a bunk bed. I dont mind except that the ladder hurts my feet and I have to plan in advance what I need for my time up/down the ladder… but I’m not a second hand smoker while I am awake and sleeping, I can walk in my towel without Drooler, Emphazima Man, the 4 other 35 year olds/the 5 20 year olds using their X-Ray vision, and I can (so far) enjoy the comida.  Although I have to admit… we left without saying goodbye to Johanna, I didnt leave my keys there (oops) and I will miss a couple things: retiro park, Tomas, and hearing “puta” “tracka-placka” and “conyo” every 3 seconds. Oh yeah, and late night cab rides with Allie and Lauren!

However… yesterday I wandered the streets of Madrid for an hour… trying to find where I live? Silly Tricia (yes, i used the 3rd person) allowed Lisey to negotiate with Paloma and Ana in finding this place, and didnt ever feel the need to ask the street name (obviously you can find ANYTHING from Metro stops… I mean, there was only one metro Ibiza! right?). I knew how to get to school, and how to take the train back from school… but once I got off at the Iglesia metro stop, the world stood still. Where do I live? I asked myself, as I noticed that in my view alone I could see three other Iglesia metro stops. After 30 mins of wandering, and 30 mins of Alexandra Moriarty guiding me on the phone and THEN in person, I made it to my new residencia. I experienced a moment of “wow, there is NO ONE in this world who can help me right now,” which was both scary and comical in my mind. Alex luckily met me (officially) for the second time, the first time being that morning. She was a saint! Thanks to Juan for giving me her number.

So now I have a ton of hw to do. I have 3 days of intense escuela: Mon, Tues, Wed, and then 3 1/2 days of forgetting I go to school here. Where is the extra half? When the realization sinks in on Sunday afternoon and I consider thinking about homework. So for now, I return to my peanut butter and remain on my bunk bed.

Venga, vale, adios.

p.s. (as usual) I finished The Appeal by John Grisham and am reading My Sister’s Keeper, another Jodi Picoult. This one is about stem cell research, designer babies, and the like. Right after the death penalty book I finished right before the appeal. Who knew…?

Therefore, I should write a long and detailed entry about the past two weeks… but I have another long day at Carlos tomorrow, and we’ll see how much energy I do have.

Things to possibly look forward to (probs not in any order… note the abrevs [abbreviations]):

1) I went to my first lesbian bar with Juan, Perry, Mara, and Kelly (Lemieux, who is finally here!). The Blue Bar. A tale in itself.

2) I had a glorious afternoon with Juan and Mara while waiting to see a 6pm showing of Slumdog Millionaire. Juan doesnt like eating outdoors because it is uncivilized and he also doesnt like a whole LIST of other things (where is that gosh darn metro map?!)

3) I went to Fog for the first and second time. First time: with the fam&friends. Second time: after a long night at the cave bar (Chapandaz), then some other random bar, THEN Fog. Let me tell you, the second time was more fun. a) I was wearing a backless shirt, escandalosa.. b) it is Carnival! Duh, y c) well, hot sweaty dance floor?

4) Like I said, I went to the region of Valencia in Spain and saw gorgeous beaches along the coast. I stayed in a 5 star golf and spa resort, and participated in a spa day with Mom, Dad, and John, while CMK was sick.. not okay.

5) I went to toledo with my group in Spain. I saw some sweet museums, etc, but the notes part stinks. I think im reconsidering Juan’s offer for me to take notes and for him to correct my spanish papers in return; however, my spanish aintttt the besttt… which is still becoming more apparent? Back to Toledo: what a view.

6) The fam left for Ireland for another week today.

7) I have a lot more to say but I think ill have to do the detail-thang later.

Lately I havent been thrilled with my residencia. The only good things are the internet connection, the fact that lisey and I are together, and that Retiro Park is one minute walk away. Bad things are several, but some are: the DINNER OPTIONS, the smoking, and the fact that I live with men who are 35 years old (keep in mind I have to walk from the bathroom to my room in a towel every day… hmmmm…). A Diossss mioooo (sp?)

Ive also added some of the 10000000 pictures I need to put online. I hope facebook doesnt take away my photo album option.

Peace, love, and familia!

TriciaaaaAnimal (thats for you Liz).

KATE AND KATELYN IM JEALOUS YOU GOT TO HANG OUT AND I SERIOUSLY MISS YOU TWO.

The missing part also goes to all the people who I dont get to talk to but who obviously know I’m thinking about them… you know who you are!!!!!!!!!

p.s. This was an abreviated version of what actually happened and I’m sparing you the juicy details. BUT an explanation for the title will come soon, as well as many more accurate and interesting quotes from my existance in Spain.

p.p.s. I go to Granada Thursday morning until Sunday afternoon to celebrate Scott’s 21st birthday! Should be a ton of fun and I cant wait! Its also good that I’m leaving because Lisey is going to Rome, Juan, Mara, Sarah K, etc etc etc are all leaving this weekend! Basically Allie and Lauren will be partyin’ it up Madrid style… but without protection. Speaking of Lauren, we have 5/5 classes together. Crazy Crazy.

Now the official: sweetest dreams.

i hope you wait in anticipation of its greatness, solely due to content.

thanks and adios.

SRR in Madrid!

I recently went to a class to learn how to be an ESL teacher, which was useful and I think I want to try tutoring Spanish speakers about the English language and its use. It would be hard, and I don’t know many technical terms,  but I can help someone improve and possibly make some money while I’m at it, which is always a plus.

Heres where it gets interesting.

I went to Orange Cafe last night. Although its very Americanized and is for Erasmus students, we have a good time. Lisey and I arrived at 11pm (we went straight from the ESL class) and the place wasnt letting people in, so we started the line, which was a great decision because within 10 minutes there was a line around the corner. People were smoking on all sides of us and although outside, I felt like I was directly smoking the cigarettes myself. We eventually were let in around 11:30 and paid 5 euro for free beer, sangria, vino, or calimocho for an hour (aka a good deal). This is the only money I spent there that night because I am BFF with one of the managers, Sam Lee, who consistently gives me and my friends free drinks, champagne bottles, etc. He also introduced me to the Joy/Orange Cafe bouncer, sahweet!

Because Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, it was a “lock and key” party, meaning the girls got locks (on a ribbon to wear as a necklace) and the boys got keys (not suggestive at all). A good ice breaker,  but a slight scam: the rumor was if you found your match (only one lock to one key) you get a “prize.” Well what do ya know! Allie and Juan’s matched, and they proudly went up the stairs to announce the triumph and to collect said prize. Unfortunately, the locks and keys were only a way to increase flirting and 75% of the keys opened the locks. Juan was soon able to open Lauren’s lock as well, and all got a kick out of deciding to hide this fact from Allie. She probably knew anyway… but what if she thought it was fate?

I actually spoke a lot of Spanish to a nearly bilingual new Mexican friend (too bad I forget his name, aye) and he taught me Spanish and I taught him English (I think I only taught him “at the bottom of the totem poll” but hey, these things matter in English!). I started speaking with him because there was a handsome young man in a blazer (who I obvi pointed out to the girls) and we started a discussion with him (blazer-boy) and his friend (my bilingual-bud). Blazer-boy told me and Lauren that we are in extremely hard Econ classes at Carlos… wonderful!

At the end of the night I realized I never got a coat ticket and Lisey and I grabbed ours (which were both on the same hanger, thank goodness and I should have made a mental note that she said IM NOT GIVING YOU A TICKET, yeah). The four same odonnell chicas jumped in a cab and sadly left Juan and Mara to get home. I never like leaving anybody behind.. especially because I’m already worried about my travels tomorrow evening when Lisey, Lauren, Allie, and Meg will be in Ireland! [Dear Ireland travelers: happy bday to the BrandonBoyfriend, drink some Guinness, and think of my freckles.]

ANYWAY today was slightly painful because I woke up at 8:30am with a drill going through my scull and a hammer knocking on my forehead… or so I thought for the first 30 seconds between sleep and wake, because right outside my window construction was going on. It still FELT that way for a while which greatly inhibited my ability to sleep in until 1pm (the time Lisey set our alarm for… when you get home at 5am, you gotta sleep sometime!) Luckily we had nowhere to be until 3:30pm: COOKING LESSON!

The woman was a goddess. She cut those peppers. She threw in that salt. She cooked that chicken. She fried those potatoes. Throw in some talent and you have yourself the most delicious Tortilla Espanola in all of Spain, Paella to die for, and Sangria good enough for royalty (ok maybe I’m exaggerating, but what if I’m not?) She asked us to return whenever, especially if our parents visit… I hope she realizes I’ll be a-callin’ her this Saturday night? I hope that’s okay?

As Juan pointed out, we obviously were full because we stopped in a candy store (note to others, in Spain they need separate bags for all candy you buy. don’t combine!) and a Burger King. In burger king it got a little exciting. They had two options: A SANDY (what kind of name is this for a sundae???), or A BK-FUSION. After deciding to get the BKFUSION, Juan tasted his first and exclaimed, “The things inside.. it looks like chocolate but it takes like nothing! It isnt very good.” At this moment the woman is delivering us ours.. so thanks, Juan, for the notice. Next, We discover the spoons are square? “It brings a whole new meaning to shoveling food into your mouth!” Juan said next. After a couple pictures and some criticism about how they come nowhere close to McFlurries, we made our way home.

MmMmMm Tastes Good...Not.

Tomorrow I have a busy day of hw, finalizing classes, running/walking through the park, movies, pictures, and then out! The last night before the rents & siblings arrive.

Lastly: I was ashamed&embaressed to write this before but… Boo died (RIP), and I think Winnie is on his way out. WTF I AM A GOOD MOMMA. I change their (the) water every day! I feed them the right amount! I CARE! Que triste, as they say. Wish Winnie luck in his recovery.. either he is a whimsical fish who is lazy, lopsided, and who likes to “play dead,” OR he is suffering and floats on his stomach for a couple seconds to tease me, only to decide that he does, in fact, want to live another day. Keep fightin’, my last fishy <3

Hey there, Portugal.

I went with eight girls, but our group was part of an even bigger bunch of 17 kids from the BC in Madrid Program. I say I went with eight because we stayed in the same Hostel, and let me tell ya.. this hostel was B-E-A-UTIFUL! I highly recommend it, and would mention it by name if i remembered that.. yeah. Anyway Lisbon (or Lisboa as they say it there) was a sight to see. Our hostel was in an amazing location, and as soon as we stepped outside we walked along cobblestone streets everywhere we went. Although this eventually proved to be a death trap for expensive and previously beautiful leather boots (those with heels and without), it kept SKnapp and I in awe the entire trip.

Rotate right. All the streets were like this. Everywhere.

I put this in specifically because if one thing stands out about Portugal, this is it. In different patterns. Besides that the exhaustion comes in second. We started the trip off with 6:50am flight which I already mentioned I took a nap the previous day, and could not sleep at night. Therefore, when the troops began a walkin’ on Thursday morning in Lisbon, I was tired; however, I kicked into high gear and stayed there the entire time. For college students we were efficient and saw so many things and kept going, even though we could have napped for hours and hours and been lazy. We went to an aquarium, a castle, a  tower on the water (used for battle), a gondola, a garden, rode a trolley, took several foot tours of the city (including, as SKnapp would say, places that Patty [her Mom] and Patti [my Mom] wouldnt approve of [sorry Mom]), and ate at new restaurants. We saw the good, bad, and beautiful, and were pleased with oursevles at the end of long days. I loved how often we all whipped out our cameras to capture yet another beautiful moment, and we did this while surrounded by palm trees and cute multi-colored buildings with clothing lines on all sides. We all liked the food (except when we got charged 12 euro for Parmesan cheese!) and kept repeating how we “are falling in love with Portugal.” Although the beaches were a bit of a disappointment, or at least the ones we came across, we still sat by the water and got a little sun-kissed.

The first night we went out for an Italian dinner and I had pasta with vodka sauce that had mushrooms and “meat” aka beef? in it. VERY GOOD. Then we met up with the other group at the statue described on a pamphlet about a “PUB CRAWL.” We all got dressed up and awaited the 20 shots that would be free to the first 20 people… and after 20 mins of waiting, we went to the first Bar on the Pub Crawl list (it says to go there if you are late.. so why not?). TURNS OUT there is no such thing as the pub crawl, we were all fooled, and the bar: KAMASUTRA BAR, ended up giving us free shots after Liz argued with them “like she meant it.” Way to go, Liz.

Sexy time.

Success!

The rest of the night was quite comical and a ton of fun. Our next stop, after Kamasutra, was The BedRoom, where we found large couches and beds and where we got out drink on, finally. After having a good time but eventually being creeped out, we left and wandered around (Lisey Lauren and who else? losing us and us losing them, funny story but too long) and then we stumbled into a dancing bar where the money situation went downhill. We all danced the night away, and tried to dance in a manner that was “Spanish.” We were all relatively clueless, SKnapp giving me hip moving lessons and me begging Perry to give me lessons.. but the 17 kids from BC broke it down Lisbon style and I’d say it was glorious.

Lets skip far ahead to the next evening, where us eight girls went to a Portuguese restaurant and had to sit at two different tables of four to fit. While we figured out that the items they place on the table arent free, the other table only half understood what that meant. There was the first plate of cheese (2 kinds of cheese, but four of one kind and one of the other), the second plate of cheese with one type of cheese but four samples, a plate of ham, and a bowl of bread. We ate one of one type of cheese, one of the other, and the bread. The other table tasted each cheese, thinking that they wouldnt be charged individually. In the end, it was slightly comical that they were charged around 30 euro for cheese.. so the moral of the story is: dont eat whatever the waiters put on your table, because it aint Kansas, and it aint free.

The dinner was good, although if I went back I wouldn’t get the same thing: some fillet of St. Pierre fish with a small salad and a bowl of tomato rice on the side. Hey, when in Portugal, get the fish, right? So after this meal we went home and had some nice drinks downstairs in our hostel. I met some Canadians (a man and his wife) and some Brazilians (a man and his.. hopeful hookup/gf type). The second girl kept thinking that I spoke french, because she was drunk, and would ramble off in French before I could stop her. Her man enjoyed when I sang the random Cat song my gymnastics coaches taught me a LOOONG time ago, and were equally as smitten when I sang happy birthday in Portuguese and passed their quiz about South American Capitals (who HONESTLY THINKS Buenos Aires is the capital of Brazil? I clearly stated it was Argentina, thank you very much and Puh-lease.)

The original plan was to go to Lux, a well known bar, but we switched to Kremlin “K.” At 1:30am the bartender explained that no one comes until 4 or 5am, and that the bar is open until 9am. His words proved to be correct, so we just chilled and enjoyed the lyric-less music and laser light show. I have so much more and so much less to say about this place, so we will leave it at:

-”Wait, guys… Did it get crowded?”

-”Look at you: youre a bi*ch, im a bi*ch, we’re all bi*ches.”

-”Good night girls… good NIGHT GIRLS!!!!”

-Thank you Sarah Patterson. I <3 you.

-SKnapp and Lisey love to laugh about the lack of lyrics to the music and cant wait to dance to techno again sometime soon.

Today was a lazy day but we went to dinner at Bar Restaurant “Da’Tomaso” which is the ACTUAL title, ive been spelling it wrong. Tomas wasnt there at first, so we didnt get our usual discount (BAH HUMBUG).

So now I will watch some TV and sleep, because I have a busy week of class, Scott, and family ahead.

-Tues: Scott comes back from London.

-Saturday: Mom, Dad, Cait, and John arrive in Madrid at 11:30am!!!! I am so excited. I asked them to bring some things, including Kraft Mac & Cheese, Annie’s Mac & Cheese, Velveeta, bagels, themselves, and more! We have so many plans.. places to see, things to do, that I need all my sleep and rest and energy. I am so lucky and fortunate that they are able to come to see me, and I appreciate it more than anything. Once classes are finally settled, I will feel even more “at home” here (as much as is possible).

- I am also thankful that I am not in the bottom Spanish class at Carlos!! I took an oral and written exam and was placed in the EXACT class that I wanted.. how insanely great is THAT?! I only have class Mon, Tues, and Wed. BOOYAH.

Tomorrow I depart for portugal at 6:50am, so tonight should be an early night.. even though I took a nap from 5-6:30? oops. Ive had my first two days of class which involved Economia Espanola in English. The class is supposed to be completely in English but the professor throws in some spanglish OFTEN and all the readings are in spanish? what kind of school are they running here? I have FOUR HOURS of JUST THIS CLASS every week… which is NOT okay. The teacher seemed alright at first as he told us this class is useless because this is the last year they are going to teach it, professors are subjective and opinionated, anything we learn now will probably be null and void by june, and that whatever he says in class probably wont be on the final exam. the only material gauranteed on the final is on the “Bible” (everyone uses the word Bible as the source of important info here… interesante), and on the “bible” are time amounts each professor is supposed to spend on a topic as well as readings (that again, i cant read).  At least attendance is only mandatory every other Wednesday, but I’ll prob be there anyway.

Scott visited for a couple of days. Although he was here 3 nights, I did not see him during the day at all because of  his group trips to Reina Sophia, Toledo, Segovia, etc. I did go to El Prado with him, and a look at 500 naked statues never hurt anyones eyes. I think I liked the artword in the Reina Sophia better… these ones were normal and had actual people in them. But Scott and I did get to walk around Madrid in the rain for 3 nights straight, hit up some good food places, chug down mad cervezas, cheap wine, and boxed Sangria (botellon!!!!!!!!!!! i love to botellon!!!!!!!!! aka drink anything cheap&alcoholic in the streets and on the metro). We also made it to the TGI Friday’s happy hour for a little bit, and I am now a fan of their long island iced-teas. however, after Fridays we went to a place across the street and had a half chicken, fries, and a salad, and it was DEEEEELISH. Later we finally met up with the group at a “Flamenco” bar (after more walking/getting lost in the streets on a rainy night) which turned out not to be a flamenco bar at all. We got some cervezas, watched the pregnant man, the good singer, and the guitarist yell it out and perform for a bit (i liked it, strange as it was) and then we peaced so that scott would have a good night’s sleep before his flight to LONDON! mad jealous.

SOOOOO another important adventure occured today at Carlos when Lauren and I needed to print our plane tickets. We went in several different buildings, proved to several different people we cant speak Spanish, and left on the train with a significantly higher amount of “printing” vocabulary. impresionas y imprimir y mucho mas.

ive decided i like Jodi Picoult as an author. Ive also decided I am going to learn more vocabulary, because as wrong as grammar can be, its the words that are important.

Some random tidbits to know:

- Thomas is the OWNER of “Bar and Restaurant” which is actually called “Da’Thomas,” we’re sillies.

-You cant have guests in your spanish homes, pretty much at all. wtf is up with that?

- Spanish people dont wait for you to get off the bus/metro before they board. They shove their way on and you better hope you have time to get off.

- Spanish prostitutes stand in the street in not nearly as provocative clothing, and regular spanish women dont wear heels before 10pm? So if youre a little Irish girl waiting for a friend in the street, but youre dressed up for the night (patent leather shoes and all)… expect creepy old men to ask you questions.

- Spain’s got rain.

- Every store in Madrid is specialized… it took me 2 1/2 weeks to buy contact solution, and I had to do so at an eyeglass store.

- They obviously use mayonaise in everything, and not butter. Except in their tuna, or on their sandwiches. How did this HAPPEN?! AND AND IF YOU ORDER A MIXED VEGETABLE SANDWICH AT YOUR SCHOOL YOU GET LETTUCE, TOMATO, AND TUNA WITH AN EGG ON TOP! andd they dont believe in coffee to go, eating or drinking in class, using computers in class (ordenadors? not computadoras…), or having other exams besides final exams at the end of the semester.

- I recently decided im being stupid about not speaking spanish, being afraid, bailing out and refusing. I am here, dude-man, and I am staying. So I am going to try… soon.

For now, I will go eat, pack, shower, sleep, plane, and Portugal. I hope when I return Winnie and Boo are still alive!

ugh, i really miss buffchick wraps. send me one in the mail? or Fins!

For now, RIP Perrito, my tiny pez.