Day 29 - "Been There Before"

All I can say is get me the hell out of here. Pretty much had the worst morning ever.

Woke up around 9, even though my alarm clock was set for 11, and I had the worst stomach ache. Took some Tums, which helped, got up to go to the bathroom, then tried to go back to sleep. No luck.

Then I went out in the hallway, and I noticed that there were suitcases packed and sitting on the floor. Then my host dad says to me, “Do you want us to walk you to the train station?” And I said, “Well, my train doesn’t leave until 9:30 at night.”

And then the shit hit the fan.

I told them that my friend’s parents were staying at a hotel, and I could just go there, but then my host mom said that they would have to be out by 12:30, anyway. So I called Alee to see what her parents were going to do, and her host mom was going to let her parents leave their suitcases at her house. But her host mom was sleeping when I called, and she didn’t want to wake her up, so basically, I was fucked. Then I called Stephanie, and pretty much the same response. But then she suggested that I just stick the key in their mailbox, which made sense to me. But Berta said that wouldn’t work because you can reach down in the top of the mailboxes and grab stuff out.

This is not a sketch neighborhood. You have to have a key to get into the building itself PLUS a key to get into the apartment, obviously. BUT, when you leave the apartment and the door closes, you can’t get back in without a key. So I didn’t really understand what the huge deal was. But apparently, it was one.

I could tell they were pissed as shit, then Berta just said they would have to come back tonight to lock the door.

Good riddance, I guess.

REALLY great way to end my stay here.

Luckily, Daniella, Amanda, and Stephanie wanted to go out for lunch, and we finally got to eat in the adorable little outdoor plaza. It was yummy and so cute.

Then we shopped downtown for a little bit, I picked up some snacks, and now I’m back in the apartment. I think I’ll finish watching the Strong Enough to Break documentary and chill out in bed for awhile before tackling those ridiculous hills with 70+ pounds of luggage.

It’s gonna be a good time.

Day 28 - Graduation Day, Toy Story 3, and Lots of Tears

Actually woke up early for the first time in two weeks to hop in the shower so I could look cute to receive my diploma today. Wore Mom’s dress that I ganked, and it is so cute that I’m keeping it forever.

Headed to class and was SO glad that everyone from my class was there, because a lot of other people headed out early or went to Barcelona for the weekend before they start their second term here.

So, Herica, Salva, Phillipe, David, Pablo, Darleny, Molly, Angela, and I were all together for one last time. Along with our professor, María, of course.

María handed back our tests, and I got a 9 out of ten on it, so I was pretty dang happy with that. I didn’t study like I should have for it, so I definitely could have done better on some of the subjunctive stuff, but on the writing part, I only had ONE mistake! I was quite sad that we couldn’t take the exams with us, but apparently in Spain, exams are official documents, so they have to stay at the University. Then after a year, they are destroyed. No photocopies are allowed, either. So when I got on facebook later and saw that Salva had taken a picture of his exam, I teased him about how he’s not allowed to do that J

We got out of class 30 minutes before graduation was going to start, so Molly and I went to café favorit. She wanted coffee, but I decided to wait until we got to go to our usual café after graduation. Anyway, Molly and I visited for a long time and had a grand conversation about weddings and religion. I’m gonna miss that girl L

Headed to the auditorium in the library for the ceremony, and my class was the first to receive our diplomas. And I was the very first person in our class to receive a diploma. Go figure! I was sad because I thought we could only do the whole cheek kissing thing, so that’s what I did when María handed me my diploma. But then other people from our class gave her big hugs, so I decided I would find her afterward and give her a bear hug!

After all the diplomas were passed out, we went to a little reception that they had in La Casa de Las Lenguas. There were Cheetos, Doritos, Lays, bocadillos (little sandwiches), doughnuts, peanuts, and soda. Mainly visited with Stephanie, Daniella, and Amanda.

Then I had Stephanie take a picture of María and I before I left, and I gave her about three different hugs. I told her I was so sad to leave, and she said, “You really fell in love with Spain, didn’t you?” And I told her I did and I didn’t want to leave. She assured me that I’d be back again someday, and when I do return, we’d go out for coffee. She said that some students keep in contact with her regularly, and she always returns e-mails. Sometimes, she’s even helped them find graduate programs here in Spain and things of that nature. I told her I was going to cry, and she said, “Oh, mujer…” and put her hands on my cheeks. Luckily, I didn’t cry, though. But I will most definitely miss her and the whole class and the whole experience.

After that, I grabbed a picture with Salva, and we shared some parting words, and I wanted to get a picture with Phillipe, too. So I grabbed him, and crazily enough, he remembered that I had said something in class along the lines of “I wish my ancestors would have stayed in Lithuania.” And he said that he has brothers and sisters that live in Vilnius. So I grabbed his e-mail address just in case I ever head over into that neck of the woods.

After the reception festivities, Stephanie, Daniella, Amanda, and I headed to our usual café. We were so excited to get a picture with the owner and his wife, and he told us to send him the picture through e-mail and he would put it on the wall in the café. I’m willing to return to Oviedo in a few years just to see if our picture is still there. He and his wife were the sweetest things ever, and we truly were regulars there. He would use the cutest English, saying “Ok” and “’Scuse me!” And always wish us good weekends when they arrived and see-you-tomorrows during the week. He was the happiest man I’ve ever seen, and I just loved going there every day for Spanish tortilla and/or coffee. I can’t describe it other than absolute love.

Went shopping with Stephanie after that because there was a scarf that she really wanted to buy. Turns out, they didn’t get it with their shipment today, either, but we found another store that had some cute ones, too. She was pretty thrilled about her purchase. And I finally found Ev a gift! So, it was a good day for shopping.

Headed back to the house after that and pretty much hit the hay, from what I can remember. Berta’s mom was here, so I chatted with them for a bit but told them that I had had lunch with my friends. Took a siesta from three to five, then started packing up my suitcase for awhile.

Made out a few more postcards, then headed out to meet up with Stephanie to go see Toy Story 3. In Spanish, of course. It was absolutely awesome like I’d heard, and Stephanie and I were both crying at the end. I just want to go home and hug all my stuffed animals!!!

Came home after that, and no one was here, so I turned the music up and started packing some more.

Pretty much reached near-panic attack about the whole suitcase situation and lack of space for all the crap I have. Still don’t know how it’s going to work out, but I did take some Xanax, so I’m a little more calm about the whole situation at this moment.

Talked with Mom and Dad on Skype and cried like I have been when I think about leaving.

I just can’t put into words what this experience has been for me and how in love with this city I am. I just truly do not want to leave. I just feel that it’s my place. I’m so happy here, and I just feel like I truly belong.

I know a great deal had to do with the amazing professor and people in my first class, and looking back on that, it’s so hard to not cry. It was just such an amazing experience getting to know an amazing, amazing professor and people from all over the world. I can’t put into words all the craziness and fun we had together and how much I just enjoyed every moment of it.

It’s so hard for me to think about leaving this city because it just feels like home. I don’t know what to say other than I’m completely head over heels in love with Oviedo, and it just breaks my heart to think I may never return. Or not for a very, very long time, at least.

I guess there’s still a possibility for me to miss that train tomorrow…

Day 27 - Hot Mess

So, I have a feeling that in the next few days, I’m going to be an emotional wreck.

As I said before, last night was rough, and that was two whole days before I actually have to leave. The truth is, I just don’t want to.

Finals today were…alright, I suppose. The first final was quite easy for what it was, but like the professor said, we did a lot of work daily in class, so the final wasn’t going to be that difficult. She said it was more important that we show up to class every day and do the work. I’m down with that philosophy! The first part was subjunctive finish-the-sentences type things. Then there was a section of three sentences where you had to give advice to your friend Pepe…because his eyebrows were almost grown over his eyes and he was too embarrassed to walk out in the street. Then there was a section where you had to make an assumption about why something happened. Then a finish-the-story about how Pepe wanted to go to Thailand but ended up in France. The last thing was to write about your experience as a foreigner in Oviedo. So I did. And at the end of it, I damn near started bawling. But luckily I held it together.

Then, after I walked out of class, my friend Amanda was sitting in the lobby, and I tried to explain to her how I was about to cry during the test, and then I did start crying. Jeeze. I need to get it together.

Went to our usual café and visited, had tortilla española. Said goodbye to Ford because he’s leaving tonight for Barcelona.

Studied a wee bit for the poetry test, but I figured if I don’t know it by now, I never will. It could have been better…could have been worse. I think I did a good job on the poetry analysis and ok on the identification of poetic devices. Didn’t do so hot on the definitions, but I don’t really care, to be honest.

After the test, the group of Missourians went out for lunch that Mizzou apparently paid for. We had a salad with Asturian cheeses, chicken and potatoes, and chocolate flan. It was sooooo good!

Came home, and no one was here, so I hopped in bed and got on the computer.

Thinking we may go out tonight then see Toy Story 3 in Spanish! How fun!

CONTINUED

Met up with Stephanie, Daniella, and Amanda, and we were actually going to try a new place to get sangria de sidra, but it was completely packed, so we decided to hit up our ol’ faithful – the pizzeria.

It was delicious, as always, and when Alee showed up, we all shared a pizza. Yum!

I was absolutely obsessed with the music video channel they had on the TV in the restaurant…40 classic, I believe is what it was called. They played “Losing My Religion,” “Ruby,” “Soldier of Love,” “One,” and “The Boy is Mine.” I kind of didn’t want to leave. But the plan was karaoke, so I was game.

Didn’t quite work out as planned. Alee headed home to get changed, then was going to meet up with us at the plaza. We got to the plaza and hung out there for awhile, had Frangelico, then I thought we were going to go to a karaoke bar. But no. People wanted to go to bars/clubs to get free shots beforehand. And we ended up going to about 5 or 6 different bars, and I usually just sat outside with whoever didn’t want to go in. Just wasn’t in the mood for it really. Then, when we finally got to the karaoke bar, it was lame. Haha. So Stephanie and I just left and came home.

Skyped with Sean and Mom, Dad, and Wen for awhile. Finally hit the hay around 3 or so.

Day 26 - The Trial

Talk about ridiculous.

After two days of preparation, today was the day of the trial. Either Friday or Monday (I can’t remember which), our professor showed us a powerpoint of a crime that had taken place. A robber had entered a couple’s apartment and was trying to leave with the TV when the couple came home. As the robber attempted to run out the door, the door hit him and broke his leg/foot. So, he decided to bring the case to court because he was injured.

The robber’s side was out of control. They had a legitimate certificate printed up that he was an electronics repairman, and he had entered the house to repair the couple’s television. They even recorded a message that was supposedly from Phillipe’s answering machine, and it was the husband that lived in the apartment asking for Phillipe to come and fix their TV. There were photos, and Word documents upon Word documents.

The defense wasn’t quite as well prepared, but they did put together a  “surveillance” video, which was great. SO funny. But when the prosecutor asked to see a date on the video, it turned out to be today’s date. So, the prosecution asked why today’s date was on the video if it was supposedly taken a year ago when the crime happened. And Darleny flipped a shit. It was so funny. She just started yelling about how there was no way the timestamp could have said a year ago because we only had three days to prepare, etc. etc. It went on for at least 5 minutes.

So, the trial continued, and I was the last witness. I must have done something right because our professor said that the door expert and I were the most professional and did the best job out of everyone. The rest of the people in the class were “full of lies.” I must admit, that cracked me up.

Poetry sucked ass, as always.

Then, when I came home, there was no one here, so I just decided to hit the hay. Woke up, and there was Spanish tortilla on the stove, so I plopped it on a plate and popped it in the microwave. Watched Gilmore Girls while I ate J

Then, believe it or not, I actually STUDIED! Crazy concept, I know. I felt really bad because Luis’s sister and her little girl came to visit, but I didn’t get to spend any time with them because I was actually in the zone as far as studying was concerned.

And all of a sudden, I just got really, really, REALLY sad.

I started looking at all of my things around the room and thinking about how difficult it’s going to be to pack up all my things and leave. And I damn near started crying.

So, I texted Alee and Stephanie, and we ended up going out to get ice cream. We got there twenty minutes before the place closed, and I don’t think the waitresses were any too happy with us, but I got some delicious ice cream, so that’s all I cared about. They put it in this huge bowl, and it was scoops of vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate chip with whipped cream and chocolate syrup and some sticks of some sort. Absolutely delicious.

After that, we sat on a bench outside the heladeria and talked for awhile. It was a gorgeous night.

Came home, talked to Sean and Mom, showered, and hit the hay.

Studying? Why start now?

Day 25 - The Disparity

I really feel bad about being a horrible student here in Spain, but I’m not making much effort to change it.

The truth is, I’m not a bad student, per se. I show up to class (usually on time), act interested, do the work that’s asked of me while in class, participate in discussion, and generally enjoy myself (at least in the first class).

But then I get home and eat lunch with my host family, take a siesta, then head out to explore the town or surrounding area with friends. We usually end up staying out for awhile, eating, shopping, walking, talking, etc. And by the time I get home, I just want to talk to Sean and Mom and Dad, and then go to bed.

Is that really too much to ask?

No, I don’t want to analyze poetry. I don’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of time analyzing upwards of three poems when they’re just going to be explained in class the next day, anyway. What’s the point?

Homework just makes me miserable because even if I decide not to do it, I feel bad about the decision I made. Jeez, what a conscience.

On the brighter side, I had a lot of fun not doing homework tonight J

Took a good long siesta, then headed out with Alee to find more postcards and stamps. We ended up getting distracted by some awesome t-shirts that were only 9 euro. No matter, we ended up meeting up with Stephanie and finding a tobacco shop to buy stamps. We hit up a candy store where I got a Pepsi and suckers. Then we ate dinner at La Regenta (spaghetti for me!) and went to El Parque de San Francisco for awhile.

Alee was climbing on the monkey bars and her phone must have dropped out of her pocket. But an older Spanish lady and her kids brought it to the group of us and figured out that it was Alee’s. How sweet!

Daniela and I discussed our obsession with Desigual, then Stephanie and I headed home where I commenced to not do homework. Looked for wedding gowns and wedding destinations on the beach, talked to Sean, and finally did some work for my first class.

I’m going to be SO glad to be done with classes. Actually, I’m going to miss my first class a lot. A whole lot. But it will be nice to not have that obligation to get up every day. And actually do work. Haha.

I must admit, I’m getting excited for Barcelona and Madrid.

I’m really excited for the long train ride because I’m hoping to get some reading done! Los ojos amarillos de los cocodrillos.

I’m not quite sure how to prepare myself for all the museums and touring we’re going to do. The honest truth is, I’m really digging on modern art, and I know we’re going to be seeing a lot of not-modern art, and I just don’t know how much of it I can take. Guess I’ll deal. Picasso and Dalí should be enough to get me through J

Our mock trial for my first class is later today…yikes! Wish me luck!

Day 24 - Pigeons and Viejos

I think I’m just an old person at heart. And I think I always have been.

I love to take walks, I love to sit and people watch, I love to just sit around, period. I don’t like to drink for drinking’s sake. I love kiddos. I really want to be retired J

I was just walking around downtown today (which really is uptown, but whatever) and enjoying everything I saw.

A younger woman had the cutest little puppy and was trying to train it, but all it wanted to do was run around. It tried to chase a piece of plastic that the wind had caught, it tried to jump on the woman, then it started chewing on its leash like Molly used to do. Made my heart melt.

I saw an older couple who where arm-in-arm and both wearing orange shirts.

I love that in Oviedo, no matter where you go, there is bound to be someone playing some kind of instrument…an accordion, a violin, a keyboard, a trumpet. It just makes everything so much happier and adds life to a city that is already abounding with it.

I saw a younger man sitting in a women’s clothing store, waiting for his girlfriend while she shopped. And it reminded me of Sean and what a good sport he is and how he always helps me pick out what I need. He’s not that good at telling me NOT to buy stuff yet, but I’m sure that day will come ;) Anyway, it really just made me miss him and appreciate him and REALLY made me want him to be here with me.

I’m psychotic and had to be sure I got the best deal possible on the purse I bought, so I went to Corte Ingles and the Desigual store. Same price, so all is well. And surprisingly, I didn’t think the store itself had as much cute stuff as the department store that also carries the brand. Weird.

There are a TON of bridal boutiques here, and it really makes me want to get married. It also makes me want to buy my dress here because they are gorgeous. And they seem to me a lot closer to my taste than anything I’ve seen in the states. It makes me think about the wedding and how I’m so completely indecisive. I just know that there are so many different things I’d like to do – get married close to family, get married on a beach, get married in Spain, have a semi-decent sized wedding, have a destination wedding with only those closest to me. I don’t know what I want to do! There are so many things I would like to do and I guess I fear that once I make the decision, I’m bound to it, and I may want to do something else. I may want to change my mind. Sheesh.

I walked through the park, and there were three couples just straight-up making out within twenty feet of each other. It just makes me giggle.

Then I went to sit by the fountain, and there were ducks! Mind you, this is a large fountain with lots of sprayers. Three of them were just chillin out on the side cleaning themselves.

An elderly lady walked by and started laughing. Then she walked right up to them and stood and watched them. I loved it.

Then a little girl and her grandma walked by, and the grandma explained to the little girl what the ducks were doing. So cute.

I hope that my kiddo gets to spend a lot of time with his/her grandma J

I walked around the old part of town after that looking for a piece of jewelry for Ev. No luck. Too bad she’s not a fan of Jesus because there are crosses everywhere.

I saw a backpacker playing a didgeridoo. Rando.

Came home, and now I’m here.

Class today was fabulous. We’re putting together a trial and I’m the forensic medic. It’s gonna be a riot. It’s about a man who robbed a couple’s house, but on the way out, he fell and the door hit him in the leg and he was injured. So, he’s suing the couple. Who knows what’s gonna happen?

We’ll find out Wednesday!

Day 23 - Back to "Reality"

I really was not ready to leave Bilbao. I probably never would be.

Woke up before the alarm, again, and hopped in the tub. It was wonderful.

Checkout was at noon, so we were trying to get going before then, and I think we finally left the hotel around 11:30, but our bus wasn’t until 2:30.

So we walked around the city for a bit and found a café that was themed after the Bilbao club soccer team. Very cute. I had my usual love affair with a Spanish tortilla and bread, and we sat at a table outside and talked for awhile. There were the CUTEST little Spanish boys behind our table. They were both blonde and one was wearing a blue shirt with blue glasses and the other was wearing an orange shirt with orange glasses.

We walked for a long time, but when we got past the Guggenheim, we decided that we were too tired to walk the rest of the way, so we hopped on the tram.

Got to the bus station about an hour early, so I ran into their little convenient store and grabbed a Coke, a green apple sucker, and a Snickers. Dee-lish.

I loved the bus station because it was completely open. It wasn’t a building…it was all outdoors. And the weather was beautiful.

Even more beautiful? The bus ride on the way back.

Apparently, the Eurobus is the way to travel. When we were purchasing tickets, it looked like there were only three seats per row, and sure enough, that was the case. So I got a seat all to myself by the window with no seat next to me. It was glorious. And they had free snacks, too! Trail mix, pretzel/cracker mix, and hard candy. Didn't really sleep much, but I had my laptop with me, so I used the time to write that 6 page memory of the Guggenheim. The bus ride was a lot shorter than the way there...the way back was only about 3 1/2 hours.

Then Steph and I stopped and had McDonalds before walking home. And it was delicious :)

Came home, and no one was here, so I hopped on the puter and talked to Ev, Sean, and Momma. Tried to do some homework but ended up doing the wrong stuff, anyway.

Hit the hay semi-early and slept like a baby.

Day 22 - The Guggenheim: More Than I Ever Could Have Asked For

I don’t know how to put into words exactly what I want to say.

I don’t know how to describe perfection.

I know I’ve mentioned it previously, but some odd ten to twelve years ago my obsession with architecture started. I bought books and books about architecture, and if I wasn’t buying them, I was going through all of them at Barnes and Noble seeing if I would want to buy them.

The funny thing is, I’ve always had an obsession with modern architecture. Much more so than modern art. For the longest time, I just didn’t understand modern art, and I can’t exactly put my finger on when all that changed, but at this point in time, I would take a Pollock to the Mona Lisa any day of the week.

I think it’s had a lot to do with me finally understanding what’s not to understand about modern art. Obviously, there is a feeling or statement that the artist wants to get across, but he goes about it in such a way that you can construe whatever kind of meaning you want onto the piece of art.

I love how they don’t tell you what to think.

I love how it’s not like looking at a portrait of a person and thinking, “Oh, that’s a person.”

It’s about what YOU see in the image. To me, modern art is about YOU. Much more so than it is about the artist.

And so it all comes into play, modern architecture and modern art combined in the most incredible of ways.

In the most self-defining and self-discovering moment of my life.

Complete awe is really the only way to describe my feelings upon finally seeing the building itself. Just pure emotion.

Wonder. Love. Amazement.

The most beautiful piece of art or architecture I’ve ever seen in my life.

And I was quite underprepared for what I would find inside. I felt that seeing the building itself would be enough. Seeing and photographing and just being in the presence of the building would be well worth what I paid for the trip, in my eyes.

But little did I know. Little did I know.

The first piece we saw was The Matter of Time by Richard Serra, and I had also seen it in pictures, but it absolutely and completely blew me away.

The gallery that housed the installation had to be at least a quarter of a mile long, if not longer. And it was filled with huge pieces of steel at least 10 feet tall and about 3 inches thick. But they looked like they were floating. They looked like they were weightless. And you stand and stare because your mind can’t wrap around the fact that something so ridiculously large and heavy could simply be standing straight up as if it were a sheet of paper.

But that’s not all.

The whole installation is about your movement through the piece. How you see steel, what path you take. When you walk inside the pieces that sense of excitement that you get from the unknown, from wanting to see what’s next.

There was a piece that was in the shape of an eye, but when you walked into it, it was like walking through a spiral. Walking, walking, walking. Trying to find the center. And when you got there, it was just steel and concrete floor like you expected it would be, but it was the excitement of getting there. The excitement of not really knowing where you’re going or what’s going to be on the other side. It was absolutely incredible.

My favorite piece (and trust me, it’s REALLY hard to choose favorites) was a piece called Installation for Bilbao by Jenny Holzer.

She had been given the space to create something before the museum opened, and as we heard her describe it on the audio tour, it really was a beautiful space. Three curvy white walls about three stories high. And a prime place for people to see her work as they passed by to go into another gallery.

I didn’t count, but I believe it was something like nine thin towers of LED lights stretched vertically from floor to ceiling, and writing flashed from bottom to top in English, Spanish, and Basque.

The fonts and the way the words appeared were always different, but the words remained the same. Originally, the writing had been meant for an AIDS campaign, but was never used, and she saw the words as much more than just a campaign for AIDS.

Because they were.

So many of the sentences reminded me of different people in my life, but every single time I watched it, when it got to the last two sentences, I couldn’t help but cry. And I’m crying now. To me, that’s what art is about.

“I smell your clothes. I keep your clothes.”

All I can think about is Grannie and Grandpa and that tan fleece blanket.

So, I knew nothing would mean more to me than that piece, even though it was only the second one I saw.

The next gallery was paintings and sculptures, and there was one silk screen/mixed media that I really liked a lot. Barge by Robert Rauchenberg. You can look it up online if you like J

We got to see a Warhol, One Hundred and Fifty Multicolored Marilyns, which was obviously pretty sick. Especially having taken my Art Appreciation class and studying Warhol for a significant amount of time.

There was another one, and I didn’t write down the artist or title, but I believe it was Flamingo Capsule by James Rosenquist. Very, very modern and graphic, and I think it was the only piece that I was truly happy I had the audio tour for. It was a piece about a rocket that exploded above Cape Canaveral, but the audio tour explained what all the designs meant, and my appreciation for the piece increased even more.

On the second floor was Anish Kapoor’s exhibition, and I honestly couldn’t have hoped for anything more. It was absolutely mind-blowing and ridiculously modern. I absolutely adored every single piece.

My favorite of his, however, at the time I was there, was the cannon. You walk into this gigantic room with all white bare walls, and immediately in front of you is a cannon, a fan, and stacks of what looks like paint cans. But what really strikes you is the crimson red streaks that run down the corner the cannon is shooting into. And all this crimson water and matter on the floor. To me, it looked like a warzone. It looked like bloody gauze.

In actuality, it was ten kilograms of red wax in those “paint cans,” and that wax was shot out of the cannon at 80 kilometers per hour, then sticks or slides down the wall into the huge pile in front of the piece.

So powerful. So just “wow.”

He had a lot of pieces that he did working with pigment and fiberglass, which were awesome. Then there was just a blank white wall that people were staring at, and I didn’t understand it. Turns out, it was a semi-circle that was built into the wall, and you could only see it from the side. Trippy.

Along the same vein was Yellow, in a room of its own, it was a huge yellow square in the wall, at least ten feet tall, but in the center was a curve. And your eyes couldn’t figure out whether it was convex or concave.

In retrospect, I almost think that The Healing of St. Thomas was my favorite. I didn’t understand what it was about when I saw it because I have been so used to not knowing anything about saints, seeing that Spain is 98% Catholic. So, when I read “St. Thomas,” I just disregarded it as something I didn’t know.

It was a smaller white room, almost completely enclosed except for the entrance, and there was only one small slice in the wall, the inside of it painted red. It looked like an incision of some sort.

Doubting Thomas.

Kapoor also had polished steel sculptures that were mirrors and another piece with red wax. It was a circle probably 25 feet in diameter, but there was a “knife” that rotated one full turn every hour, sculpting the piece. Very cool.

After I finished on the second floor, however, I was getting ready to puke my guts out. It was probably a combination of exhaustion and hunger, but I started to get really hot, got goose bumps, and felt so sick to my stomach. I sat down for awhile, then went to the bathroom and horrible diarrhea.

Stephanie went to the café with me, and I just got water and a banana, but I still felt like shit and just wanted to lay down, so I told her to go back in the museum, and I went and laid down on a park bench outside the museum.

At first, I was incredibly pissed because this has been the one thing I’ve wanted to do in my life, and what happens? I get sick.

But then I realized that the sun felt so good and warm, I was watching couples and families playing in a fountain in front of me, and in the background was the most beautiful building in the world. How could I be pissed about THAT?

Then a little sparrow hopped his way up in front of me, so I threw him a tiny piece of my banana.

Then five more flew up. I just had to laugh. They really are my favorite birds. They are just so tiny and happy. I love them.

So, I relaxed in the sun awhile longer until I started to feel better. Then I headed around the outside of the building to take some more pictures without feeling pressured by the group to move on. Sometimes, I just like being on my own. I like doing my own thing.

There was a bride getting photos taken outside the building, so I snuck some, too. She was wearing an asymmetrical dress like I want. A sign? I think so.

Sean, change of plans. We’re getting married outside the Gugg J In front of Puppy by Jeff Koons. It is a huge “living” sculpture of a puppy that sits about three stories high outside the museum. Made completely out of flowers. Gorgeous and adorable at the same time.

I finally headed back in to the third floor, which was Henri Rousseau, much to my dismay. For some reason, I’m just not digging on “real” art…aka paintings that you can decipher with one glance.

So I basically ran through that exhibition. Get me the fuck outta here.

However, also on the same floor was Robert Rauschenberg, who used found objects to create his exhibition called Gluts.

It was absolutely fantastic, and now I completely understand and appreciate found art.

The majority of his pieces included road signs or old flip-price metal gas station signs. However, there was a piece made out of old blinds, one out of a slide, a bike, and a heavy-duty restaurant sink.

I adored it, and I wish I would have spent more time looking at it, but I was still feeling kinda grody and ended up in the bathroom with diarrhea again. Glorious.

After that second wave, I went back to Anish Kapoor’s exhibition and got to see the performance art piece of Cannon. I got to see someone actually shoot the wax out of the cannon. It was pretty cool, to say the least.

Then I went downstairs to see my favorite piece, cried some more, then left to grab some souvenirs, because, let’s be honest, this is really the only thing I cared about seeing in Spain. So I bought 15 postcards and a few trinkets.

Then I hunted down Stephanie, Alee, and Ford, and we walked around downtown for awhile. Found El Corte Ingles, but it ended up being only books and electronics, and we were trying to find Stephanie a Bilbao soccer jersey to get for her boyfriend. So, then we found the real Corte Ingles, which was SEVEN levels. Outta control. And there was a fancy “cafeteria” on the top level where Stephanie was searching for the jersey, so I got PASTA! And it was delicious. And Coke.

It’s funny because I really don’t drink that much soda in the States, but here, all I want is Coca-Cola 24-7. Weird.

I ended up buying a Desigual purse because, let’s face it, I’m a sucker for purses. And the brand is Spanish, and it’s only sold in Spain and France. Could you really expect me NOT to get one?

Sean, it has an elephant on it J

We walked around for awhile after that but ended up taking the tram back toward our hotel because we were all beat.

Then we still had Mt. Everest to climb after getting off the tram.

That has to be my only complaint of the whole trip. It was  a four-star hotel, and it was out of control awesome, but you basically had to climb a mountain to get there.

I have pictures of the hotel lobby. I want my living room to look like it. Modern as crap and awesome as shit.

Did I mention how much heaven the Jacuzzi bath was? I haven’t had access to a tub in a month, so it was glorious. And the bathroom was all dark grey tile and just awesome.

Stephanie, Alee, Ford, and I bummed around the hotel for awhile, I uploaded pictures and played around. We watched ridiculous cartoons in Spanish and such.

Then the four of us and Ryan decided to go out for a bit. We ended up just grabbing a table in a hoppin’ part of the city, visiting for a long time, and drinking. The nice part was, it was in the older part of the city, so it was only foot traffic, no cars. The buildings were packed in there tight, and it just felt homey.

Had some good conversations and some good laughs.

I have to admit, I was kinda feeling it after two glasses of wine, and that was about the time we decided to head home, so it worked out well.

Other than our epic fail of walking up a HUGE hill to get to the kebab place, and they were closed. Even though they were supposed to be open til 2.

Since there were no other food places open anywhere, we just decided to head back to the hotel. And I fell asleep almost immediately.

Day 21 - The Pilgrimage Begins...

A dream I never thought I’d see come to fruition is happening. After more than 12 years of waiting, I’m finally seeing IN REAL LIFE the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao by Frank Gehry.

Ever since I was a wee one, I’ve been obsessed with architecture and architectural books (you know, the coffee-table sized ones). Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some awesome buildings from the Roman age, but to me, there is absolutely nothing like modern architecture. And, to me, the epitome of modern architecture is the Guggenheim.

Gehry has designed some ridiculous buildings, but after seeing a good majority of pictures of his work, there is nothing that compares to the Gugg. And all I’ve seen of it so far is what I caught when we rode by on tram last night. I told everyone I jizzed myself J

Earlier today, I spent all day in bed. Woke up wanting to go to school because I love my first class, but I could tell something wasn’t quite right with my body. I figured I would get up and try and eat breakfast, but I think that only ended up making me sicker. So, I laid down, threw up, then slept all day.

I was so worried that I wasn’t going to make the trip, but I was pretty damn determined that I would get on that bus whether or not I felt 100%. Luckily, I felt a lot better after laying in bed all day, and the 5 hour bus ride really wasn’t that bad. Absolutely gorgeous views!

Got here, had a wee bit of trouble finding our hotel, but after we did, we went in search of food. Kebabs, fries, and Coke. On the sidewalk. Priceless.

It’s now technically the next day, and I woke up this morning after 5 hours of sleep, and laid in the warm Jacuzzi bath for at least 45 minutes listening to “Continuum” cranked all the way up on my iPod. It was absolutely glorious. I can’t even describe how good it was to have a bath after a month without because my host family only has a shower.

About to eat an apple with crunchy peanut butter for breakfast and head on to heaven J

Day 20 - So THAT'S Why the Books Didn't Have Price Tags on Them...

I am madly in love with bookstores. It’s just a fact of life.

After siesta today, I went out, camera in hand, to explore. Went into two different bookstores…one in the old part of town, and one next to the mall in the new part of town. There’s just nothing else like a bookstore, no matter what the language. They just make me so darn giddy. I love that I can walk into a room and be completely surrounded by so many words and experiences. It truly is beautiful.

However, I wish a were a wee bit more well versed in Spanish authors because I had no idea what I should be buying.

Turns out, I bought what looks like a fun read that was actually originally written in French. “The Yellow Eyes of the Crocodiles.”

It’s trade paper and was 25 freakin dollars! WAY more than I was expecting to pay. But it’s kinda not my fault because there were no prices anywhere.

Claudia is reading to Berta in the kitchen, and it’s the cutest thing ever.

OBSERVACIONES:

-       There are old people everywhere. And they are so cute. They are always holding hands or have their arms wrapped around each other. I absolutely adore it.

-       We are now regulars at the café across the street from the university. The man and woman that work there are the cutest things ever. They always wish us a good day and say that they’ll see us tomorrow.

-       Spanish tortillas are DEE-LISH!!!

-       Tailored suits on men are God’s gift to women. (Sean, I’m buying you at least one. In silver.)

-       People always cross the street, even if the light says don’t walk. And the light that tells you to walk or not is a little person that moves! It’s incredible.

-       I’ve never seen so much sanitation in one city in my entire life. Every single night, there are workers hosing down the streets. And I think because so many people live in apartments, the trash comes every single night.

-       It’s unclear which way you’re supposed to walk on the sidewalk – a lot of times, I feel like you should walk on the left side, but sometimes that’s not the case. CONFUSION!

-       This must just be the city of statues. There are statues absolutely everywhere you turn around.

-       I really liked going on the excursions because I got to spend some quality time with my iPod. I miss that.

-       There are pharmacies absolutely everywhere. I guess in the States, we usually combine them with a store (Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.)

-       I’m spending way more money than I wanted to. No bueno.

-       It cracks me up how Spaniards think it’s so cold here. Or hot. Today at lunch, Berta made Claudia wear a jacket because it was “cold.” It was in the mid-50s. It was glorious. They also think that mid-70s is hotter than Hades. I just have to laugh.

-       I can’t get over the fact that you could climb a mountain and go to the beach in the same day. It really just blows my mind.

-       Spanish is such a beautiful language. Just gorgeous.

-       The only things people wear here are skinny jeans, much to my dismay. And flip-flops really must make me look like a tourist because no one wears them.

-       I’m an absolutely horrible student here. At least in my poetry class. I can easily handle the work for the other class.

-       Some men smell like B.O. here. It’s quite repulsive. The ones that don’t smell like B.O. smell really, really good.

-       I think it’s the coolest thing in the world that I can talk to a guy from Thailand who doesn’t know English because we can both speak Spanish. Same with the girls from Brazil and the guys from France.

-       I love going out with friends here and just talking for a long time. My favorite pastime J

*Footnote: After checking on Barnesandnoble.com, I feel a lot better about my purchase. It's not translated into English, so I didn't waste my dinero!

Also, I was seriously considering buying a compilation of T.S. Eliot poems in Spanish. If you know me, you know of my love for Eliot. However, I found the one instance where Spanish is not better than English - Eliot's poems. It was an absolute trainwreck. It sounded horrific.

I will take my Eliot in English, please and thanks!

Day 19 - Noche y Día

I’m really not a fan of Tom Cruise as of late, but it turned out that seeing Knight and Day dubbed in Spanish was just the pick-me-up that I needed.

Class was a lot better today, just in general.

And perhaps the most entertaining first class so far. Our professor handed out slips of paper that had problems on them, and we were supposed to pretend like we were all in a therapy session and had to give advice to the classmates with the problems. One of mine was that I was happily married, but I was attracted to my next door neighbor.

David and Theerin said I should have a threesome.

And so it went. Oh my God. SO hilarious. Then Theerin just completely made stuff up…he said something along the lines of, “Well, I have a girlfriend, but I went out one night and started drinking, and the next thing I know, I wake up in bed next to David…naked.”

Everyone just completely lost it. I love those boys to death.

Had tortilla española during break, which just always makes me so darn happy!

Bought round-trip bus tickets to Bilbao, and it only ended up being about 43 euro. Fantastic! Way cheaper than we thought it was going to be. And for two nights, the hotel is only going to cost 34 euro. Talk about a steal!

Came home and had fish for lunch…gross. Just not a fan of pez, at all. Oh well.

Took a siesta, then woke up to head out to the movie. It was so damn cheesy, but I think it was a lot more tolerable in Spanish.

Other than the fact that the running of the bulls is in Pamplona and not Sevilla.

Idiot Americans.

Anywho, it was great. Went with Alee, Ford, Daniela, Amanda, and Max. I got a medium popcorn and Coke, and they had a whole candy shop inside the movie theater. It was priceless.

The ceiling inside the theater was out of control. It was lit up dark blue, and there were little tiny lights that looked like stars, so it seemed like you were walking under a night sky. So. Cool.

Then we walked by a pre-Roman cathedral and Ford told us all these random facts about the building. Loved it.

Then we hit up a restaurant for kebabs, and I had lamb. Decided to spring for something different, but turns out, I wasn’t really hungry, so it was a waste of dinero. Oh well, what I did have tasted good!

The boys were kind enough to walk me home, then I was thoroughly entertained on facebook chat for a bit.

Como un pulpo!!! Christ, Christ, oh, it’s a Christ!!!

Hopped in the shower, and now I’m here. Happy about such a great day and seriously considering scrapping the whole homework thing altogether.

It just seems a bit superfluous, don’t you think?

Day 18 - These Days

I think it may have been a little bit ridiculous for me to assume that since the first two weeks here were fabulous, every day thereafter would be, too.

That’s just not logical, right?

I don’t want to bitch about things, but I feel I just have to be honest with what’s going on around me and what I’m dealing with. I want to remember what this experience was all about in its entirety, and it’s not about pretending like everything’s fine because it’s not.

I’m not unhappy, and I realize I’m in Spain and should be happy, but I’m a person, and I have flaws. And I have to work through shit just like everyone else.

Ever since Sunday, it just feels like everything’s kinda been downhill. I was really tired in class on Monday, even though I got a lot of sleep. And today, I wasn’t tired, and the first class I have, which is three hours long, was fabulous like always. I really do love it, and I really appreciate how much energy and enthusiasm our professor has. I’m horrible at making up sentences for grammatical purposes off the top of my head, but I try, anyway.

I straight-up loathe my poetry class. There’s so much homework, and I just can’t get interested in the poetry. I don’t feel like we were ever taught the devices we were supposed to be looking for, and I get REALLY tired of the professor dumbing down the class. It honestly insults my intelligence SO much to try and compare a poet to a famous rapper. I don’t know why it gets under my skin, but it does incredibly. I realize that there are a lot of things I don’t know, but I don’t need a fucking poet to be compared to Tupac to know what message he’s trying to get across.

I AM NOT A FUCKING IDIOT!!!

That’s probably the main thing that’s really been bothering me. That, and I just still don’t know what the expectations are. And it’s a LOT of work.

I really miss physical affection. A lot. More than a lot. I just want a hug. From someone I know and love. From someone who actually knows and CARES about what’s going on with me.

I really do have the best friends in the world. Ev, Nick, Dan, and Chris, to name a few. I can’t tell Ev how much I appreciate her facebook message and blog comments. I will write back soon, I promise. Or better yet, we should Skype. Let me know a good time for tomorrow.

I miss Sean a lot. It’s WAY harder than I thought it would be to be apart for this long. It just sucks ass. Although Skype is fantastic, it can’t replace his bear hugs. Or kisses.

This ridiculous rash under my boobs has been hurting me terribly.

On the bright side…

I went to the pharmacist, and he found me some hydrocortisone, so I will forever be grateful. I really hope it helps.

Then I went on a walk by myself, and it was wonderful. I love people watching. I love the weather here. I love just clearing my mind. I love seeing everyone’s little dogs. And pigeons. They always make me smile.

Then I hit up El Corte Ingles supermercado and got crunchy peanut butter, Coca-Cola, gummy bears, cheetos, Band-Aids, and gum.

The most Amerkin things ever. I love it.

So, family stuff.

I really do love my host family, but I think they’re just really quiet people. It’s frustrating because I just don’t know what to talk about. Claudia is so cute, though J

I got a 3 hour siesta in today, so I feel pretty good right now. Skyping with Ev, so I am happy now!

Really don’t wanna do homework…

(Footnote: "These Days" of course refers to the Jackson Browne song, more specifically the Counting Crows cover of the song. Not the Rascal Flatts song or whoever else has a song by the same name...)

Day 17 - I Just Want Some STEAK!

Somehow, analyzing “Canción del pirata” (Pirate song) just does not seem appealing to me in any way, shape, or form. Curious.

Today may have been the most normal of all days thus far. Woke up, running late as usual, tried to choke down breakfast to make it to school on time, and I think I actually did make it on time for the first time in the last three or so school days.

Listened to “Ave María” and “Wavin’ Flag” on the way. Absolute obsession. Almost to the point of being unhealthy, I think.

Did the class thing. Feel so bad that I am so tired, but I think the weekend just wore me out. Two hours of sleep Friday night, then an excursion all day Saturday (9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.), and then canoeing 8+ miles on Sunday. It’s no wonder I’m tired and my body is sore.

Poetry class sucked today. Just couldn’t keep up with what was going on, or maybe I just wasn’t trying. It’s unclear.

Had a tortilla española for lunch, though, and that always tends to make things better J

Came home after class, and I think Berta’s mom was here to visit, but I basically just headed straight to bed because my back was hurting so bad. But then Claudia came in and wanted to know if I would eat an ice cream cone with her, so I did.

Then bed. For four hours.

Got up, got ready and walked with Stephanie to meet up with Alee and Ryan and Ford to talk about going to Bilbao this weekend. Got it all figured out relatively quickly, so hopefully all will go well. I think seven of us are going total.

After that, we headed over to the heladería, and I had churros and chocolate. Yum!

Came home and finally organized my binder, took a shower, Skyped with Sean, and did a wee bit of homework. This is obviously preferable to analyzing poetry. I never did care for it in English, and I sure don’t like it any better in Spanish.

It was funny today because we were talking about things we miss about good ol’ Amerka. I said when I get home, I want STEAK AND POTATOES! And El Jimmy’s, and the brownie sundae from Andy’s, and Waffle House, and Shakespeare’s. I guess, other than people, there are a few things I miss. Target, too. I don’t understand how people can live without Target. Haha.

It always cracks me up how my professor, María, says, “Aye, Dios mío!” and “Que horror!” She’s the cutest thing ever. For serious. I just want to bring her to Amerka and make her teach at Mizzou or something.

I have a really bad sunburn and a rash that hurts really badly. Not a fan of either.

I am, however, getting to be a huge fan of sleep, which seems to be in my near future J

Day 16 - Death by Canoe

I thought eleven hours of sleep would prepare me for today.

Not. Even. Close.

I was feeling pretty good when we got there, but the shit hit the fan quite quickly.

We were near the back of our group getting in the “canoes” (they were really kayak-type things. I was lied to!), and our lack of experience didn’t help when the current got strong. Once we finally got the hang of it, we were WAY behind everyone else.

Unfortunately, we weren’t really sure where our stop was. Because the idiot that put this whole trip together showed up at least 30 minutes late to the bus originally, then when he tried to explain what we were going to do on the trip, he gave really, really shitty directions.

So, I commence to lose my paddle when some freaks run into the side of our canoe. Either the lady’s paddle or the canoe hit my arm, and my reflex was to let go of the paddle.

But the current was strong, and we kept right on going. And the paddle was stuck on the opposite side of the river. Cool.

We pulled the boat out of the water, then Alee tried to retrieve it. But someone’s canoe hit it, then it went down stream without us.

Luckily, some Spaniards EVENTUALLY decided to help us, and I got my paddle back. About 20 minutes later.

At this point, I’m just not in a fabulous mood. I’m on my period and made the mistake of not wearing a swimsuit or a tampon.

And my ass is sitting in at least two inches of water in the boat.

I tried to be in a good mood, but it just didn’t seem possible.

So, we boated on, trying to catch up with everyone. We saw a lot of blue boats at the stop with the restaurant, but we didn’t see anyone we knew, so we decided to keep going. We figured they had already eaten and gone on because we were so far behind.

We stopped at the second stop like we were supposed to, but no one was there. Not a soul, and no bus to be found.

So we kept on going.

And going, And going. And going.

Still didn’t see anyone. Then we ran into Grace and Maria, and they said they had been waiting forever for everyone to catch up.

We decided to keep on canoeing until the next and final stop.

Whoops.

We got there, and this man came up and asked us if we were lost. He seemed to know what was up, and it was a rather busy area. We told him we were students with the University of Oviedo, and he told us that we had gone too far. We were supposed to have stopped at the second stop (like we did).

So the four of us decide to get into this van (with a canoe trailer on the back). I figured they would take us back to the second stop where I thought the bus would be.

But we passed Toraño. Then I started to worry. Were these guys legit? What is REALLY happening here?

Finally, they took us back to the main stop where everyone was waiting for us.

Luckily, they really hadn’t been waiting that long. But then we had to wait because they thought two other people were missing.

All in all, it was a huge CF of a day.

The views were gorgeous, absolutely. But I was in a piss-poor mood and now have a ridiculous sunburn on my shins. Cute.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day :\

Day 15 - Covadoga and the Beach!

Day 15 – July 17

So…last night.

Finally got the chance to live it up in Spain, and it was a damn good time. Went out with the girls to a Pizzeria and had sangria de sidra….yum! Sat around and talked for a long time, then decided to head out to go clubbin’.

Unfortunately, the clubs don’t open until 1 AM here, so we jumped the gun a wee bit. While we were waiting in a plaza, Stephanie suggested we go to the bar and get a drink. Turns out, they had her favorite kind of shot – the birthday cake shot. Of course, I had to get one, too. My very first shot ever. Haha. It was delicious. Sugar, Frangelico, and lemon. Yum!

Went to three clubs after that, although I think the first one was the best. They played the song I’m now absolutely obsessed with…”Ave María” by David Bisbal. Then we went to B12 which was kind of a flop, but they did play “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi J

And “Bad Romance” so Amanda got to show us her sick moves!

Rolled home at 4:30 in the AM, then talked to Sean for a good while, among other things like checking e-mail and the like. Didn’t get to bed until 6:30. And woke up at 8:30 to catch a bus at 9:30. Cool.

Left campus like we always do, then headed to Cangas de Onis, for God knows what. There was supposed to be a really old bridge that we were supposed to see, but the main group took off without us, so we just wandered around this little bitty town for awhile. Looked in touristy shops and such.

There was the CUTEST cow rug that I really should have bought. Two cartoony cows with flowers behind their ears with “Bienvenidos” at the bottom (Welcome!). I figured it wasn’t manly enough, but the boys could have sucked it up. Haha.

We went to a pastry shop, and I got a sucker, some Cheetos and a Pepsi. Doin’ it up Amerka-style.

After that rando stop, we headed to Covadonga, which was absolutely insane.

It was an outdoor church built in the side of a cliff, with a waterfall below it. It was more gorgeous than words can express.

Below the church in the cliff was a fountain, and supposedly if you drink from all seven offshoots of the fountain, you will get married within a year.

Watch out, Sean. I did it! J

Went to see the main Cathedral after that, and it was gorgeous, as all Cathedrals seem to be. It was something different, though, because there were six confessionals lined up along the walls, but the person confessing had to do it out in the open. It was weird.

Alee and I wanted to take a picture of the priests in the confessionals SO BADLY because the lighting was absolutely perfect, and one of the priests was black…a rarity. Anywho, because it was a legitimate church still being used, we couldn’t really get away with it.

Headed to Ribodesella after that, and it was a MUCH prettier beach than Gijón. We didn’t know we were going to the beach, though. We thought we were going to Los Lagos, but the cloud coverage made the roads there dangerous. So, we weren’t prepared for the beach (ie swimsuits, towels, etc).

I’m going to take this time to say that I’m really sick of all these Europeans and their PDA. In fact, I can’t stand it. It just makes me miss Sean so incredibly much, and I see it every single place I go.

In short, it sucks ass.

Came home after the excursion, ate some food and passed out.

Day 14 - Time to Bust out the Gilmore Girls

I felt so bad this morning because Berta thought that last night I was upset because I wasn’t happy with being here – more specifically in her house.

She kept saying over and over that I never told her what kind of food I like, and she doesn’t know, and I need to tell her so she can make me food I like.

I told her that everything has been more than I could have ever expected. I told her the food was great, but she said that I never eat a lot and she thinks it’s because I don’t like it. I tried to explain to her that I just haven’t adjusted to the different way of eating here. I’m still used to eating small meals throughout the day. I told her about the low blood sugar that I have sometime, and I think that helped her understand a bit better.

The day is pretty much the grossest day so far. Rainy and gray. So, after school, since the family wasn’t home, I heated up the pasta that Berta had made for me and watched some Gilmore Girls.

To its credit, that show can ALWAYS make me feel better. I just feel like it will always be my favorite. I love all the word play and just plain craziness of it.

I love that Lorelai and Rory’s relationship reminds me so much of my mom’s and mine.

It really makes me sad to hear a lot of people from Mizzou say that they really aren’t close to their mothers. That their mothers don’t know a lot of what goes on in their life, or that they don’t support the decisions they’ve made, or they talk every day, but it’s only about the weather and how their day is going.

My momma truly is my best friend. I love her more than I can ever say, and I just have no idea where I’d be without her. She has always, always, always been there for me and ALWAYS helped me through any issue I’ve ever had. She is so beautiful and so crazy. I just love spending time with her, even if she drives me crazy at times. She is my momma, and I can’t live without her. I tell her absolutely everything, and she’s always been the one to help me through any situation I’ve ever been in. She’s my confidant and my best friend.

That obviously isn’t to discredit Papasita or Window Pain, because we are a family, and none of us could live without the other. It’s just the way it is, and I love them more than they will ever know. EVER. They are the most important people in my life.

Anyway, the episode was “Norman Mailer – I’m Pregnant!” in case you’re wanting to watch it ;) It’s a good one!

After that, I headed to bed, but really didn’t sleep as long as I thought I would. Was having some pretty unsettling dreams, so I decided to just wake up and catch up on these damn blogs. Four in a day. That’s pretty intense.

I think I’m going to head out with a group later tonight to hang out, so we shall see how that goes.

Tomorrow – excursion to Los Lagos (the lakes) in the mountains, and from what I’ve already seen of them, they’re gorgeous.

Sunday – Canoe trip! So excited!

Day 13 - La Vida Te Da Sorpresas

I must say, perhaps more than anything, Spain has taught me how to appreciate everything I have.

For instance, now, when I get on the internet, I am so thankful that it works. So thankful that I don’t have to try and hurry and do all I can on the internet in 5 minutes because the signal may go out at any minute.

And food. For some reason, I was really, really hungry this morning, so I got a tortilla española, and it was so DELICIOUS!

It’s not to say that I’m going without food, obviously, but it just works differently here. They legitimately only have three meals a day here, and that’s not what my body is used to. I don’t eat a lot at once in the States, but I eat often during the day.

So, today, it was the best class so far with María after our morning break because we took the whole hour to talk about Spanish food and customs.

She kept repeating, “La comida es para hablar” (Meals are for talking). And we talked about how in Spain, they literally eat the WHOLE animal. For example, the whole head of a fish (except the eyes), and the whole head of a pig. They chop up pig ears and dip them in sauces. I don’t know if I can deal with that. Maybe if no one tells me what it is. Maybe. We talked about how here, both hands have to be above the table at all times, and it’s REALLY hard for me not to have one hand below the table when I eat, I’ve noticed. Just what I’ve been used to, I guess. She talked about how EVERY meal is eaten together – no one EVER eats alone, unless it’s a strange exception. She said that if she and her husband have the same work schedule, he will wait for her to get home so they can eat together. And if she’s running late and calls him and tells him to go ahead and eat, they will argue about it because he will say that he wants to wait for her. I like that a lot J

We talked about how Spaniards always interrupt each other during conversation, and how parents teach children to take small bites when eating because they may need to interject into the conversation at any moment. Kinda funny.

I love how she was telling us to listen to “la música de la lengua” (the music of the language), and how in certain situations, intonation is everything. It is so beautiful.

Headed home really quickly for lunch with Berta – Claudia and Luis were at Berta’s mom’s house. I can’t remember for the life of me what we ate, but I remember I liked it.

Headed out quickly to meet up with Stephanie to catch the train to Gijón. The people from the University wanted to change plans at the last minute, which perturbed me a wee bit because I was under the impression that we were going to hang out a bit at “La Semana Negra,” but we didn’t even end up doing that, so I guess it wouldn’t have mattered.

I have never seen more people on a beach in my life. It was just unbelievable. But it was such a gorgeous day, and I honestly liked all the people around because then you could do SO MUCH people watching J

It made me really happy and sad at the same time to see how affectionate couples are…especially younger people. They were just laying on the beach lost in each other’s presence, and honestly, I just wanted to cry. It was a beautiful thing, but I missed Sean so much. I just wanted to lay on a beach with him and hold him and talk and be with him. God, it’s making me tear up even now.

It was like heaven, but with a big ol’ chunk missing. Like going to heaven and expecting to see someone that you’ve been missing your whole life, and they aren’t there.

However, Liz, Alee, Stephanie, and I all found a great spot semi-near the water and talked for a long, long time. I think we were on the beach for at least three to four hours.

We talked a lot about religion because Liz has said before that she is seriously considering becoming a nun, and I was just fascinated by it. So we had a very long conversation about that and religion in general. It was awesome.

Had fried eggs, chicken nuggets (more or less), and French fries at the train station while waiting for the train out.

Came home, was going to start on homework, and didn’t.

Didn’t quite have the night I was expecting, but “la vida te da sorpresas” (life is surprising). I obviously have a lot of issues that I need to work through, and I’m going to do what I can to the best of my ability.

Day 12 - Finding Jesus

Up until this point, I’ve been really happy with all the pictures I’ve been making. Today that came screeching to a halt.

We hiked a mountain to Jesus, making jokes along the way, of course, but the pictures just do not do the view or the experience any justice at all.

I packed up everything that morning, and my host mom sent me with a couple apples. She offered to make me a sandwich, but I was running late to school as it was, so I told her I would pick something up before we started our hike.

After class, Alee ran to her house to change, and Stephanie and I went to Café Favorit for some small sandwiches.

We decided to be hardasses and walk the whole way, instead of taking the bus halfway up the mountain like everyone else had done a couple days before us. Problem: we couldn’t figure out what the deal with the map was because it showed there was a street where there clearly was not a street. So we were going to give up and take the bus, talked to two different people at the bus station, and ended up just deciding to say “Hell with it. We’re walking!”

We only got turned around once on the way up there, and it was only a block in the wrong direction, so it wasn’t any big thing.

The neighborhood at the base of the mountain was absolutely incredible. Every house had a six or seven foot high wall with the solid steel gate and camera and the whole bit. Slightly intimidating, but the architecture was insane. I have pictures of my future home(s).

I was slightly worried because the man at the bus station kept telling us, “Be careful! Be careful! Be careful! People on the mountain drive crazy!”

We didn’t really realize what he was talking about until we were at least halfway up the mountain, and the sidewalk just disappeared. We were walking along the very edge of the road with a rock wall on one side of us, and a drop off on the other side. Shit.

It really wasn’t that bad, though. People went pretty slowly up on that part of the mountain, and we never had any close calls or anything.

The road up to Jesus was called “Avenida de los Monumentos” (Monument Avenue), and we saw two buildings that were PRE-ROMAN. Ninth century. The 800s. Just absolutely incredible. Truly.

The hike wasn’t horrible because we had picked an absolutely gorgeous day to go. The sun was shining and warmed us up, but there was a cool breeze that would come through, so we didn’t even end up really breaking a sweat.

That is, until the 50-60 degree (as in a 50 degree angle) part came along. I literally felt like we were walking straight up. And we kinda felt like dying. And made Jesus jokes along the way.

We made it up to the very top of the mountain, but there were a lot of communication towers, and we weren’t sure if we were in the right place or not. Then we saw Jesus.

We had to go down another hill, then back up another 60 degree climb before we got to him. Quite the ordeal.

We finally got to Jesus, collapsed on a picnic table, and took off our shoes and socks. Then a random Spaniard came up and started talking to us. For at least half an hour. I guess he was just lonely and could tell we weren’t from around there, but I was a wee bit suspicious. He turned out to be harmless, but it was a tad bit strange.

It was cool, though, because he told us all about the area and the history of it and how it’s his favorite place in the world. He loves the history of the place, as opposed to the States, where comparatively, there really isn’t any history. “Vale.”

He said that he thinks the people of Oviedo are the nicest in the world.

After he left, we took a lot of pictures then headed back down the mountain. There was an Argentine grill right before the first HUGE climb, and it smelled so good. Made me think of Lt. Dan and how sad I was that I got sick the day he was cooking Argentine BBQ at school.

Made it home and nearly passed out. Told Alee I might go out with her, but didn’t because I had a ridiculous scab on my foot that had come off and bled like CRAZY!

I don’t think I’ve ever had a wound bleed quite that much.

Showered, tried to do some homework, and passed out.